SRQ DAILY May 5, 2022
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"From 2020-2021 we saw a 4,500 percent increase in e-bike sales and from 2021-2022 it is going to be a little bit more. "
The “Shark Lady” now has a stamp.
The U.S. Postal Service on Wednesday formally unveiled a new “forever” stamp honoring late ichthyologist Eugenie Clark. Angela Curtis, vice president delivery operations for USPS, attended a ceremony at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium to celebrate the occasion on what would have been Clark’s 100th birthday.
"One of the goals of the Postal Service's stamp program is to celebrate the people who represent the best of our nation and Eugenie Clark,” Curtis said. “I should say Dr. Clark — or the 'Shark Lady' — certainly deserves this recognition."
Clark was celebrated for groundbreaking research into the actions of lemon sharks. The field researcher during her life conducted 71 submersible dives as deep as 12,000 feet and led over 200 field research expeditions to the Red Sea, Caribbean, Mexico, Japan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Indonesia and Borneo to study sand fishes, whale sharks, deep sea sharks and spotted oceanic triggerfish.
Locally, she founded Mote Marine Laboratory, which started as Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in 1955 and later was designated Mote after a benefactor.
While Clark’s career took her around the world, she continued even late in life to do research in Sarasota and regularly did work at Mote. A year before her death, she took her last ocean dive in the Gulf of Aqaba in 2014.
“Clark was widely respected for her research as well as for her eager embrace of new advances in diving technology, knowing that each development would bring her closer to the creatures she loved,” read an announcement from USPS. “A pioneer in the era when SCUBA emerged as a research tool, she later took more than 70 trips in high-tech submersibles, sometimes as deep as 12,000 feet beneath the ocean surface — something that has still been done by only a small number of other marine biologists.”
Clark died in 2015 at age 92 from complications with lung cancer.
Her family welcomed the placement of Clark’s image on a stamp.
"Our family is thrilled to see Dr. Clark, or as we call her, Grandma Genie, recognized and honored on a stamp. Her work as an ichthyologist was groundbreaking for proving that sharks are intelligent, and she was a pioneer for female scientists, researchers and scuba divers,” said daughter Aya Konstantinou. “We are so proud of her legacy as an Asian-American woman, teacher, scientist — and most importantly — grandmother."
Sarasota Memorial has opened a second Milk Depot at the new SMH-Venice Campus for local moms to donate their breast milk to struggling premature babies. The first donor at SMH-Venice has a personal tie to the cause, having given birth to a preemie of her own at the end of 2021. Brittany Brighenti has donated more than 800 ounces of breast milk since her son Carter’s birth on December 23 when she was only 31 weeks pregnant. Prior to the opening of the milk depot in south county, she was driving approximately 45 minutes to SMH-Sarasota. She is thrilled to have the new drop-off location so close to home. Sarasota Memorial established its first Milk Depot at the Sarasota Campus in 2015 to enhance maternity care and work toward national Baby Friendly USA © designation, which was achieved in 2018. So far in 2022, local women have donated more than 6,000 ounces of breastmilk through Sarasota Memorial, bringing the total donated since the SMH Milk Depot's inception to more than 62,157 ounces. SMH’s Milk Depots were established in association with the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Florida, which screens mothers using a voluntary process similar to blood donations, and is the only one of its kind in the state. The not-for-profit Milk Bank analyzes the milk of approved donors for calorie and protein content and then pasteurizes it to kill any viruses or bacteria. It then tests the milk to ensure it’s free of contaminates before deep freezing and distributing it to hospitalized babies who are in need. There is no cost or compensation to moms to donate their milk. Mothers’ Milk Bank sells the milk to hospitals to cover distribution and basic costs. Local moms interested in donating their breast milk can start the screening process by calling the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Florida at (407) 248-5050 or visiting milkbankofflorida.org.
This weekend, take in the area's beautiful sunsets in style, with a tour from Endless Summer SRQ - an electric bike or e-bike rental company on Siesta Key. Endless Summer SRQ’s Siesta Key Sunset Tour - the highest rated tour on Trip Advisor for Sarasota- takes place over a couple of hours on Sunset Key’s smooth quartz beaches, leisurely guiding you over the sand atop their robust fat tire e-bikes.
“By far our most popular experience, the tour takes a little over two hours, from around 6:15pm to 8:30pm. We meet about a hundred yards off the beach and ride right onto the sand, we go down to the south end to Crescent Beach and then back up to the north end at Sunset Point, which is the prettiest place to view the sunset. We take a bunch of pictures and pass out champagne,” says Derek Wilson, the tour guide and owner of Endless Summer SRQ. “There’s also a local gentleman who comes out to play TAPS each night and does a flag bearing ceremony, so we stick around for that and ride the entire length back,” adds Wilson.
Endless Summer SRQ also serves as an outfitter for Rad Power Bikes and a full scale service shop for both traditional and e-bike mechanical issues. “We carry all one brand - basically when you book we ask for your height, and we bring whatever fits you best. Obviously if you have a specific request for a certain bike we can honor that as well,” says Wilson.
E-bikes are an exploding commodity around the country, especially in Sarasota. “From 2020-2021 we saw a 4,500% increase in e-bike sales and from 2021-2022 it’s going to be a little bit more. Folks have the desire to ride, but not always the ability to do so. They give you the ability to go further especially with higher gas prices,” attests Wilson.
Endless Summer SRQ. 946 Beach Rd Sarasota, FL 34239. 941-539-1714. Siesta Key Sunset Tours start at $60 per person.
Photo courtesy of Endless Summer SRQ.
Catch that Dog! is a chapter book boasting adventure, humor, suspense and well-developed characters. Masterpiece, the sought after “celebrity poodle”, portrays genuine traits with a warming ability to understand human depths; while Joanie, the young girl who stumbles upon this far from home pup, offers deep affection, loyalty and a mature perspective that sets her character apart from others she encounters her age.
Will Taylor does a fantastic job at crafting a unique and endearing tale behind what may have happened to the “world’s most valuable dog” upon his disappearance in May 1953. With a somewhat expected ending, the journey from start to finish offers invaluable lessons, a beautiful connection between a girl and her dog and a few surprises along the way.
Published April 2022 by Scholastic Press. ISBN 978-1-338-74595-5. Grades 4-6, ages 9-12.
The Bay Park Conservancy (BPC) announces an important community partnership with CoreSRQ to provide park guests with a series of free, outdoor health and wellness classes taught by CoreSRQ’s certified trainers at The Bay Park. Classes will occur every weekday morning at The Bay, Monday through Thursday, and include a variety of offerings for all ages and experience levels. In alignment with The Bay’s guiding principles, all programs are open and accessible, free and welcoming to all. The new partnership brings CoreSRQ’s high caliber and high quality fitness, health, and wellness programs to The Bay’s community of park goers, with the overall objective of encouraging the entire community to enjoy a healthier and happier quality of life. Starting on May 9, these 45-minute classes run every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 a.m. on The Bay’s Civic Green (801 N. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL, 34236). All programs at The Bay are made possible thanks to contributions made by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and The Bay Parks Conservancy's Founding Business Partners program (FBP).
This winter, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (Selby Gardens) will spotlight the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century, together with the poetry of legendary singer-songwriter and poet Patti Smith in a special exhibition on view throughout the garden’s 15-acre Downtown Sarasota campus. Marking the sixth edition of the Gardens’ annual Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series, which explores the work of major artists through the lens of their connection to nature, this immersive exhibition puts a selection of Mapplethorpe’s photographs of orchids, hyacinths, and irises, and excerpts of Smith’s poems and lyrics on flowers and nature, in dialogue with new horticultural installations inspired by the two artists’ work. On view from February 13 through June 26, 2022, Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith: Flowers, Poetry, and Light is curated by Dr. Carol Ockman, Selby Gardens’ Curator-at-Large and the Robert Sterling Clark Professor of Art History Emerita at Williams College. The Gardens will host an Evening with Patti Smith, on Tuesday, February 15, a lecture and performance with Smith that will shed new light on this body of work.
Florida Studio Theatre (FST) proudly presents The Grandma That Eats Everything & Other Winning Plays, a collection of plays inspired by the imaginations of children in sixth grade and below. This production is presented as part of FST’s WRITE A PLAY program, an award-winning arts-in-education initiative that provides students with the example, the inspiration, and the skills to write their own original plays. Students’ creations are then submitted to FST’s annual youth playwriting competition, and about a dozen winning plays are selected out of thousands of submissions from around the world to be brought to life in a full-scale production performed by professional actors. This season’s anthology of winning plays, The Grandma That Eats Everything, marks the 31st year that FST has inspired young students through the WRITE A PLAY program. The Grandma That Eats Everything & Other Winning Plays will play on weekdays to school groups in FST’s Keating Theatre as part of FST’s WRITE A PLAY program. The play is also available to tour to your school. From March 6 to May 8, The Grandma That Eats Everything & Other Winning Plays is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday mornings as part of FST’s Children’s Theatre Series. Single tickets are $10.
Ringling College Undergraduate and Surrealist artist, Jude Zawaideh will have an exhibition on display April 1-May 6. Celebrtae the opening at the public reception on Friday, April 1st from 6-8pm . Viewings are free and open to the public.
Downtown gallery PS340, 340 Central Ave, Sarasota
The Queue: Beyond The Surface, A Solo Exhibit by Nneka Jones. In this exhibition, Nneka Jones comments on topics such as identity, stereotypes and the digital age. Jones embeds and camouflages portraiture, making some of her subjects almost unrecognizable. Contrasting technological symbols, such as barcodes and QR-codes, with the soft edges and skin tones of the figure, Jones creates a timely discussion on humanism vs. futurism. She brings to light a growing struggle to maintain true identity in the face of our highly influential social media sites. Jones believes social technologies create a digital mask ultimately causing issues with mental health and social segregation. She aims to magnify these issues in the hope of starting conversations surrounding identity and unity. Opening Night Reception is Friday, April 15th, 2022 from 6pm to 8pm. Open Exhibition Dates are April 16th through May 7th By Appointment Only.
CreArte Latino Cultural Center is a major participant in the 2022 Suncoast Remake Learning Days Festival, presented by Remake Learning, which hosts festivals in 14 regions across the nation. This festival will be held in four Florida counties, including the Sarasota area, for the first time, April 29 through May 8. CreArte Latino invites children and families to three free special events promoting arts and literacy, created in cooperation with other community organizations and sponsored by The Patterson Foundation and The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.
M A R A Art Studio + Gallery presents “black+white,” featuring monochromatic works by nine artists: Grace Howl, Jack Shapiro, Jana Millstone, Ralph Berger, Lisa DiFranza, Craig Palmer, Dan Wilkerson, Sam Wuerfel, and MARA Torres, May 1-31. The opening reception is Friday, May 6, 5:30-7 p.m. The gallery is at 1421 5th Street, Rosemary District, Sarasota. For more information, call (941) 914-8110 or visit MaraStudioGallery.com
This season, WBTT is also thrilled to present two world premiere one-act plays under the auspices of its New Playwrights Series. Tarra Conner jones has written and stars in an ode to Nell Carter, titled “From Birmingham to Broadway.” Nate Jacobs and his brother, Michael, have written a play about Muhammad Ali, titled “Float Like a Butterfly”; staring Darius Autry. These plays will be presented together from May 4 to 29, 2022. Ticket sales are scheduled to begin in the late summer. Call the Box Office at 941-366-1505 or visit westcoastblacktheatre.org.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe will close its 2021-2022 season with two world-premiere one-act plays, under the auspices of its New Playwrights Series. These plays, "From Birmingham To Broadway” and “Float Like A Butterfly," will be presented together May 4-29. "From Birmingham to Broadway," an ode to Nell Carter, was written by and stars popular WBTT artist Tarra Conner jones. "Float Like a Butterfly," which examines the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali, was written by WBTT founder/artistic director Nate Jacobs' brother, Michael Jacobs, and stars Darius Autry. Call the Box Office at 941-366-1505 or visit westcoastblacktheatre.org
The Sarasota Tiger Bay Club, a not-for-profit Florida Corporation with a 501(c)(3) status, will welcome David Brooks, Author, The Second Mountain, The Road to Character and The Social Animal, New York Times Columnist and major political and social analyst to the May 5 luncheon to be held at Michael’s On East. Doors will open at 11:30am and the program will go from noon to 1pm with a book signing until 1:30pm. David Brooks has a gift for bringing audiences face to face with the spirit of our times with humor, insight and quiet passion. He is a keen observer of the American way of life and a savvy analyst of present-day politics and foreign affairs. He holds several prestigious positions as a commentator: Bi-weekly Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times, Regular analyst on PBS NewsHour and NPR’s All Things Considered. The annual keynote luncheon is the only fundraising event for the organization whose mission is to promote community understanding of current political and social issues, through public discourse and the free exchange of ideas. The Sarasota Tiger Bay Club is a non-partisan political organization that was formed to foster understanding of public issues. Tiger Bay’s philosophy is that in-person, face-to-face exchanges and confrontations with key policy makers is the ideal to understand today’s complex issues. Tiger Bay is political but non-partisan. Its Charter and By-Laws prevent candidate endorsements or taking sides in political campaigns.
Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota presents pianist Ying Li in recital as part of State College of Florida’sPianopalooza Festival, Thursday, May 5 at 4:00 pm, at Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. Li will be joined by principal string musicians of the Sarasota Orchestra in a program to include music by Mozart and Dvorak. Tickets are $40, and can be purchased online at ArtistSeriesConcerts.org or by calling 941-306-1202, M-F 10 am-4 pm.
Botany and beverages meet in the first installment of a new series called “Noshing in Nature” at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. On Friday, May 6, from 6 to 8 p.m., the Gardens will host “Tequila Tasting and Succulent Science,” a program that delves into the tequila-making process and the resulting complex flavors, at its Downtown Sarasota campus. Senior director of gardens horticulture Christopher Elenstar will lead a dialogue on agave, cacti, and other succulents with tequila experts from award-winning distillery Hiatus Tequila. After learning about the key succulents that play a role in the distilling process, attendees can put their new knowledge into practice through a guided tasting of Hiatus Tequila varieties. Botany has never tasted so delicious! Cost is $65 for Selby Gardens members, and $70 for non-members. Advance registration is required, as capacity will be limited. Learn more and register online at selby.org/events/noshing-in-nature/.
We hope you'll join us at the SPRING Plant Sale! Come to our sale of the season to enjoy unbelievable bargains on plants starting at $1! Our gate opens Friday 5/6 at 9AM. Houseplants & Landscape Plants For Your Home & Lanai Great buys on Orchids, Bromeliads, Palms, Containers & More Explore Our Greenhouses & Get Expert Advice $1, $2 & $5 Bargain Prices, Beautiful Selection Family-Friendly Event
Sarasota Orchestra collaborates with Nashville-based duo Swearingen & Kelli, who recreate the magic of '70s singer-songwriters such as James Taylor, Carole King, Neil Diamond, Joni Mitchell and more. Christopher Confessore, a frequent guest with the Orchestra, conducts. This longstanding partnership between Sarasota Orchestra and the Orioles gives music-lovers a chance to take in a live performance while enjoying ballpark fare and a relaxed, fun ambiance under the stars. A spectacular fireworks display closes out an evening of musical hits and home runs. Tickets from $15, availible at www.orioles.com/arts or (941)-893-6312
Orioles' Ed Smith Stadium
SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email |
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