Attorney Dan Lobeck knows his way through a government agenda. He has for years been a fixture of land-use hearings, often representing groups opposed to development proposals or speaking on behalf of his group, Control Growth Now.

This year, he’s running for a seat at the dais on the Sarasota City Commission, where he hopes to make a difference in managing growth.

“We need to accept growth will happen, but manage it in a way that preserves the city’s charm, character and value,” he says, “and most important makes growth pay its own way.”

Lobeck is one of six candidates seeking two at-large seats on the Sarasota City Commission. The decision to run himself comes after decades closely following local development decisions. His candidacy clearly has proved unsettling in some circles, with committees sending out mailers to voters blasting Lobeck. “Frankly, developers do me a favor boosting my name recognition,” Lobeck suggests.

What might bother the construction industry? Lobeck offers a list of decisions made by the past two years where he disagrees with the outcome, including the crafting of a comprehensive plan amendment that could expand the number of development applications approved at the staff level. The candidate said if such a change proceeds, it will allow developers to lobby staff outside of public hearings and increase profit margins for developments without going through a public hearing process.

Incidentally, Lobeck bristles at the term “administrative review” to describe this process. All development applications undergo a staff review. His problem, he says, is with “administrative approval” without ever putting a matter to an elected City Commission, or at least a Planning Board appointed by the Commission.

“We wouldn’t have public hearings if there weren’t important choices to be made,” he said. “I’ve come to learn by way of the various roles I’ve had at the state level, where I was a legislative aide to a Republican state senator, to locally, where I have been involved as a civic advocate for decades, that the principal thing wrong with government is when it is taken captive by those who would use it to their ends and contrary to the ends of everyone else. Developers have figured out there is no better return on investment than in buying politicians.”

He believes his election would reverse a pro-development trend on decisions made at City Hall, and feels the vast majority of voters hunger for such a shift.

He expresses clear frustration right now with what he considers a pro-development city staff, criticizing a recent presentation of attainable housing that suggested the threshold for defining affordability should be based on an income of more than $108,000 a year for a family of four.

Lobeck doesn’t like that administrative approvals can already be granted in the downtown core of Sarasota, something put in place to spur redevelopment years ago and which he no longer sees as necessary. To expand the process to single-family home neighborhoods would be a disservice to the community, he said.

Other candidates for City Commission this year include Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, Sheldon Rich, Terrill Salem, Carl Shoffstall and Debbie Trice. The top three vote-getters in an Aug. 23 primary will advance to a runoff in November, where the top two will win seats. The at-large election will be open to all voters in the city limits. 

MD Now Urgent Care, Florida’s largest and fastest-growing urgent care provider, is once again expanding access to superior healthcare services on the west coast of Florida with a second clinic opening this year in Manatee County. Lakewood Ranch was the first community in Manatee County to welcome a new MD Now clinic in June of 2022. The newest, state-of-the-art clinic in East Bradenton is the eighth MD Now clinic on the west coast of Florida and the sixth clinic to open in 2022. MD Now is committed to bringing superior healthcare to communities in Florida. A physician-led team of healthcare professionals at each clinic attends to patients quickly and efficiently, ensuring patients can take care of their health needs in one convenient stop when it’s convenient for them. The new East Bradenton clinic features modern technology and medical equipment, four exam rooms, a triage room, a procedure room, and an X-ray room to provide a high quality and efficient healthcare experience. Boasting 3,000 square feet, the clinic is open weekdays with no appointment necessary. The East Bradenton clinic is located at 10735 State Road 64 East, at the intersection of Upper Manatee River Road and State Road 64 East at Warner Crossing between Starbucks and Wawa. This state-of-the-art clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The clinic is closed on the weekends. 

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Practitioners from the Central West Coast chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (CWC-FPRA) made a strong showing in the FPRA's Golden Image Awards, with recognition taking place during the 83rd Annual Conference in Orlando earlier this month. CWC-FPRA members Sharon Kunkel, APR and Kim Livengood, APR, CPRC took top honors in two of the three professional divisions in addition to other awards earned by chapter members.Earning top honors in Division B - Collateral Tools of Public Relations was Sharon Kunkel, APR, Wordslinger Marketing & PR, whose "Adult Adoption Story" received the Grand Golden Image Award. She was also recognized with the Golden Image Award in the "Press Release or Pitch" category as well as a Judges' Award for an outstanding entry that achieves maximum return on investment.Kim Livengood, APR, CPRC, Hamlet's Eatery's "To Meat or Not to Meat" entry took top honors in Division C - Digital Tools of Public Relations, earning the Grand Golden Image Award. Livengood also earned the Golden Image Award in the "Online Audience Engagement" category as well as a Judges' Award for an outstanding entry that achieves maximum return on investment.

In the July/August 2022 edition of SRQ Magazine, we interviewed Brena Slater, Safe Children Coalition President and Chief Executive Officer as part of our In Conversation feature about nonprofit leaders. Below is an excerpt published in the magazine in which Slater shares her insights with SRQ readers on community growth and changes.

We still have an opiate epidemic but I bet there are a lot of people who think it's over because they haven't heard those words in three years.

Substance abuse is the number one issue for the reason why children are removed in both Sarasota and Manatee counties. And we still have death cases. So we have children who were brought in because their parents overdosed and passed away--we still have a parent pass away monthly, if not more than once a month. And this is just a small subset. These are just the kids who we have in our system of care. I think the reason you probably don't hear about it as much is because Narcan is so available. So when parents are overdosing or even children, either EMS or law enforcement or the hospital Narcan them. So really they bring them back and then they unfortunately a lot of times don't get the treatment they need and go out and use again. So I will say that substance abuse is still the number one issue why children are removed and more than half the children that are removed are zero to five. It’s these vulnerable children with substance abusing parents that are still the largest issue within our child welfare system of the community. 

Safe Children Coalition, 1500 Independence Blvd #210, Sarasota, 941-371-4799. https://sccfl.org/

To read the full article, click here.

Our community is filled with many incredible young people doing such amazing things. This summer, we are featuring some of these young people in our Thursday Family & Education edition. Each of the students we are highlighting have been chosen as this year’s SRQ Magazine’s top youth leaders based on their values, determination and outstanding achievements in different aspects of their lives in and out of school.

Akiel is a current junior at Sarasota Military Academy. He joined the Boys & Girls Club to deepen his involvement with the community and to make a difference. An active participant in volunteer programs, Akiel has witnessed firsthand the difference a group of driven teens can make within their community. Akiel is currently enrolled in BGCSDC’s STAR Leadership Training Program and is an active member of Youth Council.

We asked Akiel about his goals for the future.

"After graduating, I’d like to go to the University of Florida or the U.S. Military Academy," he said. "After that, I hope to go to law school. My top pick would be Yale or Harvard. I would like to become a JAG (Judge Advocate General) lawyer. I’ve worked pretty hard throughout high school to get where I’m at so being nominated as a leader means so much to me."  

Pictured: Akiel R., junior at Sarasota Military Academy. Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.

Today Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) announced that the new Raspberry Rally cookie will join its nationwide lineup for the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie season. The thin, crispy cookie is a “sister” cookie to the beloved Thin Mints®, infused with raspberry flavor instead of mint and dipped in the same delicious chocolaty coating. Raspberry Rally gives devoted Girl Scout Cookie lovers yet another reason to be excited for the upcoming cookie season. This must-have new cookie will be the first in the Girl Scout Cookie lineup to be exclusively offered for online sale and direct shipment only, enhancing girls’ e-commerce sales and entrepreneurial skills. Raspberry Rally will be available to consumers nationally during the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie season. Girl Scouts in Gulfcoast Florida and across the United States will offer the Raspberry Rally cookie next season alongside favorites like Thin Mints®, Adventurefuls™ and Samoas®, and Caramel deLites®. Cookie season is an exciting annual event for Girl Scouts across the nation and encourages girls to be risk takers, to think outside of the box, and to be confident in their own abilities. Proceeds raised from in-person and online cookie orders directly benefit local councils and troops. When Girl Scouts run their own cookie business, they are a part of the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. Girl Scouts learn leadership, problem-solving, and community building through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, resulting in an invaluable experience that cultivates an innovative, entrepreneurial spirit. Available nationwide, every purchase of the online-exclusive Raspberry Rally cookie supports local Girl Scouts who are helping make our world a better place. Let’s come together to celebrate the young change-makers who are solving problems and learning new skills—one box of cookies at a time. Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida kicks off cookie season in January 2023; visit www.girlscoutcookies.org to sign up to be notified as soon as Raspberry Rally and other Girl Scout Cookies are on sale. Find your adventure at Girl Scouts by joining or volunteering at www.gsgcf.org. 

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