Should Sarasota County have seven county commissioners instead of five? Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, said he plans to bring a local bill forward that would add two at-large commissioners to the board.

Such a move would again create a substantial change in the way a full commission is elected. Voters in 2018 approved a switch from electing all five commissioners in county-wide elections to instead electing them through single-member voting. In March last year, voters rejected a referendum that would have reversed course and returned to county-wide voting.

Gruters said he doesn’t want to change how the five existing seats on the commission are filled. But he still has a problem with every voter in the county only being able to elect only one member of the county commission.

“Sometimes one county commissioner is not enough,” he said at the Sarasota County Legislative Delegation meeting. “We saw it with Ian.” He said when the massive hurricane hit only South Sarasota County last year, it put an undue burden on one commission office. 

Adding two county commissioners, Gruters said, would mean three members of a seven-member board were directly responsive to every individual in the county.

It’s not an unprecedented structure. Manatee County elects five members through single member districts and two through at-large elections, similar to Gruters’ proposal. The City of Sarasota has five members on its City Commission, three elected in single-member districts and two at-large.

Of note, the Florida Legislature since 1982 has elected all its members in single-member districts. Gruters is the only state senator representing Sarasota County. Three state representatives serve portions of the county, but every citizen is elected by one senator and one representative.

A change to the county structure would need to be approved by voters in a county-wide referendum.

State Rep. James Buchanan, R-Sarasota, noted at the delegation meeting that Sarasota County is a charter county. That means a referendum could be brought forward three ways: though a local bill approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor; though a vote by the Sarasota County Commission; or through a measure proposed by the Sarasota County Charter Review Board.

No bill has been crafted and publicly released yet. A meeting for the legislative delegation to hear such a bill would need to be advertised in advance. 

Photo courtesy Sen. Joe Gruters Facebook.

How does Bookstore1Sarasota serve as a model for local businesses looking to create a sense of community among readers of different generations? The statistics show that more and more young people are moving to Sarasota, and we’re really noticing that shift in the bookstore. Books are ageless and cross generations. With books, a 16 year old, a 30 year old and an 80 year old could be reading the same book, and that same book can appeal to them for different reasons. When you get those people together to talk about that book, it’s almost like time traveling. We have programs and events like the Banned Book Club and Poetry Life which bring together readers of all ages. As far as marketing to ages, we’re in such a unique position because the books do the talking. The new authors and classic authors bring people into the store, and people who come into the store want to talk about the books and what they’re reading.- Bryn Durgin, Bookstore1Sarasota 

The Island Bookshop on Venice Island, the Englewood Art Center, and Cocoa Yoga Café in North Port are being honored with community spirit awards. Randy Moore, the owner of Triple 3 Marketing made the announcement today. Moore publishes Englewood Healthy Living and South County Healthy Living. The Island Bookshop owned by Aimee Odette and Michael Rank is receiving the Venice Spirit Award, the Englewood Art Center with the Ringling College of Art and Design is receiving the Englewood Spirit Award, and Cocoa Yoga Café owned by Whitney Zora Stetler is receiving the North Port Spirit Award. “All three award recipients have made meaningful contributions to the health and wellness of our region,” Moore said. “Their shared enthusiasm for creative expression and healthy living inspires area residents and visitors every day.” Triple 3 Marketing has presented 19 spirit awards since 2018. Their other community awards include the Lee Reid Englewood Lifetime Achievement Award, Venice Lifetime Achievement Award, North Port Lifetime Achievement Award, Wildlife Champion Award, and Inspiring Artist Award. A complete list of the award recipients is posted at EnglewoodHealthyLiving.com and SouthCountyHealthyLiving.com.

Pictured: Whitney Zora Stetler owns Cocoa Yoga Cafe. Photo courtesy of Triple 3 Marketing, LLC.

Sarasota-based Purmort & Martin Insurance Agency, one of the area’s oldest and largest locally owned insurance agencies, recently acquired Lovinger Insurance in south Tampa. Located at 3210 South Dale Mabry Highway, Lovinger Insurance is a property and casualty insurance agency that primarily serves Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Lovinger Insurance will keep its current name as a DBA, while now operating under Purmort & Martin, and will retain all of its employees, including longtime owner Lynne Lovinger who will stay on as manager of the brand. Lynne Lovinger has over 25 years of experience in the insurance business and has run the Tampa agency for 20 years. 

Last month 377,775 passengers traveled through the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, compared to 347,268 passengers in December 2021. This represents an increase of 8.8%. Passengers traveling through the airport in calendar year 2022 totaled 3,847,606. This is a 21.6% increase over the previous calendar year record of 3,163,543 passengers.
Despite having 204 flight cancellations in December, partially due to Winter Storm Elliott, more passengers traveled through SRQ last month than any December in the history of the airport. The airport also shattered last year’s record of 3.1 million passengers by nearly 700,000 with over 3.8 million passengers using SRQ in 2022. In 2023, SRQ expects to continue our growth trend with record-breaking passenger numbers each month for the foreseeable future. Over the past 5 years, the airport has seen passenger traffic triple from under 1.2 million passengers in 2017 to over 3.8 million passengers in 2022. There continues to be great demand to live, work, and visit our boutique community, and its world-renowned beaches, partake in year-round outdoor activities offered, and experience arts and culture that you would normally only find in a larger city. This is why it is imperative the Airport Authority continues to expand the airport with additional aircraft gates, concessions, parking, and other amenities necessary to facilitate the increased demand impacting our community. 

United Way of South Sarasota County’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program provides FREE federal income tax preparation to individuals and families with a yearly
household income of up to $74,000. Tax preparation is completed by IRS-certified preparers and is by appointment only. Many members of the community are in financial distress this year and need all the assistance they can get. By using the VITA program taxpayers save between $200-$500 on tax preparation costs and gain tax credits and refunds! Appointments are now OPEN to schedule at one of our three VITA Locations (Venice, North Port or Englewood). You can schedule your appointment today by visiting: www.uwssc.org/vita. Our three VITA Sites will operate from February 1 st , 2023 through April 18 th , 2023. You must come to your appointment with the necessary documents. Without these documents, your appointment is subject to being rescheduled. Please visit: www.uwssc.org/vita for a full list of documents needed for your appointment. If you have questions, please contact Teri Andrews, Director of Programs, at tandrews@uwssc.org or by calling 941-484-4811 ext. 104. 

Sarasota Memorial celebrated the ongoing construction of the Cornell Family Behavioral Health Pavilion at SMH-Sarasota with a wall signing event on Thursday. Donors, leaders, and medical staff gathered to sign concrete walls with messages of love and hope, which will be sealed in the building forever. Construction on the state-of-the-art facility for both inpatient and outpatient care is slated to be completed by the end of 2023. 

Join us on March 7, 2023 at Michael's On East for a dynamic luncheon symposium centered on conversations focused on regional philanthropic topics. The luncheon will include a panel discussion to explore the ever-changing world of non-profits and honor outstanding individuals who have made a meaningful impact within the community.  

Reserve Your Tickets Here