Siesta Key,  and Longboat Key

Local Issues 2003

Sarasota County grapples with obnoxious signage along U.S. 41. At the same time a panel wants to make it a designated scenic highway.

State pays for gas tank spill at Mr. CB's.

Parts of Beneva Rd. are like a broken trail but aren't scheduled to be repaved until 2005

After centuries of not enforcing the sale of  fireworks in Florida government wants to get serious about banning them. The owners of this store in Sarasota have seven stores.

* DEP head reverses his staff's decision and disallows 2,000 acre OMC phosphate mine in Manatee County. The DEP head followed the same conclusions as a judge who said that the original DEP ruling was a disgrace. The phosphate mine stood to pollute the Peace River. Bravo to the Judge and the DEP head

* Manatee County says they want $3 million in unpaid water bills from Sarasota County. Sarasota County left some water valves open and exceeded the contract usage amount by 2 million gallons. Thus Manatee County is owed the $3 million impact fee. OK where is the $3 million dollar water valve man

* Sarasota County to drop Chamber and start it's own "Economic Development" Division? We'll find out in January if its so.

* 40 uncovers stretch of I-75 south of Clarke Road headed to Venice has extreme amount of accidents. Experts think its the asphalt when it gets wet.

* Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead put a stop to access to public records over the internet on Tuesday. The order will be in place for 19 months to allow a committee to come up with some suggestions on how to handle public information.

* New report shows Sarasota County has high rates of , domestic violence, colorectal lung, breast cancer,  and , melanoma based on a  study released by the Sarasota Community Health Improvement Project. For more info contact: Cassie Grove at 365-8751.

* Graduation rates in Manatee county go from 56% to 74% after schools raise attendance age to 18 from 16. Bravo to the school system, Sheriff Charlie Wells and John McKay who were responsible for initiating the change

* Sheriff Balkwill wants to take over Sailor Circus under the PALS program. The school district currently runs the circus.

Water, Water..no where
Sarasota County has taken over (bought) most if not all of the private water districts. What they have taken over is a conglomeration of water service companies that need millions of dollars of infrastructure. Water/sewer rates used to be around $35 per month. They are now approaching $60 per month. The county wants to raise rates again. Perhaps the issue is not whether the county should have bought the private water companies but whether they should have been paid to take over this ailing systems. If water rates continue to rise some will be paying as much for water as they do for electric. Water is free:) but not in Sarasota County.

OK the word is out in this Gulf Gate Woods subdivision....the speed limit is 25. Next we'll see if law enforcement backs it up?

* Dr. Louis Robison, interim principal of Booker Middle School, passed up for Sarasota School Superintendent. Why?

Local esthetics
Sarasota County Commissioners want to enhance the appearance of the county. They have taken up issues such as stricter commercial signage and whether to make Wal-Mart type stores produce two different style buildings if they want to have two or more stores in the county. These concepts are very admirable. The signage issue is long overdue. (See our local issues page). However, there is something about telling a company they can't have all their buildings look alike that just doesn't sit right.

* Manatee water supply to Sarasota will drop from 14 million gallons a day to 5 million gallons a day. The contract for water will last until 2025. What then? We'll let you know.

* Sarasota County wins $3,000,000 in reduced water fees it owed Manatee; Manatee County wins 4 million gallons back a day of water that  it owed Sarasota County. Everybody smiles :) The extra $3 mill Sarasota owed was from the county leaving a valve open that consumed extra water. Was it really water down the drain?

* So what took the SHT so long to ban handgun sales in their newspaper? A murder. Common sense would have told anyone that promoting the sale of guns would facilatate murder. E-Bay has banned the sale of gun's for years and they are only eight years old. The SHT is over 50 years old. Next question is why do they carry adult escort ads?

* Sarasota Memorial lays off 21 workers for a total of 42 layoffs. The savings will amount to over $3 million dollars.

* Venice looks to set up it's own EMS service and drop using Sarasota County. Economy of scale would dictate that wouldn't be a smart move.

* Almost a million dollars for "Homeland Security" in Sarasota County? Sarasota County will have to decide if they will match Federal funds to support the grant. 

Do we want more high rise condos or houses blocking views?

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