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SRQ DAILY Jan 31, 2015

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"In consideration of our quest, we hired a mentor by the name of Robert Marbut, and though we applied some of his teachings, we felt that we knew better than to adopt his institution, and now stand poised to cross the threshold of realizing our own ability to end this crisis creatively."

- Steve McAllister
 

[On Politics]  Fix Broken Tax Loophole
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan

Incredible as it sounds, illegal immigrants have been cashing in on a tax loophole and receiving more than $4 billion each year from the federal government.  Yet the Obama Administration has refused to close this loophole.  In fact, in his State of the Union address earlier this week, the President proposed to make permanent the tax policies of the 2009 Stimulus which helped quadruple these payouts to illegals!   

The loophole is a refundable tax credit intended to help hard-working American families with children.  Known as the Additional Child Tax Credit, families are able to receive up to $1,000 per child.  Unbelievably, illegal immigrants have been able to claim this tax credit even without a Social Security number.  

By abusing the child tax credit, illegals have received average payments of $1,800, with some receiving more than $10,000, according to the Treasury Department.  The abuse doesn’t end there—one news outlet has reported that a group of illegal immigrants in Indiana recently received $30,000 after claiming over 20 dependents that live in Mexico and have never even been to the United States. 

The United States tax code should not reward those who enter our country illegally!

In the last Congress, I co-sponsored legislation to end the abuse of the Child Tax Credit by requiring those filing a claim to provide a Social Security number – something illegal immigrants don’t have.  I intend to cosponsor this bill when it is reintroduced this year.  If enacted, it would save taxpayers billions over the next decade. 

It’s time we put an end to this waste, fraud and abuse! 

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, is co-Chairman of Florida

[On Politics]  Sarasota's Heroic Journey to End Homelessness
Steve McAllister

When Joseph Campbell describes the monomyth, the Hero's journey that is woven through each of our mythologies and traditions, he speaks of a moment that he calls "crossing the first threshold.” We usually meet our hero in the ordinary world, he receives the call to adventure, refuses the call until he meets a mentor, and then decides to rise to his true capability. This is when he crosses the first threshold.

The heroic journey Sarasota is on, which is shared by civilized communities around the world, has the end of homelessness as its destination. Our call to adventure was outlined in the Step Up Plan To End Homelessness In Sarasota County In Ten Years, and was summarily declined when first offered to our local government representatives. In consideration of our quest, we hired a mentor by the name of Robert Marbut, and though we applied some of his teachings, we felt that we knew better than to adopt his institution, and now stand poised to cross the threshold of realizing our own ability to end this crisis creatively.

As we arise to be heroic, we are blessed to have the heroic gene among us, as some have already crossed the threshold. The Housing First initiative spear-headed by Harvey Vengroff at the Oak Ridge Apartments shows the possibility of lives being changed through cooperative endeavor. Already we can see, as we open up to the reality of homes as an answer to homelessness, that allies in Utah, Colorado and elsewhere are ready to help us on our journey, so that together we may overcome the adversaries and challenges that await us.

We can reach this goal of ending homelessness, but as with all hero's journeys, we must let go of who we have been in order to become what we wish to be. According to homeless advocate Tom Rebman, who is living homeless in a number of Florida cities to gauge their effectiveness in dealing with homelessness, Sarasota is no longer the meanest city to homeless people. Should we truly wish to reinvent ourselves and rise to our fullest potential, it will be by becoming the most loving city to homeless people through a Housing First initiative. 



[TODAY]  Breakfast Stout & Donuts at Bradenton Farmer's Market

Darwin Brewing Company, Turner’s Donuts and Perq Coffee Bar have formed a unique  partnership at the Bradenton Farmers’ Market. Darwin brewer, Leslie Shore, has created a new breakfast stout in collaboration with Perq Coffee Bar and Turner’s Donut. The stout will feature coffee beans from Perq and the famous Turner donut holes in the fermentation process. The stout was limitedly released for tastings in the Darwin Brewing Co. taproom but will be back again this spring and represents the best of creative collaborations. Come chat with the brewers from Darwin and beat the wait for the second release with free samples of the brew along with donuts from Turner’s at the downtown Bradenton Farmers’ Market from 10am-1pm today. 

Realize Bradenton

[SOON]  Ringling Underground Returns on February 5

A fresh slate of bands and some of the best up-and-coming local artists will usher in the new season of Ringling Underground starting on February 5. Ringling Underground is a block-party style event that features three indie bands, showcases contemporary artists in the Courtyard of the Museum of Art, and allows guest to view the galleries in the Searing Wing including the James Turrell Skyspace “Joseph’s Coat” from 8-11 pm the first Thursday of the month from February-April and September-November. The February 5 edition will open with Sarasota-based Hymn for Her. These self-described “Hell’s Angels meet the Amish” performers combine country blues with rock as they tour the country in their 1961 Bambi Airstream trailer. Next, Bulgarian-born Geri X will come down from Tampa to bring her singing and songwriting to Sarasota. Her classical training influences her, but she tries to bare her soul and connect to her audience emotionally through her music. The headliner will be Triathalon, a three-man group from Savannah, Georgia who describe their music as blend of Motown and surf sound with a dose of experimental “sketchiness.” The featured exhibition will be “Seeing the Unseen,”  a collection of contemporary Chinese photography and film. Throughout the event, visitors are invited to explore the photography and mirror tricks used by Li Wei, one of the artists in the exhibition, who soared about the skies of the Courtyard of the Museum of Art last November.  

Ringling Underground

[SCOOP]  Forty Carrots Free Community Outreach Expansion

Area donors are joining together to support an expansion of free parenting education and mental health services offered by Forty Carrots Family Center.  The agency has recently received several generous grants and gifts totaling more than $250,000 designated for its Community Outreach Program to help reach the goal of increasing free services by over 40%.  Forty Carrots Free Community Outreach program travels into the community five days a week fostering essential parent-child bonds, preventing child abuse and increasing school readiness for children from all walks of life.  In addition to services offered at the Family Center, classes take place at 27 partner agency locations throughout Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Recent donations in support of this effort were made by: Dart Foundation; Sarasota County Government; Elizabeth Moore; William G. and Marie Selby Foundation; Allen Wirtz Nobbe and Jo Bowen Nobbe Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County; Ashley Kozel; Montei Foundation; Mildred & Bernard Doyle Foundation; Wilson Wood Foundation; Heron Creek Community Foundation; Scott & Annie Loratan; The George J. and Alice Pugh Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County; Lakewood Ranch Community Fund of the Manatee Community Foundation; and two major donors who prefer to remain anonymous. 

Forty Carrots Family Center.

[SOON]  Veteran Hearing Awareness Forum

There are 88,000 veterans residing in Sarasota/Manatee counties and 20%, or 17,600, have some level of hearing loss. In order to ensure veterans have the most current information available, the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) - Sarasota/Manatee Chapter and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County are hosting a free event for veterans and families affected by hearing loss.  Often overshadowed by the more visible and publicized wounds of war, hearing loss remains the number one service-connected disability for military members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, followed by tinnitus and PTSD.  The Interactive Veteran Hearing Symposium on February 7 from 9am to 1pm  at the Community Foundation of Sarasota will feature a panel of hearing loss experts and the latest information on technology, services, and communication strategies.   Complimentary breakfast and lunch plus door prizes and entertainment will be available. RSVP at president@hlas.org . 

Hearing Loss Association of America

[SCOOP]  Earn a Certificate of Nonprofit Board Consulting

Gulf Coast Community Foundation is now accepting applications for consultants to work with local nonprofit organizations through its Invest in Incredible initiative. Invest in Incredible, or I3, was created to assist regional nonprofit partners in strengthening their operational effectiveness and management so they can best meet their mission. Selected applicants will complete a three-day training offered by BoardSource, the national expert in board governance, and receive a Certificate of Nonprofit Board Consulting. Once trained, individuals will join Gulf Coast's cohort of local Invest in Incredible consultants. The deadline to apply is 4 pm on Friday, February 27. I3 supports nonprofit organizations poised to increase their impact and organizational capacity through customized consulting in areas such as board governance, strategic planning, fundraising, and more. Qualified consultant candidates will have professional backgrounds in one or more of these areas and must have a desire to master the field of nonprofit board governance.  I3 is available to 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that operate in Gulf Coast's region. We invite our charitable partners interested in receiving short-or long-term governance consulting support to learn more about the program and then contact us to have a conversation about your specific goals.   

Gulf Coast Community Foundation

[SCOOP]  Rosinsky Appointed Florida Goodwill Association President

Bob Rosinsky, president & CEO of Goodwill Manasota, was recently appointed as the president of the Florida Goodwill Association (FGA). Rosinsky has devoted 42 years of his professional career to Goodwill and has served as the president & CEO of Goodwill Manasota since 2012. The FGA is made up of nine territories of Goodwill stores throughout the states of Florida and Alabama. The association was formed approximately five years ago and began as a way for Goodwills throughout the state to meet and discuss day-to-day operations – as well as big picture topics and ideas – in order to improve the impact and reach of Goodwill in each surrounding territory. Within FGA, sub-groups communicate about a variety of topics: donated goods/retail, recycling, mission services, marketing/branding, risk management and human resources. “I am honored to begin this new role as president of the Florida Goodwill Association because I am excited to see the new advances we can make that will help us to have an even larger impact on our state – we succeed, because we are all working towards the same goals: stronger local economies, a stronger and more empowered workforce, and stronger communities. This association opens the door for creative and effective communication; we are excited to partner with other Goodwills as we continue to change lives through the power of work, ” said Rosinsky. 

Goodwill Manasota

SRQ Media Group

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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