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SRQ DAILY Mar 21, 2015

"Marine-economy challenges felt around our coast are also challenges - or opportunities - for innovators right here."

- Teri A. Hansen, Gulf Coast Community Foundation
 

[What Beats?]  Be Loud!
Diana Hamilton

I first encountered Susan Chapman in the flesh circa 2005. Perched on the edge of the Ken Thompson Memorial Fountain outside Commission chambers downtown at City Hall, her face channeling grumpy cat, Susan was not in a pleased-to-meet-you mood. No surprise, I guess, given her mission—first, a demand that someone be held accountable for the not one but two sewage spills into the Bay caused by a malfunctioning lift station located in her Hudson Bayou neighborhood, and secondly that the offending lift station be removed, whatever it took, forthwith, from her neighborhood.

Until some time very recently in January 2015, when it was taken down, there was a 4-by-8-foot sign posted in 2008 by the City at the corner of Osprey Avenue and Mound Street describing the whatever it took as the “the Luke Wood Park Utility Project,” cost $9,592,000.00.  By 2012, though the sign never changed, costs had risen to over $12 million. Right around that time, another spill occurred, not, by the way, the fault of the old lift station, but caused by errors made while drilling under Hudson Bayou—a task, as it turns out, that was 99 percent impossible from the get-go.

And now here we are five City Managers later (if you count interim and I do), two engineering firms sent packing, a new firm contracted with costs approaching $30 million dollars including bookoo dollars paid in PR to quell the manifest discontent of the LWPUP’s neighbors, plus a lift station now to be housed above ground in a public park and a completion date proposed closer to 2018.

And, surely, I cannot be the only person asking this one simple question.

How is that tired, old lift station at the end of Pomelo Avenue continues 11—maybe even 14—years later to just keep chugging along? Was there a real emergency emergency or did someone simply object to the smell? And if, as the Environmental Protection Agency suggests, it absolutely needed replacing, could we have made a smarter, less expensive, less oppressive choice of location? Of course we could.

We live in a City where accountability for choices made, then unmade and/or remade is diluted across a panel of five commissioners, i.e. policy makers elected in most cases by fewer than 20 percent of voters. Ideally public policy ought be built on fact and established expertise founded in the interest of the greater good, but certainly not on the resolute emotion of the moment or of the loud. Turn it any which way you want, the LWPUP is a public policy fiasco. I’m not suggesting the LWPUP fiasco be laid at the feet of the one person whose fierce forced urgency pushed such an important project along in the wrong direction, but in 2005, Susan Chapman was the loud, and listening to her has cost us plenty.

Susan Chapman’s name is not on the May City election run-off ballot, but those of her allies, Commission appointees Eileen Normille and Stan Zimmerman, are, and it was they who chose as their first act as policy makers to pay, spending unlimited taxpayer dollars—estimated to date at upwards of $150.000—in legal fees to defend Susan ad infinitum against a Sunshine complaint that could have been settled for $500.  It’s your vote. It’s time. Be loud. 

SRQ Daily Columnist Diana Hamilton, after living 35 years in Sarasota, labels herself a pragmatic optimist with radical humorist tendencies and a new found resistance to ice cream.

[Innovation]  Blue Economy Dispatch from Amelia Island
Teri A. Hansen

Saving our seas, feeding our communities. That’s the theme of the Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge, a $500,000 incentive-grant challenge launched last month by Gulf Coast Community Foundation to spur new, marketable ideas in the marine sciences. A report we released in conjunction with the Challenge outlines a veritable sea of opportunities to expand our region’s marine-sciences sector.

But sometimes, looking outward offers valuable insights on what’s happening—or could be—at home. And after a Gulf Coast staffer spent spring break on Amelia Island, we gained some powerful new perspective on innovation, sustainable seafood and coastal economics. Amelia’s historic town of Fernandina Beach may be 300 miles from here by land—and more than twice that along Florida’s coastline—but it quickly presents potential lessons for our own region.

Fernandina Beach and the waters surrounding Amelia Island gave birth to Florida’s modern shrimping industry a century ago. The change came thanks to innovators like William Burbank, a shrimper who devised new trawl designs (and whose family still hand-makes nets there today—but more on them later). Immigrant boat-builders also designed the modern shrimp boat. The rich combination of human innovation and natural resources led to decades of booming shrimp business, evidenced by photos and memories of boats docked along Front Street in scores.

But take a sightseeing cruise today, and you’ll see just a few working vessels left. One colorful tour captain named “Pajama” Dave says dirt-cheap, farm-raised shrimp imports devastated the local industry over his three decades on the island. Dave’s advice to try local dining spots that serve only wild-caught shrimp from those working boats is spot on: the fresh catch is beyond delicious—enough so to make you seriously rethink your buying habits. But Fernandina’s shrimp fleet is a shadow of its storied past, and whether tourist dining dollars or some other new strategy will sustain it remains to be seen.

A second, somewhat hidden stop for the curious visitor offers further, fascinating insights. The fourth-generation Burbank family net-making business operates amid a small, waterfront clutch of industrial buildings near the island’s northwest corner. Burbank still makes shrimp trawls to order when a local boat can save enough to invest in equipment. But the longtime innovator had to completely reinvent its core business when shrimping declined, and it now operates as Burbank Sport Nets, a leader in manufacturing nets for pro and college sports, like the backstops used in Major League Baseball stadiums. Old-timers there still weave nets (and tales) while teaching their trade to a new generation. Only now the product goes mostly to pro ball parks and college fields.

So why wax nostalgic about the ebb and flow of a northeast Florida community’s fishing industry in a column typically focused on our own region’s economy? Several reasons: Marine-economy challenges felt around our coast are also challenges—or opportunities—for innovators right here. Sustainable seafood production is a global need, but innovative (and potentially lucrative) solutions can be hatched locally. Plus, we have our own great stories of repurpose and reinvention, like the popular new seafood exports being produced in our historic fishing village of Cortez. I invite you to read our Blue Economy report for that story and more like it.

We created the Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge to incite new ideas that will diversify our economy while benefitting our communities. But with many of the same challenges faced by other coastal regions, we believe solutions developed right here can be scaled to impact the world. 

SRQ Daily Columnist Teri A Hansen is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, whose Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge can be found online at www.GulfCoastChallenge.org

Read the Blue Economy report at GulfCoastCF.org

[From David Sells]  Vote for Qualifications, Not Party

My wife and I moved to Sarasota a little over a year ago and live in District 2.   We were planning to vote in the upcoming election and asked our politically active friends who they planned to support.  They indicated they were planning to support the Democratic candidate running for Commissioner in District 2.  We thought this was odd as commissioners are supposedly nonpartisan.  We decided to attend the all candidates forum at the Sarasota Garden Club to hear the views of the various candidates for this office.  

We were surprised there was such a small turnout (perhaps 40 people or so) to view the forum and wondered if this was an indication that Sarasotans are indifferent to the difficult issues that will face the five Commissioners over the next four years.  Even more surprising and shocking to us was that the Democrat running for District 2 Commissioner performed the worst by far of the four candidates that were present.  In our opinion, her answers were sometimes evasive, always long-winded, filled with meaningless platitudes and showed a very limited depth of understanding of the issues the Sarasota City Commission has faced in the past and will face in the future.

Regardless of her intentions, we feel that this candidate lacks the background and skills necessary to deal with the complex issues that will come before the City Commission over the next four years.  Sarasota deserves better.  We do feel, however, that based on the performances we observed, the two Commissioners who were appointed to fill vacancies last November were the most qualified of the four candidates at the forum.  I would be happy to discuss my views with anyone who is interested. 

As a footnote, we recently received a flyer from the Sarasota County Democratic Party identifying Liz Alpert as the only Democrat in the race and showing a sample ballot marked to vote for her.  We are extremely disappointed that the Democratic Party introduced partisanship into this election.  

David V. Sells, Sarasota, in response to Susan Nilon's "Nonpartisan Doesn't Mean Nonpartisan" column in the March 14 edition of SRQ Daily



[SCOOP]  Coquina Beach Named One of the Top 10 Beaches for Perfect Sand

The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau recently announced that Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island has been named one of the world’s top island beaches for perfect sand, by Conde Nast Traveler Readers. The popular travel magazine recently released the winners of its annual Readers’ Choice Awards, which ranks top cities, hotels, resorts, spas and cruiselines in the world, based on readers’ votes. The only U.S. islands beach on the list, Coquina clinched the No. 5 spot. Coquina is described by Conde Nast Traveler as a “the opposite of South Beach: It’s laid-back, bordered by towering pines, and boasts perfect, unspoiled sand as fine as powder. It’s also the longest stretch of sand on Anna Maria—uninterrupted, but for remnants of old piers jutting out into the water.”  "This ranking confirms how special Coquina Beach is not only to our community, but to visitors as well,” said Elliott Falcione, executive director at the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Coquina is just one of the Bradenton Area’s beautiful sugar white-sand beaches, and we are thrilled that it continues to set us apart from others around the state, country and world while maintaining its authentic Florida charm.”  

Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau

[SOON]  Goodwill International Training Center Hosts LEAD2015 Live Simulcast

Goodwill Manasota will be hosting a live simulcast for the LEAD2015, an international leadership summit produced by HR.com. On March 30 and 31, LEAD2015 will present 22 of the world’s most thought-provoking speakers, each offering an inspiring talk. This event, which takes place live at the Four Seasons Resort in Dallas, Texas, will be broadcast to many remote locations, including Goodwill Manasota’s Corporate Campus and International Training Center in Bradenton.  President Bill Clinton will be delivering the keynote address. Also speaking are Me to We and Free the Children founder Craig Kielburger, Freedom Writers founder Erin Gruwell, Ken Blanchard Companies co-founder and chief spiritual officer Ken Blanchard, and many more.  Tickets range from $59 for students and teachers, $69 for veterans and up to $179 for general one-day attendance, or $79 for students and teachers, $99 for veterans and up to $249 for two-day attendance. Tickets can be purchased at experiencegoodwill.org through the link for "Events/Classes." 

  

Goodwill Manasota

[SCOOP]  Selah Freedom Takes Tallahassee

Selah Freedom was in Tallahassee recently to share its mission with Speaker of the House, Steve Crisafulli, and State Representatives Ray Pilon and Ross Spano. Selah Freedom celebrated its accomplishments and recognition as the statewide model for survivor programming.  Selah’s leader advocates in Tallahassee are enthusiastic champions for its cause and are in the process of  developing ways to support  Selah Freedom through funding for the organization’s Outreach and Residential arms and to ultimately abolish human trafficking in Florida.

  

Selah Freedom

[SOON]  Kuyasa Kids Free Concert In Downtown Sarasota

The Kuyasa Kids, Horizon International’s acclaimed ambassador choir from Capetown, South Africa, will be performing in in a free concert on Wednesday March 25 from 7- 8 pm at the First United Methodist Church, Downtown Sarasota. The purpose of the Spring Choir Tour is to encourage Americans to sponsor African children and youth who have lost their parents to the AIDS pandemic. "These young energetic children  from ages 10 to 17 perform an amazing hour long concert with so much heart and soul that it keeps the audience smiling and inspired long after the concert ends",  said Winston Clark, Coordinator of Kuyasa Kids Tour.  

Horizon International

[SCOOP]  Sarasota Opera Announces Cast Change in Puccini's Tosca

Longtime Sarasota Opera favorite, baritone Todd Thomas, will return to Sarasota Opera on March 25 to assume the role of Baron Scarpia for the final two performances (March 25 and 27) in this season’s production of Puccini’s Tosca. Mark Walters, who has won critical acclaim this season for his performance in the role, will have his last performance on Sunday, March 22. “Mark Walter has given a fabulous performance this season,” says Richard Russell, Sarasota Opera’s Executive Director. “In planning this season we found that he couldn’t sing the last two performances due to a previous commitment, so we were delighted that Todd Thomas was available to finish the run. He is a longtime favorite of the audience and ours, and Scarpia is one of his signature roles. Mr. Thomas made his debut with Sarasota Opera in the 1993 production of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West and has since returned to perform leading roles in 6 subsequent productions. He last performed the role of Scarpia with Sarasota Opera in 2004. Other appearances include leading roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, and New York City Opera. Mr. Thomas’ first performance on March 25 will coincide with another special occasion. Soprano Kara Shay Thomson, who has returned to the title role ofTosca this season, will mark her 100th performance of the role on Wednesday, March 25th. Ms. Thomson debuted the role of Floria Tosca at Sarasota Opera in 2009 and has since gone onto singe the role at companies around the United States including Atlanta Opera, Portland Opera, and Utah Opera. 

Sarasota Opera

[SCOOP]  Summer Positions Open at IMG Academy

IMG Academy is seeking candidates for summer 2015 to fill more than 200 employment openings. Priority is  given to local candidates for these seasonal positions. Additionally, the organization is seeking individuals to fill more than 30 full and part-time year-round positions. IMG Academy employs more than 700 individuals among its full and part-time staff. Qualified job-seekers have a chance to pursue opportunities across a wide variety of interested, including Academics, Athletics and Hospitality to Marketing, Sales, Residential Life, Security, Transportation, Food Services, Grounds/Maintenance, Event Operations and more.  IMG provides a one-of-kind environment that embraces diverse backgrounds, values, and beliefs. The students and athletes IMG Academy serves range in age and level from youth to professional and hail from nearly 100 countries, creating a dynamic campus unlike any other. IMG Academy also offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes: medical, dental and vision insurance; 401(k) retirement plan; flexible spending account; competitive pay; paid time off and holidays; life insurance; disability program; and employee discounts. All opportunities are posted online and frequently updated. 

IMG Academy

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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