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SRQ DAILY May 4, 2017

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"Airplanes are airplanes and airplane people are airplane people."

- Ryan Rankin, US Navy Pilot
 

[Politics]  Sarasota Race Enters Final, Volatile Stretch
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

Pointed and sometimes personal attacks mark the end of a heated Sarasota city election cycle, but the three remaining candidates—Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, Hagen Brody and Martin Hyde—each say they will spend the final days focused on their core issues and touching as many voters as possible. Voters citywide on Tuesday will elect two of the candidates to serve for the next four years.

Jennifer Ahearn-Koch

Knocking on a door this week, Ahearn-Koch found herself talking at length about tire marks and the dangers for trucks and pedestrians alike in driving around a corner by The Vue. The Tahiti Park neighborhood leaders have run a campaign driven on angst surrounding such developments, advocating a change in the level of public input before such buildings get approved, but acknowledged nothing will remove buildings already in place. She does hope the city gets further involved in infrastructure improvements to accommodate the growth. “The city doesn’t control those roads or that intersection,” she notes of the turn on U.S. 41, “but we can participate at the MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) level.” She wants further engagement with the state Department of Transportation to handle road planning.

In the final weeks of the campaign, Jennifer Ahearn-Koch hears frequently about traffic and handling the homeless issue, the latter a matter she says the city has been leading on with a Housing First approach. She does bristle when the subject of a sanctuary city, something she said she would consider at a progressive forum, comes up. She never raised or advocated fighting the government, but the Republican Party has used to matter to target her (she’s a registered Democrat). Online, she responded with a statement calling attacks “outright lies” intended to distract from bad press for Republican Hyde.

The issues she does care about? She wants to address allowable setbacks in the city, and sees how zero-lot lines that allow near adjacent construction have disrupted lives and marred city views. But she wants voters to see her as a constructive city voice. Even when she’s dealt with legal conflicts with the city, such as when Tahiti Park residents fought a waterfront development that could have brought more boat traffic to a nearby waterway, she’s wanted to maintain communication with officials. “We never have taken an action that was frivolous and just about throwing sand in the wheels. It’s always been real arguments about compatibility.”

Martin Hyde

Hyde also has needed to address a narrative set by outside forces in the final days. Critics of the Gulf Business Systems owner point to nasty divorce proceedings and notable negative interactions with police over his 18 years in Sarasota. Hyde’s never been arrested, and says most of the complaints speak to a younger, testier version of himself. “We can get better as we go along,” he says. "I’ve learned to manage my emotions better.”

He’d rather talk about fiscal discipline, something he finds lacking at City Hall. Just this week, he went to a commission meeting and critiqued the need for “any form of sanity with other people’s money.” From pension management to ending nepotism in awarding city contracts, he says someone in city leadership must learn to say no to financial irresponsibility. “I found early on as a business owner, the easiest this is to say yes,” he says, “but in the end you will go out of business if you say yes to everything.” And as the city added some 70 positions in the years after the recession, Hyde’s surprised only a handful of those have been police positions. As a commissioner, Hyde would want a bigger picture view on spending. “In practical terms, you can’t run government like a business, but you have to have a plan,” he says. “Bless them, but I don’t think the current commission or the ones running the city have the wherewithal to understand.”

At forums, he’s developed a reputation for provocation, and the Democratic Party of Sarasota sent a mailer attacking his temperament as “Just Like Trump,” a comparison to a president who won the county in November but not the city. Hyde says attacks come with running for office. “At a certain stage in life if you can’t see the irony and fun in the fact someone spent time creating artwork and spent thousands of dollars on naked aspersions, I don’t know what to tell you,” he says. “It’s funny if you don’t allow it to become bothersome.” 

Hagen Brody

Somehow, former prosecutor Hagen Brody in the waning days of the election cycle has avoided many of the personal barbs tossed at his opponents. He says he’s paid no attention to campaign noise, and continues knocking on doors and reaching voters. “I am solely focused on my campaign,” he says, “continuing to learn about the issues that are important to people.”

He does take offense at questions about his resume. The 35-year-old candidate hasn’t been heavily engaged in city government, but notes he spent years as a public servant working as a prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office. “I feel I’m the most qualified to handle the issues facing the city,” he says. “Procedures of a city commission meeting are something you can learn very quickly.” But his work on nitty-gritty legal matters, like working on the city’s anti-pill mill ordinance in 2014, will be more valuable to a city commissioner. Of course, his time at the state attorney’s office came to an inauspicious close; he resigned after realizing he’d allowed a lapse in his law license. It’s an issue he resolved quickly, and never caused the office to lose a case. The matter only comes up with the press, though, and he says voters haven’t questioned him about it. “Voters decided to send me into the next round,” he notes, referencing making the runoff after entering a field of eight candidates.

His legal experience also gives him a better grasp of matters like dealing with the homelessness. He agrees the city has been heading in the right direction. “I’m pleased to have the city and county rowing in the same direction when they were at odds just four months ago,” he says. Putting aside arguments like funding a larger shelter instead of relying on existing nonprofits to address the need for beds has been a good approach for the city, he says. But he hopes voters on Tuesday also consider which candidate can best handle issues that no-one can force coming up over the next four years, and he believes his background makes him the right fit for that job. 

Photos: Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, Martin Hyde, Hagen Brody

[Ryan Flies]  From the Cockpit Part 18: Aeronca Model 7 Champion
Philip Lederer, Phil.Lederer@srqme.com

Editor’s Note: This is part 18 of an ongoing series documenting the flights of active-duty US Navy Pilot Ryan Rankin on his journey to fly 52 planes in 52 weeks through the year 2017.

Rankin’s latest flight takes him a bit farther afield, heading to St. Matthews, SC, to fly one of the famous Aeronca Model 7 Champions. A simple tailwheel trainer, the Champ, as it’s affectionately known, was introduced to the aviation market in 1945 as a primary competitor to the Piper Cub, which Rankin flew in week seven of this year. With no frills and minimal gadgetry, these trainers emphasize the basics of stick and rudder work, he says, to the benefit of even experienced pilots. “They highlight proper flying,” he says. “The Champ is no different.”

Though a simple and uneventful 45-minute flight, Rankin says it remains one of his most meaningful yet, thanks to the hospitality he received and the people he met. A big part of the project has always been the human element and Rankin never flies alone, but when he called pilot Steve Hawley—whom he’d never met—about flying the Champ, he didn’t expect to be invited to his house for the weekend, where he slept in the guest room and shared meals with Hawley and his wife, Adele. “These people opened their home to someone they didn’t know,” says Rankin, and he saw firsthand how flying brings people together. Hawley met Adele when he was 16 and her just three years younger. Even then he would take her flying in the old biplane, impressing her with loops and turns. They still fly together.

It’s a testament to the power of flight. “Airplanes are airplanes and airplane people are airplane people,” explains Rankin. And that’s also how Rankin and Hawley, two pilots 50 years apart and flying an airplane crafted somewhere in the middle, were soon conversing like old pals. “Passions can connect people,” Rankin says. “Age is just a number at that point.”

For more about the flight in Rankin's own words and a video of the flight, follow the link below. 

Pictured: Ryan Rankin and Steve Hawley fly the Aeronca Champion. Photo courtesy of Ryan Rankin.

Ryan Flies

[Daily Shop]  The Weight of History
Philip Lederer, Phil.Lederer@srqme.com

Kindles are convenient. Piles of books, not so much. Heavy and cumbersome, the push towards electronic literature has its merits but also its drawbacks. No digital readout can match the feel of a book in your hands or capture the beauty of a well-bound tome and the folks at A. Parker’s Books over on Main Street know this fact well. With shelves filled to bursting, it’s a book-lover’s haven and, for the patient, full of buried treasure. Peruse the stacks for some light reading, but don’t forget to ask about the back room, where first editions and rare books lie in wait for the discerning customer. Closer to the front, casual collectors can find the midpoint in classic works with the weight of history but little of the cost. Find a 19th-century English translation of The Aeneid and an illustrated copy of volume one of Homer’s Iliad, published in 1853, each for less than $100. For trips to the rare books in the back room, the staff recommends calling ahead. 

Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.

A. Parker's Books, 1488 Main St., Sarasota, 941-366-2898.

[Exec Moves]  Brooke Chase Places Gilson with BMI Canada

Richard Miller of executive search firm  Brooke Chase Associates has announced the successful placement of George Gilson as South USA Sales Manager with BMI Canada. Gilson will be responsible for developing the overall sales and capturing the market share for BMI Canada. George will continue to support the established customer base for BMI Canada, as well as open doors to new opportunities in his territory. With an extensive background in sales and management with A.Y. McDonald Manufacturing, Severn Trent Services and Water Products, Gilson most recently held the position of regional manager with Fortline Waterworks. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Communications from Northern Illinois University. BMI is a master distributor of PVF (pipe, valves and fittings) commodities to the North American plumbing, industrial and HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) markets. BMI has established itself as the leader in their space in electronic processing capabilities with a fully automated system enabling ease of use. 

Brooke Chase Associates

[Expansion]  Neal Communities Opens The Estuary

Neal Communities is opening The Estuary, an enclave and exclusive community with only 50 homes, to the community on Saturday, May 6. The builder’s newest neighborhood has attracted a lot of interest, with a VIP list of 409. Neal Communities has already notched nine presales for the gated and maintenance-included community. The Estuary sits on 53 acres and is located in northwest Bradenton’s Palma Sola neighborhood. Visitors will be able to tour the Bright Meadow model at The Estuary. The homes will feature decorative architectural details and shutters, classic colonial moldings
and baseboards and professionally landscaped home sites, among other amenities. Potential homebuyers can choose between two custom-designed Tuscan and country French elevations. The floor plans will be available from the homebuilder’s Cove Series, including the Endless Summer 3, Bright Meadow and the Sea Mist and Sea Star, which are available in one-story or two-story floor plans. The layouts range from 2,181 to 2,427 square feet. The neighborhood features several natural lakes and is bordered by the scenic Robinson Preserve to the north, south and west of the property. 

Neal Communities



[TODAY]  THEATER: Boeing Boeing , April 26 – May 14

It’s the 1960s and our swingin’ Bachelor Bernard couldn’t be happier as he juggles 3 gorgeous stewardesses in his gorgeous Paris flat. His perfect world and careful planning comes to an end when his friend Robert appears and the Boeing Corporation creates a new and speedier jet. In true classic farce style, all 3 stewardesses come into town simultaneously and Bernard’s perfect life gets bumpy in this door-slamming and groovy play based on the 1965 American film starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit http://www.theplayers.org/shows/2016-2017-broadway-series/

The Players Theatre of Sarasota, 838 N. Tamiami Trl., Sarasota

[TODAY]  THEATER: Older Than Dirt , February 8 – June 11

A musical comedy providing a witty and heartfelt 360 degree view of aging. Featuring songs by Shel Silverstein, Adam Sandler, and Neil Young, this play takes the audience on a journey through the pitfalls and perks of aging, and is a part of the Sarasota Festival of New Plays.

Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 North Palm Ave.

[TODAY]  GALLERY: Marc Chagall, Flowers and the French Riviera: The Color of Dreams , February 12 – July 31, 10am–5pm daily

A first-of-its-kind, immersive exhibition of Marc Chagall’s nature-inspired artwork, on display in Sarasota’s world-renowned botanical garden. As the first botanical garden to exhibit Chagall’s work, “The Color of Dreams” also marks the first time that the profound influence of nature on the great artist is examined in-depth. Tickets and more info at www.selby.org.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota

[TODAY]  GALLERY: A Walk in the Park: Exploring Manatee's Preserves , February 17 – May 28

Featuring the work of photographer Grant Jefferies, the exhibition, which includes more than 20 photographs taken throughout Manatee County's preserves, will be on display in the second floor Rincon Gallery. The photos highlight the natural beauty of the landscapes and the wildlife that can be found in the area. Visitors may purchase tickets to the Museum online at SouthFloridaMuseum.org.

South Florida Museum , 201 W. 10th St., Brandenton

[TODAY]  GALLERY: Mind and Body Transformation by Kasia Bruniany and Lisa Flam Corin , May 3 – May 26

This two-woman exhibit features the imaginative jewelry of Lisa Flam Corin and brilliantly colored oil paintings of Kasia Bruniany. An opening reception will be held May 5 from 6-9pm. For more information and gallery hours please visit www.artuptown.com

Uptown Art, 1367 Main St., Sarasota

[SOON]  PERFORMANCE: Beatsville , May 5 – May 28

The Asolo Rep's Beatsville has its world premiere next spring, as one of the most highly anticipated new musicals of the season. It’s Greenwich Village, 1959 – the world of subterranean coffee shops, goateed artists, turtle-necked poets, and bongo-playing jazzbos. Tragically square busboy Walter Paisley wants nothing more than to be one of the beatniks, but he has no artistic talent whatsoever. When he accidentally kills a cat and hides it in a lump of clay, “Dead Cat” is declared a masterpiece, and Walter a genius.

The Asolo Repertory Theatre , 5555 North Tamiami Tr. Sarasota

[SOON]  PERFORMANCE: 5-County Honor Band Performance , May 7, 5pm

The concert will feature the Sarasota Concert Band (SCB), a local semi-professional symphonic band, and two youth groups consisting of the best middle and high school band students from a 5-county area (Sarasota, Manatee, Hardee, Desoto and Charlotte). They were chosen from an audition process this past March at Pine View School that brought in almost 250 students from 35 schools.  The auditions were open to all students playing band instruments from 6 through 12 grades from public schools, private schools, and charter schools and home schooled. Tickets can be purchased the day of the event for $15.00 at the door. 

Sarasota Opera House , 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota

[SOON]  THEATER: Stage Reading of Honor Killing By Sarah Bierstock , May 7, 3pm

A stage reading of Honor Killing. The series will take place in the Bowne’s Lab. This is a free event but reservations are required New staged readings are by The Contemporary American Playwrights. For more information please visit www.floridastudiotheatre.org

Florida Studio Theatre , 1241 N. Palm Ane., Sarasota

[SOON]  DANCE: Evolving/Revolving , May 11 – May 14, Thurs-Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2pm

A mixture of re-staged favorites by Alyson Dolan, this concert is being held to remember dancers and choreographers who have graced their stage as well as ones that are nationally celebrated. Includes new works by Sarasota's local hip-hop sensation Kris Tetris Powell and former Sarasota ballet stalward Sayward Grindley.

Jane B. Cook Theatre, 5555 N Tamiami Trl Sarasota, 34243

[SOON]  GRAB BAG: The Art of the Sketch: Sketching Class , May 12 – May 13, 1-3pm

“This sketching class intends to explore a variety of formats to develop skill in free hand drawing. The goal will e to achieve a comfort level in picking up a pen to draw while traveling, relaxing or, as many of us may need while pressed to come up with a concept for a project at hand.” Ron Haase All skill levels are welcome. The class is $50.00 for members and $75.00 for nonmembers. For more information and to register for the class please visit www.cfas.org All Sales Final

Center for Architecture , 265 South Orange Ave., Sarasota

[SOON]  MUSIC: Outdoor Pops: Hits and Home Runs , May 12 – May 13, 8pm

Join the Sarasota Orchestra for a fan-friendly Outdoor Pops concert at the Baltimore Orioles' Ed Smith Stadium featuring American Idol season 14 runner-up Clark Beckham. Get yourself a hot dog, some popcorn, and sit back to enjoy the Orchestra in the outfield. Winning Pops selections, vocals by fan favorites and a spectacular fireworks display all contribute to an evening of hits and home runs. Friday May 12th 8pm and Saturday May 13th 8pm. For more information and Tickets please visit www.Sarasotaorchestra.com

 

Ed Smith Stadium , 2700 12th St., Sarasota

[SOON]  THEATER: Reading of Sofonisba By Callie Kimball , May 14, 3pm

A stage reading of Sofonisba. The series will take place in the Bowne’s Lab. This is a free event but reservations are required New staged readings are by The Contemporary American Playwrights. For more information please visit www.floridastudiotheatre.org

 

Florida Studio Theatre , 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota

[SOON]  GRAB BAG: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom , May 18, 11am

Orphaned during her passage from Ireland, young, white Lavinia arrives on the steps of the plantation kitchen house and is placed, as an indentured servant, under the care of Belle, the master’s illegitimate slave daughter. Lavinia learns to cook, clean, and serve food, while guided by the quiet strength and love of her new family. She attempts to straddle the worlds of the kitchen and the big house, but her skin color will forever set her apart from Belle and the other slaves. Meet the author at this reading. Reservations for this event are suggested. 

Bookstore1, 12 South Palm Ave., Sarasota

[SOON]  GALLERY: Amazing Acts of the Greatest Show on Earth , May 19 – September 11

Explore the history of the Greatest Show On Earth, from the days of P.T. Barnum to the later partnership with the Ringling brothers, up to the contemporary shows from Feld Entertainment. The exhibition features original posters spanning the history of this singular brand, giving visitors the opportunity to marvel at a few of the amazing talents that have performed for the Greatest Show on Earth. Free with admission. For more information visit www.ringling.org.

The Ringling, 5401 Bayshore Rd., Sarasota

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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