« Back To SRQ Daily Archive

SRQ DAILY Feb 18, 2016

Freshly Squeezed Content Every Morning

Freshly Squeezed Content Every Morning

"We have die-hard Orioles fans who will want to come here for the whole month and go to every game."

- Rob Wells, Visit Sarasota County
 

[Sports]  Orioles Boast $81M Sarasota Impact
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

The Baltimore Orioles generated an economic impact of $81 million, according to a study just released by Sarasota County. And officials with the Major League Baseball club say the increasing traffic in terms of tourists from the Baltimore area has proven a valuable asset for the region. “As our year-round activities continue to expand in Sarasota, the Orioles are proud that our $81-million economic impact in the region far exceeds industry and expert projections,” said David Rovine, vice president, Orioles-Sarasota. “The Orioles will continue to drive economic impact locally with an even more robust schedule in the coming years.”

Tourism officials note the number of visitors to the region coming from the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area reached record levels last year; some 26,000 visitors came here from the Mid-Atlantic Region. Rob Wells, director of sports for Visit Sarasota County, credits the presence of spring training for much of that traffic. “We have die-hard Orioles fans who will want to come here for the whole month and go to every game,” he said. But it’s not just fans of the Os that visit Sarasota for baseball. Many spring training enthusiasts will attend games throughout the state, including at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota or at McKechnie Field in Bradenton, the Pittsburgh Pirates spring training home. 

The relationship has also increased marketing opportunities for the region in the Mid-Atlantic. As part of a deal with Sarasota County to headquarter Orioles spring training in Ed Smith Stadium and conduct other operations at the Buck O’Neil Baseball Complex, the Orioles also provide $1 million worth of display and broadcast advertising, and each year the Orioles host a Sarasota Day at Camden Yards in Baltimore. 

Orioles officials point to the new study as evidence the team has proven to be a net positive for the community, despite criticism when a deal was inked in 2009 for the county to renovate Ed Smith to attract the Orioles here. “At the time, the Orioles and industry analysts estimated that we would deliver approximately $40 million in annual economic impact, yet we had great confidence that our new partnership would produce substantially more than those estimates and ultimately inspire an entirely new and mutually-beneficial Spring Training model,” said John Angelos, Orioles executive vice president. 

[Exec Moves]  Poole Named Partner at Syprett Meshad

Family and criminal law attorney Kenneth M. Poole, Jr. has been named a partner in the Sarasota law firm of Syprett Meshad. Poole joined the firm in 2009 and has focused his practice on assisting clients in a wide variety of marital, divorce and domestic-related issues including child custody and child support issues. He is trained in collaborative law. His practice includes criminal defense cases for the firm, ranging from traffic tickets to felony charges. 

Syprett Meshad

[Recognition]  Plymouth Harbor Earns Gold Seal

Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay, a not-for-profit Life Plan Community, will host an event on Feb. 26 to celebrate receiving the Governor’s Gold Seal Award for Excellence for the Smith Care Center. The award recognizes skilled nursing facilities in the state of Florida that demonstrate excellence in long-term care, promote stability of the industry and facilitate the physical, social and emotional well-being of nursing center residents. The event will begin at 4:30pm in Plymouth Harbor’s Mayflower Restaurant with remarks from President/CEO Harry Hobson and Vice President of Health Services Joe Devore, followed by a reception. 

Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay

[Opening]  Neal Opening Villa Amalfi

Neal Communities, a Lakewood Ranch-based private homebuilder, will mark the grand opening of Sarasota’s Villa Amalfi community on Saturday. The gated community offers vacation-style living in north Sarasota, with homes starting at $238,990. Eight of the 92 maintenance-included villas have already been sold in pre-sales. Villa Amalfi is located on 18 acres at the corner of Lockwood Ridge Road and Honore Avenue, and features a pool, spa and cabana as part of the community’s vacation lifestyle. 

Neal Communities

[Letter from Adam Tebrugge]  Hear Jones Discuss Criminal Justice Reform

The numbers are staggering. With 5  percent of the world’s population, the U.S.A. has nearly 25 percent of its prisoners.  More than 2 million Americans are behind bars and 70 million have criminal records that keep them from getting jobs, caring for their families and participating in civic life.

There is a growing realization that mass incarceration is one of the primary issues we face as a society. Throughout the country, people of all political persuasions are coming together to discuss solutions. Can we truly reduce our incarcerated population, reintegrate former prisoners into our communities, and maintain public safety? In Florida, we funnel more than $2 billion a year into our Department of Corrections. Can we allocate some of the resources we use on prisons and jails and instead focus on services for victims, improved resources for law enforcement and rehabilitation of offenders?

Van Jones is coming to Sarasota to help us begin those conversations. A 1993 graduate of Yale Law School, Van Jones has devoted his career to improving conditions across all of society’s strata. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center to work for better schools, cleaner environment, and more opportunities for young people and working people in urban centers. He later turned his attention to the environment and released his first book, The Green Collar Economy, which became a bestseller in 2008. In 2013, he was hired by CNN to cohost Crossfire with Newt Gingrich, and he continues to provide political commentary on that network on a regular basis.

Perhaps his most audacious goal is found in the hashtag of his newest organization, #cut50, which wants to reduce incarceration in the United States by 50 percent within 10 years. With #cut50, Van Jones is helping to drive the national bipartisan conversation on criminal justice reform. He has been instrumental in building support for the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, which would reform federal prison sentencing, reduce automatic and harsh punishments, and increase support for rehabilitation programs. As he says on his website: “We need a massive groundswell of support—grassroots activists, formerly incarcerated people, influencers, artists—to pressure Congress and the President to take action.”

In November of 2015, I was fortunate enough to attend the “Operation Reform” conference that Van organized and hosted in Jacksonville. People from around the country came together to discuss the many challenges we will face as we reform our broken system. At Operation Reform, former prisoners sat next to businessmen, attorneys learned from social workers, Republicans and Democrats carried on civil conversations about policy. And throughout the two days, Van Jones was everywhere. He is an inspirational speaker, good listener and fierce advocate for reform. We are fortunate that he is coming to our area and I hope that you can attend.  All of us can work together to build the type of system that will truly deliver “justice for all.”

The event will be on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7:30pm at the Sainer Pavilion at New College. Ticket information is here: https://goo.gl/qY4uCr Proceeds benefit Project 180 and the Boxser Diversity Initiative.

Adam Tebrugge is a Sarasota attorney. 

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

Copyright © 2024 by SRQ Media Group, 331 South Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236.
Powered by Sarasota Web Design | Unsubscribe

Read More

Where Oil Meets Water

Where Oil Meets Water

Phil Lederer | Mar 1, 2024

Freedom to Wander

Freedom to Wander

Laura Paquette | Mar 1, 2024

Drive and Dine

Drive and Dine

Laura Paquette | Mar 1, 2024

A Mesmerizing Journey

A Mesmerizing Journey

Barbie Heit | Mar 1, 2024