The Greening of Main

From an article in today's SHT concerning the proposed downtown green policy:

The intersection of Main Street and Palm Avenue has been due for a makeover for more than four years, with as much as $130,000 set aside to install plants, brick and benches.

But for those same four years, the project has been mired in debate.

On one side, members of the downtown group Save Our Sarasota want more trees and plants. On the other side merchants and some downtown residents prefer an urban look with more brick and fewer plants.

But everyone agrees Main and Palm is a key intersection, and ought to be a model for other intersections.

Now, after several failed attempts at compromise, city officials have appointed a committee to break the stalemate.

The five-member group -- which consists of a property owner, a restaurateur, a gardener, a downtown condo resident and a person who has lobbied in the past for more greenery downtown -- will have its first meeting Tuesday to talk about improvements at Main Street and Palm Avenue.

.................

Janice Green, who voiced concerns about an earlier plan to spruce up the intersection, hopes that the committee will come up with something more palatable.

"There has to be some greenery so you don't feel overwhelmed," Green said. "Even New York City has lots of trees on the east side.

"Green is chairwoman of Save Our Sarasota, a group that has lobbied against several proposals to make downtown more urban.

"Let's see what they come up with," Green said. "So far, SOS is very pleased with what is going on. I think it is a wonderful first step."

Carol Reynolds, also a member of Save Our Sarasota, will serve on the committee.

Have I wiped the internet or something?

Since the Cataclysmic Computer Crash of Twenty Oh Eight, the Internet has been very strange... Apple and I are having problems letting me re-download the purchases I lost (to their credit, they acknowledge there's an issue and they're working on it -- meaning, they're not blaming me and saying "Tough!"), I had a problem activating a brand new copy of Final Draft (got that worked out, too,

CITY HALL CLOSES FOR JULY 4th

City of Sarasota administration offices will be closed Fri., July 4, 2008 in observance of Independence Day. The closing includes City Hall, the Federal Building and Public Works. There will be no collection of garbage, recyclables, yard waste and bulk waste.

Sarasota real estate market stabilizing

There was an interesting article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune today about whether the Sarasota real estate market has hit bottom or not. Take a look a the chart below. This was in the newspaper recently. It shows the fluctuation in the median home ...

WSLR News for June 27, 2008

Florida could become sunshine energy center. Also rabid racoons and eye-popping whales.

To check on Pete and Dallas click here.

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Existing home sales rise on price drop

Realtors' group says the number of existing homes sold in May gained 2% to an annual rate of nearly 5 million. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Sales of existing homes rose slightly more than expected in May as home buyers responded to plummeting home pr...

Elder Statesman Celebrates 96th Birthday!

Ed Lyman, our Honored Elder Statesman of the FWA-Sarasota Literati celebrated his 96th birthday (yes, 96, that is NOT a typo) on Tuesday, June 24th. At our FWA-Sarasota meeting last night, Ed gave US a gift by sharing another one of his sly, dry, witty and humorous stories, this one titled "VIAGRA FALLS". For the members who weren't there, Ed's story was about
... uh ... well ... it's kinda hard to explain. I guess you just had to be there, know what I mean?

Belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ED!!! And best wishes for at least another 50 years of writing!

For anyone who wants to send a birthday wish to Ed, his email address is elyman24@comcast.net.

Submitted by
Russ Heitz

New Exhibitors : June Update

Efest is proud to introduce you our newest list of Exhibitors. For a complete list visit us at www.efest.us

1. Kook Wear
2. Sarasota Architectural Salvage
3. Blue Sky Energy Solutions
4. Bloom Organics
5. East West Health Center
6. Sarasota Healing Arts
7. Kennedy Chiropractic Clinic
8. Nikken
9. The Chameleon Boutique
10. Florida FarmLink
11. DreazEnergy Unlimited

Finally, a bit of good-ish news!

I received a rejection notice today from WILDsound, which was running a TV spec script contest. The good news about it is that I'd made it to the finals and that the only thing that prevented me from winning was that the script got a little muddled at the end according to the (omigod for real) feedback in the rejection. The spec script was for Masters of Horror and called "Your Own Personal

Bird Key Home Under Contract

Clients of mine entered into a contract to purchase this lovely Bird Key home. I asked their permission to write about it here. The home is a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom on Pheasant Way. The home is renovated and sits on a large, private lot ...

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