It’s a drought

The drought continues here in Sarasota – for the past two years we have had less than normal rainfall and our water supplies continue to be depleted.

At city hall a demonstration rain barrel project was recently put in place.

Stop by and check it out sometime.

Arbor Day 2008

Each year the city of Sarasota celebrates Arbor Day by planting a tree at one of the schools in the city.

This year an oak was planted at Bay Haven School.

First through fourth grade students attended the ceremony. The students helped with he planting and sang a couple songs related to trees.

Thanks to the City of Sarasota, including Public Works staff and City Commissioners for participating in the celebration.

Thanks also to the staff and teachers at Bay Haven for organizing this event - particularly to Principal Betsy Asheim-Dean, Art Teacher Deb Herbert and Music Teacher Kim Miles.

Our Sarasota School system and their teachers and staff are supported by the community and they provide an excellent education for our community's children. Thank you!

Ibis in the Yard

Have you seen flocks of Ibis roaming around he neighborhoods? Probing the grass and under plants for food.



The particular yard pictured above, has not had insecticides applied in years. There are likely to be numerous critters available for these native birds.

Sarasota's Fertilizer Regulation ordinances limit not only fertilizer but also require best practices for insecticides. This can give our native species more friendly habitat for foraging.

If you want to see these birds in your yard you might consider what you put on your yard.

Laurel Park Celebrates

A few weeks ago Laurel Park, one of Sarasota's most charming neighborhoods, received the news that they had been accepted as a National Historic District. They documentation for this designation was time consuming but a labor of love for all involved.

Congratulations!

On another note (pun intended), Laurel Park also recently had another of their "Tunes in the Park" neighborhood gatherings. Food, drinks, music and socializing were in abundance. Neighborhood social events like this build community.

Uniquely Sarasota

Anna's Deli is featured in the Pelican Press:

For almost four decades, Anna's Deli has had a simple formula for success: Make and serve sandwiches out of fresh, high-quality ingredients and don't skimp on the filling.



If you haven't been to Anna's, you should give it a try. In downtown Sarasota they are located on Orange across from City Hall.

Sarasota's unique businesses offer some of the best to our community. They contribute good products and services while improving or local economy.

Stop in and see them sometime.

Native Landscape

To Feed the Birds, First Feed the Bugs - This is the headline from a recent NY Times article. The article points out that birds evolved along with native vegetation. When the landscape is replaced with exotic vegetation, habitat and food for the birds disappears. Habitat for the bugs and the rest of the "eco-chain" also disappears.

The article is interesting a worth a read.

Changing Sarasota

Below are two pictures of the Payne Park area of Sarasota. The first picture shows what the park and surrounding area looks like today. The second is a postcard picture of the same area when the baseball field and trailer park were still there (about 1970?).

The area just east of Payne Park has been the subject of a proposed development for the last two years. Concerns about height, density and traffic have resulted in a number of changes to the original plan.

More recently a design charette was conducted to find "community consensus" concerning these issues. A description of the charette and the result can be found at School Avenue Charette website.

The process will continue to the Planning Board and the City Commission in the next month or so.

[The picture showing the current view of Payne Park is from the Charette website. There are other aerial pictures of this site also.]