WalMart Proposes Urban Model Superstore for City Neighborhood Edge

This proposal has stirred up many neighbors and small businesses in nearby downtown Sarasota.  Folks are concerned about a very large, 24/7 operation that does not have the infrastructure or buffering to accommodate such a store.  Nearby businesses are concerned by the potential competitive imbalance.

Candy Spaulding wrote an excellent Guest Editorial to the Sarasota Herald tribune that discusses these issues.  Please take a look at this well written article.

Historic Preservation News

HISTORIC BUILDINGS RECOGNIZED

Sarasota, FL: An awards presentation honoring recent historic preservation designees will take place Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts. A new historic district and nine structures, many owned by the City of Sarasota, will be recognized.

The honorees include:

• Umbrella House, 1300 Westway Drive
• Federal Building, 111 S. Orange Avenue
• City Hall, 1565 First Street
• Blue Pagoda Building, 655 N. Tamiami Trail
• Chidsey Building, 701 N. Tamiami Trail
• Sarasota Garden Club (with its Potting Shed), 1131 Boulevard of the Arts
• Bayfront Historic District with the contributing Art Center, 707 N. Tamiami, Trail and the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium with the Hazzard Fountain, 801 N. Tamiami Trail

The owner of each historically designated building will be presented with a bronze plaque signifying the historic listing by the City of Sarasota. “Historic Preservation is important because it protects our cultural resources for future generations,” said Dr. Clifford Smith, City of Sarasota Historic Preservationist. “It provides the community with a unique identification. It’s one of the main reasons tourists come to our City instead of somewhere else.”

Presentations also will be given by the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sarasota Art Center, Sarasota Garden Club and the Gulf Beach Resort. Mayor Kelly Kirschner, City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell and City Commissioner Richard Clapp will be on hand for the recognitions.

New College Building a Public Archeological Lab

On March 8, 2010 New College began construction of an archeological lab to allow a hands on learning experience of the processes of finding, identifying and cataloging local artifacts.

While the Sarasota area has a somewhat brief recorded history, we have a very long history of settlement by man – going back 10,000 years or so.

It is this record that makes us unique and the New College lab will help us learn more about these early settlements.

President Michaelson addresses those gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony:

Below, Sherry Svekis (Time Sifters of Sarasota) talks about the importance of understanding our past.

And then the shovels turn the dirt.

The new facility will be finished in about 4 months.

Circus Recognition in Sarasota

If you know about Sarasota, you know about our circus heritage.

Recently two events happened that highlight this heritage.

An Historical Marker was unveiled at the home of the Wallenda family. This plaque is on Arlington near the intersection with Orange. If you get the chance stop by and take a look.

The second event was the 23rd Annual Induction into the Circus Ring of Fame at St Armands Circle. This event was attended by several hundred folks and six new inductees were honored for their contributions to the legacy of the circus.

Sarasota has a unique connection to the circus and these events remind us of this.

RTC

New Sarasota County History Web Site

Sarasota County has launched a new web portal for historical resources.  There is lots of information here about our history.

Take a look.

RTC

Laying Bricks in Laurel Park

A neighborhood improvement project organized and sponsored by the Laurel Park Neighborhood Association drew many volunteers that put bricks back onto the street to restore the street to it’s 1920’s look.

The bricks had been reclaimed from city projects that required removal. The neighborhood association had worked with the city to save bricks for eventual replacement. This was the day for replacement.

Bricks needed to be cleaned, laced on a prepared bed, tapped into place and sand swept into the space between the bricks.

It was a good day for preserving the neighborhood character.

By: RTC

Benefits of Green Space

From Parade Magazine:

Publishing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the authors studied the medical charts of more than 345,000 people in Holland, noting each person’s address and how close it was to a park, garden, or other green space.

People living near a green space had lower rates of 15 out of 24 diseases, including asthma, diabetes, intestinal complaints, and back and neck problems. The links were strongest for depression and anxiety. For example, people whose environment was 90% green were significantly less likely to have an anxiety disorder than those living where it was only 10% green (18 out of 1000 vs. 26 out of 1000).

The Dutch study is the first large-scale look at the relationship between green space and health conditions to rely on medical data rather than individuals’ perceptions of their health. The researchers urge urban planners to “take the amount of green space in the living environment into account.”