The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

A resident of Lake Sarasota asks: I would like to know if anyone in Lake Sarasota is weary of the high priced water bills? As a single male, my water bill is never less than $50.00 per month. Water is not a luxury, it is a necessity. I have talked with someone else who has a family where their water bill is in the hundreds. After paying an enormous amount about 3 weeks ago, I have another bill nearly $60.00 I would like to know if we can organize a petition. I believe anything would help when finances are so strained with so many foreclosures here in our own neighborhood. The county liason replied to an email asking about the rates: I have not heard this from other groups (i.e. Nokomis water lines customers). A petition won't influence water rates. They are adopted by the BCC and are the same for everyone. In other words, there are uniform water rates throughout the county for all our customers. Conservation and efficient use of this precious resource is the only wa...

Sarasota Neighborhood Services offers more info about the Manasota Regional Neighborhoods Summit: If anyone has any questions about the summit they can call me (941) 861-5415 or go to this page on the county's website and you can download the brochure directly. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can assist you with. Thank you so much. Teresa R. Mast Neighborhood Services 941-861-5415 office 941-861-5417 fax 1660 Ringling Blvd. 4th Floor Sarasota, FL 34236 tmast@scgov.net

The Beautification Committee welcomes residents of Lake Sarasota to join in the annual Great American Cleanup, to fulfill our Adopt-A-Road obligation for Mauna Loa. This cleanup will be held Saturday, April 5 th at 9am. (Rain date is April 12 th .) We will meet at the Community Bulletin Board on Mauna Loa, and then dispatch small groups to designated areas. Trash bags will be provided, but please wear gloves and sunscreen! Twenty volunteers would make this take less than an hour for most participants. Each ounce of trash adds up; note below the impact this event has on a national level. J To volunteer, please email your contact info to kaysyrah@msn.com or call Kim Davis at 650-0301. We would also like to have a "refreshment stand" similar to what we did during the Community Yard Sale (which was very successful!) and sell the remaining sodas, hotdogs and chips. If you would like to volunteer for this, please email or call Sandy Allen: sallen11@comca...

From SCOPE: Please mark your calendar/spread the word for the 2008 Manasota Regional Neighborhoods Summit . The summit is a unique opportunity for active neighbors to connect with one another, gain valuable tools and ideas from a choice of 5 workshops, and hear keynote speaker Matt Leighninger, author of “ The Next Form of Democracy ” and Executive Director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium . Please take a moment to pass this along to others who are making a difference in their neighborhoods. Manasota Regional Neighborhoods Summit Saturday, April 12 - 8–11:30 AM MCC Lakewood Ranch (7131 Professional Pkwy E Sarasota, 34240) Every neighborhood has its own unique characteristics, those things that make it a special community where you can raise a family. While neighborhoods can differ in many ways including size, demographics, amenities, infrastructure, etc., the common denominator is that each contains residents who care about what goes o...

SCOPE has released two new reports on the state of affairs in Sarasota County. One concerns income levels, the other is about land use. They've been uploaded to the files section of the Newsgroup . One is titled SCOPE Community Report Card - income, the other is Land Use. If you're not a member of the group, and live in Lake Sarasota, it only takes a minute to join.

Click for a larger version:

The Poll on the upper right has been re-opened - let us know what you'd like the April Meeting to be about. It's on Tuesday, April 8, at 7 pm, at Sarasota Baptist.

Congressional Districts with the most veterans: rank district Percent Cook PVI Location 1 FL01 21.7 -19 Western panhandle 2 FL05 21.5 -5 Northern gulf coast of FL 3 VA02 20.3 -6 SE VA, both sides of Chesapeake 4 CO05 19.9 -16 Central CO, Colorado Springs 5 FL14 19.8 -10 Southern gulf coast of FL 6 WA06 19.8 4 Eastern WA, Spokane 7 AZ02 19.6 -9 Mostly northwestern AZ 8 FL15 19.4 -4 Middle Atlantic coast of FL 9 FL13 19.2 -4 Sarasota and suburbs 10 AZ08 19.1 -1 Southeastern AZ, Tucson source

We've been noticing the amazing transformation of the front yard of the home at 6673 Mauna Loa, but we'd no idea of what was going on in the back (click on images for larger shots). Here's the front before the job really got underway: Here it is after the owner and landscaper did their thing: We happened to see Patrick Diffley at work there the day of the Yard Sale, so we stopped and were invited to view the backyard: All the stone work, sod and plantings were done by Diffley's company: Patrick said his company, Diffley and Daughters, also does lawn work - 941 726-9677.

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From the Herald-Trib: Compromise may kill growth item on ballot Pact allows urban-rural line to change with 5-0 County Commission vote By Roger Drouin and Doug Sword SARASOTA — A battle over growth east of the interstate that was headed for a contentious ballot measure in May has apparently been averted after business groups and slow-growth advocates said they reached a compromise over the issue. Slow-growth advocate Bill Earl, who heads the group Citizens for Sensible Growth, and developer Henry Rodriguez, representing Citizens for Quality Living, unveiled the agreement to the County Commission on Tuesday. The compromise keeps the power to change the county's line between urban and rural development within the scope of the County Commission -- instead of requiring an election referendum each time the commission wants to change the boundary. More...

Sandy could use some volunteers to help with food, set-up, and maps for the vast, unprecedented, bigger than ever Yard Sale this Saturday, March 15. She can be reached at sallen11@comcast.net .

All are invited and welcome to come out on Saturday, April 5th for the Great American Clean-Up. Our Lake Sarasota Volunteers will be out starting at 9 a.m., cleaning up our main artery, Mauna Loa. Come pitch in! Look for the people with garbage bags, gloves, in fact . . . you might want to bring some of those items as well.

Did you know that tennis shoes hanging over a power line are a code? According to informed sources, they let those who know the code in on the fact that there's a drug dealer nearby. This is the sort of info you pick up by coming to the LSCG's monthly meetings.

This is a class for anyone interested who has not already taken the training. Held at Sarasota Baptist Church where we have our monthly meetings, this short class qualifies you to go on Citizens' Patrol. George Morgan needs help to keep this going!

Roadwork Projects Planned to Create 900 Jobs The county hopes to be an economic engine for the ailing local economy by fast-tracking more than four dozen projects, which it estimates will spur the creation of 900 jobs over the next year. While lauded by the business community, the ambitious plan could be tough to pull off. It calls for compressing projects with original completion dates ranging out to 2025 into the next six years. More than $100 million of the $276 million in projects would be jammed into the first year to produce quick economic benefits. (Florida Trend)

Lake Sarasota is having another of its legendary Community Yard Sales -- coming on Saturday, March 15th -- and Sandy has built an interactive map that can display everybody's location. Here's the info: Saturday March 15th We'll be doing maps and selling hot dogs and drinks again from one of the medians. If you are interested in having a sale (and want to be on the MAP ), want to donate items for a sale to benefit the community group, or would like to help out, please call or email Sandy Allen (sallen11@comcast.net).

Please read this update from Laura: Hello Neighbors, March meeting will again be led by Dan Johnson . Thanks Dan! Our new Chairman, Jeff Ellis, is still healing after a back injury. We hope to see you again soon, Jeff ! On the agenda will be: - Community Yard Sale - March 15 / contact Sandy Allen if you want to help out… sallen11@comcast.net We’ll be selling hotdogs, burgers and sodas again, this time near the vacant lot at end of Luzon on Lancaster. We’ll also have a table to donated items to sell – all to benefit the Lake Sarasota Community Group. Also, if you want to be listed on the Neighborhood Map , contact Sandy. - Citizen's Patrol – Next Training will be March 25 th 7-7:30 pm in our usual meeting room at Sarasota Baptist Church. You need to attend this training to participate in this vital endeavor to make our community safer. Allow me to be blunt for a moment…. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! All of our accomplishments don’t “just happen.” They happen becau...

1. On Tuesday, March 11, come to our regular monthly meeting, 7 p.m. at Sarasota Baptist Church, Room 100 next to the auditorium. We'll be planning the second event of the week: 2. Lake Sarasota Mega -Yard Sale - this coming Saturday, March 15 , 8 am to 2 pm. Hot dogs on sale this time near the vacant lot at the end of Luzon on Lancaster. There will be a table for donated items to sell. If you're participating and are not yet listed on the neighborhood map, contact Sandy (sallen11@comcast.net) . Have a look at the map HERE . This is a fun event that enjoyed a very large turnout last year and the year before.

Open to all -- click image for more information:

Sarasota attorney Dan Lobeck will speak at CONA's Monday, March 10 meeting at 7:00 PM on the topic of homeowner association and condominium law. He will brief attendees and answer questions on recent legislative changes and current issues facing condominium and neighborhood associations. The meeting will be at Twin Lakes Park's meeting room at 6700 Clark Road, Sarasota. Lobeck heads the firm of Lobeck and Hanson which specializes in condominium and homeowner association law. CONA, the Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations, is a county-wide coalition of fifty-four neighborhood and condominium associations and individuals organized around making Sarasota County more neighborhood friendly. Members of the public and the media, as well as CONA members are invited to attend and ask questions.