The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

This past rainy Saturday, a few stalwart volunteers were out sprucing up the front of the neighborhood. We didn't get a photo, alas, but did hear from one resident, Ruth, who happened to be passing by: I passed through Mauna Loa on Sat. morning and there they were planting those plants in the median with it pouring the rain. What a great job. I would like to write them a note. They are surely to be commended. Hopefully it's not too late to say "thank you" to Ray and Connie, Tisha, Laura, Judy and Diane. If anyone wishes to get more involved, just drop us a line and we'll put you in touch with the right person or persons. Also, if you received the latest newsletter (thanks Laura Mathis and Mickey Schweitzer) you may have read about the interest in CERT . When we get 10 Lake Sarasotans, we can have our own course here at a time that meets everyone's needs. So let us know if you're interested !

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Neighbors: We are having a problem with our flowers wilting due to a lack of rain. Tisha has spent a lot of time working on them but she can use some help! Our landscaper only comes to Lake Sarasota once a week. They water every time they are here, but due to the lack of rain, once a week is not enough. We need to come up with a rain barrel for both entrances. The landscaper will fill it up when he is here and Tisha has volunteered to try and water the plants during the week when there is no rain. The landscaper has one rain barrel and is dropping it off on Friday. WE DESPERATELY NEED ANOTHER ONE!! If anyone has one please let Tisha know ASAP. You can contact her at tishafarrington@gmail.com We are in the dry season now and we really need to take care of the plants to keep them looking good! If you can contribute a rain barrel it will be greatly appreciated and it will benefit the entire community. Thanks in advance Bill Pitts

The latest edition of Neighborhood News is available in our documents library . It's a pdf file -- if you have the software, you can read it by clicking here . Among other info, it has the days and locations for early voting, which begins Oct. 20th and continues through Nov. 2. The nearest location: Fruitville Library.

Hello Neighbors!   We are pleased to report an increase in attendance at last night's meeting.  That was great!  We believe the signs that were put up throughout Lake Sarasota helped to increase the attendance.  Thanks to all of those who put up the signs.  In order to avoid any confusion about the next meeting, please pick up the signs and put them back out a few days before the next meeting (November 11th).              TOPICS DISCUSSED LAST NIGHT   Yard of the Month - The latest winners of the Yard of the Month award were selected.  If you want to nominate a yard for the award, please let Renee Pitts know.  You can call her at 371-3988 or email her at  JPitts9710@aol.com     Citizen's Patrol - Ted Cover gave an excellent presentation on what type of crimes the neighborhood has experienced, the most common times the crimes have been reported and where the crimes took place. Ted is doing a great job with the citizen's patrol, but he needs our help!!  If you are able and wi...

A few highlights from tonight's general Lake Sarasota Community Group (LSCG) meeting: Community Yard Sale The major community-wide yard sale will be on Saturday, Nov. 29th. It will probably start early, around 7 a.m. Contact Sandy with your information to have your sale pinpointed on the map. LSCG Election We will be electing officers for the coming year at our next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 11th, 2008. If you wish to nominate residents for the elective posts, send names and whatever contact info you have to LakeSarasota@gmail.com.* Citizens Patrol Volunteers are still needed for October - contact Ted .  Ted analyzed five months of crime data, and finds: Open garages invite theft - especially of tools - even during daytime. Close your garage. Also, cars in driveways are being looted - a very expensive GPS system was stolen last week. The peak area for crime is the 6500-6800 blocks of Mauna Loa. The peak day is Friday, followed by Saturday, Thursday, and Wednesday. Peak times are 3 ...

A reminder from Neighborhood Services : Sarasota County reminds all residents that October 15, 2008 is the last day an individual may file for an Economic Stimulus Payment. The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 was enacted by Congress and the President and enables individuals to receive a one-time monetary payment. Even if you do not file taxes, you may still be eligible for a payment. Please forward this message to others who may not be aware of this. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the agency responsible for issuing payments, and lists Florida as the fourth highest state of citizens who have not filed for payment. Once again, even if you do not regularly file taxes, you should claim your payment. The IRS will be holding special events at retirement communities and assisted living facilities throughout Florida this week to allow citizens to file for payment. The agent assigned to our area is Ms. Andrea Tupper. Ms. Tupper is available to answer any questions regarding a...

The Lake Sarasota Community Group will hold its October General Meeting on tuesday Oct. 14, at 7 pm at Sarasota Baptist. Don't miss this Ted will have some interesting news about crime patterns - he's been crunching numbers and other data (locations, times of day, types of crime) from several months of Sheriff's reports. So far, we also expect updates on several other initiatives: Landscaping the Mauna Loa Entrance Developing a pocket park at Hina and Palau. Fall event planning. CERT training. Grant money allocation. Lakeview Park Canals, pump, water quality. Traffic Calming, Yard of the Month, Treasurer's Report.

This is just informal info - it seems that the peak times for criminal activity are 3 pm - 4 pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Again, this is just preliminary, but you might want to keep an eye out - especially if you're in the 6800 blocks of Mauna Loa. Ted is doing a more in-depth analysis of the past five months of Sheriff's reports of break-ins and other police calls in Lake Sarasota. We'll update as soon as he's ready. Also: Citizens Patrol reports still seeing many garage doors open well after dark last night - many without the lights on. This is an invitation to certain visitors, folks!

For anyone interested in community building: Democratic Governance at the Neighborhood Level:   What Have We Learned?   An event organized by Grassroots Grantmakers and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium , with assistance from the National League of Cities and NeighborWorks America November 11 th , 2008, 9am-5pm Orlando, FL Thirty years ago, a new democratic experiment began in a handful of American cities. In Portland, Oregon, and a number of other places, local governments created neighborhood council systems as a way of engaging citizens in public decision-making and problem-solving. What have we learned from these civic experiments? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What lessons do they offer about how to initiate, recruit for, staff, support, and fund neighborhood-level democracy? Please join us for a stimulating, interactive day-long session in Orlando! The meeting will feature representatives from Portland and other ‘first wave’ cities in the mornin...