The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Organizers of the Lakeview Park CleanUp met with representatives of the County today, and all are prepared for Saturday's big CleanUp. All we need is YOU. We're looking for help to clean the canals - removing debris, large and small, bottles, paper, picnic tables, possibly even dredging a bit to allow smoother water flows. So, does anyone have a backhoe or a trailer they can bring?  The county is bringing a large dumpster and plastic bags to collect trash. Other helpful equipment would include: Gas Chain Saws Waders (boots for the canals) Gloves (a must-have) Shovels (the more the better) Wagons or other means of lugging debris from the park to the dumpster. A few hours on Saturday and the park will be so much better.  Plus, Ray has contacted the Sarasota Sky Pilots Disk Golf Club, The Petanque Society, the Firemen, and of course our community has been informed. Plus: Anyone, young or old, needing Community Service Hours - this will qualify - County Reps will sign your paperwo...

A note from SCOPE Lake Sarasota residents are invited to attend a focus group on April 9 th  to share how they use Bee Ridge Road.  The Transit Oriented Design committee, a grassroots citizen group that arose out of SCOPE's  Summit for Environmental Action , is hosting the focus group.    The committee wants to start a community conversation on transit-oriented development and smart growth through a case study of the Bee Ridge Road corridor.  Community input will help create a “roadmap” for elected officials, the business community and citizens to move into the future.   A grassroots citizen group needs your vision and input at a Focus Group on transforming Bee Ridge Road to better serve the businesses, adjoining neighborhoods and beyond. Focus Groups are being held with neighborhood associations, businesses and places of worship along the Bee Ridge corridor.     The committee believes this is a unique and important moment to get involved because:   ·          2008 Urban Service Bo...

Two reports of burglar activity came in over the weekend. In one case, a man was spotted crawling into a garage that had its door open. The homeowner said: Just want to alert everyone that this happened - in the bright light of the day, while we were all home.  And, I have a window in my door from the house to the garage - which is probably why he was crawling.  My garage door will now stay shut.     I never saw his face, but from his size, body and clothing, my best guess is he appeared to be anywhere from 15-20 years old??  He was wearing tan colored shorts (to about his knees) and a white tank top and sneakers. In the second report, the burglar(s) came through a small window (cutting the screen) on the screened porch facing the street, and seems to have had plenty of time to go through the home, leaving no fingerprints. The owner says: It was such a beautiful day to open the windows and let that great breeze in yesterday.I do not share this story with you to scare you as I will n...

Lakeview Park CleanUp - April 4, 8 am at the Pavilion in Lakeview Park Mauna Loa to Hand Rd.: Road or Walk? Next Regular Meeting: April 14, 7 pm, Sarasota Baptist, Rm. 100. Lake Sarasota Community-Wide Garage Sale : Saturday, April 18th, 8 am - 1 pm

A while back some people from the county looked at the space between Mauna Loa Boulevard and Hand Road -- it's a sidewalk with a wooded area, mainly, with a crossing on Jarvis -- and suggested it might be possible to create a kids' walk that would offer a safer, "greener" walkway, and possibly fun-use and educative environment for the many Lake Sarasota kids and parents who use that route to get to Lakeview Elementary, or to the park. So far, the area has been cleared of invasive plants, risks and brush.  What's next might involve getting some input from the community. But first, there needs to be clarity on the question of whether the community does or does not wish to have a road punched through from Mauna Loa to Hand Road. Apparently this issue has never been completely resolved. Please give this some thought and let us know what you think about the road, and the walkway idea. You can email us at lakesarasota@gmail.com , and/or come out to the Lakeview Park Cle...

Residents of Lake Sarasota will soon be finding this flyer in their mailboxes -- a colorful reminder of our April 4th day to clean up Lakeview Park. Thanks to Laura, Debbie and everyone who helped put it together. (Click to enlarge):

A significant update to the home invasion story: SARASOTA - Police believe a series of  home invasions  targeting middle-aged and older women has climbed from two to five. Last week,  Sarasota police  officials confirmed two attacks, now detectives have added a rape a month ago, a violent robbery in  Manatee County  and a fifth attack  last Saturday night  in a Phillippi  Creek neighborhood  in  Sarasota County  to the list. More details here . A news story from Sunday, March 15: String of Home Invasions in Sarasota County May All be Connected SARASOTA - Another home invasion happened Saturday night in Sarasota County.  Sheriff's deputies say they believe this isn't the first time the robber has struck.  It happened last night around 11:30pm.  A woman was inside her home in the River Forest subdivision. Detectives say the man entered her house, tied her up and took off with cash, credit cards and small TV.  Deputies say the woman survived the attack, but neighbors say that sho...

  Thanks to the help of an amazing group of community stalwarts, the first median has been relieved of its hawthornes and other plantings. The small shrub had been put in only a few months ago by the beautification committee and helpers, but the required reconfiguration of the entrance at Mauna Loa and Bee Ridge necessitated the move. Some of the plants have moved to the area of the entrance signs.  The flagpole will be removed to the second median by the developer of HealthSouth, whose expansion triggered the intersection changes. The first median will be replaced by a concrete separator, four feet wide by six inches high. 

Tonight's meeting generated a lot of news, including updates on the next Garage Sale, the next Park Clean-up, changes to our entrance, the business directory and more. The treasury now has $1201.92 in the bank all of the difference from the last report due to revenue from the Business Directory (see more on it below). The group approved paying to renew our incorporation with the State. A brief training session for Citizens Patrol will be held at Ted's house Wed. evening, March 11. Contact him for more information if interested at 941 379-0758. Three new homes were chosen for Yard of the Month - Renee will be delivering signs. ============ Work will soon begin on adding a lane to the front Mauna Loa entrance. Anyone who wishes to help save the plants and possibly the trees in the first median is invited to meet at the flagpole this Saturday, March 14, at noon . Hawthorne and other plants will be saved possibly to be replanted around either this entrance or the one at Westminste...

The county now has a website dedicated to water conservation , with links to a variety of useful resources with all kinds of information. Click and have a look. A perma-link is to the right, marked Water Conservation .

Come to the next general meeting on Tuesday, March 10, 7 pm at Sarasota Baptist. Among the action items: - Planning Lakeview Park clean-up , tentatively set for Saturday, April 4th . [Note: this is changed from earlier posting that indicated April 5]. One action item being considered: producing a single page announcement to go to homes in Lake Sarasota to get more people involved. - Mauna Loa entrance reconfiguration - where things stand with the plans - Lake Sarasota Business Directory - Regular items (Citizens patrol, YOTM, Treasury, etc.) - New Business

Wondering about the summertime and the kids? Here's a link to Sarasota Parks and Rec's Summer Camps site .

"A community can only exist with communication, which means something more than extensive software facilities scattered about town. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas and common ideals." Robert M. Hutchins (1899-1977), American Educator and Writer Courtesy of the Olive Branch Forum

Plans to spray to kill vegetation in the canals of Lakeview Park have been nixed. Parks and Rec says the drought makes any spraying inadvisable. The date of April 5 Saturday, April 4 has been set for a community clean-up. It is hoped we can get a good number of residents out to help get the park back to looking good. We have been in touch with the Sarasota Sky Pilots (the disc golf club), who have promised to help as well. With over 500 members, they claim to be "one of the largest disc golf clubs in the world." The more the merrier: April 5th.

The US Census Bureau held an Open House on Tuesday at its local office on Princeton Street, off 301 in Sarasota.  The Census Message for 2010 is simple: The greater the count, the better a community's chances of receiving a larger slice of the $300 billion that flows from Washington to states and municipalities for a wide range of services. The 2010 Census form is simple: just a very few easy questions. Address checkers will be spreading out through towns and cities, using GPS-equipped handheld computers to map and enter address data.  All information given to the Census is confidential under Title 13 of the US Code . (See also here ). Census personnel take oaths to uphold the right of privacy. Which means: anyone fearing that information given to the Census Bureau could be used for any other purpose than to produce an accurate account of the population should understand: it is against the law for this to occur. The Bureau will hire approximately 1,000 residents for each office it...