The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Stop Auto Burglaries: Lock the Doors The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents to take one simple step to crack down on auto burglaries: lock the doors. Auto burglary is a crime of opportunity, with at least 70 percent occurring in vehicles that are unlocked. Typically a thief will enter a community, try vehicle door handles and rummage through the ones they can open. Many times they take loose change, prescription medications, GPS units and other valuables that are inside. They could also take a garage door opener and return to burglarize your home when you’re not there. “As simple as it sounds, all it takes to significantly reduce auto burglaries is to lock your vehicle and remove all valuables from sight,” said Sheriff Tom Knight. “These common-sense precautions will protect your possessions and stop this crime in its tracks.” Another good deterrent is a vigilant neighborhood. Residents know who belongs in their community and who doesn’t. If you see suspicious acti...

The Lakeview Park Clean-Up brought out some 35-40 folks from the Sky Pilots Disc Golf Club and from Lake Sarasota, who spent a lovely morning pulling debris, garbage, sunk logs, garbage cans, and benches from the canals. As the County asked, the vegetation was piled at the entrance to be picked up. Special thanks to the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of Pack 100, to Ray and Connie Bresciani and to the LSCG for the pulled pork sandwiches, to Tammie for the veggie food and chips.

This is a reminder that we are having a park clean up day this Saturday, March 26th. The clean up is being sponsored by the Sky Pilots and they need our help. As mentioned before, when we had our Lake Sarasota Community Group clean up day at the park, the Sky Pilots came out in force and helped us. It is now our turn to repay the favor. The clean up will be from 9:00 AM till 12:00 Noon,so its just 3 hours (not a full day job). There will be some food served and water will be provided for the workers. PLEASE TRY AND MAKE IT TO THE CLEAN UP! THE MORE PEOPLE THAT SHOW UP, THE FASTER AND EASIER IT IS FOR EVERYONE AND THE BETTER OUR PARK WILL LOOK WHEN WE ARE DONE. Here's one reason the park needs periodic clean-ups: the picnic tables are regularly thrown in the water, or moved, or used for bridges, or broken up. The Petanque players had a large gathering last Sunday, and they found only three picnic tables where there used to be six. Today they found only two: Because the third ...

According to a recent market report by Realtor Mickey Schweitzer , who has been very active in our area for many years, Lake Sarasota's zip code, 34241, ranked 7th county-wide in housing price increases over the previous 12 months. The area saw an average upward price change of 6.9% for single family homes. The hottest zip code was 34242 (Siesta Key) with an average price jump of 21.7%. Other zips, such as 34229, declined by as much as 23%, and the county as a whole averaged an increase of 9%. Zip code map .

The Senior Friendship Center has help for those who believe they have been the target of a con=artist or other sort of scam - click on the image to enlarge: More info here: SeniorsVsCrime.com

County extends date for redevelopment 'wiki' editing and comments Sarasota County is keeping the "wiki" on redevelopment regulations open for public revisions and comments until 5 p.m. Friday, March 25. ( MORE ) Design of Siesta Beach improvements will be subject of March 24 public meeting The preliminary design of the Siesta Beach improvements will be the subject of a public meeting Thursday, March 24, at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, 5615 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota. Residents are invited to come anytime during the 5-7 p.m. open-house-style meeting hosted by Sarasota County Capital Management Services. There will be no formal presentation. ( MORE ) Click here for the e-vite Libraries hosting Flood Safety Awareness seminars County Environmental Services staff will be at Sarasota County Libraries during the months of March, April and May to raise awareness of the dangers associated with flooding, answer questions about steps property owners can take to protect ...

Ted Cover, who leads Citizen Patrol, says the trends call for increased Patrols: We need patrol team volunteers for the remaining weeks of March, all of April, and all of May. I've been lax in getting patrols on the street. My fault. It's time to get serious about the patrol. We've seen a decrease in reported incidents in Lake Sarasota for last February. Even so, there is a disturbing trend--we're having more burglaries and break-ins. While a patrol most likely will not be in on an arrest, the patrol's visible presence is a deterrent. The sight of a patrol vehicle may convince someone contemplating a theft or break-in that it might be a better idea to go somewhere else. Most of the incidents over the past year have occurred during the daylight hours. Nighttime incidents are rare--maybe one or two a year. With Daylight Savings Time now in effect, patrolling in the early evening hours might result in greater visibility. Please take a look at your calendar ove...

Lakeview Park is one of the great resources available to Lake Sarasota. It gets a lot of use, and occasionally, some abuse. Part of the challenge with a park like this is to strike the proper balance between human uses, like disc golf, Petanque, and the dog park, and nature's own needs -- natural habitat for birds, fish, and critters. On March 26th the Sky Pilots disc golf club, Lake Sarasota Community Group, and anyone else who wishes to join in will spend three hours clearing debris cleaning up the park. Food will be served for all who pitch in. Come out on Saturday March 26 from 9 a.m. to noon. Meet your neighbors, enjoy the great outdoors, and help your park.

Items from the March 10th meeting of the Lake Sarasota Community Group (LSCG): The same officers were unanimously re-elected for the year. The Treasury has $442.14. LSCG is a 501(d) corporation - contributions are tax deductible. The PO box will be discontinued, and the postal address of the Group will be c/o Ellie Himes, Registered Agent, 7108 Java Drive, 34240. Three homes were chosen as Yards of the Month. Crime: There were 10 incidents - two of which were in Lakeview park - vandalism and theft. There were four burglaries, three of which were reported late at night. Ted, who organizes Citizen Patrol, emphasized that all residents should have a security alarm, and arm it at night. Also, keep garage doors down, even if you're home but not in the garage. Ted will be calling all who have participated in Citizens Patrol to update his records and schedule patrols. A Clean-Up of Lakeview Park is set for March 26th. The Sarasota Sky Pilots, LSCG, and patrons of the dog park will...

Spring out to Snook Haven this Saturday, March 12: It Starts in Parks: This Saturday at Snook Haven , at River Road near I-75, it's the Friends of Sarasota County Parks' first ever Outdoors Fest. Visit the FOSCP Site for more about the event, the prizes and the purpose of FOSCP, a non-profit organization. Find us on Facebook and Twitter Update : Check out the just-added raffle prizes . Nearly 50 fantastic items will be won through our Chinese raffle. Any not picked up will go to Silent Auctions!

New developments on Bee Ridge, upcoming Clean-Up in Lakeview Park, new Sheriff data on crime - come out and engage the world of your neighborhood. Lake Sarasota Community Group meets 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at Sarasota Alliance Church, 7221 Bee Ridge Rd., just opposite the intersection of Chaucer Lane and Bee Ridge Rd. All are welcome. We are a not-for-profit organization established as a volunteer group to help make Lake Sarasota safe, attractive, and fun. We are on Facebook and on Twitter. No dues, no fees. We welcome all residents. Got a problem in the neighborhood? Or a question about your community? Chances are someone in LSCG can answer them. If you would like to build a butterfly garden, or a playground, or enhance some aspect of your community, we are the people to talk to. Hope to see you there.

Sarasota County chosen by Jackson Labs for new Research Institute Sarasota County announced that Jackson Laboratories, one of the world's leading medical research companies, has chosen the county as the location for a new personalized medicine institute. ( MORE ) Get Energy Smart rebate program pays back to homeowners Sarasota County homeowners who have made energy improvements to their homes have received more than $440,000 in rebate checks through the Get Energy Smart Retrofit Program. Over $690,000 in rebate funds remain available for homeowners, in addition to loans and free Do It Yourself Energy Saving Kits. ( MORE ) Sarasota beach water advisory remains in effect for Venice Public Beach The Venice Public Beach remains under a beach water advisory. Sarasota County Health Department officials received testing results from samples taken Wednesday, March 2, that still show an elevated level of enterococcus bacteria. Signage will remain in place until follow-up water testing re...