The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

We have just learned that Sarasota County has nominated Urfer Family Park in the America's Parks Contest run by Coke. You can help win $100,000 for Urfer Family Park. Click on this link and click on VOTE. Under Search for a Park, type Urfer Family Park or type Sarasota, FL and click GO. Then click on RED bubble and VOTE for Urfer. While you are on the website you can vote multiple times and you can come back and vote as much as you like through September 6. If you are in Urfer Park you can vote from your mobile phone on Facebook -- the park get 5 points every time you do that. VOTE OFTEN ! http://www.livepositively.com/#/americasparks/vote

Statement from the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee regarding County Commission vote on Bee Ridge Rd. Widening, taken today: The Sarasota County Commissioners approved the proposal and bid amount for the Design and Engineering of Bee Ridge Road at the July 26 Commission meeting. The winning bidder was Cardeno TBE and the amount approved was $1.63 million dollars. The actual Design and Engineering will take approximately 18 to 20 months before the final plan is submitted to the Commissioners for approval. When the initial Design reaches about 30% completion, the County staff will hold a public community review so that residents can view the design and get questions answered. It is anticipated this review will be toward the end of this year. Your Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee will work closely with County staff and Cardeno as the design progresses to insure our previously developed suggestions are incorporated in the design. If there are any questions, please contact your Bee Ridge ...

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Greetings! Welcome to the Sarasota County Community Connections eNewsletter. We hope you will share this eNewsletter with family, friends and neighbors. Contact us if you have questions, ideas for featured articles, or feedback on the system at email communityconnections@scgov.net . County opens water-efficient landscaping wiki Sarasota County is opening an online website on Monday, July 25, that will enable citizens to revise and make comments on the county's Water-Efficient Landscaping Code. The wiki will be open for revisions and comments until 5 p.m. Aug. 22. It's available online at the Sarasota County website, www.scgov.net , or at the wiki website at http://wiki.scgov.net . (MORE) Newtown grocers to offer healthier, fresher foods Navigating through the maze of food choices is never easy, and in some Sarasota County communities - including Newtown - access to affordable healthy foods is nearly non-existent. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a 'foo...

Sarasota County wants your input on what's most important in planning new bicycle paths, new pedestrian walkways, and intersections that involve vehicular traffic. Click here to go to the county's website where you can find out more, or click the button to take the survey. The survey contains a place where you can mention special concerns or priorities. While doing the survey, it might be useful to keep in mind that Bee Ridge Rd. east of I-75 is currently on the county's plans for road widening and improvements. In fact a county commission vote this Tuesday, July 26, 2011 , is about the planning and design phase of the project. If all goes well, Bee Ridge Road construction is still slated to begin in 2013. It is our understanding that the project is designed to allow two lanes to be open at all times. Click here for more about the plans , which currently call for bike paths. A wider Bee Ridge Rd. with safe bicycle paths will enable residents of all Bee Ridge Rd. Communiti...

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Greetings! Welcome to Sarasota County Community Connections eNewsletter. We hope that you will share this eNewsletter with family, friends and neighbors. Contact us if you have questions, ideas for featured articles, or feedback on the system at email communityconnections@scgov.net . 'Hope for Homeowners' free event on July 16 Sarasota County homeowners who need help with foreclosures, bankruptcy and credit problems can attend a free "Hope for Homeowners" seminar from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the Venice Community Center, 326 S. Nokomis Ave., Venice. (MORE) Get school shots updated now before school year begins With local schools scheduled to resume on Monday, Aug. 22, Sarasota County public health and school officials remind parents to get their child's immunizations updated now. Parents of children who will be entering schools in Sarasota County for the first time must provide the school office with a completed Florida Certification of Immunization...

Interesting story about disaster, recovery and community from NPR : Aldrich started thinking about how neighbors help one another during disasters. He decided to visit disaster sites around the world, looking for data. Aldrich's findings show that ambulances and firetrucks and government aid are not the principal ways most people survive during — and recover after — a disaster. His data suggest that while official help is useful — in clearing the water and getting the power back on in a place such as New Orleans after Katrina, for example — government interventions cannot bring neighborhoods back, and most emergency responders take far too long to get to the scene of a disaster to save many lives. Rather, it is the personal ties among members of a community that determine survival during a disaster, and recovery in its aftermath. Read more here .

Greetings! Welcome to Sarasota County Community Connections eNewsletter. We hope that you will share this eNewsletter with family, friends and neighbors. Contact us if you have questions, ideas for featured articles, or feedback on the system at email communityconnections@scgov.net . Most county offices to close for July 4 holiday Most Sarasota County government offices, libraries, recreation centers and transit services will be closed Monday, July 4, to observe the national Independence Day holiday. However, Payne Park Tennis Center will be open from 7:30 a.m.- 2 p.m. and the Arlington Park Recreation Center will be open from noon-5 p.m. (MORE) Stay safe while enjoying Independence Day fireworks Every year people are taken to hospital emergency rooms in the United States because of injuries from fireworks at celebrations of July 4, Independence Day. The best way to stay safe is to go to public firework displays at sanctioned community events. The community fireworks events are big...