The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

New Sarasota site added to schedule    SARASOTA COUNTY - The Sarasota County Health Department's Health In Motion Mobile Medical Unit staff will provide free and low-cost health services at 14 sites around the county during September. The University Club Apartments at 3203 Nature Circle, Sarasota, has been added to the regular schedule, starting in September. The services offered include diabetes education and screening, blood pressure tests, pregnancy testing, HIV testing, body mass index (BMI) measurement, adult immunizations and health education; however, not all services, including immunizations are offered at all sites. The staff also assists individuals who lack medical insurance and do not have a health care provider to find a medical home for ongoing health care. No appointment is needed. Some services are free, including HIV rapid testing with results in 20 minutes. Other services are provided on a sliding-fee scale based on ...

Welcome to Sarasota County Community Connections.  If you have questions, ideas for articles, or feedback on the system, contact us at  communityconnections@scgov. net.       And get ready for a new look and a new name.  Beginning  Aug. 29 , this e-newsletter will officially become Sarasota County News and Updates. It will contain the same information about our programs, services and initiatives - all in a fresh format. We look forward to the change, and hope you'll join us! Parks and Recreation joins Facebook The department joins: Sarasota County Government Emergency Management   Commissioner Christine Robinson Libraries UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County To ensure you receive all our updates:   Go to the pages shown above. Hover over the 'Like' button. Click 'Settings.'  Select 'All updates.'  More community news below the line! County neighborhood grant workshops begin in August ...

The Sarasota real estate market continued an amazing streak in July, with members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors® closing 911 sales during the month - a 30.3 percent increase over July 2012, and 3.2 percent higher than the June 2013 total. The first seven months of 2013 are still tracking to make the overall year one of the biggest in SAR's history. The other major news of the month was the major rebound in the median sale price for single family homes. The price went from $200,000 in June 2013 to $227,500 in July 2013, a 7.2 percent increase. For the 12-month rolling median price, the single family home figure was at $195,000, a 16 percent increase over last year at this time when the rolling median price was at $168,500. If current trend levels continue, this will be the biggest year-to-year increase for single family home prices in four years. "With sales up dramatically and prices also trending upward, the popularity and strength of the Sarasota market is unquest...

Ted sent the latest summary of the Sheriff's report for last month:  The July 2013 Crime Report for lake Sarasota is in.  6665 Brentford (Mon. July 15, reported 6:43 a.m.) 4172 Lancaster (Mon. July 15, reported 11:25 a.m.) 4184 Lancaster (Wed. July 24, reported 6:45 p.m.) 4069 Palau (Wed. July 31, reported 9:28 a.m.)  There were five incidents: four thefts, one burglary. There were no incidents of vandalism or juvenile disturbances.  The one burglary occurred at 4046 Ponea, in the eastern third of Lake Sarasota. It occurred Wednesday, July 30, and was reported at 8:04 a.m. The four thefts occurred at the following locations:  The thefts at 6665 Brentford, 4172 Lancaster, and 4069 Palau were items taken from autos. The articles stolen at 4184 Lancaster are unknown.  Lancaster Drive continues to be a targeted location for thieves. Most incidents happen in the morning hours. Most crime incidents occured in the eastern half of La...

Public invited to provide input on Florida's Historic Preservation Plan  THURSDAY -- Sarasota County residents are invited to participate in a public input session on a proposed  Statewide Comprehensive Historic Preservation Plan  3-5 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 15  at Twin Lakes Park, 6700 Clark Road in Sarasota. Participants will discuss how the plan can guide efforts to work together to preserve Florida's history and historical, archaeological, and cultural resources.  County to hold neighborhood grant workshops in August SARASOTA --- A series of free grant orientation workshops under the Sarasota County Neighborhood Grant Program will be held August through October at several locations around the county. Residents can learn what improvement projects are eligible for the program and how to apply for a neighborhood grant during the two-hour workshops. Attendance at a workshop is required for grant applicants.  County monitoring seaweed on ...

SARASOTA - Sarasota County has lifted a boil water advisory that was issued Aug, 2 after a water main break at the intersection of Bee Ridge Road and Sarasota Golf Club Boulevard. The break disrupted service to approximately 100 residential and business customers on the north side of Bee Ridge Road at Aberdeen Drive, Walden Pond Drive, Rollins Pond Way, Kosten Way and Hagen Lane. Several heath care facilities were also affected. They included Live Oak Manor, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Sarasota, CAE Healthcare and Complex Care Hospital at Ridgelake.  All customers are being notified by an automated telephone call that the boil water advisory has been canceled. For more information, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at  941-861-5000  (TTY 7-1-1 or  1-800-955-8771 ).

From Ted: The June 2013 crime report shows a sharp increase of incidents compared to May 2013.  There is a "however", though. The crime report lists the following:  four vandanism incidents, one burglary, five thefts (auto contents or unknown), and two juvenile disturbances, for a total of twelve incidents. Now, for the "however".  There are two reports of vandalism and one repoted theft for the same address (4060 Palau Drive).  The theft and one incident of vandalism were reported on the 27th at  5:34 p.m. and 7:26 p.m.   A second incident of vandalism was reported at  12:13 a.m.  on the 28th.  I suspect that this was all one incident, but the homeowner reported one act of vandalism on discovery, then the theft when noticed several hours later; then the second act of vandalism when inspecting the original damage and theft. The two juvenile disturbances occurred on the west side of Lake Sarasota, on Honolulu and Waikiki on  June 3 ,...

From Sarasota County Fri. Aug. 2 p.m. Bee Ridge Road reopens after repairs to water main break SARASOTA -  Sarasota County has reopened Bee Ridge Road in all directions after closing it earlier today to repair a water main break that occurred at the intersection of Bee Ridge Road and Sarasota Golf Club Boulevard. A boil water advisory remains in effect for approximately 100 residential and business customers on the north side of Bee Ridge Road at Aberdeen Drive, Walden Pond Drive, Rollins Pond Way, Kosten Way and Hagen Lane.  Several heath care facilities are affected. They include Live Oak Manor, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Sarasota, CAE Healthcare and Complex Care Hospital at Ridgelake. They are on Edgelake Drive and Mauna Loa Boulevard. The water is back on and samples are being pulled. While the county has no reason to believe the drinking water was contaminated, Florida law requires that drinking water providers issue precautionary boil w...