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JUNE 2015 | 941.349.0194 | ISLAND VISITOR PUBLISHING, LLC | www.SiestaSand.net | COMPLIMENTARY
SAND CASTLES
Big Pass Dredging Then and Now |Convergence of events halted plans to dredge Big Pass in early 90s By Roger Drouin
Jamaica Royale is a beachfront resort of 175 units
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ARTIST OF THE MONTH
Twenty one years ago—long enough for many to forget—three events converged to kill plans that would have scraped sand from Big Pass to stabilize two local beaches. A pivotal lawsuit filed and won by the Siesta Key Association, a key decision by state environmental officials, and a City Commission 4-1 vote stopped two separate proposals to use sand from several locales in Big Pass and a shoal off Siesta to shore up beaches on Venice and Lido Key. In the first and larger proposal, Venice and the Army Corps of Engineers wanted to dredge sand from the pass and transport that sand down to Venice to be used during a renourishment. In the other project, a smaller amount of sand from the pass would be used to stabilize Lido’s shoreline. Advocates involved in the battle to stop the dredging and
elected officials at the time recall just how close these projects came to fruition. In fact, the effort to mine Big Pass for sand for Venice—initiated before the city’s plan to dredge—had already secured a permit from the state. “We were worried about how this would compromise the shoal off Siesta that protects Siesta,” said Cheryl Duley, who was a member of the original Save Our Sand Committee, an ad hoc committee of the Siesta Key Association. The Save our Sand group was formed in response to the threat of a dredged Big Pass. “It was a joint effort with all the associations on the Key,” Duley said about the Save our Sand Committee. “If we had done nothing, if the committee had not been formed, they would have dredged,” Duley told Siesta Sand. “I have no doubts in my mind that would
See accompanying article on page 31, about the flawed modeling behind the Big Pass dredging. have happened.” The battle over the Venice
project was so contentious it resulted in one county commissioner losing their seat. “I would say one lesson is that people become really passionate about their beaches,” said Nora Patterson, former county commissioner and a city commissioner in the early 1990s. “Watch out!” Continued on page 31
Stolen bicycles recovered at a cost By Roger Drouin The artistic vision of Nadja Marks-Shafton
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FEATURED MUSICIAN
An interview with Christian Becker
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GREAT EATS Chianti celebrates second anniversary
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Mike Lewis, co-owner of Siesta Sports Rentals, has had bicycles stolen over the past 10 years. But typically he never sees the stolen bikes again. When three bicycles were stolen sometime overnight on April 7, however, the outcome turned out to be different. The three brandnew Trek hybrid bicycles were stolen from vacationers who had rented them, but the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office found the bikes. Deputies had discovered the bikes at two different Sarasota pawn shops after checking serial numbers in the pawn-shop database. “The police phoned us and said ‘we think we have your stolen bikes,’” Lewis said. Deputies then worked with Lewis to compare serial numbers to confirm the bicycles were in fact the stolen ones. A deputy then interviewed Robert Joseph Bennett Jr., 36, of Siesta Key, and after admitting to stealing the bicycles, Bennett was charged
with dealing in stolen property and providing false information to a pawn broker. “In this case, the police did a good job,” Lewis said. Yet the good news ended with the good police work. When it came to retrieving the bicycles, Lewis encountered an obstacle. Two separate pawn shops told him he would have to pay the two pawn shops a total of $275 to get the stolen bicycles back. Deputies told Lewis that under Florida law, pawn shops have the right to request money from the rightful owner of stolen items before giving the items back. That is unless a judge orders them to return the items. Most know of laws that prevent pawn shops from dealing in stolen goods. But Florida Statue 539 actually protects the pawn shop if a good is stolen. News of the law confounded Lewis. Continued on page 30
Smoking and joking! Mark and son Matt Rebhan, owners of Alpine Steakhouse and “Old-fashioned Butcher Shop” spend everyday doing what fathers across the country do on Father’s Day. Salute to all you grilling dads. 4520 S. Tamiami, Sarasota, 34231, 941-922-3797.
New Rules for Kayak/Paddle Board Rentals Postponed Again By Robert Frederickson
New rules that were slated to take effect earlier this year for businesses renting and launching kayaks and paddle boards at Turtle Beach Park have been moved back again, according to the latest information from the county.
Those rules – patterned after similar ones in place on Lido Key – will require businesses to annually purchase medallions at $500 each from the county for all non-motorized vessels being rented at the park.
LOCAL MAPS & INFORMATION
Continued on page 23
See Page 19
Abel’s Ice Cream and Handmade Chocolates Thai cuisine Northeast style offered at Isan Thai Restaurant
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NOTES FROM THE ISLAND FISHMONGER..................26 CAPTAIN KLOPFER FISHING REPORT.............................26
If you are looking for real handmade chocolates, consider shopping at Abel’s Ice Cream. They offer the Sweet Shop USA brand of quality handmade chocolate truffles in a variety of flavors. Sweet Shop USA has developed recipes for a velvet-soft center without the course, grainy mouth feel. The centers are made of chocolate liquor, real butter and fresh whipping cream. Each center is hand-formed and hand-dipped in coatings of chocolate then personally signed or decorated by the dipper to identify the piece. Quality chocolates should accomplish certain requirements when tasted 1) it should break down immediately 2) there should not be a waxy or grainy feel on the roof of your mouth and 3) when you are finished with a piece, the taste in your mouth
should not change. Abel’s Ice Cream displays their chocolates in a humidity controlled refrigerated cabinet as recommended by Sweet Shop USA to ensure freshness. At the request of many customers, a new flavor of ice cream has been added, Salty Caramel ice cream with a salty caramel ribbon and salty roasted peanuts….. Yummo and addictive. It has been a great addition to their 36 flavors offered and accommodates their Caramel Caribou (Toffee ice cream with thick caramel weave and mini chocolate caramel cups) and Creamy Praline (Praline flavored ice cream loaded with pecans in a butterscotch weave) flavors. Abel’s is located at 1886 Stickney
Point Road between New Balance and Stonewood Grill. To learn more or to get directions, visit www.abelsicecream.com or Tripadvisor Sarasota ice cream.