Why the world comes to Sarasota
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ARTIST OF THE MONTH
Who’s PLAYING TONIGHT
Carla O’Brien is a gifted clay artist. She creates lovely utilitarian pottery, bowls casseroles, goblets and the like...
Mike Tozier is one of those singer/guitar players with a complete mastery of the interpretation of cover songs....
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Project Atticus An exciting project is soon to be launched from Sarasota. An adventurous young couple— Desiree Golen and Jordan Wicht— soon will set sail on a 51 year old fiberglass sailboat named The Atticus, and they plan to circumnavigate the globe. While exploring the world, the daring pair intends to shoot an adventure travel documentary series. What puts a remarkable dream like this into somebody’s head? Well, as a young child, Desiree Golen lived in Tokyo, Japan and often traveled to her mother’s hometown in Tela, Honduras. Growing up, she shared many faraway adventures with her parents and siblings. These experiences colored her view of life, and she grew up eager to explore the world. She also learned to overcome adversity. You see, early on, her mother noticed that Desiree was limited in what she was physically able to do. Her worried parents took her to medical specialists in NYC, where she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid
Sand Castles
By Diana Colson
Arthritis. The prognosis was not good. As a young girl she was never allowed to do sports or tackle anything physically challenging. However, after working with her doctors for many years, she began a regimen that used a miraculous new drug on the market. Eventually she experienced 100 % recuperation. It was in high school that Desiree first started to participate in sports.
Her family had moved to Charlotte, NC, and Desiree saw boys at her school doing the pole vault. “Are girls allowed to do that?” she asked her coach. Soon after, she was given a custom made pole that was just her size, and –being the first and only girl at her school to pole vault— she started jumping with the boys, all who were vaulting 10 or 12 feet into the air. Continued on page 29
The problem with illegal rentals on the Key By Debbie Flessner As one of the top tourist destinations in the world, Siesta Key has an abundance of rental properties. You can choose from condos, villas and even single homes when coming to visit this beautiful island. But unfortunately, it’s the illegal rentals of some of those homes that is causing a problem within the community. The rules for renting out a home on Siesta Key are a little different than the county-wide rule, but in a nutshell, all short-term rentals of private homes on the island must be for a month, or 30 days--not by the week or the day. Private homes must also be rented as a whole (not divided up) and are to be rented no more than once every 30 days.
Recently in the enclaves of Siesta Key neighborhoods, especially those close to Siesta Village and the beaches, year-round residents have been noticing more and more transient renters. These would be visitors who stay in the houses for less than the designated time, and/or have multiple families living there, which is also not allowed. John Lally, Code Enforcement Officer with the Sarasota County Planning & Development Services Department/Code Enforcement, said that the rise in the numbers of illegal rentals on Siesta Key is in direct correlation with the area’s excellent international reputation. “The popularity of Siesta Key
Beach and the shortage of hotel rooms and RMF (residential multifamily) zoned properties has created an overflow into the residential neighborhoods,” he said. “VRBO Sarasota (Vacation Rentals by Owner) lists 426 properties for rent in Sarasota. Some of these properties are zoned RMF and can rent by the day and week on the key, but the listing for private homes by the day or week is a violation.” Lally added that he is currently working on 26 active cases against homeowners who are illegally renting their residences, and already seven of those cases are scheduled to be heard by a Special Magistrate. Continued on page 12
Notes from the island fishmonger “FLORIDA PINKS ARE IN” Page 21
WHAT CAN $3,700,000 BUy ON SIESTA KEY? Page 32 St. Michael’s welcomes Father Leo Smith By Diana Colson In August, St. Michael’s Church on Siesta Key welcomed Father Leo Smith as their new Associate Pastor. His journey to the priesthood is fascinating. Born in Boston in 1954, Fr. Smith grew up in a town called Milton, a suburb of Boston. (It was also the home town of the first George Bush.) Leo Smith attended Catholic Schools during his elementary and high school years, and then graduated from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he majored in History. From there he went to the University Of Notre Dame, where he received a Master’s Degree in Medieval History. His original plan was to enter the PhD program and teach University level courses. However, the Vietnam War ended, and his career prospects changed. (At that time, many young men were attending University simply to avoid the draft. As the draft threat dissipated, they left
Sand sculpTing Pages 18-19
KEY SOLUTIONS REAL ESTATE
school in droves. With the resulting drop in enrollment, teaching Medieval History at a university was no longer a career possibility.) Young Leo Smith now returned to Washington, D.C., and went to work for the Department of Defense. He was to stay on that job for 25 years. All of the positions he held related to national security, jobs that dealt with the measurement of human reliability and trustworthiness, security clearances, and the like. Continued on page 7
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