Manatee County has selected a new county attorney to replace Teddy Williams, who will retire in the spring. Mitchell ”Mickey“ Palmer was chosen by BOCC officials in a special session yesterday. The county will now begin negotiations with Palmer. Palmer was selected over three other finalists including Deputy County Attorney Jim Minix.
Family Partnership Center (FPC) has provided Help and Hope to Parents in Manatee and Sarasota Counties for 18 years by providing parenting programs that help strengthen families and to prevent child abuse in at risk families. FPC is proud to announce that it has purchased a building located at 602 3rd Street East in Bradenton and will be relocating the center by March 30th, 2012.
According to Dave Potter, Executive Director at FPC, ”The purchase of the new building has been a long term goal of FPC. We are thrilled at the prospect of the move with larger space to meet the needs of the communities we serve, but as with all relocations, we also face some challenges in getting the new space ready.“ Potter continued, ”Volunteers are desperately needed to help with construction, painting, plumbing, and electrical work. We will construct walls for offices, move plumbing, paint, run wires, and install new flooring and trim.“ Volunteers will help keep labor costs low while preserving general funds for programs to directly help families. Skilled volunteers are asked to call 941-756-3007 to register.
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TBT reader Kerry Longsworth (center) was one of 1200 who marched on the White House with Veterans for Ron Paul on Feb. 20. ”What a humbling experience,“ said Longsworth, ”marching with more than 400 veterans and 800 supporters who understand what is happening to the United States.
The region’s first Low Impact Development (LID) Expo is set for Friday, March 23 at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota. The free event runs from 10am to 4pm and will showcase a series of presentations by expert speakers from throughout Florida as well as various exhibits.
Some of the scheduled participants include: Dr. Marty Wanielista, a professor at the University of Central Florida and an expert on Green Roofs, Kathy Croteau and Rob Wright with Sarasota County, Terry Cerullo with Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tom Levin, the urban planner and landscape architect from Elkistics Design Studio who designed the Florida Aquarium parking lot, Molly Williams with Stantec, Russ Hoffman with Beautiful Ponds, Inc., Joanne Gulliksen with GAP Architectural Products, and Elie Araj with Applied Sciences, an engineering and design service company with expertise on LID solutions.
Low impact development techniques and products include rain gardens, bio-swales, green roofs, vertical living walls, filter strips, rain barrels, cisterns, pervious pavements and natural site preservation techniques. Florida experts, educators and industry representatives are participating at the LID Expo as exhibitors, speakers and guests.
”Industry professionals such as builders, developers, architects, engineers, and land planners as well as condo associations and homeowners can benefit from these techniques,“ explained Angela Maraj, the event organizer. ”Sarasota County is leading Florida with LID planning and the local expo is an opportunity to encourage the expansion of LID policies and practices statewide.“
Prospective exhibitors are encouraged to contact Maraj at lidexpo2012@gmail.com. Learn more online at lidexpo2012.eventbrite.com. Maraj worked as a contractor previously for the Southwest Florida Water Management District and was a former contractor with Sarasota County where she helped develop a LID Manual.
Maraj is being supported by a Bay Partners Grant from the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP). SBEP provides grants annually to support local organizations that complete projects that benefit Sarasota Bay. SBEP has awarded $150,000 in grants to 90 local organizations since 2002. March 1 is the deadline for submitting new grant applications for the current fiscal year.
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The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP) received an award at the recent Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival held in Manatee County. The FISH Partnership Award acknowledged SBEP for its ongoing support of the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH). Dianne Rosensweig with Scheda Ecological Associates was also honored with a FISH Partnership Award at the popular festival.
FISH is a non-profit organization that purchased a 95-acre parcel adjacent to Sarasota Bay within the Village of Cortez in 1999. Its mission is to help restore and protect the upland and wetland habitats and adjacent waters.
SBEP is supporting the ongoing restoration at FISH Preserve. The first phase of the large-scale project was completed in the summer and involved the removal of exotic vegetation, creation of a tidal wetland, and mangrove restoration. Two bridges were also constructed to connect hiking trails. Future plans involve creation of kayak trails and converting two stormwater retention ponds into more natural wetland features.
Manatee County Habitat for Humanity is holding its 2012 ”Building Hope“ fundraiser on Thursday, March 8th from 5:30 -8:00pm on the site of its newest ”green built“ Habitat community in Ellenton. Tickets for the event are $45.00 and include Mediterranean Fusion appetizers, dinner and a specialty dessert, music, Habitat home tours and the purchase of a ”block“ which can be personalized with your message of hope for a future Habitat family. The evening will include a live and silent auction with all proceeds to go to the purchase of materials needed to build additional homes for qualified Habitat families. Tickets can be purchased on line at tinyurl.com/manateehabitat or by calling the Manatee Habitat office at 748-9100 ext 107.
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