Newsletter 154

NEWS FROM THE SUNCOAST …..

CONDO BUYERS NOW HAVE THE ADVANTAGE

After years of fewer homes for sale than usual, the local real estate market has noticeably shifted in early 2024, with a major milestone that indicates trends now put buyers on equal footing with sellers, and in some instances, buyers now hold the dominant position. The number of single-family homes for sale in Sarasota and Manatee counties has surpassed the high point prior to the buyer-induced frenzy that occurred after the COVID pandemic set the real estate market on fire across the country. The number of homes on the market throughout all of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 had hovered around 1,000 properties, but homes for sale have increased by a factor of five since those record lows. Statistics maintained by Premier Sotheby’s International Realty that includes most of the first quarter of 2024 put the total number of single-family homes for sale in the two-county region at 5,861 — slightly higher than the first quarter of 2019, when 5,807 homes were listed for sale. However, the average price of $739,512 for a single-family property set the record in Sarasota-Manatee by more than $35,000 this quarter, indicating that even while buyers have gained a foothold, sellers still remain in a strong position. At the end of 2021 just 346 condos were listed for sale in the two-county area. Near the end of the first quarter of 2024, 2,808 condo properties are included in the local multiple listing service — an even larger percentage increase than in the single-family market. “That’s big,” Craig Cerreta, co-managing broker at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Sarasota office said. Average prices have also been on a downward trend since the third quarter of 2023 in the condo market when completion of a new luxury tower at the Quay is removed from the statistics. Bayso Sarasota, an 18-story luxury condo tower with 149 units, caused a spike in average price at the end the year as all those sales hit the market at one time. However, the veteran Sarasota real estate professional isn’t ringing the alarm bells given demand for Sarasota Real estate remains high, Cerreta said. “Demand has eased,” he said. “But it hasn’t fallen off a cliff.” He points to similar demand levels, measured by the number of closed sales, being down only 5% compared to 12 months ago in the condo market. Veronica Murphy, a Siesta Key Realtor with Keller Williams on the Water, said that it’s not all segments of the condo market that are struggling, pointing to well located, waterfront properties still in high demand and newer buildings doing even better. Murphy said that part of the hesitation from buyers revolves around new legislation passed a couple years ago after the collapse of Champlain Towers South in the South Florida community of Surfside. That disaster killed 98 people and resulted in new regulations that required more inspections and better funding of condo association reserves to cover pricy maintenance. For more information on this story, courtesy of Sarasota Herald-Tribune, please click here: Condo Buyers Advantage

SURVEY: PRICE TOPS LOCATION WHEN PURCHASING DREAM HOME

This is a recent Op-Ed from Duff Rubin, Southeast President of Coldwell Banker.

Real estate’s oldest advice has always been location, location, location. However, a recent nationwide consumer survey for Coldwell Banker Realty revealed a surprising finding. When searching for their dream home, more consumers now prioritize price (56%) over location (50%). Women also value price more than men – 60% to 48%. This sets new stakes for this year’s real estate market. Additionally, a majority of consumers surveyed (56%) believe the real estate landscape will either improve or remain the same in 2024 compared to 2023. Interestingly, consumers who plan to sell their home in the future would be more likely to move to a different city after selling their home now (39%) vs. in 2022 (19%). Nearly a third of respondents (32%) said their ideal home is located in the South. This was the No. 1 region of the country selected in the survey, which bodes well for Florida and, specifically, the Sarasota-Manatee real estate market. Florida has been the top moving destination in the U.S. for several years running. In terms of home style and size, nearly half (49%) of consumers surveyed said their dream home size is mid-sized: 3-4 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms. Ranch homes, which are plentiful in the Sarasota-Manatee real estate landscape, came out as the top dream home design style at 13%, with Modern Contemporary (11%) a close second. Taking into consideration the electronic age in which we live, the survey also delved into social media influences. Social media significantly influences home preferences for 64% of consumers aged 18-24, compared to a mere 16% of those 55 and above. Some 43% of overall consumers we surveyed have been somewhat influenced or highly influenced by social media in their desire to purchase a particular type of home. With luxury consumers specifically, this stat dramatically increased to 73%. The generations were influenced by different social media outlets. Those aged 18-24 are most likely to have been influenced by TikTok (68%) in their preference to purchase the type of home they desire. Consumers aged 55 and above are most likely to have been influenced by Facebook (54%). And finally, 58% of consumers agreed with the statement, “I consider my home as an asset that I would pass along to my child(ren).” With real estate often being the most expensive purchase in a person’s life, it’s important to have a plan. Please click here for more: Survey: Price Tops Location

ATTORNEY, DEVELOPER FUNDS 211 FOR ONE YEAR

Sarasota County developer and attorney Hugh Culverhouse Jr. has funded the 211 helpline service for at least another year after the Sarasota County Commission cut its funding for the United Way Suncoast-run program. Culverhouse wired $109,000 to United Way Suncoast recently for a program he felt was invaluable to Sarasota County’s mentally ill and elderly population. He did not commit to funding the program long-term, however, after County Commissioner Mark Smith said at a recent meeting that the developer offered to fund the 211 helpline for up to two years. “Since they funded (the helpline) for 25 years, the commission may feel differently because there are always changes in personnel,” Culverhouse said. “I’m not going to stipulate beyond two years because the commission may decide their forefathers were wise. And I don’t want to take away from future commissioners the opportunity to show wisdom.”  After the County Commission cut funding to various nonprofit social services in 2023, United Way Suncoast told officials in February that it would be forced to discontinue 211 helpline access in Sarasota County. The commission’s advisory council had recommended a slight increase in the line’s funding – a little more than $109,000. The commission declined their guidance and cut funding to zero. The 211 helpline is staffed 24/7 with professionals to refer callers to nonprofits and agencies for needs such as bill payments, food insecurity, homelessness, tax preparation and medical services. Culverhouse also said that Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis’ office planned to provide him with a list of community social services whose funding will either be cut, or is likely to be cut. He criticized the commission for what he characterized as politically based funding cuts to social services, saying that with Florida’s development and population boom and subsequent rise in property tax revenue, the county should be able to continue funding. His comments came after Commissioner Neil Rainford questioned why the county should be involved between Culverhouse and United Way Suncoast after a 4-1 vote to refer Culverhouse offer to staff. The commissioner also made clear that he didn’t want the county involved with a nonprofit that may refer residents to Planned Parenthood. To read more please click here: Attorney Funds 211

PARK’S OVERHAUL PROPOSAL SHELVED

The proposal for private development at Sarasota’s Ken Thompson Park has been shelved. Deputy City Manager Patrick Robinson emailed the City Commission and local stakeholders Wednesday saying the proposal to overhaul Ken Thompson Park had been removed from the meeting agenda for an advisory board that was set to review the idea. “Ride Entertainment has made the decision to remove their item/presentation scheduled for April 18” Parks, Recreation & Environmental Protection Advisory Board meeting, Robinson wrote, according to the email obtained by the Herald-Tribune. Jeffrey Koffman, the owner of Ride Entertainment, presented the idea to city leaders in February. The commission voted 3-2 − with Mayor Alpert, Commissioner Arroyo, and Commissioner in favor − to send the item to the advisory board. The controversial development’s centerpiece was a park golf course, for which visitors would be charged. Opponents of the plan criticized any paid amenities at a public park. They said the city could make necessary improvements to the park, which Koffman said would pay for through the profits from his proposed park. Some of the thrills and amenities Koffman pitched to the City Commission for the new park included a zip line, water taxi, refurbished beach, potentially a restaurant and “aerobar,” and a park golf course as the centerpiece greenspace. A Herald-Tribune inquiry found that Arroyo was a registered agent for a company Koffman said he wanted to use to build the course. The presentation described park golf – which originated in Japan – as “a sport between golf and croquet, or ‘mini-golf on steroids.’” There’s more on this story here: Park Development Shelved

CITY PASSES AFFORDABLE HOUSING INCENTIVE

Another affordable housing incentive squeezed past the Sarasota City Commission on the second reading at a special meeting recently. A zoning text amendment that will offer a density and height bonus to developers that build affordable housing in certain districts passed with Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch and Commissioner Debbie Trice in dissent. The amendment creates three new districts in growing areas that aim to encourage mixed-use developments, and it passed by the same vote on the first reading March 4. The districts — known as urban mixed-use 1, 2 and 3 — are located along major corridors like Fruitville Road, Washington Boulevard and U.S. 41 in the North Trail area. Developers that build in these districts will receive up to a triple the density bonus if 15% of the bonus units are priced attainable. The amendment allows developers to build up to 75 units per acre in mixed-use 1 and 2 and 105 units per acre in mixed-use 3, located in the North Trail area. It also affords developers a height of up to 5 stories if projects meet the 15% threshold, though a development can’t exceed 70 feet. Overall, the districts include more than 700 parcels along the designated areas. Their implementation is the latest in a line of affordable housing measures, which have included a downtown density bonus and a recently introduced fund for affordable development. Briana Dobbs, chief planner for the city of Sarasota, said the new districts will ideally encourage walkable, mixed-use projects with residents of varied incomes. “It really does allow for the development we would like to see along these corridors,” Dobbs said.  The amendment has been widely debated since its introduction. While proponents have supported the amendment for addressing the affordable housing issue, opponents fear the extra units and height the amendment affords will inundate districts with excess development while also doing little to solve the problem. Some members of the public called the amendment a step in the right direction and others cautioned that its language was too lenient on developers. Please follow the jump for more on this story: City Passes Affordable Housing Incentive

1ST LOOK AT MOTE SCIENCE AQUARIUM

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium recently gave a behind-the-scenes look at its Mote Science Education Aquarium, as construction continues. The acrylic panels for the Gulf of Mexico habitat – the largest at Mote SEA, featuring a 400,000-gallon tank – were installed in December 2023, followed by the rest of the main habitats throughout the aquarium. Beginning in March, teams began to fill the habitats with water to test for potential leaks. Stairways to the second and third floors have been completed and a complex network of plumbing and life support systems – necessary to breathe life into the one million gallons of habitat throughout the facility – were recently finished.  Mote SEA is expected to begin moving in sea life and finalizing the interior of the space after the summer and is projected to open by the end of 2024. Please click here to see the pics: 1st Look At Mote SEA

CORAL COLLABORATION

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium will collaborate with two aquariums in Taiwan and the philanthropic foundation of a leading Taiwanese electronics manufacturer to advance research on heat-resilient coral and coral restoration, as well as expanding citizen scientists’ impact on those efforts. The partnership will proceed under an agreement Mote signed March 5 with representatives of Delta Environmental and Educational Foundation, Taiwan’s National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium (NMMBA) and the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology (NMMST). The memo of understanding, signed while Mote President & CEO Michael Crosby was giving a presentation in Taiwan, is the first of its type between a major U.S. marine research and science education institution and counterparts in Taiwan. It will allow for exchange of technologies and cross training for scientists, with training manuals generated in both English and Mandarin. Delta, a global provider of power and thermal management solutions, strives to address key environmental issues with innovative technology and has developed a coral restoration project with the two aquariums in Taiwan with a goal of restoring 10,000 corals over three years through continued efforts in propagation and breeding.

The memo makes Mote a critical partner in that effort. The key piece of technology developed by Mote is its Climate and Acidification Ocean Simulator – CAOS system for short – used at Mote’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration on Summerland Key. That system allows coral biologists to test the impact of climate change – including ocean acidification and warming temperatures – and helps them predict what types can thrive as conditions degrade. The agreement follows a record-breaking underwater heat wave that started in July 2023 and devastated much of the Florida Reef Tract. Please click here for more: Coral Collaboration

SELBY GARDENS RANKED AMONG BEST IN U.S.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens recently placed third in the USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards contest for Best Botanical Garden in the United States.

Chosen by a panel of experts, Selby was placed on a short list of 20 gardens from across the country, with the final ranking of the top 10 decided through public voting. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, which placed one spot higher than Selby at number two on the list, was the only other Florida garden that made the top 10. The recognition comes after an eventful few months for Selby, which opened the first phase of its redesign master plan in January. The first phase includes a four-story parking structure topped with solar panels; a rooftop garden that will provide food for the new Green Orchid restaurant; expanded administrative and research facilities; and a new open-air welcome center where patrons will start their visits. That highly anticipated Green Orchid restaurant, operated by Sarasota fine-dining mainstay and Selby Gardens’ longtime food provider Michael’s on East, opened recently.The restaurant is fully solar-powered with designs to achieve net positive energy, generating more energy than it consumes. The rooftop garden will provide fresh produce for a seasonally inspired menu, with the garden planned, planted and maintained by Operation Eco Vets, a nonprofit providing personal, educational and professional growth opportunities for military veterans. 10 Best highlighted Selby’s specialization in “epiphytes, particularly orchids, bromeliads, and ferns” and mentioned the garden’s location on Sarasota’s Bayfront, as well as Historic Spanish Point, its secondary spot in Osprey. Please click on the link for more: Selby Ranked Among The Best

NORTH PORT RANKS AMONG FASTEST GROWING

The city of North Port was ranked No. 21 on Southern Living Magazine’s list of The South’s Best Cities on the Rise for 2024. That placed the fast-growing city between Morgantown, West Virginia, at No. 20 and Lake Charles, Louisiana, at No. 22.

Wilmington, North Carolina, ranked No. 1, Franklin, Tennessee, No. 2, with No. 13 Palm Bay the only other Florida city to make the list. According to the Southern Living website, the magazine’s editors compile a list of “Best Cities on the Rise,” based on research – including the U.S. Census, which denoted that the South accounted for 87% of the country’s growth in 2023. It was also the only region to maintain population growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Readers then pick their favorites for the magazine’s annual “South’s Best Awards” survey. The initial list pointed to Warm Mineral Springs, the Myakka State Forest and the emerging Downtown Wellen Park as main draws. Since then, MoneyGeek placed North Port No. 1 on its list of “Most Up and Coming Small Cities in the U.S,” and No. 7 on its list of “15 Most Affordable and Safe Small Cities.” With a five-year population growth of 28.4%, North Port was the fastest-growing city on the Up and Coming list. MoneyGeek also cited a 43% increase in housing units since 2017 and a 46% increase in median household income – to $78,587 – in that same time period.

On the Affordable and Safe list, North Port earned its rankings in part because monthly mortgage payments made up only 21.2% of income and monthly food cost 14.7% of income – though it’s also worth noting that the food cost percentage was the highest among the top 15 ranked cities. There’s more on this story here: North Port Rising Cities

TIME TO SADDLE UP

Riders ambled to Myakka City recently to compete in a Winter Series at the TerraNova Equestrian Center, a new horse riding show venue that opened in Manatee County in 2021. For co-founder Hannah Herrig Ketelboeter, the facility is the culmination of a lifetime in horse riding. The facility features six competition arenas including a cross-country course designed by Olympic gold-medal winner Mark Phillips and built by craftsman Eric Bull. The venue hosts equestrian competitions that include hunter and jumper, eventing and dressage shows. “My husband and I both ride and compete, and it kind of turned into a family project to build this show facility,” Ketelboeter said. “One thing we always wanted to do is to make it a world-class experience for all levels of riders,” she said. “We often see the young riders getting to talk to these big-time Olympians and Grand Prix riders, and they get inspired by interacting with them. It’s a great environment for those two levels in the sport to connect.” The center features a VIP pavilion, spectator viewing areas, permanent luxury stabling, wash racks, a campground with RV hookups, a show office with a lounge, a play area for children, and a dog park. General admission is free, including the parking and ringside bench seating. The center also offers VIP experience packages that feature up-close seating to the arena and vendors, a catered meal, bar services and entertainment. The venue also features 250 equestrian stalls measuring 12 feet by 12 feet equipped with a mattress system, fans, LED lighting, high ceilings and TV monitors. There are plans to expand up to 600 stalls in the future. There’s more on this story here: Time To Saddle Up

COUNTY EXTENDS SNOOK HAVEN LEASE

Snook Haven will continue operating through April 30, 2025, after the Sarasota County Commission approved a lease extension with the business recently.

“With the lease extension approved, we are excited to be able to host our annual Myakka River Blues Festival again this year on Memorial Day,” Justin Pachota, president of Venice Pier Group, said in a prepared statement. “It will be the 13th year hosting the festival and we are happy the event will take place one more year at the original, iconic and historic Old Florida Snook Haven before construction begins.” The popular restaurant is at 5000 East Venice Ave., on the banks of the Myakka River. Venice Pier Group was offered the extension because plans for a new waterfront venue are still in design and permitting, Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Director Nicole Rissler explained in that same statement. “This extension allows the community to continue to enjoy the services and amenities they are accustomed to at Snook Haven while design and permitting is completed,” she added. Operations will continue as normal, with the same regularly scheduled entertainment. Pachota previously said he had already been working on scheduling the Myakka River Blues Festival, now scheduled for May 27.

The extension will allow Venice Pier Group to get in one more Easter, on April 20, 2025, before closing the restaurant on April 30. Snook Haven has served as everything from a movie set to bootlegger outpost in the 1930s, before opening as a fish camp in 1948. The oldest structure on the 2.5-acre property, a 3,198-square-foot River House built in 1936 that was not included in the VPG, will be restored by Sarasota County as well. Click here for more: Snook Haven Lease Extended

SMH RANKS 4TH ON LIST OF BEST FLORIDA HOSPITALS

Sarasota Memorial Hospital maintained its place among the world’s best hospitals as Newsweek released its sixth annual list of the world’s best hospitals. A total of 412 hospitals in the U.S. and 18 in Florida made the list. SMH maintained its place as the fourth-ranked hospital in Florida and rose to No. 131 in the country, compared with its ranking at No. 146 in the 2023 list and 161 in 2022. The rankings, conducted by Newsweek with market research company Statista Inc., survey about 2,400 medical institutions in 30 countries. The list is based on patient care quality metrics as well as surveys of patients, physicians and hospital staff. The top five hospitals were all in North America. Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic and Cleveland, Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic were the top two. Toronto General in Toronto, Canada, ranked No. 3, followed by The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The Florida campus of Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville ranked No. 1 in Florida and No. 15 in the U.S., followed by the Florida campus of Cleveland Clinic in Weston which was No. 45 in the nation; Tampa General Hospital, which finished No. 77 in the nation; and SMH, which earned an award for infection prevention and remains the only hospital in Southwest Florida to make the list. In a prepared statement, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System CEO David Verinder attributed the repeated recognition to the healthcare team and its commitment to the community. Also in a news release, Nancy Cooper, Global Editor-in-Chief for Newsweek, noted the goal of the study is to provide a data-based comparison of hospital reputation and performance across countries. Please click here for more: SMH Ranks 4th Of Best Fla. Hospitals

PINEY POINT CLOSURE GAINS STEAM

Three years ago, a breach at the former Piney Point fertilizer plant released about 215 million gallons of polluted wastewater into Tampa Bay. The incident made international headlines, forced nearby residents to evacuate, and helped feed a red tide bloom that had a major impact on the environment and local economy. The closure of the troubled site is now underway. Water levels have been drawn down significantly as crews work round-the-clock to inject hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater deep underground. “Turning your back on it doesn’t do a thing,” attorney Herb Donica said. He was appointed in court in August 2021 to lead closure operations for the troubled property. “I think the big leak they had in April 2021 was the wake-up call,” he said. Manatee County’s injection well has operated for about one year, and 182 million gallons of pre-treated wastewater from the site has been disposed of deep underground. Donica has received about $92.7 million in state funds to shutter the property, although an estimated 210 million to 240 million gallons of wastewater remains. He estimates what remains of that funding may run dry before the end of this year, and that it could potentially cost an additional $50 million to finish. Crews are slowly draining water out of the sediment from the SeaPort Manatee dredging project that was deposited in 2011 into the gypstack system by filling “geotubes” with the slurry and allowing the water to drain out of them while the sediment remains inside. The cleaned water is then sent across Buckeye Road for pre-treatment and underground disposal at the Manatee County well site. The process has already had some hiccups. In March, Manatee County reported a 6,000-gallon spill at the well site after a power outage caused wastewater to accumulate and overflow onto the property. Two lawsuits have been filed regarding operations at the former Piney Point property, and both are being held up by HRK Holdings, the company that owns the site and went bankrupt.

The state filed a civil lawsuit against the company in 2021 in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court. But HRK Holdings has never responded to that lawsuit, leading the court to file a clerk’s default against the company. There’s more to read here: Piney Point Closure Gains Steam

SARASOTA PLAYERS MAY FACE COMPETITION

A proposed project that would create a new 300-seat theater and event center for The Sarasota Players and other community groups at the City of Sarasota’s Payne Park Auditorium has been revised in response to questions and requests from city staff in the last few months. But The Stage at Payne Park project may face competition for the auditorium, as the latest plans have drawn resistance from some community members who say it takes up too much park space in ways that are not consistent with the creation of Payne Park itself or what was originally pitched to the City Commission. The downtown land was left to the city in 1925 in a bequest from Calvin and Martha Payne for a “park, playground and kindred uses and for no other use or purpose.” In 2019, the City Commission rejected the Sarasota Orchestra’s proposal to build a new music center in a different part of Payne Park. The city has been in discussions with The Stage, a limited liability corporation established last summer by the board of the Sarasota Players to oversee the development of a multipurpose facility, raise money for it and operate the venue. Commissioners, who had earlier rejected the theater company’s proposal to move operations to the larger Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, expressed a desire to keep the theater in the city and began discussions for turning the Payne Park site into a performance venue. Officials have discussed a 30-year lease with The Stage paying about $100 per year and $1 from each ticket sold.

Brian McCarthy, CEO of The Stage, said the revised plans submitted to city staff call for renovating the existing auditorium and adding a nearly 17,000-square-foot building that would house the theater space, offices, rehearsal halls and banquet facilities. He said The Stage has a letter of intent from the city and that commissioners “have encouraged us to go forward” with the design process. “Our design proposal is a response to the city telling us to move forward.” Now, city officials are hearing about a new proposal for the facility that would not require expanding the footprint of the venue into the park. Kelly Kirschner, chair of the board of UnidosNow, which works to enhance the life of the area’s growing Latino/Hispanic community, has reached out to City Manager Marlon Brown about using Payne Park Auditorium as a base of operations for its many community programs. He said the organization would also partner with cultural arts group CreArte Latino, which he said is losing its lease at the Airport Mall near Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. Kirschner, a former Sarasota City Commissioner, said the building is in a neighborhood with a large Latino population. “It’s one of the few places within walking distance of homes and one of the few affordable venues where you could do a quinceañera or a dance party or wedding reception.”

There’s more on this story here: Sarasota Players May Face Competition

NEW SOUNDS FOR MUSIC FESTIVAL SEASON

As he prepares for the 60th anniversary season of the Sarasota Music Festival, music director Jeffrey Kahane is looking to change things up in unexpected, unplanned ways. The festival, which brings 60 young musicians (known as fellows) to Sarasota for three weeks each June to train, study and perform with a rotating roster of dozens of professionals, will have more of an improvisational feel this year, while also acknowledging traditions established with the creation of the festival in 1965. Kahane said the lineup of programs and performances will be a game-changer. “We’re doing something this festival has never done before, bringing into the fabric of the festival a lot of different kinds of music,” he said. That includes standard classical pieces, along with jazz and bluegrass. “There’s been a remarkable phenomenon happening in the last couple of decades. Many of the finest classical musicians are also playing jazz and bluegrass. Cellist Mike Block plays all kinds of different music. Violinist Tessa Lark plays bluegrass.” And Robert Levin, the pianist who was Kahane’s predecessor as festival music director, “is probably the greatest living example of one kind of improvisation. I don’t know that he plays jazz, but I know he could. But when it comes to improvising Mozart and Beethoven, there is no one better,” he said. Improvisation will be at the heart of the second week of the festival, which will feature Kahane, Lark and Block performing “Improvisation on the Largo from Dvořák’s ’New World Symphony’” at the second Artist Showcase Concert. There will be more improvisational pieces during the “American Soundscapes” concert on the second Saturday, with Block performing his own “Iniche Cosebe.” The concert also includes conductor Teddy Abrams’ arrangement of Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” along with clarinetist Charles Neidich highlighted in Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. The festival opens at 4 p.m. June 2 with a program that includes “Le Rossignol en amour” by Francois Couperin, which Kahane said was on the first program of the first festival.

Please click on the link for more: New Sounds For Sarasota Music Festival

DONORS GIVE OVER $17M TO NONPROFITS

After a record-breaking start, this year’s 24-hour online Giving Challenge raised more than $17.2 million for area nonprofits – the second-highest amount in the event’s dozen-year history. The figure surpasses the last event in 2022 by $1 million, while the number of donors also soared, from about 46,000 two years ago to a record-setting 53,300 this time around. This year’s Giving Challenge donations fell just under the record high of $19 million from 2020. The amount will go to support 724 participating nonprofits – another record – with unrestricted funds for causes that range from food stability to human services, the environment, animal welfare and cultural institutions. “I have a grateful heart for our community,” said Roxie Jerde, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County – which hosts the Giving Challenge – at the reveal party where results were announced. While the dollars help the nonprofits with their missions, she added, it was important to remember that behind those hundreds of agencies are thousands of local residents touched by their work and services. “We can’t forget that the money makes a difference in people’s lives,” Jerde said. “At the end of the day, it’s people that benefit.” This year’s event – the ninth Giving Challenge held since it began in 2012 – brings the total amount raised in its history to $92.2 million. As in past years, this year’s total included a dollar-for-dollar match provided by The Patterson Foundation for every donation of $25-$100. Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation, said the match represents her organization’s trust in the Giving Challenge’s time-tested model of allowing all residents of any age to learn about and contribute to vetted nonprofits with the touch of a few buttons – becoming philanthropists themselves in the process. Please click here for more on this story: Donors Give Over $17M To Nonprofits