Sarasota Livin'

We went to see Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream last night at the Powel Crosley Theatre -- outside on the bay. It was a great night -- perfect weather and a fun play!

Click The Picture for a Slideshow!

I have been getting the CHIP newsletter for a while and find it pretty interesting. It's not one of my hot button issues but certainly very important. Another great thing going on in Sarasota that most people have never heard of!

Community Health Improvement Partnership or CHIP, brings together a dynamic collaboration of individuals, not-for-profit organizations, hospitals, and other agencies dedicated to building better health and wellness for Sarasota and Charlotte Counties. CHIP empowers these groups to create tangible, positive change by engaging in the following crucial activities:

Visioning - Collecting & Analyzing Data - Prioritizing Issues

Taking Action - Evaluating Results - Informing the Community

The heart of CHIP - the fundamental pulse driving the process - springs from the exciting energy of the people working with CHIP to improve health. And health, for CHIP, is broadly defined to include more than just the physical condition of individuals. It emphasizes the wellness of the entire community and its social and personal resources.

We had two high school girls from Hiroshima Japan stay at our house the past 2 nights. They were really nice and we all enjoyed the visit. They are part of the Hiroshima Funairi Senior High School Band. Their band was visiting Sarasota to play with the Kiltie Band from Riverview HS.

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Off to School Early Morning

This is our second time hosting Japanese band kids - it's a great experience for both sides. It was especially 'special' for most of the US adults as there was the big green elephant in the room while they were here. I didn't bring it up with them as I was reluctant to discuss such a horrific topic with such young sweet kids ...

Run Suwanee -- Suwanee, Georgia's Running Information Source blog has a good outsiders review of the race.

Flat, fast, and friendly describe the third annual Sarasota Marathon, held on March 2, 2008. 530 runners finished the marathon while 1,949 completed the half-marathon. Both events started in the dark at 6:00 am at the John and Mable Ringling Museum. Temperatures this time of year can range from the 50 to 80 degrees. For this reason, the race director intelligently starts the race early enough to ensure that most runners won't be on the road during the heat of the day. The race course wound its way south through residential neighborhood with views of Sarasota Bay. At mile 3.5, runners continued to race south along US 41 (Tamiami Trail), a very busy road. While traffic was blocked on one side of the highway, this was not the most scenic part of the race.

Winter Park is a very nice "small town" in the metro Orlando area. It really has the Sarasota feel there and to top it off where we had the clowns they have arty gators!

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Excuse the poor resolution ... they were from my blackjack phone with the crappy camera.

It was a great morning for a race. There were lots of people seeing Payne Park for the first time. I think everyone was impressed.

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Some on city board criticize downtown project's design

By Roger Drouin
Published Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

SARASOTA — Three members of a redevelopment advisory board on Monday used the words "cheap," "institutional" and "flat" to describe a project proposed for city-owned land on Palm Avenue.

The Sarasota Herald Tribune story of the Community Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board meeting was "entertaining" but unfortunately I have to laugh at my own "expense" .... really is my expense as a taxpayer... I don't have an opinion on the building as I didn't see them.... and we sort of I guess maybe need the parking spaces .. I am sure the local arts community will like them when the dust settles someday.