Sarasota Herald Tribune articles from June 2009

Sarasota Herald Tribune archives from June 2009

Victim details daring escape.
June 4, 2009... Byline: HALLE STOCKTON and TODD RUGER Clay Moore heard his kidnapper leave the East Manatee woods where he had been tied up, waited a bit and then got to work on his escape. Clay, then 13 years old, could hear helicopters buzzing...

Brainstorming camp.
June 4, 2009... Byline: TIFFANY LANKES and ANNA SALINAS Staff writers Equipped with laptops and brainstorming ideas for next year's lessons, about 200 teachers are spending their first days of vacation this week at the district's Camp Activboard. The...

Fashions in spotlight at yacht club luncheon.
June 4, 2009... Byline: Heather Dunhill Kudos to hostess and organizer Joyce Steele, who planned a fun event for the more than 150 attendees who took part in the event, under the sparkling chandeliers in the room called the Upper Deck. High achievers...

Festival draws fans to new park.
June 4, 2009... Byline: BETSY WILLIAMS Correspondent The Festival in the Park offered live music by feature bands Buckshot and Sudden Impact with dancing on the new boardwalk, local artists and craftsmen who lined the area under the bleachers, and...

Herald Tribune Obituaries.
June 5, 2009... June 8, 2008 - June 2, 2009 Ryan Walter Gerken Jr., 11 months, of Bradenton died June 2, 2009. Visitation will be at 11 a.m. Saturday until the time of the service at Palms-Robarts Funeral Home. Services will be held at noon. ...

Next time someone claims the sky is falling, look up.
June 5, 2009... Byline: LAUREN RUDD Herald-Tribune Columnist For example, in the news of late is the conjecture that the Depression of 1929 was merely a prologue to upcoming events. Well-known technical stock analyst Robert Prechter said as recently as May...

Higher education's value.
June 5, 2009... Byline: KATHY SILVERBERG Herald-Tribune Columnist This year, federal stimulus money and permission for a hefty tuition increase have lessened the impact on Florida's state colleges and universities, but still, the University of Florida's...

Infusion of funds bolsters Community Bank.
June 5, 2009... Byline: JOHN HIELSCHER and MICHAEL BRAGA Staff Writers $10 million sets the stage for more and larger loans When Community Bank of Manatee CEO Bill Sedgeman walked into the local Starbucks Thursday morning, his regular barista said it...

Michael's on East wins national honor.
June 5, 2009... Byline: TOM BAYLES Michael's On East has been named, along with top restaurants in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco, to Nation's Restaurant News magazine's 2009 Fine Dining Hall of Fame. Sarasota resident Burton Sack, a former...

Politics, not economics, is behind cuts in sports.
June 5, 2009... Byline: ERIC ERNST Herald-Tribune Columnist The money handlers in Tallahassee announce that there's not enough cash to go around, they project a worst-case scenario, then they await the hysteria from those told they'll have to make do with...

That villain, the pepper, isn't all bad. Just mostly.
June 5, 2009... Byline: DOUG SWORD Long decried as the weedy kin to poison ivy and a threat to endangered species, the fast-growing pepper literally sucks carbon out of the atmosphere, according to a new study. Because of concerns over climate change,...

How to live long and prosper.
June 5, 2009... Byline: LAURA SPERLING Herald-Tribune Editorial Writer Not the birds-and-bees stuff; they've got that down pretty well, now that "sexting" is around to fill in the gaps left by "abstinence" class. What I mean is, do they understand...

TOP MINDS MEET OVER DRYWALL.
June 5, 2009... Byline: AARON KESSLER At a summit in Orlando, a search for insight about a homeowner's nightmare Attorneys from all sides of the tainted Chinese drywall issue descended Thursday on Orlando for a two-day conference dedicated to the...

VIOLATIONS NET FINE OF $11,000.
June 5, 2009... Byline: KIM HACKETT A bar operator whose unpermitted work triggered an ethics investigation against a top city building official was fined $11,000 by the Code Enforcement Board on Thursday. The fine followed two years of problems and...

Charges against Balkwill in limbo.
June 5, 2009... Byline: ANTHONY CORMIER It could be months before a special prosecutor decides whether to file felony theft charges against former Sheriff Bill Balkwill. Balkwill is the subject of two investigations. One, by the State Attorney's...

Bus stop abduction leads to conviction.
June 5, 2009... Byline: HALLE STOCKTON Vicente Beltran-Moreno's guilt in the Clay Moore kidnapping case was almost a foregone conclusion during his trial this week. The evidence against Beltran-Moreno was so overwhelming that his attorney even admitted...

Englewood fights for Pioneer Days.
June 5, 2009... Byline: TERRY O'CONNOR Correspondent The Pioneer Days Festival, Englewood's annual celebration of early settlers' grit and spirit, now finds its own mettle challenged. But just as in the past, hardship is helping knit the community...

Piloto switches to Mount Union.
June 5, 2009... Byline: DENNIS MAFFEZZOLI When the Lemon Bay High coaches attended a football recruiting camp for Division II and III and NAIA schools in Cape Coral the past two years, each time they passed the Mount Union College table, one name came up....

Oaks Club ready for encore of tourney.
June 5, 2009... Byline: MIC HUBER Herald-Tribune Columnist The Oaks Club tennis community so enjoyed its first foray into hosting a women's pro tournament that there really was little doubt that the event would return for an encore. The Board of...

Condos lose water to save it.
June 5, 2009... Byline: KATE SPINNER Leaky old toilets and dripping pipes cost the 1,200 residents of Pelican Cove an estimated $65,000 a year, a waste of money and water that the community is combating with help from the Southwest Florida Water...

A little bird told me.
June 5, 2009... Byline: Anthony Cormier Players, coaches and agents are taking especially to Twitter, the social networking phenomenon where 140 characters is enough to remind everyone to buy Gatorade, check out their new clothing line or celebrate the...

SAN MARCO PLAZA PLAN SCUTTLED.
June 5, 2009... Byline: JAY HANDELMAN Golden Apple owner Robert Turoff has put the property in San Marco Plaza up for sale because he said he was unable to secure the financing needed to complete construction of a new theater. Turoff and his wife,...

Manatee says yes to 520 new homes.
June 5, 2009... Byline: DALE WHITE Despite the sagging real estate market, developers continue to stake their claims in the Parrish and Ellenton areas for future subdivisions. On Thursday, Manatee County commissioners approved two North Manatee...

Jazzing up a gateway to the city.
June 5, 2009... Byline: ROGER DROUIN The city is sprucing up its now-barren gateway. Work begins today on the $300,000 project to add new shrubs and trees along the median on Fruitville Road, on a three-mile stretch from U.S. 301 to McIntosh Road. ...

Jilted at the return desk, man starts revenge fire in Manatee Wal-Mart store.
June 5, 2009... Byline: BART PFANKUCH The fire ruined thousands of dollars of merchandise and caused extensive damage to the store in the 2900 block of 53rd Avenue East in East Manatee County around 4 p.m. Thursday. After the fire was discovered,...

SaraReds fall in 14 innings.
June 5, 2009... Byline: PHIL DENIS CORRESPONDENT After nearly five hours the Brevard County Manatees outlasted the Sarasota Reds for a 7-6, 14-inning victory in front of 1,103 at Ed Smith Stadium on Thursday night. Brevard County leadoff batter Lee...

Market in need of a home.
June 5, 2009... Byline: TONI WHITT The Fruitville Road farmer's market that is home to the area's second-largest fall pumpkin festival, is saying good-bye to customers this weekend, at least until the owners find a new home. The Detwilers, who have...

Herald Tribune Obituaries.
June 6, 2009... Jan. 21, 1917 - June 3, 2009 James J. Cox, 92, of Sarasota, died June 3, 2009. Arrangements are being handled by Wiegand Brothers Funeral Home. Survivors include a brother, John of Evans, Ga., and a sister, Patricia Pastrick of...

A promise by future priests.
June 6, 2009... Byline: BETSY WILLIAMS Correspondent Diocese of Venice seminarians Bernard Chojnacki and Cory Mayer have moved one step closer to becoming priests. The two were ordained as transitional deacons during a recent Mass at Epiphany...

Kirkwood at Carnegie Hall.
June 6, 2009... Byline: STEVE HEISLER Correspondent Steve Smith, a tenor, has sung with symphonies in Cincinnati and Kentucky, but nothing approaches what he is experiencing this weekend. As a member of Kirkwood Presbyterian Church's chancel choir, he...

Redrawing financial rules.
June 6, 2009... Byline: WALDO PROFFITT Herald-Tribune Columnist Got it? Just working through that sentence is something of an education in the complexity surrounding financial regulation in the United States. I believe it is correct to say economists...

Charlotte sailors weather summer storms.
June 6, 2009... Byline: TOM BECNEL Herald-Tribune Columnist Afternoon storms sweep across the water, challenging helmsmen with ever-changing conditions. Curtains of rain open and close. Gusts of wind pick up and die down. Dark, light. Day, night....

Policies may not cover the drywall.
June 6, 2009... Byline: AARON KESSLER Attorneys say pollution clauses give insurance firms the upper hand It may not be the sexiest of topics, but the intricacies of insurance policies may prove to be paramount in deciding who winds up footing the...

Stopped for driving erratically, man pulls a gun and kills himself.
June 6, 2009... Byline: ANTHONY CORMIER James P. Keenan was driving erratically on State Road 681 Friday morning when a deputy working a traffic crash flagged him down. Keenan, 60, stopped his sport utility vehicle about a mile east of the U.S. 41...

Sand, surf, and a mystery.
June 6, 2009... Byline: KATE SPINNER The unprecedented amount of grass, resembling soft white straw, started showing up on Sanibel Island a week ago. It has since spread, raising curiosity more than concern. Local scientists speculate that turbulent...

Son's whisper makes tough choice right one.
June 6, 2009... Byline: RICH BROOKS Herald-Tribune Columnist When I say "it" I'm talking about my life. And it's funny that whispered words from someone so, um, young can mean so much. Some background first. Life has always presented...

Arrests follow clothing fire at Wal-Mart.
June 6, 2009... Byline: CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL Police now suspect a shoplifting ring might be at work At first, it seemed that a man who set fire to racks of clothes at a Manatee County Wal-Mart store Thursday was just an angry customer who had been...

ROADS FEE REPAYMENT IS SOUGHT.
June 6, 2009... Byline: TERRY O'CONNOR Correspondent Lowe's Home Center Inc. made an unprecedented bid Friday to get back more than half of a nearly $2.5 million transportation fee paid to North Port to build a home improvement store in the city last year....

Cuts in high school sports stand; lawsuits ready.
June 6, 2009... Byline: JOHN DAVIS The Florida High School Athletic Association invited multiple lawsuits from girls sports advocates across the state on Friday when it postponed reconsideration of scheduling cuts to all sports but football over the next...

Infant gets new hope with shift in state policy.
June 6, 2009... Byline: ANNA SCOTT Their efforts, and the support of their community in Port Charlotte, may end up helping not only Meikah, but other children in Florida, too. In response to the case, Florida's Medicaid director said Friday he is...

D-Day memories find a voice, decades later.
June 6, 2009... Byline: BILLY COX For decades, Walter Clayton kept a lid on the journey that began at Omaha Beach and ended with a trove of some of the greatest testaments to valor: a Bronze Star, a Silver Star, three Purple Hearts and the French Legion...

Who knew nuns could be so funny?
June 6, 2009... Byline: JAY HANDELMAN It is better for them to cast their eyes up toward the crucifix over the blackboard. Welcome to "Late Nite Catechism," happily ensconced at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, where Sister is going to share some...

Sports legends gather for cause in Sarasota.
June 6, 2009... Byline: DOUG FERNANDES Herald-Tribune Columnist Another Friday night, another hotel ballroom filled with good sports, another worthy cause benefited. And the star power of Dick Vitale wasn't even needed. Still, they all came out --...

Sarasota rallies in 10th to top Brevard.
June 6, 2009... Byline: PHIL DENIS Correspondent Jason Bour's two-out single into the left-center field gap allowed Jake Kahaulelio to score the winning run Friday night at Ed Smith Stadium as the Sarasota Reds rallied for a 5-4 victory in 10 innings over...

WAL-MART FIRE LEADS TO ARRESTS.
June 6, 2009... Byline: CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL At first, it seemed that a man who set fire to racks of clothes at a Manatee County Wal-Mart store Thursday was just an angry customer who had been refused a refund at the service desk. But later, Manatee...

William Allen's D-Day story.
June 6, 2009... Byline: ABBY WEINGARTEN Correspondent IN THE WAR: Pilot with the 70th bomb group, 312th bomb squadron of the Ninth Air Force. TODAY: Now 86, Allen lives in Sarasota with his wife of 25 years, Jean. "When D-Day happened, we really...

Elmer Browning's D-Day story.
June 6, 2009... Byline: ABBY WEINGARTEN Correspondent TODAY: Now 84, Browning recently moved from Sarasota to Georgia with his wife of almost two years, Melba. "I flew with our crew on D-Day dropping bombs before our men hit the beach trying to knock...

Morton Barry's D-Day story.
June 6, 2009... Byline: ABBY WEINGARTEN Correspondent TODAY: Now 83, Barry lives in Sarasota with his wife of 58 years, Sylvia. "We were assigned to go over to a troop ship. They climbed down those cargo nets and we could take 24 soldiers. I'm in the...

Herald Tribune Obituaries.
June 6, 2009... Jan. 21, 1917 - June 3, 2009 James J. Cox, 92, of Sarasota, died June 3, 2009. Arrangements are being handled by Wiegand Brothers Funeral Home. Survivors include a brother, John of Evans, Ga., and a sister, Patricia Pastrick of...

Retooling, not retiring.
June 7, 2009... Byline: HAROLD BUBIL Real Estate Editor Yes, they were cottages of 1,200 to 1,600 square feet, but the price point certainly got a lot of attention from the media -- and buyers. These low-priced homes have sold well in Forest Creek, in...

The 'target market' drives her designs.
June 7, 2009... Byline: HAROLD BUBIL Real Estate Editor "Don't shoot me from the neck up," she says as I take pictures. "Or the sneakers." Charlene Neal may be vice president of design for prominent Manatee County home-builder Neal Communities, but...

Broadway's time to shine.
June 7, 2009... Byline: JAY HANDELMAN In this era or recession, where nervous investors were even more nervous than ever, something unusual happened on Broadway. It became a more welcoming place for non-musicals, some of which are enjoying sell-out...

An improved theater.
June 7, 2009... Byline: Jay Handelman Inside a gleaming new building that is part of St. Petersburg College, American Stage is celebrating the opening this weekend of its new Raymond James Theatre with a production of "Tuesdays with Morrie." ...

It's time for new anxieties.
June 7, 2009... Byline: David Grimes As the two or three of you who still read in the newspaper know, hurricane season began June 1 and emergency officials are already trying to whip us up into the state of hand-wringing anxiety one normally associates...

Group unites dancers and classical musicians.
June 7, 2009... Byline: WALKER MEADE Correspondent "The inspiration for the Epic Ensemble came from a desire to preserve the relationship between live music and dance," said choreographer Alyson Frantz. "The Epic Ensemble is not a dance company that uses...

Herald Tribune Obituaries.
June 7, 2009... Nov. 6, 1924 - May 10, 2009 Herb Alward, 84, of Fleming Island, formerly of Sarasota, died May 10, 2009. A celebration of life will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sarasota Outboard Club, 1763 Ken Thompson Parkway. For...

Communities struggle to keep the skies lit.
June 7, 2009... Byline: ZAC ANDERSON The annual light shows are being scaled back in many places, and the display has been canceled in Englewood. Most communities have avoided blackouts by cutting budgets to match the economic times, or finding...

Sailors' Gennett takes long trip to MLB draft.
June 7, 2009... Byline: DENNIS MAFFEZZOLI Prior to Ryan "Scooter" Gennett's 10th birthday, his family planned to move from Ohio to Florida. Don Gennett, a former scout with the Houston Astros, wanted a better opportunity for his son to play baseball...

Sink intent on finding her own path.
June 7, 2009... Byline: GARY FINEOUT H-T Capital Correspondent Candidate for governor learns from her husband's 2002 defeat Alex Sink knows what it is like to lose the governor's race. Nearly seven years ago she stood next to her husband, Bill...

Eric Ernst: Trying to work through some legislative 'logic'.
June 7, 2009... Byline: ERIC ERNST Herald-Tribune Columnist Here's a good example. People are stuck in their homes because they cannot afford to sell. Values have dropped below what homeowners owe. Houses sit vacant across the state because people...

Capitol Comments: If you want to see Crist light up, talk Magic.
June 7, 2009... Byline: JOE FOLLICK and LLOYD DUNKELBERGER Herald-Tribune Columnists The U.S. Senate candidate would rather talk sports than policy, and that was evident during a Monday afternoon press event at a Home Depot in Tallahassee to urge...

GOP in cash crunch.
June 7, 2009... Byline: JEREMY WALLACE H-T Political Writer The Republican Party's struggles are showing up in the one place that has been immune from the gains Democrats have made in Sarasota County: the wallet. Through the first three months of...

Bigger warehouse will help All Faiths Food Bank meet rising demand.
June 7, 2009... Byline: JENNIFER SHEA Correspondent Despite the recession and, in a way, because of it, All Faiths Food Bank has moved into a new warehouse and distribution center. The move to the International Trade Center off Fruitville Road east of...

IN SOLAR ARRAY, LITTLE SAVINGS.
June 7, 2009... Byline: ZAC ANDERSON A Sarasota County rancher and environmentalist spent $500,000 for one of the largest private solar projects in Florida, expecting big savings on energy costs while setting an example for others to follow. But...

SaraReds drop another.
June 7, 2009... Byline: PHIL DENIS Correspondent The Brevard County Manatees arrived at Ed Smith Stadium for a four-game series against the Sarasota Reds as the FSL's top ballclub in batting average and pitcher's earned run average. The Milwaukee...

Tom Lyons: System doesn't always foster good parenting.
June 7, 2009... Byline: TOM LYONS Herald-Tribune Columnist In short, she bristled at my suggestion that many of Florida's foster parents may be too quick to embrace medication of children as the answer to behavior and emotional problems. Most foster...

Herald Tribune Obituaries.
June 7, 2009... Nov. 6, 1924 - May 10, 2009 Herb Alward, 84, of Fleming Island, formerly of Sarasota, died May 10, 2009. A celebration of life will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sarasota Outboard Club, 1763 Ken Thompson Parkway. For...

Plenty of work for this screen business.
June 8, 2009... Byline: AARON KESSLER Jack Kelly never thought he would find himself in the screening business. The 30-year veteran of IBM had already retired from a long career in the computer industry, and he and his wife were living a quiet...

Bad loans still haunting local banks.
June 8, 2009... Byline: MICHAEL BRAGA A review of financial reports for the three months ended March 31 shows that the 20 largest community banks lost $38.6 million, or 429 percent more than the $7.3 million they lost during the same period a year ago....

Broadway Bar back in lights.
June 8, 2009... Byline: KEVIN L. McQUAID Retired mayor Lou Ann Palmer once described it as "the most important place in this entire city." Longboat Key's police chief calls it "old Sarasota, only better." For the past two months, long-term customers...

Herald Tribune Obituaries.
June 8, 2009... Oct. 30, 1914 - June 5, 2009 Maxine French McIntosh, 94, of Sarasota died June 5, 2009. No services will be held at this time. Interment will be in Milwaukee. Maxine is survived by her daughter Joan (Don) Van Hulzen of Iowa City,...

His statement didn't make it to House floor.
June 8, 2009... Byline: JEREMY WALLACE Herald-Tribune Columnist Rouson, a St. Petersburg Democrat who represents parts of Sarasota and Manatee, said in an interview last week that he was frustrated with Republican leaders who would not hear his bill to...

'Gramps' just wants to pitch in.
June 8, 2009... Byline: DOUG FERNANDES Herald-Tribune Columnist His Sarasota Reds teammates call Ben Davis "gramps," or any other like designation of advanced maturity. Earlier this season, one of them yelled something to the 32-year-old on a...

Mass celebrates a long, compassionate ministry.
June 8, 2009... Byline: JOHN DAVIS Bishop John Nevins, the inaugural leader of the Venice Diocese, marked the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood Sunday, celebrating Mass before hundreds of well-wishers from across Southwest Florida. ...

Frayed nerves behind the wheel on State Road 64.
June 8, 2009... Byline: HALLE STOCKTON With two daughters, the last thing Beth Bush needs is another morning obstacle to overcome. But all school year the East Manatee mother had to leave early for her daughters' schools, because both are located in...

Signs must fit code, but no rush.
June 8, 2009... Byline: TERRY O'CONNOR Correspondent Lax enforcement during the boom years from 1999 to 2004 has left North Port dotted with dozens of business signs now out of compliance with city regulations. The North Port Planning and Zoning...

From tiny town to county, a message: 'Remember us?'.
June 8, 2009... Byline: DALE WHITE Rubonia's Bayshore Road once served as an integral link in the original Tamiami Trail. Drivers going to and from Tampa and Coral Gables, and cities in between, passed through this hamlet on the tributaries of Terra...

Review: Bad singing never sounded so good.
June 8, 2009... Byline: JAY HANDELMAN Jenkins, a popular New York socialite in the 1930s and '40s, was a famously bad singer, whose recitals became the stuff of legend. Through a lot of hard work and supposed practice she made it to Carnegie Hall. The...

Festival starts to wear a bit thin.
June 8, 2009... Byline: GAYLE WILLIAMS Correspondent Opening with a rather anemic performance of Handel's Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6, HMV 324, the student orchestra with faculty Stephen Doan in the principal cello chair and Joy Cline Phinney on...

In search of a boarder or two, preferably sane.
June 8, 2009... Byline: JOHN DAVIS One room is unoccupied, and the couple wants to rent it out, even if it means a crowding a stranger into the family home. "We're actually renting ourselves, and I really don't think the owners mind. They know what...

PUBLIC WORKS PLANS ON HOLD.
June 8, 2009... Byline: DOUG SWORD Even as the county speeds up public works spending to create local jobs, plummeting tax collections have tossed into limbo $107 million in projects once slated to happen in the next five years. Among the pushed-back...

Herald Tribune Obituaries.
June 8, 2009... July 21, 1952 - June 3, 2009 Leonard J. Anzalone, 56, of Bradenton, formerly of New Jersey and Laurel, Md., died June 3, 2009. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at Palms-Robarts Funeral Home. Services will be at...

RUBONIA.
June 8, 2009... Byline: DALE WHITE Rubonia's Bayshore Road once served as an integral link in the original Tamiami Trail. Drivers going to and from Tampa and Coral Gables, and cities in between, passed through this hamlet on the tributaries of Terra...

Business buzz.
June 8, 2009... President Barack Obama isn't one to just sit around the White House. He likes to get out -- even if its just on a burger run for the staff. During NBC's broadcast of "Inside the Obama White House," the president took a trip to a nearby...