IBSSA

Check Our Web Site

2005-06-05T19:47:00.000-04:00

I'm going to post items on our web site blog for a while. You can get there by clicking here.

Let me know if you prefer one site or the other. We would prefer to have visitors come to our web site and it does have blog capability.

The Mighty Bombax

2005-06-02T21:58:00.000-04:00

Located in the long triangle between Bay Shore and Eastchester, just north of Beverly, is the Mighty Bombax.

This is the tree with the huge red petaled flowers in the early spring. These trees can reach heights to 120' and diameters to 10'. The one along Bay Shore is a excellent example - it is a very large tree.

The Bombax is a close cousin to the Kapok tree that is just around the corner on Beverly. The Bombax is quite a bit bigger.

If you like interesting trees, our neighborhood has a lot to interest you.

2005-06-02T21:32:00.000-04:00

Looking north at the Mighty Bombax!

2005-06-02T21:29:00.000-04:00

Bombax trunk and author's bike. This is a large trunk!

2005-06-02T21:27:00.000-04:00

Bombax on Bay Shore

At the e-Fest

2005-05-29T09:30:00.000-04:00

Alan Lillie and I stopped by the e-Fest yesterday.

This event showcased local organizations and businesses that are promoting a more sustainable life style. Many interesting exhibits and programs were available.

Our neighborhood was well represented. Jesse White (pictured below) had a booth showing his Architectural Salvage treasures; Sharon Carr had a booth serving some of her yummy creations - food is sustainable you know! - and Doug Perry and Konnie Kruczek were manning a G-Wiz exhibit that used solar energy to power an "antique" kiddie ride (rides were free as well as the power to run it!).

Lots of people were there. It was an excellent event.

2005-05-29T09:17:00.000-04:00

Jesse White at his Architectural Salvage booth at e-Fest

Development in and Around Us

2005-05-27T22:26:00.000-04:00

An update on development stuff:

The Houses of Indian Beach appeal (by a group of neighbors) was recheduled for June 6
Apparently Tony DeLoach, the developer of the Sylvan Dr townhouse project that we opposed earlier this year, will submit a new plan for 8 townhouses with side facing garages instead of 9 townhouses.
Charles Githler has been talking with the city about submitting a project for the Yacht Center property that would include "rackominiums" - stacked storage units for boats that are sold to individuals, similar in concept to a condominium - the number is not known at this time. Rumor has it that a full service bar is to be included.
Tony Deloach also has a project, that was recommended to the city commission for approval by the Planning Board, across Whitaker Bayou, that would create a 4 house sub-division and 4 community docks.
New College has filed an updated "Campus Master Plan" with the City. What's new is their stated intention to acquire the private homes (through willing sale) on 58th, to include the old Circus Hall of Fame property which they recently acquired and to purchase the Car Museum property and add it to their campus. Basically filling in the holes in their campus.

Magnolias in IBSSA

2005-05-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

The Magnolia trees are blooming around the neighborhood. There's a nice tree on the corner of 47th and Bay Shore. Also a recently planted memorial tree in Sapphire Shores Park has been blooming.

2005-05-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

Magnolia Blossoms in Sapphire Shores Park

Got That Walled Out Feeling?

2005-05-24T22:55:00.000-04:00

Seems like a lot of residents are putting up walls. Not sure if they are being walled in or I am being walled out.

Personally, if someone feels they have to have a wall, I would much rather see a low wall set back from the property line with some nice landscaping. I like views, particulary landscapes. If security is perceived to be a problem a "see through" type fence would fit a lot better in the neighborhood. Nice example of this on Chippawa.

Below are four new walls that have sprung up recently. I think all of these are "foam walls" - a thick foam board is set between metal posts and the surface is given a texture, similar to stucco, then painted. One wonders how these will hold up when high winds start blowing objects around.

Take a look at this site for an innovative way to comment on walls and gated communities. It will make you chuckle.

2005-05-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

Mecca and Stevens

2005-05-24T22:29:00.000-04:00

Indian Beach and Bon Air

2005-05-24T22:26:00.000-04:00

Indian Beach Circle

2005-05-24T22:25:00.000-04:00

Corner of Alameda and 22nd St

Profile of a Neighbor

2005-05-21T23:51:00.000-04:00

One of our neighbors is profiled in Saturday's Sarasota H-T. If you missed the article on George Luzier you can link to it here.

George has lived in the neighborhood a long time. His skill at wooden boat building is well known around Florida. Morgan Stinemetz (sailing columnist for the newspaper) said this:

"The Luzier boat building shop, in its various manifestations, is part of Sarasota's heritage. It's where George Luzier, seer, prophet and certified curmudgeon, continues his magic today. Even if the actual quantity of the magic is a bit diminished by the relentless march of time and paucity of skilled artisans, the quality still shines through like recently polished antique silver on a Duncan Phyfe sideboard.

George Luzier is the real deal, a craftsman/artist who works in wood with skills six decades strong. He calls himself a builder of fine boats. He sees no higher calling."

Nice words about a a neighborhood artisan!

Mailings

2005-05-21T23:38:00.000-04:00

I sent an e-mail recently about mail being stolen from a mailbox on Sapphire. A reader indicated they had mail stolen from their Bay Shore Rd mailbox on Wednesday. Another wrote to say that her mailbox was ripped off the post (also on Bay Shore) and thrown across the yard.

Don't have any good responses. We all need to be careful about outgoing mail and report any suspicious activity to the police.

e-mail probably can't be stolen, although sometimes a virus can hijack someone's computer. It's a tough world we live in. But Sarasota and our neighborhood are good despite the occasional glitch.

The View From Above

2005-05-19T21:59:00.000-04:00

Here's a cool tool.

Click on the this. It will take you to a Google satellite view of IBSSA.

With the mouse pointer on the photo hold the left button down, move the mouse to position the photo up, down or sidewise. Click on the bar on the right side of the photo to zoom in or out.

Have fun exploring the neighborhood from above!

Treed Again

2005-05-18T21:42:00.000-04:00

There are a number of "unusual" trees in our neighborhood.

The pictures below show a Kapok tree with the silk like seed hairs on the tree and on the ground. Maybe the closest we get to seeing snow in Sarasota?

This is the same Kapok fiber that was used extensively in the past for pillow stuffing and the like.

This tree is not to be confused with the Bombax tree, which also grows in our neighborhood and looks an awful lot like this tree. They confused me for a couple of years until I took the time to look in a book. Both are the same family "bombax" but different species - kind of like slash pine and white pine - similar but different.

More about the big bombax (not to be confused with a boom box) on another day.

If you are looking for some stuffing, there is plenty at the corner of Beverly and Winchester - I'm sure the people living there would be happy to have you take some home.

2005-05-18T21:29:00.000-04:00

Kapok Silk on the grass

2005-05-18T21:27:00.000-04:00

A Kapok Tree With "Silk"

Pump House Fix Up

2005-05-16T21:28:00.000-04:00

Today I went by the city pump house on the west side of Bay Shore Circle and was surprised to see the new paint job!

A few months ago, Alan Lillie and I met with Bill Hallisey (Public Works) to give him our thoughts about green space in the neighborhood - we have a long laundry list. One of the items was a suggestion that Public Works do a little face lifting on this particular pump station. Maybe make it look more like a house and less like an industrial monument.

Well, he took our suggestion to heart and it has a fresh coat of paint and new shrubs in a raised planting bed around the building. I'm holding my breath in hopes we will also see a little window dressing and maybe some contrasting trim color.

It is a much improved look already. Take a look.

Bay Shore Speeds

2005-05-15T20:04:00.000-04:00

At the IBSSA board meeting Debbie Muller reported on the "speed measuring sign" set up on Bay Shore Rd earlier in the week. It seems that about 1250 cars passed by the sign in a 24 hour period - only one direction was measured. That's a lot.

The average speed recorded was 25.6 mph - says that people noticed the sign and slowed down. However 8 cars were recorded as "speeding", going more that 7-8 mph higher than the posted 25 mph limit. Think these drivers were blind, consumed in their own little world, cell phoning or didn't really care?

She also indicated that a couple of cars were ticketed during the last week or so for speeding on Bat Shore.

Champion Tree in Our Neighborhood

2005-05-13T10:52:00.000-04:00

Recently Joe Moraca commented on one of our posts that his neighborhood, Arlington Park, also has great trees. Well, I'm going into the "one up" mode: our neighborhood has a recognized champion tree. In fact it is the largest known tree in the world of this species!

According to an article written by Meg Lowman (New College professor), the largest known slash pine in the world is located on the New College campus - right here in IBSSA land.

I will get a picture of this tree and post it later.

Pretty nice way say something about our neighborhood - you could tell a visitor "oh, by the way, the largest slash pine in the world is located just up the street".

Not to say that Arlington Park doesn't have a lot of great tree canopy as well as great individual trees, they certainly do. But when it come to being the champ.... well you know the story.

2005-05-10T22:53:00.001-04:00

Above is a picture of the Ear Tree at Sun Circle and Sapphire. This is a magnificent tree and causes amazement from all that walk or drive by it. Newly weds have had pictures taken under this tree.

We heard that an investor was recently looking at the property (it is for sale) and inquired as to whether the tree would be protected. The guess is that he was looking at the possibility of expanding the house in order to maximize his resale profit.

This would be a terrible thing to happen to this tree. It is disheartening to even think about it.

2005-05-10T22:53:00.000-04:00

Ear Tree at Sapphire and Sun Circle

Speed Boats on the Bay

2005-05-03T09:51:00.000-04:00

Last night at the commission meeting Lou Ann Palmer brought up an issue that we all know about - the loud boats on the bay. The city is looking at what can be done to make life a little more enjoyable for the non-racing boaters or non-boaters.

So far the city has cut off access from the north side of the 10th St boat ramp site for the very large racing boats that require a crane to load and unload the boat. A fence was installed to prevent using the area that had been used. Insurance and lack of notification by racing boaters lead to this. Seems like these boaters would also tap into the fire hydrant to wash their boats when the loaded back up.

Most of the racing boats that use the bay, stop at Sarasota on the way to a race (usually Marathon) because Sarasota has easy access and calm water, good for tuning up their boat.

Besides the annoyingly loud noise, people question the effect of the high speed boats on fishing, dolphins, manatees, sea grasses and of sourse the safety of small boaters that may be sharing the same waters.

I know we will be hearing more about this.

Take a look at Joe Moraca's blog (click on the link - right side) for another comment on this.

More Edge Stuff

2005-05-02T14:30:00.000-04:00

The newspaper rack turn-outs just north of 47th are gone! This is part of the resurfacing of the NT. The turn-outs will soon be history themselves. I always watched very closely if a driver was coming out of one of these turn-outs since visibility back over a shoulder was nearly impossible. I also won't miss these particular dispensers of tourist info with a side of news.

Walled In

2005-05-01T22:43:00.000-04:00

Seems like a lot of new high walls are going up around the neighborhood. One on Mecca, one at 22nd and Alameda, one on Indian Beach Ln. - these are front and sides, not too friendly to neighbors. Another is in progress at Indian Beach and Bon Air, although there is no indication of the height at this time.

There are many shorter walls in the neighborhood that are 4 ft. or so, many are set back from the property line; definitely more community minded. Whatever happened to the time when people had front porches, actually sat on them and talked with neighbors?

Magnificant!

2005-04-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

There were 4 Magnificent Frigatebirds soaring along the bay shore today.

According to Peterson's Field Guide, these birds have a wing spread of 7-8 ft. They are easy to identify - large, black, very long angled wings and a scissor-like tail that is often folded in a point.

These birds seem to glide forever, hardly a wing flap to be seen.

Life On The Edge

2005-04-30T23:28:00.000-04:00

An occasional bit of news and rumor about what’s happening at the edge of our neighborhood (the Trail, near the bayou, the bay and the campuses).

Most of you have probably seen the tear down of the unused Chada building and the run down old place just to the south. Apparently the owner figures it will be easier to sell if it is cleared.

I’m glad it’s cleared, there have been a number of complaints about drug activity at this place - good riddance. Sharon Carr has not been happy recently with the dust and noise but will be happy when it is gone.

I see in the paper that the new owner of the Old Hickory has signed a lease with someone to run a restaurant there. Seems like a risky bet since the new owner also says he is planning some sort of redevelopment there (he’s from England, lives on Bird Key, and apparently thinks an English Pub would be a nice addition at this spot). Same guy also bought the Café of the Arts.

Just to the north of Cafe of the Arts is the old Ring Plaza site - more recently was the college book store. Tim Morris (lives on South Shore) has acquired this site in a trade with New College - he traded the old Circus Hall of Fame property. The Trail property will be the headquarters for his business (Corvus International). He is a developer involved in a couple of projects on the Manatee River on Palmetto, a Longboat Key project and recently acquired the Hibbs Farm and Garden site. The initial concept drawings for his new headquarters look pretty nice - reminiscent of Ca’d' Zan - and should be a great addition to the North Trail.

2005-04-30T23:21:00.000-04:00

Jungle Gardens

Confab in the Jungle

2005-04-30T22:43:00.000-04:00

Attended the Jungle Gardens confab the other night. JG wants to have their operating hours extended a bit so they can allow events (weddings, dinners, etc) on their grounds. Most of the neighbors that showed up and spoke, live close by the JG and expressed concern about potential noise - either now or sometime in the future.

JG indicated that they have been a long time excellent resident of the neighborhood and understand the concerns. Because of their track record the believe they know what it takes to continue being an excellent neighbor and can control unwanted noise.

Increasing property values and the resulting real estate taxes are squeezing the JG and they are looking for ways to increase their revenue while remaining a good neighbor.

My personal view is that the JG is a unique institution here in our neighborhood and it is a wonderful part of our diverse nature. I hope the JG remains successful and continues to operate right here. I also recognize the needs of the closest neighbors and their concern about this change. Hopefully a plan can be found that works for all.

What's This?

2005-04-30T22:40:00.000-04:00

This is a running commentary about our great neighborhood - IBSSA. Our thinking is that we would like to have a number of contributors to this blog (more on this later). We would like this to be an interesting, newsy, gossipy little chat about the neighborhood. Hopefully many residents will check it out several times a week.

Anyone living in the neighborhood that would like to contribute is welcomed. This would be more of a free form commentary as opposed to our official web site.

If you think you would like to be a contributor, send an e-mail to me - click on the profile part of this page. We would set you up so you could post something anytime you wished. We would ask that the posts be not much more than a page - no rambling treatises - and keep it about IBSSA. An occasional comment about something else (a great concert you saw, or a good restaurant, or whatever) is OK. The point is to build a stronger "community" by musing about things in the neighborhood.