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Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DeSantis, business groups in Sarasota tout new law for stricter anti-squatting enforcement
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke from behind a lectern that read 'No Tolerance for Squatting' in Sarasota on Monday as he met with local business leaders and politicians to sign two new anti-squatting bills into law. On the sixth floor of the bayfront Westin hotel, DeSantis said the measures would allow for more consistent law enforcement against squatters and illegal tenants in residential businesses − such as motels. Some advocates have criticized a flurry of such legislation around the country as damaging to poor and homeless communities. 'This provides those property owners with a streamlined process to regain possession of the property that is rightfully theirs,' he said. The two bills – SB 322 and SB 606 – are designed to make it easier for local law enforcement to remove people who are staying on a property they don't own (against the owner's wishes) and for those who haven't been paying their rent or residential fee to be evicted. SB 322's bill analysis says it would create a procedure outside of the courts for the county sheriff to remove 'an unauthorized person from commercial real property.' Both laws will go into effect on July 1. The House sponsor of SB 322, Highland Beach Republican State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, told the Herald-Tribune that it wasn't designed to prosecute homeless people who are staying on an empty estate out of necessity. As long as they comply with law enforcement, they won't be charged, she said. Florida's homeless population has fluctuated since DeSantis took office, but since 2021 it has increased by nearly 49% – from 21,141 to 31,462 − according to Florida Health. This has come amid skyrocketing rent and mortgage rates across the state. Gossett-Seidman tentatively said its possible that the state's affordable housing crisis exacerbates squatting, but there wasn't enough hard data on the topic. 'There aren't a lot of numbers and it's hard to keep track of this issue,' Gossett-Seidman said. 'It's all possibly conjecture since this has been an under-the-radar issue.' She referenced a survey by the National Rental Home Council that said Orlando had the third-highest rate of squatters in the state. The National Housing Law Project, an advocacy group of poor communities, criticized anti-squatting laws by state legislatures in a 2024 report. 'Key dangers include the improper removal of rightful occupants from their homes, the potential for arrest or violent interaction between tenants and police, and a heightened ability of landlords to intimidate tenants by threats of non-judicial police eviction," the report said. The group also criticized the council survey for a lack of transparency and called its findings 'unclear beyond what appears in media reports.' The press conference was filled with DeSantis' usual law and order rhetoric, making comparisons between Florida and states like California and New York. One man several rows of chairs back held a t-shirt in his lap that read 'Don't California My Florida.' Attendees included area state lawmakers such as Sens. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota; State Reps. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, and Danny, R-Englewood; former Sarasota City Commissioner Erik Arroyo, Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche, and Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. 'I'm not surprised the Legislature and Governor have turned to the sheriffs to be able to enforce this,' Hoffman said to the audience. 'We're up to the task, and we're certainly going to do that.' The sheriff said his office has conducted nearly 700 evictions a year since he took office. Christian Casale covers local government for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Email him at ccasale@ or christiancasale@ This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: DeSantis signs anti-squatting bills into law in Sarasota
USA Today
10-05-2025
- General
- USA Today
New Pope Leo XIV has brother in Port Charlotte
New Pope Leo XIV has brother in Port Charlotte Show Caption Hide Caption World reacts to first US pontiff, Pope Leo XIV The papal conclave selected an American pontiff for the first time in history, Pope Leo XIV, and the world is reacting. Pope Leo XIV, now the Holy Father of 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, has close ties to Southwest Florida. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected by the papal conclave on Thursday, the first American Pope in history. His brother, Louis Prevost, lives in Port Charlotte. Leo XIV's Port Charlotte family did not immediately respond to the Herald-Tribune for comment. In an interview with FOX4, the Pope's sister-in-law, Deborah Prevost, said she and her husband were surprised by the news, and a little saddened that it meant they wouldn't be able to spend as much time with Robert. In an interview with NBC affiliate WBBH, Louis Prevost described the appointment of his brother, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, as 'shocking,' 'surprising,' and 'exciting.' 'I'm almost speechless; it's just mindblowing that my brother was elected Pope today,' said Louis Prevost. Prevost said when he heard his brother Roberto was named Pope, 'I just freaked out and said 'It's Rob, OMG.' I was up, dressed, out, just going nuts.' Prevost said the family always knew his brother was special. 'We used to tease him about being pope when he was 6 years old, and then when he became cardinal the rumors floating around in Rome at the time were like 'He's got a 1 in 3 chance of becoming pope.' It's incredible, it's awesome.' Prevost then addressed concerns surrounding his brother, the new Pope's nationality saying, 'I just hope for others here and overseas, you know, that it doesn't turn political. 'Oh he's an American, he's going to screw the church up.' Hopefully, that doesn't happen and they just keep the nationalities, the nationalism out of it, and let's just be the Catholic Church.' Francis Rooney, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and a friend of Leo XIV's, told Gulf Coast News he was "totally ecstatic" at the ascendency of the first American Pope. He said the new Pope was "chock-full" of ties to Southwest Florida. Robert Prevost was born in Chicago in 1955. He joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977 and that year graduated from Villanova University. In 1982, he received a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union was was officially ordained. He also spent years as a missionary in Peru. In 2023, Pope Francis appointed him to the presidency of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and as head of the Dicastery for Bishops - a hugely influential position in the Vatican. As well as English, Prevost speaks Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese.
USA Today
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Pope Leo XIV didn't play tag as a kid. He played priest, brother says.
Pope Leo XIV didn't play tag as a kid. He played priest, brother says. Show Caption Hide Caption Experts on the significance of the new pope choosing the name Leo XIV Experts say a papal name can give you clues about the new pontiff's values and priorities. What does choosing Leo XIV tell them? Robert Prevost, the first American-born pope, was elected as Pope Leo XIV. The pope's brother, Louis Prevost, a Navy veteran residing in Port Charlotte, Florida, has been giving numerous interviews since the announcement. Leo XIV felt a calling to the priesthood from a young age, although his family didn't anticipate his rise to papacy. Louis Prevost hopes his brother can unify the Catholic Church and minimize internal disputes. PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. − In the early 1960s, while his brothers played tag in their Chicago neighborhood, 6-year-old Robert Prevost preferred to play priest. He gave out communion and neighbors said that someday, little Robert would end up as the pope. Turns out they were right. Prevost's ascension to Pope Leo XIV this week is still mind-blowing to Louis Prevost, the new pope's brother. Louis Prevost told the Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, part of the USA TODAY Network, that he is equal parts excited, happy, mind-blown and a little worried about how the papacy will impact his relationship with his youngest brother. 'We can only hope that we can maintain that closeness, and we don't do anything to embarrass him,' Louis Prevost, a Navy veteran, said with a chuckle. A rotation of cars remains parked in front Louis Prevost's Port Charlotte home, never mind the numerous vehicles that slowly cruise past the couple's house. Leo XIV's vehicle of choice will now be the popemobile. Cardinals from across the globe made history during the papal conclave on Thursday, choosing the first American-born pontiff. And for his family in Florida, it's the story of a lifetime. Louis Prevost's wife continues to pencil in interviews on a schedule sheet amongst all the busyness. A new car parks along the street. Louis Prevost has been up since 7 a.m. doing interviews since his brother was chosen as the new pope, nearly losing his voice through the 40-50 interviews he's done over the last 24 hours. Born in Chicago in 1955, Leo XIV joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977. He attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, where he received a Bachelor of Science in 1977, and he got a Master of Divinity degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982. Louis Prevost said there was always something about his brother's humble demeanor that made him stand out, prompting other parents, strangers and neighbors to constantly tell a young Leo XIV out of the blue, "You're going to be the pope someday." Priesthood was something that Pope Leo XIV had his eyes on as a freshman in high school, Louis Prevost said. While they grew up in a traditional Catholic family, pursuing leadership roles within the church was never something that their parents sprung on them. Louis Prevost believes that his mom thought young Robert would go high up in the church, but he's not so sure if the papacy ever crossed his parents' minds. 'Odds are it might've killed them,' Louis Prevost joked about his parents if they were alive and heard the news about their son becoming the pope. It's been nearly a year since the last time Louis Prevost saw his brother during an Augustinian function in Naples, but he doubts the pope will ever visit again or make an appearance at their local house of worship, St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church, due to his heightened papal status. Louis Prevost and his wife are planning on making it out to the Vatican this weekend. He hopes that his brother will be able to bring the Catholic Church together in his new role as the pope and continue to grow the church. 'Let's smooth these feathers, get these guys on the same page, and let's be the Catholic Church and go forward and put all this bickering aside,' Louis Prevost said. Melissa Pérez-Carrillo covers breaking news and public safety for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Reach out at mperezcarrillo@
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bradenton outsources wastewater treatment plant operations to address pollution woes
Bradenton will outsource operations and maintenance of its troubled wastewater treatment plant, which has a history of deficient operations and sewage discharges into the Manatee River. Problems with Bradenton's wastewater treatment plant and pipeline system have caused the release of hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage into the Manatee River over the years — particularly during times of heavy rainfall or during major storms like Hurricane Debby last year. The discharges prompted environmentalists to file a lawsuit that ended in a 2022 settlement. Advocates claimed that the city had discharged 160 million gallons of sewage into the Manatee River between 2018 and 2021. Those issues have continued since, particularly during the 2024 hurricane season. Plans to outsource operations are meant as a step toward addressing those issues. The move is also supported by advocacy groups who prevailed in the litigation. In case you missed it: Bradenton sewage releases continue to impact Manatee River; DEP issues a warning letter More: Bradenton releases 450,000 gallons of partially treated sewage into the Manatee River "Our administrator, our chief operating officer and the mayor should not be managing something that they don't know about," Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown told the Herald-Tribune. "We're not professionals in that, and these people are professionals. We've had a lot of retirements. We've had great people there, but they've aged out and there's not a lot of people that we can find that can manage this. These people have the management capability. "Our engineers do a great job for the city, but they have the whole city to engineer, and we wanted to bring in a specific company to operate that," he said. "That's their only job: to make it better." Environmental advocates who pressed the litigation against Bradenton praised the decision as a positive step toward compliance with environmental protection directives. "We are very supportive of that; we think that is a smart and responsible move," Suncoast Waterkeeper Founder Justin Bloom told the Herald-Tribune. "They have had some setbacks and uneven progress over the last two years that they have been operating under our settlement agreement, but I think that they are heading in the right direction. Bring in a third party is a really big step towards achieving compliance, which is the goal." There are two aspects of wastewater management that have troubled Bradenton for years: technology limitations and workforce issues at the wastewater management plant and an aging city sewage pipeline system. City Administrator Rob Perry told the City Council that outsourcing wastewater treatment plant operations to engineering firm Woodard and Curran will not only benefit the wastewater treatment plant, but allow in-house staff to focus on water infiltration into the city's pipeline system during heavy rainfall. "You've heard me talk endlessly about inflow and infiltration, and that has to be addressed," Perry said. "That's basically out in the streets, homes and community of the city. It involves a system of transmission lines, lift stations and manholes that have been aged themselves and allow water to penetrate and really over capacitate our system. We want to focus on that." In case you missed the news: Former Bradenton Mayor Bill Evers dies at 90, remembered for 'unwavering commitment' to Bradenton He added that the outside engineering firm has "a great deal of automated technology that is utilized in today's modern collection system…. Technology is really important." Brown said the city staff that currently works at the wastewater treatment plant will have opportunity to become employees of the company and continue to work at the treatment plant. Only 11 of 17 positions are currently filled, and seven of those employees were hired within then past six months. He also said that the city will work with the firm to make capital improvements at the plant, although the agreement includes outsourcing of regular maintenance. One major effort includes construction of a new 900-foot-deep Class V underground injection well to dispose of excess reclaimed water from the sewage treatment process underground into the Upper Floridian Aquifer, rather than into the Manatee River. The effort is to comply with with a bill approved by the Florida Legislature in 2021 that requires the Department of Environmental Protection to eliminate wastewater discharges into surface waters. Utilities have until Jan. 1, 2032 to fully comply. "It's reclaimed water, it's fully treated and at that point its drinkable," Brown said. "Every place has to be out of the waterways by 2032. Everybody in the state has that permit, you have to discharge somewhere. More about the well: Bradenton releases 450,000 gallons of partially treated sewage into the Manatee River "Right now if it's fully reclaimed it can go in the river, but by 2032 you can't do that so we've been working on permits and all that, and it's been in construction for a while," he said. "Its another step toward the environmental protection of surface waters," Bloom said. "Not that injecting treated wastewater into the aquifer is necessarily a good thing, it's just kind of the lesser of two evils." This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Bradenton outsources wastewater treatment plant operations
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sarasota area waterfront restaurant closes after nearly 70 years, will be deeply missed
One of the best restaurants in Sarasota and Bradenton for burgers, grouper sandwiches, and classic Old Florida waterfront charm has permanently closed. For two decades, I visited Annie's Bait & Tackle, a humble gem hugging the Intracoastal Waterway in the historic commercial fishing village of Cortez, which also borders north Sarasota Bay. Opened in 1955, Annie's was where boaters and fishermen stopped for fuel and bait — but it was the food served at its cozy tables, laid-back beer and wine bar, and breezy patio that kept me coming back. Alas, now it's gone — another victim of hurricanes Milton and Helene, and the relentless march of progress, as they say. Best waterfront restaurants 10 favorites I love to recommend in Sarasota-Manatee Ticket Newsletter: Sign up to receive restaurant news, reviews, and fun things to do every Friday The community's hopes of saving Annie's Bait & Tackle after hurricane flood damage left it battered were dashed when Manatee County officials opted to move forward with plans for a new marina on the property, my Herald-Tribune colleague Jesse Mendoza reported earlier this month. Annie's Bait & Tackle owner Bruce Shearer and his family pushed to rebuild, but he dismissed Manatee County's proposals as 'losing efforts.' County officials presented options at a public meeting, including a two-year rebuild to meet flood standards or a temporary setup costing up to $250,000 with food trailers and limited services. Shearer rejected the temporary option, arguing he could repair his shop for around $100,000 and that the county's plan wouldn't support a viable business. "That business is like 'Cheers' on TV — it's where people got together and had birthday parties and all that stuff — that won't happen in your proposal," Shearer said. "As you've proposed things right now, I'm done. It just won't work. Financially, it won't work. You'll lose $250,000, and I'll lose $100,000. It would be failed within two months, I guarantee ya." Longtime local resident Shearer bought Annie's Bait & Tackle, located at 4334 127th St. W., Cortez, in 1995, but its history dates back much earlier, with Shearer explaining to me in 2021 that the Cipriani family, who would later sell their nearby C&C Marine, purchased the property in 1945. 'They filled it all in, with construction of this building taking place in the early to mid-'50s, I'm guessing,' Shearer said from behind the counter at Annie's on a Friday afternoon in February four years ago. 'There were snacks and then those square sandwiches from a vending machine in the 1970s.' Shearer's memory aligns with that of Capt. Zach Zacharias, the Herald-Tribune's former outdoors correspondent. 'My first recollection of the proprietors was a salty old character by the name of Taylor,' Zacharias wrote of Annie's Bait & Tackle in 2014. 'He purveyed live shrimp primarily and also stocked rudimentary tackle items, drinks and snacks up until the late '70s, when Annie took over. Annie was a real breath of fresh air and the name has stuck despite a string of operators since.' As for the waterfront property on which Annie's sat, the Cipriani family sold it to the Berry family, which, according to Herald-Tribune archives, was known for operating 'the Miss Cortez Party boats.' They eventually sold the property to Hamlin Jones, who also owned the Seafood Shack next door. Shearer said he made a million-dollar offer to Jones for the Annie's property. Jones declined and sold the entire waterfront lot to the Canadian developer Vandyk Group in 2014. Aside from the dock being washed out in 2012 by Tropical Storm Debby, Annie's Bait & Tackle required only minor repairs for decades, with the exterior and interior looking much the same as it did in the 1950s — or at least the '70s, when Shearer recalled first setting foot in the place. 'We've been so damn lucky,' Shearer told me in 2021. 'I hope to hold onto it for at least a few more years. We'll see.' Manatee County purchased the property that includes the Seafood Shack restaurant and marina, as well as Annie's Bait & Tackle, for $13 million at the end of 2024. County commissioners now plan to build a public boat ramp there called Cortez Marina, designed to expand access to local waterways with boat ramps and other potential amenities on the property located at the base of the Cortez Bridge, right across the Intracoastal Waterway from Anna Maria Island and Bradenton Beach. While many local residents support the project, they have also voiced a clear desire for it to include Annie's Bait & Tackle. Annie's "has been a staple of this community since the doctor at Manatee Memorial Hospital patted me on my little rear end," Manatee County community activist Andrea Griffin said during the early March meeting. "It is the tackle shop that I got my first shrimp from to go fishing, and I know that those things are important to people in this community." "I hope that each and every one of you guys take your time before you say 'no' and look at all the good that this tackle shop has done," she said. "I'm 45 years old — 45 — and there's nothing but good memories from that place." Yeah, I also have nothing but fond memories of Annie's. Bottles of beer with fried grouper sandwiches or burgers — always with an order of thin-cut, salty fries — sitting with the water right at your feet, in the shadow of the bridge, watching folks fuel up their boats, buy more bait, or just grab a bite to eat and a cold one. I dined and drank there alone, with my wife, Kristin, and several of our dogs on the back patio over the years. We dined alongside strangers, too, who soon became friends, if only for one gorgeous afternoon. Like Shearer said, it was similar to "Cheers" — if the sitcom took place in a small Southern fishing village rather than a big city in the Northeast. I'll sure miss Annie's and wish the best for the Shearer family moving forward. Thank you for many cherished memories! Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota area waterfront restaurant closes after nearly 70 years
