Local planning for sea level rise and climate change

CONA Sarasota forum 10.11.19 with representatives of North Port, Sarasota County, the city of Sarasota, and Longboat Key addressing adaptation and preparation for coming changes to sea level and climate.

Full video here. (A few minutes were lost due to equipment malfunction).

CONA Sarasota Resource page

l. to r. Kafi Benz, Stevie Freeman Montes, Lee Hayes Byron, Darcy Young, Molly Holland, Elizabeth Wong, Carolyn Brown, Jerry Traverso

CONA Sarasota Forum Oct. 8: Commission Race and Single Member Districts

Update: Go here for video of the single member vote debate and condidate panels from CONA's October meeting.  Monday, October 8, 2018         -  general election forum  -  county commission races single member districts         All candidates competing on the general election ballot for our county commission districts have been invited to participate in the CONA forum on October 8, 2018 that also will address a ballot initiative of particular interest to county voters. The forum will be divided into two panels.                  The first panel will feature Jack Brill and Dan Lobeck in a discussion of an initiative on the ballot that voters will consider regarding a change of county government form, from at-large election to single-member-district election of commissioners.               The second panel will combine county commission candidates Ruta Maria Jouniari and Christian Ziegler of the district 2 race with Wesley Anne Beggs and Alan Maio of the district 4 race.        Written questions may be submitted in advance or at the meeting to be included, as time allows, following the questions posed by our moderator.           Candidates appearing on our ballots for any races are welcome to attend the social before the meeting in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs, even if not scheduled as a member of a panel for the forum. Information about initiatives appearing on the ballot also may be provided to inform voters.                   The meeting will open with brief neighborhood updates about their issues, including Chris Bales on Arbor Lake Preserve, Ben Cannon on Bath and Racquet Club, Sura Kochman on Siesta Promenade, and Tom Matrullo on the Celery Fields.                                                                             See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more information.                 social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m.          neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                        anniversary party  -  honoring John McCarthy  -  November 5, 2018 make your reservation at the meeting ticket purchase information is on the 'contact us' page of our web site

CONA meetings are free and open to the public as well as members of the more than seventy associations the organization represents and its individual members. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are held at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail, south of the Municipal Auditorium. Parking and the entrance are reached from Van Wezel Way. Socials precede the meetings at 6:30 p.m., the meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.

State Rep Forum at CONA Sept. 10

Sarasota County Council of  Neighborhood Associations - CONA                 - monthly meeting -       Monday, September 10, 2018                 candidate forum state representative         All candidates competing on the general election ballot for our state representative districts have been invited to participate in the CONA forum on September 10, 2018. The forum will be divided into two panels.               The first panel will combine Tracy Pratt and Will Robinson of the district 71 race with Margaret Good and Ray Pilon of the district 72 race.               The second will combine Liv Coleman and Tommy Gregory of the district 73 race with James Buchanan, Robert Samuel Kaplan, and Tony Mowry of the district 74 race.          Written questions may be submitted in advance or at the meeting to be included, as time allows, following the questions posed by our moderator.           Candidates appearing on our ballots for any races are welcome to attend the social before the meeting in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs, even if not scheduled as a member of a panel for the forum. Information about ballot initiatives appearing on the ballot also may be provided to inform voters.                   The meeting will open with brief neighborhood updates about their issues, including Chris Bales on Arbor Lake Preserve, Ben Cannon on Bath and Racquet Club, Sura Kochman on Siesta Promenade, and Tom Matrullo on the Celery Fields.                                                                             See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more information.                 social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m.          neighbors helping neighborhoods since 1961                        anniversary party  -  honoring John McCarthy  -  November 5, 2018 make your reservation at the meeting ticket purchase information is on the 'contact us' page of our web site     CONA meetings are free and open to the public as well as members of the more than seventy associations the organization represents and its individual members. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings are held at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, which is at the intersection of Tamiami Trail, south of the Municipal Auditorium. Parking and the entrance are reached from Van Wezel Way. Socials precede the meetings at 6:30 p.m., the meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.                       For additional information about CONA and our schedule of upcoming meetings,  please see the CONA web site copyright © 2018 Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations  all rights reserved

Meet the candidates at the CONA Forum

Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations—CONA 

meet candidates at 6:30 pm and attend forum at 

7:00 pm Monday, July 9, 2018

_____ candidate forum _____ 

county commission district two race

Alexandra Coe, Ruta Maria Jouniari, and Christian Zeigler have been invited to participate in the CONA forum at 7 pm on Monday, July 9, 2018. They are all of the candidates qualified to run in the district two race for the county commission in the August primary. Voters elect all county commissioners, who are supposed to represent the entire county. Candidates run in the race for the district in which they reside.

The forum is free and open to the public. Written questions may be submitted in advance or at the forum to be included, as time allows, following the questions posed by our moderator.

_______ plus ______ 

meet qualified candidates for all local primary races

Qualified candidates for any scheduled local race are welcome to attend the 6:30 social before the 7:00 CONA forum in order to make contact with voters and to distribute literature and yard signs, even if not scheduled as a member of the panel for the forum. Because so few forums are scheduled, we are providing this opportunity for all local race candidates.

CONA election forums will be held each month through October at the Sarasota Garden Club 1131 Boulevard of the Arts see www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for calendar dates and directions

Focus: Criticism of the Current Commission

In response to the question: What are three errors or wrong decisions made by the current County Commission ? First new candidate Frank DiCicco, then Nancy Detert and Fredd Atkins:

County Commission Forum at CONA

Video of the entire CONA Forum of Sarasota County Commission Candidates can be found at this link.

Four candidates participated in the two-hour Q & A:

Frank DiCicco - Dist. 1

Fredd Atkins - Dist. 1

Nancy Detert - Dist. 3 (current state Senator)

Charles Hines - Dist. 5 (incumbent)

One candidate (Moran-Dist. 1) did not attend - no explanation was given.

Questions covered a good deal of ground -- from land use and the urban service area to impact fees for schools, affordable housing, the county's reserve fund, its relations with the local municipalities, the environment, water, parks, economic development, the Charter Review Board (all said they opposed making it an appointed, rather than elected, body), open primaries, and more.

All five segments of the video (from Pete Theissen) can be accessed at the upper left (where it says 1/5).




Herald Tribune coverage here.