Morning — and a New Year — has broken
New Year’s Day was beautiful … and day two of 2011 isn’t too shabby either.
I got a feelin’ … that this year’s gonna be a good year
Want to see how I’m feeling about 2011?
http://www.musicloversgroup.com/black-eyed-peas-i-got-a-feeling-lyrics-and-video/
Just replace the words “good night” with “good year” … and you’ll get my perspective on 2011.
BRING IT ON, BABY!!!!!
A year full of beauty … and romance … and time for reading …
Hmmmmm … and time to think … with a “hunky” man, maybe (get it?) … and perhaps a visit back to Paris?
— A girl can dream, can’t she!?
She’s baaaack! Reality Chick is back — in the Sarasota Herald Tribune
What a way to end a year … and start a new one!!
When the announcement came earlier this month that the Creative Loafing newspaper publication was closing up shop and the Sarasota Herald Tribune was taking over its branding rights, I smelled opportunity … opportunity to return to my roots and get back to writing in a style more akin to my old “Reality Chick” days at the Pelican Press.
Reality Chick is back!!
I’ve enjoyed the last month or so of writing the After Hours column for the TICKET section of the H-T — heck, I finally forced myself to get out and have some fun –but my interest, and I think my strength, lies in writing observational essays — columns — about what’s going on around my town. People, places, events, the zeitgeist of our little corner of the world. Luckily for me, when I pitched the idea to the editors — they agreed!
That new column starts today — it’s called Sense and the City and it will be my weekly “reality” take on whatever’s topical or at the top of my admittedly sometimes “Sideways in Sarasota” perspective.
In this week’s column I touch on Sarasota Mayor Kelly Kirschner, the Second Line street gang, and Sarasota’s semi-obsession with dirty dancers. I hope you’ll check it out at Sense and the City.
This is all actually a huge deal for me personally. I haven’t had a regular, weekly opinion column in a newspaper since May 2008 and I’m thrilled to be back writing the beat I know best.
If you like what you see in Sense and the City, don’t hesitate to let the editors know — it’s always helpful for them to know whether writers have a healthy readership or not — you can send an electronic LTE by clicking here.
Thanks for sticking with me as readers — whether I was in print or online — and I hope you enjoy this new column!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR, INDEED!
A kicked-back Christmas
In the hubbub before Christmas Eve last week — 
I can’t believe it, but I forgot to post a link to my Sarasota Herald Tribune column After Hours — where I gave tips on how to have a kicked-back Christmas out on the bar scene over the Christmas weekend.
Well, here it is — A kicked back Christmas.
And, I had one, thank you very much. Maybe not out at the bar scene, but just a quiet kind of Christmas, mostly at home. Hope yours was quiet and happy. I was deluged with presents — not sure why I received so many this year — must have been either very good … or very bad!
Don’t Whisper … JUST YELL!!!
FINALLY!!!!
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — finally repealed.
President Obama just signed it into law. That stupid policy had ended the careers of over 14,000 military personnel — people who just wanted to serve our country — that policy now dead and done. (more…)
Homeless in Paradise — Kim Hackett’s continued reporting on that slender thread that separates the housed from the homeless
Sarasota Herald Tribune reporter Kim Hackett continues her reporting on the homeless living on our greater Sarasota County backlots — with her excellent second article in her series — Fire Threatens Homeless Surviving in Paradise.
Here’s a quick excerpt — but you’ve really got to read both articles (see my post from Sunday, December 19 for the first of this two-part series).
“Pirates Cove stands apart from most homeless camps in the region for its longevity and its amenities. The improvements came along with diminishing hope that the residents would be able to get out of the woods anytime soon. Discarded plywood turned into an all-day project to build an outhouse. Tents have been added and reinforced with tarps. A defunct Kenmore refrigerator, donated by a preacher, doesn’t keep boxed potatoes and rice cold, but does keep away the raccoons.”
Homeless in Paradise — Sarasota H-T Reporter Digs Deep for Story on Regular Folks Living on the Edge
If you missed Sarasota H-T Reporter Kim Hackett’s front-page story in today’s paper — Homeless in Paradise — just click on the hyperlink in the article title name and read this compelling and superbly written investigative piece on people living on the fringe of our society.
Brava, Hackett.
New Year — new yoga-inspired beginnings & benefits!
My yoga instructor Gary Halperin is offering a 4-WEEK BEGINNERS YOGA SERIES. I wrote about Gary a week or so back because I can’t believe the difference incorporating yoga into my weekly schedule is making in my overall life — so I’m on a bandstand lately about the benefits of yoga.
Anyway, the beginners classes are Mondays January 10, 17, 24, and 31 9:30 to 10:30 am at The Radiance Center, 2868 Ringling Blvd., — the corner of Ringling and Tuttle, in Gold Tree Plaza. And it’s only $40 for all those classes — you do have to register and pay in advance (see below). (more…)
Stan Zimmerman’s report: $148 million spent on economic development
If you missed Stan Zimmerman’s report in today’s Pelican Press newspaper — about the $148 million, 148 MILLION DOLLARS, FOLKS, that Sarasota County has spent in the past two years on economic development give-aways, incentives, tax breaks (I just call them BRIBES, and always have, though those are strictly my words, not Stan’s) — anyway if you haven’t read his report, I think it’s required reading.
You can find it in the current issue of the Pelican Press or read it here online: $148 million spent on economic development. (more…)