Tim Sukits

Category: Politics

  • T-Bone talks noise on WSLR with County Commissioner Nora Patterson, Paul Caragiulo and CL’s own Tim Sukits

  • Making money from scratch: How the Vinyl Music Festival is bringing Sarasota together to rethink its economic game

    Published in Creative Loafing Sarasota, July 14, 2010   Downtown Sarasota is not currently known as the heart of electronic music in Southwest Florida — far from it. But that title could soon be earned if the promoters behind Vinyl Music Festival stay on their current trajectory. Since last year’s inaugural celebration, VMF has more than doubled it’s number of performers, picked up a host of huge national sponsors, garnered the support of both city and county officials, and gained access to public venues that have historically been off limits to such party-oriented proceedings. But for the young entrepreneurs that put on this sonic assembly, it’s more than just a DJ convention or even a much needed summer tourism boost — It’s an attempt to give Sarasota a long overdue makeover. Is our fair city ready and willing to change? Rich Swier, co-creator of VMF and local tech biz incubator The HuB, believes it is: “Every year we’re going to add a little more, just to see what this town can do.” VMF 2009 was reasonably well-attended, which was quite a feat considering it was conceived and organized in less than a month with barely any marketing, few sponsors and a drastic equipment shortage. This time around they got the ball rolling in January, and that advance preparation has yielded substantial results. Thanks to Swier and VMF musical director DJ Drager, top-notch turntable talent is flying in this week from Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas, New York, South America, Europe and the Middle East; companies like Roaring Lion Energy Drink and Groove Cruise have pledged significant contributions; and Yamaha is bringing in $40,000 worth of rental equipment. (more…)
  • Milking it: The 1st Annual Harvey Milk Festival aims to entertain while getting the word out about the fight for LGBT civil rights

    Milking it: The 1st Annual Harvey Milk Festival aims to entertain while getting the word out about the fight for LGBT civil rights

    Published May 20, 2010 “My name is Harvey Milk and I’m here to recruit you.” Harvey Milk Festival 1-10 p.m. Sat., May 22, Rosemary District, 5th St. and Central Ave., Sarasota, 228-4872 orharveymilkfestival.com; The Milk Collection Art Opening: 6-9 p.m. Fri., May 21, Pure Luxe, 513 Central Ave., Sarasota, 364-5800 or pureluxeonline.com. Shannon Fortner sits in her home just north of the Rosemary District flipping through a small notebook filled cover to cover with phone numbers, hastily scribbled notes and artistic doodles. “This is my Harvey Milk book,” she explains, her scratchy voice straining with exhaustion. The volume was nothing but blank pages not two months ago when she decided to start organizing the Harvey Milk Festival just before traveling to England to visit her girlfriend of three years. Fortner’s partner was her inspiration for the festival. The U.K. native has been limited to no more than 90-day stays in the U.S. due to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which states that same-sex partners of U.S. citizens are not granted permission to be sponsored for family-based immigration. So Fortner, a long-time civil rights activist and lead singer of local bandsMeteorEyes and Spontaneous Habit, decided to spend much of her two-week vacation on the phone putting together the event to raise awareness about laws that she sees as discriminatory toward Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals. (more…)

  • Sounding off: County Commission candidates speak up on the noise issue

    Published October 27, 2010 It’s been 10 months since our in-depth report on Sarasota County’s harsh noise and entertainment laws(printed Jan. 27), and not much has changed — except for all the musicians who have left town. Under Sarasota County’s entertainment ordinance, local establishments are not permitted to have live (human) entertainment past 10 p.m. unless they are granted a special exception. There are currently nine businesses in commercial zoning areas of the County that hold exceptions: The Hub Baja Grill, Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar, Siesta Key Oyster Bar and Captain Curt’s on Siesta Key,Pastimes and Boar’s Head in Gulf Gate, Nightlife Center on the South Trail, Kirby’s on Stickney Point, and as of two months ago,The Hoosier Bar in Osprey, with The Beach Club exempted by a grandfather clause. No other place is allowed so much as a mime after 10 — no complaint required. Aren’t arts and entertainment supposed to go hand in hand? We asked the candidates vying for County Commission seats — District 2 incumbent Joe Barbetta and challenger Cathy Antunes, and District 4 incumbent Nora Patterson and challenger Mark Hawkins — what they think. (more…)
  • Textbook example: Tim Sukits wades into the battle between Rich Swier and the Sarasota County School Board

    Textbook example: Tim Sukits wades into the battle between Rich Swier and the Sarasota County School Board

    Published July 28, 2010 I approach the Sarasota County Schools building a bit after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20 to see a handful of people in front passing out white T-shirts with green lettering that reads “Choose History, not His-Story.” As I pass through the foyer and enter the meeting room I spot about three dozen people wearing those shirts, scattered throughout a packed house of roughly 200. Sarasota County School Board Chair Shirley Brown helps her six-year-old grandson use a microphone to open the meeting with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The stage is set for the day’s main event. Dr. Richard Swier, editor of local conservative blog Red County, will have his chance to appeal the decision of a district advisory committee that denied his “request for reconsideration of instructional material,”  a formal complaint originally filed on April 25. Swier sought to have the textbook World History: Patterns of Interaction removed from the school curriculum, believing that it unfairly favors the religion of Islam over Christianity. (more…)

  • Making its case: How Mattison’s City Grille convinced the Sarasota City Commission to change its tune on downtown outdoor live music

    Published February 17, 2010 Since the Downtown Partnership asked Paul Mattison to open his outdoor dining venue on the corner of Lemon Avenue and Main Street seven years ago, Mattison’s City Grille let live bands play until 11 p.m. during the week and midnight on weekends. The restaurant had received a half-dozen or so sporadic noise complaints over the years, but the city never took action. Which it could have, since city code states that the cutoff time for live music at a non-enclosed structure is 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends. When an anonymous noise complaint targeted Mattison’s in early November 2009, though, the Sarasota Police Department intervened, delivering a blow to the business’ bottom line. “We’ve been there for seven years and we’ve always done those hours and we never had an issue,” says Mattison. “Then out of the blue we got this one complaint and they were on us like white on rice.” The move had such a negative effect on business that Mattison felt the need to go before the City Commission to make his case for a legal extension of the cutoff time. “The other thing that I tried to get them to do, but they didn’t, is that you can’t complain anonymously,” he says. “It could be a former competitor. It could be anybody. … That’s the most frustrating part. You want to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Let’s talk about it.’” (more…)