Sarasota News Leader

10/19/2012

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LEWIS' LEGACY Analysis: 'Stacked-deck process' leads to picks of new police chief, city manager — Stan Zimmerman TOP STORIES Interim City Manager Terry Lewis led the City of Sarasota a mere eight months, but citizens will live with his legacy for years and years. Looking back, it appears he stacked the selection deck for both the new city man- ager and the new police chief. Lewis is gone, but the other two may remain for a decade. Lewis was a high-flier in a very tough trade – police management. But he never veered far from use of the basic skills all cops require – how to spot a liar, how to gain compliance with words instead of force and, most important, how to employ the art of misdirection. When Lewis sat down in the city manager's chair in Sarasota, he had already pro- vided emergency assistance to the City of North Port and the County of Sarasota as their top manager. Previously, he had served as North Port's police chief, as chief deputy of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and as a senior agent of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at its Tallahassee headquarters. Each of those venues carries its own intrigue. He was such a good politician you never even noticed his moves. Using a patented sense of humor to misdirect questions, he roamed over law enforcement and gov- ernment bureaucracies like a skater on ice. People liked him and wanted to please him — the acme of the art of politics. (Full story here) CODE CONFLICTS A Siesta couple wants to open a food-truck business in Siesta Village, but island organizations oppose the plan — Rachel Brown Hackney After owning a house on Siesta Key for a couple of years, Anthony and Cheri Bonasto finally decided during the summer to make the island their full-time home. Instead of just puttering around as retirees, they also decided to build upon the experiences they gained as caterers in Houston to start a food-truck business in Siesta Village. "We've been watching this industry just kind of explode," Cheri Bonasto told The Sarasota News Leader on Oct. 17. "We're giving it a shot." The Bonastos have applied for a temporary use permit to open their new food-truck business, Gumbo Mojo, on public right-of-way on Canal Road at the intersection of Calle Menorca, across from the Siesta Market and Siesta Key Hardware plaza. (Full story here) AT A GLANCE

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