Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/135276
Sarasota News Leader June 7, 2013 Page 82 Siesta Seen the daughter and told both her and her mother "that I would do everything I could to not take [Pitzer] to jail." The daughter then began pleading with her dad to give McGregor the information for which the deputy had asked at the outset. "After such pleading from the defendant's daughter he finally gave me his information," McGregor noted in the report, so he could issue the civil citation. McGregor added the last line: "Writer felt that it was in the best interest of the child and the defendant's wife to release him and not press criminal charges." Section 90-33 of the Sarasota County Zoning Code, approved on Dec. 11, 2007, lists prohibited conditions, activities or uses for the beaches. Under (a)(2) of that section, it says, "Dogs, cats, and other pets outside of areas specifically designated for activities involving such animals, except for dogs trained to assist or aid disabled or handicapped persons when such dogs are actually being used to assist or aid such persons. Any dog, cat or other pet found in violation of this section may be impounded and held in accordance with provisions of the Sarasota County Code of Ordinances." Easily visible in the daytime, crosswalks in Siesta Village — and the people using them — can be hard to spot at night. Photo by Norman Schimmel BOLLARDS SAGA GOES ON When the estimate is for $72,000, another $400 really does not make that much difference, does it. Apparently that was the conclusion of county staff regarding the latest chapter in what is now a 17-month-old saga to illuminate seven Siesta Village crosswalks at night. When the Sarasota County Commission voted on May 7 to have staff proceed with vendors already under contract for the purchase of 14 bollards with LED lighting for the Village, that The fine for violating any part of that ordi- $72,000 estimate was $46,000 below the only nance is $97. formal bid the county received for the project. Now make that $72,400. I think the average reader will draw very clear conclusions about Pitzer's level of coopera- In his weekly written report for the County tion and McGregor's leniency, especially given Commission dated May 20, James K. Harriott the circumstances. Jr., the county's chief engineer, wrote, "Staff