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Sarasota News Leader August 2, 2013 On July 31, Matthes told the News Leader the upward trend was continuing for his restaurants on St. Armands and in Siesta Village. The Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar in Venice opened late last year, so no year-over-year comparisons are available for it. Nonetheless, Matthes said, the customer numbers have been very good at the Venice location, too. Siesta Village is seeing "a lot of pedestrian traffic," Matthes continued, in spite of the frequent thunderstorms this summer. "As long as it doesn't rain too early," he said, people at the beach head into Siesta Village instead of off to the malls. Mike Lewis, co-owner of Siesta Sports Rentals, told the News Leader on July 31 that he expected the numbers for his business to come close to those for 2012, and "Last sum- Page 47 mer was absolutely outstanding." His storefront is located in a shopping center just south of the Stickney Point Road intersection on Siesta Key. BEYOND TOURISM Bustling tourism has not been the only good news for the county this fiscal year, as the July economic report indicates. The number of permits Sarasota County issued for single-family home construction increased from May to June, and the total value of the projects remained higher, according to figures from the county's Office of Financial Planning. In May, the county issued 86 permits for projects costing $18,666,000. That compared to 59 permits in May 2012 with an estimated value of $9,776,000 — a 90.9 percent increase in value. So far, Siesta Key businesses are leading the way in Tourist Development Tax collections for the 2013 fiscal year. Image courtesy Sarasota County Tax Collector's office