Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/198837
Sarasota News Leader October 25, 2013 Nathan Benderson Park is located at the southwest quadrant of the Interstate 75 and University Parkway intersection. It is adjacent to the University Town Center project owned by Benderson Development. In the early 1990s, Sarasota County purchased the property, which was then an unimproved borrow-pit lake used by local fishermen. Today, the park is continuing a transformation into a 600-acre regional facility that Page 85 will feature a world-class rowing venue, the release points out. The park will host the 2017 World Rowing Championships. The completion of the park project, tentatively scheduled for December 2014, will include a 2,000-meter sprint course and a 30-acre regatta center, the release adds. Through a variety of public and private partnerships, the facility is being developed at a cost of $24.5 million, mostly from county Tourist Development Tax revenue, the release points out. SOUTH VENICE COMMUNITY CLEANUP SCHEDULED FOR OCT. 26 Sarasota County's Planning and Development Services and Code Enforcement offices will hold their annual free community cleanup for South Venice area residents on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., the county has announced. Dumpsters will be provided at two locations for people to dispose of discarded household items, yard waste, tree trimmings, junk and other refuse, a news release says. The dumpsters will be located at the South Venice Community Center, located at 720 Alligator Drive; the South Venice Ferry Landing in the 2000 block of Lemon Bay Drive; and on Seaboard Avenue near Orange Street. Hazardous materials such as paint, oil, aerosol cans, auto parts, electronics, televisions and computers will not be accepted at any of the locations, the release notes. Such materials may be taken to the county facility at 8750 Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the release adds. FEDERATION AWARDS GRANT TO CHESED FOOD PROGRAM The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee (JFSM) recently granted $13,000 to the Chesed Food Program of the Chabad of Venice and North Port, the Federation has announced. The Chesed program provides groceries, meals, emergency food vouchers, clothing, shelter and other supportive services to individuals and families in south Sarasota, Venice, North Port and Englewood, a news release says. Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, and other board-restricted funds, the release notes. "South Sarasota County has a large immigrant population from the former Soviet Union, Ukraine, and South America," says Martin Haberer, associate executive director of The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee, in the release. "This population, in particular, needs assistance with food, clothing, rent, utilities The grant was made possible through the and other basic necessities. We're pleased to support of the Mehler-Lublin Family Fund help the Chesed Food Program provide these for Social Service Relief, a fund of The Jewish much-needed services."