Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/352007
The Sarasota City Commission meeting of Monday, July 21, was longer and fierier than any in recent memory. Both commissioners and the public had heated exchanges, and as the evening wore on toward midnight, the session even verged on hostile. Despite all the heat, there was a lot of light, too, as a sig- nificant number of long-festering issues were decided — some by narrow margins. In government circles, action often comes when motions are made and decisions achieved by majority vote. For this story, we will break the action down to issues on which no action was taken, issues on which action w a s d e f e r r e d a n d lastly, issues on which decisions were made. (From left) Jetson Grimes, Mary Mack, Ernest Duboise and Lance Shebals address a Police Department plan to impose an 11 p.m. commercial curfew in Newtown, and they were speaking at a similarly late hour in City Hall on July 21. Photo by Stan Zimmerman A LONG DIVISIVE MEETING FROM CRIME IN NEWTOWN TO RESIDENT ANGST OVER HIGHER WATER RATES TO A CALL FOR UPDATING ITS SHOPPING DISTRICTS, THE CITY COMMISSION CONSIDERS A RANGE OF ISSUES Many downtown stores look dated; they have a 20- to 30-year-old look to them. You should consider some sort of storefront improvement program. Robert Gibbs Gibbs Planning Group Birmingham, MI By Stan Zimmerman City Editor