Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/352007
Police Chief Bernadette DiPino testified that convenience stores open at 4 a.m. are caus- ing crowds to form, and encouraging criminal behavior. She showed the commissioners a pair of surveillance videos of gunfire in the early morning hours after the July Fourth holiday. One suspect turned out to be a con- victed felon. "People are leaving Bradenton and coming to MLK [Way]," said DiPino. "Some of these stores are staying open until 4 a.m. We recom- mend they be closed at 11 p.m." Thanks to misinformation in the local press, several in the audience believed the move was targeted at The Town Hall, a landmark restau- rant and bar open for decades under the aegis of Willis Smith and his family (including local boxer-hero "China" Smith). Shirley Smith said, "We knew Town Hall was gonna get drug into this mess. Anything hap- pens, it always gets blamed on the Town Hall. We close down at 2 a.m. Newtown needs cleaning up." "How many 7-11s, Circle Ks, Racetracs you have to pass to get to MLK?" asked one resi- dent. "Closing these stores isn't going to solve this issue. You'll still see them standing out- side even when the stores are closed." Jetson Grimes disagreed. He has run a Newtown business for decades. "Look around Sarasota and you see prosperity and success, but you don't see that in our community. I was here 20 years ago with the same thing. People had taken the community and the police were afraid to come into the community," he said. "We need to stop this craziness. Are you going A consultant hired by the city says St. Armands Circle 'is too top-heavy with restaurants.' Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader July 25, 2014 Page 20