Friday, April 25 & Saturday, April 26, 2025 9am-4pm, Free Tree Giveaway* at The Bay park.
So much of Alta Vista is, sadly, fairly bare of canopy trees. Here's a good opportunity to get yourself a young tree, start greening up our 'hood! The City of Sarasota‘s Tree Give-Away program, funded by the City’s Tree Mitigation Fund, from Tree Removal Permit fees, is giving out 100 trees: young live oak, green buttonwood, simpson's stoppers, gumbo limbos (my favorite!), bald cypress and some other species (*while supplies last, with proof of City residency).

Fri April 18, 5-8pm, Payne Park:  Good Friday Festival and Easter Egg Hunt.  Downtown Baptist Church hosts, with  Free Food, Live Music, speech by Tim Tebow.  ​For more information see www.firstsarasota.org/events

Sumday April 13:  Second Sundays at the SAM.  Did you know that on the Second Sunday of each month the Sarasota Art Museum (SAM) (the old Sarasota High School building on Tamiami Trail) hosts free admission days, with special activities for kids and adults alike.  Check it out!

Payne Park construction Feb-Mar-Apr?: many sidewalk sections being replaced around walking track; watch for temporarily fenced-off areas; use caution.

March 31st, Monday, 7pm: next AVNA meeting, at which members in attendance will vote for AVNA President seat. Two candidates are Larry Silvermintz (incumbent) and Steve Martinucci. The other 3 seats were uncontested and incumbents vowed to continue their service. Guest Jerry Fogle, head of Parks.  See also AVNA candidates page for full info.

Monday March 10th AVNA Social Mixer 6 p.m. at Shamrock Neighborhood Pub 2257 Ringling Blvd
One FREE BEER per attendee! Come meet your neighbors. Only agenda is to socialize!

Thurs, March 6, 5.30pm neighborhood meeting with City Commissioner at Large Jen Ahearn-Koch, who wants to know what is on constituents' minds. At AVNA Treasurer Maureen's home; two three two five Wood St.

Feb 24 & Feb 25: Temple Beth Sholom Apartment development project Neighborhood Presentations. Joel Freedman will be presenting on this proposed 270-unit apartment building project, at corner Tuttle & Bahia Vista, at AVNA meeting Mon Feb 24, 7pm, YMCA, and at APNA (Arlington Park) meeting Tues Feb 25, 6pm, Arlington Park Gym. Bring your questions and comments! For more info see Temple Beth Sholom Apartments page.

Feb 24: AVNA, our local neighborhood association, holds annual Board elections in February/March: February meeting Monday, Feb 24, 7pm, at the YMCA (Euclid at Bahia Vista Street).

​Agenda items include:  AVNA Board nominations, presentation by Joel Freedman on Beth Sholom development proposal, City staff Nancy Kelly on AVNA neighborhood engagement strategies discussion, City Commissioner Kathy Kelley-Ohlrich on resident protection strategies for neighborhood green space ... See notice on AVNA newsletters page.

Fri & Sat Feb 7 & 8 Concordia Rummage Sale: Legendary annual ummage sale, wide variety of good stuff, great prices, good fun, for good cause. Concordia Lutheran Church, corner Wood St & School Av.

TRASH UPDATE: We are done (Dec 20) with hurricane(s) debris pickups. Reminder: regular yard waste must be placed in trash cans or PAPER yard waste bags; no plastic bags anymore, for anything. Also, for bulk items, they will take only one item; for big piles (i.e. for move-outs) you must call the City for a special pickup; fees apply. Remaining or recurring piles out front of your home may result in Code Compliance issues from the City. City Solid Waste Dept is 941-263-6170.

Wed, Feb 5, 9am, City Hall, Development Review Committee meeting: Temple Beth Sholom Apartment development project    Application Documents here (large), in two portions; the second portion pp 1-181 of 202 pages pertain solely to tree analysis.  Remember, DRC meetings are public for observation only, with no public comment portion.

MPO 2025: On Jan 6, 2025 City Commission Meeting agenda, discussion of Metropolitan Planning Organization short- and long-term priorities for road, street, sidewalk, paths projects.  This is annual PLANNING for projects, which may change from year to year; most are not a done deal at this stage.  In our neighborhood, items to note are the Shade Ave complete streets project, a pedestrian crossing of US301/Washington Blvd at Alderman Street, and traffic signal improvements at many intersections (i.e. on Bahia Vista).  Read the full draft document.  

2024-2026  SHS construction alert:  Hatton Street
Notice all the orange Gilbane fencing along Hatton Street; that shell lot west of Shade (across from the batting cage), plus the grass field east of Shade. Using it for staging materials & equipment, worker parking, and other construction needs, for the major renovation of buildings at Sarasota High, East Campus: new HVAC (air conditioning) system. Expected to take 2+? years. No, nothing's being "built" there, just construction staging.

Speaking of responsibilities of residents, did you know that residents are required to maintain the public right-of-way between their front yard and the street, including sidewalk:  keeping abutting sidewalk (if there is one) clear of debris, weeds, sand, and overgrown/overhanging vegetation.  Also, you cannot park your car so that it obstructs a public sidewalk!  (Does this really need to be pointed out?)

June 2024, Sarasota Paradise preprofessional soccer at Sarasota High School Stadium. Sarasota Paradise, a new team in 2023, played there last year and, as far as I know, chaos did not beset the neighborhood: no crazy traffic, no wacko soccer fan gangs, no ear-shattering vuvuzelas.  Home games scheduled for 2024: June 1, 12, 16, 23, 29, and July 3, and tickets start at just $10.  See sarasotaparadise.us

April 2024 Local Construction / Traffic Alert . Continuing into April FPL contractors continue replacing/upgrading power poles & wires (on School Av, Wood, Shade, etc.). Temporary street closures and traffic detours occur as work progresses; watch for big orange signs.