News Briefs

+ Car crashes into Biter’s Main Street storefront
A driver crashed a car through the window of a vacant Main Street storefront Sunday morning, but the property owner said the accident shouldn’t cause any setbacks in finding occupants for the building.

At about 2:45 a.m. Sunday, a vehicle crashed through the storefront at 1554 Main St., according to a crash report. The driver told officers she must have fallen asleep, because she didn’t know what happened. She said she was driving home from Clasico Café and Bar, and an officer smelled alcohol on her breath. The driver failed a field sobriety test.

Entrepreneur Jesse Biter is the owner of the damaged property. He said he did not know the circumstances of the crash, but said the vehicle drove into the space formerly occupied by Sarasota Hardware and Paint Co.

Despite the accident, Biter said his plans for the property shouldn’t be affected. The only change is that his company will have to upgrade the building’s facade, he said. According to the crash report, the building’s front window was shattered. Inside, the report states, the ceiling was sagging because a support beam was knocked over.

Biter said two or three different groups were interested in occupying the building, which he said was Ian Black Real Estate’s most called upon property. Although Biter couldn’t yet say what was going in the building, he said he would have an idea within the next three weeks of who would ultimately end up as tenants.

+ Waechter accepts plea deal
Former Sarasota GOP Chairman Bob Waechter will not face jail time for an arrest stemming from fraudulent campaign contributions.

Judge Donna Berlin, on Thursday, Dec. 12, sentenced Waechter to two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and three months of house arrest for making donations to Democratic candidates using the name of Sarasota County Commission candidate Lourdes Ramirez. According to prosecutors, Waechter made the donations to hinder Ramirez in the coming election, in which she is running as a Republican.

Waechter immediately resigned from the the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority board after the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office filed charges Dec. 14, 2012. Waechter, a Siesta Key resident, also resigned from the Sarasota County Tourist Development Council and the Zoning Board of Appeals in January.

+ City announces holiday hours
During the 2013-14 holiday season, the city of Sarasota’s administration offices will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Although waste services will be unaffected, the Lido Pool will be closed on Christmas; the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day and will be open from 6 to 10 a.m. on Christmas Eve, and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.