News Briefs

+ Domestic-partner ordinance up for vote
Sarasota city commissioners are slated to cast the first of two votes on a domestic-partner ordinance Oct. 1.
In July, the commission voted unanimously to draft an ordinance similar to at least a dozen ordinances in Florida cities and counties that afford greater rights to unmarried couples.

The city’s proposed domestic-partner registry would allow unmarried couples who live together certain rights, including the ability to make health-care decisions for the partner, funeral decisions, hospital visitations and jail visits. It would not take the gender of couples into consideration.

+ Natural environment tops resident survey
A recent study conducted by SCOPE found that respondents in Sarasota ranked natural environment as the most important quality of well-being.

SCOPE held workshops and posed several questions, including one that asked residents which qualities of well-being mattered most, from economic to social factors. The study found that residents felt that the natural environment — including such aspects as preserved greenspace and the health of the bay — was the most important. SCOPE conducts annual surveys and reports on quality-of-life issues throughout the county.

+ Sarasota Memorial earns national honor
Becker’s Hospital Review recently released its list of “100 Hospitals With Great Women’s Health Programs,” and Sarasota Memorial Hospital was one of six hospitals in the state to earn a spot on the national publication’s honor roll.

To compile the list, Becker’s Hospital Review consulted a number of resources, including clinical accolades, quality care and women’s health proficiencies and awards. The ranking considered programs within women’s health, including gynecology, obstetrics, reproductive medicine and other gender-specific conditions and health needs.

Becker’s notes that Sarasota Memorial has a long history of responding to women’s unique health needs and that women have played a key role in the hospital’s success over the years.

Meetings & Agendas
• Community workshop — 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, City Hall, Room 112, 1565 First St., Sarasota. The workshop will address a street/right of way vacation for a segment of East Avenue, between Webber Street and Bougainvillea Street.

• Candidate Forum State House and Senate — 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, City Hall, 1565 First St., Sarasota.

• Alta Vista Neighborhood Association meeting — 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, Concordia Lutheran Church, 2185 Wood St., Sarasota.

• Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association meeting — 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, Gillespie Police Substation, 710 Osprey Ave., Sarasota.