News Briefs

+ Municipalities watch Tropical Storm Isaac
Sarasota County, the city of Sarasota and other municipalities are making initial planning preparations as they keep an eye on Tropical Storm Isaac.

Although the storm’s path is uncertain, emergency management staffs are in the early stages of preparation and planning and keeping in close contact with each other.

The storm is expected to be in the Florida Straits by Monday, and the state will have a better idea where the storm is headed at that time. 

Visit yourobserver.com for updates on the storm.

+ GWIZ to undergo two-month renovation
GWIZ will take a brief hiatus for renovations after Labor Day. Put into action by the new board of trustees and new CEO Sara Rankin Wilson, the estimated two-month project will completely transform GWIZ.

Keeping science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in mind with this renovation, the GWIZ galleries will be filled with new and modernized exhibits that GWIZ now refers to as educational AIDEs (Adventure, Imagine, Discover, Explore), encouraging hands-on learning for all ages.

To fund the improvements, GWIZ is joined by both new and long-standing partners and will be approaching the general public for additional help. As part of its fundraising campaign, GWIZ is offering naming opportunities for gallery zones and individual AIDEs. An online donation site will go live Thursday, Aug. 24 at indiegogo.com/gwiz.

+ Sunshine lawsuit settlement delayed
City attorney Robert Fournier received permission from the Sarasota City Commission to delay a discussion on a proposed lawsuit settlement between the city and Public Art Committee Chairman George Haborak and Citizens for Sunshine until the commission meets again Sept. 4.

Citizens for Sunshine and Haborak agreed to drop their lawsuit, which contends a steering committee held closed-door meetings, if the city agrees to a variety of conditions. Those conditions include the commission agreeing not to approve a public-art project of nine bronze sculptures and a theme for that project, with which Public Art Committee members have a series of issues.