News Briefs

+ Sarasota Police reveal details of drug operation
After the arrest of alleged cocaine distributor Alex Gomez earlier this year, authorities say 33-year-old Toborus Dontay Cunningham was poised to step into his place as a major drug trafficker in north Sarasota and Manatee counties. He won’t get that chance.

Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino announced the arrest of Cunningham and 23 others Friday, in the second phase of “Operation SRQ Cartel II,” which ended last month. The Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office partnered with SPD in the two-year operation aimed at disrupting the hierarchy of drug dealers in the Sarasota area.

In total, authorities arrested 33 suspects, five of whom were federally indicted by the DEA, and seized 14 kilos of cocaine, which is worth more than $1 million at the street level, according to Sarasota Police Lt. Pat Ledwith. Officers also confiscated five vehicles, seven firearms and more than $100,000 in cash — mostly in large bills.

+ FDOT shifts Siesta Key lanes for Stickney Point Bridge work
The Florida Department of Transportation has started work on the Stickney Point Bridge on south Siesta Key, which will cause nightly lane shifts this week.

L&S Concrete Restoration Inc. crews began the maintenance project Sunday and will be working through Friday, according to FDOT spokesman Robin Stublen. Traffic will be shifted from the right lane to the left lane and vice-versa while the contractor improves the bridge deck and makes repairs to concrete and the bridge machinery room from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly.

The expected May 16 completion date is weather-permitting.

+ Siesta seawall project moves ahead with work
As a resident of north Siesta Key, Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson has had to bear the sight of the abandoned work site below the North Bridge since August. She won’t have to for much longer.

Commissioners gave county staff approval to move forward on the Bay Island Park seawall replacement project with Duncan Seawall, Dock & Boat Lift LLC. The roughly $1 million project aimed at replacing 800 feet of the seawall on the south end of the park beneath the bridge has closed off portions of the area since March 2013.

The new contractor should finish the project seven months after work begins.

+ Correction
In the May 1 issue of the Sarasota Observer, we incorrectly stated John Dockum’s name in “Murder at the Circus.”

Meetings & agendas
County Commission budget workshop — 9 a.m. Friday, May 16, Third Floor Think Tank, County Administration Center, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota

City Commission workshop — 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St., Sarasota