News Briefs

+ Couple seeks restaurant approval this fall
A Charlotte County couple hopes to open a new 74-seat restaurant at 5530 Gulf of Mexico Drive before the approaching season ends, according to discussion during a July 31 meeting of the newly formed Development Review Committee.

The property is the site of the former Longboat Key Animal Clinic and sits just south of Euphemia Haye.
At the meeting, Senior Planner Steve Schield discussed the site’s application process with Paul Russo, restaurateur and co-owner of Impact Homes Inc. Russo is considering opening a restaurant at the site with his wife, Jo Ellen Baxter-Smith. Discussion at the meeting included a review of the site’s parking requirements, waste management and several other requirements needed to convert the commercially zoned property into a restaurant. Russo hopes to submit application materials by September so the Planning and Zoning Board can review the application in October.

Property owners Dr. David Smith and Jo Ellen Baxter-Smith, owners of the property since the early 1980s, closed the clinic in 1996. The Russos have a contract in place with the Smiths to purchase the property if the restaurant application is approved.

+ Firefighters plan training at closed Hilton facilities
Longboat Key Fire Rescue plans to take advantage of the former Longboat Key Hilton Beachfront Resort’s closing for renovations this summer.

Fire Rescue Chief Paul Dezzi said his firefighter/paramedics will review and perform forcible entry, aerial ladder operations, overhaul and general fire ground operation procedures at buildings slated for demolition this summer to make way for a new hotel.

The exercises and drills were scheduled for last week but will be rescheduled after utility issues on the site are corrected.

+ Mote scientists study red tide bloom offshore
Mote Marine Laboratory scientists are studying a recent red tide bloom reported offshore of Hernando County.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported the bloom two weeks ago in the area of a large fish kill.

According to a Mote news release, satellite images allow scientists to see algae blooms at the surface, but water samples are required to confirm the species of algae and document unique conditions surrounding each bloom.

For statewide red tide updates and information from FWC, visit myfwc.com/redtide.

+ Correction
The July 30 Diversions article about Howard Millman misstated the year he left the Asolo Repertory Theatre. He left the Asolo for a second time in 2006.

Meetings & agendas
Police Officers’ Retirement System Board Meeting — 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug 20

General Employees’ Retirement System Board Meeting — 10:30 a.m. Wed., Aug. 20

Firefighters’ Retirement System Board Meeting — 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug 27

All meetings take place at Town Hall, 501 Bay Isles Road, unless otherwise noted.