WHAT'S HAPPENING: Christmas trees, Ringling College buys land

“I always tell people ‘Do what you love.’ I love to play the game of basketball.” — Ronn Wyckoff, 73, who recently won two gold medals in the Florida Senior Games

BY THE NUMBERS

$14.5 million,
The cost of upgrades recommended by a City-appointed committee of residents to Bobby Jones Golf Course. (print and web?)

$11.5 million,
The amount of money the same committee recommended obtain through a bond. (print and web?)

241,
number of times, in 10 minutes, local Kettlebell athlete Teri Stabler lifted a 26.5-pound weight above her head to win a gold medal at the world championships. (print)

$300,000 - $400,000,
cost of an impending stormwater drainage project on Siesta Key.

Ringling College buys North Trail land

Ringling College of Art and Design bought two vacant parcels on the 2700 block of North Tamiami Trail —  across U.S. 41 from its main entrance — for $550,000 last week. That purchase brings the amount the school has spent on new property to more than $1 million this year.

Ringling spokesman Rich Schineller said the school does not have immediate plans for the properties, which at one time housed a gas station and tattoo parlor.

The two parcels each sold for more than $1.1 million between 2006 and 2008.

Ringling is also moving ahead with parking on the North Trail to supplement the proposed $10 million, 38,000-square-foot Richard and Barbara Basch Visual Art Center.

MEETINGS

Sarasota County Planning Commission meeting – 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, Commission Chamber, Sarasota County Administration Center, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota