Eric Ernst

Latest columns from Eric...

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  ERNST: Where there's smoke, douse the fire early

  September 8, 2010
  There are problems within the Venice Police Department. Let's admit it and address them.
  

• ERNST: Finding common ground on Manasota Key

  September 7, 2010
  Charlotte County Commission pledges to work with advisory board
  
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  ERNST: What can we do to keep skate park open?

  September 3, 2010
  By most accounts, Englewood's skate park is the best in this region -- better than Cape Coral's, Punta Gorda's, North Port's, even better than Sarasota's, where skateboarders and inline skaters have to pay $8.
  
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  ERIC ERNST: Action before the flood eases what comes later

  September 1, 2010
  As the Federal Emergency Management Agency releases its newest flood maps, properties that have never been under water may suddenly be classified as flood-prone.
  

• Ernst: Concession stand plan ill-conceived

  August 29, 2010
  The modest business district on Manasota Key in Englewood has suffered this year through an unseasonably cold winter, an unusually hot summer, the oil spill threat and the continuing economic slump.
  

• ERIC ERNST: A political lesson: Money matters ... or not

  August 27, 2010
  Now that the dust has settled, we can draw a few conclusions from Tuesday's election.
  

• ERNST: Humane Society offers a solution

  August 20, 2010
  If you value the lives of domesticated pets, you will appreciate the work being done by the Humane Society of Manatee County.
  During the last year, the society has spayed or neutered 5,024 dogs and cats.
  
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  Ernst: Redundant park work the best of a bad situation

  August 15, 2010
  A few years ago, Sarasota County wanted to repave a number of residential streets in north Englewood. The contractor was ready, but the county held off the project to allow the Englewood Water District to install sewer lines.
  

• Ernst: A charming program to help needy children

  August 13, 2010
  As the anticipation mounts over the start of another school year in Sarasota County, sometimes we forget the anxiety many families suffer.
  

• Ernst: Keeping away people by taxing machines?

  August 11, 2010
  A story making the rounds says that when PGT Industries of Venice expanded production in 2006, the jobs went to North Carolina.
  Why? One big reason was taxes -- not income or real estate taxes but taxes on machinery.
  

• Eric Ernst: Charlotte County plan imperils Manasota Key

  August 8, 2010
  Manasota Key as we know it is in danger, and not from the infamous oil spill. Charlotte County government has mounted its own threat with a plan to inject new commercial districts and high-rise condominiums on a barrier island whose residents are...
  
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  Ernst: The long road to common sense

  August 6, 2010
  The first question that comes to mind after reviewing the Venice airport plan to be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration: What was all the fuss about?
  

• ERNST: For my summer break, a little time traveling

  August 4, 2010
  No matter how long summer vacation lasts, it's never long enough.
  Many of us go through this every year. As we pack the car to leave, the time off work looks nearly endless. Then, suddenly, it's over and we're back to the routine.
  

• Ernst: To fight obesity, look to community

  July 6, 2010
  Here's a job most people would not want: sending a notice to parents telling them that their child is fat.
  

• Ernst: North Port spends while city bleeds

  July 2, 2010
  When it comes to money, crazy is the new normal in North Port.
  Let's start with Warm Mineral Springs, the health spa/archaeological tourist attraction the city commissioners decided to buy for $6.3 million.
  
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  Ernst: Millions for Orioles, pennies for children

  June 30, 2010
  Sarasota County is spending $31 million to renovate a stadium for the Baltimore Orioles, a professional baseball team.
  

• Ernst: Color clash is resisting recovery

  June 27, 2010
  Some of us can barely wait for the new Pineapples Island Grille in Venice to open so people can start talking about its food rather than the exterior color.
  
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  Ernst: The protest was silly, but the message wasn't

  June 25, 2010
  At 7:30 a.m. Thursday on the beach in Englewood, one caricature faced another.
  

• Ernst: Rebuilding economy along with Lemon Bay

  June 20, 2010
  The word got around pretty quickly. At $12 an hour for untrained labor for a summer job, it would.
  A local contractor was hiring local students and recent graduates to work on the $80 million replacement of the Englewood school.
  

• Ernst: Let's put an end to pens for coyotes and foxes

  June 18, 2010
  They may call it hunting, but that's an insult to real hunters.
  In this case, wild coyotes or foxes are trapped, packed and shipped to fenced areas where they are turned loose to run for their lives, day after day, from a pack of dogs.
  
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  Guides' gab turns weeds into wildflowers

  June 16, 2010
  To the untrained eye, the plants at Manasota Scrub Preserve are nothing but weeds. With Denny Girard and Al Squires, they become wildflowers.
  

• Ernst: To improve Placida Road, finish what was started

  June 13, 2010
  Charlotte County's controversial plan to four-lane part of Placida Road brings to mind two old axioms:
  If a job's worth starting, it's worth finishing; and
  

• Ernst: Reassuring voices don't keep the oil away

  June 11, 2010
  On one side of Englewood, a crowd gathered to mourn the loss of marine animals, a way of life and the Gulf of Mexico they love.
  On the other side of town, people met to hear local government announce there's nothing to worry about.
  

• ERNST: Old age inevitable, but good preparation?

  June 9, 2010
  We're all getting older. The question is, are we ready for it? The answer: Probably not.
  About 40 percent of us will outlive our self-sufficiency. We will need help eating, bathing, going to the bathroom or just getting from room to room.
  

• Ernst: Finding a care home that is really a home

  June 6, 2010
  Last week's column about my mother's final months struck a chord with readers. It discussed our family's pleasure in finding a private home, rather than a nursing home, where she received one-on-one care in a loving environment. When we went to...
  

• ERNST: Why is public transit such a difficult thing?

  June 4, 2010
  As the bus approached, I saw the No. 60 on the front panel. "That's our bus!" I yelled to my companions, who while sightseeing, had lagged a half-block or so from the bus stop and seemed in no hurry to make up the difference.
  

• Ernst: Agonizing process of finding elder care

  June 1, 2010
  My mother was 91 in September when family circumstances forced my sister and me to move her to Florida.
  

• Ernst: Crazy North Port fines are a thing of the past

  May 28, 2010
  Kudos to North Port city government.
  When it comes to code enforcement, that phrase has a strange ring to it.
  

• Ernst: Plan raises concerns about industrial park

  May 16, 2010
  During an economic downturn, the creation of a major employment center would likely be met with a universal embrace. Or so it would seem.
  
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  Eric Ernst: Widower took his pain and made a difference

  May 13, 2010
  In most ways, Nathan Lee is an ordinary person. He's a salesman at Best Buy in Sarasota. He represents no special interest group. But this year he accomplished something unusual; he got a bill passed through the state Legislature.
  

• Ernst: It is time for Florida to ban offshore drilling

  May 12, 2010
  If you want to draw some dark humor out of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, look no further than the fickle Florida public.
  

• ERNST: At long last, a new Lemon Bay

  May 9, 2010
  For years, Lemon Bay High School was treated like an old, beat-up car.
  You know you have to invest a little to keep it running, but you don't want to spend too much because you're going to replace it as soon as you have enough money.
  

• Ernst: A true investigation looks at all possibilities

  May 7, 2010
  Tyler Spann, 20, reportedly had a blood alcohol level of 0.216 on April 16 when he was shot and killed by an off-duty Sarasota County sheriff's deputy.
  

• Ernst: A different view of the offshore oil mess

  May 5, 2010
  Talk about a sign of the times. Mote Marine Laboratory's twice daily online coverage of Gulf Coast beach conditions will now include observations of oil spill impacts.
  Sarasota's research facility has started small on its website.
  

• Ernst: Police log doesn't paint pier as hotbed of strife

  May 2, 2010
  To hear the regulars tell it, Venice police don't do much to quell problems at the Venice Fishing Pier. People call the police. The police respond, but nothing happens to the wrongdoers.
  

• Ernst: Tallahassee makes local power grab

  April 30, 2010
  When it comes to representing the will of its constituents, local government is the best thing going.
  

• Ernst: Possible street changes have the public's focus

  April 25, 2010
  People were waiting at the door last week in Englewood when Sarasota County unveiled a draft for a drainage project believed to be the first in the state to use cutting-edge, low-impact design for drainage in an existing business district.
  

• Ernst: Venice pier problem is easily solved

  April 23, 2010
  The Venice Municipal Fishing Pier doesn't need more rules. It has plenty. All it needs is someone to enforce them.
  

• Ernst: Long chain of choices led to this tragedy

  April 21, 2010
  One life ended with a bullet. The shooter's life will be scarred. The lives of family and friends will be altered forever.
  

• Ernst: To protect sea turtles, target people's wallets

  April 18, 2010
  Venice has one of the highest rates in the state for sea turtle disorientation. Lights at night from parking lots, streets and homes along the beach dissuade mother turtles from laying eggs. They also lure hatchlings inland where they wear out and...
  
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  Ernst: Fighting Mother Nature isn't cheap

  April 16, 2010
  Lagoons on Knight Island have come and gone, waves have wiped out the Gulfside beach on southern Manasota Key and inexperienced boaters have started to run aground.
  It must be time to dredge Stump Pass ... again.
  
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  ERIC ERNST: Legislature wants to let foxes guard henhouse

  April 14, 2010
  Test question: Knowing that fertilizer is a potential pollution source, you are in charge of writing rules to govern its sale and application. To establish the best standards, you should rely on:
  
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  Ernst: Florida is home for living fossil No. 17718

  April 12, 2010
  Wollemi pine? Never heard of it. The sign at the plant fair called the small tree a "living fossil." I figured this was hyperbole, Mitch Armstrong Nursery of Palmetto trying to sell a product. And, $50 for a 30-inch tree in a 6-inch pot seemed a bit...
  

• Eric Ernst: GOP for local control, except over teachers

  April 9, 2010
  A teacher's husband called the other day. He wanted to complain about some of the so-called education reforms making the rounds in Tallahassee these days.
  
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  ERNST: New neighbors want old business gone

  April 7, 2010
  Newcomers in million-dollar homes don't like the view of a decades-old land-clearing company on Clark Road.
  

• Ernst: After logging outcry, guarantees in writing

  April 4, 2010
  Loggers will still cut trees in four of Charlotte County's nature parks, but not as many as once envisioned. And the county will take precautions to protect endangered species such as eagles and gopher tortoises.
  
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  Butler fan with no voice invited to inspire team

  April 2, 2010
  Matt White would like nothing better than to let out a cheer for his beloved Butler University basketball team.
  He can't.
  

• Eric Ernst: The greatest rewards come from taking risks

  March 31, 2010
  Why, she should write a book. And, actually she has.
  After three years of traveling around the world with her husband on a 37-foot sailboat, Mary Gottschalk has plenty of stories.
  

• Ernst: Tiny park tactics could be preservation key

  March 28, 2010
  It used to be a sports bar. It almost turned into a Dunkin' Donuts. Now it's a park.
  A small one to be sure: Michael Biel Park takes up all of 75 by 100 feet near the Hatchett Creek Bridge in Venice.
  

• Eric Ernst: When the rains come, don't overlook the trees

  March 26, 2010
  Thunderstorms aside, if you're stuck outside and it starts to rain, you know you can duck under a tree and stay relatively dry.
  Why?
  Leaves, branches and even tree trunks hold water. They absorb some. The rest evaporates.
  

• Ernst: An amendment to quiet Chicken Little

  March 21, 2010
  The sky is not falling in Venice, despite the recurring claims we hear every time the city's comprehensive growth plan comes up for discussion.
  

• Ernst: Sarasota school tax passed -- and here's why

  March 19, 2010
  Nine reasons Sarasota County's 1-mill school property tax passed on Tuesday:
  

• Eric Ernst: Don't mourn the death of the 911 records bill

  March 17, 2010
  Now that the Florida House speaker has withdrawn his support, a bill that would have blocked public access to 911 recordings will presumably die.
  Good riddance.
  

• Ernst: Region abounds with places to witness wildlife

  March 14, 2010
  When most of us think of watching birds, we imagine ourselves in a remote, wooded area, far from the crowds. We assume this is the ideal spot to watch animals doing what they normally do.
  

• Ernst: Fireworks threatened by an unlikely source

  March 12, 2010
  Englewood's Fourth of July fireworks show is in jeopardy. Yes, you've heard that before.
  Not enough money, right? Wrong.
  
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  Ernst: All Nathan Lee wants is for 911 to get it right

  March 10, 2010
  In an ironic twist, Nathan Lee of North Port will travel to Washington on Tuesday to receive a national citizen advocacy award from the E9-1-1 Institute.
  

• Ernst: North Port. Eco-center. Odd couple. Good match.

  March 7, 2010
  Environmental center. North Port.
  When it comes to word association, the two don't exactly roll off the tongue. Maybe that's because they've never been seen in the same sentence.
  

• Ernst: Do you think 911 gets better with less sunlight?

  March 5, 2010
  Every so often on the evening TV news or Internet, we hear a harrowing 911 tape, someone in the throes of despair reaching out for help.
  

• Ernst: Harnessing power from a landfill's decay

  February 28, 2010
  Talk about recycling. This will make curbside collection of newspapers and aluminum cans look downright primitive. Charlotte and Sarasota counties are poised to create electricity from banana peels -- rotting banana peels. Rotting everything,...
  
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  Ernst: Control, not death, for feral cat colonies

  February 26, 2010
  At the municipal mobile home park in Venice, the cats were yowling at night and walking on cars. The park's tenant agreements prohibit cats from running wild, so out came the traps, and off went the cats -- four of them -- to Sarasota County's...
  Gallery

• Ernst: The rules do not apply to these septic owners

  February 24, 2010
  I don't usually write about the Englewood Water District, because my wife, Karen, is the lab director. I offer these observations not as the husband of an employee, but as a water and sewer customer dismayed by last week's action by the elected...
  

• Ernst: Two unanimous votes show changed times

  February 19, 2010
  As commercial developments go, this one wouldn't have amounted to much: two one-story buildings, 15,000 square feet total, on a three-acre lot.
  
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  Ernst: Australian pines' fans actually have a point

  February 17, 2010
  Sarasota County has pledged $10 million for removing exotic species on several spoil islands.
  

• Ernst: On rowing, a thin line splits vision and fantasy

  February 12, 2010
  Next time Paul Blackketter wants to take a trip, someone please stop him. His cross-country and cross-Atlantic jaunts over the past eight months could end up costing Sarasota County $20 million or more.
  Just kidding, sort of.
  

• Ernst: New focus needed to solve algal blooms

  February 10, 2010
  As some of the brightest minds in red tide research gathered at Mote Marine Laboratory, one acknowledgment permeated every presentation:
  We are nowhere near solving the puzzle of harmful algal blooms.
  

• Ernst: Training dogs to hunt, or just watching them kill?

  February 7, 2010
  The press release from the Humane Society of the United States sounded implausible.
  

• Ernst: Mosaic's baseball deal is more foul than fair

  February 5, 2010
  There's still a little Devil in the Tampa Bay Rays.
  

• Ernst: From a wounded Haiti, lessons on hope

  February 3, 2010
  He watched people die, but that's not the dominant image Alex Hoops carries from his recent trip to Haiti.
  

• Renewing school tax isn't such a simple issue

  January 22, 2010
  No one wants to sound as if they're anti-children or anti-teacher or anti-education.
  That's how some people interpreted Walt Augustinowicz's Jan. 14 presentation to Republican Party leaders in Sarasota County.
  

• Ernst: Only winners here are North Port lawyers

  January 20, 2010
  When she got a new car, Diane Pearson of North Port intended to return her 1986 Olds station wagon to the Lighthouse Baptist Church.
  

• Businesses are the county's playthings

  January 15, 2010
  Tom and Janet Nikla aren't complainers, but they have a valid complaint in how they've been treated by Sarasota County government.
  

• Ernst: North Port police, firing is good first step

  January 8, 2010
  It's too late to save Brian Wood, but North Port Police Chief Terry Lewis has taken steps to save the public's confidence in the city's 911 system.
  

• Space is dwindling for cultures to coexist

  January 3, 2010
  James Johnson knows a good story and how to retell it. Here's one he heard from a longtime commercial fisherman.
  

• Profitability is another power of the springs

  December 30, 2009
  As Sarasota County and North Port close in on buying Warm Mineral Springs, there's more than money at stake.
  

• Ernst: Should you trust this survey?

  December 27, 2009
  With hot-button issues and money involved, the special building and zoning plan on the Charlotte County end of Manasota Key sparks heated debate whenever it's on the public radar.
  

• The best Christmas gift is time with your family

  December 25, 2009
  While organizing a box of family photographs, my wife and I came across one of my favorites, from Christmas morning 1986.
  The photo showed my son, Tyler, 18 months old, cackling in delight.
  
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  Ernst: Logging company to give four parks extreme makeover

  December 23, 2009
  People are going to be shocked when they see some of Charlotte County's most popular nature parks in a few months.
  

• Ernst: In Osprey, smart growth may not be a no-brainer

  December 18, 2009
  Donald Wise's words ring true: If you live in Sarasota County, PMI may be coming soon to an area near you. Whether that's good news or bad depends on one's point of view.
  

• Ernst: 911 had no response, and no excuse, either

  December 16, 2009
  When someone calls 911 in an emergency, they expect help, not an attitude. And they expect someone to do something.
  Audio

• Ernst: One woman's legacy for struggling town

  December 13, 2009
  Good things can pop up in unexpected ways. This one started with a conversation in a grocery store.
  

• Ernst: Saving the planet costs a lot less than you think

  December 9, 2009
  A nickel and a social conscience can go a long way. That's a good thing to remember as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection decides what, if anything, to do with plastic shopping bags.
  

• Ernst: Promises of charrette not found in proposal

  December 6, 2009
  Back in August, Osprey residents came to a "charrette" to offer suggestions for the latest plan to develop 14 acres of what is to become the community's downtown.
  

• Ernst: Second tragedy is averted

  December 4, 2009
  Judging from public reaction, Ron Johnson of North Port was never going to prison for the accidental death of his young son.
  No jury of his peers, especially one comprising parents, would have convicted him.
  

• Local agriculture can be one healthy investment

  December 2, 2009
  Every week, schools in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties serve green beans for lunch.
  Every year, Alan Jones plants 600 to 700 acres of green beans -- one crop in the spring, one in the fall -- near Parrish in Manatee County.
  
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  Ernst: Call it a clearcut case of a city going too far

  November 27, 2009
  Christine Marfut's code violation fines have risen to $45,000, and the city of North Port may force the sale of her home.
  

• Ernst: All-or-nothing stance doesn't help the trees

  November 22, 2009
  The news often depicts public debate as a battle between two sides. One recent example is Sarasota County's discussion over how to save trees through the so-called baby grand tree ordinance, which the county commissioners scrapped last...
  

• Ernst: War protester's lawsuit a victory for free speech

  November 20, 2009
  Free speech comes with a price.
  For Robert Moran, 68, of Punta Gorda, it was $60,000 and an apology from the Cultural Center of Charlotte County.
  It may have taken a lawsuit and three years, but we all come out winners in this one.
  

• Ernst: It's people vs. trees

  November 15, 2009
  To hear the words describing their love of trees, you'd never suspect they gathered last week to attack a proposed law designed to protect the very object of their affection.
  

• Eric Ernst: Two combat zones, as seen by a veteran of both

  November 13, 2009
  What do the Afghans and the Iraqis really think of us? Those who believe the media present a misleading picture of America's two war zones got to pose that question and others Wednesday.
  

• Ernst: Boy's death is tragic, but not criminal

  November 11, 2009
  When my twin daughters were very little, they once slipped out from my wife's careful watch, unlocked the front door and ended up across the street, where we found them, naked and giggling, on a neighbor's porch.
  

• Ernst: Maybe this kind of welfare isn't so bad

  November 8, 2009
  When the economy was humming along, no one thought much about offering incentives to entice companies to relocate to Sarasota County. We didn't need the jobs. Everyone was either building homes, selling them or providing services to retirees.
  

• Eric Ernst: The voters in Venice deserve some credit

  November 6, 2009
  Contrary to popular punditry, voters can resist the noise of campaign rhetoric and tune into the nuances that don't make good sound bites.
  In other words, they do have minds of their own.
  

• Ernst: Criticism, high marks for Venice growth plan

  November 1, 2009
  Back in journalism class at Ohio Wesleyan University, one particularly tough professor used to mark papers with a red pen. Most papers came back covered in red ink, filled with suggestions for improvements in sentence structure or approach.
  

• Eric Ernst: This fee has unfair impact on restaurant's expansion

  October 28, 2009
  Rick Shea thought he'd bring in a little extra business to his New Faull Inn restaurant in Grove City.
  
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  Ernst: A tumultuous time to seek a council post

  October 25, 2009
  After his campaign talk last Wednesday, as he prepared to leave the room for the next Venice City Council candidate, Emilio Carlesimo held up his door prize ticket.
  "Did I win anything?" he asked.
  
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  Ernst: One living reason to donate your organs

  October 23, 2009
  When she was 18 and undergoing a Navy physical, Bette Luksha-Gammell got the shock of her life.
  

• North Port leadership need not play the fool

  October 18, 2009
  Times are hard. Let's pass the hat for poor Benderson Development.
  The company says it needs $2 million from North Port taxpayers to build a modest strip center on U.S. 41 at the Cocoplum Waterway.
  
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  ERNST: Nomination raises sex offender question

  October 16, 2009
  Does someone who commits a sexual offense against a child deserve, even years later, an honorary position in public service?
  That's what it boils down to in the case of Gregory Hugh Smith, 54, of Arcadia.
  

• Area's rising sea levels all too easy to ignore

  October 14, 2009
  In a state bounded on three sides by water, a change in sea level carries great significance.
  That's Florida.
  

• Instead of the rumors, listen to the candidates

  October 11, 2009
  The candidate introduced himself: "I'm Harry Walia ... and yes, that is my real name," he added, holding up his passport, and challenging listeners to check his driver's license and voter registration.