This past weekend I visited a multitude of events focused on our natural environment. It is encouraging to see the business community catching up with consumer interest in reducing our impact upon the planet. On Friday I attended the Sarasota Area Realtors green exposition. Builders, retailers, landscapers and others provided us with education as to products and services that reduce energy consumption or chemical impacts. This was the first year for the Expo and it seemed to be a rousing success with a steady crowd throughout the day.
On Saturday there was a festival in North Port put on by the group "People for Trees." Dallas White park was a perfect place to attract a lot of families, and hundreds of free trees were distributed to those willing to attend a brief seminar. I then headed to the New Gate school which is located near the boundary of the Myakka River State Park. Again there were a variety of vendors with innovative products, musicians performing as the audience munched wholesome foods, and lots of kids enjoying themselves.
Oscar Sherer State Park hosted the big Earth Day celebration on Sunday. We arrived to set up around 9 am, just as a heavy rainstorm passed through the area. While the shower was brief, it left the trees filled with water that dripped on us throughout the day whenever a breeze came through. Our spirits were not damp, however, because the crowd increased throughout the day with people eager to see the exhibits, hear the performers, and talk politics. Now that my petitions are done, I don't need anything but conversation from passing voters. I have found that folks are very interested in our criminal justice system and eager to learn about how we can make justice work better.
Yesterday I attended the jail summit meeting that involved nearly every municipal or county official from Sarasota, North Port, Venice and Longboat Key. The criminal justice commission is proposing a Community Corrections Center be built to alleviate jail overcrowding. This center would focus more on rehabilitation and reintegration into the community for nonviolent offenders. The cost and location of this new facility remain undetermined. Perhaps later I will try and flesh out the issues surrounding this proposal in more detail. Meanwhile, I have my own campaign to attend to. I will address the Sarasota County Veteran's Commission this Thursday, April 24th, at 1:00 p.m., and you can watch my presentation live on Comcast channel 19 if you live in Sarasota.
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