Sam Hague's Blog: Local Interest

Congratulations to yet another team from Venice High School on bringing a state championship to our community.  

(photo courtesy of the Venice Herald Tribune)

The  Venice High baseball team is the Florida Class 5A State Champion!
The Indians dispatched a strong Port St. Lucie Jaguar team 12-1 in a game ending after 6 innings (10 run mercy rule) at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
The Indians baseball team last played for a state championship in 1999 at Tampa's Legends Field, where they lost to Merritt Island 6-4.

This brings up a very important point about our wonderful area, as Jan and I constantly point out to our customers,.. there is literally something for EVERYONE here!
Take a moment to consider that we won the…

It occurred to me as I was traveling along Center Road on my way home from a listing appointment the other night that the road was almost completely paved in all lanes going both directions and that it was a very pleasant ride, and with that in mind, I took a right at Jacaranda and drove the newly finished Border Road project.  Which brings me to the subject for this post...an update on our local CONE ZONES.  We have some good news and some not-so-good news when it comes to our local road construction projects currently underway...

...first the good news:

• Center Road - As I indicated above, the Center Road project is entering the final phase, which includes intermittent lane shifts to complete curb work and some drain work, specifically at the…

As we here in the Gator Nation prepare for tomorrows night's National Championship Championship game against Ohio State, we have reason to celebrate another local champion!  Rachel Chambers RD, a dietitian  at Venice Regional Medical Center (VRMC) competed in the 2007 Walt Disney World Marathon held today and finished 4th overall in the womens division and was the #2 American runner!  Her time was 3:05:21.    Click on the link below, courtesy of the Venice Herald Tribune, to read more about her inclusion on the Florida's Finest Team.

I have known Rachel since I moved to Florida and have found her to be passionate about her work, her excercise and life in general. She is an inspiration to all who know her.  A few years ago, when Rachel was just beginning…

Congratulations are in order for our friend Ann Roggero.  She has been named the Campus Executive Officer (CEO) at the Manatee Community College (MCC) Venice Campus.   

I first met Ann when she was the Vice President of Human Resources at Bon Secours-Venice Health care Corporation and worked out of Bon Secours Venice Hospital.  One only needs speak with Ann for a few minutes to sense her passion for people, her love of life and her commitment to our beautiful community, not to mention her considerable intellect, management skills and technical ability.  She is well known in south county for her participation in many area service organizations and as a gifted speaker.  In fact, it was listening to speakers like her that prompted me to join our local…

I have just watched the news conference announcing the resignation of Bill Cowher as the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers!  I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, left in 1992 and returned to the area for a year in 1994. I watched with my game jersey and terrible towel. As a Steeler fan, this decision disappoints me much more than our less than stellar performance this season.  Cowher, another born and raised Pittsburgh guy, is 49 years old and says that is time for him to enjoy his family. 

He said, among many other noteworthy things, that "...you can take a person out of Pittsburgh, but you cannot take the Pittsburgh out of a person..."  He made a career of hard work fueled by passion for what he did and went on to show genuine humility and gratitude…

Sarasota county and City of Venice have approved a joint planning agreement that outlines components of future annexation by the city for the next 25 years.  The county and the City of North Port reached a verbal agreement on Thursday, but that was not enough to prevent a referendum.  What this means is that the voters will get to decide in March of this year how future growth in south county will be handled, and who will be calling the shots.  The current real estate market notwithstanding, our area continues to be a prime vacation/retirement/investment/living area with or without the estimated 50,000 new single family homes that the Sarasota County Economic Development Council forecasts by 2025. The issue is balancing the growth with the developers,…

    EYE on 2007

Well here we are, entering 2007, a new year filled with hope and promise for our wonderful city.  There are many issues that stand to be resolved...or at least addressed in the coming year. 

Here are some things to we look forward to as we begin 2007 with a clean slate:

• Growth management - the city and county, as well as the City of North Port, are all working toward a Joint Planning agreement  for future growth in the area.  Many people, including myself, were/are attracted to Venice and southern Sarasota County because of the small town feel and the many wonderful attractions and destinations at our disposal.  As more and more people discover Venice, growth is inevitable.  The county is concerned that the cities may be…