the 941

The paint thinner-reeking winds of change are blowing fast and hard in
Sarasota’s arts community. The latest casualty? Greene Contemporary.

Gallery owner Jonathan Greene is about to announce that he will close his Pineapple Avenue space — one of a select few in town to feature provocative art that’s something other than a matching accessory to that $5,000 couch. Before setting up shop in NYC, Greene will move to a by-appointment-only, mixed-use showroom/artist’s studio space near mack b after March 31.

The writing’s been on the wall for a while: hiked lease rates as of the first of this year, and the looming storm water construction on Pineapple. The project has been delayed twice, but if it does happen as scheduled in April, it will tear up most of the street and cut down on foot traffic, much like last year’s developments on Palm Avenue. Greene says that though it’s not a 100 percent done deal, things should be locked down within the week.

Greene, the February 2007 cover boy, says locals shouldn’t necessarily take this as a bad thing in the arts scene. Still, we’ve heard rumors of other closings and/or out-of-town relocations. And unless someone comes in to replace venues like Greene, it’s difficult to see this development as anything but a negative.

More to come on this developing story.… In the meantime, what are your thoughts?

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This is going to come as a complete shocker, so make sure you’re sitting down: Mechanics take advantage of uninformed customers.

A guy in Connecticut went to 40 garages with simple problems — a loose battery cord and low coolant — and a quarter suggested high-priced repairs. Just over half mentioned the loose cord, and only 11 told him about the coolant. His findings — which got him a professor job at Cornell — match those by a consumer-advocate group in Canada.

The article ends with the theory that the experiment holds some truth for other expert/novice relationships, particularly healthcare, which feels like a bit of a stretch. But this much is certainly true: That nauseous feeling you get when you pull into a garage is totally warranted.

Unless, of course, you’re going to double Best of the Suncoast-winner Reese’s Chevron. Everybody loves those guys.

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If you haven’t already seen it — though really, at this point there’s no excuse — the annual Best of the Suncoast issue is live and in effect. Big ups to the illustrious Camille Pyatte, who once again killed it with the camera, and to Webtern Christin With An H (that’s her with the Glock), who singlehandedly redefined the term Bond Girl. Joel, Cooper and Brian did some work, too. We guess.

We also spent yesterday guessing (what a segue!), as Brian administered the first-ever Best Of Pop Quiz for this week’s episode of our only podcast, W941.

How do you think we did?

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The polls close in less than 5 hours, folks. We can’t guarantee that your picks will come out on top, but we can promise you this: no undervotes.

Do it.

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The name’s Suncoast, Best of the Suncoast. Once again, Creative Loafing is dishing up awards for the Best Everything — Best ’Hood, Best Bar, Best Pizza, Best A-hole. And this year, in honor of this blessed year 2007, we’re doing it with a little help from one James Bond. That’s right: 007 in ’007.

But James isn’t enough — we need your help, too. Click here to vote in the 2007 Readers Poll — and actually fill it out; ballots with votes in less than 20 categories will be summarily ridiculed and thrown toward the trash like Oddjob’s hat. Oh — and national chains are a big Dr. No-No. We’re looking for the Best of the Suncoast, not the Best of America. Keep your votes local, folks.

Feel particularly strong about a certain restaurant? Think a local politician deserves a little extra credit — or a swift kick out of City Hall? Feel free to write a paragraph explaining your vote in any one category in the comments below, or e-mail your thoughts to max@creativeloafing.com. Persuade us and your paragraph may just end up in our Best of the Suncoast issue, which hits stands Oct. 24.

Shake it up. But whatever you do, don’t stir.

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Bruce Asbury. The name conjures up so much. SNN reporter and substitute weatherman. Amateur insult comedian. Fan club president. “Ambassador to Buffalo”. Amazon list-maker. In honor of the man who lights up SNN like Venus appearing in the night sky, I hereby introduce a weekly 941 feature, in which you and I will decide exactly what stories Asbury should pursue with his trademark self-deprecation and campy visuals.

To inaugurate things, let’s imagine Asbury tackling the controversial love bug phenomenon plaguing the Suncoast:

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In this week’s letters column, reader Kristen Eschmann laments that we didn’t devote more space to the Readers’ Picks in our Best Of The Suncoast issue. She says “the way your awards were listed in the paper clearly shows that you give more credit to what your staff thinks than what your readers do.”

Now I don’t speak for the editorial staff here at the Loaf, but I gotta say - damn right we do! Even beyond the obvious ballot stuffing (I love the Cock & Bull, but winning six categories? That’s a Saddam-style election!), any readers who believe
that Sweet Tomatoes is the best vegetarian restaurant in town should be grateful we can provide them with valid and realistic opinions to slot into those empty minds.

Kristen, I’ll start lobbying for more space for Readers’ picks when readers start making the right picks. If you want bad opinions, just check out the H-T’s list.

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Reader Susan Wallach has tipped us off to a mystery we addressed in this week’s Best of the Suncoast, the Twistee Treat’s unexplained marquee writing: “GOD BLESS BILL W”.

She writes: “The Bill W. reference is from AA lore. Supposedly a guy named Bill W. started Alcoholics Anonymous and, to be secretive when publicizing meeting times/locations, they sometimes refer to themselves as “Friends of Bill W.” so that only those “in the know” know WTF it means. Tricky, huh? A few years back they did a TV movie with James Woods playing this Bill W. dude. What a wild man!!! So how do I know? I have several friends in “The Program” who let me in on the secret. Actually, IMHO, AA is a good thing for those who need it and I totally respect those who choose to go that route. So it’s all good…”

Thanks, Susan, for doing our research for us. TIME has a writeup on Bill Wilson (the Bill W) here.

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It’s time for the Weekly Planet’s Best of the Suncoast poll!

Click here to vote for your favorites!

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