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— “Despite a less than enthusiastic response from the head of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau, the board of the Downtown Improvement District will continue to push for a visitors center either on Main Street or close to it.”

— An interesting feature in the Bradenton Herald about the impact of the foreclosure disaster on Latino families.

— Sarasota really is turning into Baltimore! Now that Orioles pitchers and catchers are reporting for spring training, I mean.

— Hannah Wallace writes totally un-ironically about her legitimately great Valentine’s Day.

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COVER STORY

— Trouble in paradise? While some Selby Gardens insiders say poor management and risky finances have imperiled the Sarasota institution, current leadership insists the organization is stronger than ever.

NEWS & VIEWS

— Don’t panic! Your war questions answered: What’s next with Iran?

FOOD & DRINK

— Restaurant news roundup: Retropolitan Grille, Trader Vic’s, The Broken Egg and Michael’s on East.

— Recipe: Ginger scallion noodles, from Momofuku.

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— Manatee County fans go gaga over two figure skating pairs competing in the Olympics who trained at the Ellenton Ice & Sports Complex. Of course, “whether they bring home a medal or not, Ellenton Ice will come out the big winner.” Actually, no, that’s not true. If they win gold, I think they’ll come out the big winner.

— “The managers of the Geraldson Community Farm in Bradenton built a Web site for people into organic farming to connect and share ideas about going green.”

— County Commissioner Joe Barbetta is reportedly avoids a court date by reaching an agreement to give access to his computer to those suing him over alleged Sunshine Law violations. Also from the Barbetta feed! Richard Swier has posted a podcast Q&A with the commish, promising that he “asked Commissioner Barbetta some very tough questions.” Oh really? Here is Swier on the incumbent Barbetta: “The general consensus is the county’s doing a great job.” I bet Barbetta is shaking in his boots!

— And… one of my favorite events of the year: The Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival goes down this weekend.

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— Like a story straight from the old days of The Daily Show: “A Nokomis man is retaliating against his neighbor for burglarizing his home. He’s erected an eight foot sign on his lawn that reads: ‘my neighbor’s a thief.’” Actually, ABC 7, the sign says, “Our neighbor is a thief,” at least according to the photo of the sign running right next to the story.

— The vulture investors have arrived, and they’re selling Palmetto condos at fire-sale prices “starting at $140,000.” During the boom, those units were going for $435,000-$1.4 million.

— New College students study the impact of a two-, four- and six-foot rise in sea level, and provide some scary data.

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— Here is how one architecture professor responded via email to the Herald-Tribune about the plans for the revamped Ed Smith Stadium: “Wow! It cannot get worse: The feeble attempt at making a modern building that looks like a resuscitation of a third-rate 1950s commercial building.”

— The Manatee County Sierra Group withdraws its sponsorship of the Manatee edition of tomorrow’s statewide offshore-drilling protest, because the county wanted between $50 and $1,000 (depending on how many protesters showed up) to let people, yes, stand on the beach.

— Now, to the conservatives out there. Is it not at least a bit unseemly that Rep. Vern Buchanan will deliver a speech at the same event as Ann Coulter, who, writing about activist 9/11 widows, penned these words: “I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much“? I sincerely wonder how a conservative is responding to that news.

— The 2010 Vinyl Music Festival gets slotted on the calendar: July 22-25.

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We here at Creative Loafing Sarasota unabashedly dig The Equines, the superb local indie-folk act whose debut EP, Hearts on Faces, we just can’t get enough of. And now they’ve done gone and made a sweet music video for Hearts track “Narwhal,” which you can watch up top. Enjoy.

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— Remember this next time someone tells you the real estate market is turning around: In Manatee County, foreclosures are up 150 percent over last year. “‘That’s a lot,’ said Cindy Greco, president of the Manatee Association of Realtors. ‘Sales have picked up and prices have come down, but I don’t think we’ve even touched the volume of foreclosures that we are going to see.’”

— It’s like an all-Manatee news day or sumpin’: “Manatee County Republican Party chairwoman Kathleen King is making a play to become the state GOP’s second in command.”

— The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort lays out its strategy to emerge from bankruptcy.

— Sarasota doctors tell the gripping story of their recent relief trip to Haiti.

— Richard Swier compares new rules about Florida water quality that emerged from a Sierra Club lawsuit to “torture,” writing, “You and I are going to be water boarded, not by the CIA, but rather by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Eco-Police . This torture will not last mere seconds before we submit and tell all but will go on and on for decades and destroy us and our economy – a fate worse than a term in Guantanamo.” A touch hyperbolic? Nah, I didn’t think so either.

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Just snapped the above screenshot from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune homepage. Notice anything humorous? Yep, it’s that funny headline teasing a story on Anna Scott’s H-T blog, The Prescription: “Michelle Obama unveils campaign against childhood.” Always thought there was something menacing about that woman. (Of course the full headline reads, “Michelle Obama unveils campaign against childhood obesity.”)

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— Hey. This is good news: “Technology-oriented companies rubbing shoulders with Southwest Florida’s two largest economic development agencies have gone public with plans to create at least 400 new jobs, including three fresh announcements this week.”

— And did you miss the story about the Manatee County apartment building whose elevator has been broken for 11 straight days now, leaving wheelchair-bound residents on upper floors essentially trapped?

— Kim Cartlidge reports on the high-level conversations that occurred during the recent Sarasota International Design Summit.

— Only click on this story if you can handle an image of a manatee that died from the cold, one of more than 200 already this year. The record for manatee deaths in an entire year is 429.

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COVER STORY

— 2010 Lust List: You uploaded your hottest, most scandalous images at CLSarasota.com. We’re running them uncensored.

NEWS & VIEWS

— .Com-ments: Fallout from Creative Loafing’s Noise Issue.

— Don’t panic! Your war questions answered: Is the U.S. really going to withdraw from Iraq in August?

FOOD & DRINK

— Alternatives to dinner out on Valentine’s Day.

— Restaurant review: Caribbean Pie Company serves breakfast, lunch and, of course, pie in its new east Main Street location.

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