Risky Business
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Florida high court OKs medical marijuana for ballot THE WIRE PAGE 1 Pick of the Day Wine cooler, $225 In Today’s JAL Classifieds! THECharlotte WIRE Sun g PAGE 1 AND WEEKLY N. TREY RADEL TO RESIGN HERALD f-* Facing an ethics investigation, the Florida congressman who pleaded SANDBERG TO LEAD STONE CRABS AN EDITION OF THE SUN guilty to cocaine-possession charges last year says he will resign. Hall-of-Famer’s nephew replaces promoted Brady Williams. VOL. 122 NO. 28 AMERICA’S BEST COMMUNITY DAILY SPORTS PAGE 1 TUESDAY JANUARY 28, 2014 www.sunnewspapers.net LIFE STORIES $1.00 Trailing ahead Risky business Heralds moving of the others to Friday PRIME RIB PORT CHARLOTTE USDA CHOICE SATURDAY NIGHT KING $ 17 95 teve Christian of Venice stopped QUEEN $ 15 95 Cooked To Your Satisfaction Comes with Soup or Salad and Dessert With pawn shops, HAPPY HOUR 4PM-CLOSE Burnt Store Grille HERALD @ Burnt Store Plaza 3941 Tamiami Tr., Punta Gorda by the office last week — he rode At 41 S. and Burnt Store Rd. Starting this 941-575-2757 Wednesday,January 22, 2014 A weekly section of the Sun 50463515 www.BurntStoreGrille.com Nicole Noles 11.3 miles by bicycle, EDITOR’S CORNER week, the [email protected] Memories and megabytes S naturally Charlotte County Computer Group to celebrate 30th anniversary By BARBARA PIERCE — to talk about his ideas for a bike Next week is the Port HERALDERALD CORRESPONDENTORRESPONDENT Charlotte Herald’s The CCharlotteharlotte County ComputerComputer Punta Gorda Group will celebrate its 30th anniversary in March.March. TTheirheir mission is to prpromoteomote big move to Friday comcomputerputer literacy andand education.education. The Computer Group carries out its lease don’tdon’t panicpanic wwhenhen youyou opopenen mmissionission byby rebuilding usedPRIME computcomput-- RIB nextnext WednWednesday’sesday’s pappaperer aandnd can’tcan’t ers fforor those who need them, and byby find your Port Charlotte Herald. USDA CHOICE P Port Charlotte Herald. educating members through classes and network in North YYourour comcommunitymunity newnewss sesection will be it’s ‘buyer beware’ ction will be hhelpingelping them withwith problemsproblem sSATURDAY on theirtheir NIGHT wwaitingaiting fforor you on Friday,Friday, Jan. 31. In computers. Herald the meantime,meantime, likelike ourour Port CharlotteCharlotte HERALD “What we ddo is take donated com- o is take KINGdonated com- $ HHeralderald FacebFacebookook papagege to seseee tontonss of puteputers,rs, repair and refurbish them, then 95 grgreateat photos. 17 PUNTA GORDA donate them to those in need,need,”” said RonRon WaWallis,llis, president. QUEEN $ Get ready for ‘Sin, SexSex 95 Port, Venice and ““AndAnd we’we’rere a a mem membershipb eCookedrship program.program. To Your Satisfaction 15 & thethe CIA’ this weekend There are a lot of perks Come sto with being Soup a memmem-or Salad- and Dessert ber,” hhee concontinued.tinued. ““YouYou getget anan aawfulwful lot Charlotte PlayersPl will start the New HAPPY HOUR 4PM-CLOSE ayers will start the New foforr youyourr $35 membershipmembership fee.” and Port Year with the comedy “Sin,“Sin, Sex & Wednesday, January 22, 2014 • Since 1893 Burnt Store Grille .. Members agree. “Best money I’ve ever the CIA,CIA,”” wwhichhich opensopens FridayFriday in the .. @ Burnt Store Plaza PG sspent,”pent, said Debbie Abrahams. 3941 Tamiami “The Tr., Punta Gorda ” said Debbie Abrahams. “The By ADAM KREGER CuCulturalltural Center Theater for a total of At 41 S. and Burnt Store Rd. .. quesquestiontion and ananswerswer sessionssessions areare so six performanperformances.ces. CurtainCurtain risesri at ses at & 50463515 Englewood. helpful; they’ll www.BurntStoreGrille.comstay with you 941-575-2757 until you 7:30 p.m. except for the matinee on Punta Gorda Herald MOVES to FridayGOE understand iit.t. And, they’re nnotot trtryingying Jan. 26 at 2 p.mp.m. The Cultural Center worth money, but not a lot of cash,” . The Cultural Center to sell you anything.anything. Also,Also, I can bring TheTheaterater is located at 2280 Aaron Street my computer in if it has any problems iinn Port Charlotte. Today is the last Wednesday EDITION of the Punta GordaHERALDHERALD Herald. PHOTO BY BABARBARA RBARA PIERCEPIERCE and they wiwillll fix it — no ccostost toto me.me. It’sIt’s Charlotte TiTicketsckets aarere $18 fforor adults andand $9 for RonRon Wallis, president of the CharlCharlotteotte County Computer Group, works to rebuild a computer TAFF * LOOK FOR THE PGH IN Friday’s SUN, Starting Jan. 31. amamazing!”azing!” S students. Call 941-625-4175 ext. 220 or WRITER which willwill be donateddonated toto a childchild oror a veteran inin need. TheThe group,group, aa nonprofitnonprofit organizationorganization andand aa INSIDE First, though, I he said. “We’re here to help.” go onlineonline at www.charlotteplayers.org.www.charlotteplayers.org. membershimembershipp grogroup,up, rentsrents space fromfrom the Cultural Center. MEGABYTES | 3 Happy 100th birthday! COMMUNITY NEWS Scenes Herald are Robert Nelson of ‘Monroe Room,’ salon BIZ BITS asked him about his [email protected]@y Walkahoo.com Duke’s business makes between accepting new clients Steve Duke has been in the By ANNE KLOCKENKEMPER STAFFTAFF WRITERRITER P|4 In The MonMonroeroe Room at AmbiAmbianceance Staff of Scruples background. And I’m moving to SaSalonlon SuiteSuites,s, fframedramed phophotostos of an RUNWAY FASHIONS elelegantegant MaMarilynrilyn MonroeMonroe gracegrace the Nails & Hair moves 800 and 1,000 transactions a month. walls. local pawn shop business for four Andrea MMcVicker,cVicker, 30, who pprevious-revious- ly worked in salons in both North Port to Giannas’s Salon and PPortort Charlotte anandd has 15 yearsyears he folks ofof Scruples Nails & Hair glad I did. have moved, and are now sharing T annas’s Salon in Unfortunately, that success comes Fridays. uare plaza. decades. The 63-year-old owner of PHOTOPHOTO PPROVIDEDROVIDED ssameame locationlocation forfor 20 years before the sale of the building FrancisFrancis “Bud” DeGrasse of Port Charlotte “Bud” DeGrasse of Port Charlotte eerr NaNancyncy Menelli celebratedcelebrat his 100th birthday on Dec. 29 ed his 100th birthday on Dec. 29 ail techtechss Wendy Sandro, with family and frfriendsiends from as far away as Ginny Borysenko and hair stylists Steve, 63, spent Maine and California.California. Bud’sBud’s mottomotto iiss “Li what you make it.” , TTammyammy JacJacksonkson andand Westchester Gold and Diamonds in with a slight downside — about 1 or They will WRITING BIZ BITS | 11 I N P U N TA G O R DA 16 BY GORDON BOWER, Instant InstantPGH CORRESPONDENT RebatesRebates years in Silicon Up Up to to $2,700! $2,700! 2 or its size, Punta Gorda is a city percent of those transactions in- rich in the arts. Just look at the Port Charlotte said he opened the P|14-15 not be in F number of artists at the Visual growing number of published writers Arts Center and the number of who live locally is not noticeable until Putting galleries in town. The same goes for you drop into one of our fine book- C3 Valley working with music; the town is home to a local stores — Copperfish Books in town symphony, chorale and an abundance and Sandman Book Company down on volve suspected stolen merchandise. of50462567 50462567 local bands and singer/songwriters, stylish feet shop because he’s “been on the other Burnt Store Road. 1/31/11/31/144 plus it has an incredible venue — the Cathy Graham, co-owner of Wednesday’s Charlotte Performing Arts Center at Copperfish, estimated she has 45 books tech startups. Wife Charlotte High School. by local authors on the shelves, and forward Quietly, another art — writing — is more are being added all the time. sneaking into prominence in our en- Local authors come from many walks side of the counter.” “Pawn shops are required by law to virons. Sneaking is the right term. The Steve of life and have varying degrees of Linda did accounting. Sun this 100 years WRITING | P8-9 “A lot of people have a lot of things and countingP|16 Serving Punta Gorda and Burnt Store • A section of the SUN • 16 pages BAUMANN “After 15 years, week. Instant Rebates -ms Up to $2,700! s COLUMNIST one day we came RISKY | 6 50462567 home … and we said, January maybe we should just try to do something else,” Steve said. 1/31/14 They drew up an escape plan, bought a motor home, sold the house and quit their jobs. Works of art Sayonara, San Jose! “We were in our mid-40s and we were on the road and we had no real commit ments anywhere,” Steve said. “We left one- life and entered another life.” For 16 years, as it turned out. The Christians traveled continuously for four, five years — “pretty much a vagabond kind of thing” — then modified their lifestyle. They volunteered at state and national parks for long stretches, then moved into their seasonal amusement kk PHOTO PROVIDED park phase. (They ran Space Mountain for two winters.) “Illusion,” by artist Denny Mid-2000s, Steve and Linda began Bond of East Petersburg, working at holiday gift centers for See’s Pa., is one of the works of Candies. This led to a “posting” at a See’s art that will be on display kiosk in Sarasota. at the Visual Arts Center’s “It gave us an opportunity to fall in love National Art Exhibition, with this area and realize that if, when the which runs Feb. 1 through time came for us to transition out of the 0 1 1 March 9. Story and more life on the road, this is where it would be,” photos on page 4. Steve said. After the crash, they bought a home in Venice and put down roots. Which is a long-about route to bike trails and Steve’s ideas for a North Port connector.