West Villages Improvement District: February 2021

Friday, February 12, 2021

Atlanta Braves 2021 Spring Training Guide for Fans

https://tomahawktake.com/2021/02/11/braves-need-know-spring-training-dates-attendance/

By Jake Mastroianni Feb 11, 2021

We are just one week away from Spring Training starting for the Atlanta Braves. Use this as a guide for dates and attendance information.

It’s been another long offseason for the Atlanta Braves who came up just short in 2020, and then fans had to wait three months for Alex Anthopoulos to make a big splash in free agency bringing back Marcell Ozuna.

But now the time has come, the trucks have left the station and are heading down to Florida to prepare for Spring Training.

Or at least, that’s the plan for now. With COVID, and the situation in Florida, things could change at any moment.

But here is what we know for now about how spring training will work for the Braves and fans.

Braves Report Dates:

Pitchers and catchers are expected to report at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla. on Thursday, Feb. 18. Most likely they will actually arrive the day before to begin going through COVID protocols.

The team’s first full-squad workout will happen on Tuesday, Feb. 23.

Recently agreed upon health and safety protocols (paid subscription required) will make things a little different.

Spring training will be rolled out in three phases to help keep players and staff socially distanced.

The Roster

On Friday teams will need to announce the 75 players and staff members that they will be taking to Spring Training.

Teams can add and remove players to that list throughout, but can never exceed the maximum amount of 75 players and 75 staff members.

How Braves Games Will Work

Games early in spring training could be as short as five innings. From March 14 on games could either be nine innings or seven innings depending on the players available that day.

The league is currently working on a new schedule for spring training where teams in southeast Florida will exclusively play each other, while the east coast teams play each other.

Ken Rosenthal Tweet, Feb8, 2021 "MLB in process of finalizing revised Grapefruit League schedule, placing teams in separate “pods” on east and west coasts of Florida, sources tell me and @MattGelb. West-coast teams in FL will play 28 games and east-coast teams 24, making up rest with intrasquad-type matchups."

Rosenthal followed up that tweet by saying that teams “will handle any adjustments necessary with tickets.”

So if you already had your spring training trip planned, you might want to reconsider.

Another thing to note for fans potentially attending games, the back fields will be off-limits. I know that’s a bummer as that’s where most fans usually go to get an up-close look at their favorite players and maybe grab an autograph.

Of course, as of now we don’t know if fans will even be allowed to attend spring training games. The way things are going in Florida I kind of doubt it, but I hope some fans are allowed in.

As we get more information with the updated schedule and fan attendance we’ll be sure to share that with you here at Tomahawk Take.

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate

REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964

West Villages Realty LLC

19503 S West Villages Pkwy

Stes A2 (by Appt)

Venice, Florida 34293

Office: 941-460-3179

Thursday, February 11, 2021

20 SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT VENICE FLORIDA

https://www.mustdo.com/articles/20-surprising-facts-about-venice-florida/

Venice is tucked away 23 miles south of Sarasota in Southwest Florida. Voted one of the Top 10 Happiest Seaside Towns 2015 by Coastal Living, it has much to recommend it. See how many facts you know about this Gulf-front city. We think there are a few things that will surprise even life-long residents!

1. Taking its name from its more famous Italian namesake, Venice Florida is a city on water. Separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway, this coastal city has several bridges and is often called “Venice Island”.

2. The VMA (Venice Museum and Archives) has over 30,000 photographs, exhibits, and archives housed in the Triangle Inn, built in 1927.

3. Settled in 1870s, the City of Venice was incorporated in 1927. Homes and businesses featured Italian-style architecture to create a charming model community.

4. Venice is one of just three cities in Florida that is on the water but does not have any barrier islands.

5. Calusa Indians were probably the first residents in the Venice area. These Native Americans lived in Florida over 12,000 years ago. Their shell middens provide important historical evidence for archaeologists. In the 16th century, Florida was occupied by the Spanish, although much of the southwest coast was an unchartered, mosquito-infested wilderness.

6. Frank Higel is considered the “Father of Venice”. He suggested the name Venice as the area has a striking likeness to the famous canal city in Italy. The area was previously called “Horse and Chaise” due to a tree formation that resembled a horsedrawn carriage.

7. Roberts Bay is named after Richard Roberts who established a homestead in the area in the 1870s.

8. Venice is the home of the only professional School for Clowns in the world!

9. During World War II, the 27th Service Group relocated from Tampa and established the Venice Army Air Base in 1942. After the war, the air base was acquired by the city.

10. Don’t miss a visit to the Venice Centre Mall which has a fascinating past. It was once a classroom for the Kentucky Military (around 1932) and later operated as a hotel.

11. Venice City covers 16.6 square miles of which 1.4 square miles (8%) is water.

Photo credit Chris L. Smith

12. The original Venice Pier was built in 1966 and was washed away in a nameless storm in July 1981. It was rebuilt from swamp timber in 1984 and was again rebuilt in 2004 using wood fiber composite. The pier is 720 feet long, 22 feet wide, and 20 feet high. It stands in water up to 18 feet deep.

Boardwalk to Nokomis Beach. Photo credit Jennifer Brinkman#Venice Florida

Venice Beach. Photo credit Justin Fennell

13. Venice has four main beaches: Venice Municipal Beach (the most popular); Nokomis Beach (home of the Drum Circle at sunset on Wednesday and Saturday evenings); South Browhard Beach (22 acres including a dog park) and Caspersen Beach (the longest beach in Sarasota County and famous for its shark teeth).

Brohard Paw Park and dog beach. Photo credit Justin Fennell

14. The population of Venice has grown from 309 in 1930 to an estimated 22,465 in 2016.

Photo credit Debi Pittman Wilkey

16. Thanks to Caspersen Beach, Venice is known as the “Shark’s Tooth Capital of the World”. Many fossilized shark teeth wash up on the coastline of Venice and can easily be found by sifting the sand along the water’s edge.

17. The city of Venice has 12 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. These include Hotel Venice, Triangle Inn, Venice Depot, the Valencia Hotel and Arcade, and the Levillain-Letton House. It also has three listed historic districts: Venezia Park, Eagle Point, and Edgewood.

Venice Depot. Photo credit Justin Fennell

18. Venice Municipal Pier is a popular place for fishing. No license is required and there’s no admission fee. It’s open 24 hours a day and shark fishing is popular after dark.

Photo credit Chris L. Smith

19. The Venice Theatre is the largest community theater per capita in the USA. It has been a non-profit organization since 1950 and has an operating budget of almost $3 million.

20. Thanks to its historic preservation and the delightful palms, live oaks and trumpet trees gracing the downtown area, Venice has been designated a Florida Main Street City.

If you haven’t already visited Venice, go check out this unique and lovely city with its charming downtown architecture, cafés and shops. It’s a treat!

Written by: Nita Ettinger