Siesta Sand - April 2023

Hotel trials likely to combine, begin Oct.

By John Morton

Consolidation it is, at least schedule-wise -leaning toward probably but with a bit of maybe.

The two separate lawsuits fighting Sarasota County’s approval of two high-density hotels in 2021, with a third approved in 2022, will possibly combine into one trial beginning Oct. 9 in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court. Three weeks have been set aside on the court’s calendar for the proceedings.

Judge Stephen Walker, who resides over both matters, made that determination March 17 with the blessing of lawyers for the two plaintiffs, the county’s legal team, and the lawyers for the developers and site owners.

The cases “have many of the same legal issues, same factual issues,” said David Smolker, the attorney for the group suing the county for the approval of both the eight-story, 170-room Calle Miramar hotel near the Village and the seven-story, 120-room Old Stickney Point Road hotel near the south bridge. That latter project includes a five-story parking garage across the street.

The plaintiffs are resident Robert Sax and the Marina Del Sol condo (near the south-bridge project) and the owners at the 222 Beach Road complex (near the Village project). That case was set for trial on June 12, but Smolker asked for a delay due to other commitments and calendar conflicts that have lessened his ability to prepare his case.

Walker also noted that his calendar, if June 12

Continued on page 35

The power of that bongo beat

1-year delay requested for sand haul

By John Morton

The crunch of time slipping away finally forced the hand of Sarasota County regarding its plans to provide sand renourishment to Turtle Beach, and on March 7 at the county commission meeting its representatives announced it would seek a year extension until April 30 of 2024.

Many factors played into the decision. The county is at the mercy of what it hopes is the approval of FEMA for the delay, which last fall suddenly and unexpectantly gave the county a June 30 deadline to complete the project, after noting it was the last entity in the nation to have yet to use FEMA grant funds (roughly $4 million in this case) to replace sand that was washed away during 2016’s Hurricane Hermine.

Basically, FEMA wanted to clear its books on the matter. Originally, the county believed it had as long as 2026 to complete the work on what is calling the South Siesta Beach Repair

Continued on page 43

What should be Midnight Pass plan?

Shovels or pipes?

By John Morton

Now that Sarasota County commissioners are gearing up toward a commitment to improving water quality in Little Sarasota Bay, and well aware that the closing of Midnight Pass at the hands of their predecessors in the early 1980s is related to the issue, the question of how to restore the natural flow that once occurred between Siesta Key and Casey Key is front and center.

The county has asked for a $1 million commitment toward the process from Florida lawmakers, who are in session in Tallahassee

right now with state Sen. Joe Gruters and state Rep. Greg Steube leading the way.

Locally, Sarasota County is pledging $1.6 million toward planning and permitting toward whatever gameplan is set in motion. Clearing up the bay is one of the commissioners’ priorities for 2023, and new board members Mark Smith and Joe Neunder have been very vocal in support of the restoration of

Continued on page 34

Despite some red tide still being present, the usual Sunday night crowd on March 12 gathered on a perfect evening for the Siesta Key drum circle. It begins each week at sunset. (photo by David Geyer)

Greetings from the Gulf

Bring on the clowns, your golf-cart frowns, your naughty out-of-towns

By John Morton

Clown suits, complete with the big floppy shoes, foam red nose, and honketyhonk horn.

That’s what I’d be giving our lawmakers in Tallahassee.

A political dig, you ask?

No, I’m just tossing in my suggestion to Save Siesta Key on what to give the House and Senate members who will be voting this month on its incorporation bill. It’s custom to present something that represents the area and here, as we know, the circus is the big berserkus.

Just ask Diane Cuna. Her remarkable bigtop upbringing is showcased on page 8 of this month’s issue.

What, my idea is no good? Well then, my corsage does squirt-ith thee in thy face.

OK, how about some of our unmatched quartz-based sand? But what to put it in? How about an hourglass. It can show how time will slowly go by, grain by grain, for 18 months until possibly we get to vote on our island’s fate. I still can’t believe that was shoved down the community’s throat by delegation newcomer Mike Grant.

Maybe a Roll Tide T-shirt? No, we’re not in Bama but things here in the Gulf are often crimson, as in red, as in increasingly Bear Bryant unbearable. Can our water quality issues finally get addressed at the capitol? Someone?

Credit to Save Siesta Key, however, for taking the high road, via the highball of sorts. A recent tour of Siesta Key Rum’s distillery got some of its members drinking and thinking, and next thing you know Troy Roberts was bottling up a brilliant idea. Yes, all the representatives of the House and Senate received some yummy rummy.

“We donated 160 375-milliliter bottles of our toasted coconut rum to help the Save Siesta Key effort. I thought it was the perfect

item to give the legislators a ‘taste’ of Siesta Key that would stick favorably in their minds,” Roberts, the company’s founder, said.

“I did it because I would love to see the residents of Siesta Key control the future of the Key. I moved here the first time in 1979. There have been a lot of changes and I would like to preserve what we can of the character of the Key.”

I wonder if instructions were included: “Drink all of me moments before voting.”

***

The recent proliferation here of “free rides” (French for “please tip”) is something to behold. We are blessed with a great public trolley and additional well-established free shuttles in the form of the Gator Ride, the Frog Hop, and Johnny’s Free Ride.

Then there are the dizzying number of start-up golf cart free-ride operations: Limo Kart, Thumbs-Up, Two Tides, Siesta Key Free Rides, Shark Shuttle (complete with driver in shark suit), and Horn Bros. -- who somehow, someway managed to not have “honk if you’re horny” on the side of their cart.

Then there’s the next tier down -- the unmarked, no-name cart creeps. One of them often hangs out by the line for the trolley outside Morton’s Market, recruiting riders with lines like “Don’t get on that COVID caravan!”

A few weeks back, I saw what I believe was one of these rogue cart operators run out of juice right in the middle of Midnight Pass Road. After bidding his two backseat passengers an embarrassing fond farewell, he began to push -- eventually receiving the assistance sympathy of some passers-by.

I took a picture and enjoyed a chuckle.

Folks, the real deals out there on the free-ride road are the ones that deserve our patronage. They are licensed, have permits, and are insured.

Best of all, they are fun! I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been subjected to “Sweet Caroline” and the whole nauseating “bop-bop-bop!” and “so good, so good, so good!” routine on the Breeze trolley. One day, as I departed, I announced in deadpan how I would not return until “you play a song I’ve heard before, dag nab it.” This got a good laugh.

Well, a couple days later, upon boarding, the same driver recognized me and next thing I knew the whole trolley was singing and forming the letters to “YMCA” as the conductor looked at me and smirked. It was at this point I realized I was one smartypants comment away from “Macarena” mayhem.

As a side note, many people have contacted our paper to moan about the trolley app, and how it doesn’t work well -- or if at all. It rarely shows you with any degree of accuracy where the trolley is located.

I’ve learned that the operators were not required to have such a device, but had one created a couple years ago of their own volition. The current operators have a contract with the county that expires at the end of August.

The county, which owns the trolley

service, reports that future operators will be required to have an app that offers tracking as part of any contract requirements.

***

At a recent Siesta Key Association meeting, Sgt. Dan Smith, who runs our Sheriff’s Office substation at the public beach, reflected on the challenges of policing spring break, He once again noted that regional high school kids cause the most trouble, and college kids are rarely a headache.

However, last year, the co-eds that descended upon us from two northern cities were the exception: Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Buffalo, New York.

Smith says they were out of control.

Well, you by now know how Greetings from the Gulf rolls. So, it’s off to Fort Wayne we go this September for its largest event -- the annual Johnny Appleseed Festival. I’m not making this up.

Anyway, a fruit fight it is. I’m a rotten apple. I’m one bad seed.

How to get even with Buffalo? I’m thinking we just show them pix of our Lombardis and our Lord Stanleys. Correct: Buffalo has never won an NFL or NHL title.

Oh, and Buffalo people live in Buffalo. Good luck with a comeback on that.

And then there’s O.J.

In case you are curious, who is the most famous person from Fort Wayne? If you knew it was Shelley Long, cheers to you. And if you can name one successful movie she made after leaving Cheers, you must be Shelley Long herself. Hi Shell!

The most famous person from Buffalo?

It’s Rick James. OK, that’s not bad. But it doesn’t give you permission to get all super freaky on our beach. We leave that to the clowns that matter.

(John Morton is managing editor of Siesta Sand.)

Red tide takes a siesta, in the nick of time

It had been pestering Siesta Key since October, and surged in late February and early March, but the island caught a break when red tide diminished substantially beginning the second weekend of March.

And that’s right when the spring breakers began to flood the beaches.

The timing was perfect for Dave Thorp, who with his family left behind freezing temperatures in Minneapolis for a March 11 arrival at Midnight Cove II. However, he almost took a detour.

“We read the internet chatter and looked at the Florida red tide water sample reading maps and almost changed plans the go to Key Largo – but we stuck it out. And we are glad we did,” said Thorp, who was looking forward to his third consecutive spring visit to Siesta. “When we arrived Saturday, there was no red tide at all, and it’s been perfect beach-going. The few dead fish that were washed up Saturday and Sunday were cleaned up overnight Sunday.”

Haley Heffern of Indianapolis also visits Siesta Key every March with her husband, Shawn. After arriving on March 11 as well, the expectant mother was bracing for what would be her first red tide experience.

“We heard it was bad a couple of weeks

By John Morton

ago, and we were a little worried, but we decided to come anyhow. All we are noticing is a bit of a smell, but nothing we can’t handle. And we are relieved to see that our complex where we’re staying has taken care of it,” she said, referring to the removal of any dead fish by staff at the Sarasota Surf & Racquet Club, where she stays. “There was no way we were going to cancel. Even if he had to stay by the pool, this beats what is going on back home.”

Now, on the heels of local water testing on both March 13 and 20 that showed little to no traces of red tide being present, it appears at least a reprieve is in place.

But things did seem dire for about a month. On Feb. 8, Sarasota County issued a red tide advisory for all 16 of its public beaches as conditions worsened. Testing by the Sarasota County Health Department showed Siesta and Turtle Beach were most often in the “low” category as far as the number of Karenia brevis cells present per a milliliter of water, within the range of 10 to 100. Minor respiratory irritation and minor fish kills are common at that stage.

Karenia brevis is the microscopic organism associated with red-tide algae blooms.

Continued on page 16

A guide to red tide

• Call 1-941-BEACHES (941232-2437) to hear twice daily beach condition reports posted at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. from Mote Marine. Information includes red tide and other beach conditions at specific Gulf Coast beaches. Press #1 for Sarasota County and then press #2 for Siesta Beach or #60 for Turtle Beach.

• To see update red cell counts for Sarasota County beaches, visit Sarasota County Health Department’s Red Tide page at: sarasota.floridahealth. gov/programs-and- services/ our-gulf-env/water-quality/ red-tide.

• For a map of beaches where red tide is occurring, visit Mote Marine Laboratory’s Beach Conditions Reporting System at: visitbeaches.org

A sad example of red tide’s destruction in early March, along Siesta Key’s Turtle Beach. (submitted photo)

Island Chatter

TripAdvisor users: Siesta Beach is best on continental U.S.

Only a beach in Hawaii topped Siesta Key in TripAdvisor’s annual ranking of the best beaches in the U.S.

Reviews by users on the website resulted in Siesta Beach landing a No. 2 ranking, making it the top-ranked beach in continental America. That position was part of TripAdvisor’s announcement in late February of its Best of the Best Beaches for 2023 list, which is part of its annual Travelers’ Choice Awards.

Siesta Beach narrowly missed reaching the Top 10 list of best beaches in the world, coming in at No. 11.

Ka’anapali Beach in Maui, Hawaii was No. 1 on the U.S. list while Baia do Sancho in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, ranked No. 1 on the worldwide list.

Last year, TripAdvisor also named Siesta Beach No. 2 in the U.S. and No. 14 in the world. In 2021, Siesta was ranked No. 17 in the U.S. and was not ranked globally.

Other Florida beaches to make the Top 25 list are Henderson Beach State Park in Destin at No. 6, St. Augustine Beach at No. 13, St. Pete Beach at No. 14, Panama City Beach at No. 18, Pensacola Beach at No. 20, Sombrero Beach in Marathon at No. 22, and Clearwater Beach at No. 23.

That total of eight Florida beaches on the list matches the top number for any state, tied with Hawaii.

Siesta Key incorporation bill enters committee land

As of March 22, Florida House Bill 923 was still in the midst of being reviewed by the first of three committees to which it has been assigned.

That title is the designation given to Save Siesta Key’s incorporation effort, which entered the Florida Legislature fray on Feb. 17 when state Rep. Fiona McFarland, the bill’s sponsor, formally filed the bill.

A favorable vote from both the state’s House and Senate, and subsequent support from Gov. Ron

DeSantis, are required for the bill to move out of the state capitol and back to Siesta Key for a referendum vote.

The legislature vote is likely to take place in late April or early May. Should it pass, a vote by island residents would not take place until the general election in November of 2024.

But first, it was the Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee that had a crack at the Siesta Key

By John Morton

bill. A positive vote there moves it ahead to another committee -- the other two in waiting, should the bill advance, are the Ways and Means Committee and the State Affairs Committee.

Save Siesta Key board members declined comment regarding the process, choosing to let it take its course and await results. The group does have multiple lobbyists in Tallahassee right now, working on its behalf.

Save Siesta Key’s quest to make

the island its own municipality began in March of 2021. In January of 2022, the Sarasota County Legislative Delegation voted 3-3 in regard to forwarding the bill to the legislature, killing it.

A year later, the same body (with one new member and three former members no longer involved, due to redistricting) approved the advancement of the bill with a 3-1 vote.

Several decisions by Sarasota County, which governs the Key,

fueled the incorporation efforts, its member report. The approval of the mixed-use Siesta Promenade project at U.S. 41 and Stickney Point Road, along with the dredging of Big Pass to provide sand for Lido Key, are at the forefront.

The county’s approval in the last two years of three large hotels further motivated the Save Siesta Key effort.

You can follow the bill’s progress at flsenate.gov/Session/ Bill/2023/923.

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Outdoor Waterfront Dining!

Open

… $22

Sea Scallops … $22

Shrimp and Seafood Au Gratin … $16

Fisherman Platter … $32

Baby Back Ribs … $24

Orange Pecan Chicken … $16

Filet Mignon … $24

Filet Mignon & Stuffed Shrimp … $34

Filet Mignon & Maine Lobster Tail … $48

Stuffed Shrimp & Maine Lobster Tail … $42

Twin Maine Lobster Tails … $54

FRIED SEAFOOD PLATTERS

Coconut Shrimp … $22

Large Gulf Shrimp … $20

Fish & Chips … $19

Fried Combo … $28

PASTA & BOWLS

Shrimp & Crab Scampi … $24

Salmon Pasta … $21

Chicken & Shrimp Curry … $21

Sweet ‘n Spicy Chicken & Shrimp … $22

Pasta Primavera … $16

DESSERTS

Turtle Pie … $9

Key Lime Pie … $9

Sample Platter … $12

Ice Cream Bar … $6

*Prices subject to change*

Still churning out a great performance

The extraordinary Diane Cuna, who operates Made in Rome organic gelato in the Village, is steeped in circus history

By Hannah Wallace

Seven days a week, for up to 14 hours a day, Diane Cuna churns out a rainbow of organic gelato flavors for her Made in Rome shop in the middle of Siesta Village. It’s a hard-working, colorful way of “settling down,” but Cuna’s life has never been conventional.

Cuna was born a third-generation circus performer in the famed Theron Family, a French bicycle act who fled Europe during World War II and performed all over the world with Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. Cuna grew up performing cycling feats and crossbow stunts with her siblings.

She finally retired from show business at age 40 and, inspired by her Italian husband, began channeling her creativity and gregarious energy into gelato. She opened Made in Rome on Ocean Boulevard on April 19, 2017. Six years later, you can still find her there, telling stories and serving up her fiery spirit in frozen form.

International upbringing

Cuna was on the go from the very beginning. Two days after she was born in St. Louis, the whole family hit the road again, taking baby Diane with them.

“I was raised all over the world,” she said. “Canada, Mexico, Paris, Japan, Singapore, you name it!”

Her parents, cousins, aunts and uncles had captured the attention of international luminaries, including Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II, and Cuna and her siblings soon had celebrity fans as well. Guided by their

father, the children’s cycling act (called the New Dollys) performed for the likes of Cary Grant, Sean Connery, and Telly Savalas. “Grace Kelly always wanted the New Dollies to open her shows,” said Cuna.

At age 10, Cuna was sent back to the United States to attend school at Gocio Elementary in Sarasota, home of the circus’ winter headquarters. But her circus career continued well into adulthood.

Then one year in Marbella, Spain, the French-American cyclist met an Italian man named Massimo — “my Roman Gladiator,” she called him. The two

Continued on page 31

Diane Cuna is armed and ready to do her thing in her Made in Rome kitchen where she creates orgainc gelato. (submitted photo

Performances for the Queen of England were among the rewards of reaching fame for Cuna (far left among the women) as a member of the New Dollys, as seen below on top. (submitted photos)

Smith keeps tabs on SK issues

Bathrooms, extended trolley, beach smoking ban all brought back to light

Late last summer, after three businessmen in the Siesta Key Village gave the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners a presentation on the need for a public bathroom facility in the island’s business district, soonto-be outgoing Chairman Alan Maio told them to “be patient” as the issue was already being addressed.

At the Feb. 22 commission meeting, newly elected board member Mark Smith reminded his colleagues of the importance of this issue. It was one of a few “housekeeping” issues previously addressed by the board that impact Siesta Key, where Smith resides, upon which he provided follow-up.

“There’s a tremendous need for these toilets,” Smith said, noting that management at Beach Bazaar had volunteered to earmark land the business owners have between one of the store’s main doors and the Village gazebo in order to facilitate the project.

Part of the push last summer was backed by a Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce poll that showed 87% of the respondents favored a public bathroom. The chamber, which also contacted the commissioners, further reported that approximately eight people per day ask about where to go to the bathroom when visiting its Visitor Center in Davidson Plaza. That number represents 40% of the annual inquires received from walk-up visitors.

As of now, the closest public restroom to the Village can be found at Siesta Beach.

Meanwhile, the Siesta Breeze trolley, which stops as its final Village destination between Morton’s Market and the Beach Bazaar, results in a constant flow of bathroom seekers entering the two businesses, representatives told the commission.

Smith asked the board to move the issue to county for as a

By John Morton

“board assignment,” which will result in a report for consideration as the notion of moving ahead is discussed. The other commissioners agreed.

Next, at the March 7 meeting and speaking of the trolley, Smith asked the board to agree to have county staff look into the idea of expanding the trolley’s travel path by a few blocks, deeper into the Village. Instead of stopping at Canal Road and Ocean Boulevard before turning around and heading back south, a recent addition of a stop sign at Calle Milano and Whispering Sands Way set in place the possibility for another stop and space for a turnaround. That intersection is just shy of the Circle K. The new route will likely come in the form of a pilot program.

Jonathan Lewis, the county administrator, said some boulders placed in the area to probably deter illegal parking would have to be moved, and Smith noted that some right-of-way modifications would need to be addressed.

Finally, on the heels of a scheduled presentation to address a possible smoking ban in Sarasota County parks and on its beaches last fall being eliminated by Commissioner Nancy Detert, Smith asked that the topic return to the commission’s debate table.

Last spring, state Sen. Joe Gruters, who represents Siesta Key, finally after several tries got backing on a smoking ban for cigarettes and cigars with plastic tips. Litter, more

than concerns over second-hand smoke, was the dealmaker this time around, Gruters reported. Beginning July 1, individual counties and municipalities in Florida had the choice whether or not to impose the ban.

However, Detert had subsequently said that more public education and information needed to disbursed before a possible vote should go down. Both Longboat Key and the city of Sarasota enacted the ban last fall.

Now, Sarasota County will address the topic in an upcoming commission meeting. Such a ban locally was indeed in place for six years until 2013, when it was ruled unconstitutional.

The topic resurfaced, coincidentally, shortly after Dr. Stephen Leatherman, known as “Dr. Beach” in relation to his wellpublicized best-of-beach rankings, was nominated in February for a World Health Organization Award thanks to his ongoing quest to see smoking banned on public beaches.

Leatherman, who has twice named Siesta Beach No. 1 in America, has worked closely with both Gruters and leaders of the Siesta Key Association regarding a potential ban. He gives extra points to beaches that have one in place. With tourism dollars no-doubt linked to high-profile beach rankings, Smith has said the time is right to revisit the subject matter.

“I think it would be a step in the right direction,” he said, with Detert adding her support.

The area, near the Villae gazebo, where public bathrooms could be placed.

(photo by John Morton)

Smith

Let’s give new commission a chance, and incorporation a rest

By Mike Holderness

Much is being written about the incorporation of Siesta Key and, I have to ask, why now?

The thought is that Siesta Key understandably needs quality representation, but wasn’t that the reasoning behind singlemember county commission districts enacted in 2022?

I’m always willing to consider a better way, but just last year voters were told that singlemember districts would solve the representation problem. Then Siesta voters overwhelmingly elected Mark Smith and Joe Neunder to the available seats, and both new commissioners are focused on keeping their districts well-represented.

I now must ask, does the continued push for incorporation better serve the needs of Siesta Key? Rarely can something be both ways. How can the new county commissioners be supported when there’s an effort to pull away from the county?

The newly elected, qualified, and enthusiastic commissioners were only sworn in this past November. Couldn’t the continued push for incorporation distract

and potentially render the elected commissioners representing the Siesta Key districts inconsequential -- and don’t they deserve the support from the community that elected them?

History does show that the last time the incorporation effort gained momentum, the county capitulated and, after much community input, the alternative Siesta Key Overlay District (SKOD) was created. SKOD gave the barrier island its own and more stringent zoning regulations than the rest of unincorporated Sarasota County.

Many worked hard to ensure SKOD’s success. Still, some previous commissioners after the fact would ignore even the basic needs of Siesta Key, including rental ordinances and the legislative process of SKOD. Meanwhile, the newly elected commissioners are focused like lasers to provide residents of Siesta Key residents the support they need.

In the past, Siesta Key may have been underrepresented -- some feel by the dilution of having all five commissioners representing the entire county, which may have allowed a few unelected staff members to sway oversized influence over the commission.

Regardless, I know that our current representatives and many members of county staff are working hard to represent Siesta

Key. The county has great staff members and commissioners, and it should be given a shot.

It’s also important to remember that Smith, while previously representing the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, stood with his community and for SKOD. He was with many, including myself, in opposing the new unlimited density hotels and the illegal transient rentals that plague single-family-zoned residential neighborhoods.

Both Smith and Neunder also

understand the importance of traffic management, managed public beaches, the lawlessness that goes on, and improving water quality of our bays, inlet waterways and estuaries. That’s just to mention a few.

Meanwhile, more questions than answers arise from the incorporation effort. It has brought to light many deficiencies and, at the very least, incorporating today now appears to be counterproductive, costly, and duplicative. Rarely can something

be both ways.

It is best to table incorporation and stand behind the ones elected, by the people, representing Siesta Key. Most local residents just want to enjoy their slumber without chaos or any fight that will split our community forever. Let’s be supportive our new elected officials before jumping to vote on something as permanent, challenging, and costly as incorporating a new municipality.

And, look at the political capital that was spent to get incorporation to the point where a bill is filed in the state legislature -- a bill that is unlikely to withstand the legislative process and/or the governor’s veto pen.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to all Siesta Key advocates! The efforts to incorporate encourages discussion and debate about what is best for today and the future.

For the first time, in a very long time, everything is in place for success. It’s where we go from here that counts and keeping a community united, like Siesta, is the KEY. Let’s encourage everyone to find common ground and stand together.

(Mike Holderness is a Siesta Keybased Realtor and business owner, specializing in local island rentals and hotel accommodations.)

Holderness

We are closed on Easter Sunday, but would like to wish everyone a HAPPY

BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT IN THE SARASOTA AREA BY FAR! FRESH, FLAVORFUL, PERFECTLY PREPARED FOOD. BE BACK NEXT YEAR!

“This is a small family run restaurant and the owners are onsite there. The owners and staff are friendly and welcoming. The service is great, but the food is phenomenal ! We had the blackened grouper, crab cakes and fish stew. It was seasoned and prepared perfectly! We found it because we were looking a place to eat after a movie, and if we hadn’t looked for reviews on TripAdvisor we would never have found it. It’s in a small plaza in the back corner and does not stand out. It was 45 minutes from where we were staying but it was so good we had to go back again. Each of the last 3 years we have stayed for 2 months on longboat key and this was the best seafood restaurant we’ve been to, hands down! It was nice to meet the owner who it turns out was from the town next to us in Connecticut. You must try it, but I would recommend reservations at dinner time as it’s a small place.”

Sheriff’s Report

Jan. 16: trespass, civil unrest, battery on law enforcement officer, resisting arrest

The manager of a Village restaurant called police to report two female patrons who had been consuming alcohol for some time but were refusing to pay their bill of $135.89. A witness corroborated the manager’s account. Defendant, appearing to be intoxicated, first told police that she only had one drink and refused to pay the bill, then insisted that she had, in fact, paid the bill. When defendant’s friend finally agreed to pay the bar tab, defendant struck a police officer with an open hand, screamed, and ultimately resisted arrest. Defendant was ultimately charged and booked in the Sarasota County Jail.

Jan. 17: theft

Victim reported that her purse was stolen from where she left it on the bar at a Village bar. Police reviewed camera footage and corresponding bar receipts for evidence. They identified a man taking the purse, as well as his identity through the receipts, and the case has been assigned to a detective for further investigation.

Jan. 22: battery

Police responded to a report of a battery behind a Village bar. A female patron reported that she stepped into the alley behind the club to have a telephone conversation when an unidentified male approached her and pushed her against a wall. He attempted to assault her, but he reportedly ran away when she started screaming. The victim did not sustain visible injuries. The case remains open.

Jan. 23: theft

A victim reported a $1,000 Onewheel riding device was stolen from her home sometime between 9/1/22 and 1/23/23. The residence was under renovation, and the garage code was given to a contractor under contractual agreement that it is not shared and that all work at the residence be supervised by the contractor. At some point, the contractor was released from the job and litigation ensued. Recently, a third-party contractor told the victim that an individual associated with the prior renovation contractor had alluded to a theft. The case remains open.

Feb. 1: theft

A waitress at a Siesta Key restaurant reported that two adults and two children ate at the restaurant, and the adults proceeded to leave without paying their bill. The waitress followed the adults into the parking lot and asked them to return to pay their bill. They got into their car and left the parking lot without paying. The unpaid bill totaled $115.56.

Feb. 2: theft

A victim reported that his Nike bag was stolen the prior day at Siesta Beach. The bag contained his phone and Apple watch.

Later, the victim saw the phone and watch were pinging in a local parking lot and went to observe. Victim called police to assist when he saw two suspects.

The police observed the male suspect enter a public restroom with only one stall. When he exited the restroom, the phone was pinging in the stall. When police retrieved the phone and wallet from the restroom and confirmed that it belonged to the victim, they detained the male suspect, who denied knowledge of the items. He told police he was transient and stayed with the female suspect in her car.

The female defendant consented to a search of her car, which revealed the victim’s bag. Additional missing items were not located. The female defendant was arrested and transported to the Sarasota County Jail.

New Energy Medicine Technologies are Now Offered at Spa Experience, Siesta Key

After completing the Life Transformation program at Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, and experiencing firsthand the cutting-edge energy medicine offerings there, Connie Lewis is excited to bring Qrs and H-Wave healing therapies to Spa Experience Siesta Key. Lewis has created a new service that encompasses all her areas of expertise including trigger point therapy, Reiki, Cupping, CBD massage Hot stone Massage, Sports Massage, and now QRS and H-Wave therapies. Consultation and coaching time are included with your session.

Qrs is energy medicine that utilizes PEMF (pulsed electric magnetic therapy via a mat laser and ear and eye accessories. These noninvasive therapies are painless and ultra-relaxing and healing in nature. Some of the many benefits of the Qrs Mat and laser are improved and speedier recovery from physical tiredness and over-exertion. Qrs balances the body’s acupuncture points in 8 minutes leaving you feeling stress-free, energetic, and ready for whatever the day may bring. Qrs aids in healing muscle soreness and post-workout stress while healing the muscles joints and bones.

H-Wave is an FDA-approved medical device used to flush lymphatic fluid, increase circulation and eliminate pain and restore function. If the space around the cell is congested, the cells cannot uptake the oxygen

and nutrition it needs resulting in pain sickness, disease, and premature aging. If the space around the cells is free of congestion and metabolic waste products, the cell can now uptake oxygen and nutrition resulting in less pain sickness, more energy better health, and slower aging physically and mentally.

Incorporating these technologies into her Spa treatments will be an incredible leap forward in assisting clients live a more painfree relaxed life.

Spa Experience Siesta Key was opened in January of 2021 when Connie decided to expand her Spa in scope and services. Having owned and operated Massage Experience Siesta Key for 22 years she wanted to offer a wider range of services now including Acupuncture, Qrs, H-Wave energy medicine,

and Spa Parties. Lewis continues to offer her pampering results-driven facials using Pevonia Botanica Skincare and body line. Pevonia Botanica products are available for purchase by calling or stopping by the Spa.

Spa Experience Siesta Key boasts 5 treatment rooms that can accommodate up to 8 guests at a time. We are happy to help you make arrangements for your Bridal party, family reunion, or a spa day with friends. Please call for details and package options.

Spa Experience Siesta Key is conveniently located near the Siesta Key public beach at 5700 Midnight Pass Road, Suite 4b, Siesta Key, FL 34242 Our phone number is 941-349-4833 and our website is www.SpaExperienceSiestaKey.com

Sospiri,

Red tide lessens in severity

Continued from page 4

However, in late February, Turtle Beach spiked to 120 on that chart, reaching the “medium” level (101 to 1,000) that is synonymous with significant respiratory irritation among humans and a significant fish kill.

Mark Smith, the Sarasota County Commissioner who resides here and represents District 2 that includes the north half of the island, spoke at a March 7 commission meeting about the need to address the situation.

“In the tourist-centric areas of our county we’re going to have to find a way to go a little above and beyond because of the economic impact the red tide has on us,” said Smith, noting that residents of Siesta Key had been contacting him about dead fish removal “on a daily basis, even nightly.”

The county conducts mechanical raking on Siesta Key every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, regardless of conditions. Regarding fish kills and other marine debris, it conducts additional emergency clean-ups only when conditions meet a certain threshold. During the latest bout of red tide, the situation has yet to require such action.

The policy, put in place in 2013, includes these details:

• Officials must determine that – after two tide cycles – the volume of beach debris has accumulated to a point where the debris and dead fish from a two-mile continuous stretch of beach can fill one 5cubic-yard truck.

• Beaches eligible for county cleaning must be county-owned and open to the general public.

• Beaches not owned or controlled by the county may be eligible for cleaning below the mean high-water line when they’re close to county-owned beaches or beach access.

Paige Hartmann, who owns The Inn on Siesta Key along Beach Road and is one of the business owners who contacted Smith, is not pleased with the policy.

“It’s antiquated – it needs to be updated,” she said. “Sarasota County needs to be proactive rather than reactive on this.”

Hartmann said she did receive three cancelations, which hurts when you run a six-unit inn. She did manage to fill those vacancies, losing only a couple days of income, and emphasized her nice pool and the perfect February weather to interested parties.

“I even heated my pool an extra amount,” she said. “We made the most out of what we could, and so did the guests.

“But one complaint I kept hearing was about the dead fish on the beach. ‘Why is no one cleaning this up?’”

One day of a particularly high tide further illustrated the deficiency of the county policy, Hartmann said. It left many dead fish beyond the mean high-water line.

“Even if the county would have helped, they would have ignored them [because of that guideline],” she said.

With some guidance from the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, Hartmann learned of a recent state executive order that allowed for the bypassing of a permit related to beach cleaning. She was able to provide some fish-removal on her own as a result.

“But it was only good through March 31,” she said. “Let’s hope we don’t more of this coming. But you know we probably will – we know it’s out there.”

A county vehicle provides mechanical beach raking along Siesta Key on March 17. (submitted photo)

WE WANT TO BE YOUR JEWELER!

Unlike big chain stores, Diamond Bay Jewelers is a locally owned, family business offering the most complete in-house repair services backed by over 30 years of experience.

Every Tuesday is Appraisal Clinic Day: make an appointment to come in and get an updated value on your jewelry by one of our very experienced GIA gemologists. It's very important to update the valuable pieces in your jewelry collection especially since all precious metals, diamonds, and colored stones have gone up dramatically in the last few years. We aim at becoming your trusted go-to family jeweler. We carry a vast selection of diamonds and colored stone jewelry and are proud to carry the new fresh & trendy Imperial Pearls Collection.

We look forward to serving Sarasota, Osprey, and Venice from the beautiful Bay Street Plaza.

What we offer:

• Jewelry and watch appraisals by a GIA certified Gemologist

• Laser jewelry repairs: unlike traditional fire torch use, repairs can be done with modern laser technology on even the most delicate gemstones.

• Custom design and redesign services: create new pieces or breathe new life into your old pieces.

Did you know that Siesta Key has a Gemstone?

Looking into the water at Siesta Key Beach is an incredible, captivating feeling - hues of blue and green dancing in light waves on top of crystal white sand with sunlight reflecting on it. Undeniably, the “Siesta Key Watercolor GemstoneTM” has captured the colors of this experience.

It’s no secret that the sand on Siesta Key Beach is composed of 99% pure quartz. The crystalline white sand of Siesta Key is luxurious, soft, white and cool to the touch 365 days a year. This is why our beloved beach has been revered as one of the most beautiful in the world. Wanting to capture the experience and essence of Siesta Key beach was the goal of the proprietor of Silver City, Monica.

“Tourists always wish they can somehow take their vacation memories with them,” so with this in mind, Silver City designed the Siesta Key Watercolor GemstoneTM. They were able to capture the colors of Siesta Key’s blue/green water and put it into a quartz gemstone. This quartz gemstone is a fusion of the tropical colors that surround us. Just looking into the clear, beautiful gemstone will transport you back to our island paradise representing the Sea, Sky and beautiful sand of Siesta Key Beach.

Silver City has now become a “Must Stop” destination for tourists (Currently named #1 shopping destination on TRIP ADVISOR on Siesta Key). Shining brightly among the cases of this uniquely mirrored store lies the much raved about Siesta Key Watercolor GemstoneTM Every jewelry piece is designed and made by Silver City Sarasota. The staff of Silver City Sarasota is very proud of their unique collection and variety of designs in Sterling Silver and in 14K gold.

Is a Roth IRA conversion right for you?

Sarasota Local Brings Experience & Trust to Siesta Key

Depending on your situation, it might be appropriate to make some year-end financial moves. But there’s one in particular that may allow you to take advantage of the current investment climate while providing potential benefits far into the future.

This move is called a Roth IRA conversion — the process of converting all or a portion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Traditional IRAs are often funded with pre-tax dollars, so contributions can lower your taxable income, and earnings can grow tax deferred. A Roth IRA, however, is funded with after-tax dollars, so you get no immediate tax deduction, but earnings and contributions can be withdrawn federally tax free, as long as you meet several requirements, including holding your account for five years and not taking withdrawals until you’re at least 59½.

If you’re attracted to the

prospect of tax-free withdrawals in retirement, you might consider converting some or all of your traditional IRA dollars to a Roth IRA. Yet, there’s one major issue to address: taxes. Any deductible contributions to your traditional IRA, and the earnings generated by these contributions, will be fully taxable the year of the conversion.

If you’ve invested in your traditional IRA for many years, this tax bill could be considerable.

But if you were interested in converting some of your traditional IRA funds to a Roth in 2022, you might have one advantage, tax-

wise — and that’s the state of the financial markets. As you are no doubt aware, it’s been a rough year for stocks, so the value of some of the investments in your traditional IRA may have fallen, perhaps substantially. If you were to convert these assets to a Roth IRA, your tax bill might be quite a bit lower than it would have been last year amid the lengthy bull market.

Still, lower taxes aren’t the same as no taxes. Ideally, you probably don’t want to take money out of the IRA itself to pay the taxes, since this might reduce some of the benefits. So, if you don’t have another source from which you can draw, you may find that a conversion might not make as much sense.

However, you could lower this tax bill by making smaller conversions over several years. And you might ultimately find this strategy worthwhile, because moving from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA can offer some

advantages. For one thing, since qualifying Roth IRA withdrawals won’t be counted as income, they won’t cause additional taxation of your Social Security benefits or bump up your Medicare premiums. (If you wait until retirement before making the conversion, the conversion itself could have these effects, at least for the years in which it takes place.)

Also, with a traditional IRA, you typically must start taking withdrawals once you reach 72, but a Roth IRA doesn’t have this requirement. So, if you don’t need all your Roth IRA funds to support your retirement lifestyle, you can pass the reminder, tax free, to your beneficiaries. Consequently, a Roth IRA can play an important role in your estate planning.

Whatever the benefits of a Roth IRA, it’s essential that you consult with your tax advisor before making a conversion decision. It’s a big move — so you’ll want to be sure it’s right for you.

A coffeehouse classic

Abel’s entrepreneurs stick with what works as new Simon’s owners, celebrate 1-year anniversary

By Jane Bartnett

There’s something special about a neighborhood coffee house. It’s a place where comfort food and a welcoming atmosphere, with no formality, come together.

It was this combination that drew Jerry and Jill Williams, owners of the popular Abel’s Ice Cream on Stickney Point Road, to the cozy coffee, breakfast-and-lunch spot called Simon’s Coffee House. It’s a few blocks south of Phillippi Estate Park on South Tamiami Trail.

“It was our favorite place to eat,” said Jerry Williams, looking back on how the couple discovered Simon’s. They became friends with founder and owner Simon Kirby and, after learning he was interested in selling the restaurant that he had owned and managed for 20 years, the couple jumped at the chance to make it their own.

With more than 25 years of experience in the restaurant business, Jerry Williams knew a success story when he saw one.

“Simon’s has a nice vibe and it’s very nonjudgmental,” he said as he spoke about the draw that the casual dining spot enjoys with loyal community residents.

Williams sees no need to make any significant changes to the much-loved Simon’s breakfast, lunch and brunch menus. Known as a place where vegans and nonvegans are equally at home, he reports with pride that “all are welcome here.”

The menu “has a British tint,” said Williams with a laugh noting that it pays tribute to the restaurant’s founder, a native of London and a world traveler. The breakfast menu features scrambled eggs served with “banger sausage,” and the Prince Phillip Plate -- a nod to the late royal’s Greek roots -- is offered as a vegan or non-vegan entree with eggs scrambled with spinach, feta and olives, served with sliced tomatoes and a

grilled spanakopita (a spinach and feta pie).

The Costa Rica crepe and the turkey club crepe offer an international twist on the traditional French favorite. The Vegan Buddha is made with scrambled tofu with turmeric, veggies, mushrooms and soy sausage. The breakfast menu is also designed for vegan and non-vegan palates and includes old-fashioned oatmeal and porridge. There are also fresh juice selections such as the “Green Mouth,” made with kale, spinach, celery, lettuce, broccoli, pineapple and ginger. Fresh juice shots, fruit smoothies and specialty shakes are also on the menu. Befitting a proper coffee establishment, coffee and tea are priority items at Simon’s

Coffee House. Espresso, cappuccino, latte, Americano, mocha, hot chocolate, and Simon’s house blend along with the local Java Dawg Coffee are available all day. A large selection of teas includes an unsweetened tea specially blended from a local tea company in the form of house-made Chai Tea; local artisan teas of herbal, green and black; hand-shaken Mt. Fuji iced green tea; and Kombucha tea on draft.

The restaurant is divided into an indoor take-out area with a walk-up counter for items to go and an adjacent dining room that offers comfortable counter seating, as well as casual dining at tables. The outdoor shaded seating area is also popular with diners.

Deli lovers will be happy to know that the Simon’s lunch offerings include paninis and cold sandwiches. Vegetarian burgers and Greek spanakopita are offered as a regular or vegan option. Salads and kids’ sandwiches are also available.

Seating is available for up to 100 people.

Williams is especially proud of the Simon’s Coffee House bakery offerings. “Our desserts are baked on site and the vegan chocolate cake is really good,” says the man who, through his ice cream expertise, knows a thing or two about sweet treats.

“We have two talented bakers,” he reported. “One creates our traditional items and the other bakes our vegan items.”

He calls the vegan cinnamon rolls “outstanding,” and says the vegan and traditional scones, as well as the biscotti, are also delicious.

Brunch is on the menu all day Sunday. Williams said “Sunday is one of our busiest days.” Waffles, eggs and brunch bowls top the list of the most popular items. A small wine selection and mimosas are available for lunch every day and for Sunday brunch. Beers include the local Sarasota Calusa, Coors, Blue Moon, and Yuengling’s Light Flight.

As the owners celebrate the first anniversary of the new chapter for the Simon’s Coffee House, they are happy to be the new stewards. “We’d really love for more people on Siesta Key to come and join us for breakfast, lunch or brunch,” said Williams.

Visit Simon’s Coffee Shop at simonstogo. com. Order online for pick up or call (941) 926-7151. Lunch catering is available for large groups.

The business is located at 5900 S. Tamiami Trail. Hours are Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Owner Jerry Williams interacts with patrons at Simon’s, a classic neighborhood coffeehouse on South Tamiami Trail.

(photo by Jane Bartnett)

All Roads Lead to Made in Rome Organic Gelato on Siesta Key!

Thank you to all of our costumers from Paola, Sierra, Kylie, Taylor, Anna, Stefania, Giada, Alexis, Alice, Sage, Emma, Anna and Nora. And, of course, Diane & Massimo say grazie to all of our costumers and staff!

5204 Ocean Blvd. in Siesta Key Village

Diane

invites you to watch the process as she creates a batch of her sinfully delicious gelato from scratch every 15 minutes.

“We are very proud and happy each day. to be here on Siesta Key,” says Theron-Cuna.

If you’re lucky enough to catch Theron-Cuna at the shop, she will happily entertain you with stories of her earlier days as a circus performer. She comes from three generations of circus entertainers and has traveled around the world performing with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

The family earned their own “Star of Fame” at St. Armands CircleThe Theron Cycling Troupe.

Sage

Kylie

Giada, Anna & Alexis

Diane

Owner

Theron-Cuna

Sierra & Paola

Taylor & Stephania

Anna

Nora

Alice

Emma

Looking to find your Zen? It’s right here

On a sunny morning, Turtle Beach is a place of tranquility. At 8:30 a.m., an hour or so after sunrise, the waves lap up on the shore and a soft breeze fills the air. Small birds dash about on the sand before taking flight. The natural day begins.

Could there be a better place to enjoy an hour-long morning yoga class? Namaste.

For yoga instructor Julie Turner, Turtle Beach is her winter “classroom.” From January through April, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., Turner can be found leading a group through a series of gentle yoga moves. Calling her class “yoga for all,” she welcomes beginners, intermediate and seasoned yoga students. She encourages everyone to simply move and advance at their own pace.

On a recent Thursday morning, 30 men and women appeared for class on the beach. They placed their yoga mats and towels on the sand and stood barefoot ready to begin. Turner took her place in the front of the class and welcomed her students.

The beach remained quiet with only a few morning walkers strolling along the shoreline. Wearing a microphone,

Turner’s voice was soothing and encouraging as she spoke to her students while performing each move with them. “Inhale and stretch,” she said as the class followed her lead. “Reach to the sky.”

As the hour progressed, Turner advanced to more difficult poses. “Find your ease, find your steadiness. Always listen to your body. Take a moment to feel your breath,” she told the group. Turner then explained and demonstrated three options with increasing

By Jane Bartnett

degrees of difficulty, allowing her more experienced students as well as beginners and intermediates to find their comfort level.

During the latter part of the class, Turner began a series of gentle balance exercises. “The slower you go, the more steadiness you’ll find,” she advised. “Let your body tell you what it wants for ease and steadiness.”

The sound of the waves breaking on the beach provided a natural and peaceful soundtrack for the class. Only Turner’s voice could be

heard as her students focused on their tasks at hand.

When Turner began the cool down, she instructed the group to “Hear the water and feel the air.” She continued, “Feel the earth supporting the whole of your body. Feel the air on your skin, feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, feel the space your body is occupying.”

As she sat cross-legged on her mat, Turner quietly removed a set of yoga chimes from her bag and softly clicked them together

In keeping with our Morton’s tradition, we also carry a delicious array of prepared foods, perfect for take-out, picnics, parties and more.

several times. A stillness occupied the space. Only the sounds of the waves and the ring of the chimes could be heard. “Take a moment to pause and be at one with your mind and body,” said the yogi. “Reach up to the sky, let your arms float down. Thank you, Neptune.” Turner rose from her mat and the students followed her lead. Several came to thank her and to place their donation in her glass class donation jar.

The popular Tuesday and

Continued on page 44

Above, left: yoga students (from left) Christine Wells, Kathy Marini and Debbie Szala (far right) chat with yoga instructor Julie Turner. Above right, Turner leads a waterfront session at Siesta Key’s Turtle Beach. It takes place at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays through April. (photos by Jane Bartnett)

Big G’s Oyster Happy Hour from 3-6 Every day 1/2 Priced House Oysters

Shootings near north bridge send two to local hospital

The Sarasota Police Department reports that two 21-year-old males suffered non-life-threatening injuries as the result of gunfire outside a party on March 15. The incident occurred at about 11:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of Siesta Drive, in park area on the east side of the north bridge that leads to Siesta Key. Witnesses say the two men, who were transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, had been attending a large party in the vicinity. Police re-routed traffic after the incident for a short period of time, instructing motorists to use the south bridge in order to get to and from the Key.

Officers determined the incident was isolated and the public is in no danger. The case remains active as

the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call the Sarasota Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (941) 263-6070 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling (941) 366-TIPS or going online at SarasotaCrimeStoppers.com.

Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce hires new staffer

The Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce has hired Marisa Merlino as its new promotion and event manager.

She replaces Mandi Green. Originally from New Jersey, Merlino relocated to Sarasota with her mother in 1998. She graduated from Sarasota High School where she served as the captain of the soccer team. She was awarded

a full athletic scholarship to Polk State College in Lakeland. Merlino has worked in hospitality since she was 13 years old, beginning as a busser and working her way up to events and catering director positions at two private country clubs. She has volunteered with a program supporting mothers and infants; and has also served as the event chair for the Caring Hearts luncheon.

Merlino also has professional experience as an advertising coordinator specializing in online and social media marketing.

Continued on next page

Sunrise service is 6:30 a.m. Easter morning

The annual Community Easter Sunrise Service, conducted by Pine Shores Presbyterian Church, will be held at 6:30 a.m. Easter morning (April 9) near the pavilion on Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Rd.

It is recommended that attendees bring a beach chair or blanket.

Easter egg hunt will be at Siesta Key Chapel

The Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce’s annual Easter egg hunt has a new home: Siesta Key Chapel, 4615 Gleason Ave.

Mote Marine’s Run for the Turtles event set for April 1 on Siesta Key’s public beach

The annual Run for the Turtles event, organized by Mote Marine, is set for 7 a.m. April 1 on Siesta Beach.

The 5K or 1-mile races support the area’s sea turtles. If you can’t join the races in person, you can participate virtually. To register, visit Mote.org/run.

It will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 8. Pre-registration is required and limited to 200 children (ages 1-6). There is a $12 fee per child. To register, visit siestakeychamber.com and click on the event calendar tab at the upper right of the homepage.

No April meeting for Siesta Key Association

The Siesta Key Association civic group will not be holding a monthly meeting in April. Its next meeting is Thursday, May 4, at 4:30 p.m. in the community room of St. Boniface Church, 5615 Midnight Pass Rd.

Siesta Key Oyster Bar, or “SKOB” as the locals call it, is the hangout with the laid-back, beachy atmosphere that will get you right into the Island Spirit. One of the things that set SKOB apart from the other restaurants in Siesta Key Village is that we have some of the best food on the Key.

Live Music

Every Day and Night

Prop Map-D #10 The Ringling Beach House Rentals Map-D #9 Tropical Sands Accommodations Map-D #67

RESTAURANTS / CAFÉS

Another Broken Egg Map-C #54 & 55

Blase Café Map-A #38

Bonjour French Cafe Map-C #47 Café Gabbiano Map-D #71

Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar Map-B #42-43

Flavio’s Brick Oven & Bar Map-B #29

Flavio’s Italiano Ristorante Map-B #30

Gilligan’s Island Bar &

Daily Drink Specials

DAIQUIRIDECK.COM

Sarasota’s only old-fashioned Meat Market, Deli and Restaurant under one roof

Voted Sarasota’s best non-chain Steakhouse 4 years in a row!

Home of the Sarasota TurDucKen, as seen on The Food Network with Guy Fieri, host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Time to order:

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Prime Aged Steaks, Chops, Seafood, NY Deli Meats, Sausage and Salads

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We offer takeout and complete catering services.

* Authentic Italian food from Italian chefs

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Marbled godwit (Limosa fedoa)

The long, pink and black bill of this shore bird arrives at any destination almost 5 inches before of the rest of its body!

Jokes aside, the godwit’s slightlyupturned saber-like bill is the key to its survival in two very different environments. Floridians know the godwit as a proverbial snow bird, wintering on our favorite suncoast beaches. But this large cinnamoncolored sandpiper leads a double life! The godwit follows an innate GPS map from the Gulf to summer breeding grounds in Montana, the Dakotas, and the Canadian prairies. This opportunistic feeder uses the full length of its bill to probe both surf and turf. On the beach, it

munches on hidden marine worms, mollusks, and crustaceans. On the prairie, it binges on burrowing insects and plant tubers. The godwit’s summer home appears to be inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture as it blends seamlessly into its surroundings with form following function, an open floor plan, and lots of natural light. With his feet, the male scrapes a shallow depression in the dirt just deep enough to keep the eggs from rolling away.

Situated in short grass and without overhead cover, this unpretentious nest typifies Wright’s Prairie Style architecture!

Jan Baumgartner’s handmade notecards are available at Sunshine & Sand Hidden Treasures, 6635 Midnight Pass Rd., in Crescent Plaza.

Open for dinner from 4pm - 9pm 3900 Clark Rd, Sarasota, FL 34233 (941) 952-3186

www.chiantisarasota.com

Blooming NOW OPEN! Waitlist Option Available Online

Orchids are the most intriguing flowering plants. And they are very easy to grow.

I am going to tell you about Phalaenopsis, the moth orchid. It is one of the most common and the easiest to grow in Florida. It is an especially good choice for a beginner. They are large and come in a wide variety of colors. Most have several flowers per stem, but some have more, and others have as few as one.

There are several hybrid varieties that one can purchase. Low lighting is preferred by Phalaenopsis. They prefer shaded windows, or east-facing windows. Leaves will tend to become greener when lighting is low, and yellower with red spotting when

there is a lot of light. If in too much sun, black or brown patches appear on the leaves, so reduce the lighting.

It is important to re-pot orchids every couple of years. If the potting mix has started to decompose, it will retain too much moisture and prevent air getting to the roots, causing root rot. The plant may also have outgrown its pot. Do not re-pot orchids while still in bloom.

The Sarasota Garden Club is located at 1131 Boulevard of the Arts in downtown Sarasota. Visit sarasotagardenclub.org for more information.

The Lubben Brothers are back with Key Chorale for American Roots: Crosby Still, & Nash

On April 22nd and 23rd Key Chorale welcomes back e Lubben Brothers, an acoustic folk group made up of triplet brothers Michael, Tom, and Joshua, to re-create and re-imagine the music of the folk-rock genre. Key Chorale Chamber Singers explore the 30-year discography of the folk-rock group Crosby Stills & Nash, and other artists known for their intricate vocal harmonies and timeless melodies. CSN meets choral music!

“Harmony is such a big part of what gives Crosby Stills & Nash its unique sound,” said Maestro Joseph Caulkins. “And harmony is what makes a choir so special, so, adding a full choir to their music really made sense. This show will have a sort of MTV Unplugged feel. When you hear these new customized charts, created especially for these concerts, you’ll hear a combination of

finding a fresh take while staying true to the roots of their music.”

e groups will combine on several of their classics including “Judy Blue Eyes,” “Marrakesh Express,” “Teach Your Children” and “Our House.” ey will also perform “Seven Bridges Road” by the Eagles and a folk-inspired arrangement of Neil Young’s “Old Man” by the Wailin’ Jennys.

Triplets and high-energy acoustic musicians, e Lubben Brothers specialize in tight vocal harmonies and an eclectic blend of folk instruments involving banjo, mandolin, tin whistle, accordion, hammered dulcimer, and ddle. Diving into classical music at a young age, their modern songwriting style merges folk roots with complex pop ideas. ey will be joined by electric bass, electric guitar and drums.

e performances:

Saturday, April 22, 4 PM

Church of the Palms

Sunday, April 23, 5 PM

St. Boniface Episcopal Church

Tickets are $35-$45. For tickets, go to keychorale.org or call the box o ce at 941-552-8768.

Look No Further

This is Peg.

DRIVEN BY RESULTS

“Peg is the best agent we have ever worked with. She is smart, professional and knowledgeable. She listens and asked great questions to help us make the right decision. She covers all the details. We highly recommend her.” – Bruce and Liz, St. Louis, Missouri.

“Peg is the consummate professional. Extremely responsive, patient, knows the market, detail orientated but also sees the big picture. She strategized how to approach our transition and was a true partner in listing, marketing and closing the sale.”

– Dina, Chicago, Illinois.

PEG HAS SUCCESSFULLY SOLD... real estate on Siesta Key since 2006. She is a graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and has called Sarasota her home since 1985.

So, if you are ready to sell or buy, look no further, call Peg – 941.356.4552.

HAPPY HOUR 4pm-6:30pm Happy Hour Food & Cocktails

MONDAY PRIX-FIXE MENU

3 Course Menu for $25 — Every Monday

OPA WEDNESDAY!

Saganaki Opa! Appetizer $7

WINE THURSDAY

1/2 Off Bottles of Wine

HOURS OF OPERATION: Monday - Thursday 11:30 - 9 | Friday & Saturday 11:30 - 10 | Sunday 11:30-8

KEY COCKTAILS

The Siesta Sand is starting a new monthly column that will feature a cocktail one can either make for themselves at home or find at a local Siesta Key-area establishment.

Key Cocktails is sponsored by Siesta Key Rum, Florida’s finest craft rum producer that uses all natural ingredients in its distillery process. Siesta Key Rums are smooth enough to be enjoyed on their own, but they also make a great base for cocktails!

To kick off this monthly feature, we are ordering up a Siesta Key Lime Pie.

Siesta Key Lime Pie Ingredients

9 oz Siesta Key Toasted Coconut Rum

12 oz Cream of Coconut

12 oz Water

9 oz Whipped Cream Vodka

9 oz Key Lime Juice

3 oz Frangelico

This delicious, refreshing cocktail was made for us by Chandler at the Daquiri Deck in the Siesta Key Village. It was fabulous … we highly recommend it!

If you want to make this at home, or just enjoy some fabulous rum, you can purchase Siesta Key Rums at Siesta Village Liquors, Dive Wine & Spirits, Total Wine & More, Siesta Spirits, and Publix Liquors near the Sarasota Pavilion, and many other liquor stores in the immediate area.

Paw Pals

Brunello, or “Bruno” for short, is a 4-year-old all-American heinz 57 blend. He was rescued from a puppy mill in Baraboo, Wisconsin, which happens to be home to the Circus World Museum. It’s fitting, because Bruno is quite the circus dog.

His owner says he is 160 pounds of personality in a 16-pound ball of energy. Bruno’s favorite activity is playing fetch with his battle-tested green ball while displaying a unique blend of wiggles, spins and “zoomies.”

A resident of Midnight Cove II on Siesta Key, his favorite day trip is to Paw Park beach in Venice for body surfing and the chasing of pelicans.

(Submit your Paw Pal to the Siesta Sand at info@27statemedia.com.)

Meet Bruno

married and had a son, Michael. And when Michael was in first grade, Cuna returned to Sarasota with her family.

“Being in show business you don’t have a home base. This was the only real base,” she said.

The ‘gelato show’

“The Italians invented ice cream,” Cuna explained this March in between greeting guests at Made in Rome. “Gelato means frozen. The English changed the name to ‘ice cream.’”

In fact, traditional gelato as Cuna makes it

contains only 8 percent fat to ice cream’s 25 percent. And ice cream is pumped full of air (which is why it melts quickly in the Florida heat), while gelato maintains a denser texture.

Cuna dedicated herself to organic, all-natural ingredients from the very beginning. Even her spoons and bowls are biodegradable. For her flavors, she started in Italy. Her pistachios come straight from Sicily, hazelnuts from Diamante.

“Everything in the shop is Italian,” she said.

But even while keeping her things allnatural, her menu quickly expanded to add extra pizazz for American palates.

“Not every gelato does like I do,” said Cuna. “I make it here from scratch. I do not use artificial flavoring. People love the key lime. They love the teacher’s coffee [flavor]. Today I made birthday cake [flavor] because people have been asking for it. I cannot just do traditional Italian flavors, so I had to come up with some American flavors.”

Among her more unusual creations, Cuna makes a popular “Red Tide” flavor: chocolate gelato with pepperoncino, sea salt, and Italian cherries. She also serves a gelato with activated charcoal for a sort of dessert detox.

“It’s called carbone in Italy. It’s made from

the husk of the coconut,” she said. “All the young girls who are getting married, they drink and party all night, then they come get my activated charcoal gelato.”

Above all else, Cuna has always seemed most invested in the people she serves, whether it’s Grace Kelly of Monaco or a little girl fresh off the beach. Adding to her talents as a cyclist, performer and now gelato shop owner in world-famous Siesta Key, Cuna still speaks “four or five languages,” a lasting vestige from her life on the road. She often chats with visiting tourists in their native tongues.

Circus history Continued from page 8

Above and clockwise: Diane Cuna in the front as a toddler with the “French Foreign Legion;” ready for action with her brother; riding high with the New Dollys (middle woman); sporting the formal ringmaster att. (submitted photos)

Arts on the Horizon

You know it’s spring – pollen is in the air Ah, the sounds of spring! Coughing and sneezing … and music. Lingering in the air along Sarasota Bay on April 12-15, will be Sounds of Spring, the Sarasota Orchestra’s ode to Persephone, the Greek Goddess of this lovely season. And the musicians at this Holley Hall concert will bring sounds from four corners of the globe.

The most local corner is the center of the USA – Oklahoma! This Broadway show, as well as South Pacific, will showcase the music of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Their hit tune “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” could have been called “Spring is Bustin’ Out” … but that season comes three months later in the Midwest. Also, spring does not rhyme with spoon, moon, or croon.

Continuing this light and airy fare, Michelle Merrill will be conducting Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, Respighi’s Gli uccelli (a

By Rodger Skidmore

lovely piece which is definitely not for the bird’s), and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony No. 6. From South America will be Astor Piazzolla’s take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: the Spring movement from Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aire.

A week later the theme changes from spring to Broadway when William Waldrop conducts Broadway Bound on April 21-22. While the theme moves to Broadway, it is the Broadway tunes that are coming to the Van Wezel. And it is not just the tunes that are coming, it will also be a star that sang them on stage (The Lion King and Avenue Q), Carmen Ruby Floyd. Other hit songs will be from Wicked, Chicago, Carousel, Gypsy, 42nd Street, and Phantom of the Opera.

And just one day later, April 23, the orchestra’s Piano Trio and Piano Quartet will be at Holley Hall. The trio, comprised of Bharat Chandra, clarinet; Rachel Halvarson, viola; and Jonathan Spivey, piano, will be playing Robert Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen (a short German word for Fairy Tales). An interesting thing about this piece is that it is not based on any existing fairy tale. Schumann wrote it to evoke the idea of fairy tales in the minds of the listeners. Sort of like mood music that is added to a movie soundtrack to meld the viewer’s subconscious with the film’s action.

Completing the program with be Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor. Channeling this work will be Jennifer Best Takeda, violin; Matthew Pegis, viola; Christopher Schnell, cello; and Jonathan Spivey, piano.

If you can’t get enough of the Sarasota Orchestra, you can catch the Sarasota Brass Quintet on April 30 at the G.T. Bray Park Amphitheater in Bradenton (concert is free but requires prior registration). As spring approaches summer, you can also catch the Sarasota Orchestra getting down with Dancing in the Street: Music of Motown at Ed Smith Stadium on May 5-6.

More info and registration at Sarasotaorchestra.org.

We perpetually need help

Ever say the right thing, but someone hears the wrong thing? Not so bad if you said

apples were $1.89 per pound and someone thought you’d said $1.99. But, if you’ve been telling your younger sister about the birds and the bees, and the wrong person overhears you, things can really get buzzing. Especially it that someone is the local priest.

The Asolo Rep’s production of Katie Forgette’s play Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help brings us into just such a disturbing incident, and we see it play out in the home of a 1970s multigenerational family. The girl, who tried to clue in her younger sister in the ways of the world those many years ago is, today, the narrator of the play – and she, as she talks to her family, also talks directly to us. In this way we get multiple sides to the same story. Some are funny, some are the truth, and sometimes truth bites.

Yes, some of these are stock characters –the priest that tries to keep everyone on the straight and narrow, the busybody neighbor, the younger sister who play-acts a bit too much, the tyrant of a mother-in-law, the overwrought mother, and the father who takes himself a bit too seriously. Yes, they’re all there, but that’s what makes it so much fun.

More info at Asolorep.org

Taxes are due April 15

So, why not keep in good form as that day approaches by letting your mind have a full workout. Start slowly, on April 8, with a Beethoven Piano Trio (in G major) and work up to a Sextet for Strings (Strauss’ Capriccio) and then go all out with two string octets (Shostakovich’s Prelude and Scherzo for String Octet and Mendelssohn’s Octet in E-flat major for Strings). All this plucking of strings should keep you plucky and not too taut as you listen to La Musica’s Grand Statements concert (friendly alert, there is a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. – free to attendees).

The next La Musica concert, on April 11, should be called Going For Baroque as there will be a lot of Fireworks (the real title for this concert) as nine musicians take you through an energizing while relaxing evening of baroqueness; starting with Telemann – his Gulliver Suite in D major for Two Violins and his Concerto for Four Violins in D major. They continue with Tartini’s Sonata in G minor for Violin and Continuo ( a continuo is an accompanying musical part that includes a bassline and harmonies, usually piano and cello) which carries the name Devil’s Trill.Next up is Passacaglia in G minor for Violin and Viola, the Johan Halvorsen extrapolation of Handel’s harpsichord suite in G minor. The premiere of the final composition, George Enescu’s Octet for strings in C major, did not take place – at least not the first time it was scheduled. After five rehearsals it was removed from the program as the organizer of the 1901 concert felt that his musicians were not up to it – too risky. It finally made it to the stage in 1909.

If, by April 15, you’ve completed your tax forms (or gotten an extension so that you can attend the next La Musica concert), then it’s time to relax with some friends. Perhaps not people you know intimately, but three composers that truly were friends and who influenced each other’s music. Brahms, the older of these three, while classically trained, wrote a series of Hungarian Dances based on local folk tunes when he was 19.

When he was older and more established, he was the leading member of a jury that awarded the first prize in composition to Antonín Dvořák in 1874, 1876 and in 1877. Dvořák, commissioned by Brahms’ music publisher, then wrote his Slavonic Dances, also based on folk tunes. Then when Dvořák came to America to write his New World Symphony he incorporated American folk tunes. To do so, he was aided by Harry Burleigh, who introduced him to AfricanAmerican spirituals.

This concert joins all three, starting with Burleigh’s Southland Sketches, followed by Brahms’ Piano Quartet no. 3 in c minor and Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A minor

All concerts at the Sarasota Opera House and info at Lamusicafestival.org.

Crescent Beach Market celebrates February was a time for celebration at the new Cresecent Beach Market.

Top left, the Anderson family members in front of their new business after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce. (photo courtesy of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce.)

Below and right, a grand opening event at the market featured plenty of free samples as Gianna Denicola of St. Petersburg accepts a taste of hard seltzer from distributer rep Christina Cobb of Palmetto, while Brandon Snyder of Sarasota pours a glass of cabernet. (photos by John Morton)

LUXURY

IN DOWNTOWN, SARASOTA

Midnight Pass

Midnight Pass. The commission, at its December retreat when goals set, acknowledged that the Midnight Pass issue was worthy of examination.

Spencer Anderson, the county’s public works director, asked the board at its Feb. 22 meeting how it would like to proceed. One method could be to install underground pipes that allow the Gulf of Mexico tides to once again reach the Intracoastal Waterway at that spot. Another would be to dredge the pass, restoring it what it once was. Two homeowners in 1983, worried that the shifting pass could ruin their homes, convinced the county to fill it in with sand and attempt to reroute it. Today, the area looks like continuous beach. Meanwhile, Little Sarasota Bay has become stagnate as the closest inlets for water flow are about 7 miles in each direction, creating what Anderson called a “null zone.”

“Tidal circulation is one of the biggest concerns, and lack thereof,”

Local Easter services

Continued from page 1

he said, noting that the closing of the pass diminished water exchange between the gulf and bay from 74% to 27%, according to a Sarasota Bay Estuary Program report.

Before suggesting possible plans of attack, the board agreed that David Tomasko, director of that program, should give a presentation on his thoughts regarding the pass and its role in water quality.

As for the potential placement of pipes to do the job, Smith doubted

Community Easter Sunrise Service

6:30 a.m. on April 9th

Siesta Key Public Beach near historic pavilion

~ Bring a Beach Chair or Blanket ~

Palm Sunday April 2nd at 9:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary

Maundy Thursday Service

April 6th at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center

Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday, April 8th at 10:00 a.m.

Campus Grounds

Free and open to the public

Traditional Easter Worship

9:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary with Full Choir & Brass Nursery Provided • Hearing Loop System Available

Pine Shores Presbyterian Church 6116 Crestwood Avenue

(941) 922-1597 ~ www.pineshorespres.org

they’d hold up and would require constant maintenance. He said restoring the pass to its natural state “would be my ideal situation.”

Ron Cutsinger, the commission chairman, agreed. “They would have ongoing issues, all the time,” he said of a pipe system.

While both the commission and the Midnight Pass Society II non-profit group fighting for the pass’ restoration have placed little emphasis on how an open pass could also be navigable for boaters, as it was back in the day, Custinger said that added benefit would “be amazing – we desperately need that.”

Currently, boaters in that region can only enter the Gulf of Mexico from Big Pass to the north and the Venice Inlet to the south. That’s a 14-mile inconvenience.

Speaking of Midnight Pass Society II, the group on March 16 held a Zoom meeting with supporters to once again request volunteer help. It is looking to attend festivals and hold events in order to spread the word, Jamie Miller, a lobbyists for the group, said. A letter-writing campaign to key lawmakers and agencies is also in the works.

He also thinks that engineering on the possible restoration could occur as soon as 2024, with actual work in the sand and water beginning in 2025.

“Gruters expects appropriations to come to fruition in the governor’s budget,” Miller said of the state senator’s current efforts in Tallahassee. “This is the first time in 40 years that we’ve had the county and the (county) delegation (made up of four state lawmakers representing Sarasota County) working in parallel. There’s more political synergy than ever before.”

Midnight Pass Society II is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, meaning donations to it are tax deductible. To learn more, visit restore midnightpass.org.

Midnight Pass, as seen before being altered by mankind. (submitted image)

wouldn’t work, now had little wiggle room for anything earlier than October.

Shane Costello, who represents the entities that are eager for an outcome so they can potentially begin the building process, questioned Smolker’s need for more time.

“Mr. Smolker and his clients have not produced a shred of discovery,” Costello said, noting the lawsuit was filed in November of 2021, back about a year-and-a-half.

Smolker denied that accusation.

Meanwhile, another wild card looms. The second lawsuit, filed by resident Lourdes Ramirez, could be addressed by Walker, at least in some fashion, prior to the consolidation date. The judge received a December request from both Sarasota County and Ramirez for a summary judgment, in lieu of a trial, that involved January testimony. However, Walker said he needed more time to make any decision, noting the amount of material he needed to examine was “daunting.” That trial had been set for March 27, had Walker not made a judgment, but that date was come and gone.

Walker could still make such a judgment prior to Oct. 9, and how any sort of ruling could impact the other case remains unknown.

Another challenge for Walker, if the consolidated trial takes place, is how to minimize the amount of time Ramirez’s attorney, Richard Grosso, is needed to participate.

Ramirez’s lawsuit involves only the Calle Miramar hotel, near here place of residence, so some proceedings involving the Old Stickney Point Road hotel would not be germane to her issues.

Both lawsuits center around the argument that the county’s Future Land Use Policy 2.9.1 in the Comprehensive Plan has been violated, and that is was created in 1989 to limit residential density and intensity on barrier island’s such as Siesta Key. In essence, the county ignored its own rules, the plaintiffs allege.

In speaking to the Siesta Key Association civic group March 2, Smolker remained hopeful that the judge would come to that conclusion.

“Barrier islands are different –the residents have more at stake. I hope someday the court system will recognize this,” he said.

Happiness is...Chocolate

With Spring in the air, we’re all gearing up for warmer weather and longer days. And between seasonal holidays and Girl Scout cookie season, nothing says Spring like chocolate.

Abel’s Ice Cream is going all in with the most decadent chocolate ice cream flavor of all –German Chocolate! Coconut caramel and walnuts mixed into Abel’s award-winning chocolate ice cream? Yes please!

Snowbirds and locals alike will flock to Abel’s for this tantalizing treat.

But why stop with a cup or cone of goodness?

So many other choices abound. Shakes or floats with rich sweetness or their handmade chocolate truffles from Sweet Shop USA. The possibilities are

practically endless. And if chocolate doesn’t happen to be the center of your universe, Abel’s is stacked with other tasty options like Black Cherry exploding with Bordeaux cherries or Butter Pecan loaded with lightly salted, roasted pecans.

Join your friends and neighbors at Abel’s Ice Cream and feel like a kid again! Abel’s is located at 1886 Stickney Point Road, Sarasota in the South Bridge Plaza. Open Sunday through Thursday from Noon-9:30 pm, and Friday and Saturday from Noon-10 pm. Learn more online at our website, www.abelsicecream.com or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Jerry and Jill Williams, owners of Abel’s Ice Cream

Smolker

Artist renderings of the hotels that Sarasota County officials have approved for Calle Miramar (left) and Old Stickney Point Road. (submitted images))

Hello, Aloha, Hola, Grüezi, Bonjour, Hallo and Ciao!

…are the words that greet customers as they walk through the door of this fashionforward, stylish women’s boutique in Siesta Key Village. Casa Smeralda FASHION’Style

+ Art, relating to the emerald green coast of the Mediterranean Sardinia, is owned by Swiss-expat Marie-Louise Leuenberger. Having traveled around the world, she selects pieces inspired by life near the sea, with many years of experience as a boutique owner and designer. Marie-Louise understands lifestyle, quality and comfort. The flowy fabrics, pre-washed linens, washable silks, the fun and uplifting eclectic mix of women’s clothing, footwear and accessories, are mainly sourced from the continental US, Hawaii, Italy, Canada, Nepal, India and Indonesia.

Marie-Louise, being environmentally conscious, loves styling women who visit her store and loves helping them “to step into their best and sometimes even beyond their fantasy.”

Exploring Gulf Gate ... with Jane Bartnett

A world of wonder

Local aquarium is visual extravaganza for lovers of cool creatures

Gulf Gate is full of places to discover. For those of us who are drawn to the sea and the creatures that live there and near it, a whole world of wonder awaits at the Seascape Aquarium & Pet Center.

Behind the doors of this 11,0000-square-foot menagerie I was delighted to find tropical fish in every color of the rainbow, chirping cockatoos, small rabbits, and Guinea pigs.

Although I’ve never been a huge fan of reptiles, it was fascinating to watch a Bearded Dragon, turtles, and even a brilliant yellow nonpoisonous snake moving about. Under the watchful eye of Rick and Charlene Marot, who have owned and managed the business since 1975, this is a special place. As Rick Marot led me through the store it was clear that he has a great passion for marine life and tropical creatures. A marine biologist by training, Marot served on Mote Marine’s advisory council for many years.

In a large room that felt more

like a marine laboratory instead of a store, we paused to examine an array of coral in large tanks. “These are live coral,” he said. “We’re growing coral that will be incorporated into the reef tanks. Most of our coral is aquacultured. We’re helping coral to be reintroduced into the wild.”

Pointing out the different varieties that were moving and growing before our eyes, he explained the vital role that coral plays in the ecosystem and the importance of saving it.

When the Marots launched their business 45 years ago, they had

Fine Art Show

just graduated from the University of South Florida and had recently married. After a trip to our area, “We fell in love with Gulf Gate and Sarasota” Marot said.

When they decided to open their store, the couple financed their new business with a legal settlement that Rick received from a near fatal 1973 scuba diving accident that took place under the Skyway Bridge. A spear fisherman hunting illegally from the shore for Goliath grouper mistook the tall 20-year-old, 180-pound Marot for the gigantic fish (that can weigh up to 800 pounds). The fisherman’s

powerful spear sliced through Marot’s leg. Badly wounded and bleeding heavily, Marot pulled the fisherman who was attempting to reel him in into the water. After dragging himself to the shore, the wounded Marot was close to death.

“My NROTC (Navy Reserve Officer Training Candidate) training as a student at Tulane University saved my life,” he said. Against all odds, doctors gave him his life back and also saved his leg. Through a grueling recovery, Marot learned to walk again. He also completed his college studies

Continued on page 38

Rick Marot (near left) tends to an aquarium at his Seascape Aquarium & Pet Center on Gulf Gate Drive. (photos by Jane Bartnett)

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE

DISCOVER GULF GATE’S SHOPPING VILLAGE

With our map on the next page you’ll be able to navigate your way to our featured shops with ease.

The Shop SRQ (G-2) offers flat-tops, fades, tapers, blowouts, razor cuts, and straight razor shaves. Owners, Erick and Dawn use a back to basics approach to grooming with a precise attention to personal detail.

Their commitment to excellence has provided them with many loyal customers. They welcome the opportunity to earn your trust. Hours: Tues. – Fri. 8:30am – 6pm, Sat., 8:30am –3pm. Closed on Sundays and Mondays. Gulf Gate Barber Shop (G-7) has been an institution in the community for years, owned by Kyle Flannery. The super-clean barbershop’s clientele is comprised of primarily men, but the shop services children as well. Scott Reich, formerly of the Siesta Key Village Barber Shop has relocated to this location.

West End Pub (G-49) Where else can you watch your favorite game with a great selection of beers, wines and liquors served by a friendly staff AND where you’re allowed to bring your own restaurant or deli food? Right here. 6500 Gateway Ave. 941-554-8905.

Tony’s Chicago Beef Company (S-16) is owned and operated by true Chicagoans. Dedicated to deliver Chicago’s best food - Chicago style Hot Dogs wit’ the works...dragged through the garden on poppy seed buns with fresh cut fries, Italian Beef Sandwiches anyway you like, dipped or dry, sweet or hot. All served in true Authentic Chicago Style.

Solórzano’s Late Night Pizzeria (S-34): At every Solórzano’s, they offer an experience familiar to those who understand the importance of family and dedication. Their recipes and techniques have been perfected through three long generations based on the

traditional simplicity of the methods used by their Italian ancestors. Dine inside, outside, pick up, or DELIVERY anywhere on Siesta Key, or in Sarasota until 3:30 a.m. 6574 Superior Ave., 941924-5800.

Gulf Gate Food + Beer (S-51): Sarasota’s late-night hot spot for the service industry, night owls, and midnight snackers. It’s not your typical sports bar, offering unique menu selections for carnivores and vegetarians. Be sure to check out their menu online at: eatfooddrinkbeer.com.

Hours: 11 a.m. – 1 a.m. (Sun. - Thurs.) open until 2 a.m. (Fri & Sat.).

Roberts Realty, Inc. (M-5) John Garner, Broker Assoc. & Diane Shane, Broker Assoc. have a combined 40 years’ experience in Sarasota of making dreams come true for our clients. For buyers, we have had great success in finding the right property for our clients because we listen closely to their wants and needs and matching that as close as possible. For sellers, over the years we have successfully listed and sold many, many properties throughout Sarasota County. Our philosophy is to have fun, enjoy the experience, achieve great results, make friends and receive referrals. We’re with you every step of the way! Call 941-924-2330 or drop by our office.

Only Eyes Optical (S-24) brings a new, exotic, eclectic, eccentric, unique collection of vintage, hipster, contemporary eyeglasses and sunglasses to the community. Licensed and experienced optician available to fill your prescriptions. Only Eyes Optical has a large assortment of free frames with the purchase of new lenses. Call 941-444-7984 to set up an appointment with their licensed optician.

Zuzu’s & Moondoggy’s (GG26, GG25) Ready for an evening out?

Choose from Zuzu’s -- an exotic Polynesian top shelf cocktail lounge where you can dress to impress and enjoy cocktails with friends, or Moondoggy’s -- a fun surfing-theme atmosphere where you can chill and have fun. Located at 2234-2236 Gulf Gate Drive, Zuzu’s & Moondoggy’s has 13 big screen TV’S, MLB Package, ACC, BIG10, SEC, NFL Package, pool table, SUPER CHEXX BUBBLE HOCKEY and a punching bag! Zuzu’s is open 12:00 PM – 2:30 AM daily. Moondoggy’s is open 7AM – 2:30AM daily.

Scandinavian Gifts Baked Goods and Grocery (GG-37) A fixture in Sarasota for 32 years, Scandinavian Gifts offers an assortment of linens, glassware, cookbooks, jewelry, candles, food items, and Christmas collectibles. Located at 2166 Gulf Gate Drive, the store is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The Skinny Dip (G-26) Established in 2020. The Sarasota Skinny Dip location is a family-owned business, with husband-and-wife Alex and Sorelly, and their kiddos, Sophie and Noah. The business specializes in letting you make your frozen yogurt the way you want it! We specialize in Skinny8 Froyos, which are only 8 calories per once! Also available vegan and low-fat options so that all Dippers can, well, dip!

Apothecary Shoppe (S-6) Eric and Laurie’s knowledge of pharmaceuticals and natural/holistic remedies enables the safe integration of traditional and natural therapies. Their organic skincare line is compounded on site by Laurie who started her career as a make-up artist for the Today Show, Saturday Night Live, and so many more. Eric is a pharmacist and also certified in naturopathy, wanting the best natural options for his clients. Open M-F 10-5 pm, Sat 10-3 pm.

in marine biology at USF and returned to his part-time job at a Tampa aquarium store. When his boss offered him the chance to buy the store with money from his lawsuit, he declined. The couple had decided that Sarasota would be their new home.

“We fell in love with this place,” Marot said.

When they opened their store in Gulf Gate, Marot applied all the business savvy that he learned from his part-time college job. With $600 in inventory that included “fish and a few tanks,” they opened their doors. Rick was in the store each day. Charlene found a teaching job at the Gulf Gate School and at the end of each day, she joined her husband at their shop.

“We started small at first and got bigger and bigger,” said Marot.

As the business expanded, they rented a warehouse and the building next door. “We had two companies with 29 employees. Along with the store, the second business made artificial coral that we shipped all over the world. We were doing $3 million in sales. For 32 years, every year was better than the next,” he said.

Then came the 2008 real estate crash. The Marot’s

businesses were hit hard but they made it through and built back.

Today, Seascape Aquarium & Pet Center, located at 2162 Gulf Gate Drive, ranks as the largest aquarium business in the state of Florida. The Marlots also build and design small and large custom aquariums. Thanks to the growth of Sarasota’s luxury real estate market, demand for home aquariums and ponds has been strong.

“We get a lot of business from homeowners on Siesta Key,” said Marot. “Gulf Gate is the gateway to Siesta Key. We’ve also done many big jobs in Boca Grande and recently built a 500-foot-by-200-foot pond in Bradenton with 1.4 million gallons and a waterfall.”

Looking ahead, after 48 years of running his own show, Marot is ready to take a break, enjoy the beach, and sell his growing this niche.

“We’re not only the biggest aquatic store in Florida but also the longest-running store of its kind. This is a unique business in a high-growth area,” he said.

With a laugh, he added, “It just needs the right person to take it on for the next 48 years!”

Seascape Continued from page 37

Exotic birds and lizards are part of the show at Seascape Aquarium & Pet Center. (photos by Jane Bartnett)

Florida Fish of Siesta Key

Capt. Rick Grassett’s Fishing Forecast

CB’s Saltwater Outfitters (941) 923-7799

Thereshould be good action with reds, trout and snook in skinny water right now as baitfish become more plentiful. Look for Spanish and king mackerel, cobia, tripletail and false albacore (little tunny) in the coastal gulf. Night snook fishing in the Intracoastal Waterway should also be a good option this month.

Regulations have returned to normal for reds and snook in Sarasota, except snook remains closed to harvest in the Charlotte Harbor area. Spotted seatrout have changed in southwest Florida to a three-fish-per-person bag limit and a six-fish boat limit. Trout must be from 15 to 19 inches with one allowed per vessel more than 19 inches. In my opinion it’s important to protect larger trout, which are usually female breeders. Full regulations and details for all species can be viewed at myfwc.com.

This should be a good month for snook fishing at night around lighted docks and bridge fenders in the Intracoastal Waterway. DOA Shrimp, CAL jigs with shad tails and small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, usually work well at night since glass minnows and shrimp are the predominate bait. Focus on shadow lines where light meets dark and fish strong tides for the best action. Although snook may also be found in rivers, creeks or canals this time of year, they will also start to move onto shallow flats -- particularly on sunny afternoons when it’s warm. I like larger lures like CAL jigs with jerk worms, CAL 4-inch Shad Tails, DOA Baitbusters and the DOA PT soft plastic top-water lure or wide profile flies like Clousers, Deceivers and EP flies, for snook on the flats.

Look for early-season tarpon that may start to show in backcountry areas. These are usually adult resident fish that are making their way out of rivers and creeks. They may be “laid up” or rolling on deep grass flats, on edges of shallow flats or along bars when it is calm. An accurate cast with a DOA Shrimp, a Deceiver or Tarpon Bunny fly may result in an explosive strike! Look for them in areas of Sarasota Bay, lower Tampa Bay or in Gasparilla Sound on some of

the same deep grass flats where you find trout. Reds should be more active as the water warms and baitfish become more plentiful. Higher tides, as we head into spring, will allow them to spend more time feeding in shallow water. Look for them over shallow grass, along mangrove shorelines and around oyster bars when the tide is high. You should find them in potholes and along sand bars when the tide is low. I like the shallow flats of north Sarasota Bay for reds this month. I like 1/16-ounce CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms to locate reds. Fly anglers should score with my Grassett Flats Minnow fly, fished on a 10- to 12-foot leader. When using a long leader be sure you are able turn it over, otherwise you’ll need to shorten it until you can. The butt section should be at least 50% of the total length of the leader and stiff enough to transfer energy from your fly line to the leader.

You might also find reds around docks when the tide is low. Look for deep water under docks with a good tidal flow for the best action. A 1/8-ounce CAL jig with a shad tail or grub or a weighted fly fished on a clear intermediate sink tip fly line with a 6-foot leader with should work well for dock fishing.

You may find big trout in skinny water in many of the same places that you find reds. Blind cast seams where grass meets sand or focus on light colored bottom, in potholes on top of sand bars, where you may be able to sight fish them. These big fish, usually females, are important to the health of our fishery.

You should also find trout plentiful on deep grass flats along with Spanish mackerel, blues, flounder or pompano. I like to make a series of drifts, casting ahead of the drift with CAL jigs with shad tails, DOA Deadly Combos or an Ultra Hair Clouser fly tied on a long shank hook and fished on a clear intermediate sink tip fly line to locate fish. Also look for birds, bait showering out of the water or boils on the surface that will indicate fish feeding below. When mackerel and blues are around, you may need to add 6 inches of 40- to 60-pound

fluorocarbon or wire to your leader. Top water plugs and fly poppers also work well when blues and mackerel are around and may help locate them by attracting them from further away.

Flounder may be found on sand or mud bottom areas on both shallow and deep grass flats or around docks. Pompano may skip on the surface when you drift or run past them, giving their location away. Fish deep grass flats with a mixture of grass and sand and a strong tidal flow for the best action.

You may also find Spanish or king mackerel, false albacore (little tunny), cobia or tripletail in the coastal gulf this month. Look for diving or hovering terns to find Spanish mackerel or false albacore feeding on the surface. Quarter-ounce CAL jigs with shad tails or jerk worms or top water plugs should work well for spin anglers. Fly anglers should score with small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow or Ultra Hair Clousers fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line.

Run crab trap lines at various depths to find tripletail or cobia around crab trap floats. Fly anglers should score on tripletail with DOA Shrimp or lightly weighted flies with weed guards. Cobia may also be swimming on the surface as they migrate from south to north following warmer water and baitfish. DOA Baitbusters, PTs and large, wide profile flies, like Deceivers or EP flies would be good fly choices for cobia.

In the absence of any fish on the surface, check out one of the many artificial reefs or natural hard bottom areas that may hold baitfish and predators. Drift over structure and cast DOA Baitbusters or weighted flies on fast sinking fly lines to get deeper in the water column to catch them.

Conditions are usually good during the spring and fishing should heat up. Flats and night snook fishing are usually good options this month. I like to check the coastal gulf when conditions are good, since you could find something really good happening there.

Bill Morrison of Anna Maria Island with a Spanish marckerel he landed in Sarasota Bay. (submitted photo)

Theo Ring hauled in a 30-inch snook during some nighttime fishing on Sarasota Bay. If you’d like to submit a picture of a child’s fishing moment, send it to: info@27statemedia.com. (submitted photo)

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The Highs and Lows of Properties Sold on Siesta Key

Provided by William Raveis Real Estate / www.raveis.com

The following are properties sold on Siesta Key in the last 60 days, providing a snapshot of home values on the Key for both single-family homes and condominiums.

HIGHEST-PRICED SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE

8569 MIDNIGHT PASS RD.

$6.65 MILLION

This custom-built 4-bedroom/4.5-bathroom/4-plus-car-garage home sits on nearly 1.2 acres and is just shy of 6,000 square feet of AC space and 9,000 square feet under roof.

You will be amazed by the spectacular great room with soaring 26-foot floor-to-ceiling windows and gorgeous views of Sarasota’s intercoastal waters. Enter the luxury kitchen, where elegance is an understatement, highlighted by white hardwood cabinetry, crystal light fixtures, and quartz/granite countertops and Viking Appliances. The open-concept kitchen and living room combination make this floorplan versatile.

This house also has an exceptional bedroom layout. The first-

floor owner’s suite is privately situated on the house’s south wing, characterized by its large spa-like bathroom with dual vanities, his and hers walk-in closets with built-ins, and 180 degrees of window water views from your bed. From there, head upstairs, where two master suite-like bedrooms await. The split bedroom setup is divided by a large game room, with each bedroom having ensuite bathrooms, walk-in closets, and private balconies overlooking Sarasota Bay. The 4th bedroom is set up as a guest suite on the first floor geared to host in-laws, friends, and family alike. This residence’s outdoor living is genuinely an outdoor entertainer paradise.

With an award-winning heated pool/spa and a covered lanai/ kitchen, days under the Florida sun and dinner parties will be enjoyed.

Courtesy of Coldwell Banker

LOWEST-PRICED SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENCE

739 EDGEMERE LN.

$855,000

Sited on a large, shaded lot with plenty of room for a pool. So close to Siesta Village shops & dining and the beach. This home is sure to please the family, with an attached guest suite with separate

entrance and large screened lanai. Sail shades for your cars included. Recent upgrades and renovations including new HVAC, new roof in 2014, impact windows, polished terrazzo floors, and deluxe SS appliance package.

Courtesy of Bright Realty

HIGHEST-PRICED CONDO

5400 OCEAN BLVD., #14-2 & #14-3 $3.4 MILLION

Savor spectacular views in this sprawling 14th-floor beachfront residence in the heart of Siesta Key boasting private access to Siesta Key Beach and tranquil azure waters.

Floor-to-ceiling walls of glass seamlessly open to multiple terraces throughout the home, showcasing captivating 270-degree vistas, including ever-changing waterfront sunsets, dazzling city lights and awe-inspiring scenery in every direction. Inside this oneof-a-kind 3-bedroom, 4-bath residence, two masterfully combined units encompass nearly 2,500 square feet, featuring coffered

ceilings with custom lighting, reclaimed Wormy Chestnut flooring and marble flooring. A private luxurious retreat awaits in the voluminous owner’s suite, which features a dual-sided gas fireplace, and sitting and bar areas with beverage refrigerator and wine refrigerator. Wake up in the morning to sweeping Gulf and beach views in two directions while enjoying coffee and seaside breezes on one of your two large private terraces. The suite also boasts exquisite custom closets with mirrored-front storage, organizational shelving, drawers, and dressing areas, and two updated luxurious bathrooms with custom wallpaper and spacious marble vanities. Two assigned covered parking spaces and two pets allowed!

Courtesy

of Michael Saunders

LOWEST-PRICED CONDO

5631 MIDNIGHTPASS RD., #1004

$415,000

This meticulously maintained one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit in the highly sought-after White Sands Village Community is finally available. Perfectly located directly across from the worldfamous Siesta Key beach. This is a fantastic opportunity to purchase a turnkey furnished, condo with lovely pool views from the living room, bedroom, and lanai. The community features a clubhouse,

heated swimming pool, 11 boat docks for owner use, and a dog park. White Sands Village is known for its friendly and welcoming residents who truly embrace the community lifestyle.

The property has been recently updated with lovely pavers and features gorgeous mature landscaping, that creates a private tropical oasis for its residents.

White Sands Village community offers on-site rental management with two-week minimum rentals.

Courtesy of Keller Williams

Beach project extension sought

Project. It calls for the delivery by dump trucks of about 92,500 cubic yards of EPA-approved sand from an upland sand mine to be spread along a 2.1-mile southern portion of Turtle Beach, adding roughly 10 feet of width in that footprint.

Early March was the projected start time, with a 60-day work window that needed to be mostly completed by May 1 when sea turtle nesting season begins. The turtles are a protected species. However, by a Feb. 15 deadline the county had received only one construction bid, prompting a two-week extension for submissions. Also, its permit from the state’s Department of Emergency Management did not arrive until Feb. 26, and by law is subject to potential opposition and subsequent review. The Siesta Key Association civic group inquired about doing just that, and was granted an early-April deadline for consideration.

The SKA’s main opposition was the idea that 100 trucks each weekday in the height of tourist season would travel the south bridge, then southward down Midnight Pass Road, before entering the county park at Turtle Beach to do their dumping. An increase of traffic and safety risks were inevitable, SKA leaders said in a written protest.

The task became even more formidable when the two bids that came in were for $8.3 million and $8.6 million. That’s more than double the project’s estimated cost of $4 million.

However, FEMA has increased its contribution from 75% to 87.5%, Rachel Herman, manager of the county’s Environmental Protection Division, told the commission, provided the work is done by June 30. The remaining $12.5% would be covered by bed-tax allocated for beach repair as part of the county’s tourism arm.

How that plays out with a possible delay is uncertain.

Nonetheless, faced with not knowing FEMA’s response, it was a move-forward mentality that county commissioners took March 7 by unanimously approving a budget amendment to appropriate funding this year in the amount of $7,709,200 for the project, and to award a bidder for a construction contract for a not-to-exceed amount of $11 million.

A late March start was the new backup plan in lieu of an extension. And instead of scrambling with more trucks per day to try and fit into the tight window of now five weeks with May 1 in mind, county employees said they’d stick with the original 60-day window and either move, or work around, turtle nests if needed. The June 30 grant deadline would be the new dropdead completion deadline. If a one-year extension does come through, county officials

said they would target Nov. 1 as the start date (turtle nesting season ends Oct. 31) in order to avoid doing work during high season. Additional bids would likely be sought. Bids received as of now last 120 days, county staff reported, and they could likely be extended or go through a rebidding process.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Nancy Detert recently visited Washington, D.C. on several matters and met with U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott and asked them to contact FEMA on Sarasota County’s behalf in support of the the extension.

Mark Smith, a Siesta Key resident who represents the northern half of the island in his District 2 seat, reassured his fellow commissioners that the project was worth pursuing. The 92,505 cubic yards of sand would replace the 713,563 yards of sand that went into place as a renourishment measure in the spring of 2016 – just

a couple of months before Hermine washed it away, and then some.

“What I’m hearing on Siesta Key is that this is not a critical repair, but we do want it to happen,” Smith said, noting it would benefit both residents and businesses. Regardless of when the project occurs, he also added that he’d like to see more time between trucks. Smith reported that the projected interval between trucks doing the sand hauling is five minutes, and he hoped the firm that takes on the project could adjust that to 10 minutes to eliminate what could appear overwhelming to citizens.

Bob Luckner of the Siesta Key Association, who for months has said the odds of the project coming together this spring was a longshot, expressed some sympathy for the county officials’ scenario.

“They’re in a box – and it’s getting tighter and tighter,” he said. “They’ve been in handcuffs. I feel bad for them.”

Yoga on Turtle Beach

Thursday morning class has become a staple for many Siesta Key residents and visitors. Kathie Marini, a local who is also a yoga instructor, attends the class regularly with her friends Debbie Szala and Christine Wells, both wintertime Siesta Key residents.

“She’s fabulous for all levels, said Marini with great enthusiasm. “Julie teaches proper alignment.”

Szala and Wells couldn’t agree more.

“It’s a great way to get the day started,” said Szala.

“And,” said Wells, “you’re outside on the beach!”

The three friends smiled at each other

St. Patrick’s Day delights on Siesta

Continued from page 23

knowingly and gazed around at the natural beauty of the island.

Turner’s Chesapeake Yoga & Wellness Turtle Beach Yoga classes meet on the beach near the ramp and stairs, on the north side of the Turtle Beach parking lot. No reservations are needed; however, each student is asked to make a donation of $5 or more.

“In high season we can have close to 50 students at one of these classes,” said Turner. “We’ll be here through this month.”

In case of poor weather or intense red tide, class cancellations are posted on the Chesapeake Yoga and Wellness Facebook page at 7:30 a.m. the day of the class.

With more than 1,000 hours of teaching experience, Turner has been practicing yoga for 33 years. She holds Usui and Karuna Reiki master-level certifications as well as teaching certifications for numerous yoga specialties, including seniors, arthritis sufferers, and those impacted by trauma and PTSD. She refers to herself as a “native of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and Florida’s southwest gulf coast.”

When not teaching or practicing yoga, Turner writes about yoga and wellness. A series of her articles, including a feature entitled “Benefits of Beach Yoga” with six yoga poses recommended for the sand, are featured at chesapeakeyoga.com

Waterfront masterpiece on Cocoanut Bayou.

PRICE IMPROVEMENT

A new list price of $6,950,000, plus the sellers’ recent $1.5 million renovation, make this Siesta Key’s best valued waterfront home and the lowest price per square foot by almost $100. Reminiscent of a 17th-century Palladian villa in the south of France, this North Siesta Key waterfront masterpiece offers an extraordinary living experience. The elegantly appointed custom-built home on Cocoanut Bayou offers 120 feet of waterfront, with a private deep-water dock offering easy access to the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico.

The residence features travertine tile on the first floor, beamed ceilings, lavish fireplaces and a grand room with multiple French doors to a covered terrace that spans the full width of the home. Other notable highlights include all new wood flooring on the second floor, four bedrooms with en-suite baths, a commercial-grade elevator, whole-house sound system and garage for 12+ vehicles.

Call Team Dunn to schedule a tour of this extraordinary home.

14-Year

4205 HIGEL AVENUE | COCOANUT BAYOU | SIESTA KEY — 4 BR | 4.5 BA | 8,571 SF | $6,950,000 | MLS# A4539090

Yoga instructor Julie Turner strikes a pose during one of her Turtle Beach classes. (submitted image)

Left, Rick and Cathy Ripley of Green Bay built a sandman on Siesta Key that made their Wisconsin friends back home green with envy. (submitted image). Above,the Dueling Bagpipers brought down the house at the Crescent Club. (photo by John Morton)

Keeping it Real By

Natalie Gutwein

Ready to buy here now? You’ll need to know how

So, many of you reading this are here on Siesta Key for spring break and have just absolutely fallen in love with our beautiful island.

What’s not to love? The lowest average daytime temperature is 71 degrees in January, and the average rainfall from midNovember through midMay is less than 2.5 inches. It’s warm and barely rains for about half the year.

There’s no state income tax, we have some of the highest-rated schools in the state, you can walk to the beach from almost anywhere on the island, we have two business villages, two grocery stores, so many restaurant choices, live entertainment, my favorite coffee shop on the planet (you can find me at Mojo Risin’ every single day -- try it once, you’ll see why), and let’s not forget … Siesta Key is frequently named as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world by various publications.

It’s decided -- you’re staying! Well, at the very least, you’re buying an investment property that you can visit at your leisure and rent out when you can’t be here. So now what? What do you need to consider? How do you do this? You’ve saved your entire life, you’re buying your dream vacation home, but you have absolutely no idea where to start.

Let’s just put it out there right off the bat: Everybody knows a Realtor in Florida. According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee County, as of Jan. 31 there are 8,767 licensed Realtors in the twocounty region. Your brother-in-law’s uncle’s cousin’s first wife twice removed sold two

condos in the last three years, but she swears she knows everything she needs to know to help you spend your life savings. Would you go to a surgeon that had only performed two surgeries? I hope not.

In my business, just like the the medical field, who you work with matters. You need to start this process by picking a knowledgeable Realtor. Ask how many properties they’ve sold ON Siesta Key. Not in Sarasota, and certainly not any farther away than that, but on this island specifically. There are so many nuances to selling on this island, so many little things an agent can only learn through experience, and so many good agents that specialize on this island, that there are really only downsides to picking one that doesn’t.

Next question, ask them if they know what the 50% rule is. If you’re purchasing a singlefamily home, you’ll want someone that is well-versed. There is so much to know about this subject that I dedicated to it my entire March 2023 column. The Cliff Notes version: If a home is built in a flood zone (of which all of Siesta Key is) you can only perform renovations up to 50% of the appraised value of the improvements (NOT the land value), if the home is below base-flood elevation. Base-flood elevation is determined by FEMA flood maps and varies across the island. For example, if the value of the improvements is $200,000, you may spend $100,000 on renovating the home. There’s a lot more to it, which is why knowledge of this subject is so important.

Secondly, make sure your agent understands the financing options for

condominiums in a resort area. Most traditional financing is NOT available for the majority of the units on Siesta Key. The properties are considered “condo-tels” (condo-hotel) and/or non-warrantable condos, and you’ll need a lending institution that loans on a private portfolio that doesn’t get sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Those institutions will not buy loans in condo-tels or those that are considered non-warrantable.

You’ll also need to consider how you plan on using the unit and examine the rental restrictions at each complex or subdivision. Will you primarily be staying in the unit yourself or is this something you’ll get to a few weeks a year and rent it out the rest? The restrictions are governed by both county zoning and homeowners associations. The variations range from nightly rentals, three-day minimums, weekly, two weeks, monthly, all the way to some that only allow annuals. On top of those restrictions, there could be additional restrictions on the number of rentals you can have per year -- especially in single-family homes. For example, one of the neighborhoods on the island allows rentals with a 30-day minimum, but you are restricted to two rentals a year. Investors tend to stray away from those neighborhoods, but if you’re looking for a home for your primary residence, that’s the neighborhood you should look at as you won’t have an Airbnb next to you.

Additionally, if you’re looking for investment potential, the homes on the north end of the island (technically Bay Island up

to Garden Lane) are in the city of Sarasota. That area is zoned with an eight-day rental minimum. Owners are able to rent those homes out more frequently than the homes with a 30-day minimum, and are therefore more attractive to investors. The value on those homes is slightly higher due to the income potential.

These are just a few of the considerations you should have in mind when you’re purchasing a property here on Siesta Key. I could go on and on, but these tips should help you get started. As I said before, find an experienced agent that specializes on Siesta Key. The upside far outweighs any possible downside. Besides, there are many of us from which to choose.

You stay sunny, Siesta!

(Natalie Gutwein, a Siesta Key resident, is a licensed Realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty’s Judie Berger Team and is also a member of the board of directors of the Siesta Key Association civic group.)

TRANSPORTATION

• Airports/cruise ports/arenas

• Long distance, point-to-point rides

• Large capacity SUV/van service

• Dependable, prompt arrival

• Extra care for the elderly

• Pet friendly

Sarasota Airport Shuttle & Transportation KEITH LOSEY 239-410-9748 • keithblosey@yahoo.com

SarasotaAirportShuttleTransportaion.com

Key Employee

Deonna

She has spent two years at Blase Cafe as a server, and has been working on Siesta Key since 2014. Her favorite thing about employment at Blase are her loyal customers, the great live music she gets to enjoy, and the famous martinis. Deonna estimates she has served as many as 180 of the liquid delights on a busy Friday night while the Whole Band is entertaining. She also enjoys the cover of the new tiki hut. “It drwas attention to the restaurant and will really help business in the rainy season,” Deonna said. She is a native of southwest Mississippi, an hour from New Orleans. Photos by John Morton.

Sun Garden Cafe recognizes the impact that quality workers can have on a business, and is proud to sponsor the Key Employee each month. The community appreciates it.

Congratulations, Deonna!

Your dedication has resulted in a gift certificate for breakfast for four at Sun Garden Cafe, located at 210 Avenida Madera in the heart of the Village.