PelicanPress SIESTA KEY
AN OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
OUR TOWN
FREE • Thursday, AUGUST 2, 2012
NEiGHBORS
DIVERSIONS
INSIDE
Joe Volpe’s latest invention has gone to the dogs. PAGE 12A
New principal puts the ‘Sara’ in Sarasota Ballet. INSIDE
Youth sailing program ropes in eager mariners. PAGES 6A-7A
value in the dirt By Alex Mahadevan | News Editor
Vacant lots hot on Siesta Key The scars from the housing crash are beginning to fade from the Key as empty land plots begin changing hands.
Courtesy photo
+ Lobster Olympics Since buying their home in 2002 in Marathon, Jay and Barb Lancer, of Siesta Key, have enjoyed participating in minilobster sport season, which occurs annually on the last Wednesday and Thursday of July. The Lancers also use the annual event as a chance to invite their friends to join in on the fun and spend some time at their Florida Keys home. Barb Lancer was proud to report that during the two days, the group of 14 brought in a total of 168 lobsters. Because it is an Olympics year, it only seemed fitting that they displayed their catch in the form of the five Olympic rings, as well as the year “2012.”
Loren Mayo
+ King Kong King Kong made a brief appearance Sunday, July 29, on Siesta Key Beach during the weekly Drum Circle. King Kong danced around in the Drum Circle, before making his way out onto the beach where he roamed around, posed for photos and even tried his hand at corn hole. Ten minutes after his last known whereabouts, a blond male was seen leaving the beach carrying a gorilla costume with help of his family.
Turtle tracks Week of July 22 through July 28
Nests on Siesta Key.........21 False crawls.....................10 2012 2011 Nests 320 149 False crawls 313 180
Most real-estate prices in Sarasota County are approaching rock bottom, but buyers are making investments in dirt to build from the ground up — at least on Siesta Key. “The value is always in the dirt,” said Jason Grande, a Realtor with Michael Saunders and Co. during a July 27 interview with the Pelican Press. And things are getting muddy on the barrier island,
with 15 vacant lots sold in the first seven months of 2012, which is up 36% from the same period last year. “Things that are unique are selling,” Grande said. Siesta has features that make it stand out against other barrier islands’ real estate, as well. “Sarasota hits all the prices — all marketplaces.” Deep-water access to Sarasota Bay makes some lots on Siesta preferable to
neighboring Casey Key, he said. And quick access to downtown Sarasota is another perk bolstering demand. The trend shows that buyers are starting to better appreciate fair value, said Tom Cail, Grande’s partner on a Higel Avenue lot that attracted an interested buyer from Ocala, who had trouble
SEE LOTS / PAGE 2A
Alex Mahadevan
This lot on Higel Avenue boasts deep-water access to Sarasota Bay, a unique feature driving demand for land.
HULA BABY Rachel S. O’Hara
Zofia Cacko, 2 1/2, has fun with a hula-hoop Sunday, July 29, on Siesta Key Public Beach at the Drum Circle. For more photos, see page 15A.
DE-LIGHTED
By Alex Mahadevan | News Editor
Bollards light the way for Village crosswalks Sarasota County will soon put out bids for stone LED fixtures to improve pedestrian safety in Siesta Key Village. At about 10 p.m. July 26, Sarasota County Public Works proved that many hands make light work. Public Works Director Jim Harriott and staff members Tom Maroney, Ryan Montague and Chris Hauber joined Siesta Key Village
Association President Russell Matthes and Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce Chairman Mark Smith, for a crosswalk lighting demonstration in Siesta Key Village. And, after two similar outings, they showed that the third time’s the charm — potentially.
Onlookers watched, and inadvertently participated, in the experiment aimed at improving pedestrian safety. Sunovia Energy Technologies Vice President in charge of business operations and investor relations Craig Hall exhibited two LED Stonelight
bollards, partly manufactured by his firm, on each side of Ocean Boulevard in front of Daiquiri Deck Raw Bar. Smith said he was satisfied with the specifications this time. The demonstrations have been difficult because of the amount of ambient light from
SEE VILLAGE / PAGE 2A
INDEX Briefs....................4A Classifieds ........ 22A
Cops Corner....... 14A Crossword.......... 21A
Neighborhood.... 15A Opinion .............. 8A
Real Estate........ 18A Weather............. 21A
Vol. 43, No. 1 | Two sections YourObserver.com