PelicanPress SIESTA KEY
AN OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
FREE • Thursday, NOVEMBER 1, 2012
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sarasota
The Ballet highlights Ringling’s history in circus-themed ‘Nutcracker.’ INSIDE
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ASOLO REPERTORY THEATRE | FLORIDA STUDIO THEATRE | RINGLING MUSEUM OF ART SARASOTA BALLET | SARASOTA OPERA | SARASOTA ORCHESTRA SaraSota opera
SaraSota orCHeStra
SaraSota BaLLet
FLorIDa StUDIo tHeatre
aSoLo repertorY tHeatre
rINGLING MUSeUM oF art
NOVEMBER2012
SPECIAL
Look inside for our monthly Arts Calendar insert.
NEIGHBORHOOD White Sands Cabana hosts luau to benefit stray animals. PAGE 10A
looking for a fix by Alex Mahadevan | News Editor
County taps Derr for roadway repair The Florida Department of Environmental Protection stalled plans to repair a portion of Beach Road that buckled early this week from erosion.
Nick Friedman
Jim Laughlin’s 1966 Chevy van transformed into the Mystery Machine from “Scooby-Doo.”
Jean Furlong’s job of preparing a Siesta Key property for tourists got more difficult when the road in front of it collapsed Monday, Oct. 29. Landscapers moved greenery further away from the waterline on the property Furlong oversees, which she hopes will help the new tenants navigate to the building.
She placed three cones near another crevasse in the pavement last month to help pedestrians and cyclists avoid it. “I think the county is just as frustrated,” Furlong said. The darker parts of pavement on the north end of Beach Road are only a few months old and were considered temporary re-
pairs undertaken by Sarasota County. The recent collapse has county staff ready to hire a commercial contractor for an extensive fix. But, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stopped Frederick Derr & Co. from beginning repair work this week. The county is now attempt-
ing to secure permits to make both temporary solution and a long-term repair work contiguous, said Sarasota County General Manager of Business Operations Tom Maroney. “We’re probably going to get a little more aggressive with it at this point,” said Sarasota County General Manager of Business Operations Tom Maroney Oct. 29, in a phone interview.
SEE EROSION / 2A
+ Jinkees! Jim Laughlin surprised guests at Sunday’s Fur and Feathers fundraiser at the Local Bean, when he pulled up in a deckedout 1966 Chevy Van that he transformed into the Mystery Machine from the “Scooby-Doo” cartoon series. Laughlin says it took 10 months in the shop to get the van in its current condition, and he plans to do more work to make its interior as authentic as its exterior. Proceeds from the event benefited the Wildlife Center of Venice and Satchel’s Last Resort.
bacteria battle
‘SWEET’ HEARTS
by Alex Mahadevan | News Editor
County seeks bids on drainage project Staff expects the $2.8 million stormwater upgrade project on Beach Road to improve water quality in the Gulf of Mexico.
+ How to donate to Sandy victims The American Red Cross has already began organizing a disaster relief response to victims of Hurricane Sandy. Thousands of people have spent the night in hundreds of Red Cross shelters since the storm hit the East Coast. “The storm has left devastation in its wake, and we will be helping people for weeks to come,” said Linda Carbone, CEO of Florida’s West Coast Region and the Tampa Bay Chapter, in a release. “This will be very costly, and the Red Cross needs help now.” To donate, call 1-800RED CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Yaryna Klimchak
Henry Gilbertson shares his candy with Victoria Maypole at St. Boniface Preschool’s Halloween Parade Wednesday, Oct. 31. For more photos, see page 1B.
The $2.8 million stormwater-management upgrade project on Beach Road, which has been delayed by more than a year, inched closer to groundbreaking, when the county procurement department started advertising for bids Oct. 27. Contractors will have about one month to submit price quotes, guided by the county’s $1.5 million engineering estimate. The county wants the firm to begin part of the project in February. Sea-turtle nesting season and tourist season will give the contractor strict project deadlines. Erickson Consulting Engineers did a feasibility study for a stormwater upgrade after fecal bacteria forced the county to issue a no-swim advisory for Siesta Key public beach in 2004. The firm chose a system that discharges stormwater into the Grand Canal, with an overflow pipeline stretching into the Gulf of Mexico. “We were very vigorous at the very beginning that the runoff didn’t go across the road and into the canal,” said Siesta Key Association President Catherine Luckner. The association was one of the resident advocate groups active in public meeting discussions during the planning process.
SEE DRAINAGE / 2A
INDEX Briefs....................4A Classifieds ........ 10B
Cops Corner....... 12A Crossword............ 9B
Opinion .............. 8A Real Estate.......... 8B
Sports................ 17A Vol. 43, No. 14 | Three sections YourObserver.com Weather............... 9B