PelicanPress SIESTA KEY
AN OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
FREE • Thursday, december 6, 2012
SPORTS
DIVERSIONS
HOLIDAYS
Sailors seniors are best friends on and off the field. PAGE 15A
Home on Vamo Drive captures Old-Florida feel. INSIDE
Siesta Key Chapel sings carols and decorates tree at event. PAGE 1B
OUR TOWN
siesta lore by Alex Mahadevan | News Editor
History of Siesta Key Village Tourism and population growth have transformed the face of the iconic Siesta district, but problems that plagued merchants of the past are still apparent today. On March 23, 1972, the Siesta Village Association met at Palmer Bank. On the agenda: noise complaints and parking. A little more than 40 years later, a descendent of that merchants
Courtesy
Donna Chen and Barney
+ Cut-a-thon
group, the Siesta Key Village Association, discussed the same issues during a meeting north of the bank — which is now a Bank of America — at the Daiquiri Deck (formerly Anna’s Deli.) Much has changed in the years
between the two meetings of island business owners, but the problems unique to the Village in the early 1970s remain today; population growth and the island’s popularity as a tourism destination has amplified those
issues. Other topics from that 1972 Village Association meeting were: • The alcoholic beverage law • Youth street gatherings
SEE village / PAGE 9A
deck the halls
Yellow Strawberry Hair and Makeup Salon is looking for sponsors for a Cuta-thon Sunday, Jan. 6, to benefit the Humane Society of Sarasota County. The salon is holding the event in memory of Donna Chen, the Siesta Key resident struck and killed by a drunk driver. A kayaker later found her dog, Barney. For more information, call Juliana at the Bee Ridge location at 924-1311.
+ Collecting clothing for Sandy victims The Knights of Columbus will be collecting clothing and blankets for victims of Hurricane Sandy after the 8 and 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. services Sunday, Dec. 8, at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church. The Knights are accepting blankets and clothing for adults and children. Drop off donations on Sunday at St. Michael.
Yaryna Klimchak
Chloe Johnson decorates the Siesta Key Chapel Christmas tree Sunday, Dec. 2, after the church’s Advent dinner. For more photos, see page 1B.
+ Captain’s seat United and Continental airlines are seeking retired employees to attend then monthly retiree luncheons, held at 11:30 a.m. the second Thursday of each month throughout Sarasota and Bradenton. Interested participants should call Ginger Hyde at 360-6671.
back on track by Alex Mahadevan | News Editor
Siesta condo sales stronger in 2012 Transactions on the island are up 10% this year compared with 2011, and distressed sales show improvement. Homebuyers are buying up Siesta Key condominiums just in time for season.
There were 225 confirmed condo sales on the island this year through Nov. 29, according
to data from the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s Office. That’s a 10% increase from the same time period in 2011. “We’ve had a killer year,” says New York real-estate executive Dan Raffe, whose firm, NS/CSE Siesta Key LLC, has closed on 19 condo sales at The Residences on
Siesta Key Beach since January. Two more sales, adds Raffe, are in the closing stages. “I think the buyers’ demographics are pretty much the same as they have been in the past,” said Dudley Carson, a Si-
SEE condos / PAGE 2A
INDEX Briefs....................4A Classifieds .......... 9B
Cops Corner....... 12A Crossword............ 8B
Opinion .............. 8A Real Estate.......... 7B
Sports................ 15A Vol. 43, No. 19 | Three sections YourObserver.com Weather............... 8B