bserver O EAST COUNTY FREE • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
NEWS
Heritage Harbour CDD votes to add radar speed signs. PAGE 3
OUR TOWN + Main Street fountain to grant wishes Julia DeCastro, director of leasing for Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty, addressed the Lakewood Ranch Main Street’s coinless waters when she came up with a new promotion, “Make a Wish, Grant a Wish,” to begin Oct. 1. From October until February, Main Street will collect change from the fountain and donate it to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The fountain’s water will continue to be drained once a month, and money will be collected each time that happens. “If you’re making a wish, we thought it would be cool to grant a wish, too,” DeCastro said.
SPORTS
HEALTH MATTERS
Two East County dads make PALs on the field.
See our quarterly health-and-wellness special section. INSIDE
control system
PAGE 13
by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer
Lennar to turn over HOA
After a decade-plus of control — and uncertainty — Lennar Homes announced it will turn over the Stoneybrook homeowners association to residents by the end of the year. EAST COUNTY — In a surprising and contentious move, Lennar Homes announced it will turn over the Stoneybrook homeowners association to residents by the end of the year after more than a decade in control. Lennar, the developer of Heri-
tage Harbour and the communities within it, including Stoneybrook, cited a persistent push from a group of residents eager to wrestle control away, as the impetus for its decision to hand over the Stoneybrook’s homeowners association.
A Lennar representative, Tony Burdett, traveled from Fort Myers to the Stoneybrook homeowners association meeting Sept. 17 to make the announcement. Dennis Colletti, owner of ICON Management Services, which manages the homeowners as-
sociation, arranged for an audit firm, Stroemer & Co., to attend the meeting to inform Stoneybrook residents how such a transition might a occur. But there was no indication
SEE HOA / PAGE 8
WE’RE NO. 1
Courtesy photo
+ Curtain call Mote Ranch resident Jo Morello’s play, “The Passion of Eugene Gladstone O’Neill,” premiered recently in Lexington, Ky. The play is directed by Kathi E.B. Ellis and won the biennial prize for women playwrights from the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. Morello’s play is about legendary playwright O’Neill’s ill-fated loves and their significant impact on his life and work. Morello, originally from Philadelphia, has had plays developed and produced across the country. She also serves on the board of directors of the Eugene O’Neill Society and edits its newsletters. She has had articles published in American Theatre magazine, the Eugene O’Neill Review, the New York Times and more.
Jen Blanco
Lakewood Ranch High tight end Wyatt McLeod celebrates following his 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter during the school’s rivalry game against Braden River High. See more coverage from Friday’s game on pages 13 and 18 and online at YourObserver.com.
TAKING OWNERSHIP
by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer
Supply and demand As of Sept. 1, there is less than a year’s supply of homes in the resale market in Manatee County, leaving real-estate professionals to wonder what that means for the recovery. EAST COUNTY — Andrew Beecher, a 26-year-old father of three, and his wife, Amanda, wanted a home to live in forever, but for a while, all they had were daydreams of what could be — a bed-
room to decorate for their newborn girl, a fenced yard for their dog to play. “We would get our heart set on a
Josh Siegel
This home for sale, on Santa Rosa Court in East County’s Sonoma SEE TREND / PAGE 8 community, is one of few resale homes on the market.
INDEX Briefs......................6 Classifieds ...........29
Cops Corner............9 Crossword.............28
Neighborhood.......17 Real Estate...........24
Sports...................13 Weather................28
Vol. 14, No. 28 | One section YourObserver.com