E A ST COUNTY
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
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YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. VOLUME 17, NO. 16
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THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015
How does Rye Road stack up?
INSIDE SEASON magazine
Residents worry further development off Rye Road will worsen traffic. PAGE 3A
SPRING 2015
SEASON
THE OBSERVER ’S GUIDE TO TH E ARTS AND SO CIETY
Society sheds status
MUSIC DANCE THEATER ART BLACK TIE
Your spring guide to arts and social events.
The Old Braden River Historical Society may no longer be a nonprofit, but it will still protect the Braden River.
YOUR TOWN GARDEN ‘ABUZZ’
PAGE 2A Pam Eubanks
For the love of books Pinnacle Academy student Ivy Luria installs plants, including fennel and dill.
A section of Summerfield Community Park was abuzz with excitement Monday as members of the Gardeners Out East Garden Club and students from Pinnacle Academy installed hundreds of plants to attract butterflies. The garden club is reviving an existing butterfly garden at the park. It had been unattended and became overgrown with weeds. “I’m having the time of my life; this is the best,” club President Carolyn Nation said as she filled a hole with water and helped plant a bush. The project also included the installation of a new shell pathway leading to a pergola. The garden club will maintain the garden. YOUR TOWN PAGE 14A
ARTS+CULTURE
Lakewood Ranch Country Club resident Ted Lindenberg hopes story time will not only boost test scores but also help students develop a lifelong love of reading. AMANDA SEBASTIANO STAFF WRITER EAST COUNTY — Ted Lindenberg’s
Amanda Sebastiano
Lakewood Ranch Country Club resident Ted Lindenberg hopes to inspire a new generation of bookworms. Lindenberg hopes his nonprofit group, Books for Kids Promoting Literacy, will help boost county students’ interest in reading and test scores.
garage holds everything but his car — including 1,000 children’s books stacked in white shipping boxes beside his cleaning products, vacuum and chairs. His neighbors see him organizing the books in his garage and often stop to admire his collection. “Look at all those books,” they say. The books hold special meaning to Lindenberg. An active member of organizations such as the Literacy Council of Sarasota, he doesn’t have time for much recreational reading. But, he makes time for reading stories to children. In October, the Lakewood Ranch resident and literacy chairman of the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch launched the Books for Kids Promoting Literacy program to help boost county students’ interest in reading and improve reading test scores. “If you look at some county students’ scores on reading BOOKWORMS PAGE 5A
WHAT IS A REP?
Asolo Repertory Theatre thrives on creative chaos by producing three shows at once.
INSIDE TO THE CAPITOL 6A Haile Middle School’s Grace Gustafson will tell legislators about her disease.