E A ST COUNTY
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
New stadium makes its premiere. PAGE 17
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FREE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2016
VOLUME 18, NO. 41
NO LONGER MINE SMR will conclude its shell mining operations over the next year. SEE PAGE 3 YOUR TOWN
Courtesy photo
It’s awesome, baby!
TOO PAINFUL TO FORGET Retired firemen, now living locally, talk 9/11. SEE PAGE 8
A+E
Introducing the major players
Sarasota Youth Opera benefits from great taste. INSIDE
Lakewood Ranch’s Dick Vitale continues to relentlessly pursue funding for pediatric cancer research. Craig and JoEllen Mettille, who co-hosted the sixth 380 Companies & Dick Vitale Golf & Awards Dinner event June 22 in Polk City, Iowa, presented Vitale a check for $107,000. The event has presented Vitale with more than $800,000 over the six years. “We need more people like JoEllen and Craig who love giving back and extending a hand to help others,” Vitale said.
Photo by Mindy Towns
Oopsy-daisy Courtesy rendering
The Players Centre could become the centerpiece of the Waterside Village at Lakewood Ranch development.
The Players Centre lands architects, builder for its new complex. SEE PAGE 4
Lakewood Ranch resident and photographer Mindy Towns has traded the heat and rain for indoor photography sessions of flowers. The results are spectacular, even in klutzy moments. “This happened when I bumped my tripod while taking a long exposure photo.... I kind of like it,” she said.