and Choosing the RIGHT Dealer is Never Black & White.

My name is John Maben and I am the owner of Pegasus Coin & Jewelry. I've been in the business of buying and selling precious metals along with rare coins and unwanted gold jewelry full time since 1978. I was the owner of an internet based coin and precious metals company that had 42 employees with over 100 million in sales annually until I sold that business in 2015. I was also a grader at PCGS and a grading Finalizer and Vice President at Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC). As a member of the prestigious Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) since 1985, I sat on the board of that organization for two years and was instrumental in creating the PNG sub-organization - Accredited Precious Metals Dealers (APMD) of which I am a founding member. Enough about me, but if you want to learn more Google me and look at our Google Reviews.

During times of uncertainty, inflation, and questions surrounding the ability of the U.S. Dollar to retain its place as the world currency of choice, more and more people are turning to Gold, Silver, and Platinum to better balance their portfolio. The biggest questions are, “Where do I go?” and “Who do I trust”? Unfortunately, many immediately turn to the companies they hear advertising on the radio and cable networks assuming they are legitimate and reputable because they are on air and often have paid celebrities - even the show hosts themselves - attesting to their practices. BE CAREFUL!!! Also, NEVER put precious metals into an IRA until you know the reasons why you should not do so!

I have been around a long time and I know just about everyone, but I don’t know 95% of the countless companies advertising heavily on air. It is well known among insiders that the vast majority claiming to be #1, trust verified, the largest, are none of the above. They are marketing companies with dozens of scripted salesmen who sit in a room filled with cubicles. They may or may not be commissioned but they all have high pressure sales goals and we’ve had clients tell us they will where most bullion transactions should yield between a 2% and 10% profit to the dealer. say almost anything to potential clients, especially what they want to hear in order to gain trust. Most have almost no hands on or earned knowledge, in fact you could be speaking with someone that was working in a convenience store or selling cars the week before. These companies will typically do a fair deal on the first transaction and then relentlessly hound the customer to make more purchases that are far higher yielding in profits. We’ve seen instances of pricing that by industry norms were 40% to 100% too high in a business

Along with my staff of experts, we have over 150 years of combined buying and selling experience. Large transactions are our specialty, but we don’t shut anybody out. We routinely will price match two of the largest precious metals online dealers but our buy and sell prices are usually better in the first place. Many clients drive from all parts of Florida because they like our prices and the way we do business. The environment is safe and first class inducing an immediate comfort level when you enter our conveniently located store.

7230 55th Ave E., Bradenton FL 34203 Located at 1-75 & SR70 in Twelve Oaks/Publix Plaza

Continued from Page 66 matter what direction the wind is,” Simmons says. “Even if you get stuck in one gust at 30 miles an hour for 10 seconds, it can completely alter your course.”

After seeing birds, fish, sea hares, jellyfish, sea urchins, starfish and a snake, it didn’t feel like I’d missed out on anything on the tour. But then I heard from our Key Life photographer, Heidi Kurpiela, that a manatee swam up to her kayak in open water while she was shooting this story. So, I asked the park ranger if it’s common to see manatee in the mangroves.

“You could point out every yellowcrowned night heron or ibis, but people are here to see the manatees,” Garcia said. “And they get really excited, for some reason, when they see a racoon coming to the other side. That is the highlight of their trip. Racoons are the most talked about at the end of the day, especially if they’re with little babies.”

I was especially interested in the jellyfish, partly because Simmons picked

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Continued from Page 68 one up with his bare hands, but also because they used to be so plentiful outside the tunnels. They’re called Cassiopea or upside-down jellyfish. This was the first kayak trip I’d taken where they weren’t hugging the bottom of the bay like a layer of oversized snowflakes.

“When Irma came through, we had more jellyfish in this park. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium was down here doing a study. They felt that this area, because of its size, had more jellyfish in one immediate area than anywhere else on the Gulf Coast of Florida,” Garcia said. “After Ian, it seemed to have sucked these jellyfish out into Sarasota Bay again, so we don’t see the jellyfish like we used to after Irma.”

There are four main tunnels used by guides, plus seven ancillary tunnels. The ancillary tunnels are open to tours and the public, but there’s less room to navigate. Prices start at about $60 but vary depending on the kayak, tour and company.

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SINCE

TION

2024 Great Performers Series

SOFIA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA with VIOLINIST LIYA PETROVA

Nayden Todorov, conductor

Jan 15, 7:30 pm | Van Wezel

HARLEM QUARTET

Jan 24, 7:30 pm

Riverview Performing Arts Center

DETROIT SYMPHONY with CELLIST ALISA WEILERSTEIN

Jader Bignamini, conductor

Feb 19, 7:30 pm | Van Wezel

ROTTERDAM

PHILHARMONIC with PIANIST DANIIL TRIFONOV

Lahav Shani, conductor

March 3, 7:30 pm | Van Wezel

PIANIST BRUCE LIU

March 29, 7:30 pm

Riverview Performing Arts Center

Special Holiday Event

CANADIAN BRASS HOLIDAY CONCERT

Monday, Dec 4, 2023

Sarasota Opera House

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It All Started With Mosquitoes

In the 1950s, the Lido Casino was the key’s main attraction. The area known as Brushy Bayou, where the tunnels are now, was a retention area to control stormwater. When it became infested with mosquitoes, the solution was to dig ditches.

“The Army Corp of Engineers used this system for many, many years in many different areas,” Garcia said. “It allowed the transfer of saltwater into that body, turning it into a brackish system and making it impossible for the mosquitoes to breed.”

Seven decades later, the tunnels are a tourist attraction, and the mangroves are protected. Efforts to protect mangroves started in 1984 when Senate Bill 986 directed the Department of Environmental Protection to “adopt general permit rules for protecting mangrove trees or plants from alteration, removal, etc.”

In 1996, the Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act was passed. The legislation cited that “mangroves play an important ecological role as habitat” and provide “shoreline stabilization and storm protection.”

“The mangroves are protected because they don’t grow as fast as the normal trees,” Sarasota County Arborist Dewey Bullock said. “If we don’t protect them, we’re not going to have any shoreline left.”

Mangroves help prevent erosion and provide a crucial barrier during storms. They also serve as filters. Most plants can’t live in saltwater. The shrub’s ability to desalinate water is so unusual it inspired Yale researchers to build a device to mimic the process.

The “mangrove device” was unveiled in 2020. As the science advances, its target is flooding. If a building were to act as a mangrove during a flood, not only could it sustain the rising water, but it could also help filter out contaminants.

If You Go

Ted Sperling Nature Park, 190 Taft Drive, Sarasota; 861-5000.