Longboat Observer 7.6.23

YOUR TOWN

Loving Longboat

Someone was feeling inspired recently by a love for Longboat Key. “I love LBK” was written in the sand using seashells near the public beach access close to Bay Isles Road. This beach art masterpiece has wowed many people.

Lesley Rife from the Longboat Island Chapel sent a photo into the Longboat Observer and was amazed at how creative people get when they are at the beach with some time on their hands. She shared that she discovered it one day before it rained and that she found it still intact after the frequent Florida showers.

So who is the secret artist? That remains a mystery, but if you made this beach art, reach out to staff writer Petra Rivera at PRivera@YourObserver.com to claim your fame.

Dolphin recovering

The rough-toothed dolphin found stranded Feb. 10 on Longboat Key has officially found a new home at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Rosie, as named by the CMA staff, became a new resident in May and was estimated to be 2 years old after Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium found her stranded on Longboat Key. She was taken to CMA’s stranding station at Fred Howard Park, where she was rehabilitated and examined by experts.

The examination found that Rosie had become hearing impaired and lost the ability to echolocate, which is essential for dolphins to find food or evade predators and survive in the wild.

This led to her being deemed as unreleasable. Rosie will be slowly introduced to CMA’s other resident rough-toothed dolphin, Rudy.

According to a video posted on the organization’s YouTube channel, the pair’s interactions have been going well as expected. For now, Rosie can be seen at the complex’s Ruth & J.O. Stone Dolphin Complex.

The 39th Annual Powerboat Grand Prix put on a high-speed show for beachgoers. SEE PAGE 18

Pickleball injuries are rising, but a little prevention goes a long way.

SEE PAGE 24

Rivera Sheila Loccisano, David Woods and Scott Diesenburg play pickleball at Bayfront Park.

Ian Swaby

The Team SunPrint / Hooters boat piloted by Steven Fehrmann and Steve Miklos, of New Port Richey, speeds by Lido Beach.

Better call quality on the way

goal of improving coverage throughout the island.

commission in 2013 adopted an ordinance to prohibit these types of towers.

Wireless

According to Town Manager Howard Tipton, in 2021 the town invited carriers such as AT&T and Verizon to talk about how cell service could be improved on Longboat Key.

Resolving this issue was important for several reasons, Tipton said.

“It’s not just people wanting to talk to their granddaughters or grandsons, but it’s 911 calls,” Tipton said.

Verizon was the first carrier to express interest but elected to install its own poles. The company then had to go through a more involved siteplanning process because it was installing its own structures. Gulf of Mexico Drive has nine of these poles, standing 25 or 35 feet tall.

AT&T was next but said it wanted to use existing light poles already installed by the town with the underground utility project. This also meant that the firm was exempt from the site-planning process. The AT&T antennas will be shorter than three feet tall. Tipton said there will likely be a small box attached to the upper region of the pole, along with a small transformer lower on the pole. One of the eight antennas will be installed on private property.

“We’re thrilled,” Tipton said. “AT&T is doing exactly what we asked them to do.”

The annual lease fee for the town will be $225, which won’t require much budgetary thought.

“It’s not a revenue issue for us,” Tipton said. “As long as they aren’t interfering with the operation of the lights, which they are not, it’s a winOther carriers are able to opt-in to a similar lease agreement in the future, according to Tipton, but as of now nothing has been confirmed.

The new AT&T antennas will be placed on top of light poles.

A new lease agreement with AT&T will help increase cell service on Longboat Key and decrease the possibility of dropped calls, without being visually intrusive.

Calming waters for boat sales

today there are boats coming into the shop that customers ordered during the peak of the pandemic, but sales have since reached a steadier pace.

“We probably doubled in revenue during the pandemic years, based on our traditional numbers,” LeFevre said. “Since then, we’ve been still kind of holding steady at the elevated levels.”

CARTER WEINHOFER STAFF WRITER

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with the world on lockdown, one of the activities in the area that many were drawn to was being out on the open water in a pristine vessel.

That sharp increase in demand for boats affected boat retailers such as Cannons Marina in Longboat Key, which meant record sales but also inventory and supply challenges, said President Lucile Capo Miller.

“We couldn’t get inventory, and we just sat here with an empty parking lot,” Miller said. “It’s good for business to have inventory in the field.”

Jason LeFevre, MarineMax District president for the West Coast of Florida, said his company experienced the same trend.

“Through the pandemic, we went through the largest boat boom in probably the history of the business,” LeFevre said. “And I think when you combine that with the growth of Sarasota, it was a perfect storm of phenomenal business.”

While facing supply chain pressures, it was difficult for places like Cannons Marina and MarineMax to fulfill some orders. LeFevre said even

NECESSARY CALMING

According to both Miller and LeFevre, the demand has persisted coming out of the pandemic. LeFevre said the industry still seems to be on an upward trend, but called it “refreshing.”

Sales have continued to do well, mainly because the market is beginning to normalize. The lot at Cannons Marina is filled with vessels marked for sale now, but during the pandemic, it was nearly empty. People can come to the marina and actually see the product.

“One of the main differences is that the inventory levels have caught up,” LeFevre said, adding that things haven’t quite returned to the levels seen in 2019, but they’re getting “pretty close.”

May 2023 was Cannons Marina’s best month in its 68 years of business. That month saw 37% higher revenue than May 2022. On average, Cannons Marina experiences growth of 10%-13% each year, according to Miller.

Grady-White is a high-end boat manufacturer whose vessels are a staple for Cannons Marina.

“Inventory throughout the U.S.

got really low, but inventory is building back up,” said Grady-White sales representative Gwen Edwards. “We’re in a really good position and basically we’re about where we were pre-COVID, and the market is really good right now.”

The definition of “really good” seems to mean balance. At Cannons Marina, the phone isn’t ringing “off the hook,” and Miller said that’s better. She favors the current situation much more than the heavy demand and supply chain pressures faced in 2020 and 2021, claiming the situation COVID presented was “too much.” Now, they receive a steady flow of service sales and rentals, while being able to finally keep up with the demand.

“We needed to slow down because you can’t continue at a breakspeed pace,” Miller said. “The market is normalizing, and we like that.”

EXCEPTIONAL CONDITIONS

One of the main reasons behind the continued demand is the population increase seen in Florida, said Miller and LeFevre. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 2021 and 2022 Florida’s population increased by 1.9%, coming to a total of 22.24 million.

Between July 2021 and July 2022, the Tampa Bay Economic Develop-

ment Council claims 444,500 people moved to Florida. These numbers solidified the fact that Florida is the country’s fastest growing state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In Sarasota specifically, demographic statistics show a significant population increase. The population of Sarasota County in 2010 was 379,448. Just before the start of the pandemic, in 2019, the county’s population hit 423,933. Last year, the population jumped to 452,373. The population in 2022 represents a 19.2% increase since 2010, and a 6.7% increase since 2019.

LeFevre said that boat sales overall may be cooling off a bit throughout the country, but they are cooling much slower in this area. And things aren’t completely back to normal, either. Miller mentioned that bigger boats are still under pressure.

People want to come to areas like Longboat Key because of the environment, Miller said, and boating seems to be a go-to for some people moving to Florida’s coastal areas.

“Boating is exceptional here, and I think that’s going to continue. I think as people continue to move here, they’re going to want to buy boats and get out on the water,” Miller said.

SUNCOAST GRADY-WHITE OWNER’S CLUB

At Cannons Marina, the Suncoast Grady-White Owner’s Club is making a comeback. Recently, boaters in the area have been looking for the reinstatement of a social club. Miller said she was blown away by the response. The club used to be active before the pandemic, hosting events almost monthly. Miller and the team at Cannons Marina are hoping to get the club more active again soon, planning events like barbecues and meetups on the water.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE UPCOMING EVENTS:

July 15 — The club will host lunch at Shore Restaurant followed by a cruise.

Aug. 12 — A “Sandbar Soiree” hosted by the crew at Cannons Marina. Interested owners must be a member of the club to attend these events. To join, email Club Commodores Mike and Mary Robinson at MMMKR@ verizon.net.

Courtesy photos

A 2024 Grady-White 281 Coastal Explorer cruises the water at sunrise.

After experiencing intense demand in the face of a pressured supply chain during the pandemic, boat retailers are seeing a steadier rate of business.

The latest Grady-White Canyon 376 is a 37-foot center console vessel.

Grady-White vessels, like this 2024 Freedom 375, are popular sellers at Cannons Marina in Longboat Key.

Luxury living

2021. No homes over $15 million have closed on Longboat in the past three years, according to the Ackerman Group.

TIME OVER MONEY

The market for high-end homes is changing, with a stronger emphasis on new construction and more spacious areas, and for the average Longboat Key buyer, time is more important than money.

In the past year, luxury real estate sales continued to trend upward. At the same time, the emerging ultraluxury category is making a more profound impact in the Longboat Key market. Realtors who specialize in selling these properties say factors like the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced these sales.

“As a result of COVID and pricing, we are seeing more than ever the ultra luxury for our market,” said Ryan Ackerman, co-president of the Ackerman Group, an area real estate group with Coldwell Banker. “There’s more and more homes and condos for sale than we’ve ever seen in the luxury and ultra luxury on Longboat Key.”

High-end real estate, or luxury real estate, is commonly defined as listings over $5 million. A new emerging category, ultra luxury, are those homes that exceed $10 million.

There are currently 22 homes for sale in Longboat Key that fall into the category of luxury homes, though some may still be under construction. Year to date, there have been 14 luxury homes over $5 million sold on Longboat Key. In 2022, there were 11 sales of that nature and 21 in

For the luxury market, the most common theme is that buyers tend to like the newest or most updated buildings, especially if they’re already built. Roger Pettingell, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker specializing in luxury waterfront properties, said most Longboat buyers hold the sentiment that time is more valuable than money.

Buyers, then, are willing to spend more money on new and updated properties than spend less on a dated site and wait for renovations. Supply chain issues and worker shortages heightened by the pandemic exacerbated this sentiment.

Newly constructed single-family homes or resale homes that have been newly updated sell at a premium, according to Ackerman.

“We are still seeing on Longboat Key, very, very, very strong pricing for units that have been updated or single-family homes that are new,” Ackerman said.

He also said that resale homes that are a bit more dated on the inside or maybe are not waterfront tend to be sitting longer than the newer properties.

NEW PROJECTS, NEW PRICES

Sales of ultra-luxury homes have also increased because of new developments aimed at this price point, according to Barbara Ackerman of The Ackerman Group.

The sales of luxury homes are more common now because the inventory just wasn’t quite there previously, according to both the Ackerman Group and Pettingell.

“Our market is not a presale market, and that’s the challenge we always run against … our buyer profile tends to want to touch and feel

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CARTER WEINHOFER STAFF WRITER

The demand for high-end homes is still strong on the Key, with new and updated homes commanding extra interest.

the final product before really truly committing to it,” Ryan Ackerman said.

The only exception to the desire to physically see a property before buying are upscale condo developments, such as the Sage Residences and St. Regis. The emergence of these higher-end developments goes hand-in-hand with the fact that the definitions of luxury are evolving.

“I don’t think it was that the market for it was never there; the product just wasn’t there,” Pettingell said. “So when that came, you saw these big numbers.”

Of the 14 sales over $5 million so far in 2023, 11 were at the Sage. A unit with 4,007 square feet that is available now at the Sage is listed for $7.2 million, which comes to $1,797 per square foot.

“There is a form of immediate

gratification that people want,” Barbara Ackerman said. “The St. Regis, people were willing to wait for that high-end, prestigious type of location.”

The same can’t be said for vacant lots or buildings nowhere near completed. Barbara Ackerman said buyers aren’t as patient for those.

Pettingell also mentioned that the pandemic increased the demand for those luxury homes because of the shift in behavior toward working from home. Those buyers looking to purchase their second or third home could now do so in Florida and work remotely. This also increased the desire for more space.

The frequency of buyers is another market behavior that has changed in recent years, according to the Ackermans.

“We’re not a seasonal market anymore like it used to be,” Ryan

Ackerman said. “COVID just helped solidify that. I think that’s the good news. Buyers are looking all the time now.” While the future of the market is uncertain, the Ackermans predict that it will remain strong. Ryan Ackerman said that the upcoming presidential election may create a slight pause, as usually happens with elections. The stock market is always a factor, he said, and changes in the stock market could collide with the election as well.

Pettingell agreed with the fact that the stock market would have an impact on the future of the market, especially since it drives the wealth of many of the area’s buyers. He also predicted that the cost to build won’t have much room to decrease, so pricing would reflect that.

Courtesy photo

The Sage Residences represent 11 of the 14 year-to-date sales over $5 million on Longboat Key.

“We’re not a seasonal market anymore like it used to be. COVID just helped solidify that. I think that’s the good news. Buyers are looking all the time now.”

Ryan Ackerman

SATURDAY, JUNE 24

BOATS ALLOWED

10:30 a.m., Greer Island

Boat-Miscellaneous: Police on marine patrol were dispatched to Greer Island to respond to a caller’s complaint that boats were operating too close to shore and the “swim zone.” On scene, police located the two personal watercraft, but they were not in any violation. The caller was then advised that the personal watercraft operators were not in any violation and that there are no designated swimming zones at that location.

SUNDAY, JUNE 25

WATER ON BOARD

12:22 p.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Boat-Miscellaneous: While on marine patrol, an officer noticed a vessel partially submerged and tied to a dock. The cabin had been filled, but no hazardous materials or debris were seen in the area. Days earlier, police were dispatched to respond to the same vehicle, during which time the owner informed police that the vessel had been dewatered. At this time, though, police attempted to call the owner but without success. The owner responded hours later, and police issued a citation due to the situation meeting the criteria for “Vessel at Risk.”

OSPREY IN DISTRESS

2:32 p.m., 700 block of Hideaway Bay Drive

Animal Complaint: A resident called police to report an osprey that appeared injured on the resident’s dock. Police saw the osprey had an injured right leg, so they called Save Our Seabirds. However, the bird flew away heading south.

ROAD RAGE

3:16 p.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Citizen Dispute: A woman flagged police down to request assistance.

She told the officer that while driving her car on Gulf of Mexico Drive, she had been followed by an unknown individual riding a motorcycle.

When she pulled into the parking lot, the motorcycle rider, wearing all black, followed her, pulled beside her car, and yelled “Why did you do

SUNDAY, JUNE 25

THE WIND DID IT

2:43 p.m., 4000 Gulf of Mexico Drive Litter, Pollution, Public Health: Police responded to a complaint that trash was being placed in Sarasota Bay. On the scene, police made contact with an individual hosting a birthday party. The individual claimed a gust of wind blew party favors off the tables. He also said the items were quickly picked up and placed in the trash.

Undergrounding delayed

CARTER WEINHOFER STAFF WRITER

An obstacle found nearly three weeks ago in the town’s underground utility project will delay the project by about six months. Representatives from the project team gave an estimated completion date of January 2024 at the latest.

The delay for the remaining phases of Longboat Key’s underground utility project are due to an oversight by Florida Power & Light and a supply chain issue. Longboat Key embarked on this project in July 2019, and Public Works Director Isaac Brownman acknowledged the process has been strenuous.

“The whole project team recognizes that there’s a lot of fatigue on the undergrounding project; everybody’s ready to get it done,” Brownman said. “And I want to assure everyone we’re all driving towards the same goal: to get the job done.”

Phase 2 is the most complicated phase with the most connections and conversions, according to Brownman. The transformers necessary for this phase are on the way, and the phase is anticipated to wrap up in July or early August.

that?” before calling her a profanity. The motorcyclist left the scene, according to the driver. She said she had not been injured nor was her car damaged.

CONFUSED LOCATIONS

4:24 p.m., 3600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen Dispute: While responding to a complaint of someone parked on private property, Longboat Police officers arrived on scene and saw two women yelling at each other. The officer separated the two and then talked to them individually. The complainant told the officer that the woman was illegally parked on private property. The woman said she had parked in the same location just a few weeks ago and showed the officer the dropped pin on her cellphone of the previous parking location. When the officer showed the woman that she was actually 100 yards north of the dropped pin, she began apologizing for the parking incident.

The project splits the island into four phases. Phase 1 has been completed with Phase 2 nearly complete. Phases 2, 3 and 4 already had some underground utility transformers, and the team assumed those could be used. About three weeks ago, while Wilco Electrical was opening the existing underground transformers, it realized they would not be compatible with the project.

Now, the company must order and then install transformers before the project can be completed. The nine transformers needed in Phase 2 have already been ordered and are on the way. There are 11 needed in Phase 3 and 13 in Phase 4. Those transformers, due to a supply chain issue, won’t be delivered for roughly six months.

In total, the replacements will cost an additional $300,000 to $500,000, which will not be at the town’s expense.

“FPL acknowledges this should have been caught on the initial design, so they’re going to eat the cost of the equipment and provide it to the town without charge,” Brownman said.

As for positive updates presented at the June 30 commission meeting, the department said 75% of all easements have been recorded, with the rest being sent out. Additionally, no substantial contingency funds were needed in Phases 1 and 2, and the town doesn’t anticipate the project will go over budget.

Mayor Ken Schneier and commissioners shared concerns about the fact that the town will still have overhead power in place during peak hurricane season this summer, whereas before the delay the overhead lines would have been removed by August.

Commissioner BJ Bishop expressed her disappointment with FPL “in almost every phase of this project.”

“I can’t tell you how disappointed I am yet again in Florida Power and Light,” Bishop said. “It seems like if anybody should know about transformers and what they need and when they need them, it would be the people that provide power for a living.”

Hau Tran is the project manager for overhead to underground conversions for the entire state on behalf of FPL. He said this project is a high priority for FPL and more setbacks weren’t likely.

The town’s undergrounding of overhead power lines has been delayed, with an estimated completion date of January 2024.

Courtesy photo

LONGBOAT

Spend, spend, spend

Comparatively, Florida lawmakers are loath to new taxes. But they’re not loath to spending. Florida needs guardrails.

MATT WALSH

It’s summer. It’s hot. Hopefully, you celebrated the Fourth of July patriotically. And now, as summer heats up, you just want your living to be easy.

To that end, likely among the remotest things on your mind now is how the Legislature and governor decided to spend your tax dollars during the 2023 session.

In fact, it’s probably also safe to say most Floridians don’t pay a hoot of attention to state spending unless it touches them directly. That’s why a week ago or so, there was a short burst of rancor after Gov. Ron DeSantis finally wielded his veto on $510 million worth of projects and programs around the state. Some of those vetoes stung at the local levels, including here.

But as always, after Florida governors sign the next fiscal year’s appropriations and veto what they consider wasteful, they tout how wonderful they are. In DeSantis’ case, his budget-signing release and veto letter proclaimed:

“I have signed monumental legislation that promises Floridians will enjoy fundamental freedoms for years to come.

“We have stayed the course and put the individual freedoms of Floridians at the forefront of every decision, resulting in low unemployment, record tourism and a thriving economy. Florida continues to lead the nation on all fronts, and we have laid the groundwork for generations of success. Through this year’s budget, we have cemented an economic framework which supports Florida’s families, business owners and students in the pursuit of a

prosperous future.”

Of course, the devil is always in the details. Nonetheless, when you compare Florida to the rest of the nation, you have to admit and agree: All things considered — the economy, crime, taxation, environment, recreation, individual liberty, quality of life — Florida is the place to live when compared to other states. What’s more, the public policies adopted in Tallahassee indeed play a big part in that quality of life.

Sure, we have issues — housing affordability, insurance affordability and the fentaynal epidemic. But compared to, say, California and New York, this is indeed paradise. You can conclude a lot from these few numbers:

California

n 2023-24 Budget: $310 billion

n Population: 39.2 million

n State government cost per person: $7,908

New York

n 2023-24 Budget: $229 billion

n Population: 19.8 million

n State government cost per person: $11,566

Florida

n 2023-24 Budget: $117 billion

n Population: 22.2 million

n State government cost per person: $5,270

Of course, there will be those who say Florida’s low per-person cost of state government is a negative indicator. They think more taxation is needed to solve every and all of Florida’s problems. And, they believe the governor and Legislature should be spending and taxing even more than it already is.

But the rejoinder to that is simple: Look at California and New York. What has all that government taxation done for those two states?

They have become two of the worst states in which to live and continue

to deteriorate. That should be a constant concern of legislators: to avoid all the dumb things legislators and governors have done in the declining states as Florida’s population continues to grow.

Topping those dumb things is runaway taxation and spending.

You can credit Florida’s Republican-dominated legislators for being vigilant about new taxes. And even though the sales-tax holidays are a simple strategy for cutting taxes, controlling spending is more of a challenge, especially in good times like now when all of Florida’s government entities are taking in record amounts of cash because of increased property values and federal pandemic money. There is an old saying about all governments: They will spend whatever taxpayers give them, and then some.

Florida lawmakers and governors are no different. Two factors:

1. Look at the accompanying budget table comparing the growth in state spending under Govs. Rick Scott and DeSantis. In DeSantis’ five budget years, state spending increased 36.1%. In Scott’s eight years, it went up 31.1%

Similarly, during DeSantis’ first five years, state spending outpaced the growth in a measurement often used to gauge whether government spending is out of control — that is, the combined growth rates of population and inflation. In that measurement, DeSantis, 36.1% versus 30.8% in the same period. Another one: When Scott left office, state government was spending $3,959 per person. Under DeSantis, it’s now $5,225, an increase of 32%. Adjusted for inflation, the per-person cost is still $1,030 more per person.

2. Budget turkeys

Florida TaxWatch, the Tallahassee-based watchdog on state government spending since 1979, produces an annual list of “Budget Turkeys.” These are usually lawmakers’ hometown projects. “While a project may be worthwhile,” TaxWatch notes, “Budget Turkeys tend to serve a limited area, are not subject to competitive bidding and are often not core functions of state government; they would be more appropriately funded with local or private dollars.” In the 2023-24 budget, TaxWatch identified 218 appropriations items worth $598.7 million as Budget Turkeys. But the picture is much worse. TaxWatch identified a record number of member projects — more than 1,540 projects worth $3.2 billion in the new budget. TaxWatch: “The amount is even more remarkable when one considers there are 160 legislators. This means each lawmaker was able to secure an average of nearly 10 member projects worth an average of $20 million for their home district.”

As noted earlier, Gov. DeSantis vetoed projects almost worth the total TaxWatch identified. But the point to be noted is that even though so-called conservative Republicans control state spending, they are politicians. If the money is there — as it is now in gushing amounts — they will spend it.

Florida’s lawmakers need limits on spending. Colorado caps it at the growth in inflation and population; above that, Coloradans receive a refund.

Without limits and with money flowing because of growth, lawmakers can easily be tempted to do dumb things like they do in California and New York.

Lawmakers give tax breaks to some; why not to all?

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Legislature approved $2.7 billion in temporary and permanent tax cuts in the 2023 legislative session.

Nice work. Compared to other states, the tax cuts show Florida lawmakers know the importance of cutting taxes.

But being the government cynic we are, we tend to find the down side to the good. For instance, when you go through the accompanying list of tax cuts, this should become obvious: It’s a compendium of tax exemptions for special groups, not for all Floridians. This is the annual legislative gimmick — how Republican lawmakers claim they “cut taxes.” Yes, they did — for some, not for all.

Given the huge amount of tax money flowing into state coffers and that lawmakers cut an estimated $2.7 billion in taxes, why not be fair to all Floridians and lower the state’s 6% sales tax rate? Here’s why not: They political chickens.

They’re afraid of what would happen in a recession — that the state wouldn’t have enough money to cover everything they’ve built in to spending and actually would have to reduce spending.

The way it is now — with thousands of people moving to Florida, buying homes and items that fall under the sales tax, the state is gushing with cash. And as lawmakers always do: Whatever they get, they spend.

But rather than play the salestax holiday gimmick, Republican lawmakers should think like real Republicans. If they cut the sales

tax rate to, say, 5%, think how much money that would leave in Floridians pockets to spend and fuel the economy and state coffers even more than now.

TAX CUTS & HOLIDAYS

Here are the tax cuts the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved:

n $850 million — Ad valorem tax cuts, corporate income tax credits and sales tax exemption for building materials to increase affordable housing

n $500 million — Toll relief starting Jan. 1, 2023, to frequent commuters; discounts tolls 50% for drivers utilizing SunPass with more than 35 monthly transactions.

n $256 million — Reduces the business rent tax from 5.5% to 4.5%, effective Dec. 1, 2023.

n $229.9 million — Three-month sales tax holiday on outdoor recreation gear, event tickets, children’s toys — sunglasses selling for $100 or less, tents selling for $200 or less and kayaks or canoes selling for $500 or less; also includes tickets for events, museums, the arts, and more; children’s toys selling at $75 or less; children’s athletic equipment selling at $100 or less.

n $160.6 million — Two Back-toSchool sales tax holidays, one in the fall and one in the spring — covers clothing up to $100, school supplies up to $50, learning aides and jigsaw puzzles up to $30 and personal computers and accessories up to $1,500.

n $158.7 million — Permanent sales tax exemption for baby and toddler necessities — Covers

certain baby and toddler necessities such as clothing, shoes and diapers for children under 5, all baby wipes, cribs and strollers.

n $143.8 million — Two 14-day disaster preparedness sales tax holiday — Including generators at $3,000 or less; over-the-counter pet medications selling at $100 or less; and common household consumable items selling at $30 or less.

n $86.2 million — Extends for one year the current tax exemption on Energy Star appliances – Covers washing machines, clothes dryers and water heaters selling for $1,500 or less and refrigerators or combination refrigerators/freezers selling for $4,500 or less that meet or exceed the energy star standards.

n $55 million — Distributed over two years to promote horse racing and breeding and creates a credit against the pari-mutuel tax for federal assessments saving the industry $5 million annually.

n $47 million — Adjustments to ad valorem tax and tax relief for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses; properties used for education and religious purposes and refunds for damaged properties

n $45 million — Corporate income tax credits on residential graywater tax credit, Strong Families tax credit, Brownfields tax credit and human breastmilk fortifier manufacturing equipment.

n $39.8 million — Permanent sales tax exemption for oral hygiene products — toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, electric and manual toothbrushes and dental picks and irrigators.

“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.”

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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Sales Manager / Penny Nowicki, PNowicki@YourObserver.com

Regional Digital Director / Kathleen O’Hara, KOHara@YourObserver.com

Senior Advertising Executive / Laura Ritter, LRitter@YourObserver.com

Advertising Executives / Richeal Bair, RBair@YourObserver.com; Beth Jacobson, BJacobson@YourObserver.com; Jennifer Kane, JKane@YourObserver.com; Honesty Mantkowski, HMantkowski@YourObserver. com; Toni Perren, TPerren@YourObserver. com; Brenda White, BWhite@ YourObserver.com

Classified Advertising Sales Executive / Lexi Huelsman, LHuelsman@ YourObserver.com

Sales Operations Manager / Susan Leedom, SLeedom@YourObserver.com

Sales Coordinator/Account Manager / Lori Downey, LDowney @YourObserver.com

Digital Fulfillment Specialist / Emma B. Jolly, EJolly@YourObserver.com

Tributes Coordinator / Kristen Boothroyd, Tributes@YourObserver.com

Director of Marketing / Robin Lankton, RLankton@YourObserver.com

Marketing Specialist / Melanie Melone, MMelone@YourObserver.com

Director of Creative Services / Caleb Stanton, CStanton@YourObserver.com

Creative Services Administrator / Marjorie Holloway, MHolloway@ YourObserver.com

Advertising Graphic Designers / Luis Trujillo, Taylor Poe, Louise Martin, Shawna Polana

Digital Developer / Jason Camillo, JCamillo@YourObserver.com

Information Technology Manager / Homer Gallego, HGallego@YourObserver. com

Chief Financial Officer / Laura Strickland, LStrickland@YourObserver.com

Controller / Rafael Labrin, RLabrin@ YourObserver.com

Office and Accounting Coordinator / Donna Condon, DCondon@ YourObserver.com

n $27.5 million — Permanent sales tax exemption for adult diapers and incontinence undergarments, pads and liners

n $15.4 million — Seven-day Skilled Worker Tool — covers various hand tools and power tools and accessories.

n $6.9 million — One-year sales tax exemption on gas stoves — the purchase of new stoves fueled by combustible gas such as syngas, natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or other flammable gas.

n $4.5 million — Permanent sales tax exemption for firearm safety and storage devices — Covers firearm safes, firearm lockboxes, firearm cases, devices to store a firearm, trigger locks and cable locks.

n $1.8 million — Two-year extension for the exemption on natural gas fuel tax — Natural gas fuel is any liquefied petroleum gas product used in a motor vehicle.

n $1.6 million — Permanent sales tax exemption for private investigative services — Covers private investigation services sold by investigative agencies employing three or fewer employees.

n $900,000 — Permanent sales tax exemption for machinery and equipment used for renewable natural gas — Covers machinery and equipment used in the production, storage, transportation, compression or blending of renewable natural gas.

n $700,000 — Permanent sales tax

Observer Media Group Inc. is locally owned.

Publisher of the Longboat Observer, East County Observer, Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer, Palm Coast Observer, Ormond Beach Observer, West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer, Business Observer, Jacksonville Daily Record, Key Life Magazine, LWR Life Magazine, Baldwin Park Living Magazine and Season Magazine

CEO / Matt Walsh

President / Emily Walsh

Vice President / Lisa Walsh

Chairman Emeritus / David Beliles

1970 Main St. Sarasota, FL 34236 941-366-3468

Young minds too precious to waste

The major purpose of education in our country is to prepare our children to be active and knowledgeable citizens, fully engaged in our economic, social and political processes. We believe that important components of preparing students for such engagement are that:

nAll students must be able to read, write, perform mathematical functions and understand science at the appropriate grade level.

nAll students need to be exposed to our basic economic, societal and political institutions so that they understand how our country and world operate.

nAll students need to develop thinking skills to collect and verify information, analyze different points of view, identify bias and draw and evaluate conclusions.

File photo

On June 24, a boat explosion occurred in the New Pass channel near Longboat Key.

Boat explosion sends 6 people to hospital

CARTER WEINHOFER

STAFF WRITER

Aboat explosion that occurred Saturday afternoon in New Pass, off the south end of Longboat Key, sent six to the hospital and drew multiple agencies to respond.

Authorities were alerted to the incident at approximately 4:45 p.m. on June 24, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Longboat Key Police and Fire Rescue departments were called along with the FWC, U.S. Coast

Guard, and Sarasota Police Department and Fire Rescue.

All six individuals on the 24-foot Yellowfin boat were transported to a nearby hospital. Longboat Key Fire Rescue assisted in the treatment and transportation of some of the patients, according to Public Information Officer Tina Adams. One had been transported as a trauma alert, and all others were transported as nonemergency, Adams said in an email.

The FWC is currently investigating the incident, but no further updates were available as of publication.

nAll students must develop dispositions that enable and motivate them to engage in thinking independently, listening with understanding to the points of view of others, working in groups and being able to discuss, debate and solve problems.

nAll students need to be taught in a physically, intellectually and emotionally safe environment that encourages listening to different perspectives, enabling them to solve real-life problems in a cooperative fashion within their local institutions, including family, friends, clubs, teams and communities.

nA successful education is a collaborative product of teachers, school boards, administrators and parents, all with important roles.

nWe acknowledge that there are different points of view about educational issues; conversations about these issues should respect these differences and all participants should be treated with respect and dignity.

nWe believe that different options should exist for educating students and parents have the right to choose what they think is best for their children.

How does our local report card look?

nIn Sarasota, 66% of the students score level 3 and above in reading (meaning ready for the next grade level, likely to excel at the next grade level or highly likely to excel at the next grade level) and 71% in math, according to Niche.com’s Florida State Assessment data.

nStatewide in Florida, students in grades 3-8 score 52% in reading and 55% in math. (Florida State Assessment data)

n Nationally, 33% of our fourth grade students are considered at grade level or above in reading and 31% of our eighth grade students are at or above, 37% of our high school seniors across the country read at grade level and 24% of our seniors nationally are proficient in math. (NAEP Nation’s Report Card 2019)

nOur eighth graders rank 12th out of 29 other countries around the world and our fourth graders rank 15th out of 58 countries in math. (2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science)

What can we as responsible citizens do? As parents: Support our children and grandchildren in their educational process. It starts with the family! Get involved in your local parent association.

Stay abreast of the most current information about our students’ performance, i.e., test scores, graduation rates, post-secondary placements, etc. As citizens: Elect responsible, high-quality school board members who reflect the characteristics stated earlier.

— Miracle on the Key: Robert Gary, Nancy Greenhouse, Scott Gray, Paul Hylbert, Lucie Lapovsky, Lynn Larson, Ed Sabol, Herb Soroca, Becky van der Bogert, Shawna West. Miracle on the Key is a group of five Democrats and five Republicans devoted to civil dialogue as a means to address our country’s opportunities and problems.

Compromise for everyone

Mr. Whittall has exhibited vision, foresight and business acumen, which most residents of Bay Isles

must recognize as what they possessed in order to earn the success of living in one of Longboat Key’s most elite neighborhoods. Give Mr. Whittall every chance at making this stellar property the best it can be with no constraints. He is ensuring the resort is able to accommodate parking for every patron (that’s us, dear locals). Your property values will reflect his success.

Critics cringe at the thought of a wall of concrete with years to wait for trees to conceal it. Have you not heard of fast-growing evergreen vines? Within one year, they will miraculously shroud the garage providing a sound and sight buffer for us at the utility corner of this property. You will thank Mr. Whittall for sparing you what Matt Walsh so eloquently described as “the constant clanging and rumble of big truck rigs delivering food and hauling away garbage.”

As Mr. Walsh pointed out in the May 18 edition of the Longboat Observer, the total height of the proposed parking structure was to be 27 feet, 4.5 inches. Since the allowable height of a singlefamily residence on LBK is 30 feet, I’m sure a compromise could be achieved if an extra 2.5 feet were added to the rooftop so that headlights will be imperceptible to humans and turtle hatchlings.

Contemplate this if you are still adamantly opposed to the parking structure: Mr. Whittall has increased your property values while you have diminished ours. Perhaps there should be a height limit proposal for trees on the island. As we on the west side of Gulf of Mexico Drive, look eastward; your Bay Isles trees are blocking the bay views we once enjoyed and paid dearly for. As they grow, your trees will further restrict the bay views of the St. Regis as well. I fully endorse Mr. Whittall and Unicorp to build this legacy property with no restrictions.

Let the compromise begin.

— Karen Thomson, Longboat Key

Peppi Elona

Neé Elona Peppi

Gruber

July 18, 1936—

May 29, 2023

Peppi Elona, a vibrant, colorful, unconventionally imaginative and kind woman passed away peacefully at her home on Siesta Key.

Peppi’s children, her life as an artist and her wife made every day meaningful for her; fulfilling and enriching her 86 years.

Peppi had an innate sense for bold, creative thinking in her artwork and how she lived her life. If there was an artwork on display that was out of the ordinary, that was a Peppi piece. Making art and being an inspiration to other artists was very gratifying to her. She was quick to help and advise her art colleagues. She showed a kind heart and generous spirit with her eloquent and honest art critiques.

Peppi’s almost 23 years in Sarasota were filled with showcasing her artwork as an exhibitor and/or member of Women Contemporary Artists, The Petticoat Painters, Art Center Sarasota, Longboat Art Center, Manatee Art Center, Palmetto Art Center, Morean Art Center, Towles Court Gallery, Harmony Hall, State of the Arts Gallery and Selby Gallery at Ringling College. Peppi was selected twice to be on the Fine Arts Creators and Collectors Tour. Her artwork was also exhibited

at the Newark Art Museum, The Johnson & Johnson Art Gallery at their corporate headquarters, and at galleries in New York City.

Peppi was one of the 13 Founding Members of the Sarasota Museum of Art (SMoA). Her gift for creating promotional materials and her masterful writing helped move the project from idea to reality. She made SMoA look professional and real. The ArtFul Restroom was her brainchild that many still talk about. Peppi devoted many hours to SMoA including hosting ArtMuse artists, members of the art community and donors in her home. When she wasn’t in her studio or at SMoA, she was home preparing meals for visiting artists and their guests. This energy, time, and devotion was second only to playing an integral support role to her wife, SMoA Founding President Emerita, Wendy Surkis. They were a remarkable duo. Family was Peppi’s glow and deep heartbeat. She always wanted to be a mother to four children –and she did it!

Married at 19 years old, this Paterson, New Jersey gal and her former husband, Edward Henig, had four children together. They lived in several cities during their 17 years of marriage as an IBM couple. Each time her family moved, though still busy rearing children, opportunities arose for Peppi to further her art studies, earning her Bachelors of Arts from Rutgers in 1966, Bachelor of Fine Arts from Washington University in

1973 and her Master of Arts from Montclair State College in 1983. Though they divorced, Peppi and Ed always remained close friends.

During her life she briefly taught in the New Jersey school system; worked as a licensed commercial real estate agent with Cross & Brown; and helped her father and his associates in his real estate development business in Paterson, New Jersey.

Peppi impacted the lives of numerous people who had a myriad of life challenges. She was quick to step forward when she perceived that they could benefit from her help. She was a philanthropist and generous soul. Peppi helped and gave without being asked. She never sought a thank you.

Peppi met her best friend and classmate, Wendy Surkis, in 1973 at the University of Louisville. They shared 47 years of a mutually wonderful life; supporting each other’s goals, desires and dreams. This twosome was each other’s confidante, companion, cheerleader, project partner, adventurer, support system and helper. They were genuine soul mates.

Peppi was the family’s treasured gift. She was the initiator of gatherings for the blended family. Peppi and Wendy, the Grammas, journeyed with each grandchild to places around the world. These were trips for the three of them – no parents! It was a time to get to know each other much better, and to adventure to a place of the grandchild’s interest.

She

The idea for these trips was all Peppi’s. Each grandchild reflects on their trip as a very special moment in their teenage life. Peppi and Wendy dabbled in this with Wendy’s three nephews. Peppi loved and was beloved by her wife, Wendy Surkis; her children, Robert Henig (Sara Mrsny), Lee Henig-Elona (John Orenczak), Jane Fellows (Philip Fellows) and David Henig (Dr. Noreen Henig); her bonus children, Jennifer Deare (Christopher), Susan Schneider, and Neil Schonwald (Virginia); her sister, Joan Faust; her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, niece, nephew, cousins, relatives, friends, and Wendy’s nephews and their

families and the many, many people who comprise Peppi’s blended family.

Peppi’s final resting place is at Mt. Nebo Cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey. She is buried next to her mother and father, Isabelle and Jack Gruber, to whom she was very close.

The cruelty of dementia stole Peppi from us. We ask that everybody remember Peppi for the sparkle and exuberance that she brought to our lives.

Thank you for enriching PEPPI’S life.

www.VisualInnovator. com

Those who have asked where they can send a donation in honor of Peppi may do so to the Sarasota Museum of Art (SMoA), a division of Ringling College. 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236 Attn: Virginia Shearer, Exec Director.

DONATIONS:

Those who have asked where they can send a donation in honor of Peppi may do so to the Sarasota Museum of Art (SMoA), a division of Ringling College. 1001 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34236 Attn: Virginia Shearer, Exec Director.

was a philanthropist and generous soul.

Daren

Rhett

TRIBUTES

Deborah Chalmers

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our special Mom, Deborah Chalmers, on June 1, 2023, at the age of 84.

Much loved wife of John Chalmers, beloved mother of Mary (Steve) and Bill (Catherine). She will be greatly missed by her grandchildren, Lindsay (Griffin), Allie, Aidan and Jenna. Loving sister of Robert Baker, Debbie was an Aunt, Great-Aunt and friend to many.

Born and raised in Toronto, Debbie spent her early years enjoying the outdoors and developing what would become a lifelong love of animals. She attended Bishop Strachan School with a circle of close friends who stayed connected through the years. When she met John in April of 1962, life took her down the path of family, her greatest joy. Debbie devoted years to raising Mary and Bill, instilling her values of kindness, grace and generosity. We remember fondly the wonderful family dinners, holiday celebrations, and key life milestones with Debbie at the center.

In their later years, Debbie and John embarked on a new journey together in Florida, splitting their time between Toronto and Longboat Key and creating a circle of close friends in The Sunshine State. During these years, Debbie enjoyed afternoons of bridge and tennis, convened social events at

Spanish Main Yacht Club, generously volunteered her time to worthwhile causes and enjoyed fellowship at The Longboat Key Chapel. Evenings were spent with John and friends, sipping wine and playing cards on the lanai. The relationships Debbie and John nurtured remain a cornerstone of their life together.

Mom’s legacy of love, friendship, compassion and gratitude live on in all those whose lives she touched. We would not be who we are today if it wasn’t for you, Mom. We live to carry on your legacy and to make you proud. We will miss you.

Sincere thanks to the Temmy Latner Mobile Palliative Unit for providing such wonderful care for Mom over the last two years, especially

Ezekiel, who made her laugh even when it was tough. Special mention to the staff at Amica Bayview Gardens for all that they have done for both of our parents. As per her wishes, there was a private family burial. Flowers gratefully declined. If desired, donations may be made to Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care in the name of Deborah Chalmers.

DONATIONS: If desired, donations may be made to Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care in the name of Deborah Chalmers.

2023 SUMMER LUNCH & LEARN SERIES

July 19 | August 23 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Michael’s On East, Sarasota Only $39 Per Lecture—Includes Luncheon!

To RSVP: Call AJC at 941.365.4955 or Online at: AJC.org/Sarasota/summer2023

Benjamin Rogers

AJC’s Director, Middle East and North Africa Initiatives

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2023

The United States, Israel, and the Arab World: Where do we go from here?

As we prepare to celebrate the third anniversary of the Abraham Accords, where have there been successes, and where have there been challenges? Join us as we discuss the evershifting dynamics of U.S. – Middle East relations.

Belle Yoeli

AJC’s Chief Advocacy Officer

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23, 2023

The State of Jewish Affairs: Around the World with AJC

There is never a dull moment for the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Join us for an in-depth conversation as we tackle some of the most challenging current events and how they are impacting our community.

Reservations Required.

RSVP Online at AJC.org/Sarasota/summer2023

Or Email: sarasota@ajc.org

Or Call AJC at 941.365.4955

Mom’s legacy of love, friendship, compassion and gratitude live on in all those whose lives she touched.

< COME TO THE CABARET: Enjoy a night of divas at FST’s Court Cabaret starting July 11. 16

RETROSPECTIVE: John Sims lived to challenge the status quo. This exhibit honors his legacy. 15 >

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT SHAKING UP

ART CENTER SARASOTA

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

If she wasn’t an arts administrator, Kinsey Robb would be a good shrink. The executive director of Art Center Sarasota is adept at maintaining a neutral expression. Not like someone who has had one too many Botox injections. Just calm but curious. You feel as if you’ve entered a judgment-free zone.

The ability to convey neutrality is an enviable quality when dealing with artists, donors and other stakeholders who might not all share the same vision for Art Center Sarasota.

The only time you might see a flicker of annoyance on Robb’s face is when someone describes Art Center Sarasota as “amateur.”

Then she patiently explains, not for the first time nor for the last, that many of the exhibitors are indeed professionals and if they weren’t when their work was exhibited on the walls of Art Center Sarasota, they will be later.

About those walls. During a recent walkthrough, Robb tells a visitor that the first thing she did after starting as executive director in May 2021 was to get rid of the carpet on the walls and the linoleum on the floors.

When the carpet was removed, the art center found messages from former directors and artists underneath. “You’ve heard the expression, ‘If these walls could talk,’” Robb said. “Well, our walls do talk.”

She repeats the story later in the week during a presentation at Arts Advocates in the Crossings at Siesta Key mall. Both times she notes the upgrade was made possible due to a grant from the Selby Foundation.

“We renovated our space to be more respectful to artists,” she says. That same attitude also prompted the art center to hire professional installers to hang the shows and to limit the number of submissions in its juried shows.

Not all the changes Robb has made have won favor with artists.

Submissions for the center’s juried show must now be done electronically, which has been anxiety-producing for artists who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy. In the past, pieces were dropped off at the center to submit for a show.

During her Arts Advocates talk, Robb said electronic submissions give artists the freedom to submit an artwork elsewhere since it’s not sitting in the center’s offices at 777 N. Tamiami Trail.

Christina Baril, Art Center Sarasota’s exhibitions coordinator, is happy to help artists with the electronic

submission process, Robb said.

But Robb is not a proponent of change for the sake of change. Art Center Sarasota’s logo remains the same as when she arrived. Black aprons and hats adorned with a white modified capital “A” are sold in the lobby and on the website.  “You gotta have good merch,” she says. Everything about Robb and her plans for Art Center Sarasota exudes professionalism. That’s to be expected, given her blue-chip credentials in the art world. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Visual and Performing Arts program, Robb worked at high-powered art galleries in New York before moving to Sarasota — big names, like Gagosian, Lehmann Maupin and Perrotin.

Her international art street cred was on display front and center dur-

Executive Director Kinsey Robb works to elevate Sarasota’s oldest visual arts institution.

Photos by Monica Roman Gagnier Art Center Sarasota Executive Director Kinsey Robb stands in front of George Zebot’s prize-winning “Healing Democracy.”

Perry deVick’s oil on wood panel “Memento Mori, Memento Vivere,” won an honorable mention in Art Center Sarasota’s 2023 Annual Juried Regional Show.

ing her Arts Advocates presentation. Robb regaled an enraptured audience with war stories from the trenches, including “Bananagate.”

That incident took place in 2019 at Art Basel Miami, when a performance artist ate a ripening banana that was part of Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian,” a piece that had already been sold for $120,000.

“Art is spectacle,” Robb said with a smile, as she showed a picture with dozens of cellphones capturing David Datuna eating the banana.

Still, art’s not all fun and games. Robb’s mood turned serious when she talked about how artists need to keep their pricing consistent. If Art Center Sarasota has priced a piece at $1,000, the artist shouldn’t sell a similar work out of their home or online for $200.

STRONG FOUNDATION

Art Center Sarasota has bragging rights for being the first arts organization in town, but it is surely one of the most misunderstood. Founded in 1926, its inception predates that of the John & Mable Ringling Arts Museum.

The building that houses the art center’s Gallery 3 was designed in 1949 by father-and-son team T.R. and Frank Martin in the Sarasota School of Architecture style. While midcentury modern design is respected these days, the art center’s building seems humble, especially compared to the majestic Ringling Museum.

But the comparison isn’t fair. Art Center Sarasota wasn’t founded by a circus magnate and it is not a museum. It doesn’t charge admission and the work on display is for sale.

Although it sells art, Sarasota Art Center is not a gallery. It is a nonprofit dedicated to arts education and raising the profile of area artists.

On a recent day, the art center was filled with children attending a sum-

mer camp. In May, it hosted an art exhibit by Sarasota County Schools students. Ringling College of Art and Design students, including fine arts photographer Jesse Clark, have exhibited at the center.

Now that Robb has elevated Art Center Sarasota’s interiors, she’s ready to tackle its technology. A $6,000 grant from the John and Tana Sandefur Foundation and the Gus Lobenwein Memorial Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County was recently used to purchase a new donor management system.

Next on her checklist: hiring a director of development to add more names to the ranks of those donors.

Robb may not have the financial heft of some of Sarasota’s wellheeled arts organizations, but the center’s sitting pretty. That’s because its building is located within the confines of The Bay, the new 53-acre bayfront park.

Robb literally had a seat at the table when decisions about the giant park were being made. “One day, A.G. (Lafley, the chairman and CEO and first president of the Bay Park Conservancy) referred to me by name, and I was shocked that he knew who I was,” Robb said.

But she is no stranger to rubbing elbows with C-suite types and philanthropists, nor to Sarasota. The daughter of a former fashion industry CEO has been coming to Sarasota ever since her parents retired here.

Despite her worldly connections, there’s something down to earth about Kinsey Robb. Dressed in rolled-up Levi’s, she still looks like the girl next door even if she’s paired the jeans with four-inch designer heels and a filmy cream-colored blouse that reveals a black bra underneath and a tattoo on her back.

Don’t be fooled by Robb’s placid demeanor and fresh-faced looks. She gets exactly what she wants.

THE POWER OF A KNOCK

A knock at the door might not seem like a big deal to many of us. But, to a homebound senior, it could signal the arrival of the only person they might see all day or all week long. It brings hope. It brings health. It brings the nutrition and care that will completely make their day. A knock from Meals on Wheels can even save lives.

Monica Roman Gagnier

Art Center Sarasota is located on Tamiami Trail within The Bay, Sarasota’s new 53-acre bayfront park.

ART CENTER, FROM PAGE 13

Up close and personal with John Sims

The late Black artist’s creations sparked arguments, but they also forged connections.

MARTY FUGATE CONTRIBUTOR

This story is a portrait of an artist. The late John Sims is the artist in question. What kind of artist? Well, that’s a tough question. Like Walt Whitman, Sims was large. And contained multitudes.

This Black artist was a true polymath. Sims’ creations covered the multimedia map. He expressed himself via spoken word poetry, digital art, music, video game creation, installations, conceptual art and clever pranks.

Sims’ obsessions included mathematics, racial justice, the codes of national and tribal symbols (i.e., flags), and political action and Pi — the most irrational number of all. This artist had a lot to say. And he said it in many different ways.

But Sims also liked to give others a voice.

Artistic collaboration was Sims’ style. And not just with other creative individuals. His projects brought groups of people together across cultural ethnic and political divides. Bringing people together has its risks. Failed attempts lead to fights, feuds and factions. Sims didn’t flinch and kept trying. Risktaking was also his style.

You can see Sims’ work at “From the Chambers: Honoring John Sims” at the John and Mable Ringling Museum. It’s on display until Aug. 6.

A BIG HEART WITH COMMUNITY COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

Sims’ recent conceptual art series buried and lynched Confederate flags. That infuriated white supremacists armed with plenty of hate.

But Sims had plenty of love. His big heart drove his connections with communities and individual creators in his world — and sometimes the next. Sims honored the artists who came before. His final artistic creation honored one in particular.

For nearly a decade, Sims lived a few blocks away from me in downtown Sarasota. My house was on 14th Street; his home/studio was on 10th Street, which was on my way home.

Every few days, I’d see him on the sidewalk. I’d drive by; we’d wave at each other. That two-second connection was pretty much it. What a waste. I could have easily popped into Sims’ studio all the time. I rarely did. But Sims wasn’t the only artist in the neighborhood.

Sculptor John Chamberlain also had a 10th Street studio. He was an Abstract Expressionist who worked in the medium of salvaged auto parts. Chamberlain bent, folded and mutilated that junk, fused it together, then splashed the result with candycolored paint. I couldn’t visit this artist, because he’d moved to the next world. But I talked to him once.

I interviewed Chamberlain in the mid-1990s. He quickly turned it

IF YOU GO ‘FROM THE CHAMBERS: HONORING JOHN SIMS’

When: Through Aug. 6.

Where: John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bayshore Road

Tickets: Free with $25 museum admission. Info: VisitRingling.org.

around and interviewed me. I stubbornly worked my list of questions. He kept going off-script. Our chat became a verbal chess game. And Chamberlain was a verbal chess master. As I recall, he was smart, cagey, guarded, profane, hilarious, unpredictable and always one move ahead. It was one of my best interviews ever.

10TH STREET STUDIO

BECAME A RUIN

Chamberlain left town in 1996, and left this world in 2011. His 10th Street studio stayed in place for years. A hulk. A shell. A memento mori. Eighteen thousand square feet of waste. That 10th Street ruin was also on my way back home. I’d pass it after waving to Sims, but rarely looked. The building had been part of my landscape since childhood. I took it for granted. Sims didn’t.

Like most true artists, Sims was an ancestor worshipper. Even if you’re only halfway good, you know you stand on the shoulders of giants. You also know the debt you owe these giants. Nothing less than the techniques in your hands and ideas in your head.  There are only two ways to pay

the giants back. Remember their names. Make sure others do. And make damn sure nobody tosses their art and legacy in a dumpster. That’s not just a metaphor. I found that out last September. I was driving by the site of Chamberlain’s studio. It was missing from the landscape. No studio. Only a gutted shell remained, but not for long. Cranes were ripping through the wreckage like giant carrion birds. I parked my car, got out and took an iPhone video. I sent it to Sims, then called him.

DOCUMENTING EVERY STEP

“Hey John. They’re demolishing … ” “John Chamberlain’s studio. Yeah, I know, Marty. I saw it.” “You don’t sound surprised.”

He wasn’t. A few weeks back, Sims had read the city’s demolition order posted outside the studio. He’d come back to with a digital video camera. Not just once. Sims documented the destruction every step of the way.

“What’ll you do with the video?”

“I don’t know yet. But I will do something. And I’ll still be going back … ”

Sims’ video was better than mine.

He did do something.

To quote Sims’ essay in “Sculpture” magazine:

“I pour some coffee libation to the ground in memory, in honor and respect for the spaces that bring forth the best evidence of our humanity and capacity to create. Now, I am ready to get to the studio and work on my newest piece.”

The “piece” Sims refers to is a liberated (and transformed) shard of disrespected history. A work of art, but not conceptual art. It’s a physical object. And heavy as hell.

DOING WHAT MUST BE DONE

Sims did go back to Chamberlain’s gutted studio. That’s where he found that shard. A rusty metal spike painted a happy shade of chrome yellow.

Sims pulled that spike from the ruin. Now what?

The junk was too big for his car. His studio was 1,056 yards away. There was only one way to get it there. Artists sometimes suffer for their art, right? This was one of those times.

Sims dragged that heavy metal down 10th street up to his own studio. Then got to work hammering it into the shape of a spike crowned by an infinity symbol — and magically turned junk into sculpture. Sims named it “From the Chambers.” It would be his final artistic creation.

Sims died on Dec. 11, 2022. So it goes.

You can see his tribute to John Chamberlain at the exhibition that

shares the sculpture’s name. Steven High curated this show. It’s minimalistic and stripped down. And it hits you like a slap to the face.

A TALE OF TWO SCULPTURES

Sims’ sculpture stands on one side of the gallery. Chamberlain’s sculpture hangs on the opposite wall. The two pieces initially seem to reflect each other. But they’re radically different.

Sims’ “From the Chambers” (2022) looks like 3-D steel calligraphy. A punk rock glyph, with a rough, raw texture. Chamberlain’s “Added Pleasure” (1975-1982) is painted and chromium-plated steel. Slick and shiny.

Sims’ sculpture is a Chamberlain homage, not an imitation. It’s made of banged-up metal, sure. But that’s its only resemblance.

The two artworks aren’t mirror images.

They face each other. But they’re not reflections.

They’re looking each other in the eye. And having a dialogue. Sims’ art always sparked dialogue. It’s seems he’s done it one more time.

In an adjoining gallery, Sims’ video documentary plays in an endless loop. The giant carrion cranes erase history, again and again. His poem also plays from a speaker on the ceiling. Sims’ words, Sims’ voice. Half manifesto. Half mournful elegy. “No man is an island.” John Donne said it. John Sims knew it. My continent of self is a little smaller now that Sims is gone. Along with John Chamberlain, Kevin Dean, Allyn Gallup and so many others. Nothing lasts forever. That applies to both buildings and people. Including the smart, creative artistic ones who make our world a little better.

Courtesy photo

John Sims in the 2021 presentation of his “Recolorized Confederate Flag” project at Historic Asolo Theater.

John Chamberlain’s “Added Pleasure” (1975-82).

John Sims’ sculpture from recycled metal “From the Chambers” (1982).

THIS WEEK

championship belt worth it? Runs through July 9.

THE SURFER BOYS

7:30 p.m. at FST’s Goldstein Cabaret 1265 First St. $18 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Four Broadway veterans bring The Beach Boys’ biggest hits to life with classics like “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “Barbara Ann” and many more. Runs through Aug. 13.

‘SHEAR MADNESS’

OUR PICK

22ND PLAYERS NEW PLAY FESTIVAL

For more than two decades, The Players Centre has provided local playwrights with the opportunity to read their plays in front of an audience. The winner will see their play produced with full sets, costumes, lighting and sound, with a local director and actors. The plays in competition have not yet been publicly announced. Runs through July 14.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 10

Where: The Players Centre, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 200

Tickets: $10

Info: ThePlayers.org.

8 p.m. at FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St. $25 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

There’s been a murder in a local hair salon, and it’s up to Sarasota audiences to catch the killer in this interactive comedy whodunit. Runs through July 16.

‘BLACK PEARL SINGS!’ Florida Studio Theatre

8 p.m. at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1265 First St.

From $25 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

“Black Pearl Sings” tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a musicologist who wants to record

undocumented slave-era music and an African American prisoner who has the knowledge needed for the project. Runs through July 30.

FRIDAY ‘THE MANTLE’

7:30 p.m. at The Players Centre, 1400 Boulevard of the Arts, Suite 200 $17 Visit ThePlayers.org.

“The Mantle” follows Benny Craft on what could be the last day of his life. Craft plans to post a suicide note on social media at midnight, but is he really looking for somebody to talk him out of it? Runs through July 9.

TUESDAY

DIVAS THREE

7:30 p.m. at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $18 and up Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Three female vocalists present four decades of songs made famous by Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston and other performers who have won the coveted title of “Diva.” Runs through Sept. 3.

WEDNESDAY PAT GODWIN

7 p.m. at McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd. $25 Visit McCurdysComedy.com.

A quick-witted comedian who is also a singer/songwriter, Godwin is a veteran of “The Howard Stern Show,” “Last Comic Standing” and “The Tom & Bob Show.” Runs through July 16.

DON’T MISS

JAZZ HAPPY HOUR

The Tamas Nagy Trio performs folk jazz with Eastern European influences. A native of Hungary, vocalist Nagy plays guitar and brings a personal note to his interpretations. He is joined by Jack Berry on bass and Jared Johnson on drums. Jazz Happy Hour continues July 26, Aug. 9 and Aug. 23.

IF YOU GO

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 12

Where: Selby Library, 1331 First St.

Tickets: Free. Registration required.

Info: SarasotaMusicArchive.org

Jazz Happy Hour returns to the Selby Library on July 12, with The Tamas Nagy Trio featuring Jack Berry on bass and Jared Johnson on drums.

Courtesy photos

Summer Circus Spectacular is playing at Historic Asolo Theater through Aug. 12.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

Longboat family ties

PETRA RIVERA STAFF WRITER

Shirley and Warner “Buck”

Martin were on Anna Maria Island in 1958 when they looked across Longboat Pass to see a deserted jungle island. Their curiosity led them to drive through Longboat Key, finding not much more than trees and greenery.

But that same day, Shirley told her husband, “This piece of property is going to grow and grow and grow, and it’s gonna be one of the most wanted pieces of property in the world.”

Shirley’s instincts led her and Buck to move to Longboat Key, where they lived for about 40 years. The children of their tight-knit family followed their parents and grandparents to reside within a few minutes of each other on Longboat and in the surrounding area.

The Martin family, originally from Buffalo, New York, started their legacy in the area when Shirley’s parents, Christabell and Albro Kingsbury, moved to Bradenton after marrying in 1929. Shirley and Buck started visiting Shirley’s parents and loved to explore the area. They’d known each other since kindergarten and became friends around eighth grade.

“One day in the eighth grade, I was walking back to school,” described Buck. “She was on the corner with her girlfriends selling tickets to a roller-skating party. She asked me if I’d like to buy a ticket. I was 14. She was 13. I said, ‘Shirley, I don’t know how to skate. But if you want to teach me, I’ll buy a ticket.’ We went skating. I was all over the place, but I learned how to skate.”

Shirley and Buck were married on June 27, 1953, while Buck was in college. They had four children: Sherry, Ginger, David and Kevin.

They loved to bring their children to the Bradenton-Sarasota area during holidays and vacations. The Martin family traveled a lot together and made their family bond stronger.

“One of the best things that my mom and dad did for us kids, is he took off, my dad, who was a very hard worker,” said Sherry King, the eldest daughter of Shirley and Buck.

“He took off a whole three weeks in the summertime, when we’re all off school, and we rented one of those big campers. Mom and dad tracked all the best places. We went all over, out in California and the Grand Canyon, just did all that stuff. And that was an amazing time. They always took us on vacations. We do family trips on a regular basis.”

Once Shirley and Buck decided to move to Longboat, their children and grandchildren followed. King and Ginger O’Connor live on Longboat

Key and David Martin lives in Sara-

sota. About five years ago, Shirley and Buck moved to Plymouth Harbor retirement community. Most everyone else lives in the area except for a few family members still in Buffalo.

“When we would come and visit, we’d fall in love with the area,” O’Connor said. “And I eventually said to my husband I feel like I’m leaving home when we would go home. I started feeling like this was home. So one day we decided to trade that white snow in for white sand.”

CIRCLE THE DATE

June 27 is a special date for the Martins. Along with being Shirley and Buck’s wedding anniversary, it is also Shirley’s birthday.

But the significance for the family doesn’t end there. Shirley’s granddaughter, Brittany Leone, was also married on the same day in 2015.

On June 27, Shirley and Buck celebrated 70 years of marriage and a new member of the family, Meadow June Leone, was born the same day as their 70th anniversary.

The family threw a party celebrating all those wonderful events on Sunday, July 2, at Plymouth Harbor. More than 20 family members and friends attended, with a few people traveling from Buffalo to make the staple family event.

One of the Martins’ iconic family traditions is the women’s matching medallions. On their 18th birthday, women in the family receive the same gold medallion to wear at every fami-

ly event. The tradition has continued with Shirley’s granddaughters.

As a present for 70 years of marriage, Tiffany Detzel, King’s daughter, and her husband, Ryan Detzel, converted all their family films to digital video and put them on a private family YouTube channel.

The family continues to grow while sticking to their old-fashioned values and Longboat roots.

“Commitment, trust, love, loyalty. And extremely, extremely, extremely hardworking,” said O’Connor.

“That’s really the basis. We learned that, you know, my dad came from literally nothing. He had nothing at all. That’s where he came from. And he built his whole empire by working, working, working, working — and that all sunk into all of us.”

Kismet means

Martin family

members have anniversaries and birthdays on the same date.

Photos by Petra Rivera

Sherry King looks at her parents’ wedding photos with her mother Shirley Martin.

Sherry King, Shirley Martin and Melissa Martin showing off their Martin women medallions.

Buck and Shirley Martin are photographed with their wedding party 70 years later.

Shirley Martin reminiscing on her wedding day.

Boat racers power through big waves

People from all over the country came to Lido Key to enjoy the 39th annual Powerboat Grand Prix.

IAN SWABY + PETRA RIVERA STAFF WRITERS

Amid the intense heat of the summer, the 39th annual Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix still saw racers who were loving the energy of the event, which was held July 1 and 2 after kicking off with a downtown block party on June 30.

Karleigh Alday, a member of the Sarasota-based team OC Offshore Racing, said that to cope with this year’s weather conditions, the crew of their boat placed frozen bottles and cooling gels inside the bridge

and in life vests and helmets.

Held by P1 Offshore, the event featured over 60 teams, some of them from outside the U.S., engaging in high-performance racing along Lido Beach, and drew spectators who lined a section of the shoreline with their tents.

“I love it. It’s just my passion. I love the adrenaline rush,” said OC Offshore Racing team member Joey Olivieri.

Despite the team’s boat ultimately breaking down and not finishing the race, he said he was eager to return next season.

The beach was the place to be to follow the action, as Lido Beach bustled on Saturday with people from across the country.

Many people swam or set up beach chairs in the water to watch the speeding boats pass by. A variety of genres of music could be heard from under almost every beach umbrella.

Leilani Danks came to Lido Key from Miami to support her boyfriend, Christopher Hopgood, who was driving the Celsius.

“It’s a little bit scary,” said Danks. “You may think it’s not that choppy, but it’s extremely choppy and windy for conditions to be driving a boat and these boats run about 120 miles per hour.”

James Watson from Tampa has been coming every year for 10 years along with going to a couple of the races in the ’90s.

“I used to race in lower class,” said Watson. “People don’t understand what it’s like to be (going) across the water in high speed. You’ve got to pull your throttles back when you come out of the air. It’s like being on a giant surfboard. So you’ve got that feeling when the boat’s trimmed out, just perfect and that’s what it’s all about.”

The crowd at Lido Key Beach watches the Powerboat Grand Prix.

Connie Hunt, Dean Stahlman and Nate Hunt, of Naples, make a pass on the The Predator / Stahlman Motorsports boat.

Photos by Ian Swaby

The Gladiator Canados boat, piloted by Ervin Grant of Massachusetts and Michel Karsenti, of Miami Beach, races against the Waves and Wheels/Doug Wright boat piloted by Logan Adan, of Melbourne, and Ricky Maldonado, of Palmetto.

Michael Saunders & Company

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On patrol in America’s favorite park

director of the Manhattan and Queens boroughs. Her work in the latter role involved overseeing the supervisors of the park rangers and performing field work like crowd control.

CAREER TIMELINE

NEW YORK CITY

DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION

1979: Urban park ranger

1980: Program assistant (responsible for building programs)

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

Carolyn Angiolillo knew she wanted a career in the outdoors from the time she was attending St. John’s University in Queens, New York City.

Through summer jobs, she quickly found that desk work wasn’t her talent, especially when a job as a receptionist didn’t last as long as she’d planned.

“I got fired because I didn’t know how to answer the phone correctly,” she said.

After graduating, it was difficult to find jobs in her field of environmental science, but then her professors at St. Johns University suggested an opportunity — a ranger for Prospect Park in Brooklyn.

The city was establishing a new program, based on the model of the National Park Service, intended to improve the quality of the city’s parks.

“When that job came up, I said, ‘This would be perfect.’” Angiolillo would go on to serve in high-ranking roles with the ranger program, overseeing city parks, including Central Park.

At the time, the city was bouncing back from the fiscal crisis of 1975 and Mayor Ed Koch was pursuing a revitalization of the park system, founding the Central Park Conservancy in 1978.

Infrastructure was deteriorating, said Angiolillo, crime was frequent and many people avoided Central Park entirely.

The Dairy Visitor Center and Gift Shop was closed, Belvedere Castle had been vandalized and the Sheep Meadow and Great Lawn were sand lots.

“Even though there were garbage cans, people littered on the ground,” she said.

Starting her career in 1979 at

Prospect Park, she underwent three weeks of training, learning interpretive and tour skills, crowd control and conflict resolution.

Soon equipped with a familiar uniform that included a Smokey Bear hat, a gray shirt and green pants, she set to work, which included patrolling and teaching guests not to throw charcoal from a grill onto the grass or dump car oil into the lake.

Her success developing educational curriculums centered on the parks and later expanded the ranger program into low-income neighborhoods, sent her climbing the ladder with the urban park ranger program.

In 1981, she was appointed deputy director and in 1983, she became

Over time, she said, the effects of the ranger program became evident in the city’s parks.

“We went from having no one in the park to having tens of thousands of people in the park, riding their bikes and jogging.”

Although Central Park became a peaceful and tranquil environment, with buildings restored and lawns reinstalled, the responsibilities weren’t always pleasant, she said. Often, she’d discover a crying child without parents in sight. Her days might end at the police station alongside as many as 10 lost children.

“A lot of people would be having such a great time that they would lose track of their kids during the day,” she said.

Angiolillo supervised park events, getting the chance to see musicians such as Elton John, Simon and Garfunkel and Diana Ross perform.

Although Angiolillo since came to live in Longboat Key before moving to The Meadows in Sarasota in April, she sees a different Central Park from the one she once knew in New York City today.

Litter can scarcely be found, she said, while joggers hold onto their plastic bottles to take them to the nearest recycling center.

“As we worked year after year, and

1981: Deputy director of all five boroughs (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island)

1983: Borough director of Manhattan and Queens

1986: Acting director of park ranger program

1986: Trainer of supervisors

NEW YORKERS FOR PARKS (Now known as The Parks Council)

1988: Director of Urban Conservation Corps.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

SOCIETY IN NEW YORK

1994: Manager of guest services

FLORIDA

2007: Development assistant, Pines of Sarasota Foundation

2008: Recreation manager, Manatee County Parks & Recreation

2014: Development assistant, United Way of the Suncoast

you saw the difference, you really appreciated the impact you had,” she said.

Bible Study: Monday @ 9:00

Women’s Bible Study: Wednesday @ 10:00

Visitors & Residents Welcome Watch Our 10:00 AM Ser vice Live: www bit ly/cclbksermons or www christchurchof lbk org (follow YouTube link) 406049-1 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive • Longboat Key, Florida 34228 • 941-383-6491 Follow us on Facebook • www.longboatislandchapel.org

Lord’s Warehouse hours are 9:00 - 12:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays

The Lord’s

To learn more about our Temple and all our educational, cultural, and social programs, please call us. We’d be delighted to talk with you. Questions?

Former Longboat resident Carolyn Angiolillo served as an urban park ranger in New York’s Central Park.

Courtesy photo

Carolyn Angiolillo, left, in her park ranger gear

Ian Swaby

Carolyn Angiolillo

Lifelong learning with Susan Goldfarb

PETRA RIVERA STAFF WRITER

Susan Goldfarb has always had a passion for education. Her whole life is a manual on how to experience new things and keep one’s mind sharp.

Goldfarb, the program director of the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, has been working at the center for 37 years off and on.

Originally starting as a part-time marketing director in 1986, she took over the Longboat Key Education Center full time as executive director in 1997. The center merged with the temple in 2021 and became the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel. During the merger, Goldfarb was named program director of the center.

“Because when you stop learning, you kind of dismiss yourself from the world,” Goldfarb explained. “You’re not in it anymore. Learning things enhances your whole life.”

Originally from Toronto, Goldfarb holds degrees in English literature and music, along with a diploma in theater technology. She also studied abroad, where she followed her curiosity to work as a chef in Paris, live in Israel for six months and chase after her favorite singer, Leonard Cohen, in Greece.

After she finished her studies in the early 1970s, she and her first husband, Richard Goldfarb, moved to Florida for his academic career.

Goldfarb first dipped her toes into working at the Longboat Key Education Center in 1986 as a part-time marketing director. She continued doing marketing at the French Hearth.

Goldfarb was also the first woman server at Cafe L’Europe, where she worked alongside Longboat Key restaurateurs Ray Arpke of Euphemia Haye, Harry Christensen of Harry’s Continental Kitchens, and Michael Garey of the Lazy Lobster, who was her busboy.   She said that she still keeps in contact with her former co-workers.

“So a few weeks ago, (Garey) was cleaning up a table. And I say ‘I see you’re still busing tables?’ And we laughed together. I know everybody on this island; I’ve been here for such a long time.”

Later, Goldfarb went back to her marketing roots to work for different companies around the area and even opened her own PR and marketing business, which led her back to doing marketing for the Education Center.

During this time, Education Center founder Laura Towers took a liking to her. Goldfarb explained that she wasn’t enjoying her marketing business. Towers could tell.

“(Towers) said, ‘Do you love it?’ And I said, ‘No, because most of my clients are real estate people, not

really into it.’ She said, ‘You need to take over the school.’”

Following Towers’ advice, Goldfarb became executive director of the Education Center in 1997. During her years in the position, she took the center from 30 programs to approximately 150.

“Given my background, my husband’s and just the passion I have for education in general, (that) made me go out there and look for people, to look and see where some of the interesting people were teaching and what they were teaching,” said Goldfarb.

Lecturers at the Education Center have nonstop praise for the work they do with Goldfarb. She takes her connections and eye for passionate educators to bring people to the center who will stimulate the minds of Longboat Key residents.

“Susan has put together some really top-notch retired professors,” said Thomas Carabasi, long-time lecturer at the center and department head of photography and imaging at Ringling College of Arts and Design.

“Even if they’re not retired, she puts together an incredible assortment of really fine courses that are very

relevant to current events. It’s a treasure to have in the community.”

Loyal Education Center clients come back every year to see what Goldfarb will set up next.

“When you’re living on an island like Longboat Key and what is a partially senior community, you can be easily detached from the wider world,” said Paul Francis, who has been attending the Education Center for 20 years. “And I think she keeps that connection open.”

Due to the pandemic, the Education Center almost closed. With the help of current Executive Director Isaac Azerad, Temple Beth Israel merged with the Education Center three years ago and helped ensure its sustainability by making Goldfarb and the center a part of the temple. This provided support and space for the programs of the center to continue while still offering opportunities to attend remotely.

“You are there as a snowbird, you just can’t be in the sun all the time,” said Susan Benjamin, a lecturer on musical biographies. “And as much as we love to play tennis and swim, it’s so wonderful to have something that stimulates your mind.”

File photo

Susan Goldfarb has been leading the Longboat Key Education Center since 1997.

Courtesy photo

Susan Goldfarb

The beloved program director of the Education Center lives a life of curiosity.

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Staying safe on the court

PETRA RIVERA STAFF WRITER

Put your sunscreen on and grab your paddles because there’s no offseason for pickleball.

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, there were more than 8.9 million people who played pickleball in the U.S. in 2022. As pickleball continues to grow in popularity, so does the number of injuries associated with playing it.

“We see a lot of calf strains and Achilles tendon injuries,” said Dr. Ken Kaufman, founder and clinic director of Sarasota Sports Medicine. “Also, there’s oftentimes some hip problems because of the lateral movement, or the side movement that people are having to run to the side and shuffle to the side, they’re not used to it, certainly if somebody is not conditioned, they’re really not prepared for that type of motion.”

Kaufman explained that shoulder/ rotator cuff injuries and tennis elbow injuries are common because people may not be familiar with properly gripping a paddle, especially one that is lighter than a tennis racket. In a June 20 news release about pickleball injuries, Kaufman also mentioned knee strains/tears, meniscus tears, PCL, ACL and MCL strains, hamstring strains, plantar fasciitis and ankle, wrist and foot sprains.

Brent Marshall, who has been playing pickleball recreationally for four years at Bayfront Park, said that it can be hard on the body when people start playing, since it’s a fast and intense game. “That’s where I think you see a lot of injuries, is people coming off the couch that all of sudden (say), ‘Hey, I like this.’”

The best prevention for these injuries, according to Kaufman, is to get a personal trainer at a local fitness facility who can show the proper way to stretch and condition before, during and after playing pickleball.

“So it’s different strengthening exercises, mobility exercises and learning ... basically preparing the body for the rigors of that activity,”

said Kaufman. “So, training in a sideto-side plane, using bands and extra different tools to increase range of motion and increased flexibility and increased mobility are the best ways to prevent these types of injuries.”

Local pickleball instructor Julie Stewart shared that she has mastered a warmup to properly prepare the body before playing pickleball. She is also a rehabilitation therapist, owner of a nutrition company called Juice Plus and the co-founder of the Sarasota Youth Pickleball League.

“The warmup design will not only physically get you prepared for the lesson — covering all muscle groups and moves that are pickleball-related moves — but it also helps you develop proprioceptive skills for on the court,” said Stewart.

Stewart explained it is important to have a fast-paced warmup that includes dynamic stretches over static. In her three-minute routine, she incorporates squats, paddle positioning to stretch the wrist, around-the-clock lunges and short sprints.

Other important factors that prevent injuries include staying

hydrated, eating nutritious food, wearing sun protection and paying attention to your movements while playing. Stewart said it’s important to shuffle instead of running backwards or cross-stepping. She also emphasizes the impor tance of wearing court shoes over running or heavy-cushioned shoes to avoid tripping and dragging your feet.

Kaufman said that it is important to seek medical advice if someone feels pain due to pickleball, “A lot of times somebody will rest for a while, the pain will go away and they’ll start again, and the pain will come right back. That means that there’s something a little more involved than just a little overuse.”

Stewart, Marshall, and Kaufman all expressed their love for this fast-paced sport. They shared that it is a great way to get active, get outside and meet new friends, but they emphasized the importance of stretching, hydrating and eating right to stay safe and have fun.

Marshall said,  “It is very addictive once you kind of get hooked on it.”

Photos by Petra Rivera

David Woods and Sheila Loccisano get ready to return a serve.

Tom Ward prepares a serve.

A local doctor, instructor and recreational player share the best way to avoid injuries while playing pickleball.

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2251 Gulf of Mexico Drive 204 | Aria - LONGBOAT KEY | $10,500,000

Living in Aria is Instant enjoyment! Modern luxury living in this spectacular gulf-front condominium that lives like a home on the beach It offers a private gulf front 3400 sqft terrace with a private 49 ft infinity edge lap pool and a summer kitchen for outdoor living You also have private stairs to your dehumidified three to five-car garage or the Gulf of Mexico or to the beautifully designed 67 ft x 42 ft community pool with a sculptural rain curtain or the restored 1935 Villa am Meer, housing the Aria Residents Social Room/Clubhouse, with unique amenities for a luxurious lifestyle This contemporary coastal home on the south end of LBK is waiting to be loved and enjoyed and create new memories

www Aria204 com

Bayfront Queens Harbour - 3554 Fair Oaks Lane | 5 bed, 4 5 bath | 4 493 sq.ft. | $4 200 000

Experience ultimate luxury in this Bayfront masterpiece within the gates of Bay Isles, Harborside This Taylor Woodrow model has endless upgrades Four or five bedrooms, large library, bonus room, and a gourmet kitchen overlooking the bay with everchanging stunning views Features include travertine floors, builtins, a gas fireplace, a private dock with a boat lift, and an elevator Enjoy coastal living at its finest in this almost maintenance-free home The home also has hurricane shutters and sits 12 3' above sea level It also has a private Beach Club Available furnished This rare offering defines opulence and convenience 3554FairOaksLane com

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Bay Isles home tops the week’s sales at $2.1 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome in Bay Isles tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Jane Matson, trustee, of Longboat Key, sold the home at 3150 Bayou Sound to Douglas and Cynthia Tibbets, of Longboat Key, for $2.1 million. Built in 2002, it has three bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,540 square feet of living area.

BIRD KEY

Kevin Kozlowski, trustee, of El Dorado Hills, California, sold the home at 217 Bird Key Drive to Linh Vu Michael Boogs, of Longboat Key, for $1,765,000. Built in 1962, it has three bedrooms, two-and-two-half baths, a pool and 2,460 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.2 million in 2014.

INN ON THE BEACH

Mark Esbeck and Jane KnaackEsbeck, of Sarasota, sold their Unit 5307 condominium at 250 Sands Point Road to 5307 IOTB LLC for $1,605,600. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,616 square feet of living area. It sold for $685,000 in 2004.

H&M Enterprises LLC sold the Unit 2302 condominium at 210 Sands Point Road to Kermit Zieg and Ellen McMackin, of Alexandria, Virginia, for $987,000. Built in 1982, it has one bedroom, one bath and 657 square feet of living area. It sold for $280,000 in 2002.

L’ELEGANCE ON LIDO BEACH

Valerie Shapiro, trustee, and Lee Shapiro, of Sarasota, sold the Unit B-308 condominium at 1800 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Cathy Abrams and Bradley Root, of Sarasota, for $1.2 million. Built in 1996, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,700 square feet of living area. It sold for $800,000 in 2019.

LONGBEACH VILLAGE

Vassallo Enterprises LLC sold the Unit 22 condominium at 7175 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Pioneer Exchange Accommodation Title

Holder LLC for $1.2 million. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,170 square feet of living area. It sold for $490,000 in 2015.

THE BEACHES OF LONGBOAT KEY

William and Dorothy Firestone, trustees, of St. Louis, sold the Unit 504 condominium at 775 Longboat Club Road to Alan D’Silva, of Ontario, Canada, for $1.15 million. Built in 1984, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,602 square feet of living area. It sold for $375,000 in 1994.

SPANISH MAIN YACHT CLUB

Barry and Teresa Pollack, of New Port Richey, sold their Unit 93 condominium at 847 Spanish Drive S. to Charles and Lauren Fizer, of Maitland, for $950,000. Built in 1968, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,399 square feet of living area. It sold for $604,000 in 2020.

SAND CAY

Donald Constantino, trustee, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, sold the Unit 202 condominium at 4725 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Jason James Jankowiak, of Buffalo, New York, for $910,000. Built in 1974, it has

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

These are the largest building permits issued by the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Department for the week of June 23-29 in order of dollar amounts.

LONGBOAT KEY

two bedrooms, two baths and 1,071 square feet of living area. It sold for $210,000 in 1991.

Bruce and Karen Goracke, of Waterloo, Nebraska, sold their Unit 220 condominium at 4725 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Cay 220 LLC for $1.01 million. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,071 square feet of living area. It sold for $335,000 in 2012.

WINDWARD BAY Patricia Hill, of Spring Hill, sold her Unit 202 condominium at 4960 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Andrew and Alexandra Carney, of Hinesville, Georgia, for $665,000. Built in 1975, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,096 square feet of living area. It sold for $280,000 in 2014.

Located at 3150 Bayou Sound, this three-bedroom home sold for $2.1 million.

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YOUR CALENDAR

MONDAY, JULY 10

MONDAY MATINEE

1 p.m. at the Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Be transported to 1950s London with the Paradise Center’s showing of “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.” The film follows a widowed cleaning lady who becomes obsessed with a client’s haute couture Dior dress and her journey to buying one of her own. Fresh popcorn will be provided. Fee is $15; free for members.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 12

VET’S CANTEEN

1-2 p.m. at the Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. U.S. Veterans are invited to connect, relax, share and support one another at this event sponsored by the Rotary Club of Longboat Key. Free admission. Walkins welcome.

RECURRING EVENTS

MONDAYS STRETCH AND STRENGTHEN

9 a.m to 12 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Class is mostly seated and great for all fitness levels. Focus is on strength training and flexibility for balance. Suzy Brenner leads the class. Fee is $15. Walk-ins welcome. Call 3836493.

MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS

LORD’S WAREHOUSE THRIFT

STORE

The thrift store will be open 9 a.m. to noon at 6140 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Donations are accepted during business hours. Call 383-4738.

TUESDAYS

QI GONG

From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Qi gong is a mind-body-spirit practice designed to improve mental and physical health. Class is outdoors, weather permitting. Cost is $15. Walk-ins welcome. Call 383-6493.

YOGA

From 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Debbie Debile of Feel Good Yoga & Massage leads a gentle yoga class that can be done on a mat or in a chair. Cost is $15; free for members. Call 383-6493.

BEST BET

SATURDAYS

PUBLIC TURTLE WALKS

6:45 a.m. at 4795 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Free. Join the Longboat Key Turtle Watch every Saturday in July and learn about protecting sea turtles. Participants will learn about turtle tracks and how volunteers scout the beaches for signs of turtle nesting. The walk will also provide information about keeping beaches safe for sea turtles. Please arrive by 6:45 a.m. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes and bring water and sunscreen. No unattended children please. In the event of severe weather, the walk may be canceled.

MAHJONG

From 1-3 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Fun time for experienced players. To check availability at the tables, email Amy@ TheParadiseCenter.org.

ROTARY CLUB

Meets at 5 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday in All Angels Parish Hall, 563 Bay Isles Road. Call Nancy Rozance at 203-605-4066 or email Info@LongboatKeyRotary.org.

TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS

LONGBOAT LIBRARY

Open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, 555 Bay Isles Road. Call 383-2011.

WEDNESDAYS

BEGINNER TAI CHI

From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Class is outdoors, weather permitting. Cost is $15. Walk-ins welcome. Call 3836493.

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By Luis Campos

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Sunny bay views welcome you to this 5thfloor Antigua residence, featuring a open concept, 3BR layout waiting for you to add your personal touches. Includes 2 deeded parking and private beach club access. www.GrandBay251.com

Discover the finest penthouse in Sarasota at this gorgeous, top-floor residence at L’Ambiance, just a few steps from the famed Longboat Key Club. Spectacular views from the Gulf to the Bay and downtown’s city skyline welcome you. The recent designer updates throughout this 3BR, nearly 5,000 SF residence are the perfect complement to the luxurious Gulf-to-bay lifestyle that awaits.

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$12,000,000

816 JUNGLE QUEEN WAY

Turnkey furnished! This lovely 3BR waterfront on Longboat Key is ready to enjoy! You will love the deeded beach access and easy boating access to Sarasota Bay. www.816JungleQueen.com

$2,495,000

Directly overlooking the coastal landscape of the Gulf, this private, custom estate rests on more than an acre,

The light and open interior of this 4BR home is spread across 3,300 SF, offering access to outdoor entertaining from nearly every room. Boaters will appreciate the newer seawall, rebuilt dock and deep-water lift. www.469EastRoyalFlamingo.com

$3,995,000

The walkable location of this St. Armands home will immediately draw you in. Ideally situated, offering an oversized, 1/4-acre lot for you to design your dream home. The best of Sarasota is a sunny bike ride away. www.201NorthWashington.com

$2,195,000

1642

Escape to this enchanting retreat “West of the Trail,” where you will be impressed by the warmth of sunlight filtering through the canopies of trees and the serene beauty of Zen gardens surrounding this gem. www.1642Shoreland.com

$1,895,000

173 CIPRIANI WAY

You will love the convenience of immediately enjoying this well-maintained home, with its sunny and open interior, 3BR plus den layout, and many resortstyle amenities that residents relish. www.173CiprianiWay.com

$1,595,000

235 COCOANUT AVENUE #125D

Only a few minutes from downtown Sarasota, this townhome is in a central location. You’ll feel right at home with its contemporary 2BR design and move-in ready condition.

www.MarqueeEnVille125D.com

$995,000

9150 BLIND PASS ROAD #505

Beautiful recent updates (including added square feet, impact windows) and sunny water views create the perfect spot for you to move right into at this FURNISHED, 2BR Fishermans Haven, 5th-floor residence.

www.FishermansHaven505.com

$839,000

$549,000

549 SUTTON PLACE

Delight in the best of both worlds at this beach-to-bay townhome at Sutton Place on Longboat Key. Offered furnished and move-in ready, with deeded beach access.

www.549SuttonPlace.com

$499,000

West of the Trail, discover this exceptional opportunity to design your dream home on more than 20,000 SF just moments from all the charms of Sarasota. www.2315WebberStreet.com

$445,000

2315 WEBBER STREET

415 L’AMBIANCE DRIVE #PH-A

SHORELAND DRIVE

201 NORTH WASHINGTON DRIVE

3040 GRAND BAY BOULEVARD #251

469 EAST ROYAL FLAMINGO DRIVE

7652 SANDERLING ROAD