Longboat Observer 6.20.24

YOUR TOWN

Sign of the times

The shell mural spelling out

“We Love LBK” at the public beach access on Bay Isles Road has one letter missing because a sea turtle has laid her eggs on the “K.”

Residents Michele De Luce and Leighton Allenby built the shell mural from 500 pounds of shells on their morning beach walks a year ago. Since it has become a community staple, De Luce and Allenby created a Facebook group called “We Love Longboat Key” as a space for new and seasoned Longboaters to make friends. The group goes on beach walks, hunts for shells and promotes community events such as beach clean-ups. The “We Love Longboat Key” group will be having its first happy hour at 4 p.m. on June 20 at the Chart House. To join, visit Facebook.com/Groups/ WeLoveLongboatKey/.

Kids camp at Mote

Summer camps are in full swing, and this year, Longboat Key Turtle Watch continued the tradition of sending local elementary school kids to camp.

Isabella Disalvo, McKenzie Campany, Lumyn Fetzer and Mary Campany submitted applications to be considered for Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium Summer Camp scholarships.

LBKTW has been sending at least two kids to the camps since 2009. A portion of LBKTW’s annual donation to Mote includes two scholarships in honor of Orville Clayton, one of the founders of LBKTW. Two other campers were sponsored in honor of Lucinda Hathaway. She was a longtime LBKTW member and active with Anna Maria Elementary.

As part of the scholarship, the four kids get to attend Mote’s summer camp and are asked to complete a two-page journal.

LOOKING AT YOU ...

The Longboat Pass Bridge is obsolete. But LBK residents are concerned about the size and scale of its replacement.

Courtesy image

Isabella Disalvo, McKenzie Campany, Lumyn Fetzer and Mary Campany

Courtesy image

A sailboat passes through the Longboat Pass Bridge, which was originally constructed in 1957 and reconstructed in 2005 and 2020.

Strategic staffing

Longboat Key to add new town engineer position amid other operational increases.

CARTER WEINHOFER STAFF WRITER

This upcoming year, the town may add one new full-time Public Works employee, while other positions requested by the police and fire rescue departments will stay off the table.

Personnel and operating expenditures were one of the focuses at the Longboat Key Town Commission’s second workshop for the preliminary fiscal year 2025 budget. In that workshop, Town Manager Howard Tipton presented the budget he crafted along with the Finance Department and all other department heads.

In the preliminary FY25 budget, personnel expenditures are estimated to cost $18,397,816, an increase of $1,614,804, or 9.6%, from the previous year.

Total operating expenditures are estimated to be $4,226,269, an increase of 10.8% or $413,667 from FY24.

That brings the General Fund Operating Expenditure budget

(without capital) to $22,624,085 for FY25, which is a 9.85% increase from FY24.

Revenues from ad valorem taxes, non ad valorem taxes and a potential canal ad valorem tax total $23,237,311.

The majority of that — $17,199,902 — comes from ad valorem (property) taxes.

Tipton outlined some of the town’s financial challenges, including increasing inflationary pressures.

Inflationary pressures also contributed to the need to increase wages to remain competitive. This is especially important, Tipton said, because of challenges recruiting workers to the public sector. Anecdotally, Tipton said finding people who want to jump from the private to public sector is difficult.

“We have to continue to make investments in salaries and benefits in order to maintain the current strong position that the town has carved out,” Tipton said.

Personnel costs account for 73% of the General Fund Budget in FY25.

General employee increases are an estimated $460,262.

“You will see that employee wage adjustments are a major component of the budget increase that we’re seeing, both with general employees as well as incorporating the police and fire contracts,” Tipton said.

Employee investments also include newly negotiated union contracts with the International

Association of Fire Fighters and the Florida Police Benevolent Association. The contracts were a big topic in the last budget cycle when negotiations wrapped up.

This year, the contracts account for a $320,388 increase from the IAFF contract and $64,113 for the PBA contract.

According to Budget Manager Sandi Henley, the contracts are front-loaded, meaning the first year of increases will be the largest. That’s the case for the IAFF contract this year, whereas the PBA contract is in its second year.

Another $90,000 will go toward police overtime for patrolling Greer Island (Beer Can Island). Recently, Manatee County Commissioners agreed to an increase in the county’s contribution to this, which resulted in an increase of $20,000 annually, up from $60,000 to $80,000.

Tipton also mentioned that worker’s compensation was expected to rise 5% due to the changes in salaries, and health care was estimated to increase 12%.

Operating expenditures account for 17% of the General Fund Budget in FY25 and go toward things like flood insurance, police uniforms and training for new employees.

SELECTING NEW STAFF

Tipton shared that feedback from department heads indicated staffing desires in multiple areas.

The Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department requested two new personnel — a total of six over the next three years — and the Longboat Key Police Department requested three new officers. Also, a Geographic Information Systems analyst and a town engineer were requested.

The Tennis Center asked that one of its part-time employees be promoted to full time.

After analyzing all the requests, Tipton and staff settled on making room in the budget for a town engineer, a new position and the promotion of the Tennis Center employee.

“The positions that I’m supporting for this budget include the new town engineer who will be a complement to Isaac and his team as we look at resilience and really looking at the project management that’s going to be required to move those projects forward,” Tipton said.

The engineer, based out of the Public Works Department, will be funded 75% from the General Fund and 25% from the Utilities Fund. The upgrade for the Tennis Cen

ter employee will be funded 100% through tennis fees.

The FY25 budget includes $67,700 for GIS and other potential contract services, which could help address the desire to incorporate more GIS into town departments. GIS is a program that uses data to create visual representations of geographic information, which are used in mapping.

-

Lori Sax

Town Manager

Howard Tipton said increased inflation has been a challenge in crafting the Longboat Key budget.

PATRON APPEAL

For an enhanced public library, the LBK Foundation needs to raise $3.5 million.

Spearheaded by Jim Brown, the Longboat Key Foundation will soon begin a fundraising campaign to gather at least $3.5 million for the Sarasota County library project on the island.

Though the Longboat Key Foundation only has until the end of August to raise the money, Brown feels cautiously confident about the possibility.

The Sarasota County-led project will bring a public library to the Town Center Green on Longboat Key. The county will be financially responsible for the core library building, which would be about 8,780 square feet and is estimated to cost $11.1 million.

Optional enhancements — an expanded meeting room and a terrace — are also possible, but must be funded through private donations. The enhanced meeting room could accommodate up to 200 people and has a partition wall to separate into two smaller rooms if needed. The outdoor terrace overlooks the Town Center Green.

The enhancements are expected to total about $3.5 million: $2 million for the meeting space and $1.5 million for the terrace. The total square footage for the library with enhancements would be around 11,230 square feet

That would bring the project’s estimated cost to about $14.6 million if the funds can be raised for the enhancements.

Brown, a Longboat Key resident and former mayor, met with Town Manager Howard Tipton on the day of the June 3 commission meeting to discuss the foundation’s role in fundraising.

At the commission meeting, Tipton and Support Services Director Carolyn Brown updated commissioners on the project, including the latest renderings that show the library with and without enhancements.

Brown — also a former architect — said that he had some questions about the drafts and wanted answers

CONTACT THE LONGBOAT KEY FOUNDATION

Jim Brown and the Longboat Key Foundation can be contacted at JimBrown@ LBKFoundation.org, or through the website at LBKFoundation.

before putting together an official marketing package for potential donors.

Once the county returns with the final drawings, Brown said he will be ready to officially start the fundraising process.

FUNDRAISING STRATEGIES

Though the campaign hasn’t kicked off yet, Brown said there’s already interest in the library project.

He said one person has donated $100,000, and a couple people indicated interest in naming rights.

To have naming rights, a donor must fund 25% of the total estimated project cost. For the library with enhancements, 25% of the $14.6 million total would be about $3.65 million.

That’s also about the same amount that Longboat Key needs to contribute to make the enhancements possible. So, if someone were to donate for naming rights, that would automatically move the project forward with enhancements.

“We’re hoping something like that will happen,” Brown said.

The Longboat Key Foundation has until the end of August to secure the extra $3.5 million for the enhanced version. By then, the county must tell the architects to move forward with either the core or enhanced version.

One issue Brown sees is the time of year. Heading into summer and out of peak season, lots of part-time residents have left the island. Brown said he is a little worried that part of the population will have an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality.

But Brown’s strategy is simple: Get the word out in as many ways as possible.

He said he’s hopeful donors will approach the foundation on their own but, if needed, Brown said he has a list of other foundations and individual donors that can be called to see if they have interest.

Brown said some people would prefer donations to remain anonymous. Naming rights, though, are generally attractive to most other donors.

“But some people want (naming rights), and hopefully those people are going to come forward in this case,” Brown said.

The latest large-scale project the foundation assisted with was the Karon Family Pavilion on the Town Center Green, which officially opened in November 2023.

When tasked with raising the $500,000 originally needed for the pavilion, Brown said an article ran in the Longboat Observer about the fundraising campaign. A day after the story ran, Brown said he had a call from someone wanting to donate for naming rights.

But the donor couldn’t meet for a couple of days.

The following day, Brown said he received a call from the Karon family asking the same thing. The Karons were able to meet the same day and offered the $500,000 donation, which also granted them naming rights.

Issues with contractors and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project and, according to Brown, a rebid came in at around $850,000.

It took the Longboat Key Foundation seven days to raise the $350,000 needed, Brown said.

This time, Brown has until the end of August, or a little more than 60 days.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to raise the funds in the period of time,” Brown said. “If not, maybe we can talk to delay it a little bit.”

POSSIBILITIES FOR DONORS

On May 22, the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners approved the guidelines for name-giving rights as outlined by the Libraries and Historical Resources Department.

“With new and expanded facilities on the horizon, such as the Longboat Key Library and County History Center, along with growing program offerings, Libraries and Historical Resources has the opportunity to accept significant donations that would warrant recognition through a formal naming process,” the memo stated.

In the guidelines, the LHR Department stated that a minimum of 25% of the estimated project cost is necessary for naming rights on entirely new facilities.

The rights are generally granted for the life of the facility and will not be transferred if the space is demolished for a new facility.

For areas within facilities or on the grounds, like particular rooms within the library, the LHR Department and county would consider those on a case-by-case basis.  Additionally, naming rights are possible for programs or services offered at the library.

As the guidelines state, “Associating a name with a program demonstrates strong commitment on the part of any donor. Funding arrangements that best serve LHR can be negotiated by the department Director and subject to approval by the County.”

The possible terrace is shown on the back end of the rendering of the enhanced library.

A draft rendering shows the view from the terrace, overlooking the Town Center Green.

A side view of a rendering of the enhanced library

Draft rendering of the enhanced library that shows the front entrance

A bridge too wide?

condominium complex.

At the June 17 commission workshop, Project Manager Patrick Bateman said the new bridge would need to be built to the west of the existing bridge for multiple reasons.

While Longboat Key commissioners agree that a new Longboat Pass Bridge is necessary, the question of how high and wide it needs to be remains unanswered.

Representatives with the Florida Department of Transportation attended the Longboat Key Town Commission’s June 17 workshop to discuss with commissioners possible solutions to concerns voiced by commissioners and community

members.

The FDOT hosted a public workshop on March 14 to discuss the alternatives for the Longboat Pass Bridge, which is functionally obsolete according to the department. Alternatives included three build alternatives and a no-build alternative.

After the workshop, various community members from both the east and west of the Longboat Key side of the bridge raised concerns about the alternatives. Specifically, residents of Northgate were concerned about the new bridge’s proximity to the

“We’re doing a shift to the side because we need to keep the existing bridge open,” Bateman said. “And going to the west, that’s keeping the bridge within FDOT property.”

Moving west means moving closer to Northgate. The residents of the condominium complex previously reached out to town commissioners, staff and FDOT representatives.

“We did get a lot of feedback from the condo regarding the proximity to it,” Bateman said.

The existing bridge is 95 feet away from Northgate. As the alternatives were last presented, all three would

land around 36.5 feet away from Northgate.

“And this does take out a lot of the vegetative buffer that’s in between the condo and the road,” Bateman said.

But the discussion on June 17 focused on potential reductions in the width of the alternatives, which would push the new bridge to 45 feet away from Northgate.

WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES?

The no-build alternative would keep the existing bridge, which was built in 1957.

The bridge is a bascule bridge (drawbridge) that stands 17 feet above the mean high-water line. It is classified as functionally obsolete due to its age and the design of the shoulders and traffic barriers.

Bateman estimated that maintenance costs for the bridge could run to around $55 million over the next 30 years.

The alternative bridges, on the other hand, would be expected to last upwards of 75 years.

The first two alternatives are also bascule bridges, one at 23 feet high and the second at 36 feet high. The low-level bridge would cost around $147-158 million and the midlevel bridge would be around $153-$165 million.

Bascule bridges, in general, cost more than fixed bridges, according to Bateman.

The fixed bridge is the third bridge alternative for Longboat Pass. That alternative would be 78 feet high, making it tied for the fifth-highest bridge in the state. It would be higher than most other bridges in the nearby area, Bateman said.

All of the alternatives also include a 90-foot-wide clearance in the channel, whereas the current bridge has a 50-foot clearance.

COMMUNITY CHARACTER

After Bateman’s initial presentation, commissioners and community members were loaded with questions.

“This whole project, for us, involves two issues if we can break it down like that,” Mayor Ken Schneier said. “One is safety, and the other is character.”

Maintaining community character, for the commission, means ensuring the bridge isn’t encroaching too close to residents’ properties. Most also agreed that the fifthhighest bridge in the state doesn’t fit Longboat Key’s vision.

Bateman said the height of the fixed bridge — 78 feet — was based on a suggestion by the U.S. Coast Guard. According to Bateman, the Coast Guard said that height would allow for most vessels to pass through without needing a drawbridge.

Vice Mayor Mike Haycock and District 4 Commissioner Debra Williams questioned this suggestion, citing that not many sailboats would need that high of a clearance. The two asked if Bateman knew how many or what types of vessels that was accounting for.

Bateman didn’t have a clear answer but reiterated the decision was largely based on the Coast Guard’s recommendation.

Additionally, Bateman presented some suggestions for reducing the width of the alternatives.

Right now, all alternatives have a 12-foot shared-use path, 12-foot

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File image

A study done by the Florida Department of Transportation estimated that the current drawbridge is raised about 100-300 times a month.

shoulder and 12-foot travel lane on each side of the roadway.

Bateman said a standard shoulder is 10 feet, which could be implemented here and reduce the overall width by four feet. Additionally, he suggested that the traffic lanes could be reduced by one to two feet.

In terms of safety, commissioners raised concerns over the slope of the fixed bridge. The 4% slope may be too difficult for some of Longboat Key’s resident cyclists, commissioners said.

Haycock suggested it would be helpful for the FDOT representatives to come back with a report on how the fixed bridge alternative compares with the Ringling Causeway.

Another one of Bateman’s suggestions was to eliminate one of the 12-foot shared-use paths and have it only on one side.

But that raised more questions: Should the path go on the east or west side? Should bikes be allowed on the path, or only on the shoulder?

Schneier also asked if, instead, four feet could be eliminated from each shared use path. This would bring them to eight feet, which aligns with the town’s long-term complete street vision.

“This whole project, for us, involves two issues if we can break it down like that. One is safety, and the other is character.”

— Mayor Ken Schneier

trespassers under the existing bridge landing.

“This last weekend, I asked some people who were trespassing to leave; they threatened me with violence, and I had to call the Longboat Police Department,” Ghosh said. “Unfortunately, that’s getting more and more common. With the reduction of vegetation, this area is going to be thoroughly exposed.”

Courtesy image

Proposed lane configurations for Longboat Pass Bridge design alternatives

Boat crash leaves 1 dead

The Friday night incident involved a single vehicle with seven passengers.

CARTER WEINHOFER STAFF WRITER

A boat crash just off Longboat Key on Friday night left two with serious injuries, one of whom has died as a result of the injuries.

The incident occurred just before 7 p.m. Friday, June 14, off Jungle Queen Way near the 5500 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive.

A 24-foot vessel with seven passengers collided with a boat marker, according to the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department.

The incident resulted in two victims as trauma alerts, one of which was transported as a code.

The coded victim was ejected from the vessel with serious injuries to the body, said Fire Administration Manager and Public Information Officer Tina Adams.

That victim died at the hospital over the weekend.

Two other passengers were treated and released and the three other passengers were unharmed.

Northgate resident Ben Ghosh was the first to speak in the public comment selection and said he feels as though the new bridge could be built so that the landing on the Longboat Key end is in the same location as the existing bridge.

Moving the bridge closer to his condo complex also would mean moving the landing — or where the bridge meets the road — closer to the condos, which would also clear out much of the existing vegetation.

This poses a safety threat, Ghosh said, because there are frequently

“I think we would be more comfortable to keep one at 12 (feet) and then cut it on the one side,” Bateman replied. That’s because the FDOT considers two feet already as a buffer, so the suggestion of eliminating two feet already makes it an effective eightfoot shared-use path.

Ghosh said he and other residents have been awaiting more engagement with them from the FDOT, but that has yet to come. He thanked the commissioners for their engagement and said he hopes the elected officials will continue to help get answers.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The project is currently still in the PD&E phase. Next, the FDOT will make a formal recommendation for what bridge alternative would be best, which will be followed by a public hearing. Bateman said the FDOT is targeting next March for the public hearing.

The project is funded through design, but not yet construction. According to Bateman, the FDOT would look at 2032 for funding and construction.

Beyond First Class™

The Longboat Key Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Coast Guard, Manatee County Lifeguards and Manatee County Fire Rescue were among the responding agencies at the incident on Friday.

The FWC is investigating the incident further.

Deadline is set

FPL commits to finish utilities undergrounding project by end of 2024.

CARTER WEINHOFER

STAFF WRITER

Florida Power & Light com-

mitted to Longboat Key staff that the undergrounding project will finish in 2024, as long as the storm season doesn’t present any setbacks.

At the Town Commission’s June 17 workshop, Director of Public Works Isaac Brownman said that FPL committed to a timeline that includes electrical conversions being completed in early October and existing electrical poles removed by Dec. 31.

“Basically, the commission challenged us as a project team at the last meeting to really tighten up, develop a final completion timeframe that makes sense and is reasonable and deliver on that,” Brownman said at the start of his presentation.

When the project first started, the original completion date was the end of 2022.

Brownman told commissioners that FPL has stepped up in its efforts to wrap up the project. According to his recent talks with the company, Longboat Key switching orders now can bypass other areas. Additionally, the switching orders can be approved in larger groups, and FPL now has a dedicated staff member for the Longboat Key project.

Those efforts, Brownman said, demonstrate FPL’s commitment to get the job done.

“So, in other words, FPL has assured the town, the commission and us that they’re doing business differently to get our project done,” Brownman said.

The goal is to complete electrical conversions by Oct. 1; Brownman said FPL was hesitant to set a specific date in October. But Brownman told commissioners that pressure will be on FPL to get those done earlier in October rather than later.

In addition, Brownman said he and the project team will provide monthly updates to commissioners from now until the end of the project.

There will also be updates for residents as to when their properties are scheduled to be energized, according to Brownman.

While FPL committed to the timelines, Brownman said the company stipulated that it depends on storm season. Now almost a month into what’s anticipated to be an active hurricane season, major storms could lead to setbacks in the timeline.

Brownman said when a storm hits Florida, FPL’s resources are diverted to the affected area. That also includes Wilco Electrical, since it is an FPL-qualified contractor.

Last hurricane season, major flooding from Hurricane Idalia caused new underground transformers to fail in some areas.

After FPL’s forensic investigation found that the transformers failed due to saltwater intrusion, the company decided to raise the underground transformers in the areas that failed.

Starting in mid-July, those transformers will be raised from six-inch platforms to 24-inch pads. This part of the construction will last about a month, Brownman said.

FPL will then see how well those perform and assess whether more mitigation measures are necessary.

Brownman shared more good news with commissioners: The project is about $6 million under budget.

St. Regis hiring event draws crowd

ith the St. Regis Longboat Key expected to open this summer, General Manager Winfred van Workum and his team had a big goal: hire for more than 400 positions spanning from housekeepers to butlers.

It wasn’t van Workum’s first time overseeing a St. Regis hiring event, but this time, he was surprised and impressed with the quantity and quality of applicants. He said there was a line out the door of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center even before the event started at 10 a.m. on June 12.

“I think the turnout has been really fantastic, but also the quality of applicants is impressive,” van Workum said at the event.

Director of Human Resources Clariseli Acosta gave a rough estimate that a little more than 500 people attended the hiring event. Overall, there was lots of interest across the board, but especially in food and beverage.

Van Workum said many candidates from local restaurants were excited about something different and for the new concepts promised by the resort. There were a lot of culinary candidates who did their homework before interviewing with the chefs.

The event was like St. Regis speed dating, van Workum said.

Candidates checked in at the Van Wezel lobby and, as long as they filled out an application beforehand, were asked to wait in the lobby for their turn for an interview.

When candidates’ turns were up, they would be escorted to the large meeting space filled with small tables. On the other side of the tables were managerial staff for the St. Regis Longboat Key, from the head chef to the general curator for the 350,000-gallon lagoon.

Interviews for St. Regis staff typically last an hour, van Workum said, but for these events, the interviews are around 30 minutes.

After the interview, candidates may be offered a job or asked to continue to a second interview. For some positions, van Workum said it’s important to have multiple interviews to ensure it’s a good fit for both the candidate and resort.

Aside from the hiring event, van Workum had other good news: The St. Regis recently acquired temporary certificates of occupancy.

That’s a huge milestone, van Workum said, and it will allow the development team to stay on track.

As long as there aren’t any storms that could cause delays — or other sudden disruptions — van Workum said the team is still aiming for a summer opening.

Courtesy image

A rendering of the reception area of the St. Regis Longboat Key features a mural and bar.

File image

This graphic shows the four phases of Longboat Key’s utility project.

For Sarasota school board

After four years of culture wars, the fallout from COVID and changing to a new superintendent, the school board needs stability and consistency.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of the Observer’s recommendations for the Aug. 20 primary elections in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Whenever the subject of the Sarasota County School Board surfaces in conversation, Sarasotans’ eyes roll. They immediately think of the school board meetings over the past four years, and they can’t help but remark: “What a s--- show.”

It’s embarrassing.

A public blemish that just can’t seem to go away.

Time after time, the parade of activists from the left and right go to the podium to spew their three minutes of hostility, airing their pent-up frustrations, oblivious to the fact they’re adding nothing positive, only digging the hole of hate deeper.

Not helping are two school board members — Bridget Ziegler and Tom Edwards, who stoke the politics and division with their opposite-side activism.

They all trigger that now-famous plea from the 1992 Los Angeles riot peacemaker, Rodney King: “I just want to say, you know, can we, can we all get along?”

All this board meeting rancor and the culture wars that have raged like El Ninos throughout America’s public school systems for the past four years — probably in Sarasota as intensely as anywhere — are ample illustrations of what we have contended all along about public education. Coercive, tax-funded, state-controlled, collectivist, supposed equal education for all inevitably ends up with what we have been witnessing in Sarasota:

Disparate groups of agitators demanding greater shares of limited resources; school board members handcuffed by the rules sent down from Tallahassee and Washington; and school administrators and teachers barraged on all sides — mandates from above, indifferent or overbearing parents and students whose every need is different. It’s a recipe for mediocrity at best. At best.

Even in Sarasota’s highly regarded public schools, only 30% of third graders were reading at grade level not that long ago. Horrendous.

But there is good news. Scores actually are on a path of improvement. Third grade reading scores in the past year rose an eye-catching 7%, up 14% if you exclude charter schools. The highly acclaimed work of Superintendent Terry Connor, one year into his job, is fueling turnaround momentum.

The challenge for voters, then, is to select candidates in the Aug. 20 primary and perhaps the November general election who best can keep that going.

In the District 2 race, the winner will be elected. In District 3, if one of the candidates wins 50% or more of the vote, he wins. If not, the top two finishers will face each other in the November election.

The school board races are labeled nonpartisan, but the reality is they are decidedly partisan. The campaign contributors tell the story.

If you peruse the names of contributors to the four candidates running for school board (see box), they clearly break down as follows:

■ District 2: Incumbent Karen Rose has Republican backing, and challenger Liz Barker has Democrat backing.

■ District 3: Incumbent Tom Edwards has Democrat backing, while challenger Gregory Wood has some Republican backing, and Thomas Babicz is struggling with few knowing his great story. Despite the partisanship, party affiliation should not matter, because here is what the taxpayers need from the school board: stability, consistency, predictability and the purging of politics and chaos.

ELECTION ’24 SARASOTA SCHOOL BOARD

DISTRICT 2

Karen Rose / Liz Barker

With Karen Rose and Robyn Marinelli, Sarasota taxpayers have two board members who have strong, deep-rooted knowledge of the schools, teachers, culture and what works and doesn’t. Combined, they have worked in the district 64 years. Rose, 72, has had classroom experience as an exceptional student educator; 12 years as a principal of Brookside and Sarasota middle schools; and her last post as executive director of the district’s middle schools for three years. She has a master’s in education with a focus on behavior disorders. And when Rose corners you, her focus is on student performance data.

Altogether, Rose is a trove of historical wisdom, always pushing for improved academic results.

She is one of the board members who became alarmed about the district’s academic direction and led for a change in leadership.

Many district observers believe Rose and her colleagues made a colossal mistake when they dismissed Superintendent Brennan Asplen. But insiders have told us Asplen was not the total all-star as perceived and that the leadership of new Superintendent Terry Connor is shifting the trendline of declining and stagnant academic performance to an upward slope. Effective leaders bring out the best in people.

Even board member Tom Edwards, an ardent supporter of Asplen, acknowledges that Connor is doing an exceptional job.

Then why disrupt that momentum?

It’s irrefutable that whenever any organization makes changes at the top — whether bringing in a new CEO or a new board member intent on effecting change — the result is organizational and personnel disruption. Momentum stops. Months, if not more, go by as everyone tries to adjust. Progress is halted or lost.

Rose’s opponent, first-time candidate and a three-year resident of Sarasota, Liz Barker, wants change. Like everyone else, she wants to rid the board of the political divisiveness.

Barker, 40, is a former school psychologist and mother of four children in Sarasota’s public schools. She would represent the beginning of a generational shift on the school board. She currently is president of the Lakeview Elementary School PTA. Kudos for her involvement.

Indeed, we’ll give credit to anyone willing to enter the arena of elected public service. That takes courage and a passion for wanting to make a difference or right a perceived wrong.

But when Barker talks of ending the politics, how would that happen? She has expressed at public appearances disagreement with the education policies of Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature. But the fact is, much of the political divisiveness infecting the board has occurred because of the policies adopted in Tallahassee. Local school boards are merely the implementers of the governor and Legislature’s mandates.

Unfortunately, in the case of the Sarasota School Board, as noted above, board members Ziegler and Edwards are political activists who fuel the political discord. Until they are gone (Ziegler’s term ends in 2026.), Barker isn’t likely to make much of a difference. Altogether, Barker is young, unknown and untested. Rose has

BY THE NUMBERS

Here is a summary of campaign contributions as of June 17:

DISTRICT 2

LIZ BARKER

■ Contributions: $172,336

■ # of contributors: 1,200

■ Contributors of $1,000 or more: 45

■ Barker’s personal contributions: $100

KAREN ROSE

■ Contributions: $105,050

■ # of contributors: 188

■ Contributors of $1,000 or more: 56

■ Rose’s personal contributions: $31,637

DISTRICT 3

THOMAS BABICZ

■ Contributions: $13,625

■ # of contributors: 22

■ Contributors of $1,000 or more: 1

■ Babicz’s personal contributions: $12,229

TOM EDWARDS

■ Contributions: $159,562

■ # of contributors: 1,158

■ Contributors of $1,000 or more: 36

■ Edwards’ personal contributions: $100

GREGORY WOOD

■ Contributions: $14,305

■ # of contributors: 61

■ Contributors of $1,000 or more: 2

■ Wood’s personal contributions: $5,414

Source: Sarasota County supervisor of elections

weathered and persevered one of the most difficult periods in board history in the past 30 years. With Superintendent Connor, the board and district are on a positive course. Turnarounds take time and need predictability and consistency. For this seat, stay the course.

We recommend: Karen Rose

District 3

Thomas Babicz / Tom Edwards / Gregory Wood

More often than not in politics, name recognition and incumbency carry a candidate to victory.

In that vein, incumbent School Board member Tom Edwards is hoping those two characteristics will carry him to a victory in the primary over his two largely unknown opponents, Thomas Babicz, a retired IT programmer and manager from Venice, and Gregory Wood, a Sarasota Realtor and former head coach of the Sarasota Scullers.

Edwards for sure has made a name for himself. Wow, he never holds back. Take your pick of board member comments at school board meetings. For instance, tune in to the end of the May 7 board meeting, where you’ll see an animated and red-faced Edwards — a frequent posture — unloading on his board nemesis, Ziegler, and her Title IX resolution.

If say Ziegler zigs with a politically conservative soliloquy, Edwards is sure to zag with his own disparaging or questioning soliloquy representing the opposite side or different point of view.

You can say that is his role. Often the loser in 4-1 votes, Edwards can be viewed as the devil’s advocate, which, to an extent, can be healthy. Effective boards need directors with different perspectives and ideas — far healthier than having five nodding heads who agree on everything.

What’s more, there is no questioning Edwards’ passion for the school district and his wanting to make it the best in the state. He would cite his advocacy for such programs as pre-K funding, a trades academy at Riverview High School or an AI film lab at Booker High. Edwards, 65, a retired entrepreneur, also brings valuable financial and

business acumen to the board. But while he often harps on the need to extricate the board from its four years of divisive politics, Edwards contributes to the charged atmosphere. Watch his six-minute speech at the end of the June 4 meeting. Edwards responds to what he called a “divisive hit job that did find its way into my inbox.”

One of the crucial moments in his speech was when he said: “I am not in favor of boys in girls’ restrooms. I am not in favor of boys in girls’ changing rooms.” And he added: “I think that hit job also was to harass and diminish our trans students. So, while I’m on that moment … from my seat on this dais, I wish you all a Happy Pride.”

On observing this, a viewer logically could ask: What did that have to do with advancing the education of Sarasota students? In these frequent moments, Edwards often comes across as an angry man at constant odds with his fellow board members. Strife hangs over the board at every meeting.

Which raises the questions: Is he a help or a hindrance? Would it be better to have one of his opponents fill his slot? Who would be best to further the forward momentum of the district?

Thomas Babicz has a wonderful personal story (see ElectBabicz. com) — how he grew up in Gdansk, Poland, under Soviet communism; how he escaped to West Berlin and eventually made it to the U.S. with $32 in his pocket. He writes that he “survived the first two weeks in America by eating one slice of pizza per day and drinking water from a sink.”

Babicz is a classic story of a penniless immigrant who achieved the American dream — becoming a successful corporate IT manager who, with his wife, raised three children. He says he wants to give back to his adopted country. “He saw how communism in Poland started in the schools there, and he knows how to stop it from spreading and festering here,” says his campaign biography. “It starts with educating our next generation in the Truth.”

Babicz is a wise, calm, thoughtful, talented IT man, but also a political novice and unknown. He has raised $13,625 toward his campaign from 18 contributors, with $12,000 of that amount his own.

Odds for victory: a miracle.

For Gregory Wood, the odds are similar. Father of three young children, Wood, 44, has lived in Sarasota five years. He wants to serve and has the demeanor suited to be a calming voice. He ran for the school board in 2022 but dropped out because of an illness in the family.

Like Babicz, Wood has little name recognition and thin experience in Sarasota politics.

As of this week, his campaign contributions totaled $14,795 from 62 contributors and $5,400 of that his own. In his favor, Wood is a member of the Audit Committee for the Republican Party of Sarasota County. With Republicans outnumbering Democrats in Sarasota County 151,497 to 86,162, Wood could have a mathematical chance to reach a runoff in November. In 2020, Edwards won with 53,000 votes. The outcome of this race hinges on voters’ view of Edwards as a contributor or a detractor. Edwards is a supporter of Superintendent Connor, a fiscal conservative and passionate about the district’s schools — attributes that can further forward momentum. But his political activism and tirades are exasperating and unproductive. Put yourself in the shoes of a board member. Which would you rather have for stability moving forward — the novice father-businessman who likely would diffuse the politics or the aggressive devil’s advocate who challenges the establishment? We recommend: Gregory Wood

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Liz Barker

Karen Rose

Tom Edwards

Gregory Wood

Thomas Babicz

Ounce of prehab is worth a pound of rehab

Healthy lifestyle choices can help prevent injuries and preserve mobility.

MIRABAI HOLLAND CONTRIBUTOR

Nobody wants to grow old. But no matter what your age, losing your mobility, even temporarily, due to an orthopedic injury, can make you feel old fast.

If you’re young and active, you feel kind of indestructible until an injury happens. That’s dangerous.

And if you are old, you’re probably scared of losing your mobility and independence. Nobody gets up in the morning thinking: I feel like getting a nice orthopedic injury today. What can I do to help that along? But we have them anyway, even if we’re disease free.

We overuse our bodies or use them wrong. We break hips and legs. We get strains and sprains. We get hurt at work, at home or playing sports.

Whether you’re a young person having fun or an older one trying to stay active to avoid decrepitude, you can benefit from prehab.

Once you’re injured, there’s excellent treatment, including hightech orthopedic surgery and rehab available.

Talking with Dr. Edward J. Stolarski, a prominent orthopedic joint replacement surgeon from Kennedy White Orthopedic Center in Sarasota he said: “(Having) performed over 20,000 total joint replacements you would think my focus is on surgery, but really it’s not. My focus is on quality of life. So the focus should really be on the prehab and the exercise which is going to No. 1, perhaps prepare you for surgery and maybe more importantly prevent you (from having) surgery. If we get you in better shape, stronger physically and mentally, yes, you might not need surgery or you may be able to delay it … An ounce of prehab is

worth a pound of rehab.”

There is a lot you can do to prevent orthopedic injuries in the first place. If you want to stay active and mobile, consider prehab today to avoid rehab tomorrow.

There are two types of prehab: general and sport specific.

GENERAL PREHAB

Every day, we run for the bus or the phone, load groceries in the car, pick up children or pets and a million other things we take for granted. These all carry a risk for injury, and I’ll bet we can all remember being injured doing them.

Luckily for most of us, the injuries were limited to a little pull or sprain. But people do fall and break bones, dislocate limbs, have heart attacks and worse because they’re not fit enough for that activity at that moment.

Being inactive and overweight adds to the mix. A simple fitness and weight management program may be all you need to help prevent orthopedic injuries during everyday activities.

General prehab for daily living as part of a personal wellness program looks at the body as a whole and develops it as a whole to maximize quality of life. This often includes strength training, cardio conditioning, and core training, as well as some proprioceptive exercises.

No use doing all that prehab

training if you’re going to go out and eat junk either. Prehab is a lifestyle for longevity training and it needs to include a medium-calorie diet of real food and managing stress and sleep. Yeah, it’s that old healthy lifestyle again, and it works if you give it a chance.

SPORT-SPECIFIC PREHAB

Just playing your sport is not enough. Doing it even a little wrong can result in a permanent injury or worse.

Sport-specific prehab is designed to get you ready for the rigors of a particular sport or physical endeavor.

Good activity-specific exercises pay special attention to the body parts most involved in that activity or sport with regard to use and form without ignoring the training of the body as a whole. Sport-specific training is available at many gyms and community centers.

Mirabai Holland is CEO of NuVue LLC, a health education and video production company. She is a certified health coach, exercise physiologist and wellness consultant for Manatee County government and has a private practice. Her wellness programs are implemented worldwide. She is also an artist who believes creativity enhances health. Contact her at AskMirabai@ MovingFree. com.

The straight poop

I’ve previously written about people not cleaning up after their dogs. I cited what I thought was a comprehensive list of reasons. However, I have forgotten a major reason — not having a dog on a leash as required by city ordinances.

I guess I assumed that everyone would be following the leash ordinance; after all, it is for the safety of the dogs and the residents. But we all know what happens when we assume. I witnessed flagrant disregard for the leash law on city streets, and of course at Joan Durante and Bayfront Park.

I am not sure why someone would let their dog run loose at the parks. There are signs everywhere indicating that dogs must be on a leash. I was advised by some owners of unleashed dogs that at Joan Durante dogs could run free at the little beach between the boardwalks, approved by some nebulous person. Nonetheless, that is not accurate, and unfortunately, no one has the authority to grant exceptions to the city ordinance to have your dog always leashed.

So, what does this have to do with the “poop problem.” Easy, if a dog is not leashed and running free on the trails or in the common areas, then an owner has no idea when and where the dog has pooped. This is above and beyond the safety issues associated with unleashed dogs.

At my previous residence in the White Mountains, my dogs ran free on millions of acres of National Park lands. We had to teach them to be leashed when we moved to Longboat Key. So again, it begs the question, much like not cleaning up poop, why would anyone flagrantly disregard the city ordinance regarding leashing dogs?

Again, these people must assume they are “above the law,” privileged and entitled, to say, better than everyone else. I am beginning to understand why neighboring city residents refer to us as “Longnose Key.”

As I stated previously, we have a beautiful island that is dog friendly, but if people continue to disregard the pet laws, picking up poop and having the dog leased, the next step will be to ban dogs completely from the Joan Durante and/or Bayfront Park, much like they are at Quick Point Nature Preserve and Overlook Park. It would be a tragedy for the dogs and their owners, that a few people who think the rules do not apply to them, jeopardized the access to recreational areas for everyone, especially the dogs.

— CHRISTOPHER LAURENT

LONGBOAT KEY

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Bring Everyone.

Courtesy image

Prehab falls into two main categories: general and sport specific.

TRIBUTES

JoAnne Hatch (Galbraith) Bruch 1935-2024

JoAnne Hatch (Galbraith) Bruch, born in New York City August 9, 1935, peacefully departed on June 5th, 2024, in Dallas, TX. Her warmth and affection touched the lives of many, spanning from her childhood home in Nutley, NJ to where she raised her family in Devon, PA, to the serene haven of Longboat Key, FL where she reveled in countless summers and a decade of golden years alongside her beloved husband of 50 years Herbert.

To her adoring family and friends, she was affectionately known as Grandjo, a title befitting her nurturing spirit. She was a proud alumna and ardent supporter of Well’s College. She went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania to get her masters in English and became a high school English teacher. It was at Penn where she met Herbert. Their shared passion for bridge ignited a lifelong bond. Both attained the esteemed title of Life Master in Bridge, forging enduring friendships within their bridge club and traversing the nation for tournaments.

A connoisseur of literature, JoAnne’s avid reading traversed a myriad of genres, culminating in the publica-

“To

her adoring family and friends, she was affectionately known as Grandjo, a title befitting her nurturing spirit.”

tion of her own book, which chronicled the remarkable life of Aunt Dr. Hilde Bruch, renowned for her pioneering work on anorexia. Her joys extended to gardening, artistic exploration, and birdwatching, all while passionately supporting various philanthropic endeavors with her boundless generosity.

In their retirement, Grandjo and Gramps embarked on global adventures, from the enchanting Galapagos Islands to the picturesque landscapes of Holland and Czech Republic, and the

vast plains of Africa, punctuated by leisurely cruises. Joanne was preceded in death by her husband Herbert (2020). She is survived by 5 children: William Galbraith of Annandale, VA, Daniel Galbraith of Wilmington, NC, James Galbraith (Beverly) of Southlake, TX, Julia Fecko (David) of State College, PA, and Richard Bruch (Sheila) of Bethesda, MD; her brother Thomas (Margie) and sister Martha. Grandjo had 7 grandchildren who will also miss her dearly.

Big-top style

The Holiday Inn on Lido Key undergoes facelift, will reopen as Cirque St. Armands Beachside.

ELIZABETH KING BUSINESS OBSERVER

The Holiday Inn on Lido, a landmark site on the drive between Lido Beach and downtown Sarasota, is getting a major facelift. And when done, the property will have a new name: Cirque St. Armands Beachside.

The target for opening is this fall, according to the website from Opal Collection, which handles marketing for the hotel’s ownership group.

Opal officials declined to comment on the renovation, including cost.

A spokesperson instead referred to information on its website.

Visit Sarasota President and CEO

Erin Duggan has noted the project, saying in a statement to sister publication the Business Observer that the hotel is undergoing an “amazing update and renovation.”

The site of the former Holiday Inn is currently a hard hat zone, with wooden planks in the place of some balconies and the first floor totally gutted.

Ownership of the hotel is under Lido Hotel LLC, which is based in Delray Beach. That LLC’s address matches the address of Ocean Properties Hotels and Resorts, which, according to its website, is a “trade name used to market a group of independently owned and operated hotels and properties. These hotels include properties branded by Marriott, Hilton, Starwood and IHG and independent hotels and resorts marketed as the Opal Collection.”

In January, Lido Hotel LLC gave notice to Sarasota County it would be starting roof work. The company reported to the county in September 2023 it was planning renovations.

Once renovations and roof work

are complete, Cirque St. Armands will pay tribute to Sarasota’s history as a circus town

“Picture something that blends a 1920s art deco vibe with whimsical Big Top touches,” Opal Collection says on its website. “The Great Gatsby meets Moulin Rouge with grandiose billowing drapery, geometric and stripe patterns, ornate ostrich feather chandeliers, golden wall sconces and pin-striped columns.”

A restaurant called Ringside, a pool bar called Ringmaster and a lobby bar known as Midway will add to the offerings.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and murals with trapeze artists will greet diners at Ringside, where five booths will be set behind velvet drapery and cuisine will feature “bold flavors and Gulf seafood favorites,” according to the website.

The Lido property is one of three hotels coming to the Gulf Coast in the Opal Collection’s portfolio in the next year, according to its website. Opal Sol on Clearwater Beach and Olde Naples Hotel in Naples are expected to open in 2025.

Opal Collection encompasses more than 25 hotels on the East

Coast, including a few in the Sarasota area: Lido Beach Resort, The Resort at Longboat Key Club and Zota Beach Resort on Longboat Key. Bookings at the Cirque St. Armands Beachside are available Oct. 2. Rooms start at $254 a night for a bay view, $322 a night for a gulf view and $534 a night for the penthouse one-bedroom king suite.

Cirque St. Armands Beachside is at 233 Benjamin Franklin Drive.

Liz is moving our community forward

Liz is working to make our community stronger by investing in Sarasota through projects like The Bay and the Bobby Jones Golf Club and Nature Park, building a new playground and splash pad at Bayfront Park, and supporting the renovation of Selby Gardens, among many other amenities in our community.

Liz’s plan to keep Sarasota moving forward:

Championing incentives to create more affordable housing

Advocating for smart growth options to preserve the character of our neighborhoods and our downtown

Creating incentives to preserve our historic structures

Increasing transportation options such as the trolley, electric scooter rentals, dedicated bike lanes, and the Legacy Trail

Reducing homelessness - there has been a drastic reduction in homelessness during her time in office

Providing law enforcement with the tools they need to keep our communities safe - violent crime is down and there were zero murders last year

Elizabeth King

The former Holiday Inn on Lido is currently undergoing renovations.

Courtesy image

A rendering of the revamped lobby

Courtesy image

Cirque St. Armands Beachside, as viewed in this rendering, is expected to open this fall.

The

minors.

SUNDAY, JUNE 9

GOLF CART DRIVE-BY

9:30 a.m., 600 block of Cedar Street

Disturbance: At the scene, an officer met with the complainant who said he was standing in the road on the edge of his property when a neighbor came around the corner in a golf cart and almost hit him. The man said he and the golf cart driver had some disputes several years ago and have not had contact for more than a year.

The officer then spoke with the golf cart driver, who explained he was not expecting someone to be standing on the roadway when he turned the corner. He said that when he passed by, the complainant began to scream obscenities at him.

The driver insisted on going back to the residence to apologize to the complainant and said it was an accident. Both parties agreed to limit contact with one another and calm down for the time being.

TOO SMART A DEVICE

12:02 p.m., 200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Suspicious Incident: An officer was dispatched to a suspicious incident. The officer met a man at the scene who said his smart watch called 911 when he fell off his paddleboard. Everything was fine, and he turned off the watch to avoid a repeat false alarm.

TUESDAY, JUNE 11

IN TROUBLED WATERS

7:20 p.m., 4700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive

Disabled Vehicle: The Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department advised the Police Department of a few disabled vehicles near this portion of GMD. Upon arrival, officers saw a rental vehicle submerged in water past the bottom of the doors. The officer called for towing assistance since the vehicle was blocking the southbound lane, causing both lanes of GMD to be closed. After the rain slowed, officers performed traffic control until a tow truck arrived to remove the vehicle.

Longtime Longboat Key resident Barry W. Walsh passed away peacefully on May 5, 2024, surrounded by family.

One of four children of St. Armand’s Circle Shoe Store owner, Fred Walden and his wife Dorothy Callahan, Barry grew up in “Old Sarasota” in the 1950s and 60s, as the Ringling Brothers dominated—and developed—The Key. She graduated from Sarasota High, playing the piccolo in the School Band, before heading off to college. Barry graduated from Trinity College in Washington DC, and returned home to Sarasota.

It was at the wedding of her older sister, Judith Walden Pels, that Barry

met her husband, James H. Walsh. He was the best man; she was the maid of honor. Jim and Barry fell in love immediately, and were themselves married at St. Martha’s Church in downtown Sarasota on July 13, 1963.

With her husband’s career

“Barry was fortified by her children, who adored her to the end.”

as a federal prosecutor taking the family to various parts of Florida through the late 60s, Barry defied norms of the time, and finished her Masters Degree in Biology from The University of Miami while a young mother to toddlers. As her husband’s career in public service took the Walsh Family up to Washington DC in the late 70s, Barry raised their four children (Jim, Brendan, Campion and Gerarda) while working for The Society of American Foresters, and then the Center for Environmental Quality, as an environmental writer and editor.

Upon their retirement, Jim and Barry returned to their native-Florida, in the mid 1990s, settling back-in,

on Longboat Key. Barry’s dual loves of nature and writing were put to use in her published “History of Florida Forests” and as she worked for Selby Botanical Gardens. Barry also kept her writing local, as a guest columnist for The Longboat Observer, covering local history and real estate happenings on The Key. As their four children grew, married, and built families of their own, Jim and Barry’s eleven grandchildren came to be their greatest joy, and this next generation surrounded them on July 13, 2013 when they celebrated their 50th Golden Wedding Anniversary at St. Martha’s Church that year. As their final years closed, Jim and Barry enjoyed walking around Beercan Island, watching the egrets and blue herons amble through their mangroves, and were very active in their church, where they served as Eucharistic Ministers. When her husband passed away in 2022, Barry was fortified by her children, who adored her to the end. She is survived by sister Sandy Brubaker of Rockville, Maryland, her brother Fred Walden of Bradenton, Florida, her son James W. Walsh of Aberdeen, Washington, her son Brendan B. Walsh of Longboat Key, Florida and her daughter Gerarda M. Culipher, of Oakton, Virginia. Barry will be interred with her husband at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church, later this summer.

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

WHEN BRIAN MET AMANDA

How newlyweds Brian Finnerty and Amanda Heisey found love and theater in Sarasota.

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

If Sarasota theater couple Amanda Heisey and Brian Finnerty create their answer to “How I Met Your Mother,” the long-running TV show of the early 2000s told in flashbacks, they’ll have plenty of material to work with.

Let’s start with how the newlyweds got engaged, back in August 2021. Heisey was starring alongside Luke Manual McFatrich in Dingbat Theatre Project’s production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

Finnerty directed and choreographed and designed the costumes for the glam rock musical, which played at The Bazaar at Apricot and Lime.

At the time, Heisey thought it was odd that her parents had come from Kansas City to see her performance. “Hedwig is so edgy, and that’s normally not their kind of thing,” she says.

Also in the audience were friends of the couple’s from Orlando. Still, Finnerty didn’t give too much thought to why they had decided to attend this show out of all the community theater productions in Sarasota, Venice and Bradenton that Heisey and Finnerty had collaborated on over several years.

What was it about “Hedwig”? In the show, most of Heisey’s abundant tresses were hidden under a cap that gave the illusion of a mullet haircut. The look was part of her transformation into Yitzhak, a Jewish drag queen who is the husband and backup singer to the titular aspiring East German rock singer.

In a recent interview at Project Coffee in the Rosemary District, Heisey said she was wondering why her future husband thanked McFatrich before acknowledging her performance since the star traditionally gets the last curtain call.

When Finnerty proposed to her on stage in front of family, friends and audience, suddenly it all made sense. “We had talked about getting married, but I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Heisey recalls. “It wasn’t like we had gone shopping for rings or anything.”

Following the show, Finnerty

worked

on a

and

and

and

Courtesy image

Brian Finnerty and Amanda Heisey, who both work for the Sarasota Players, shared stages at local community theaters for about a decade before getting married in January.

whisked his fiancée to an engagement party at The Mable on Tamiami Trail that he’d been secretly planning so the couple could celebrate with their entourage. Before they started dating and later moved in together just as COVID was shutting down live theater in 2020, Heisey

Finnerty were friends

collaborators on musicals, cabarets

burlesque shows. They first

together

2015 production at The Players, now the Sarasota Players, of the musical “Catch Me If You Can.”   They got to know each other better when Heisey hired Finnerty, a Florida native who began competing in children’s dance competitions when he was 3, to improve her footwork. The lessons were to prepare for an audition for “Cats” at the Manatee

Wedding guests applaud Brian Finnerty and Amanda Heisey after Scott Keys pronounced them man and wife.

Image courtesy of Krissy Marie

Players in Bradenton. Heisey got the part.

“She was an amazing cat,” recalls Finnerty. “Everybody in the play was really good. That was a strong production. It’s hard to find that many good dancers.”

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE DETAILS

Still, it would be awhile before Finnerty would tell Heisey that he was in love with her, creating what she called “a messy situation” because she was dating someone else at the time.

The complications weren’t resolved immediately, and the couple isn’t sure what their “dating anniversary” is, Finnerty says. “But it doesn’t really matter because the most important anniversary is our wedding anniversary,” he says. That would be Jan. 13, 2024.

As anyone who watched “Bridezillas” knows, brides and their relatives can get a little crazy about wedding preparations. That wasn’t the case with the Heisey-Finnerty nuptials, according to both parties. For one thing, they planned it themselves, taking the same detail-oriented, yet whimsical approach they do to community theater.

There were some concessions to tradition. Heisey went home to Kansas City to go bridal dress shopping with her mother, aunts and cousins. She was lucky enough to find an offthe-rack gown that fit nearly perfectly.

Members of the wedding party were asked to wear black for the sophisticated winter ceremony at the picturesque Bishop Museum of Science and Nature in Bradenton. “Everyone liked that because that meant they could wear their wedding clothes again,” Heisey notes.

Finnerty sported a glam tuxedo with groovy loafers festooned with Playboy bunny emblems, a wedding present from his future wife, who uses her maiden name professionally. (For her burlesque appearance, she goes by Karma Kandlewick.)

Scott Keys, who was Finnerty’s teacher when he was in the Booker High School Visual and Performing Arts program, was the officiant for the rites. Keys became a close friend as a fellow traveler in community theater circles. (Both Keys

“She (Amanda) was an amazing cat. Everybody in the play was really good. That was a strong production. It’s hard to find that many good dancers.”

— Brian Finnerty

and Heisey had shows in the second Squeaky Wheel Fringe festival at the Cook Theatre earlier this month.)

For their wedding caterers, Finnerty and Heisey chose the Amish restaurant Der Dutchman. They hired Taylor Opie, the sister of a friend, and her band to provide live music. Their wedding song came from the “Hedwig” soundtrack: “The Origin of Love.”

“Luke (McFatrich) sang it for us,” Finnerty says, reprising his performance as Hedwig in the show where Finnerty proposed to Heisey.

But McFatrich wasn’t the only friend of the bride and groom who performed an impromptu song at their wedding. “Taylor knows everybody in Sarasota, so she would tell people to come up and sing,” adds Heisey.

In a joint interview, Finnerty and Heisey don’t exactly finish each other’s sentences; they elaborate on what the other has just been saying. Their easy manner with each other is astounding given how much time they spend together.

LIFE IS A (VIRTUAL) CABARET

While some couples drove each other crazy during pandemic lockdowns, work-from-home was a dream come true for Heisey and Finnerty, who made the most of the time personally and professionally.

During their time at home during COVID, Heisey, who is marketing director of the Sarasota Players, and Finnerty, who is now studio production manager of the Sarasota Players, spent a lot of time online. They devoted their efforts to bringing in donations for the Players during the Giving Challenge and to engaging the community through virtual per-

formances with other collaborators.

“There was a thing that we did during COVID called ‘Theater Lives,’” says Heisey. “We were trying to make sure that community theaters stayed alive and relevant during that time.”

Adds Finnerty: “There was a Facebook page. There were virtual cabarets. They all had different themes like ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ ‘Les Miz’ and others.”

The rapport and longevity of Finnerty and Heisey should serve the Sarasota Players well in its coming season, its 95th. There has been turnover in the artistic director job at the Players recently and the community theater decided not to fill the vacant position. It organized its upcoming 2024-25 season with existing staff, which includes Finnerty and Heisey.

The plans of the Sarasota Players to build The Stage in Payne Park, which it plans to share with other cultural organizations, and leave its temporary home in The Crossings at Siesta Key mall, are in the hands of the organization’s board, local government and potential donors. The community theater’s future home and management structure is beyond the scope of this article.  Suffice it to say that we’re hoping that the tale of “When Brian Met Amanda” includes many more creative episodes. Next up: Finnerty is in the director’s seat for the Sarasota Players’ production of “Green Day’s American Idiot,” which runs from Aug. 7-16. Get ready to rock ’n’ roll!

Courtesy photo Amanda Heisey met her husband, Brian Finnerty, when they were both in The Players’ production of the musical “Catch Me If You Can” in 2015.

THIS WEEK

THURSDAY

SUMMER CIRCUS SPECTACULAR

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road $20 adults; $15 kids Visit Ringling.org.

If you’ve never seen a performance in The Ringling’s jewelbox venue, the Historic Asolo Theater, here’s your chance. Presided over by Ringmaster Jared Walker, the Summer Circus Spectacular includes contortionist Uranbileg Angarag, acrobatic hand balancers The Bello Sisters, hair hang artist Camille Langlois, slack wire performer Antino Pansa and clown Renaldo, a veteran of the Big Apple Circus. Runs through Aug. 17.

DON’T MISS

‘PASSION AND PRIDE’

Sarasota Music Festival Director

Jeffrey Kahane’s boundary-breaking talents are showcased in Ravel’s Piano Concerto. Having performed the 2022 world premiere of “Shorthand,” Anna Clyde’s mini concerto for cello, SMF alum Karen Ouzounian presides over its Sarasota premiere. The festival concludes with Brahms’ Symphony No. 1, which took the composer decades to complete.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 22

Where: at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.

Tickets: $30-$70

Info: Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

‘LUSTROUS SOUNDS’

4:30 p.m. at Holley Hall, 709 N. Tamiami Trail

$30-$42

Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

New Sarasota Music Festival faculty member Benjamin Beilman performs Bach’s unaccompanied Partita No. 3, improvising in a way that would have been expected during the great composer’s lifetime but which is rare today.

ROYAL JAMES THEATER PRESENTS ‘MURDER BY THE BOOK’

7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton $29

Visit ManateePerformingArtsCenter. com.

Agatha Christie loved to keep readers of her murder mysteries guessing, but none of her books could prepare them for a real-life event that made headlines around the world. That startling news is the basis of B.J. Mohr’s new play. Runs through June 23.

‘HAPPY DALE’: A COMEDY BY DAN LANDON

7:30 p.m. at 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1130 $30/Student $13 Visit ThePlayers.org.

In Dan Landon’s “Happy Dale,” a retired English teacher is sent to an assisted living facility after he begins acting strangely following the death of his life. Happy Dale’s newest resident (Lee Gundersheimer) quickly turns the facility’s routines upside down. Can he brought into line before it’s late? Runs through June 23.

‘OAK’

7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St.

$7-$44 Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.

Urbanite Theatre wraps its 10th anniversary season with the Southern Gothic horror-infused “Oak.” Written by Terry Guest and directed by Mikael Burke, “Oak” is a National New Play Network rolling premiere. Runs through June 30.

‘COCONUT CAKE’

7:30 p.m. at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave.

$5-$50

Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.

In Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s last show of its 2023-24 season, “Coconut Cake,” the daily routine of four chess-playing and coffeedrinking retirees is disrupted when a mysterious woman moves to town, bringing her recipe for a mouthwatering coconut cake. Runs through June 23.

‘THE MUSIC OF LAUREL CANYON’

8 p.m. at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.

$18-$42

Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

If you know, you know. But not everyone knows about Laurel Canyon, the neighborhood above West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip that became home to folk musicians such as Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young and The Mamas and the Papas.

FRIDAY

‘ROMANTIC REVERIES’

7:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.

$29-$50 Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

The Sarasota Music Festival salutes 19th-century Romanticism with Beethoven’s 1793 Octet and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence. The program includes Franck’s 19thcentury Piano Quintet, bringing together SMF fellows and faculty artists Sheryl Staples, Brinton Smith and Robert Levin.

SUNDAY

HD AT THE OPERA HOUSE: ‘SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH’

1:30 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave.

$12-$20

Visit SarasotaOpera.org.

Directed by Simon Godwin, one of The Bard’s signature plays is staged in custom-built spaces unique to the production in Liverpool, Edinburgh, London and Washington, D.C. The film stars Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma.

OUR PICK KETTLE OF FISH

Florida favorite Kettle of Fish headlines the Van Wezel

Performing Arts Hall’s Friday Fest, which is taking a hiatus during July and August before returning in September. Kettle of Fish’s original music is a stew of rock, blues, reggae and New Orleans soul. Their covers range from Little Feat and the Rolling Stones to Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Bring blankets or lawn chairs and enjoy food and beverage from local vendors. Coolers and outside victuals are prohibited.

IF YOU GO

When: 5 p.m. on Friday, June 21

Where: at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Lawn, 777 N. Tamiami Trail

Tickets: Free Info: Visit VanWezel.org.

WEDNESDAY

‘STEALING THE SHOW: BROADWAY, BEACH AND BEYOND’ 6:30 p.m. Hermitage Beach, 6660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood $5 with registration Visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

Tony Award nominee Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (“Spamalot”) will present some original material she has been developing at the Hermitage Artist Retreat as well as songs you know and love.

Image courtesy of Ebru Yildiz

Courtesy images

FST’s ‘The World Goes ’Round’ spins the wheel of love and loss

A musical merry-go-round of 18 Kander and Ebb tunes takes the audience on a dizzying ride.

MARTY FUGATE

CONTRIBUTOR

The earth rotates. In other news, Scott Ellis, Susan Stroman and David Thompson’s

“The World Goes ’Round” is now on stage at Florida Studio Theatre.

This hit revue showcases 18 tunes by composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. The songs’ origins include Broadway blockbusters like “Cabaret” and “Chicago” and forgotten gems like “Rink” and “Flora the Red Menace.”

Origin aside, the songs spin their characters on a wheel of heartbreak and happiness. Kander and Ebb’s musical merry-goround is a dizzying ride.

Dayna Jarae Dantzler, Dion Simmons Grier, Crystal Kellogg, Lani Corson and Zak Edwards are the all-too-human performers holding on for dear life. Each gets their moment in the spotlight. That’s a question of storytelling, not directorial evenhandedness.

“The World Goes ’Round” is a revue, not a musical with an overarching story. While the show has no tale to tell, the songs do — along with strong characters. (Horny housewives, coffee addicts and gangland molls, to name a few.)

Kander and Ebb’s songs are first-person stories — from Somebody’s point of view. With one exception …

“Mr. Cellophane” (Edwards) is a Nobody’s narrative. In this comic performance, the singer doesn’t even get the spotlight. He’s constantly chasing it around on stage. Edwards’ character calls himself “Mr. Cellophane” because he feels transparent. The rest of humanity sees right through him. (The spotlight gag is funny. But it’s clearly

not funny for him.)

“Colored Lights” (Kellogg) is one woman’s poignant attempt to recapture childhood magic. She’s a jaded adult, looking back on the days when a carnival’s colored lights gave her joy. “My Coloring Book” (Dantzler) is the sizzling torch song of a jilted woman. (Color her blue, empty and lonely.)

Just a few sad stories out of many. But this revue provides a medicine for melancholy. Kander and Ebb’s main prescription? “Get out of the house!”

“Cabaret” says it best: “There’s no use sitting alone in your room.”

(Corson illustrates this point with a kicky, kinetic, high-energy dance number.) “Ring Them Bells” (Kellogg) brings this advice home with the tale of a thirtysomething woman who lives with her parents.

Her character ultimately breaks free, travels the world and rings the bells of romantic adventure. After all that, she returns home and finds true love in the boy just down the hall. But it took a globetrotting odyssey to find him.

“Arthur in the Afternoon” (Corson and Grier) offers a lowmileage alternative. A housewife gets out of her room — and makes a daily tryst part of her afternoon commute.

These performers all shine in the revue’s solo performances. They’re equally incandescent in ensemble numbers like “New York, New York” and the titular “The World Goes ’Round.”

“Rink” has the highest level of difficulty. (Singing and dancing is hard enough — but on roller skates?) The show’s choreography is inventive. It’s aerobic. These actors aren’t just good — they’re in good shape. Because they have to be.

IF YOU GO

‘The World Goes ’Round’ When: Through June 30. Where: FST’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. Tickets: $39-$59. Info: Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

This revue’s packed with moving parts. Director and choreographer Ben Liebert keeps all the plates spinning without any breakage. And speaking of spin, his choreography often revolves around circular movement. Liebert’s dance routines are never routine. But they don’t distract from each song’s story and the

characters’ inner lives. As a director, that’s always his main focus. Isabel and Moriah CurleyClay’s set has the look of a sleek New York City nightclub, with just a slice of the starry night sky peeping through. Harry Nadal’s costumes have a daydream’s quick-change vibe. On one song, everyone’s sporting tutus. Then they’re all doing their thing in tuxedoes. These strange changes evoke the characters’ stream-ofconsciousness, not literal reality. That’s perfect for this show. Now let’s talk music. Because that’s what makes this show go ’round.

This show’s basically a delivery system for Kander and Ebb’s greatest hits. As good as it may be, everything else is secondary.

Despite rumors to the contrary,

“The World Goes ’Round” is a concert, not a musical. A general’s only as good as his army. And a concert’s only as good as the band. Now let’s give credit where it’s due …

A white-hot, four-piece band goes straight to the heart on the revue’s songs. These include: Music Director Josh Walker making the piano sing; too-cool Kroy Presley strumming bass; the insanely versatile Fernando Cruz on every reed instrument known to man; and Aaron Nix hitting the drums in a slow groove — or faster than the eye can see, as the song requires.

If you don’t know Kander and Ebb from Click and Clack, you’ll still have a blast here. It’s the band, man.

Image courtesy of John Jones

“The World Goes ’Round,” playing at FST’s Gompertz Theatre through June 30, is a musical revue featuring the hits of Kander and Ebb.

YOUR NEIGHBORS

Gus Mollasis’ best tie is his “Casablanca” tie.

“My middle name is Spielberg,” said Mollasis. “It is sort of a stage name that everyone in my class calls me, Gussie Spielberg.”

“At The Movies with Gus Mollasis” has been a Longboat Key staple since 2010, when the Education Center was still at the Centre Shops. Now at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, the class has continued to bring people back to the golden age of cinema and help them slow down in today’s fast-paced world.

“I know what it is to move fast. I’m doing it all the time,” said Mollasis. “But there is something about when you sit everyone down in front of the big screen. Watching movies on streaming and on your phones is not the same. You can still be so distracted. Being able to fully experience a movie in a theater makes you think deeper about it and realize that life is so much more than these little screens.”

Mollasis fell in love with cinema as a child when he first saw Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life.” This was the start of a beautiful friendship. He loved how classic films taught him about life’s lessons and could always bring him back to the moment.

He then started to watch a show called “Bill Kennedy at the Movies.”

Kennedy showed films, interviewed stars and gave commentary. This was a picture-perfect view of how Mollasis could share his love for film with others.

Mollasis graduated with a degree in journalism and psychology from Wayne State University in 1982 while taking film classes during his studies. After a few years of working in communication jobs, Mollasis followed the yellow brick road from Detroit to find his home in Sarasota. He moved here in 1994 because of its lively art scene. In 2002, Mollasis started his television show, “At The Movies with Gus Mollasis.” It ran from 2002 to 2011. He worked closely with the Sarasota Film Festival and Sarasota Film Society’s Cine-World Film Festival to give local independent and student filmmakers a chance to showcase their films. He also interviewed many noteworthy guests on his show, such as Billy Crystal, Jane Seymour, Tony Curtis, Ed Norton and Jackie Mason.

“At the Movies with Gus Mollasis”

kicked off his teaching career. After discovering his show, Education Center Program Manager Susan Goldfarb thought a film class would be a perfect fit for Longboat and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Mollasis now teaches 150 classes a year at the Education Center at Temple Beth Israel every season.

Based on movies at local theaters, Mollasis chooses new movies to show every week. He emphasizes the importance of going to theaters to watch films so students can fully immerse themselves in the experience. Mollasis doesn’t watch most of the films until he assigns them to his classes.

He wants to be on the same playing field as his students to allow for an authentic discussion.

After students watch the film in theaters on their own time, Mollasis will lead them in a lively discussion based on it. His classes range from new movies to the Hollywood classics to discussing great lines from films throughout history.

“I’m always looking for something

‘At The Movies with Gus Mollasis’ takes students back to the golden age of film.

that moves me in a film,” said Mollasis. “That I can empathize with something. This is my rule about a great film: If a film can make you laugh, cry and think, it has a chance to be a masterpiece.’”

Goldfarb said students come back year after year because of his immense knowledge of cinema and how he encourages them to connect movies with their lives and memories.

When he is not at the Education Center, he teaches at Burns Court Cinema in Lakewood Ranch. He is a senior writer at Sarasota Scene Magazine. Mollasis wants to restart his “At The Movies with Gus Mollasis” show and turn it into a podcast as well.

Mollasis has produced multiple films and shows throughout the years. He is the co-creator of the PBS series, “Diamonds Along the Highway,” which focuses on Florida’s people, places and history. He works for Mars Vision Productions and is founder of the Write Ideas Ink production company. He is currently working on a film about his father’s life.

Along with teaching, writing and producing, Mollasis is the director of marketing and sales at Sarasota Estate Auction. He sprinkles his love of cinema throughout the display of the store, rounding up the usual suspects of paintings of Judy Garland, “Casablanca” and “The Godfather.”

He also uses the auction house to provide opportunities during the summer for people to discuss cinema. Recently, he showed “Casablanca” and “The Godfather.” He plans to do other film showings while showcasing items related to the films throughout the next couple of months leading into the season.

“I love it when I see it click for someone,” said Mollasis. “Either I am telling them what I think about the film or they are telling me an observation, there is always that click, that amazement of realizing what the filmmaker was trying to do. It’s a gift when you see how the story moves someone.”

TOP 5

Gus Mollasis’ top five must-watch movies in no particular order:

„ “Citizen Kane” „ “City Lights” „ “The Godfather” Part I and II

„ “Casablanca”

„ “It’s A Wonderful Life”

In sixth place, about 50 movies are tied including many of Hitchcock’s films and “Sunset Boulevard.”

“I’m always looking for something that moves me in a film. That I can empathize with something. This is my rule about a great film: If a film can make you laugh, cry and think, it has a chance to be a masterpiece.”

— Gus Mollasis

PETRA RIVERA STAFF WRITER

Petra Rivera

Gus Mollasis with a “Godfather” painting at Sarasota Estate Auction.

Memories from Romania

Longboat resident recounts 23 years abroad, privatizing banks, meeting public figures and conducting an orchestra.

PETRA RIVERA STAFF WRITER

Andrew Littauer’s Plymouth Harbor apartment is filled with mementos from a lifetime of travel and living abroad.

Among them is a baton from the conductor of the Enescu Romanian National Orchestra, which Littauer once used to lead the orchestra himself.

In the 2000s, Littauer was a financial advisor for the orchestra and attended its concerts every week. After becoming great friends with the conductor, he and Littauer both thought it would be funny if Littauer led the orchestra in a rehearsal.

Not one of the musicians looked at him during the rehearsal because he had no idea how to conduct an orchestra, Littauer said. But when he was given the baton, he had a physical reminder of his connection to the symphony.

If he could talk to his younger self, Littauer would tell him to get ready for the ride of his life because it is not at all what he imagined. He nev-

er could have predicted his 23 years living in Romania and involvement in the privatization of Romanian banks after dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu was overthrown.

“I lived in Europe and Asia for more than half of my life,” said Littauer. “Through my travels, I have discovered all kinds of interesting things, different cultures and languages. I have a wealth of friends all over the place. I feel like I can adjust to anywhere I go no matter how far and that is a great power.”

Littauer grew up in a family that had Kennedy-esque conversations at the dinner table. International matters and politics piqued Littauer’s interest as he grew into his college years. It wasn’t until he studied abroad in Switzerland during his undergraduate program that he was fully sold.

In the 1960s, Littauer started a graduate program in international relations at Syracuse University and was sent to the Philippines to teach about international relations and economics. Once he finished this program, he came back to the U.S. with a newfound passion for living overseas and discovering new cultures.

International banking was his ticket to this desired lifestyle. This job took him across Europe and Asia working for the Bank of America in places such as Germany, Hong Kong and Brussels.

When he lived in Brussels, he noticed a church nearby was having a sale since it was being demolished. He couldn’t help but buy a wooden statue of an unknown saint that is now displayed in his apartment with his baton.

In 1994, Littauer got an offer from the U.S. Treasury Department to move to Romania and help its government privatize its state banks. He was able to accomplish this in a year with the help of the World Bank, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. Embassy.

Before moving to Romania, he couldn’t point it out on a map. But after spending a year there, he decided his Romanian chapter was not yet

WORSHIP directory

finished. Littauer started his own outsourcing company and lived in Romania for a total of 23 years.

Through his work and community involvement, Littauer became a well-known name in Romania. He met public figures like the Romanian president, Ion Iliescu, various ministers in his cabinet and other community leaders in the country. He established Democrats Abroad in Romania and was active in the Anglican Church there.

The Enescu Romanian National Orchestra eventually became his home away from the complex financial talk he heard at work. He bought a box at the orchestra so he could listen to talented musicians and cultivate friendships outside work.

Littauer moved to Sarasota seven years ago after inheriting a condominium from his parents on Lido Key. He is involved in the Sarasota Historical Society and attends lectures and events at Plymouth Harbor. He is writing two books and spends his time visiting his favorite cities in Europe with loved ones.

“The French writer Colette said, ‘I had a wonderful life, but the problem is that I didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t until later years that I appreciated how special of a life it was,’” said Littauer.  “It’s a quote that I think about a lot because what a wonderful life I have of traveling and making friends around the world, but I wish I had realized it sooner.”

“Through my travels, I have discovered all kinds of interesting things, different cultures and languages.”

— Andrew Littauer

Photos by Petra Rivera

Andrew Littauer displays authentic Romanian figurines in his apartment to remember his time living in Romania.

Andrew Littauer bought this statue of a saint from a church that was being demolished in Brussels.

Courtesy image

Andrew Littauer

Fellowship is still in season

Christ Church of Longboat Key kicked off its summer goal of becoming a year-round church with a fellowship lunch at Bradenton restaurant Slicker’s Eatery.

After listening to congregants’ feedback, this is Julia Piermont’s biggest goal as the first live-in pastor at the church.

The monthly lunch is Christ Church’s effort to build a community outside regular services. It also allows people to discover new local restaurants and businesses in the area.

It was nearly everyone’s first time at Slicker’s. Organizer Judy Ebrahim was happy to get people out of their comfort zones beyond the island’s restaurants.

The lunch was a great opportunity for congregants to make new friends and catch up with old ones.

Music Director Robert Romanski is planning an American-themed music program for the Fourth of July, along with plans for future music programs in the later summer. With music ministry being an important part of Christ Church, they hope upcoming programs will encourage more people to attend year-round.

“We have 24 people here today, which is such a good turnout for the summer,” said Piermont.

— PETRA RIVERA

Michele DeLucca-Lowrey and Alexa Lowrey

Photos by Petra Rivera

Karen Gardiner and Crystal Howard

The Rev. Julia Piermont

Tracey StetlerSteven Moore Patrick DiPintoRene DiPintoNicholle DiPinto McKierman

We are a collaboration of savvy real estate professionals with decades of local experience. We focus on selling exceptional properties located in downtown and on our local islands. We represent buyers and sellers in our marketplace with a unique viewpoint, as we live in the communities that we sell. This local perspective makes us experts in our field, allowing us to provide you all the information for you and your family to make the best decision in your real estate endeavor.

o one ever guessed the daughter of a loving middle- to-upper-class family from Avon, Connecticut, would be a drug addict. That is what people have often told Longboater Deborah Miller.  She wasn’t the typical picture of a person who had opioid addiction. But after years of heartbreak, crimes and distanced relationships, she was brought to the lowest part of her life because of her addiction.

In October 2024, Miller, 55, will hit 20 years of sobriety. To celebrate, she accomplished one of her lifelong

dreams by releasing her first memoir

“One Little Pill.”

After talking to a fellow author about her story, she was inspired her story it would help people on their journeys to recovery. Miller started writing her memoir in 2023 and released it at the end of April.

“Every book I read about recovery was written by celebrities who had their drug dealers and the money to go to rehab,” said Miller. “I felt so alone. I just wondered were there any housewives that were struggling with this that I could relate to?”

In her book, Miller shares that her addiction started in her first marriage. With her husband, she would recreationally take painkillers to get over hangovers or stress. She describes in her book the feeling of relief from the drugs as a “sweet rush of euphoria.”

As Miller got deeper into her marriage, her husband was diag -

Rivera

Deborah Miller with her book “One Little Pill.”

nosed with bipolar disorder and started self-medicating. To deal with his inconsistent moods and mental health, she took the same painkillers he was taking without his knowledge.

That’s where her addiction started. She got divorced from her husband in 2003 and became her son’s primary caregiver. But even then, Miller said she would do anything to get pills, including crimes like stealing prescription pads. After getting fired from her job and being arrested multiple times, she hit rock bottom and decided to put an end to this lifestyle.

“One Little Pill” doesn’t just cover her struggle with addiction but her road to recovery. In the book, Miller goes over the 12 steps she learned in her rehabilitation program and how she approached them in her life. She describes how she used these in times she was tempted to relapse, such as when her son was diagnosed with bone cancer.

Miller also shares how the process led her to find her faith, which she leaned on in times of temptation.

Miller moved to Longboat Key in 2020 to be closer to her parents. Her son lives in Sarasota and has been cancer-free for 10 years now.

Along with her book, she loves to give back through nonprofits such as Impact100 SRQ, which empowers women to enact positive change in their communities. She also sponsors recovering addicts through the Salvation Army.

After years of struggles, Miller has gotten the fruit of her journey through the people she has helped

“We’ve got professionals and people from every walk of life ... It’s just regular, hard-working human beings that are struggling with this disease.”

— Deb Miller

‘ONE

LITTLE PILL’ BY DEBORAH MILLER

Read more about Miller’s story and her road to recovery in her book, “One Little Pill.” Find it on Amazon or on her website at DebLawlessMiller.com.

with her memoir’s message. She didn’t expect to get such positive feedback.

With 46.8 million Americans battling a substance use disorder in the past year, she found many people could connect to her story themselves or through a loved one. Readers have said to Miller her book helped break the stigma of talking about addiction and the stereotypes that are built from it.

“If you were to walk into an AA meeting here in Sarasota and didn’t know what it was, you would never know it was an AA meeting,” said Miller. “We’ve got professionals and people from every walk of life ... It’s just regular, hard-working human beings that are struggling with this disease.”

Miller hopes that her story will be able to inspire those struggling with addictions such as hers and normalize the conversation about how it is taking over the lives of everyday people.

Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce

Longboat Key’s 4TH OF JULY FREEDOM FEST

THURSDAY, JULY 4TH 9:00 - 11 am Bicentennial Park on Bay Isles Road

PaintingSand ArtButterfly Release Chucko the Clown and more... Presents: “Hot Diggity Dog!” Parade & Contest

$500 Prize

Most Patriotic Float or Group Donated by Cannons Marina

WILD FLORIDA

Bay Isles Road, Suite 260 Longboat Key, FL 34228

We hope you and a guest will join us. Please call Linda at 941-263-7821 or email linda.dillon@edwardjones.com by 06/26/2024.

Rain ends record-low water levels at Myakka

Periodic dry conditions, resulting from extended drought, regulate and benefit plant and animal communities.

MIRI HARDY CONTRIBUTOR

Myakka’s ecosystems have evolved to depend and thrive on a regular ebb and flow of water.

Rainfall is the primary driver for varying water levels in the Myakka River and its two floodplain lakes — the Upper Myakka Lake and Lower Myakka Lake.

Spring usually brings the start of rainy season. And by summer, water levels are typically highest, and overflow into floodplain marshes and wetlands. In the fall and winter — dry season — water levels gradually drop, with periods of low water, or drawdown.

With some years wetter and some drier, differences in the fluctuating water levels naturally occur over multiyear cycles.

In fact, extended periods of low water are typical for the Myakka River system and occur about one out of every four years. And indeed, this spring, water levels in the entire Myakka system were notably very low.

These low levels largely reflected a very dry spring, with almost no rainfall in April or May. Secondary factors included less water entering the Myakka watershed as a result of agriculture, thanks to improved farm watering practices, directed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

In recent years, farm water artificially inflated dry season levels. Also, with rising temperatures, water evaporation rates have increased. Finally, recent hurricanes breached several agricultural water diversion

berms in Tatum Sawgrass Marsh, directly upriver from the park, restoring large areas of the original floodplain.

As expected, the removal of a deteriorating weir and culverts at the Upper Myakka Lake’s outflow in 2022, which was already breached, had no impact on this season’s water levels.

Though this year’s period of low water isn’t the lowest ever recorded, it is the lowest in decades. And while it may seem counter-intuitive, variability in water levels and low water periods are extremely beneficial for Myakka’s ecosystems. They help regulate plant and wildlife communities and promote biodiversity. By concentrating fish and other aquatic animals into shallow pools, this spring’s extended drought attracted unusually large flocks of wading birds to the park, including hundreds of federally designated threatened wood storks and countless other wading birds.

Friends of Myakka River exists to support Myakka River State Park and the Wild and Scenic Myakka River. Together, we’re protecting and sharing Myakka’s Magic, to the benefit of future generations, and our own. Follow us @FriendsOfMyakkaRiver.

Miri Hardy

water levels concentrate fish and other aquatic animals, sustaining migratory and native wading birds, including imperiled species like wood storks.

Condo in L’Ambiance tops sales at $5.55M

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Acondominium in L’Ambiance at Longboat Key Club tops all transactions in this week’s real estate.

Salah Nafal, of Tampa, sold the Unit A-401 condominium at 415 L’Ambiance Drive to William James Reimer, trustee, of Longboat Key, for $5.55 million. Built in 1992, it has three bedrooms, three-and-two-half baths and 3,220 square feet of living area. It sold for $2,137,500 in 2016.

SLEEPY LAGOON

Robert Hutchinson, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 786 Norton St. to Gareth Steven Parkin and Katie Helen Frith, of Westfield, New Jersey, for $4.9 million. Built in 1984, it has four bedrooms, threeand-a-half baths, a pool and 3,120 square feet of living area. It sold for $600,000 in 1993.

Adele Morris, of Longboat Key, sold the home at 6485 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Karen Glaze, trustee, of Bradenton, for $3 million. Built in 1951, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,798 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,195,000 in 2016.

Julia Schwabe and Andrea Schwabe, of Hamburg, Germany, sold their home at 699 Penfield St. to F.F. Stephen and Denise Pagura, of Dublin, Ohio, for $1.5 million. Built in 2009, it has two bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,536 square feet of living area. It sold for $370,000 in 2003.

BIRD KEY

Haylen Ltd. sold the home at 476 Meadow Lark Drive to Eric Sean Scott and Elda Eve Scott, of Bentonville, Arkansas, for $4 million. Built in 1985, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,336 square feet of living area. It sold for $499,000 in 1994.

COREY’S LANDING

Paul and Lisa Guisti sold their home at 3540 Mistletoe Lane to David Doyle, of Birmingham, Michigan, for $2.11 million. Built in 1991, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,166 square feet of living area. It sold for $975,000 in 2011.

TANGERINE BAY CLUB

David Van Ess and Diane Gallo-Van Ess, of Sarasota, sold their Unit 121 condominium at 340 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Diane Nordin, trustee, of Concord, Massachusetts, for $1.7 million. Built in 1991, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,290

3-7

square feet of living area. It sold for $880,000 in 2003.

L’ELEGANCE ON LIDO BEACH

Kathy Robbins, trustee, sold the Unit A-602 condominium at 1800 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Paul Robbins and Barbara Lawenthal, trustees, of Sarasota, for $1,662,500. Built in 1996, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,980 square feet of living area. It sold for $360,000 in 2010.

LONGBOAT KEY ESTATES

Dominic Simonetti, of Cortez, sold his home at 616 Rountree Drive to William and Kathleen Humphrey, of Easton, Massachusetts, for $1.65 million. Built in 1957, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,949 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,235,000 in 2020.

THE PLAYERS CLUB

Richard Lawrence, Tracey Phillipa Altman and Leonard and Claire Lawrence, of Devon, Pennsylvania, sold their Unit 209 condominium at 1485 Gulf of Mexico Drive to R.K. Michael Thambynayagam and Agnes Thambynayagam, of Sugar Land, Texas, for $1.55 million. Built in 1981, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 1,839 square feet of living area. It sold for $799,000 in 2004.

WINDWARD BAY

Joan Allen O’Driscoll and Aileen O’Driscoll, trustees, of Chester, New Jersey, sold the Unit 23-V-32-C condominium at 4966 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Gretl’s Adventures LLC for $1.2 million. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,334 square feet of living area. It sold for $475,000 in 2004.

LONGBEACH VILLAGE

Donald Jerome Neufelder and Erin Lynn Neufelder, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their Unit 22 condominium at 7125 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Giselle De Amorim Monteiro $1,175,000. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,170 square feet of living area. It sold for $400,000 in 2017.

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

KEY TOWERS SOUTH

Marilyn Maag, trustee, of Cincinnati, sold the Unit 11-A condominium at 1750 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Mustafa and Reem Khalifa, of Sarasota, for $1.05 million. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,403 square feet of living area. It sold for $46,800 in 1972.

GRAND BAY

Hermann Sidhu and Andria Beazley, of Surrey, United Kingdom, sold their Unit 616 condominium at 30707 Grand Bay Blvd. to Dean Claude Landry and Catherine Leanne Landry, of Nova Scotia, Canada, for $875,000. Built in 1995, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,270 square feet of living area. It sold for $730,000 in 2021.

BAYPORT

Marylen Oberman, trustee, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, sold the Unit 604 condominium at 604 Bayport Way to Timothy Neil Foote and Laura Foote, of Ontario, Canada,

for $687,000. Built in 1980, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,370 square feet of living area. It sold for $171,500 in 1996.

WHITNEY BEACH

Andrew Boyer, trustee, and Anne Findlay Roberts, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 199 condominium at 6800 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Michael Alber, of Colgate, Wisconsin, for $679,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,449 square feet of living area. It sold for $255,000 in 2011.

SPANISH MAIN YACHT CLUB

Peter Salm, of Sarasota, sold his Unit 112 condominium at 626

Spanish Drive S. to Charles and Debra Sauers, of Longboat Key, for $350,000. Built in 1969, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,399 square feet of living area. It sold for $220,500 in 2009.

Salah Nafal, of Tampa, sold the Unit A-401 condominium at 415 L’Ambiance Drive to William James Reimer, trustee, of Longboat Key, for $5.55 million.

TUESDAY, JUNE 25

ST. TROPEZ IN ST. ARMANDS FASHION SHOW AT CAFE

L’EUROPE

Doors open at 6 p.m. at Cafe L’Europe, 431 St. Armands Circle. Cafe L’Europe presents a “St. Tropez in St. Armands” fashion show featuring tropical-summer styles from local boutique T. Georgiano’s. The evening will kick off with a cocktail hour from 6:30-7:30 p.m. The fashion show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 each at Form.JotForm. com/241516649408057 or call 388-4415.

RECURRING EVENTS

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.

MONDAYS STRETCH AND STRENGTHEN

From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. This 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 383-6493.

TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS

LONGBOAT LIBRARY

From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday and Friday. 555 Bay Isles Road. Call 383-2011.

TUESDAYS QIGONG

From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Qigong 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. Debby 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.

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 first and third Tuesdays in All Angels Parish Hall, 563 Bay Isles Road. To learn more, call Nancy Rozance at 203-6054066 or email Info@LongboatKeyRotary.org.

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 383-6493.

MARIACHI MUSIC

From 5:30-8:30 p.m. at La Villa Mexican Grill, 5610 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Enjoy dinner and a serenade by Mariachi Contemporaneo. Call 383-8033.

THURSDAYS

ZUMBA & TONING

9:45-10:30 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Taught by Reena Malik, this class begins with 30 minutes of zumba and finishes with mat Pilates for flexibility and strengthening core muscles. Come for 30 or 60 minutes. Free for members; $15 for nonmembers.

KIWANIS CLUB OF LONGBOAT

KEY At 8:30 a.m. at Lazy Lobster, 5350 Gulf of Mexico Drive. This service organization meets every first and third Thursday of the month for breakfast and a speaker. Breakfast

SATURDAYS

is $15. Email Lynn Larson at LynnLarson@comcast.net to register.

FRIDAYS INTERMEDIATE TAI CHI

From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Reuben Fernandez teaches Chen style class. Outside if weather permitting. Free for members; $15 for others. Walk-ins welcome. Call 383-6493.

QIGONG AND MEDITATION From 11:15 a.m. to 12:15

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

TIDES

SUNRISE / SUNSET

MOON PHASES

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AUTO BIOGRAPHIES by Aidan Deshong, edited by Jeff Chen

By Luis Campos