LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
A clean beach sweep.
PAGE 4B
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 43, NO. 25
FREE
YOUR TOWN
•
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021
MAYOR: FIX SHOT SYSTEM Letter to DeSantis urges a rethink in vaccine priorities. PAGE 2A
Town and state consider ways to upgrade pedestrian crossings on Gulf of Mexico Drive. PAGE 3A
Nat Kaemmerer
David and Maxine Balsbaugh
Packing to the brim When COVID-19 hit, life became all about the little things. At Christ Church of Longboat Key, those “little things” have been tiny Ziploc bags of seeds, of which they’ve packed 100,000 since the pandemic began. Every Monday, a group of volunteers has packed seeds for Hope Seeds, a nonprofit ministry that sends seeds across the world to alleviate hunger and provide longterm solutions. Organizers David and Maxine Balsbaugh have sent out their model to other churches as a guideline on keeping safe.
FLASH OF SAFETY Mark Bergin
The town has talked with the Florida Department of Transportation about making improvements to six crosswalks along Gulf of Mexico Drive. Courtesy photo
Achievements not forgotten Even three years into “retirement,” Longboat Key Commissioner-elect Penny Gold was recognized for her career’s work in Kentucky. Gold was recently celebrated as one of the Kentucky Gazette’s 2020 Notable Women in Kentucky Politics and Government for her laundry list of achievements as CEO of the Kentucky Society of CPAs, as well as her work in the Kentucky Justice Association and the Kentucky Cabinet of Public Protection and Regulation. She’s the only retired woman to make it onto the list.
A+E
The Bard and love. SEE PAGE 19A
Winners are all smiles Chamber combines awards events into a single afternoon of celebrating business. SEE PAGE 1B
Nat Kaemmerer
Larry Starr, second in Small Business Person of the Year (11 or more employees) with Al Benincasa