LONGBOAT
Health Matters DECEMBER 2020
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
STEP UP YOUR
MEAL GAME
No need to sacrifice health for flavor this holiday season. SEE PAGE 2
INSIDE
HEARING REIMAGINED
Local nonprofit implants new cochlear system.
PAGE 6
VOLUME 43, NO. 19
FREE
YOUR TOWN
•
SARASOTA
Observer
BETTER CARE
PICTURE OF HEALTH
Merger brings affordable health care.
SWAT member emphasizes consistency.
PAGE 7
PAGE 10
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020
New condo gets OK Planning and Zoning Board approves Sage project. PAGE 6
LONGBOAT LIGHTS UP FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON . PAGE 18
File photo
One day only
For one day only, you can satisfy your book fix on Longboat Key again. The Longboat Key Library isn’t reopening yet, but volunteers will host a book sale from noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 19 on the library’s lawn. It will be the first time the library has hosted anything or been open to the public in any capacity since it closed in mid-March due to the pandemic. At the sale, the library will offer bestsellers by favorite authors, DVDs, audiobooks and freebies. In case of rain, the sale will be held Dec. 20 with the same times.
SHADES OF COLOR Nat Kaemmerer Courtesy photo
The home at 3370 Gulf of Mexico Drive delivers traditional colors of the season, with a little whimsy.
Chris Sachs and Police Chief Kelli Smith
New bell pit stop
Thanks to a benefactor, the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key has two fresh bells with which to attract donors to fill the kettles. On Dec. 10, a pair of “wonky” bells were replaced by Jack Joyce, who dropped off the fresh bells for the Kiwanis tollers’ ringing pleasure. The club and its volunteer helpers have eight days left to fill their kettles. They’ll be standing outside of Publix until 5:45 p.m. Dec. 24 and hopefully beat last year’s total of $24,094.02. Donations of $20 bills are matched areawide by an unidentified donor.
How bad was the storm? Mark Bergin
The morning after the storm, there were a lot of things out of place in Longbeach Village.
Eta’s floodwaters entered more than 200 Longboat homes, town says. SEE PAGE 3
A+E
Rising to history. PAGE 14