Longboat Observer 2.4.21

LONGBOAT

Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

VOLUME 43, NO. 26

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YOUR TOWN

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New at the Key Club.

PAGE 5A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Beach plan savings Renourishment project bid comes in under estimates. PAGE 3A

Eric Garwood

No need for speed Longboaters generally don’t need to be told twice about something.

That is why traffic Monday morning seemed to behave itself on a busy stretch of Gulf of Mexico Drive near Joan Durante Park, the Centre Shops and, oh yes, the Police Department.

During about a 20-minute span around lunchtime Monday, not a single driver broke the posted 45 mph speed limit.

The portable radar and display unit, purchased in 2019 with $6,300 in forfeiture funds, pops up around town from time to time to point out drivers’ speeds.

PICTURE THIS! Your next big art find might be at church. SEE PAGE 1B

Nat Kaemmerer

Buffett heads for the Buccaneers logo.

Nat Kaemmerer

Dave Marshall displays a few pieces of artwork that residents can purchase from the All Angels Episcopal church art gallery.

An aquarium divided Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium’s mammals were divided on their Super Bowl picks Feb. 2.

Hugh the manatee and Pippi the river otter swam for the Kansas City Chiefs targets.

Buffett the manatee and Jane the river otter picked the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

What you should know before making a friendly bet (for entertainment porpoises only, of course) is that Buffett is 10-2 in selecting Super Bowl winners over 12 years.

A day on the road Mark Bergin

Tom and Elaine Dabney drove from Longboat Key to Deltona, so Tom could receive his first COVID-19 shot.

Longboaters find a way to get a vaccine by taking a little trip.

SEE PAGE 2A

OPINION HB 35: A BAD BILL FOR FLORIDIANS How Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls want to thwart government transparency.

SEE PAGE 8A

2A

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

|

Couple takes 10-hour road trip for vaccine

COVID-19 ON LONGBOAT KEY After peaking in December, reported COVID-19 cases dropped slightly in January.

In figures released by the state health department for the 34228 ZIP code, January saw 35 cases, compared to 41 the month before and 35 in November. Over the last six weeks: ■ Dec. 20-26: 10 ■ Dec. 27 to Jan. 2: 12 ■ Jan. 3-9: 16 ■ Jan. 10-16: 8 ■ Jan. 17-23: 5 ■ Jan. 24-30: 1

With a Saturday appointment at a Publix 150 miles away, Longboaters fought through I-4 traffic.

MARK BERGIN STAFF WRITER

E

laine Dabney isn’t eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine yet, but it didn’t stop the Longboat Key resident from signing her 70-year-old husband, Tom, up anywhere she could.

She said she had six devices open one morning before finally getting through on Publix’s COVID-19 appointment site. So on Saturday, they headed for a store in Deltona, a town between Orlando and Daytona Beach.

“I’m fairly techie, but for the common person it would be a daunting experience, and it was just crazy,” she said. “Plus, again, that’s also before the state of Florida realized how many people were coming from other states and making the possibility of getting an appointment in this millennium almost impossible.”

Traffic delays on Interstate 4 forced the Dabneys into a longer trip than they anticipated.

“I-4 was a ‘parking lot’ from

Haines City to Orlando,” Tom Dabney said.

The 300-mile, round-trip drive took the couple 10 hours from Longboat Key. Once they arrived, Tom Dabney called the process “a breeze.”

“The pharmacist preps five to six shots at a time, then calls your name, gives you the shot, then you sit there for 15 minutes, so they can monitor you before you leave,” he said. “I was in and out in 25 minutes.”

In mid-January, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced only fulltime and part-time Florida residents would be eligible to receive the vaccine through the state.

Tom Dabney said he had registered for an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine with both the health departments in Manatee and Sarasota counties. He has yet to be chosen to receive the vaccine from either county.

“The transparency of the [Publix] system is way superior to the lack of transparency that the government runs,” Tom Dabney said.

PUBLIX INFO

Mark Bergin

Tom and Elaine Dabney drove from Longboat Key to Deltona, so Tom could receive his first round of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Elaine Dabney’s echoed her husband’s sentiments.

“Overall, it’s unconscionable how they have done this when they have known for over a year,” she said. “Most people certainly understand that supply is limited, but to add to people’s stress, especially the elderly for the way that they’re distributing or the way to get it, it’s just unconscionable.”

Longboat Key leaders have had conversations with health departments in Manatee and Sarasota counties to bring a vaccination site to the island, but there is no agreement yet.

Publix offers the Moderna vaccine in 20 of Florida’s 67 counties, Publix Director of Communications Maria Brous said. Charlotte County is the closest.

“Publix does not determine the counties in which we offer the vaccines,” Brous said. “Counties are determined by the governor’s office.”

Brous said the criteria the governor’s office uses is based on which communities have a high population of 65 and older, more rural areas and areas that don’t have an established distribution plan in effect.

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Charlotte is the closest county in which Publix is distributing COVID-19 vaccines. As of Tuesday, appointments for all stores in 20 counties are booked.

Learn more at Publix.com/ covid-vaccine/florida.

On its website, Publix lists when people can sign up for appointments. Typically, the supermarket chain picks a day of the week for a 6 a.m. signup process.

Eligibility requirements mandate Florida residents must make an appointment.

Publix states that a second dose of the vaccine is scheduled exactly 28 days after a first appointment.

The appointment day and time will match the appointment when the person received the first dose.

The grocery store chain only allows people to make appointments online.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

3A

DIGGING THE SAVINGS Mark Bergin

Canal 1A emergency dredging began Jan. 25. Boating and beach activities east of Longboat Pass Bridge are closed for another week or so.

As Canal 1A gets an emergency dredge on the north end, lower-than-expected costs begin to solidify for the first stage of the town’s beach projects.

MARK BERGIN STAFF WRITER

B

oating and beach activities are closed east of the Longboat Pass Bridge on the north end of Longboat Key as work proceeds on an emergency dredging project on Canal 1A. The town awarded the Canal 1A bid to Duncan Seawall Dock and Boat Lift LLC for $81,755, Longboat Key Projects Manager Charlie Mopps said. Work began Jan. 25. “[Duncan] had some equipment problems last week. Like they had a track that broke, so they’re bringing in a track, fixing it on the beach,” Mopps said.

“They got it fixed.”

Mopps said he expects Duncan to finish the emergency dredging in about a week despite the equipment problems and gusty winds.

The area west of Longboat Pass Bridge remains open for beachgoers and boaters.

The canal project is designed to reopen passage to watercraft under the bridge and into the lagoon east of the gulfside beach.

Shoaling over the past few years has rendered the canal virtually impassable for properties along North Shore Road.

Although the emergency work isn’t directly connected to the town’s comprehensive beach plan, borrowing for which voters approved in 2020, a more indepth canal clearing is, and sand from that project will be used to further the beach work.

In an update this week to town leaders on the proposed beach

renourishment project, Mopps said the town is due to save about $8.7 million in dredging and transport costs after awarding the beach work to Weeks Marine Inc., which was the only firm to bid on the town’s beach projects.

The town’s engineer initially estimated the project to cost $38.85 million.

Although they didn’t place a bid, Mopps said Norfolk Dredging Co., Manson Construction Co. and Great Lakes Dredge and Dock considered bidding on Longboat Key’s beach projects.

“These are the giants in the industry,” Mopps said. “[They] were looking at this project.”

Mayor Ken Schneier asked Mopps why Weeks’ bid came in lower than the initial estimated cost, especially without a competing bid.

“This is just speculation because I’m not a contractor, but when you had Great Lakes and Weeks both looking at the project, and they’re like two of the biggest dogs in the dog park barking at each other, then it was a very competitive nature of this bid,” Mopps said.

SAVINGS IN HAULING

Mopps said the majority of the savings comes in a cheaper cost for Weeks to haul sand from Passage Key. Instead of up to $60 per cubic yard for a truck haul, Mopps said it will cost about $33 on average per cubic yard of sand by using Weeks’ equipment for the project.

Vice Mayor Mike Haycock asked what happens to the surplus of money if the project costs less than what the town budgeted.

“Depending on how much

Highlighted area indicates section of the beach temporarily closed to boating and other activities.

money is in the account, it could be used for different purposes,” Town Manager Tom Harmer said.

“It could offset the next nourishment period. It could be used to pay down the existing bond.

That’s up to the commission during the budget process.”

The savings comes after Manatee County commissioners voted in December 2020 to approve an agreement with Longboat Key for $2.69 million as part of the town’s beach renourishment project.

The county’s contribution is a part of Longboat Key’s multiyear plan worth between $42.5 million and $47.5 million to renourish 10 miles of gulf beaches.

Beyond the cost of sand dredging and transport, there are other costs, such as engineering and monitoring fees.

In October 2020, town commissioners voted to authorize up to $22 million in bonds to finance several beach maintenance projects.

The town plans to pay off the bond debt in six to eight years.

Mopps said segment one on the north end of the island is the most pressing part of the beach renourishment project. The plan to build five permeable rock groins is expected to complement the two existing groins already in place.

Work on the Gulfside Road part of the project will pull sand from Longboat Pass. The town plans this part of the work to start as soon as Manatee County’s Coquina Beach FEMA projects wrap up.

The Coquina Beach project is expected to dredge between 70,000 and 100,000 cubic yards of sand.

The Gulfside Road project is expected to start in spring, and crews will dredge what’s left of the initial 200,000 cubic yards of sand left at Longboat Pass. The town is still sorting out a contractor for this part of the project.

Regular dredging of Longboat Pass by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ended in 1998.

NEW PASS WORK

As for the New Pass groin maintenance and south-end nourishment, construction is set to start in winter 2022. It will tighten the groin and take about 120 days to finish.

“It should be a fairly short project, so we can do this entire project outside of shorebird and turtle nesting season,” Mopps said.

Mopps credited all the different parties involved in the massive beach project.

“The teamwork that it took to get to the point where we could actually do this really big project at this cost-saving, in the timeline that we’re doing and getting all the agencies and the consultants and the contractor together and getting them to agree to allow this magnitude of a project to go on, when we’re doing it, is a major win on everybody’s part,” Mopps said.

THE PLANS

Projects Manager Charlie Mopps presented the town’s beach plans to commissioners Monday afternoon.

They include: SEGMENT 1 ■ North end/ Greer Island: Construct five permeable rock groins and 200,000 cubic yards of beach fill SEGMENT 2 ■ Central Key: 350,000 cubic yards of beach fill SEGMENT 3 ■ South Key/ Longboat Club Road: 160,000 cubic yards of beach fill.

This part of the project is optional depending upon funds.

A typical dump truck holds about 10-14 cubic yards.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

STAFF WRITER

In a typical season, the Longboat Key Club is a hotbed for social events, cocktail hours and dinners. But since the coronavirus pandemic began, there have been fewer events than ever before, and the club is continuing to tighten its safety measures as the pandemic continues.

As of late January, the club is restricting club-sponsored events to 40 or fewer people and will reevaluate in 60 days, in late March. Private events, such as weddings, will not be affected.

“We’ve taken it down to small levels where people feel more comfortable, … [and] we’re trying to come up with more small events that we can manage even closer,” Rick Konsavage said.

This means driving a hard line on mask-wearing and social distancing. Already, the club required face masks, temperature checks and social distancing, but it’s going to work to tighten up loose ends, Konsavage said.

There will still be small clubsponsored events, but Konsavage noted there would be more sitdown events — to encourage less mingling around a room — with

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LIVE Demonstrations

40 or fewer people. With larger events, there can be a tendency to get lax with COVID-19 protocols as the evening wears on, so Konsavage hopes that by restricting attendees, they can make enforcing the protocols easier.

Konsavage said he worries for the safety of his staff. Although he hopes the area is heading into the homestretch of the pandemic and that vaccinations will make it possible to lessen the event restrictions, safety is top of mind.

“Our big focus is keeping our staff safe,” he said. “They have families to go home to, and they can’t afford to bring the virus home.”

Groups including the Republicans Club of Longboat Key, which hosts monthly meetings in Harbourside Ballroom, are also taking a pause. Club President Scott Gray cited concern for the health of members and support for Konsavage’s decision.

“We feel very confident that as soon as conditions change for the better, it will be able to go back to having our monthly meetings,” Gray said. “Now, is that going to be March? I don’t know. … The pandemic is going to dictate that.”

As for member organizations, such as the women’s golf organizations, they can still use the facilities as normal. However, the golfers usually meet for a catered lunch after a round, and it’s rare to see fewer than 40 in attendance.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

5A

Key Club hires new director of resort operations Diane Rodriguez has two decades of experience in hospitality management.

MARK BERGIN STAFF WRITER

T

he Longboat Key Club has a new director of resort operations.

Diane Rodriguez is taking over for General Manager Rick Benninghove, who resigned from his position in January. Benninghove has decided to pursue a business with his wife, said Rick Konsavage, the Key Club’s managing director.

Rodriguez comes to the Key Club from Miami with two decades of experience in hospitality management.

“I bring passion. I bring tenacity. I bring a love of people,” Rodriguez said. “If you treat your associates right, they’re going turn around and treat your guests right. And so for me, I live by that philosophy.”

Rodriguez is responsible for overseeing the Key Club’s resort property, including the units themselves, lobby area, pool and restaurants.

“This is my baby, here,” Rodri-

guez said.

Rodriguez has worked with Marriott International, Hilton Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group and Ocean Properties Hotels and Resorts, which owns the Longboat Key Club.

As part of Marriott’s Florida regional sales office, she represented more than 60 hotels and 21 brands from Key Largo to Jacksonville.

She has worked with Konsavage since October 2010 as part of Ocean Properties.

Rodriguez is also a licensed Florida real estate associate. She holds a business administration associate of arts degree from Miami-Dade College and a certificate in hospitality and tourism management from Florida Atlantic University.

In October 2020, Condé Nast Traveler named the Resort at the Longboat Key Club as its 23rd best resort in Florida.

Condé Nast’s rankings came out before the resort finished renovations late last year, which included redoing the pool deck and the additions of the Banyan Poolside Lounge and Latitudes restaurant.

“It’s put us at another level,” Konsavage said. “When they come back and redo [the] rank-

Mark Bergin

Diane Rodriguez began in January as the Longboat Key Club’s director of resort operations.

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941.917.1286 | smhf.org A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE OR BY VISITING www.freshfromflorida.com/divisions-offices /consumer-services. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. (REGISTRATION #CH103) THE HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION WILL USE THE FUNDS FOR THE STATED PURPOSE BUT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO USE THE GIFT IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH ITS CHARITABLE PURPOSE IF THE STATED PURPOSE IS IMPOSSIBLE OR IMPRACTICAL TO ACHIEVE.

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■ Food: Flan and lasagna ■ Musician: Sade ■ Music genre: Classic rock ■ Hobbies: Going to concerts, fitness, volunteering and baking ■ Pets: Two Boston terriers, Brody and Hershey, and a cat, Maley

ings, I think we’re going to even move up even further.”

Even with the resort’s recent renovations, Rodriguez sees opportunities for improvements.

She said it includes renovating the exterior of the buildings to enhance the arrival experience and making sure the Key Club provides top-notch service.

Rodriguez spoke highly of her relationship with Konsavage for the past decade, when she worked for the company from 2010-2019.

It’s something she hopes to continue in her role with the club.

“It’s just elevating the service,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez hopes to bring the Key Club a fresh set of eyes.

“There’s a beautiful culture in Longboat Key,” she said. “The people that have been here, [say], 16 years, right now, I’m a student.

I’m learning from them. I just want to basically merge both the culture here at Longboat Key and also my culture as well.”

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Lido motel sells for $23.5 million, buyer plans condominiums

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The former Gulf Beach Resort Motel has sold for $23.5 million.

The property was co-listed

by Elliot Rose with Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT and Judy Kepecz-Hays with Coldwell Banker’s Longboat Key office.

The buyer plans to redevelop the 2.3-acre site as a beachfront luxury condominium tower.

The Gulf Beach Resort Motel is at 930 Benjamin Franklin Drive on Lido Key in Sarasota. Built in 1950, the motel was part of the post-World War II motel construction boom that addressed the needs of a growing number of tourists to the area. In 1977, the motel was converted into a condominium form of ownership.

“This site attracted substantial interest from potential buyers, and we received multiple offers from several developers,” Rose said in a statement. “The new, modern luxury condominium development being planned

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Sarasota’s Historic Preservation Board voted 5-1 in July to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the demolition of the motel. The then-prospective owner of the property and the owners of the individual units argued the aging property was not of architectural significance, was no longer competitive with neighboring resorts and did not warrant the investment it would take to refurbish the buildings.

City staff recommended approval of the demolition permit, in part because a 2003 historic designation did not indicate any architectural significance for the structures on the property.

In 1977, the motel was converted into a condominium form of ownership with 43 units.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

7A

New Pass Bridge repairs start in February The COVID-19 pandemic caused supply materials to arrive later than anticipated, delaying the project’s start.

TO-DO LIST

Here are 14 jobs envisioned as part of the bridge’s $2.77 million rehab: ■ Repair approach span ■ Clean and seal deck ■ Replace concrete deck expansion joint seals ■ Replace bearing pads ■ Clean and paint movable span steel ■ Replace steel open grid deck ■ Apply overlay at concretefilled grid deck ■ Clean and coat concrete beams and traffic barriers ■ Rebalance movable span ■ Clean and coat concrete at original bridge abutments ■ Rehabilitate mechanical speed reducer and gear train in the drawbridge mechanism ■ Recondition span locks ■ Replace traffic barrier motor ■ Replace underwater cables

MARK BERGIN STAFF WRITER

Repair work and structural improvements to New Pass Bridge are set to finally begin this month.

The state initially planned to begin work in June 2020 on the $2.77 million improvements to the bridge connecting Longboat Key and City Island. Delays sending materials to contractor Quinn Construction Inc. then pushed the project back to August and then September 2020.

“Due to COVID-19’s impact on the supply chain, materials were delayed,” Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson Brian Rick said.

“Otherwise, this was scheduled to have been done off season.

Fortunately, we can still maintain the current two lanes of traffic and posted speed and make the needed improvements.”

The state does not anticipate the 14-part project to inconvenience drivers, boaters, pedestrians or bikers.

However, nighttime bridge closures are required from 3-5 a.m. throughout the project. The state says no delay will be longer than 30 minutes.

Also, large boats that require the opening of the bridge will

Mark Bergin

Crews from Quinn Construction Inc. are scheduled to begin work in February on New Pass Bridge.

need to request it six hours in advance.

“The bridge will begin its next improvement project, designed to mitigate the effects of the area’s aggressive coastal environment, extend the service life of the bridge and improve its operational reliability,” an FDOT news release states.

I m p rove m e n t s include mechanical and electrical aspects of the bridge, such as rehabilitating the mechanical speed reducer,

gear train, span locks and underwater power cable.

“These components will allow the bridge to continue to operate safely and effectively,” Rick said.

“Also, because of the extremely aggressive coastal environment, it is important to maintain the steel components of the bridge.”

Overlook Park on the northwest end of the bridge will serve as the construction staging area. Crews are scheduled to complete construction by this summer.

Rick said FDOT continues to monitor the bridge because of the “aggressive marine environment” and because Florida experiences severe weather events.

The improvements are expected to last 10-15 years.

The project will also replace some bridge parts near the end of their service life and protect other parts, such as repainting the main span to protect it from corrosion.

On the north end of the island, the hope is for Longboat Pass

Bridge to last another 10 years.

A document from the FDOT’s Office of Work Program and Budget shows $2.13 million will pay for a study of the Longboat Pass Bridge’s continued longevity. Rick said the study started in February 2020. It is expected to take about four years to complete the study to determine if the state should replace the bridge.

A public kickoff meeting about the study is scheduled for March, Rick said.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

LONGBOAT

OPINION / OUR VIEW

HB 35: Bad for Floridians Florida’s GOP lawmakers say they’re the champions of less government, more transparency and free enterprise. Their actions don’t show it.

PROTECTIONISM

MATT WALSH

H

ere we go again. The annual Hatfieldand-McCoy shootout between Florida’s Republican legislators and Florida’s mostly liberal, daily newspapers.

For the most part, Florida’s Republican lawmakers — especially those in leadership positions — despise Florida’s newspapers, especially the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Palm Beach Post. And these lawmakers have longed to shoot enough buckshot through those newspapers to shut them down. Or at least seriously hurt them financially.

This year, in the 2021 legislative session, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls are more determined than ever. They are lined up to win, and their weapon of choice: House Bill 35.

The plan: Change the statutes to shift mandated public notices out of newspapers onto government websites.

It’s not an idea that’s likely to stir most taxpayers and voters.

Indeed, it’s not a major social issue like abortion or guns or health care for the poor.

But it is an important issue.

It affects every Floridian every day. Indeed, it goes to the heart of making sure state and local governments and all of their agencies operate openly and transparently. It goes to the heart of giving Floridians a say in how their state and local governments operate. And in many instances, it also goes to the heart of due process: protecting Floridians from having their properties unfairly and illegally confiscated.

But little of that matters to Republican lawmakers. The fact that state and local governments and their agencies outsource the publishing of this information to newspapers and pay newspapers to publish the notices drives the anti-press lawmakers crazy.

To them, publishing notices in newspapers is a big, fat subsidy for the businesses that constantly criticize what they do.

DeSantis, Simpson, Sprowls and dozens of other Republican lawmakers are determined to end that.

What better way to do in this digital, online age than to decree all notices can be published on government-controlled websites.

Dear readers, this is a bad idea. Bad for taxpayers, bad for Florida.

We will show you why and propose an alternative.

Full disclosure: Our company and all of the paid-subscription newspapers in Florida generate revenues and profits from publishing government-mandated public notices. So it’s easy to conclude Observer Media Group Inc. has a vested interest in protecting the status quo.

But in fact, our company has been lobbying for more than a decade that the state’s public notice laws need reforming and updating. In part, we’ve been making the same argument lawmakers have made: that the Legislature decades ago crafted public notice laws in a way that gives daily newspapers and paid-subscription newspapers a protected monopoly.

In fact, we argue the state’s daily newspapers are exactly what their editorials often criticize. They’re a special interest that uses the Legislature for special protectionism.

While lawmakers complain about the cost to taxpayers of publishing public notices, a portion of that cost is a direct result of the lack of competition they created to begin with.

At the risk of too much regulatory mumbo jumbo, here’s the deal: To qualify to publish public notices, newspapers, among other things, must publish five or more days a week. They also must have a periodical permit from the U.S. Postal Service, which requires more than 50% of the paper’s distribution to be paid subscribers.

That means free weeklies are ineligible for public notices — that is, if the government body wants to meet its requirements for valid public notices. Many municipalities still publish notices in their communities’ free weeklies because they know the notices reach and are read by the taxpayers the cities and counties want to reach.

So here’s one of the conundrums of the statutes: The laws apply to a changed marketplace.

Readership and circulation of free weeklies now surpass the readership of paid dailies in many of Florida’s markets.

What’s more, the cost to publish in free weeklies often is less than the cost in the local paid daily.

Stand-alone websites are also prohibited from qualifying to publish public notices. The newspaper industry thwarted these potential competitors’ websites when it lobbied the Legislature to modify the statutes by requiring papers that publish public notices in print to post all notices on

their websites as well — at no charge. The industry also created FloridaPublicNotices.com, a site that aggregates all notices from around the state — at no charge.

Those two steps made Florida’s public notice laws a national model. Indeed, to a large extent, you can argue Florida public notice laws are working — except for the lack of competition.

NO PUBLIC OUTCRY

Here’s another barometer: Not once in a quarter-century has a consumer group or mobs of angry citizens lobbied lawmakers for changes in public notice laws. There is no public outcry for changing the state’s public notice laws.

The only groups that complain are local governments and oneoff lawmakers who want revenge against their local newspaper for having published critical and/or unflattering reports about them.

Local government bureaucrats complain primarily during recessions, when they must cut their budgets. They say they will save taxpayers millions of dollars by not having to publish notices in newspapers — if only they could post public notices on their own websites.

That is baloney. The cost of public notice advertising for most local governments is hardly noticeable in the scheme of annual spending. One example: Two years ago, when we measured public notice spending for Sarasota County, it amounted to 0.02% of a $1 billion budget — $267,000. That’s typical.

Local government officials should be honest. Their money gripe is a cover for their real objections. They don’t like paying to do business with what they regard as an adversary and enemy. They think public notices are a nuisance, a time suck for staff. They believe their lives would be much easier if they handled public notices on their own websites. After all, isn’t that where the world is — online? Who reads newspapers? the argument goes.

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, agrees with all of this.

Fine is regarded as one of the Legislature’s Republican bulls and bullies. If he comes up with a legislative proposal, he cares little about anyone’s objections.

He showed this last session when, seemingly out of nowhere, he proposed that New College of Florida, based in Sarasota, be merged with the one of the other larger state universities. That totally surprised Sarasota-Bradenton lawmakers and the New

NEWSPAPERS ARE IN THEIR SIGHTS

Gov. Ron DeSantis

Senate Pres.

Wilton Simpson

Speaker Chris Sprowls

Rep. Randy Fine

College administration.

Two years ago, after the Florida Today newspaper published critical stories about Fine, he responded by filing a bill that no longer would require public notices to be published in newspapers. The law would allow them to be published on “publicly accessible websites,” e.g., government-operated websites.

The bill died.

It passed in the House in 2020 but died in the Senate. Now it’s back a third time.

Last year, while speaking in committee on behalf of the bill, Fine told his colleagues: “The problem is the dramatic subsidy and cost that we’re putting on local governments by requiring them to buy these ads that people aren’t reading at vastly inflated prices. That is where the issue is.”

DANGERS OF ONLINE ONLY

The issue is much more than that. There are multiple issues.

A “dramatic subsidy”?

Perhaps a more precise depiction would be a government-sanctioned monopoly.

Lawmakers did this. They gave paid-subscription, daily newspapers a monopoly.

And if the dailies’ prices are too high, as Fine says, hello, that’s what happens when there is little competition.

A subsidy? Lawmakers seem to forget there is work involved handling public notices. Just as governments pay other private vendors to perform outsourced services, the same goes for newspapers. There is a cost to paper, printing and distribution.

Fine and many other lawmakers also argue it no longer makes sense that public notices have not migrated to online-only publishing. It would be so much more efficient if government agencies were allowed to post public notices on their own websites, they argue.

This has multiple dangers.

Who trusts any government to be 100% honest and transparent? Who wants the government to be the sole disseminator of public information? What’s more, who trusts that information on the internet is authentic, reliable, trustworthy and verifiable — crucial to public notices?

That public notices flow through newspapers, a third party, is a safety mechanism for taxpayers. As part of their job with notices, newspapers are required to file sworn affidavits acknowledging the veracity and time of the notices and to archive notices in perpetuity in the event they are challenged. Governments can do that, too, but who trusts a fox in the hen house?

Here’s another serious flaw with governments publishing notices online: Few people would see them, negating two of the purposes of public notices, visibility and accessibility.

For instance, who do you know would spend the time searching government websites for public notices of tax increases, zoning changes, water-use permits, deaths of creditors, upcoming public meetings and dozens of other government actions that affect taxpayers?

One of the positives of still having notices in print is the serendipitous nature of them.

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

Friedrich Hayek

“Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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When readers page through their local papers, they discover unexpected news and information. Likewise with public notices. Newspapers push out notices to the public.

When online, they sit in darkness until someone seeks them out. That’s not public notice.

The result of online-only notices: much less government transparency.

HYPOCRITES IN ACTION

Altogether, here is the paradox of what Fine and other Republican lawmakers want when they say government agencies should publish online public notices: They are hypocrites.

Republicans tout themselves as the champions of smaller government, government transparency and accountability and private enterprise, jobs and market competition.

But almost everything they are proposing with HB 35 will achieve the opposite: bigger government, more government cost, more government control and power over public information, less transparency, less private enterprise and fewer private jobs.

Yes, Florida’s public notice laws need reforming to fit the times. But that doesn’t mean simply shifting them all online — for the reasons cited above.

Indeed, daily print newspapers might be declining in readership, but free weekly newspapers are thriving, and both still are relevant and a valid source for public notice because of the serenidipity described above, accessibility in print and online, and the veracity and verifiability.

In our libertarian world,

we would let the marketplace decide how to operate public notices. Let the purveyors of public notices decide which media make the most sense to disseminate their public notices — newspapers, TV stations, websites, radio — for effective public notice. And let private businesses that want to publish the notices compete.

They would do so on the basis of meeting their customers’ needs (e.g., effectiveness, transparency, cost, accessibility, reliability and verifiability).

We know that scenario is unlikely. By the same token, to adopt HB 35 (or an even worse proposal in Senate Bill 402) would ignore and disregard what is really needed.

Public notices — the act of keeping citizens and taxpayers informed of their governments’ activities — are essential and necessary for a proper functioning democratic republic.

As such, they deserve serious deliberation.

If DeSantis, Simpson and Sprowls want to serve Floridians, rather than adopt HB 35, they should examine and explore the following questions: In this age of digital information, what would be the most effective form of delivering effective public notices? What would be the most effective way to serve the taxpayers’ needs?

We urge Florida’s lawmakers to be thoughtful and smart.

Answer those questions before changing anything.

If anything needs a barrage of buckshot, it would be HB 35.

Simulate roundabout plan I have lived on Longboat Key since 2004, so I have seen a few things come and go.

Can smarter minds prevail in requesting that the civil engineers and highway planners who want to build a roundabout on Gulfstream do Monte Carlo simulations to predict potential traffic outcomes that reflect long-standing traffic patterns?

A Monte Carlo simulation is designed to take into account chance and uncertainty to make reliable outcome predictions.

I can’t think of a more important simulation, so we don’t find out in hindsight that this was a horrific idea.

Let the simulation speak for itself instead of biased opinions.

PATRICK GAUGHAN LONGBOAT KEY

Common sense op-ed speaks truth I am visiting from Columbus, Ohio. My third year here. I was so glad to read a common sense op-ed in the Longboat Observer.

The piece spoke the truth.

Columbus has been completely overrun with liberal socialists in our local offices — mayor, city council, prosecutor, police, safety director — that I don’t know if I should live there anymore.

Our city burned and had BLM protests last year. Police officers are leaving. The capitol

of Ohio is no longer safe. It reminds me of Portland.

Keep up the good work.

JEFF BARNES COLUMBUS, OHIO AND LONGBOAT KEY

Don’t forget the pedestrian tunnel I have been a resident of Longboat Key for 24 years and have been amazed at the number of residents who are not aware of the “underpass/tunnel” that runs underneath Gulf of Mexico Drive between the entrance to South Bay Isles and the flashing yellow light.

Recently, as I was in my car exiting Bay Isles, I noticed a man on a bicycle waiting for a spot in the busy line of traffic to walk his bike across the street to Sea Place. I tried to get his attention to inform him about the underpass just north of where we were, but he had no idea what I was attempting to tell him.

I’ve always wondered why there is no signage whatsoever indicating the presence of the underpass. It seems like a no-brainer to inform citizens that there is, indeed, a safe place to cross Gulf of Mexico Drive if only people knew of its existence.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

the flight. It was refreshing to say that I enjoyed your opinion page, contrary to what I would expect in print these days.

However, what caught my eye was a letter to the editor regarding unbridled capitalism. At first, I thought it amusing that the writer of the letter who supposedly opposes capitalism is a resident of Longboat Key. Is he opposed to unbridled capitalism or just opposed to people who legally build wealth and support conservatism?

I question this because he makes no reference to the big monopolistic tech giants or from the corrupt politicians who use their office to extort wealth unethically and illegally. I did not see the names of Clinton, Obama or Biden mentioned in his letter, all corrupt, all wealthy, all using their office to extort riches while riding the backs of American taxpayers.

It is obvious that regardless of the suspect results of the Biden election, many people in this country have no idea what is ethical and what is unethical behavior in politics.

Although I found the contents of the letter predictable, it is certainly very troubling that this writer has no idea.

CLIFF KRAWEIC LOUISVILLE, KY.

SUSAN CLARKE LONGBOAT KEY

Don’t overlook corrupt politicians On my return flight home from a visit to Sarasota this past week, I picked up a copy of your Jan. 7 edition to read on

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Longboat officer assists in foggy water rescue The rescue occurred the morning of Jan. 23 after the boat hit a sandbar near New Pass.

MARK BERGIN STAFF WRITER

Courtesy photo

Sarasota Police Department marine officer Michael Skinner and Longboat Key marine patrol officer Joshua Connors helped rescue two people whose boat hit a sandbar Jan. 23 near New Pass.

Marine patrol officers from Longboat Key and Sarasota police departments rescued two people Jan. 23 after their boat hit a sandbar near New Pass.

Everyone is safe, and there were no injuries, according to both marine patrols.

“It always feels good to rescue someone knowing that you gave that person a second chance in life,” Longboat Key marine patrol officer Joshua Connors said.

Connors said he believes that once the boat hit the sandbar, its engine failed, and the hull began

filling with water.

“It was almost like a sitting duck,” Connors said.

Sarasota Police Department officer Michael Skinner was first to arrive around 7:30 a.m. Jan. 23. Law enforcement agencies’ marine units typically back each other up during a water rescue.

Connors arrived shortly afterward. He helped other boats coming out of New Pass channel navigate around the scene because of the foggy conditions.

“The weather conditions were what I would call ‘pea soup fog,’ with visibility limited to no more than 100 feet,” Connors said.

Connors said the weather conditions made the rescue a little more difficult.

“These types of conditions … our training served its purpose,” Connors said.

A commercial towing service brought the vessel to the 10th Street boat ramp, Connors said.

Connors recommended boaters check the weather report before heading onto the water.

“These people were going out to fish,” Connors said. “They should have waited until the fog lifted or at least cleared a little bit.”

Connors also advised boaters to have a cellphone and a marine VHF radio in case they need to call the Coast Guard.

“You can always use your second means of communications if you have a cellphone,” Connors said.

“You might have VHF range and not cellphone range, or you might have cellphone, and your VHF doesn’t work, so it’s always good to have a second means of communication.”

The boaters rescued Jan. 23 had called 911 using a phone.

“Considering the conditions in this particular rescue, the people were lucky with a great outcome,” Connors said.

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made them more informative, and a pre-pandemic meeting with red tide expert Lenny Landau drew residents of all ideologies, he said.

“I think educating our members on current events and hot topics is always an admirable goal for the club, regardless of who’s running it,” Gray said.

Although it might be difficult to grow the club during COVID-19, Gray hopes to keep new members coming and reach across the aisle with interesting and relevant local speakers. As the population of Florida and Sarasota itself grows, Gray just wants to be able to keep up.

“I think it’s important that we continue to reach out to the new residents and try and get them to come join in with us,” Gray said.

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Gray is joined by an entirely new board. The club has first and second vice presidents Paul Hylbert and Chris Sachs and first and second vice presidents, respectively, secretary Jane Hunter and treasurer Bob Parish.

Please note, forums do fill quickly.

PHILIP MEINHARDT, M.D.

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they’d donate the rest. McElmeel and his board quickly shook up the format and reach of the club to dinner meetings and off-island residents and started getting more visitors.

After getting involved with the club through his Longboat Key Club membership and friendship with McElmeel, Gray was “voluntold,” in McElmeel’s words, to become club president in 2020 when McElmeel decided to step down. He now hopes to be a successful “past president” and to guide Gray as he settles in.

“Scott is a talented individual as a leader,” McElmeel said. “I want him to be extremely successful.

And even the previous board and myself, we’ll do everything we possibly can to help him out.”

For the most part, Gray hopes to continue the formula for the club that brought members and success to McElmeel: a monthly social dinner featuring a speaker, educational opportunities for members and support for local candidates. Since 2019, they’ve had authors, Longboat Key town leaders including Town Manager Tom Harmer and the police and fire chiefs, Mote Marine experts, red tide specialists, military members and local candidates speak at the dinners.

“We’re a social club, and we get together and enjoy our social times, we have fun at our meetings, we have fun with the dinners, and it’s important that we educate ourselves, and we become responsible voters,” Gray said.

The meetings are not always, or even often, political, and both Gray and McElmeel emphasized that the meetings are open to anybody who wants to come. McElmeel set a rule against making meetings contentious and instead

|

The Tidewell Foundation and Stratum Family of Companies welcome you to the Tidewell Foundation Building showcasing an outstanding group of health and wellness organizations ready to brighten the lives of the Longboat Key community.

02/03 To learn more call 941-552-7546 or visit www.TidewellFoundation.org.

Healthcare Closer To Home!

Monday & Thursday—Primary Care Connexis Medical Services ConnexisMedical.org 941.748.8400

Monday & Thursday—Ear/Nose/Throat & Audiology The Silverstein Institute EarSinus.com 941.366.9222 Wednesday—Podiatry Advanced Foot and Ankle Care SarasotaFootDoctors.com 941.921.3000 Friday—Dermatology Luminary Dermatology 941.926.6553 LuminaryDermatology.com

Fitness Quest Physical Therapy Offering in home care services to help you live the life you want, the way you want.

For a private consultation, Call or Email 941.706.2695 nkobritz@youthfulaginghomecare.com youthfulaginghomecare.com

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(941) 209-3999 Open Weekdays 8am-5pm Now Located at 540 Bay Isles Road Personalized, one-on-one Therapy on Longboat Key!

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MONDAYS 10-11am Stretch & Strengthen 11:15am-12:15pm Hula Dance 1-3pm Thinking Out Loud Discussion Group TUESDAYS 10-11am Qi Gong 1-3pm Mah Jongg WEDNESDAYS 10-11am Tai Chi THURSDAYS 10-11am Zumba & Pilates FRIDAYS 10-11am Yoga & Meditation

AGING IN PLACE Seminars

Presented by Youthful Aging Home Care: Learn how to live independently, safely and comfortably in your own home.

February 17 Neuro-Nutrition March 24 Overcoming Isolation 1-2pm Webinar OR In Person at TPC Call to Register 941.383.6493

FEBRUARY 10:

FREE MEMORY SCREENING Call to Register 941.383.6493

•Exercise classes are held outdoors with social distancing. Registration not needed.

•Facemasks are required for indoor activities.

•To check availability at the Mah Jongg tables, email: MaryAnnBrady@TheParadiseCenter.org •All activities are $10/person for Non-Members.

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Please refer to the schedule below and call each practice directly to schedule your appointment.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

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NO GRATITUDE 11:58 a.m., 4000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen dispute: A man sought to make a report to police after an argument. The man said the other person asked for help with a boat anchored nearby, and the man said he would help but was busy at the time. The argument began when the other person said the waiting was taking too long, and a threat was made. The incident concerned the man, who wanted his experience documented.

MUSICAL CHAIRS 1:46 p.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen dispute: A beachgoer called police to report someone had moved her beach chairs.

While an officer spoke with the caller, a man walked up and said

JAN. 26

MONEY MACHINE 6:05 p.m., 525 Bay Isles Parkway Found property: An employee of a business near an automatic teller machine called police after two people reported finding cash and a receipt in the slots, as if a user had been distracted or forgot to take them. An officer took the cash and the receipt and packaged and placed them into secure storage at the police department.

he had moved them because he believed they were on his property. The officer explained the sand below the high-tide mark is public. The officer told the man not to touch the chair after the man said he would research beach boundary issues.

LATE FOR EARLY DINNER 4:55 p.m., Broadway Street Traffic: An officer spotted a vehicle that appeared to be driving faster than the posted 20 mph speed limit and confirmed it with radar. The driver, who said he was late for dinner at a restaurant, was issued a written warning for 32 mph.

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SURFIN’ LBK 5:33 p.m., Gulfside Road Parking: An officer was sent to a neighborhood adjacent to a public access point for the beach to speak with a person upset about parking and trespassing when waves attracted surfers.

By the time the officer arrived, the vehicle was gone, but the officer assured the resident that the department was aware of the issue. A patrol request was added for the area by the officer.

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

a bike in a commercial parking lot. An officer found the youngster sitting next to his bike on a sidewalk and suggested he find a different lot in which to ride.

OPEN GOVERNMENT 8:26 p.m., 500 block of Bay Isles Road Security check: Police found a door to a municipal building unsecured. Two officers entered the building but found no signs of forced entry or other crimes. The door was locked on the way out.

HOPPIN’ AND BOPPIN’ 10 p.m., 6000 block of Emerald Harbor Drive Noise: A caller to police who didn’t want to meet with an officer complained about noise in the neighborhood. An officer found the source, and the music was turned off.

JAN. 23

NOT WELCOME 6:04 p.m., 5300 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Juvenile call: Police responded to a complaint of a child riding

WE’LL EAT OUT 9:48 a.m., 5600 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Alarm: Police and firefighters responded to a fire alarm that was found to have been triggered by cooking smoke. No fire was reported.

TECH TIPS 11:27 a.m., 1900 block of Harbourside Drive Citizen assistance: A resident told police he had been hacked sometime ago, had his device checked professionally and now was getting calls related to renewal of security software. The man said he had not lost money or personal data. The officer recommended he not answer calls from unfamiliar numbers, not allow remote access to his computer and consider having a firewall installed.

WAVE 1, RIDER 0 3:40 p.m., near New Pass Rescue: The town’s marine patrol officer brought aboard his boat a person who broke his ankle when hitting a wave on a personal watercraft. The rider had fallen from the craft and was in pain. A Sarasota marine officer assisted as the victim was brought to a mainland spot for fire rescue to take him to the hospital.

NEVER MIND 10:15 p.m.,, Gulf of Mexico Drive and Longboat Club Road Animal complaint: Police were alerted to the presence of a turtle near the road, but before an

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officer could arrive, a follow-up call confirmed the turtle had left the area.

JAN. 24

WATCH OUT 7:31 p.m., 2200 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen dispute: A pair of cyclists notified police of a close call they had experienced while riding in a parking lot nearby, though officers could not locate a car answering their description.

The couple said they stopped abruptly when a car backed out and incidentally touched them.

The driver continued on without stopping.

JAN. 25

MILE A MINUTE 2:26 p.m., 500 block of Broadway Street Traffic: An officer conducting traffic enforcement spotted a vehicle turn from Gulf of Mexico Drive and accelerate. Initial reading in the 20 mph area on a radar display indicated 37 mph, which increased to 61 mph then fell to 49 mph as the vehicle approached the police unit. The driver was issued a citation for 49 mph.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

15A

JAN. 27

STOP, HUH? 8:33 a.m., Ranger Lane and Bogey Lane Traffic: An officer on patrol witnessed a vehicle roll through a stop sign. The driver had no reason for the infraction and was issued a citation.

PHOTOS ARE CONFIRMED 2:32 p.m., police headquarters Information report: A real estate agent filed a report concerning damage done to a vacant home’s interior almost a year previous. Photos depicted missing fixtures, cabinets, pool and air conditioning equipment.

An officer confirmed the photos’ accuracy.

JAN. 28

SSSSHHHHH 1:37 p.m., 6700 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive Citizen assist: A car alarm sounding in a parking lot brought police to a residential complex to investigate. They found a woman who said she was having trouble with her car and couldn’t call an auto service because of a failing cellphone battery. Police called for roadside auto service and a friend to come to the scene.

Interior Design | Unique Furnishings | Home Accessories

“An Evening with Pulitzer Prize & Tony Award Winning Playwright David Auburn” Friday, February 5th @ 5pm • Hermitage Beach & Live Stream Hermitage Fellow David Auburn (Proof) will speak about his work and his creative process, and may even share from his new work in progress.

Presented in partnership with Florida Studio Theatre.

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“Blank Slate: Pushing Boundaries” Friday, February 19th @ 5pm • Hermitage Beach (Manasota Key) Performer, musician, and comedian Morgan Bassichis and multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, and performer Richard Kennedy will offer insight into their craft.

344166-1

“Sam & Lizzie” Play Readings Saturday, February 13th @ 5pm & 7:30pm • Hermitage Beach (Manasota Key) Written by Hermitage Fellow Emily Kaczmarek.

Sam and Lizzie have their first playdate on 9/11, creating an imaginary, fanciful queendom in order to make sense of the day.

Presented in collaboration with Urbanite Theatre.

For more information, including safety precautions and reservations (required), visit:

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4551 N. Washington Blvd.

Sarasota, FL 34234 941.355.8437

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OUR SHOWROOMS ARE OPEN Special Financing Available

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HermitageArtistRetreat.org

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

YOUR HOME DE SERVE S HUNTER D OUGLAS

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER

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NAT KAEMMERER STAFF WRITER

A

t Temple Beth Israel, there will still be a Scholar in Residence lecture like there is every year, but with one big difference. The scholar won’t actually be in residence.

Usually, the Scholar in Residence is a weekend of lectures, dinners and discussions with a Jewish scholar. Last year’s event included music, dinner, breakfast and high attendance. But this year, it’s a one-night Zoom event with Rabbi Daniel Cohen.

“In a way, it is easier to secure a speaker in this time and age because they don’t have the burden of travel and lodging arrangements,” TBI Executive Director Isaac Azerad said.

Cohen is a motivational speaker and author of a book called “What Will They Say About You When You’re Gone: Creating a Life of Legacy,” and Azerad took note of him because of his message of bettering not only your own life but also the world around you.

It’s an upbeat call to action that resonated with Azerad and the rest of those in charge of organizing the event.

“In this time of craziness, I think that’s the kind of message we want to bring to the world, that there’s hope, and we personally can do something about it to enhance the world,” Azerad said. “It stems from a Jewish

value of tikkun olam, and basically, tikkun olam stems from the words in Hebrew for repairing the world, that we are in a small way tasked to do something to make the world a slightly better place because of our existence.”

Cohen wasn’t the original choice, Azerad said, but his message fit well. Azerad pitched the change to the speakers committee, which was enthusiastic about Cohen because of his overarching message of hope. Luckily for TBI, Cohen was available.

“He speaks to the universal language of love and cooperation and living life in such a way that you make an impact on other people, which I think is the message that we all crave,” Azerad said. “Right now that we’re in such isolation, he has a way of bringing people together.”

Even in the confines of Zoom, there might be some of the same follow-up to the event as there have been in previous years.

Every Friday, the temple has a virtual Shabbat dinner with loosely guided discussion topics.

In previous years, the in-person Shabbat dinner would serve as an extension of the scholar’s stay, and Azerad hopes that continues to some degree this year.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

17A

Orthopedic Care Designed to Restore Your Lifestyle

IF YOU GO SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE SERIES What: The free event is financed by the Charlotte P. Graver Fund, a part of the Sarasota County Community Foundation named after a former Temple Beth Israel member.

When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 Where: Zoom-only event Info: Email info@TBI-LBK.org to register.

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The occasion marks a weekend full of in-person lectures, though the scholar isn’t in residence this year.

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18A

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

TRIBUTES Ray W. Stewart 1947-2021 Ray W. Stewart, 73, of Atlanta, died January 21, 2021. Ray was born and raised in Atlanta, GA.

Syracuse Grand Rapids Flint

Cleveland Allentown Pittsburgh Harrisburg Des Moines South Bend Washington, D.C. / Fort Wayne Baltimore Columbus Indianapolis Cincinnati Richmond Louisville Belleville Rockford

Nashville

Knoxville

Asheville

Sarasota / Bradenton

He moved his family to Knoxville, Tennessee in his early 30s, and, along with Nashville’s, GG Wagoner, they opened a building supplies business, Knoxville Wholesale Bldg Products. They added, a 3rd business partner, Ron Lowery in Birmingham Alabama and in a span of less 5 years created a chain of KWBP warehouses all along the southeast that proved successful for many years. After being bought out by a competitor at age 54, my father retired and spent most of his time in Long Boat Key, FL where he loved playing golf with friends. He passed, being loved and admired by so many, in a battle with Alzheimer’s. He will be greatly missed by his loved ones.

Mr. Stewart is survived by his daughter, Dawn Stewart; daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Jeff Gies; grandsons, Emory Vinsant, Paul and Henry Gies; and brother, Donald Stewart. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association (act.alz.org) A Celebration of Mr. Stewart’s life will take place at a later date surrounded by his closest loved ones.

After being bought out by a competitor at age 54, my father retired and spent most of his time in Long Boat Key, FL where he loved playing golf with friends.

SERVICE: A Celebration of Mr. Stewart’s life will take place at a later date surrounded by his closest loved ones.

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DONATIONS: In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Alzheimer’s Association (act.alz.org)

Meet Our New

Neurology Specialists Joshua Pankratz, MD First Physicians Group is proud to introduce two new neurology specialists to the First Physicians Group Neurology office at Waldemere Medical Plaza, Dr. Joshua Pankratz and Dr. Zsofia Szabo.

A neurologist specializing in general neurology, epilepsy and neurophysiology, Dr. Pankratz joins FPG’s neurology division as a welcome addition to its multidisciplinary team. With a focus on epilepsy that includes medically intractable (drug-resistant) epilepsy, his practice includes EEG interpretation, both ambulatory and 24-hour continuous and neurostimulation treatment.

Specialty & Board Certification: Neurology Medical Education: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI Internship, Residency & Fellowship: University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, WI

Dr. Szabo joins the FPG Neurology team specializing in general neurology and neuromuscular disease. She also brings expertise in nerve conduction studies and electromyography, routine and continuous EEG, nerve blocks and botox injections. Both Dr. Szabo and Dr. Pankratz will provide inpatient and outpatient care at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

Accepting New Patients!

To schedule your appointment, please call (941) 917-8900.

Zsofia Szabo, MD Specialty & Board Certification: Neurology Medical Education: St. George’s University School of Medicine, Grenada, WI

First Physicians Group Neurology

Internship: NYC Health and Hospitals, Bronx, NY

1921 Waldemere St., Ste. 701, Sarasota, FL 34239

Residency & Fellowship: University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, WI

firstphysiciansgroup.com 349310-1

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Chorus continues Zoom rehearsals The singing group has gone digital in the hopes of returning together after the pandemic.

It’s a time for camaraderie that Rear deeply values. His involvement with a capella singing started 40 years ago, when he was wandering through a shopping mall with his wife in Langley, British Columbia.

Suddenly, he said, he heard the most beautiful harmony singing he had ever heard.

“Lo and behold, there was a group of guys in white shirts, red and white stripe vests with strap holders,” he said. “Just like you see in the movies.”

He has been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society ever since; he said he’s going 40 years strong. Although most people he knew in those days had an instrument and could carry a tune, Rear said that he always felt his voice was too deep to sing the folk melodies that were popular.

HARRY SAYER STAFF WRITER

I

t’s a slightly tired sentiment but a real one: It’s hard to make friends in a pandemic.

That is why Ken Rear, the president of the Sarasota Chorus of the Keys, feels fortunate.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and technical hurdles, Rear meets with many of his chorus friends each week for an evening rehearsal over Zoom.

Although they aren’t able to meet together and sing loud and proud as they used to, the group cherishes the meetings as a way to warm up their voices, sing new songs and keep in touch with one another.

“We only missed probably two weeks of rehearsal in March,” Rear said. “Since then, we have not missed one rehearsal.”

LEARN MORE

What: Chorus of the Keys weekly meetings When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays on Zoom Call: 321-6014 Website: ChorusOfTheKeys.org

With a capella, he found his groove.

“I found a spot where I could actually see and make a difference,” Rear said. “Instead of trying to sing a melody, I sang harmony. It was perfectly suited for my voice and for what I wanted to do.”

He joined the chapter in British Columbia and then the Sarasota Chorus of the Keys chapter when he moved to Florida in 2008. He took some time away and picked it back up in 2018.

The Sarasota chapter has a long history of activity. It was chartered in 1948, 10 years after

WORSHIP

Courtesy photo

its parent group, the Barbershop Harmony Society, started in 1938.

It’s a competitive organization that aims to win singing contests, but Rear said he also loves its structure and how it enables members to get better at the art form.

“It’s designed to allow people to improve their hobbies,” he said. “It’s a hobby that people get infected with the bug and become very passionate about it.”

The group had around 45 members including snowbirds upon Rear’s return to the group in 2018 and would perform at local venues, such as assisted living facilities. It’s been a fluid membership list for years with members always coming and going but with a handful of longtime members who have stayed for years.

The group performs an annual show in February, which was good timing because pandemicrelated shutdowns began just a

An Ecumenical Church that Welcomes all People Founded in 1956 347481-1

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

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month later. The group had been ready to tackle district competitions in Orlando but instead turned to a new challenge: reorganizing the group’s structure to practice singing together in large groups on Zoom.

Figuring out Zoom technology and uniting the many members was quite a challenge going into the initiative, but Rear said he felt it was worth it to keep his friends performing.

“We’re a group of a bunch of older guys, but there’s a lot of musical experience in this group,” Rear said. “I said, ‘We can’t stop because if we do, we’ll lose them.’”

Around 20 to 25 members now log on each week and go through new songs and old favorites. It was a difficult challenge at first, though, to find a way to rehearse together with an online service that only lets one person speak at a time.

The key, as it turned out, is the mute button. Although it might seem against the spirit of harmony singing, the way Chorus of the Key has found to rehearse each Tuesday night is to have one member lead off practice tunes and methods and then have the other members sing to themselves on their respective muted Zoom calls.

It’s a different approach but a consistent one where Rear’s members have assembled week in and week out for months.

Rear was recently given an award for his efforts organizing the weekly meetups in December, something that flabbergasted and honored the chapter leader. It’s been a labor of love for the chapter leader, and he said he’s just glad his members feel the same way.

“I am so gratified that all of these guys stuck with us,” Rear said.

“We found out I think over these last months that they weren’t coming just from the music. They were coming for the camaraderie because that’s what this society is all about.

It’s about family.”

Please join us in worship in person on Sunday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. or online at our website and Facebook Live Stream at 11 a.m.

6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive • Longboat Key, Florida 34228 • 941-383-6491

Follow us on Facebook • www.longboatislandchapel.org

Lord’s Warehouse Thrift Shop is Open Mon., Wed. & Sat., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

St. Mary, Star of the Sea,

5 Ways to Worship at All Angels

Catholic Church

All Angels Episcopal Church | 563 Bay Isles Rd

Would like to Welcome & Invite You, Your Family Members & Friends to Celebrate Mass with Our Parish Community WINTER MASS SCHEDULE Saturday: 3:30 PM & 5:00 PM Sunday: 8:00, 9:30 & 11:30 AM Daily Mass at 9:00 AM- Monday through Friday Confessions after daily Mass or by appointment

• Indoor worship services this Sunday at 8 am and 10 am Face covering required.

• Drive-in Church, Sunday at 10:00. Tune your car radio to 107.5 FM • Walk-up Church, enjoy the garden setting and listen to the service

Growing in Jesus’ Name

Temple Beth Israel

Worship With Us at Our Church Sunday Service 10:00 AM

A Center of Jewish Life and Learning in the Sarasota Area

Please Register to Attend • Masks Required

Your health and well-being are of the utmost concern to us!

941-900-4903 The Rev. Dr. Norman Pritchard or www.christchurchlbk.org (follow YouTube link)

6400 Gulf of Mexico Dr.

•

941.383.8833 (office)

•

www.christchurchlbk.org

347393-1

Visitors & Residents Welcome Watch our 10:00 AM service live: www.bit.ly/cclbksermons

still in effect. Please wear your mask, 4280 Gulf of Mexico Drive COVID-19 safety measures aregloves, and maintain social distancing, Longboat Key, FL 34228 and if you are sick, please stay home.

Rev. Robert Dziedziak, Pastor 383-1255 • www.stmarylbk.org

With the situation engendered by the current public health emergency around the country and the world, we want to err on the side of caution.

All TBI physical gatherings are postponed until further notice.

Please access our Shabbat Services and programs on our website, YouTube, Facebook and Zoom.

941.383.3428 | www.tbi-lbk.org

RABBI STEPHEN L. SNIDERMAN, D.D.

567 Bay Isles Road • Longboat Key, FL

347545-1

941-383-8161 • www.AllAngelsLBK.org

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• Zoom service - email dave@allangelsLBK.org for the link

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• Live-stream - go to AllAngelsLBK.org to watch on-line

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

ROGER SELLS

LUXURY WATERFRONT PROPERTIES RECORD-BREAKING MORE THAN $175 MILLION SOLD IN 2020

4009 CASEY KEY ROAD

$4,700,000

1300 BEN FRANKLIN DRIVE #907

$2,750,000

Breathtaking beach and sunset views welcome you to this lovely 5BR estate on the private enclave of Casey Key. From almost any room you can look out to the oceanside beyond while enjoying the nearly 5,000 SF of floor space, spread across two living levels. Walking a few steps to enjoy your own boardwalk to the beach is the ideal finishing touch.

Striking beach and bay views perfectly complement an exclusive RitzCarlton lifestyle at this 9th-floor getaway. The open-concept interior is spread across 3,000+ SF, offering a sunlit atmosphere, hardwood flooring, granite kitchen overlooking the living/dining area, walls of glass that open to wraparound and guest terraces, plus two private parking spaces.

www.4009CaseyKeyRoad.com

www.BeachResidences907.com

4239 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE #MH2

$1,295,000

This contemporary beach getaway is turnkey furnished and in movein ready condition! You will fall in love with the proximity of the beach in your backyard, only a few steps from two spacious patio areas.

The modern coastal transformations include a reconfigured floor plan, new kitchen, baths, floors, as well as a new roof in 2019.

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4401 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE #1007

$795,000

7149 LONGBOAT DRIVE NORTH

323 BOB WHITE WAY

$1,495,000

The extensive updates found throughout this 4BR garden home in the beloved Bird Key neighborhood will immediately impressed.

Nearly every aspect of this home’s interior and exterior has been upgraded with beautiful, custom features to create a wonderful atmosphere for your family to move right into.

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$1,149,000 619 OWL WAY

The Bird Key lifestyle is a sought-after experience where you can relish a central location within biking distance to downtown Sarasota, and only minutes from immaculate Gulf beaches. This charming 3BR garden home is in a prime spot, waiting for you to make it your own or as a site to begin your dream home.

$1,125,000

The Bird Key lifestyle is a sought-after experience where you can relish a central location within biking distance to downtown Sarasota, and only minutes from immaculate Gulf beaches. This charming 3BR garden home is in a prime spot, waiting for you to make it your own or as a site to begin your dream home.

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2003 HARBOUR LINKS DRIVE

www.619OwlWay.com

$699,000 877 SPANISH DRIVE NORTH

Direct views of the Gulf of Mexico’s turquoise waves welcome you to this 10th-floor getaway at Longboat Harbour Towers. Its prime corner location ensures you can relish cross breezes, sunset vistas, as well as bay views. The 1,300 SF interior has been thoughtfully updated with a newer granite kitchen and modernized bathrooms. Also includes covered parking.

This sunny 3BR villa overlooks the 13th green of the Harbourside golf course’s lush grounds and abounds in tranquil water views. You will love the privacy and seclusion highlighting this maintenance-free community, located behind the secure gates of Bay Isles. The light and open interior is waiting for you to add your personal touches.

Enjoy a short bike to the private Bay Isles Beach Club.

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CALL TODAY FOR YOUR EXCLUSIVE TOUR (941) 387-1840

$695,000

Completely renovated and move-in ready! Directly overlooking peaceful waters that flow out to Sarasota Bay, this 2BR, furnished villa is in ideal turnkey condition, waiting for you to immediately begin enjoying. The bright and open-plan living space is thoughtfully laid out to maximize the direct picturesque water views that are the highlight throughout the nearly 1,200 SF interior.

www.877SpanishDriveNorth.com

443F John Ringling Boulevard | Sarasota, FL 34236 | Roger@Pettingell.com www.Longboatrealestate.com | www.bestSarasotarealestate.net Twitter.com/RealRoger | Instagram.com/RogerPettingell Owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC 348288-1

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Classifieds 13B Games 12B Real Estate 9B Weather 12B

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WAYS TO BUY

The office is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 563 Bay Isles Road. Browse the gallery during these hours, or make an appointment. To test drive the art in your home, All Angels lets you take it for a couple days before bringing the art back or buying it.

The All Angels website also has an “Angel’s List” service, which is a hyper-focused Craigslist with artwork photos at AllAngelsLBK.org and an option to purchase online and pick up in person.

NAT KAEMMERER STAFF WRITER

N

o matter what your decor style is, All Angels Episcopal Church will probably have a

piece of art for you hanging or resting

Photos by Nat Kaemmerer

Office Director Linn Torres shows off some pieces of artwork that are for sale.

in its gallery. After all, there are more than 60 works for sale right now.

Usually, the church features a local artist in its gallery every month, but there was no artist on deck for February. So Office Director Linn Torres and the Rev. Dave Marshall cooked up a new idea: a crowd-sourced art sale.

“We have parishioners that are remodeling and buying new things, and so we came up with an idea,” Marshall said. “What if we were to have a place for parishioners to let go of old art and the proceeds go to the church?”

They sent out a call to parishioners to ask for the unhung art collecting dust in closets or storage

Above: Dave Marshall bought a piece for the church office.

Left: Torres and Marshall set up a table of art that they wouldn’t hang on the walls.

WE’RE GAMEDAY READY! ARE YOU?

347356-1

When All Angels Episcopal Church asked for unwanted art to sell, the supply surprised them.

Now, is there demand?

units, figuring they’d get a couple dozen or so. The drive exploded, with residents bringing in more than 60 works over two weeks.

“So the supply part has worked better than we ever imagined,” Marshall said. “Now we’re wondering about the demand.”

Torres and Marshall spent their Sunday hanging as much of the donated art as they could fit in the gallery. In a normal month, the featured artist has about 30 pieces displayed in the gallery.

With more than 60 pieces, Torres faced a Tetris-like challenge in order to display the art.

“I will be hanging as much as we can hang without it looking tacky,” Torres said.

Torres and Marshall already purchased a piece for the church office, and Marshall has his eye on a silver fish that was donated, too.

The art ranges in style, size and medium, with detailed watercolor paintings of flowers and water scenes alongside a print of “dog rules” including “bark softly.”

One parishioner made a quilt, and there are mirrors, bowls and other home goods as part of the sale.

Torres spent days researching the artists responsible for the works donated to make sure every piece was priced fairly. It’s been slow work, she said, trying to decipher signatures. They hope to sell as much of the art as possible, and if it goes well, it might become an annual tradition.

“What we’re really thinking is that if it works, that next year we’re going to have a wine and cheese party, we’re going to have a band, we’re really going to make a night of it,” Marshall said.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

SO 50% LD

MODEL HOME NOW OPEN

BIRD OF THE WEEK A closer look at the feathered friends with which we share Longboat.

New Leaseback and Quick Move-In Opportunities Available

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ost easily identified by their dramatic red eyes and their black cap, black-crowned night herons are the most infrequently seen heron in the world.

Should you spot one of these elusive birds, you’ll also note that, standing 2 feet tall, they are short, stocky and seemingly a bit lethargic. And you might wonder why this heron is, in fact, not more frequently seen.

The clue (and perhaps the reason why, when spotted during the day, they often look so tired) is in their name: A nocturnal species, black-crowned night herons are most active at night, dawn and dusk.

Unlike many other herons, night herons have adapted to feed at night. This is advantageous for these smaller herons because it limits potential conflict with larger day-feeding herons, such as great egrets and great blue herons, which would otherwise dominate when competing with them for their diet of mostly insects, frogs and fish.

Night heron adaptations to night hunting include their huge, widely separated eyes, which are likely associated with superior visual ability over a range of natural light levels. And with their

2,373 Sq. Ft. 3 Bedroom | 2 Bathroom 3 Car Garage Private Pool Anticipated Completion Fall 2021

Additional home sites and portfolio of customizable plans available.

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With Heritage Builders’ reputation as Sarasota’s preeminent builder of luxury custom homes, is it any wonder that people just can’t wait to live in one of our homes? So we’re delighted to announce the Grand Opening of our Hibiscus Model and newly released Quick Move-In homes at Sandhill Lake!

This gated community of just 43 single-family homes features a Residents Club with heated pool, spa, grill and fire pit. This is all situated in one of Sarasota’s most desirable and centrally located areas convenient to renowned shopping, dining, the powderwhite sand beaches of Siesta Key and more.

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striking plumage — light below from their prey’s view and dark above from a predator or other heron’s view — is designed to keep them camouflaged at night.

This type of coloration, known as countershading, allows an animal to more easily blend in with its surroundings.

— MIRI HARDY, SAVE OUR SEABIRDS

Conveniently located on Clark Road just two miles East of I-75 at 7733 Clark Road, Sarasota, FL 34241

®

Prices, plans and features subject to change without notice. CBC1259307 Renderings are artist interpretations.

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As suggested by their name, blackcrowned night herons are nocturnal, feeding at night and sleeping during the day.

Save our Seabirds is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to rescue, rehabilitate and release sick and injured wild birds. Follow @SaveOurSeabirds to learn more.

WHETHER YOU’RE LISTING OR LOOKING...

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BIRD KEY 525 Bird Key Drive SOLD! $1,950,000

INN ON THE BEACH 200 Sands Point Rd., #1405 SOLD! $1,425,000

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443 JOHN RINGLING BLVD., STE. F | SARASOTA, FL 34236 595 BAY ISLES ROAD, STE. 250 | LONGBOAT KEY, FL 34228 348518-1

2B

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BENCH M A R K R E SU LTS • S T R AT EGIC M A R K ET I NG • PER SONA L I Z ED SERV ICE

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Church’s prayer shawl ministry knits a community together NAT KAEMMERER

IF YOU GO

STAFF WRITER

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY When: 10-11 a.m. Fridays Where: Christ Church of Longboat Key, 6400 GMD Info: Everyone is welcome, and the ministry has extra knitting supplies.

everyone is there to undertake the somewhat complicated knitpurl pattern.

About three years ago, the ministry started knitting hats at the holidays to donate to nonprofits including Our Daily Bread and Turning Points for warmth and presents in the winter.

“The real blessing for the knitters was we got to be present when they got things, and we got to get their joy back to us,” Finks said. “The joy just keeps trickling down.”

The knitting group created 300 hats and scarves throughout 2020, and members are already putting their needles to work for next holiday season creating scarves, hats, headbands, towels and washcloths. During the pandemic, knitting has had a boom

Photos by Nat Kaemmerer

Above: Shirley Venkataraman advises Seri Jane Kim. Left: Holly Finks wears a prayer shawl.

on and off Longboat Key. Members are continuing to knit in their spare time.

“It helps pass the time, and it helps with anxiety,” Shirley Venkataraman said.

For a reasonably experienced knitter, a washcloth will be made in just a couple of hours, a scarf in a few hours and a hat in about a week. A prayer shawl, though, can take up to two months, Shirley said.

“Anytime we create something, we bring it here and drop it off and start something new,” Laura Kim said.

Laura comes every Friday with

her daughters, Sidda and Seri Jane, who gladly take pointers from the older knitters around them. Venkataraman and others check Seri Jane’s work on a headband, and she’s delighted to know she’s got the pattern down.

The Kim family usually lives in California but has been on Longboat Key since the pandemic started. Because school doesn’t start until noon Eastern time (9 a.m. Pacific), the girls have a mini-day before their school day.

“It’s fun to be around people,” Sidda said. “It’s nice to get out of the house and join the community and hear their stories.”

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SALES@THEDEMARCAY.COM

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941.404.8858

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SALES CENTER AT 32 S PALM AVE

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©2021 Wolf Development Strategies and Wolf Residential. All Rights Reserved. Wolf Residential and Coldwell Banker operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. fully supports the principles of the fair housing act and the equal opportunity act. Oral representations cannot be relied upon as correctly stating representations of the developer.

For correct representations, make reference to the documents required by section 718.503, Florida Statues, to be furnished by a developer to a buyer or lessee 350511-1

F

or Elizabeth Wild, hats are her stress relief. She has knitted 62 of them since the pandemic started and is on her way to a stack of washcloths and headbands, thanks to the prayer shawl ministry at Christ Church of Longboat Key. Every Friday, Wild and a group of women meet in the fellowship hall to knit and talk for an hour.

“It’s kept my hands busy during the pandemic,” Wild said.

The ministry started in 2009 when a group of eight women wanted to put their knitting skills to use creating prayer shawls as “substitute hugs” for members of the church who were no longer able to attend services. The prayer shawls are created as the knitter is praying with a pattern of “knit three, purl three” to represent the Holy Trinity.

“It’s very easy to get into prayer mode as you’re knitting because you’re constantly saying, ‘Father, son, Holy Spirit,’” said Holly Finks, who leads the ministry.

The group keeps a number of shawls in stock, so they can promptly deliver on a request for a shawl, Finks said. But not

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

5B

Whether you are Buying or Selling,

REID MURPHY

WILL LEAD YOU TO A SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE! Photo taken by Reid Murphy

CALL REID TODAY! | 941.232.3304 | www.ReidMurphy.com NEWPRICE

LONGBOAT KEY EXQUISITE BAYFRONT ESTATE $7,800,000 SARASOTA HARBOR ACRES $3,495,000 Casually elegant behind private gates. Stunning features & panoramic views. One of the finest 4/5BR Home w/panoramic Bay views from rooftop deck. Superior details plus expansive cook’s properties on Florida’s west coast! 75’ heated pool on 600’ of frontage deep bay water w/3 boat kitchen, pool & outdoor kitchen. Prestigious location. slips, guest house & 8 car garage.

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$5,500,000 LONGBOAT KEY POSITANO $3,595,000 BIRD KEY BOATERS PARADISE Spectacular Gulffront 3BR+den. Second floor corner with breathtaking views from multiple terraces Beautiful Bird Key custom 4BD/4BA home. 100ft Sarasota Bay frontage w/infinity pool. Deep water of Gulf of Mexico, beautiful beach, Sarasota Bay and city. Marble floors, 10ft ceilings & exquisite dock w/ lifts. Four car garage. custom finishes. Two car direct access garage.

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LONGBOAT KEY POSITANO WALK-OUT $3,875,000 Beautiful 3BR/3.5BA. Open plan w/expansive terrraces & 10’ ceilings. Dramatic Gulf of Mexico & beach views from floor to ceiling windows. +2 car private garage.

NEWPRICE

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LBK BEACHFRONT ESTATE $7,495,000 New 2017 construction. Casually elegant open 5BR/7BA plan overlooking gorgeous Gulf of Mexico beach with outdoor living on two levels.

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Lot $1,050,000

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Temple Beth Israel singles gather for lunch

IF YOU GO

Lunches are held at noon about every other week at Bayfront Park. If interested, email Maxine Tauber at marmax1931@ comcast.net.

M

embers of Temple Beth Israel gathered for an outdoor lunch for single people of the temple Jan. 27 at Bayfront Park, their third such lunch since late 2020.

Gloria Feibus and Maxine Tauber are the co-chairs of the event and have been organizing the lunches to occur about every other week.

Still in its infancy, the singles club of about seven to 10 people come and bring their own lunches, eager for any sort of human interaction.

Before the pandemic, the temple had a healthy calendar of social and educational events, but in the wake of COVID-19, the calendar was wiped clean and has stayed that way ever since.

— NAT KAEMMERER

Photos by Nat Kaemmerer

Gloria Feibus (right), event co-chair, checks Rise Loshack’s temperature.

Even Lucy the dog enjoyed the human companionship.

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Maxine Tauber helped organize the luncheon.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

7B

Your luxuriously appointed home awaits you.

Experience glimmering sunsets, powdery sand beaches and the clear aquamarine waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Call for an appointment.

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(941) 213-3300 www.srresidenceslongboatkey.com

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

LOCALLY KNOWN. GLOBALLY CONNECTED. SINCE 1976.

SARASOTA 1212 Westway Drive Michael Moulton 941-928-3559 A4482176 $3,825,000

LONGBOAT KEY 1211 Gulf Of Mexico Drive 905 Debra Pitell-Hauge & Lisa Sebastian 941-356-0437 A4487605 $1,295,000

SARASOTA 1233 N Gulfstream Avenue 801 Richard Perlman 941-228-8580 A4487948 $1,275,000

SARASOTA 1711 Baywood Way Jami Kellogg 941-809-6931 A4488310 $1,200,000

HOLMES BEACH 512 68th Street Hannah Hillyard 941-744-7358 A4484565 $985,000

LONGBOAT KEY 1485 Gulf Of Mexico Drive 104 Kathleen Callender 941-321-3115 A4483591 $925,000

SARASOTA 988 Blvd Of The Arts 1911 Nora Johnson 941-809-1700 A4478131 $864,900

LONGBOAT KEY 3451 Winding Oaks Drive 26 Steve Nursey 941-388-4447 A4489655 $850,000

HOLMES BEACH 107 66th Street 12 Kristi Berger & Deborah Capobianco 941-730-3801 A4452254 $848,888

LIDO KEY 1750 Benjamin Franklin Drive 3C Linda Thompson 941-400-0805 A4466823 $790,000

SARASOTA 707 S Gulfstream Avenue 205 Marci Mcfarland 941-961-3390 A4488641 $768,000

LONGBOAT KEY 5461 Gulf Of Mexico Drive 402 Maureen Horn 941-539-3384 A4483717 $760,000

SARASOTA 945 Benjamin Franklin Drive 5 Camille Schwabe 941-894-4771 A4488654 $722,000

SARASOTA 888 Blvd Of The Arts 1003 Wayne Fastzkie & Philip Pisano, III 941-315-0442 A4485927 $675,000

LONGBOAT KEY 2362 Harbour Oaks Drive Beverly St Hilaire 941-504-3303 A4486766 $650,000

LONGBOAT KEY 4234 Gulf Of Mexico Drive Q1 Lenore Treiman 941-356-9642 A4488478 $549,000

BRADENTON 51 Tidy Island Boulevard Kathy Marshall 941-900-9777 A4469997 $524,999

LONGBOAT KEY 3240 Gulf Of Mexico Drive B305 Terri Derr & Rita Holbrook 941-356-6694 A4485219 $510,000

LONGBOAT KEY 759 Saint Judes Drive N Cindy Fischer & JoDene Moneuse 941-465-1124 A4487564 $490,000

LONGBOAT KEY 100 Sands Point Road 225 Sandi Layfield 941-914-2807 A4448551 $450,000

LONGBOAT KEY 594 Spanish Drive S Bruce A Meyer, PA 941-266-8152 A4461964 $395,000

LONGBOAT KEY 6324 Laguna Drive The Walter Group 941-232-2000 A4479329 $395,000

SARASOTA 101 S Gulfstream Avenue 14C Anja Deichmann 941-284-7987 A4484125 $369,900

LONGBOAT KEY 4390 Exeter Drive I-102 Malihe Karimi 941-376-5099 A4480405 $345,000

LONGBOAT KEY 729 Saint Judes Drive S 2 Cathy Meldahl & Susan Smith 941-724-7228 A4488291 $339,000

LONGBOAT KEY 600 Sutton Place 101 George Zimmerman 941-320-8931 A4479167 $325,000

SARASOTA 707 S Gulfstream Avenue 806 Marybeth Flynn 941-704-1477 A4477087 $300,000

LONGBOAT KEY 3440 Gulf Of Mexico Drive 14 Susan Smith & Cathy Meldahl, PA 941-302-3440 A4473639 $245,000

BRADENTON 7110 28th Avenue Drive W 2246 Tammy Mast 941-256-6543 A4486893 $199,000

BRADENTON 2415 Landings Circle Kathy Valente & Gregory Zies 941-685-6767 A4452193 $3,450,000

LONGBOAT KEY 1511 Gulf Of Mexico Drive 202 Carol Aviles 941-356-6777 A4481414 $3,075,000

MSC MORTGAGE | MSC TITLE | MS&C COMMERCIAL NEW HOMES & CONDOMINIUMS

LIDO KEY The Ritz-Carlton Beach Residences, 1006 Joan Dickinson & Beth Afflebach 941-914-0496 A4448727 $2,990,000

888.552.5228 | MICHAELSAUNDERS.COM

348850-1

8B

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

JAN. 18 -22

Bradenton, sold their Unit A-505 condominium at 1800 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Peter Clausen and Kim Clausen, trustees, of Bryant, Iowa, for $965,000. Built in 1996, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 1,350 square feet of living area. It sold for $845,000 in 2004.

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

A

property on Longboat Key tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Sylvia Cheek, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the property at 5541 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Winfred and Kari Hawkins, trustees, of Longboat Key, for $6.75 million. Built in 1986, it has 11 bedrooms, 11-and-threehalf baths, a pool and 14,005 square feet of living area. It sold for $3.4 million in 2000.

JOHN RINGLING ESTATES INC.

328 Monroe LLC sold the home at 328 Monroe Drive to Kelly and Kerry Kasik, of San Jose, Calif., for $3.43 million. Built in 2020, it has eight bedrooms, eight baths, a pool and 3,931 square feet of living area.

Janina Brown, of Sarasota, sold her home at 521 Jackson Drive to Cross Street Real Estate Services LLC, trustee, for $1.05 million. Built in 1952, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,630 square feet of living area.

Dennis Stewart and Beverly Larson, trustees, of Lakeland, sold two properties at 200 Garfield Drive to 200 Garfield LLC for $810,000. The first property was built in 1951; it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,343 square feet of living area.

The second property was built in 1951; it has one bedroom, one bath and 441 square feet of living area. They sold for $145,000 in 1993.

PROMENADE

William and Christa Kilgore, of Bristol, Va., sold their Unit 1002 condominium at 1211 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Manuel Jesus Jimenez and Julia Rosa Jimenez, of Longboat Key, for $1.97 million. Built in 1985, it has three bedrooms, four baths and 2,665

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

9B

REAL ESTATE

Property on GMD sells for $6.75 million

|

LONGBOAT KEY TOWERS

Eric Garwood

The property at 5541 Gulf of Mexico Drive offers 11 bedrooms, 11-and-three half-baths and a pool.

square feet of living area. It sold for $1.4 million in 2010.

feet of living area. It sold for $650,000 in 2012.

Rona Robinson, of Port Chester, N.Y., sold her Unit 305 condominium at 1211 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Diego and Virginia Fonseca, of Zionsville, Ind., for $725,000. Built in 1985, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,598 square feet of living area. It sold for $850,000 in 2006.

GRAND BAY

THE BEACH RESIDENCES

Cynthia Thompson, trustee, of Tampa, sold the Unit 301 condominium at 1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Beach Club 301 LLC for $1.73 million. Built in 2005, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,019 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.55 million in 2016.

BIRD KEY

John Wiese, of Papillion, Neb., sold his home at 510 Blue Jay Place to Kenneth Katz and Gwendolyn Hope Katz, of Sarasota, for $1.5 million. Built in 1978, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths, a pool and 3,312 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.34 million in 2018.

Richard and Amy Price, of Harbor Springs, Mich., sold their home at 420 Partridge Circle to Park & Play RV Inc. for $1.13 million. Built in 1971, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,549 square

William Kapp and Paula Discher-Kapp, trustees, of Longboat Key, sold the Unit 124 condominium at 3060 Grand Bay Blvd. to Louise and Brian McGuinness, of Bellport, N.Y., for $1.25 million. Built in 1994, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,369 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.12 million in 2019.

L O N G B OAT K E Y

FAIRWAY BAY

Paul and Laurie Singer, of Longboat Key, sold their Unit 643 condominium at 2120 Harbourside Drive to Steven and Linda Siegel, of Pittsburgh, for $730,000. Built in 1988, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,031 square feet of living area. It sold for $535,000 in 2009.

ONLINE See more transactions at YourObserver.com

L’ELEGANCE ON LIDO BEACH

Brian and Sandra Willis, of

In with the new

Virtual home tours | OnDemand local experts | Interactive site and floorplans

MOVE-IN READY

Bayfront Sarasota

The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sarasota | 941.702.2300 From the $3,700,000s TheResidencesSarasota.com

TOP BUILDING PERMITS These are the largest building permits issued by the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Department for the week of Jan. 22-28 in order of dollar amounts.

Beverly Joutras, trustee, of Northfield, Ill., sold the Unit N-1002 condominium at 603 Longboat Club Road to Mary Janet Jason, of Longboat Key, for $741,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 1,458 square feet of living area. It sold for $300,000 in 1991.

NEW MODEL OPEN

South Sarasota

Sandhill Lake | 941.234.0432 From the high $500,000s SandhillLakeSarasota.com

SALES GALLERY OPEN

Longboat Key

The Residences at the St. Regis | 941.213.3300 From the $2,000,000’s Call for appointment. SRResidencesLongboatKey.com

MOVE-IN READY

Downtown Sarasota

Risdon on 5th | 941.365.1414 From the high $300,000s RisdonOn5th.com

ADDRESS 520 Chipping Lane

PERMIT Seawall

APPLICANT AMOUNT Richard & Sarah Ayotte $50,142

700 Old Compass Road

Re-roof

Eileen F. Hassel

3240 GMD #B103

Interior alterations Joel Pferlotto

$41,000

3317 Sabal Cove Drive

Generator

David S. Gutridge

$28,455

650 Longview Drive

Re-roof

Deborah Kassilke

$26,085

721 Old Compass Road

Remove existing

Andrianna Youngs

$22,900

Riverside Point | 941.201.8505 Home sites from $229,900 | Homes from the low $600,000s RiversidePointFlorida.com

Stephen Shapiro

$19,500

Sales galleries open and available for virtual or in-person presentations.

$43,000

1281 GMD #403

A/C change-out

4401 GMD Unit 305

Interior alterations Christopher A. Koval

714 Norton St.

Lift

Donald S. McCroskey

$17,924

980 Bogey Lane

Pool cage

John Charles Brannan

$16,975

869 Spanish Drive N.

Re-roof

John Mulligan

$16,800

5145 GMD

Re-roof

5145 LBK LLC

$15,825

511 Putting Green Lane

Plumbing

Jeffrey L. Tushar

$15,000

520 Chipping Lane

Dock and lift

Richard & Sarah Ayotte $14,685

$18,950

Source: Town of Longboat Key

NOW SELLING NEW PHASE

Northwest Bradenton

Palma Sola Bay Club | 941.216.7436 From the high $300,000s PalmaSolaBayClub.com

348886-1

roof

WATERFRONT HOMES & HOMESITES

Bradenton Riverfront

WWW.MICHAELSAUNDERS.COM/NEW-HOMES | 844.591.4333 | SARASOTA, FLORIDA Prices as of February 2021.

Licensed Real Estate Broker

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

|

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

YOUR CALENDAR

10B

FEBRUARY 9 • 1-2P

Join us in supporting our libraries as we recognize and celebrate all the ways our library system has helped our community navigate the challenges of this past year.

GET YOUR FREE TICKETS

FRIDAY, FEB. 5

SECOND CHANCE, LAST OPPORTUNITY FOOD DRIVE From 3-3:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road. Volunteers will collect nonperishable food for Second Chance, Last Opportunity in Sarasota. Volunteers will collect donations from your car.

THURSDAY, FEB. 11

TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE At 7:30 p.m. on Zoom webinar with speaker Rabbi Daniel Cohen, author of “What Will They Say About You When You Are Gone? Creating a Life of Legacy.” For information, email TBK-Office@TBI-LBK.org.

FRIDAY, FEB. 12

ROMANCE ON THE RIVIERA From 3-4:30 p.m. with Joy Leitner, operatic soprano, and Robert Lischetti, operatic tenor. Start your Valentine’s weekend with a trip on the Mediterranean Riviera listening to the world’s most romantic music. Champagne will be served to in-person attendees. Members $25, nonmembers $30. Call 383-8811, email info@ LBKEducationCenter.org, or visit LBKEducationCenter.org.

FRIDAY, FEB. 12

WESTCOAST BLACK THEATRE TROUPE From 3-4:30 p.m. on Zoom or in person with the Longboat Key Education Center. The troupe will put on a show created by Nate Jacobs, WBTT’s founder and artistic director, for the center’s 35th anniversary. Members $25, nonmembers $30. Call 383-8811, email info@LBKEducationCenter. org, or visit LBKEducationCenter. org.

SarasotaLibraryFoundation.org or call 941.404.3139

RECURRING EVENTS MONDAYS

STRETCH & STRENGTHEN From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road.

Focus is on strength training and flexibility for better balance.

Groups are limited to 10, and masks are encouraged. Class led by Suzy Brenner. Fee is $10.

RSVP to DonnaSharpBlaney@ TheParadiseCenter.org, or call 383-6493.

MEDIA SPONSOR

349971-1

PRESENTING SPONSOR

DON’T MISS

HULA CLASS From 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., dance with Debbie White, who is originally from Honolulu and grew up with hula. Held outdoors with social distancing. Free for members, $10 per person. RSVP to DonnaSharpBlaney@TheParadiseCenter.org or by phone at 383-6493.

THINKING OUT LOUD: TIMELY TOPICS WITH MIKE KARP From 1-2:30 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Topics will include U.S. and world current affairs, popular culture and topics relevant to seniors. Groups are limited to 10, and masks are required.

Cost is $10. RSVP to DonnaSharpBlaney@TheParadiseCenter.org or by phone at 383-6493.

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY

PUMPING THE PRIME WITH MIRABAI HOLLAND At 10 a.m. on the lawn of the Bayfront Park Recreation Center, 4052

The Observer’s

Weather

&Nature

2020-21 PHOTO CONTEST

SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO TODAY!

The Observer Red Pages has a sweetheart of a giveaway for you.

Your Valentine’s Day could be the best ever with a dozen red roses, a heart shaped box of chocolates and a bottle of red wine.

Value: $150+ It’s easy to enter, go to www.yourobserver.com/red-hot-giveaway

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Hurry and get those entries in; we’ll draw for a winner on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021

YOUR PHOTO submission could win

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Voting starts February 15.

Submit your photos of spectacular local weather and nature displays.

Go to Yourobserver.com/contests for details.

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

SWEET AND SPIRITED YOGA Eight sessions from 9-10 a.m. at the Longboat Key Education Center, 5370 GMD, suite 212. With certified yoga teacher Mary Kane, focus on body awareness, alignment and breath. Class size is limited due to COVID-19. Members $88, nonmembers, $104, or pay as you go. Call 383-8811, email info@ LBKEducationCenter.org, or visit LBKEducationCenter.org.

#1 individual agent in units sold for the Mid-Longboat Key office 31-year Longboat Key resident

THURSDAYS

QI GONG From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. This class is held outdoors and is taught by Sandi Love. Qi gong is a mind-body-spirit practice designed to improve one’s mental and physical health by integrating posture, movement, breathing techniques, self-massage, sound and focused intent. Cost is $10. RSVP to DonnaSharpBlaney@TheParadiseCenter.org, or call 383-6493.

MAHJONG From 1-3 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Work on your skills playing other beginners and/or intermediate level players.

Held indoors or outdoors, weather permitting. Face masks required.

RSVP to MaryAnnBrady@ TheParadiseCenter.org, or call 383-6493.

LongboatKeyLiving.com

Five-Star customer service award-winner Sarasota Magazine Rising Star Real estate Agent

Michael Saunders & Company’s “Best of the Best” top performers 348974-1

3174 Gulf of Mexico Dr | Longboat Key, FL 34228 | 941.383.7591 | michaelsaunders.com

Living and Working on Longboat Key for 40 Years Cathy C. Meldahl, P.A. Your Longboat Key Community Realtor

• Consistent top producer on Longboat Key • In-depth knowledge of the real estate market • Active in our community with Longbeach Village Association Longboat Key Historical Society Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce Longboat Key Garden Club

941.724.7228

347520-1

TUESDAYS

11B

941.302.4913

JoDene Moneuse

Realtor ®, Certified Staging Agent

WEDNESDAYS GMD, take a low impact cardio class with Mirabai Holland. Class is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. Sign up at FabulousForever.com. Email Mirabai Holland at Mirabai@MovingFree.com, or call 201-956-1466.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

Work with JoDene

ROTARY CLUB Meets at 5 p.m. virtually on Zoom every first and third Tuesday. Call Nancy Rozance at 203-605-4066, or email info@LongboatKeyRotary. org.

TAI CHI From 10-11 a.m. outdoors at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Certified instructor Reuben Fernandez leads the weekly class.

Cost is $10. RSVP to Mary Ann Brady at DonnaSharpBlaney@ TheParadiseCenter.org, or call 383-6493.

|

CathyMeldahl@michaelsaunders.com

FL AW LE SS E X ECUTI O N

KIWANIS CLUB OF LONGBOAT KEY At 8:30 a.m. at the Lazy Lobster, 5350 GMD every first and third Thursday of the month for breakfast, social hour and a speaker.

Breakfast is $10. Email President Lynn Larson at LynnLarson@comcast.com to register.

J.D., REA LTOR ® , LBK COMMISSIONER

203.605.9582

R EA L ESTAT E S I M P LY D ONE

• On Longboat Key since 2002 • 35 years of legal experience

• 2019 Circle of Excellence recipient • Dedicated to serving our community

IPHONE & IPAD — ‘BEYOND’ BASICS PLUS From 1-3 p.m. with the Longboat Key Education Center. Zoom only.

Four sessions with Keith Coker, an IT and technology consultant specializing in Apple technology and products. Members $100, nonmembers $110. Zoom only. Call 383-8811, email info@LBKEducationCenter.org, or visit LBKEducationCenter.org.

LBK Commissioner | Sarasota Memorial Hospital volunteer

• Recent sales in: Promenade | The Pearl | Tangerine Bay | Sands Point Fairway Bay | Harbour Villa Club | Perico Bay

Quality Meets Beauty

gigi

SILVERBERG Luxury Property Realtor

•Interested in moving to a condo downtown?

•Purchasing a home on the water?

•Perhaps a home in a golf course community?

No one will work harder to find you the perfect home

Longboat Key • Lido Key St. Armands • Siesta Key Lakewood Ranch West of Trail Downtown Sarasota

Let me help you explore your options and with your search.

I can start by emailing you listings today.

Contact me today

Over 25 Years Experience

941-993-3695

Broker Associate - Premier Sotheby’s International Realty

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www.lapenseeplumbing.com

350386-1

778-5622 LIC.#CFC1426956 ~ CPC1458908 ~ CAC1818472

347465-1

Visit our Holmes Beach Showroom 401 Manatee Avenue, Holmes Beach

12B

LONGBOAT OBSERVER

|

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

FORECAST

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

SUNRISE / SUNSET

FRIDAY, FEB. 5 High: 70 Don’t worry, Low: 61 I T ’ S S M A R T S T R A N D. Chance ® of rain: 24% Only SmartStrand can handle the 747 lbs of ice cream a family will eat in a carpet’s lifetime.

SATURDAY, FEB. 6

Other carpets use stain protection that has to be reapplied. But only SmartStrand’s stain resistance is built right into the fibers. So it never wears or washes out. Even after multiple cleanings. Even better, It’s on sale now!

To learn more about what makes SmartStrand® with DuPont™ Sorona® #1 in customer satisfaction, visit MohawkFlooring.com/SmartStrand.

High: 71 Low: 63 Chance of rain: 47%

High: 69 Low: 57 Chance of rain: 67%

Friday, Feb. 5

7:14a

6:15p

Saturday, Feb. 6

7:13a

6:16p

Sunday, Feb. 7

7:12a

6:16p

Monday, Feb. 8

7:12a

6:17p

Tuesday, Feb. 9

7:11a

6:18p

Wednesday, Feb. 10

7:10a

6:19p

Feb. 19 First

TIDES

Submit your photos at YourObserver.com/Weather. All submissions will be entered for the 2020-21 Weather and Nature photo contest. In February 2021, you will vote for your favorite photo, and the submission with the most votes will win a $500 gift card.

7:14a 6:14p

MOON PHASES

SUNDAY, FEB. 7

Patricia Muller took this photo during low tide on the north end of Longboat Key.

Sunrise Sunset

Thursday, Feb. 4

Feb. 27 Full

March 5 Last

Highs

March 13 New

Lows

Thursday, Feb. 4

5:37a 4:41p 10:50a

Friday, Feb. 5

8:19a

5:31p

—

1:20a 11:05a

Saturday, Feb. 6

— 6:31p 2:46a

—

Sunday, Feb. 7

—

7:41p

—

Monday, Feb. 8

—

8:50p 4:58a —

Tuesday, Feb. 9

1:08p

3:59a

9:51p

5:47a

3:51p

10:43p Wednesday, Feb. 10 1:18p

6:29a

4:56p

A REFLECTION OF NATURE’S BEAUTY 349204-1

941.355.8437 | Bradenton

CROSSWORD

*DuPont™ Sorona® contains 37% renewably sourced ingredients by weight. The DuPont Oval logo, DuPont,™ Renewably sourced™ and Sorona® are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates and are licensed to Mohawk.

941.748.4679 | Venice

941.493.7441 | www.manasotaonline.com

SPLIT SCREEN by Zhouqin Burnikel; Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 European bathroom fixture 6 Improvise 11 American $ (Abbr.)

14 Bumpy amphibian 18 Stick that may be forest green 20 1970 hit with the words “you’ve got me on my knees” 21 Luau bowlful 22 Major fashion magazine 23 Film set worker (first 5 letters in this answer + last 2) 25 Reveals 27 Prefix meaning “billion” 28 Black Friday’s mo.

29 Ralph Lauren cologne in a dark bottle (first 3 + last 4) 30 Game show host 33 ”We should do that!”

36 Peony stalk 37 Crystals added to a certain swimming place 39 Singer Gallagher 41 Post-op regimen 45 Dot-___ (online businesses) 46 Metaphorical flop (first 3 + last 1) 51 ___-Locka, Florida 52 Tram load 53 Cosmetics mogul Lauder

54 My Chemical Romance genre 56 Title for Patrick Stewart 57 Sample perfume bottles 60 Neighbor of Earth 62 It becomes another occupation when its first letter is removed 64 Remove from power 65 Stubborn equine 66 Pumpernickel grain 68 Pizza portion 69 Orange juice choice 70 Classified spot (first 3 + last 1) 72 London art museum

40 Cow’s sound 42 Section for a nurse (first 2 + last 4) 43 Per unit 44 Ballet rail 47 Modest 48 Jennifer of “The L Word” 49 Made a selection 50 Neither’s partner 55 Soft shade 58 Sooner State oil city 59 Spain, to the Spanish 61 Gasp, say 63 It can precede “glass” ... or be found near a glass 65 ”Me?!”

66 Trust in 67 Root in some African stews 69 Pennsylvania’s ___ Mountains 70 Stranded driver’s light 71 Foamy pick-me-up 73 Pond flower DOWN 76 Lab vessel 1 Loop in discreetly 78 Watson’s tech company 2 Tax-deferred plan, briefly 79 ”My guess is ...”

3 Three Gorges ___ (hydro80 Senior’s skin mark, power source in China) perhaps 4 Products for dark circles 81 Creepy 5 British conservatives 82 Sports section figures, 6 Bitter beverage informally 7 Repairs, as socks 85 Walk-___ (minor roles) 8 Disinfectant spray maker 9 It’s played after a Dodgers 86 ”21” singer 88 Frozen Four org. home win 92 Bond creator 10 Disallow 11 Hairstyle such as a beehive 93 Quick peek 95 Like some photos 12 Makes dirty 96 Shipped out 13 Fairway chunk 99 Broccoli bit 14 ”I need to know!”

101 Low-pH fluids 15 Gymnast Korbut 102 Discussion group 16 Baldwin of “SNL” 104 Simmons competitor 17 Receptionist’s place 105 Comedian Cheri 19 Pester constantly 107 Sports org. for Inbee Park 24 Discount shoe store 108 Moriarty or Brockovich 26 Super, slangily 109 Be bothered by 29 Sacred hymn 30|Dreamers Point’s theme 110 Game similar to bingo 113 ”In what way?” park 115 Noche’s opposite 31|Mandy of “This Is Us” 32|Doesn’t gain or lose (first 116 Downside 117 ___-out (weak excuse) 2 + last 2) 118 Prefix for “lateral” 34|State, in France 119 Food Network host Allen 35 Mah-jongg draws 38 Heads-up

Bonita” 97 Close tightly 98 Invite trouble 100 Big jump 103 Homemade cleanser 106 Rich deposits 107 Frosted, citrusy dessert (first 2 + last 1) 111 Bumped into 112 ”Ah, makes sense” 114 Immaculate 115 Edited version of a film, and a theme hint 120 Liquors that might be dry 121 Bear’s place 122 Opening lines 123 Little tyke 124 Talk show host Cohen 125 ___-mo 126 ”To repeat ...”

127 Lukewarm wx0

©2021 Universal Uclick

73 Mucho 74 Stretch the truth 75 Tranquil 76 Cheese on a Greek pizza 77 Samoa’s region 79 ___-bitty 80 Mutated genes 83 ”Mazel ___!”

84 Out of the country 87 Polynesian monarchy 89 Drenched 90 A, in Quebec 91 Fixes a damaged friendship (first 4 + last 2) 93 Croft of video games 94 ”Despacito” and “La Isla

KITCHEN | CABINETRY OUTDOOR PAVERS

CELEBRITY CIPHER

By Luis Campos Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.

Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

“PVT SADKMEVDS RB XRWT HDBP DPVTA FADFVTPB; RP ETXRCTAB RPB FATERNPRDM IME PVTM ERBIFFTIAB.”

– LRXX CIKSVIM

“Y RDABO BA BFO VAKLV JORM HIS RFOJ Y RLM 12 SOLDM AVN. Y MLYN, ‘RFLB NA Y JOON BA NA BA TO SAI AJO NLS?’”

– NLGYN WIYD

Puzzle Two Clue: K equals C

Sarasota

SAVE ON EVERY SPECIES, COLOR AND STYLE!

Puzzle One Clue W equals K

HARDWOOD

© 2021 NEA, Inc.

SUDOKU

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

©2021 Andrews McMeel Syndicate

02-04-21

Made for where you live. Here!

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

INFORMATION & RATES: 941-955-4888

Homes for Sale

Vacation/ Seasonal Rentals

DEADLINES: Classifieds - Monday at 2PM

Beach Front Home: 4BED5BATH, 2CARGAR $3,999,000

WEEKLY/MONTHLY WEEKLY/MONTHLY SEASONAL RATES

The Longboat Observer reserves the right to classify and edit copy, or to reject or cancel an advertisement at any time. Corrections after first insertion only. *All ads are subject to the approval of the Publisher. *It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in the Longboat Observer to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with towncodes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property.

University Pool/Spa 4BED3BATH $425,000 55+ Beach and Boating: One story villa 2BED-2BATH $424,000 2.5 Acres: 4BED/3BATH, 3CAR GAR. Luxury kitchen, barn, horses. $645,000 Longboat Key Beach House: on Canal, 3BED-3BATH, 2/CARGAR, Dock/Lift. $530,000.

ADVERTISE YOUR MERCHANDISE with the total value of all items $200 or less in this section for FREE! Limit 1 ad per month,15 words or less.

Price must be included next to each item. No commercial advertising.

Ad runs 2 consecutive weeks in 1 Observer.

Call 941-955-4888 Or Email ad to: classified@yourobserver.com (Please provide your name and address) Or Online at: www.yourobserver.com Or mail to: The Observer Group 1970 Main St. - 3rd Floor Sarasota, Fl 34236

jobs

Sarasota: Built in 2010 4BED2.5BATH Lakeview Lanai $335,000

Autos for Sale

Help Wanted

REDUCED PRICE! MERCEDES BENZ 1999 For Sale- S500 (stretch) M: 136K; Asking: $5,800 OBO. Great Condition.

Sunroof, Heated Electric Seats, Original W/S with sticker, 4Dr, Original MB hood emblem.

Black Car w/ light grey interior.

Located on Lido Key Cell 315.727.4933. Theresa

SEEKING PART-TIME MAINTENANCE for vacation rental office on Longboat Key. 16-24 hours per week, including Saturdays.

Florida Vacation Connection.

941-387-9709.

Autos Wanted CASH FOR YOUR CAR We come to you!

Ho Ho Buys cars.

941-270-4400.

FIND FIND BUYERS BUYERS & SELLERS HERE! & SELLERS 941-955-4888 HERE!

real estate

Items Under

auto

stuff

Private Boat Lift: beach access villa/condo $399,000

YourObserver.com/RedPages

Homes for Rent

MEN’S SIZE large Murano black leather jacket.

Nearly new; excellent condition. Orig. 500; $175.

(941) 224-1253.

COZY COTTAGE Sandpiper AMI 55+. 1.5 minute walk to the beach or bay, near pool. 1BA/1BR, W/D for sale or rent.

Call: 941-251-4767 leave message.

Boat Slips for Rent/Sale MARINA SLIP for sale. Longboat Key Club.

Moorings Lot C-01. $150k.

62 x 21.

Call Steve: 727-898-9388.

Jewelry ROLEX- WOMENS Date just 18K/Stainless 26mil circa 1990. $2400. 941-374-6543.

941-955-4888 YourObserver.com/RedPages

REAL LOCAL STUFF HERE!

Phillipi Gardens: INVESTORS 3BED-2BATH $209,000

WE BUY cars. top $$ paid for your vehicles.

Call Hawley Motors: 941-923-3421.

Homes for Sale LBK BEACH Harbor Club 2BD/2BA Condo 1062sqft Fully updated corner unit with new furnishing $349,000.

Call Jane: 941-524-0264.

Between Houses or Condos Houses or Condos Reservations 941-383-5577 Reservations 941-383-5577 wagnerlbkrentals@gmail.com wagnerlbkrentals@gmail.com Visa/MC Visa/MC 5360 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Suite 5360 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Suite 101 101 FL 34228 Longboat Key, Longboat Key, FL 34228 Rental office 9a.m.

- 5p.m.

Rental office 9a.m. - 5p.m.

M-F M-F Ask about our special rates!

Ask about our Wagner special Realty rates!

Wagner Realty Since 1939 Since 1939 www.rentalsonlongboat.com www.rentalsonlongboat.com

Buy or Sell with Brooke O’Malley as your Realtor, and CLUB REALTY will Pay your title insurance.

Call 941-726-2677

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

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14B

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15B

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021

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SARASOTA $879,000 LAWRENCE POINTE 97 Sunset Dr., #202 2BR/2BA | 1,736 SQFT | Waterfront

OYSTER BAY ESTATES $2,595,000 NEW CONSTRUCTION 1421 N. Lake Shore Dr. 4BR/4 Full / 2 Half BA | 4,217 SQFT

LONGBOAT KEY $619,000 GRAND BAY V 3080 Grand Bay Blvd. #526 2BR/2BA | 1,380 SQFT | Direct Bay Front

LONGBOAT KEY $799,000 BEACHES 775 Longboat Club Rd. #404 2BR/2BA | 1,602 SQFT | Gulf & City views

DOWNTOWN $1,795,000 THE “Q” 267 Cosmopolitan Ct. 3BR/3BA | 4,566 SQFT | Stunning Townhome

LONGBOAT KEY $11,495,000 DIRECT GULF-FRONT ESTATE 5965 Gulf of Mexico Drive 7BR/6.5BA | 10,087 SQFT 150’ of Beachfront on Nearly 2 Acres

LONGBOAT KEY $889,000 CLUB LONGBOAT 5055 Gulf of Mexico Dr. #536 3BR/2BA | 1,484 SQFT | Furnished | Gulf front

COLDWELL BANKER REALTY | 423 JOHN RINGLING BLVD., STE., F | SARASOTA, FL 34236

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January 28th and February 4th, 2021

Kepecz-Hays

A Family Group of RealtorsÂŽ Steven Kepecz

941.387.1825

$2.2 BILLION IN CAREER SALES Email: Kepecz@JudyHays.com | Website: www.LongboatKeyLuxury.com

Coldwell Banker Realty | 423 St. Armands Circle | Sarasota, FL 34236

Judy Kepecz-Hays

941.587.1700

Over $185 Million SOLD & PENDING in 2020

$125+ Million CLOSED and $60+ Million PENDING SALES New Market he On T

1281 Gulf of Mexico Drive #401 | Water Club $3,600,000 | MLS A4489409 | Furnished.

BEACHFRONT - Water Club II. Choice southwest corner on 4th level. Furnished 3 bedrooms plus den or 4 bedrooms 3,460 sq. ft. of understated elegance with SUNSETS and endless Gulf of Mexico views. This Arlington model is ready for instant enjoyment to create new memories. This residence has been thoughtfully planned and meticulously executed. The Clubhouse, 17,000 sq. ft. offers a large and luxurious social room with beach and pool views that can be reserved for private parties, a private bar with liquor lockers, a state of the art fitness center with his and hers locker rooms, a game/billiards club room, a handsome oakpaneled library & Mahjong room. Those who prefer to be outdoors can choose from playing on lighted Har-Tru tennis courts, swimming in the Olympic-sized pool, or enjoying the powdered-sugar sandy beaches and turquoise water. www.WaterClub401.com

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Ritz-Carlton Managed 1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive | The Beach Residences $2,350,000 to $3,800,000 | 2 Pets Welcome Unsurpassed luxury & unimaginable legendary Ritz-Carlton services & lifestyle beyond comparison! Enjoy blissful views, turquoise waters, a highly sought after enclave. 3,000 to 5,200 sq. ft., pets welcome. Enjoy the very best of Sarasota! Luxury Knows No Limits.

TheBeachResidencesRitzManaged.com

50 Central Ave Penthouse 16 South Plaza At Five Points $2,499,000 | MLS A4454416 Magnificent and breathtaking views from each and every room in this open design plan with 4,000 sq. ft. Walls of glass to view all of Sarasota & Her Islands. Endless amenities and upgrades in this 3 bedroom plus den. 3 parking spaces.

PlazaAtFivePoints16G.com 350433-1

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7107 Hawks Harbor Circle | Hawks Harbor $699,900 | MLS A4458161 This 3 bed/3 bath home resides in the gated enclave of Hawks Harbor with a deeded boat slip on a double lot. Immaculately kept w/stunning hardwood floors, updated kitchen and cozy wood burning fireplace. Mature lush landscaping located close to all Sarasota has to offer!

7107HawksHarborCircle.com

1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive #1006 $995,000 | MLS A4143524 Enjoy picturesque views of Sarasota Bay & Her Islands. Elegant 1 BR, 1.5 bath residence with high ceilings in the coveted Ritz-Carlton w/5-star amenities in the heart of the City.

Ritz-Carlton1006.com

916 North Casey Key Road | GULF to BAY ESTATE $4,975,000 | MLS A4408082 200 ft. private beach, 2 guest homes on the Gulf of Mexico. On the bayside, main residence with 3 bedrooms, pool, dock, and lift.

Total 1.5 acres. Enjoy year-round sunrise and sunsets.

916NCaseyKeyRoad.com

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Kepecz-Hays

A Family Group of RealtorsÂŽ Steven Kepecz

941.387.1825

$2.2 BILLION IN CAREER SALES

Judy Kepecz-Hays

941.587.1700

Email: Kepecz@JudyHays.com | Website: www.LongboatKeyLuxury.com

Coldwell Banker Realty | 423 St. Armands Circle | Sarasota, FL 34236 3

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1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive #PH1208 $3,800,000 | MLS A4448354 TheBeachResidences1208.com

1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive #708 $2,350,000 | MLS A4471978 TheBeachResidences708.com

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1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive #606 $2,675,000 | MLS A4445110 TheBeachResidences606.com

Amenities: over 400 ft. of Gulf frontage,guest suites, 2 pets-no weight limit! Dedicated staff & legendary resort-style amenities.

Kepecz-Hays

A Family Group of Realtors® Steven Kepecz

941.387.1825

$2.2 BILLION IN CAREER SALES Email: Kepecz@JudyHays.com | Website: www.LongboatKeyLuxury.com

Coldwell Banker Realty | 423 St. Armands Circle | Sarasota, FL 34236

Judy Kepecz-Hays

941.587.1700

Lori Lawson 941.735.4385

LARGE

#1 TEAM

1050 Longboat Club Road #304 | Privateer $799,000 | MLS A4485457 Indulge in luxury and privacy in this completely updated residence on the beach within the gates of The Longboat Key Club, Islandside. 2/2, 1,409 sq. ft.

1050LongboatClub304.com

1050 Longboat Club Road #704 | Privateer $925,000 | MLS A4485456 Better than NEW! Panoramic views of the spectacular beach, city skyline, SRQ Bay, and the mainland! It looks close enough to touch! 2/2, 1,409 sq. ft.

1050LongboatClub704.com

OVER $123 MILLION SOLD & CLOSED AND OVER $60 MILLION PENDING IN 2020

Privateer North has every amenity. A newly updated club room with catering kitchen, a wellequipped fitness room with saunas, heated Olympic sized pool and spa, tennis and pickleball courts, shuffleboard, BBQ grill, and a new gas fire pit where residents gather. The beautiful lobby and common areas include the onsite office with helpful management staff. Not to be missed, there is storage and FREE laundry on every floor. Don’t miss this opportunity, a must-see!

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3456 Mistletoe Lane | Corey's Landing $1,595,000 | MLS A4478403 Sarasota Bay is your backyard with endless views!

Modern elegant and almost new 3 bedrooms plus den w/loft, 3 bath, over 2,700 sq. ft. Few features include a dock, new roof, new hurricane windows and doors. Deeded Beach Access.

3456Mistletoe.com

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Office: 941.387.1825 Kepecz@JudyHays.com LongboatKeyLuxury.com

770 S Palm Ave #1203 | Embassy House $829,000 | MLS A4485426 30 feet of walls of glass with vistas of Sarasota Bay, Her Islands, and sunsets into the Gulf of Mexico. Completely remodeled to perfection. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, ready for instant enjoyment.

770SoPalm1203.com

1281 Gulf of Mexico Drive #1007 | Water Club $2,875,000 | MLS A4448214 Enjoy panoramic views of the bay, Sarasota skyline and the Gulf of Mexico. Luxurious living on the beach. Enjoy year round exploding sunrises & moonrises from this 3 bedroom plus den/3.5 bath residence. 2 pets welcome, 2 parking spaces.

WaterClub1007.com

Coldwell Banker Realty 423 St. Armands Circle Sarasota, FL 34236