LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
New man at the piano.
PAGE 1B
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 43, NO. 37
FREE
YOUR TOWN
•
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
Ed center joins TBI 35-year-old institution moves to temple June 1. PAGE 2A
Courtesy photo
Wait, it’s not Christmas There’s always that neighbor who keeps Christmas decorations up way too late. And then there’s the Lazy Lobster, which keeps its Christmas tree up — and up to date. The festive fir still stands in the restaurant’s breezeway, now with summery decorations. As the Tampa Bay Lightning fought to win the Stanley Cup in the fall, the tree was decked out in memorabilia from owner Michael Garey’s favorite team. It did have the traditional Christmas ornaments, followed by St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness decor, but now it stands with boughs of sunglasses and surfboards.
A NEW VIEW Beach projects change the look of Beer Can Island. PAGE 4A
Mark Bergin Nat Kaemmerer
Longboat Key’s contractor has started removing driftwood and vegetation from Greer Island as groin and beach work move ahead.
Earth Day play
What can you do with three Frisbees, three toy cars, 41 shovels and a slew of other objects? If you’re Longboat Key Turtle Watch volunteers Giana and Bridgette Clark, you make a turtle. The Clarks, a mother and daughter who do turtle patrol in the summer, have long been keeping and recording the trash they find. But now they’re doing their best to make trash into treasure and sculpt the most turtle-shaped object they can for Earth Day on April 22. So far, they’ve created the shell, the upper layer of which consists mostly of the shovels and rakes. The Clarks are also making a fish out of all the bottle caps they’ve found on the beach.
A+E A buffet of talent. SEE PAGE 19A
A bridge too far? With studies now underway for Longboat Pass Bridge, residents begin to weigh in on the possibilities.
SEE PAGE 3A
Mark Bergin