Longboat Observer 6.18.26

LONGBOAT

Get ready for Fourth fun.

Observer

Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978

PAGE 12

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

VOLUME 48, NO. 44

YOUR TOWN

Pass plans still up in the air Drone used to lobby FDOT against 78-foot-tall option for the north-end bridge. PAGE 5

S.T. Cardinal

Know before you go Those seeking to escape the summer heat with a day at the beach will now be greeted with a rundown of the beach rules.

The town of Longboat Key recently installed signs at the public beach access points detailing the open hours, prohibited behaviors and best practices for good shoreline stewardship.

Among those banned activities is drinking alcohol, smoking or vaping, having an open fire, camping, using motorized vehicles and bringing dogs.

Signs also reminds visitors of the turtle nesting season, which runs through Oct. 31.

Beach hours are from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more on regulations and access points, visit LongboatKey.org/331/ Beaches.

Paintings crack open controversy

Driftwood art at Beer Can Island prompts pushback.

SEE PAGE 3

Carlin Gillen

Class participant Michael Hartman begins to put on the AED pads to the CPR mannequin.

S.T. Cardinal

Lynnle Olevnik, who grew up on the Gulf Coast, returned to Beer Can Island with high school friends this June. Olevnik said she appreciated the driftwood painting that resembled petrified wood but wasn’t a fan of the brightly colored paintings.

Learn a life-saving skill this summer If you haven’t yet taken advantage of Longboat Key Fire Rescue’s free, hands-only CPR and AED training, your next chance this summer is approaching.

The 10 a.m. workshop takes place July 8 at Station 91, 5490 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Space is limited to 16 attendees per class. Learn the basics of life-saving skills in an hourlong interactive course.

Newly announced upcoming dates are Aug. 17, Sept. 14 and Oct. 20. Visit LongboatKey.org for more information.

Register by emailing TAdams@LongboatKey.org or calling 941-316-1944.

Costs add up to lives saved

$0.10

File image

Longboat Key operates a pair of ambulances, with one in reserve.

Rising ambulance sticker prices, Longboat rescue personnel wages worth the benefit, chief says. PAGE 6

A+E

Much ado about Shakespeare PAGE 15

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

WEEK OF JUNE 18, 2026

Satcher ends run for Buchanan’s seat

“Those driftwood pieces are like sculptures in nature, and we don’t need to see them decorated beyond the beauty that they already provide.”

Town Commissioner Sarah Karon Read more on page 3

BY THE NUMBERS 2.58%

The increase in total property values on Longboat Key from 2025 to 2026 PAGE 4

67%

The cardiac arrest survival rate on Longboat Key in 2025 PAGE 6

75 POUNDS

The estimated weight of the trash picked up from Longboat Key Little Beach by the Manasota Track Club PAGE 20

CALENDAR

n Town Commission Budget Workshop — 10 a.m., June 22, 501 Bay Isles Road n Town Commission Regular Workshop — Immediately after Budget Workshop, June 22, 501 Bay Isles Road n Town Commission Special Meeting — 1 p.m., June 22, 501 Bay Isles Road n Town Commission Special Meeting — 10 a.m.

June 29, 501 Bay Isles Road

S.T. Cardinal

Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton will continue in his position through the summer before retiring.

Town manager announces retirement

H

oward Tipton has announced his retirement, but still has a few more months in his position as town manager.

The difficult decision to retire was described in a letter to Town Commission Tuesday as something that was made with a high degree of regret as he deals with health issues.

“Although managing this community is the least stressful job I’ve had in more than three decades, there is certainly some stress that comes with it, and I need to take all the steps I can to put myself in the best position

possible to get back to better health,” Tipton wrote in the letter.

Tipton, called “Tip” by residents, commissioners and town staff, was hired as town manager in late 2022, and started in January 2023. He led the town through the 2024 hurricane storm season, leading recovery efforts while simultaneously helping the town recover financially.

Tipton will recommend his replacement to Town Commission at Monday’s meeting, but he will continue in his position through the summer, aiming for the new

manager to begin in October.

“Over a 45-year career, it has been one of my great honors to lead this organization and be a part of this wonderful town,” Tipton said. “The leadership team of this town government is second to none (including our very capable assistant town manager, town attorney, department heads and managers) and I have been blown away by the abilities and commitment of the town’s employees who make a considerable drive every day to serve this community.”

On June 9, former Manatee County Commissioner James Satcher was launching a campaign for the Republican nomination to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District.

On June 11, Satcher drove to Tallahassee with the qualifying paperwork in hand because the deadline to apply was at noon on June 12 to get his name on the primary ballot.

However, Satcher came up short on the $10,440 filing fee.

“It was an amount of money that should’ve been easy to raise,” he said. “Obviously, Sydney Gruters has a stronger campaign than I realized.

People are motivated to support her.

Nobody even wanted to hedge their bets.”

Gruters is vying for the seat that Rep. Vern Buchanan has filled since January 2013.

Buchanan was elected to Congress in 2006, but the districts were redrawn in 2012.

Buchanan announced his retirement in January.

Satcher was hoping his Ellenton address would end up in District 14 when the lines were redrawn for the congressional redistricting in April, but his home remains in District 16.

The District 16 seat was Satcher’s first choice of offices before being elected to the District 1 commission seat in 2020. He ran against Buchanan for the Republican nomination in 2016, but the newcomer only received 19.4% of the votes.

Flag to return to Sarasota Ford The city of Sarasota’s Board of Adjustment drew a crowd and a round of applause at its meeting earlier this month when members unanimously, and without discussion, approved a request by Sarasota Ford to relocate its 150-foot flag pole that flies an 1,800-square-foot American flag.

After the applause stopped supporters were buzzing as they left the City Hall meeting chamber.

As the board paused to allow the din to fade, one member said over a hot mic, “How dare we vote against it.”

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W HAT ’S HAPPENING

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

feel like if you go to the beach or the island and you feel that it’s beautiful and have that appreciation, I feel like it’s hard to not also appreciate the art there.”

Lynnle Olevnik grew up in the area. She attended Bayshore High School (class of 1988) and has fond memories of Beer Can Island. Now living in Jacksonville, Olevnik was with two childhood friends revisiting a favorite hangout this month.

She has mixed opinions on the driftwood paintings. One branch, which had been painted with waving vertical lines of varying shades of brown resembled petrified wood.

“I think that’s beautiful,” Olevnik said. “At first, you can’t even tell it’s paint until you really walk up here and observe it. But it looks beautiful because they’re keeping with the natural colors and making it pop a little bit more.”

Brighter colors, though, are a bit more disturbing to the natural beauty of the Beer Can Island peninsula, she said.

“As long as the colors are right, the scheme is right and it stays true to the driftwood, I’m fine with it,” Olevnik said.

ART OR GRAFFITI? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and some classify driftwood paintings on Beer Can Island as vandalism.

SCRATCH-OFF ART

Photos by S.T. Cardinal

A driftwood trunk that stands in the water has been painted with messages from visitors to Beer Can Island.

Manatee County and Longboat Key Public Works collaborate to remove paint from driftwood at Beer Can Island by grinding it off the wood.

S.T. CARDINAL STAFF WRITER

O

n Greer Island — better known as Beer Can Island for its history of boaters docking, drinking and leaving cans behind — downed trees lying on the shoreline have become a canvas.

On the northern tip of Longboat Key, the beach that extends west of the Longboat Pass Bridge is strewn with driftwood branches and trunks.

Some visitors have left their mark on driftwood with brightly colored paints.

The practice has gotten some pushback, including emails to the mayor, arguments on social media and scratched wood.

Shane Hammond, who recently moved to Sarasota, was on Beer Can Island recently filming with his handheld Osmo camera. Hammond said Beer Can Island has become his go-to spot.

“I just moved here about a month ago, and I’m exploring all the beaches,” Hammond said. “All the way from Venice to here. So far, this is my favorite.”

There’s one thing he would change, though.

“I’m a nature guy, and I like to see nature as it was intended without graffiti,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me, but as I’m recording, I wish it wasn’t there.”

The debate around driftwood painting has led to heated discussion online.

A picture of a piece of driftwood painted with a mermaid, a flower and coral posted on the “We Love Longboat Key” Facebook page drew plenty of comments. Some compared the paintings to graffiti seen on the New York subway. Others called the drawings disrespectful or hideous.

Natasha Young, who describes her work as abstract and fluid, usually sticks to a traditional canvas and has not painted anything on the driftwood at Beer Can Island.

But she posted some of the images of the paintings to Facebook and was taken off guard by some of the negative reactions. In a previous job with a tour boat company, Young said those who were dropped off at the island would paint to leave their mark at the beach at which they vacationed.

“They love and adore and appreciate the island so much, and I think that you can feel something when you’re there. So they leave a little piece of their vacation or the memory that they have at the island,” Young said. “It’s a really beautiful tradition, and to see the impact that it has on the families doing it, it’s beautiful to watch.”

Shane Hammond films on Beer Can Island with his handheld video camera.

Young has sold several art pieces to Longboat Key residents and thought the population would be more accepting of public art.

“With Anna Maria and Longboat being such a beautiful place and eclectic, there’s people from all over, different types of people from block to block. You would think with Longboat being one of the arteries at the heart of that, that people in that area would be a little more embracing of that tradition,” Young said. “I

“I’m a nature guy, and I like to see nature as it was intended without graffiti. It doesn’t bother me, but as I’m recording, I wish it wasn’t there.”

On June 9, the paintings of the driftwood were there. On June 10, the only evidence of the art was a smattering of etchings in the wood. Most of the paint had been scratched off vigorously, leaving only a trace of the pictures that adorned the wood the day before.

Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman said the practice of painting on driftwood has been ongoing since before he started with the town in 2017.

“Most of it tends to be quaint, a little bit artistic, but then the next person comes along, sees what’s been done, somebody else adds to it, then somebody else adds to it,” Brownman said. “And then eventually, you have a whole bunch of graffiti and markings and stuff on driftwood, and eventually one or more complaints come in.”

The town’s Public Works Department works with Manatee County, which owns the land, to remove paintings on driftwood.

“It happens periodically, and we will let Manatee County know when it is reported to us,” Public Works Director Charlie Mopps said. “They typically respond fairly quickly to grind the paintings off.”

Aimee Johnson, Manatee County’s Beach Parks Manager, said painting on driftwood has been ongoing for decades. County workers will sometimes scratch off the graffiti when they are on the island on routine patrols.

Town Commissioner Sarah Karon, whose district encompasses the northern tip of the Key, including Beer Can Island, said she was not aware of the painting on driftwood, but that she would discourage it.

“Well, I’m sure folks think they’re leaving a nice memory, but to me, I think one of the gifts of having open spaces like Beer Can Island is that the nature is undisturbed by human beings,” Karon said. “Those driftwood pieces are like sculptures in nature, and we don’t need to see them decorated beyond the beauty that they already provide.”

Longboat Key does not have a graffiti or vandalism section in its town code, but Brownman said the police department or code enforcement does have the power to prevent those painting on driftwood, which is in a public space. Section 92.05 of Town Code details prohibited acts in town parks including Beer Can Island. One such restriction is against defacing, damaging or defiling the premises.

— Shane Hammond

SIGNATURE SHELLS

Approaching the largest fallen tree on Beer Can Island from the east, it resembles a bush blooming with white flowers from a distance.

The closer you get, the more you see, like inscriptions on the shells that are hanging from the root system. Messages of commemoration are written, like “Joe 2016,” “Ralph R. Colbert 1-22-44 — 3-2497,” “Scarlett” with a drawing of a sea turtle.

Smack dab in the middle of the root system hangs an old foam buoy with the message “OUT OF STATE PEOPLE GO AWAY.” Next to that is a shell inscribed with “Jesus ♥ you.”

Brownman said the town doesn’t tend to get complaints about the shells from locals.

Shells, many with messages inscribed on them with permanent marker, hang from the roots of a downed tree on Beer Can Island.

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

Appraisals under scrutiny S.T. CARDINAL STAFF WRITER

W

ith preliminary property evaluations now shared by the Sarasota and Manatee county property appraisers, the town of Longboat Key is paying close attention to how values have changed year over year as it works to finalize its 2027 budget.

State law requires that property appraisers share preliminary data with local governments by June 1.

Manatee County Property Appraiser Charles Hackney’s office shared in a letter to all taxing authorities the total assessed value for each jurisdiction. For Longboat Key, the total assessed value was about $2.96 billion, up from $2.63 billion last year. Sarasota County Property Appraiser Bill Furst’s office assessed Longboat properties at $6.98 billion, down 1.1% from $7.06 billion in 2025.

It’s the first time Sarasota-side values have dropped since 2020.

Longboat Key represents $9.94 billion worth of property in the two counties, 2.58% more than in 2025.

Town Manager Howard Tipton said the preliminary values are usually close to the certified tax roll values that are finalized in October and are suitable for budget purposes, but he was surprised by the valuations.

“I thought the market out here was a little stronger than what the numbers seem to indicate, especially on the Sarasota side,” Tipton said.

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YEARLY COMPARISONS

Property valuations on Longboat Key have continuously risen year over year, except for in 2025, when Manatee Property values decreased by about 10% in the wake of hurricane-caused property damage. Below are the June 1 preliminary assessed property values for each county from 2023 through preliminary 2026 valuations.

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That 1.1% drop in Sarasota County values still outperforms countywide figures. According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota-Manatee, the median sales price of a singlefamily home in Sarasota County decreased 6% in 2025, and the median price of a condo decreased 15.3%.

In the current fiscal year, which runs through September, the town’s budget was formed with property values about 10% lower on the Manatee County half of the island compared with the previous year. That led to a budget Tipton described as “storm-weary,” with some requested staff additions denied.

The magnifying glass is on Manatee County values this year more than ever because several first-floor condo units were misvalued, costing the town at least $500,000 in general fund revenue, in the current fiscal year. Several first-floor, Gulf-facing condo units had drastically reduced appraisal values based on assumed damage after the 2024 hurricanes, but the units were raised and did not flood. Hackney’s office admitted the mistake in a letter to the town.

Preliminary valuations released this month are not broken down property by property, but the countywide valuation suggests values have returned to pre-storm levels. The town’s finance department is waiting for values from individual properties to be released to ensure first-floor condo valuations have been corrected.

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Year

Manatee

Sarasota

Total

2023

$2.62 billion

$5.71 billion

$8.33 billion

2024

$2.95 billion

$6.19 billion

$9.14 billion

2025

$2.63 billion

$7.06 billion

$9.69 billion

2026

$2.96 billion

$6.98 billion

$9.94 billion

(June 1 preliminary values)

LONGBOAT

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

SHOW AND TELL

BURN NO BRIDGES

Longboat leaders use drone to advocate against tall, fixed-span bridge.

S.T. CARDINAL STAFF WRITER

F

DOT and town officials stood in the parking lot of Coquina Beach, peering at a drone buzzing far above the Longboat Pass Bridge.

The drone was 80 feet in the air, a decision by town leaders who pointed to the sky where the drone hovered to make a point. It’s roughly the height of a fixed-span bridge FDOT is considering to replace the drawbridge.

“We wanted to give the District 1 Secretary and his team a sense of the scale and magnitude of this bridge out in the field, a proposed high fixed span, and then simultaneous to that, get a sense of the nature and character of the area,” Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman said. “We met on the south side of Coquina Beach, and then we all drove over the bridge to continue our meeting at Town Hall.”

On hand to hear the town’s case for a lower drawbridge over FDOT’s preference of a fixed-span bridge were FDOT Interim District 1 Secretary Jamie Driggers and Longboat Pass Bridge Project Manager David Turley. FDOT District 1 Director of Public Information Janella Newsome said the town requested the meeting with FDOT to discuss planning options for the proposed new Longboat Pass Bridge.

“FDOT recognizes that actively listening to and incorporating feedback from the public and local government partners is absolutely vital to the success of any infrastruc-

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Image courtesy of Isaac Brownman

A drone flies over the Longboat Pass Bridge at an 80-foot elevation to contextualize what a fixed-span bridge would look like over the pass. Looking on (from left) are Longboat Key Commissioner Steve Branham, FDOT Southwest Area Office Director Wayne Gaither, FDOT Professional Engineer Trainee Stephen Pack, FDOT Project Manager David Turley, FDOT Project Development Manager Jimmy Vilce, FDOT Interim District One Secretary Jamie Driggers, Longboat Key Town Manager Howard Tipton and Longboat Key IT Director Jason Keen.

ture project,” Newsome wrote in an email. “By prioritizing this collaborative input early in the planning process, potential challenges can be proactively identified, allowing FDOT to develop solutions that are community-supported, economically feasible and environmentally responsible.”

The meeting can be considered a last pitch by the town, which is advocating against a proposed 78-foottall fixed-span design for the new bridge. The existing drawbridge — also known as a bascule bridge — is now approaching 70 years in service, and plans to replace it have been discussed for years, with the Project Development and Environment Study phase wrapping up. FDOT held public meetings in March, where it shared that the fixed-span bridge was its preferred design over

the two drawbridge options.

Town Commissioner Sarah Karon, whose district includes the northern end of Longboat Key, said it’s hard to imagine a bridge that tall connecting Anna Maria Island to Longboat Key. Brownman said it doesn’t fit the character of the island.

After the meeting between FDOT and town staff, Town Manager Howard Tipton wrote a letter outlining the reasoning for the town’s opposition to a taller bridge, including pedestrian accessibility and the character of the town.

“We recognize that the State of Florida has constructed very few bascule bridges in recent decades due to the significant capital, operational and maintenance costs associated with these bridge structures.

However, we believe there are circumstances where the scale and

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visual impact of an infrastructure improvement must be carefully balanced against the character of the community it serves,” Tipton wrote in the letter. “In this instance, the town believes substantial consideration should be given to preserving the unique character and quality of life that define the north end of Longboat Key.” A final decision by FDOT is expected soon as the PD&E phase has an estimated completion of “mid-2026,” according to the project website.

“Our understanding coming out of the meeting was the DOT is going to make a decision, a final decision between District 1 and the central office in Tallahassee by end of summer,” Brownman said. “That’s what I took away from the meeting.”

The town of Longboat Key recognizes the importance of keeping a good relationship with the Florida Department of Transportation.

Comments during public meetings, with the media and in written correspondence often include something along the lines of what Town Manager Howard Tipton wrote in the opening of his most recent letter to FDOT District 1 Interim Secretary James Driggers.

“The Town greatly values its longstanding partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation on the many projects and initiatives associated with State Road 789 (Gulf of Mexico Drive) within our community. This partnership extends beyond the roadway itself and includes the two bridges that serve as gateways to Longboat Key, major roadway and intersection improvements within the town, and significant regional transportation projects that impact access to and from the island,” Tipton wrote.

Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman reiterated the importance the town places on its partnership with FDOT. Despite past disagreements regarding the naming of Gulf of Mexico Drive and the current disagreement on the best design for the Longboat Pass Bridge, meetings have remained cordial, Brownman said.

“We want to continue our partnership going forward with the DOT because they’re so vital with all the roadways that they touch and have jurisdiction over all the way into the mainland, and even evacuation routes,” Brownman said. “We really want to maintain our vital partnership with them.”

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

THE AMBULANCE FLEET

Fire Station 92 is one of two stations on the barrier island of Longboat Key.

The town of Longboat Key has three ambulances in its Fire Rescue fleet. Two are in service and one is a reserve.

AMBULANCE 1 Photos by S.T. Cardinal

The cost of saving lives STAFF WRITER

L

ongboat Key Fire Chief Paul Dezzi is particularly proud of one Longboat Key Fire Rescue statistic: a 67% cardiac arrest survival rate in 2025.

“Why is that? It’s because of the training the guys are going through, it’s the personnel that we have, and it’s the equipment that our tax dollars buy for us,” Dezzi said. “That’s this past year, and that will fluctuate depending on the number of patients we have with cardiac arrest, but that means we had four people that were dead when we got there, and they went home alive.”

Although Longboat Key is a small sample size, a 67% cardiac arrest survival rate is notably high. According to American Red Cross, the outof-hospital national average cardiac arrest survival rate is 10%.

One thing that sets Longboat Key apart from many other fire departments is that Longboat Key Fire Rescue’s emergency responders are all trained as paramedics rather than emergency medical technicians.

“What that means is that you’re

going to get two medics on every single call at a minimum,” Dezzi said.

That comes at a cost. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for EMTs was $41,340 in 2024. For paramedics, the median annual wage in 2024 was $58,410, which is 41% higher than the EMT wage.

In Longboat Key, wages in the fire department have risen year over year, from $2.6 million in fiscal year 2022 to $3.6 million in the 2026 fiscal year. Dezzi said the cost of paying paramedics rather than EMTs is a level-of-service based decision.

Ambulances aren’t cheap either, and costs are rising. Dezzi said ambulances were typically under $300,000 before COVID. Now, quotes for new ambulances are around $400,000.

“We got a call from an ambulance manufacturer last month, and they said there’s a possibility that we may have to increase the cost $30,000. I told them if that’s the case we’ll look at a different type of ambulance,” Dezzi said. “We want the best truck we can get, but if we have to go get another truck that may be comparable, we’ll do that.”

When a new ambulance arrives, it comes bare bones without any necessary equipment. Though equipment can be transferred from old vehicles to new vehicles upon delivery, they do have a lifespan. Stretchers and defibrillators are budgeted for replacement in the town’s five-year capital improvement plan. Each defibrillator costs $75,000 and even stretchers have costs in the five digits.

“It’s ridiculous the cost of stretchers. Just the bed is $15,000,” Dezzi said. “And then, there’s a mechanism inside the truck that helps lift the stretcher up and into the truck.

That’s about $20,000. So you’re talking a stretcher system is almost $40,000 now.”

With costs rising, and revenue sources potentially fractioned if property tax changes are approved by voters this fall, Dezzi wants locals to know that the department’s budget is not bloated.

“What we provide now could change in the future,” Dezzi said.

“The Fire Department budget, and I think across the board, we are very prudent in how we deal with our budgets. We look at it, we tear it apart. We only get things we need.”

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YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

OPINION / MY VIEW

LONGBOAT

Another travesty of power Everyone knows we need more affordable housing.

But Sarasota County commissioners are more concerned about losing their home rule power.

MATT WALSH

F

or nearly 30 years, John and Jack Cox, father-son owners of the longtime Sarasota construction firm, Halfacre Construction Co., sat on 43 mostly undeveloped acres a mile north of Fruitville Road on the east side of Lorraine Road.

For about 20 of those 30 years, John and wife Cameron lived on 10 acres of their property in a 4,600-square-foot home with a barn and swimming pool. They had moved from Siesta Key to enjoy their retirement years on a farm. The elder Cox switched from building buildings to raising horses — about 20 Appaloosas at a time.

The Coxes always viewed their rural acreage as a long-term investment. They figured one day they likely would sell the property because they knew it would be in the path of Sarasota County’s northeastern growth. It didn’t take a genius to see the future.

And indeed, in February 2020 Neal Communities, the big West Coast Florida homebuilder, broke ground on its Windward development, what is to become 900 single-family homes and villas.

Windward, it just so happens, is directly across the street on Lorraine Road from the Cox family’s acreage.

Jack Cox decided it was time. His father had died in 2008, and with Neal’s development approved, Cox decided in October 2020 to develop the family property.

With Sarasota land-use attorney Bill Merrill, Cox filed a petition with Sarasota County to convert his and other neighboring properties to a conservation subdivision — a zoning category that already existed east of the Cox property.

The change would have allowed Cox to build two residential units per acre instead of the one per five acres under the property’s existing Open Use Estate zoning — up to 86 homes were envisioned.

But, alas, as these stories go in Sarasota County, that’s when Cox encountered the mighty, bureaucratic forces of Sarasota County’s planning staff and the populist politicians on the County Commission.

Over the past five and a half years, the county has rejected Cox’s lawful petitions three times. The latest — by far the most egregious — came this past April.

That did it. Cox had enough.

After all these years of writing checks to engineers and lawyers — a total exceeding $1 million of family money — Cox sued each of the county commissioners May 20.

“I can’t believe this is happening here,” Cox told us. “It’s beyond belief. This is something that happens in Palm Beach. This is a Carl Hiaasen type of story.

“I’m willing to go to the Supreme Court if we need to,” Cox said.

WORKFORCE HOUSING & POWER

For Cox, the most outrageous part of his long saga is what has occurred since December 2025 and so far this year. The details of the denials and what can be proven as duplicitous treatment from the county planning staff between 2020 and 2024 are an outrageous saga in themselves — that is, if you believe in property rights and equal treatment under the law.

But what has occurred since the end of 2025 and through May of this

year, we will show, is as Cox said: “beyond belief.”

This is the crux of the story: Affordable, workforce housing; a power struggle; an intransigent, manipulative bureaucrat; and a property owner who is punished even while following the rules.

The players: ■ You have the five county commissioners. They are chafing over the Legislature stripping them of home rule powers. They bristle over the Live Local Act, which has stripped away their power to control multifamily development.

They are so perturbed they voted to defy state laws — in spite of their attorney’s cautions of the costs.

These same commissioners will all say they want more affordable housing. “I don’t think any of us is against affordable housing,” said Commissioner Tom Knight at a March 24 commission meeting.

“I’m certainly not.”

But they all will say in the next breath, as Commissioner Mark Smith did at an April 7 commission meeting: “I would rather be on the side of our citizens than on the side of the development community on this to protect our neighborhoods and to protect our places out east.”

Or as Knight also said: “These are people’s livelihoods in their homes where most of their wealth is, and they’re worried about the compatibility of what’s going in near them. Our community looks at the five of us to protect them from the government.”

All of which is code for: The antidevelopment mobs take precedence over individual property rights.

They can have their homes, but you can’t have yours.

■ And then you have Matt Osterhoudt, the county’s director of the Planning and Development Services Department. He is legendary in Sarasota County for strangling developers with red tape and additional costs and stalling and thwarting projects to the point he is often regarded as Sarasota County’s sixth and most powerful commissioner.

■ And then finally, you have Jack Cox and the company that owns the 30 acres, SITC Inc. By all measures, SITC is entitled by state law to construct 500 units of multifamily, affordable, workforce housing in accordance with the state’s Live Local Act. But in early April, the county said his project is “ineligible” for Live Local status.

In other words, denied.

WE KNOW THE PROBLEM

You would have to have been living on Mars for the past decade not to know the lack of affordable, workforce housing is and has been the most pressing economic issue in Sarasota and Manatee counties, and indeed, in all of Florida.

State data show there is a deficit of 99,134 affordable apartment units in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The deficit in the Tampa MSA: 444,927.

Everybody knows the problem.

Solving it is another matter.

Dozens of economic development and chambers of commerce conferences in the region over the years have focused on the shortage. Advocates have made some progress, persuading local governments to adopt densitybonus incentives for apartment builders to include a percentage of below-market-rate units in their projects. But as the data show, this has done little to make a dent.

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Jack Cox’s family purchased and has owned 43 acres for nearly 30 years one mile north of Fruitville Road and on Lorraine Road. The family always viewed its investment as property that would be in the path of Sarasota’s growth.

NIMBYism continues to be pervasive.

Just read the news. Practically every week, some neighborhood group protests or a populist politician pontificates that development needs to be stopped, or they rant against the newest development project that surfaces.

The NIMBYs are effective. Two years ago at the Florida Housing Summit in St. Petersburg, M. Nolan Gray, research director of California YIMBY (Yes in My Back Yard), cautioned policy makers that Florida was well on its way to mirroring California’s horrible housing market. “You have already adopted all the same rules as California,” he said.

Indeed, cities and counties all over Florida — including here — have adopted impenetrable mazes of zoning regulations that constrict the supply and drive up the costs of housing. Adrian Moore, an Observer columnist, is vice president of the Reason Foundation, a think tank that specializes in housing policies nationwide. He has written repeatedly in the Observer how regulations are at the top of why housing is unaffordable.

And yet, Commissioners Knight and Smith call this “protecting our citizens” from the development community.

Which brings us to the increasingly controversial Live Local Act.

KEY PROVISIONS OF LIVE LOCAL ■ Counties and municipalities must allow a multifamily or mixed-use residential rental development in any area zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed-use, and in areas such as a planned unit development permitted for commercial, industrial or mixed use if at least 40% of the units will be affordable for at least 30 years and serve incomes up to 120% AMI. ■ Zoning, land-use change or a comprehensive plan amendment for the building height, zoning and densities authorized may not be required.

■ A county may not restrict

density below the highest allowed density where residential development is allowed.

■ A county may not restrict the height of such development below the highest allowed height within one mile of the proposed development or three stories, whichever is higher.

■ An application for such development must be administratively approved and no further action is required.

■ Governments are required, upon request of an applicant, to reduce parking requirements by 15% percent if the development meets certain criteria.

UNEQUIVOCALLY FIT CRITERIA

In 2023, recognizing the housing affordability crisis and that local government zoning laws are chief impediments to increasing workforce housing, the Legislature essentially said: “Get out of the way. We’re now in charge.” It adopted the landmark Live Local Act. The act stripped local governments of their power over multifamily developments and expanded where these developments can be allowed without local government interference.

Since revised three times, Live Local requires counties and cities to allow multifamily and mixed-use developments in areas zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed use if at least 40% of the units are offered at affordable rates for 30 years minimum.

If a project meets the state’s requirements, it also allows the projects to skip the local planning and zoning approval process. The projects automatically must receive administrative approval — no public hearings required where NIMBY neighbors can pack planning board and commission meetings and skuttle developments. (See box for additional provisions.)

In late summer 2025, Cox began looking into whether he could develop under the Live Local Act. For two weeks, Merrill tested whether Cox’s properties would qualify. Conclusion: They were convinced, unequivocally, they fit every criterion.

In September, they met with the county planning staff for feedback.

Cox remembers the reaction: “You could feel that they didn’t want to do it, but they knew because of the state statute that they would have to do it.”

Three months later, on Dec. 4, 2025, Cox and Merrill submitted the application to develop 500 multifamily apartments on his 43 acres under the Live Local Act. Finally, after five and a half years of rejection and bureaucratic wrangling, they felt they had found a path forward. “[My project] is not lowincome housing,” Cox told us.

“It’s workforce housing. It’s for deputies, first responders, teachers,

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

construction people. I have 65 employees at Halfacre, and most of them live in Charlotte County and have to commute up here. I mean the fuel cost is crazy.”

Land Area: 10 acres

3 Cameo Farm Lane

Land Area: 10 acres

4 2000 Lorraine Road Land Area: 13 acres

SITC Project Boundaries

CAMEO FARM LN.

1

2

3

SINCLAIR DR.

WINWARD BY NEAL COMMUNITIES

SITC INC. / COX FAMILY

LORRAINE RD.

EVERYONE LOSES

PITTMAN RD.

The area outlined in red are the 43 acres SITC Inc. wants to develop for affordable, workforce housing. To the left of SITC’s property is Neal Communities’ 900-home development.

WARNINGS IGNORED

Even with the passing of SB 1389, commissioners forged ahead.

On April 7, after having received Moye’s opinion, commissioners again discussed Live Local at the end of the regular meeting.

Knight led the discussion by telling commissioners other counties and cities around Florida were challenging Live Local, asking for declaratory judgments against the state law.

“There’s a lot of anxiety in our communities that we’re hearing from,” he told his fellow commissioners.

He lamented again not having power. “We’re not going to have input on as an elected board, and

Florida’s road to hell Specifically, Live Local preempted counties and cities on zoning, density and height for multifamily rental developments in commercial, industrial and mixeduse areas. It required local governments to authorize such projects in those areas if at least 40% of the units will be affordable for at least 30 years and serve incomes up to 120% average median income.

Local governments also were required to approve the projects administratively — no public hearings or rezoning approvals required.

Hallelujah — a way to fast-track the construction of affordable, workforce housing.

But not much happened.

Over the next three sessions, the Legislature modified Live Local, relaxing additional local requirements. In the most recent session, the law became even more explicit on what qualifies. It listed specifics on what is considered commercial, industrial or mixed use — essentially casting a wider net for where Live Local projects could be developed.

The intent for every step all along has been to spur the development of workforce housing with attractive incentives and less government interference.

But as we also know, good inten-

we’re not going to have the ability to represent our community on these type of developments.”

At the previous meeting, Knight stoked the fire when he said: “The way I’m reading it in my research, we could see dense fourstory apartments, complexes, go up on vacant properties anywhere, even in Cherokee Park, Oyster Bay, Westbrook Drive in Sarasota.

Anybody could have commercial businesses. They could have a tutoring company, piano lessons, attorneys working out of their homes in those neighborhoods.

“My research was also that even residential estates would be on Siesta Key, west of Midnight Pass, where you could put any type of commercial building business.”

At the April 7 meeting, Knight’s talk of lawsuits to stop Live Local stoked the commissioners again.

“I just wanted to make sure that we got the document there to show that communities are challenging the law, and they are going to [declaratory] actions, and they are prevailing in the best interest of the community.”

The drumbeat was increasing to outlaw Live Local in OUE and RE-1.

But wait. County Attorney Moye issued a caution.

“It was in our office memo 1901 that the property zones RE-1 and OUE have to be treated as qualifying districts under the Live Local Act definitions.”

But immediately after saying that, he added: “The board could adopt a good faith policy interpretation that RE-1 and OUE districts do not qualify for development under the Live Local Act, and then that would give the developer the opportunity or the applicant the opportunity to then do a [declaratory judgment] act against us, because you have to have somebody to sue to do a declaratory action.”

Moye then also added this crucial, cautionary qualifier:

“Just know that if the board does go down that policy interpretation, that RE-1 and OUE districts do not qualify, it is an uphill battle, because it does go against the strict language of the statute, and it does go against the legislative history, and the local act provides for attorney fee costs up to $250,000 to a prevailing party, which the county would be subject to each time it’s found to be in violation of the Live Local Act.” County Administrator Jonathan Lewis also cautioned commissioners that if they defied state statutes, they could lose its sovereign immunity in lawsuits.

Neither Moye nor Lewis’ warnings mattered.

Commissioner Neunder, like the charged-up rabble-rouser at a hanging, urged for a motion requiring the county not to wait to be sued, but to sue first.

“You file legal action immediately,” he urged. “Do not pass go. I mean, you pass go, do it, and make sure that you get a judge’s determination on a declaratory action for these zoning determinations on these products.”

Commissioner Smith, taking it all in, the proposed: “I’d like to make a motion to have a policy direction to staff that OUE and RE-1 not be qualifying districts under the Live Local Act. “I know there’s a certain amount of danger involved here,” Smith continued, “but I believe that I would rather be on the side of our citizens than on the side of the development community … to protect our neighborhoods and to protect our places out east. And so I’m wholeheartedly in favor of this … And we’ll see how it goes.

Without any prior public notice, and in spite of their lawyers’ cautions, the commissioners voted 5-0 to defy state law and declare a new policy that all properties in Sarasota County that are in the SINCLAIR DR.

Commission meeting, without prior public notice, Commissioner Knight proposed a convoluted motion to “direct the county attorney and county administrator collaboratively to provide a written opinion regarding the applicability of the Live Local Act to partial zone RE-1 and OUE, including whether those districts satisfy the statutory requirement that commercial, industrial, mixed-use development be allowed…”

Commissioners voted 5-0 in favor of getting the opinion from County Attorney Josh Moye. Cox was unaware of that vote for two weeks.

A week prior, the Legislature approved HB/SB 1389, which would exclude properties zoned OUE (including areas intended to be open space and farms) from Live Local, retroactive to 2024.

That bill was presented to the governor Monday for signing.

Although it would exclude properties zoned OUE from Live Local, the legislation still permits their application to be considered, or grandfathered in.

With that legislation, Cox says he understood why his project was being stalled.

FRUIT VILLE RD.

ou know the cliché: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

You can say that’s certainly the case in Florida. The state’s legislators and all of Florida’s county and city commissioners either are on or about drive onto the Live Local Expressway, aka Road to hell.

It’s going to be hell. For some, it is already. And it’s going to get worse.

If you pay any attention to state and local government news, you probably have heard of the Live Local Act. It came about three years ago when then-Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, spearheaded efforts to help alleviate Florida’s workforce housing crisis.

The impetus for the legislation were the state’s local governments.

They weren’t addressing the problem effectively. Rather, they were the problem, with their layers of regulations and caving in to neighborhood NIMBYs. Passidomo and her colleagues decided: If local governments won’t fix the problem, we will.

Among a multitude of funding programs, they crafted a package of incentives that, to be blunt, stripped local governments of their home rule powers to control multifamily development.

4

2 9800 Cameo Farm Lane

DOG KENNEL RD.

D. ER AIN RR LO

Their confidence was short lived.

The application entered the fortress of bureaucratic processes — the Sarasota County Planning and Development Services Department.

Its director, Osterhoudt, is like the troll in the “Three Billy Goats Gruff.” Try to get your project across his bridge, and he’ll likely devour it in red tape.

Here’s one example: According to state statutes, each county is required to have a streamlined process for Live Local applications to get them to approval quickly — administratively approved without quasi-judicial or public hearings.

For standard development applications, it’s a two-step process: A developer submits a site development plan, and then, if approved, would obtain a building permit. Slam-bam.

But just before Cox submitted his Live Local application and weeks after he had already discussed his plans with the county staff, to his and Merrill’s surprise, the planning staff informed them the county changed its application rules.

The county now required a mandatory five-step process for Live Local projects — clearly lengthening and delaying approvals and contrary to the Legislature’s intent for quick administrative approvals.

They objected. The explanation for the change, according to Merrill: “Staff indicated that the process was continuing to evolve as they explored so-called ‘best practices.’”

“You could tell the tone was getting more difficult,” Cox recalls. “Matt started talking about commissioners were having a different view or a different understanding of the ordinance.

What we took from that meeting is they were going to try to change the legislation up in Tallahassee.”

Added Cox: “I was starting to feel like my clock was running out on Live Local, and they were trying to run the clock out.”

December flowed to January; January to February — no approval.

“We were constantly talking with them,” recalls Merrill, “and they were constantly throwing up delays.”

Finally, on March 13, four months after submitting their application, the county staff issued its Development Review Coordination comments on whether Cox’s proposal qualified for approval.

This was the third step in the process.

Still no approval.

The report said, among other things, the project needed more entrances and needed to address issues with water flow counts and utilities. Cox referred the requests to engineers the next week.

But during that week the real reasons for the delays, stalls and “slow-walking” came to light.

At the March 24 County

Land Area: 10 acres

SINCLAIR DR.

SITC INC. / COX FAMILY

CONSTANT STALLING, DELAYS

Y

OUE and RE-1 zoning categories are ineligible for the Live Loca process.

Once again, the county squashed Cox’s development.

He wasn’t there to witness it.

He found out a day later. “We were floored,” Cox said. “It’s hard to believe it wasn’t noticed. They’re not following state statutes, and they’re willing to use taxpayers’ money to defend this. That’s just unbelievable.”

Not to Knight. The day after the vote, he posted on Facebook: “Despite the county attorney’s written opinion that these projects WOULD qualify under the law, I am happy to report that with the additional urging of Commissioner Neunder, our commission voted to exclude residential, rural and open use properties from qualification.”

1 0 Dog Kennel Road BLUMEBERRY FARMS

9

On May 20, Miami lawyer Chris Oprison, partner in the national law firm of DLA Piper LLC, filed a 66-page lawsuit against Sarasota County and each of the five county commissioners on behalf of Cox’s company, SITC Inc. The charges: Unlawful denial of SITC’s development application; unlawful moratorium for refusing to accept Live Local applications in OUE districts; and the commission violated Florida’s Sunshine Law requiring adequate public notice.

Cox chose the Miami law firm because it doesn’t have any ties to Sarasota commissioners, and it has appellate and Supreme Court lawyers.

And so it goes in Sarasota County.

As always, no good deed goes unpunished.

Cox wants to use his property and risk his family money to fill a critical social, economic and community need. But because county commissioners are in a snit with legislators over the loss of their power, they scotched the construction of 500 sorely needed workforce housing units.

Everyone loses here: ■ County commissioners for choosing to defy the Legislature instead of work to compromise with it; and for choosing to bring on lawsuits at taxpayer expense.

■ Taxpayers for having to fund commissioners’ legal defenses.

■ Cox and his family’s SITC Inc. for the grief and expense they have endured over five and a half years.

■ And 500 first responders, nurses, teachers, construction workers and others who won’t be able to live closer to work and will continue to drive from North Port and Charlotte County because the lack of affordable housing in north Sarasota County.

Editor’s note: A spokesman for the county (to include Commissioners Knight and Neunder and Planning Services Director Osterhoudt) said: “Sarasota County does not comment on pending or active litigation.” His response included a May 28, two-page memo from County Attorney Moye, which concluded: “Our office will defend the lawsuit.”

SARASOTA COUNTY’S LIVE LOCAL PROJECTS The six projects zoned OUE and RE-1 were recently notified they are ineligible to qualify under Live Local.

ADDRESS

CURRENT OWNER

421 Tatum Road New Pope Holdco III LLC 2000 Lorraine Road, Dog Kennel SITC Inc. Road; 9800 Cameo Farm Lane Yeshuas Love Biblical Fellowship 8893 Fruitville Road 215 Pine Ranch E. Rd. Nathan/Deborah Childers Bonnie Lee Peterson 2575 E. Venice Ave. Linda Martin Revocable Trust 5104/5110 N. Lockwood Ridge Rd. Donald Valk 0 E. Venice Ave. Gautier Fabrication Inc.

ACREAGE

UNITS

2,250 504

DENSITY

11/acre 11.6/acre

ZONING

23.7 9.55 10.8

352 238 112

14.9/acre 25/acre 11.1/acre

OUE OUE OUE-1

2.8 5

70 64

25/acre 13/acre

OPI OUE

206.5 43.42

RE-1 OUE

Source: Sarasota County

tions have unintended consequences.

County and city elected officials really, really dislike Live Local. Not only has the Sarasota County Commission thwarted the SITC Inc./ Jack Cox family Live Local development. After adopting a new policy in April to exempt the OUE and RE-1 zoning categories from Live Local, the county planning staff sent emails to the owners of five other Live Local projects stating they “were ineligible consistent with the Sarasota County Commission’s policy direction.” The county said they were not denied, just ineligible. Be real: denied.

Elsewhere, county and city governments in Pasco and Hillsborough counties and the city of

Hollywood, to name a few, also are challenging the law in the courts.

And in each case, commissioners chafe over the Legislature preempting their home rule.

Meanwhile, citizen groups have organized to fight the law as well. stayTru, a registered not-for-profit in Sarasota, has amassed 1,000 members over the past year to stop New Pope Holdco III LLC from turning the 206-acre Tatum Ridge Golf Links in northeast Sarasota County into a multifamily development with 2,250 apartments. stayTru hired lawyers from Tampa.

President Matt Procaccini, a resident of the Legends in Tatum Ridge, said stayTru formed originally to protect the open space of the golf course. But over the past

year, “We’ve attracted folks who are also fighting Live Local attempts in other parts of Sarasota,” he said.

“I’ve also been been contacted by other communities that have been hit with this Live Local stuff,” Procaccini said. “They’re looking to us for guidance.

“I don’t know where we’ll go over the long term, but one thing the board of stayTru has agreed on: The notion that the state and its attack on home rule is a very important conversation.”

Live Local + the property tax amendment. State rule versus home rule. Welcome, elected officials, onto Florida’s road to hell.

— MW

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

FRIDAY, JUNE 5

DON’T THROW ANY PARTIES WHILE WE’RE AWAY 9:31 p.m., 4711 Gulf of Mexico Drive Disturbance: A couple who seemed to be in the middle of an argument at a Longboat Key resort hotel room had cops called on them. When an officer arrived, he heard from outside the room a woman speaking loudly and a male voice in the background. The hotel guests answered the door and spoke with the officer. They told him that they were not arguing with each other, but were peeved to discover that their daughter had thrown a party while her parents were away. They were calling the local sheriff’s office because they believed the party was “out of control.” The peeved parents apologized to the Longboat officer and said they were headed home to “handle the situation.” The case, on Longboat Key at least, was closed.

NO PETTING 10:32 a.m., 3000 block Gulf of Mexico Drive Animal problem: A manatee in shallow water had backup called on her behalf by a concerned bystander. Longboat Key police were called by a citizen who was concerned by a group of beachgoers who were touching the threatened species. When the officer arrived, the officer observed about six people in the water while a manatee was swimming next to them.

The group was not hampering the animal’s movement or touching her. While the officer was educating the crowd about the laws protecting manatees, he noticed a man was drinking an alcoholic beverage and issued him a ticket. Case closed.

SATURDAY, JUNE 6

FAMILY REUNION 10:01 a.m., 525 Bay Isles Pkwy.

Animal problem: An officer on patrol rescued some waterfowl after hearing a radio report that described a baby duck stuck in a storm drain. The officer pounced at the opportunity to get the proverbial cat out of the tree, and radioed that Sarasota County Animal Services would not be needed as he was on his way.

The officer arrived on scene where the caller, a worried mother duck and other ducklings waited. The officer called in backup for help lifting the storm drain grate and the three stranded ducks were lifted out “without incident” next to a thankful mother duck and siblings.

MONDAY, JUNE 8

TEENS TRESPASS 5:12 p.m., Gulfside Road Trespassing: Police were called to a house on Gulfside Road on a trespassing call. The responding officer met with the property owner, who said she heard a sound on the second floor when she entered to check on the property.

She found a bag that wasn’t hers on her patio and took it to show

W O N

Cracks have affected the playing surface of the town’s pickleball courts at Bayfront Park. Renovation is set to begin this week and continue through the summer.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10

S.T. Cardinal

Pickleball courts closed for major renovations The pickleball and basketball courts at Bayfront Park are being renovated and are expected to open again in fall.

S.T. CARDINAL STAFF WRITER

the officer. The officer found no intruders. The property owner then pointed out a car parked at an abandoned house next door she did not recognize. The officer ran the license plate through police databases and went back toward the house where he saw three teenagers who told the officer they were retrieving their bags that they stored at the house because they thought it was abandoned.

The three boys, two 17 and one 18, were detained until backup arrived. The parents were called and came to pick up the minors who were trespassed from the building.

The 18-year-old was given a court date. After the group left, an officer found marijuana and paraphernalia in the house, but could not prove to whom it belonged. The drugs were confiscated.

B

ayfront Park pickleball players will need to save the dinking for the tennis courts over the summer.

The three pickleball-specific courts are closed for a $189,000 renovation as the town removes the concrete base of the courts and replaces it with asphalt. Project Manager David Kushnir said the pickleball court renovations are more than just a resurfacing project and that the project will “address the overall playability and longevity” of the courts.

The courts currently show cracks in the acrylic surface in a grid pattern, which Kushnir attributes to shifts in the concrete pads that sit below the acrylic. The concrete pads will be removed and replaced with asphalt, which will be poured into a concrete-curbed trench that will be filled with three layers.

The first “cushion” course will be a 5-inch layer of aggregate stone.

Above that will be 4 inches of hot laid bituminous asphalt, and the playing surface will be a 2-inchthick asphalt mix.

“Asphalt was chosen as the product to allow for a continuous surface,” Kushnir wrote in an email. “Concrete requires expansion joints, which seasonally shift with changes in temperature.”

Sport Surfaces LLC, a West Palm Beach-based company, was selected to perform the renovations through the town’s standard bidding process. Work is expected to begin this week and continue into September. A sign installed on the courts lists a tentative completion date of Sept. 15.

The tennis courts, which are lined to accommodate four pickleball courts, will remain open during construction, though temporary closures for debris removal or equipment relocation are possible.

AND ONE The basketball courts will also be renovated during the summer. Project Manager David Kushnir said the concrete basketball court will be redone the same time as the pickleball courts.

Nets for both pickleball and basketball will be replaced, and the three basketball goals will be replaced.

The concrete walkways surrounding the pickleball and basketball courts will also be renovated.

“In an effort to achieve further resiliency, we will be working with a soil stabilization contractor to complete maintenance of our concrete walkways and also soil stabilization in the area between the courts and the sea wall,” Kushnir said.

New powder coated fences and gates will also be installed.

N E P O

The Milman-Kover Cancer Pavilion

Sarasota Memorial’s latest addition to the Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute is redefining modern oncology and creating a world-class destination for advanced treatment and patient-centered care — right here in Sarasota.

The 7-story, 200,000-square-foot pavilion houses a full array of outpatient cancer services supporting the entire continuum of cancer care — from prevention, screening and diagnosis to treatment, clinical trials, survivorship care and lifetime support – all under one roof and directly integrated with Sarasota Memorial’s inpatient Oncology Tower.

It’s more than a new building. It’s a beacon of hope.

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

Pomp and patriotism For the country’s 250th birthday, Longboat Key is adding some memorable touches to its Fourth of July celebration.

DANA KAMPA STAFF WRITER Photos by Dana Kampa

F

rom the planned rededication of Bicentennial Park to the release of 250 butterflies, Longboat Key’s Fourth of July celebrations promise to be spectacular.

The Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and partners are gearing up for a Freedom Fest like no other as the country celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Chamber President and CEO Kim Verreault and Longboat Key Garden Club President Melanie Dale said the festival will be extra special.

The fun begins with the 9 a.m. parade along Bay Isles Road. Proudly proclaimed to be America’s shortest — yet perhaps most adorable — parade, the route starts at Bicentennial Park. Especially for participants planning to bring their pets for the “Hot Diggity Dog!” contest held by the Rotary Club of Longboat Key, she recommends arriving before 8:30 a.m.

Those peppy pets and their owners should dress to impress in red, white and blue considering they have a shot at winning prizes for the titles of “Most Creative Dog Costume,” “Most Patriotic Dog” and “Best Owner and Dog Combination.”

Rotary encourages owners to register ahead of time by emailing Carol Erker at ThompsonLaw@msn.com or calling 847-274-8741. Gather near Truist Bank at 510 Bay Isles Road for any final pet primping, and join the crowd at the park after the parade for the awards ceremony.

Animal lovers aren’t the only ones who get to have fun in the parade.

The “Most Patriotic Float or Group” will take home a $500 prize courtesy of Jack Dean Flooring. During the parade, viewers may spot the familiar face of Jim Seaton as Uncle Sam, Verreault said.

The parade fun is scheduled to roll right into an element unique to this year’s celebration. Leaders with the town of Longboat Key will lead a rededication ceremony for Bicentennial Park.

“As people walk into the park, the national anthem is going to be sung by two people, Alyssa Adamson and The Rev. Kim Johnson, both with Longboat Island Chapel,” Verreault said.

Dale said the garden club is looking

More than 40 residents attended Christ Church of Longboat Key’s first summer lunch meetup at Pork Belly’s Eatery & Catering Co., a new high turnout for the event.

File photo

L

Waves of red, white and blue flooded Bay Isles Road for the 2024 Freedom Fest parade. While the patriotic display was impressive, organizers of the upcoming Fourth of July festivities say the activities planned for this special 250th edition will be bigger than ever.

WANT TO VOLUNTEER? The Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce invites community members to take part in making this year’s Freedom Fest extraordinary. Volunteers interested in assisting the allhands-on-deck effort can assist with the setup, running activities and/or breaking down the event. For more details, contact the chamber at 941-383-2466, Events@LBKChamber.com or 5390 Gulf of Mexico Drive #102.

forward to this special event, especially considering the club served an integral role in establishing the park and its central Butterfly Garden.

The club is coordinating its memorial butterfly release to take place immediately after the rededication. But the ceremony will be bigger than ever, with plans to free 250 monarchs, ebony coontie butterflies and more.

Dale noted that this tradition is rooted in recognizing Lisa Walsh, the late executive editor and coowner of the Longboat Observer, for her efforts to establish Freedom Fest.

Last year, organizers were able to delay the butterfly release to July 5 when last-minute lightning storms forced the cancellation of the parade.

Verreault also confirmed that last year’s parade marshal, Susan Phil-

Socializing and supporting local eats

lips, is slated to lead the march at a hopefully dry parade this year.

At the newly rededicated park, festivalgoers will be able to participate in a variety of ticketed games and activities.

Verreault said highlights will include an appearance by Chucko the Clown, a small animal petting zoo, crafts, temporary tattoos, a dunk tank and much more.

“For the dunk tank, we have a couple of people who are already lined up, including Commissioner Gary Coffin,” Verreault said.

Chucko has become a quintessential part of Longboat’s patriotic festivities.

“He’s deeply rooted into the circus and Ringling history, and we’re very lucky to have him in this community, as part of this event again,” she said.

Verreault said she thinks youngsters will especially enjoy making and taking home their own colorful sands keepsakes.

She said families seem to appreciate having a venue with Fourth of July-centered fun taking place before most people fire up the grills and start staking out their favorite spots to watch the fireworks.

Dale added, “It’s amazing to me how every year is just so much bigger than the last.”

There is still time to make plans to march in the parade or explore sponsoring parts of the festivities. Bank of America is the presenting sponsor.

For more, visit LongboatKeyChamber.com.

ongboat Key residents took the time to reconnect, chow down on house-smoked meats and support a local familyowned business at Christ Church of Longboat Key’s first summer lunch of the season.

Planner Judy Ebrahim said the June 10 meetup at Pork Belly’s Eatery & Catering Co. had the highest attendance of any of their summer lunches, with 40-some people filling the dining room.

Owners Kae and Eddie Meek opened the restaurant in Bradenton in February 2025. Although the menu highlights their smoked brisket, pulled pork and other barbecued foods, the restaurant dishes up a variety of all-American breakfast, lunch and dinner items.

The Rev. Julia Piermont said the summer lunches are always a good opportunity for parishioners to catch up with one another amid all the seasonal travel.

She said those who missed this meetup can mark their calendars for July 5, when the church will host an indoor/outdoor picnic celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary. Those interested in helping plan or run the picnic can contact the church office at 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive or by calling 941-383-8833.

The next summer lunch is scheduled for noon at Lo’ Key Island Grille, 5620 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Sign up at the church’s activity table.

— DANA KAMPA

Christ Church of Longboat Key’s, the Rev. Julia Piermont asks who is new at the church’s first summer lunch of the season, held at Pork Belly’s Eatery & Catering Co. 6140 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, FL 34228 941 383 4738

Happy Father's Day!

WORSHIP

An Ecumenical Church that Welcomes all God’s People Founded in 1956

directory

Safe Happy Hopeful Worship Sunday 10 a.m.

6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive Longboat Key Florida 34228 941-383-6491 Live Stream available www.longboatislandchapel.org

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The Lord’s Warehouse summer hours: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Closed Monday, May 25) 6140 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, FLSaturday 34228 (941)-383-4738.

The Lord’s Warehouse is open Monday, Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

6140 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, FL 34228 941-383-4738

St. Mary, Star of the Sea,

Looking for a Spiritual Home?

Catholic Church

You are welcome at All Angels whether it is for a day, a season, or a lifetime... you are welcome here.

Would like to Welcome & Invite You, Your Family Members & Friends to Celebrate Mass with Our Parish Community MASS SCHEDULE Saturday: 4:00 PM Sunday: 8:30 AM, and 10:30 AM Daily Mass at 9:00 AM; Rosary at 8:30 AM Monday - Friday 4280 Gulf of Mexico Drive Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily following Mass.

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A Generous & Joyful Community

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6400 Gulf of Mexico Dr. • 941.383.8833 • www.christchurchoflbk.org

Rev. Robert Dziedziak, Pastor

You are invited to join us in worship, song & friendship at Shabbat services every Sharing Values, Friendship, and Faith Friday evening at 5:30 pm and Saturdays at 10 am.

Dr. Julia Wharff Piermont, Pastor

Watch live or livestream: www.christchurchof lbk.org (follow YouTube link)

Longboat Key, FL 34228 941-383-1255 • www.stmarylbk.org

To learn more about our Temple and all our educational, cultural, and social programs, please call us. We’d be delighted to talk with you.

Questions? Email us at info@longboatkeytemple.org 567 Bay Isles Rd, Longboat Key, FL

941-383-3428

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Growing in Jesus’ Name

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14

JUNE 18, 2026

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

Image courtesy of Bryan Derballa

Lauren Gunderson is the playwright of “Lady Disdain.”

Most of Asolo Rep’s “Lady Disdain” takes place in a studio where audiobooks are produced.

Asolo Rep stages a rolling world premiere of Lauren Gunderson’s ‘Lady Disdain.’

All’s fair in romantasy MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER A+E EDITOR

M

ost people don’t need Google to name the most produced playwright of all time. Four centuries after his death, William Shakespeare’s plays and modern adaptations are on stages around the world.

Right now, you can see a bilingual version of “Romeo and Juliet” in New York’s Shakespeare in the Park set on the Mexican-American border.

Closer to home, grad students at FSU/Asolo Conservatory recently presented a magical version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with fairies gamboling on circus silks.

There’s no arguing that the Bard has very long “legs,” even if his identity is in dispute. In 2024, Urbanite Theatre produced Katie Bender’s “Judith,” which floated the idea that Shakespeare’s plays were actually written by a sister.

Speaking of female playwrights, do you know who topped American Theatre Magazine’s rankings for most produced plays in 2025? (The ranking is for all American playwrights, not just women.) Hint: She also held the No. 1 spot in 2017, 2019 and 2023.

The playwright in question, Lauren Gunderson, was in Sarasota the week of June 8, fine-tuning her new play, “Lady Disdain.”

If you’re a Shakespeare fan, you’ll suspect there’s much ado about something at FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

Gunderson’s rolling world premiere is an original play, not an adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy, “Much Ado About Nothing.” But its lead characters are descendants of Benedick and Beatrice, who are tricked by their friends into falling in love in “Much Ado.” Directed by Florida Studio Theatre veteran Sean Daniels, “Lady Disdain” is rollicking fun best categorized as “worlds collide.”

Most of the action takes place at a producer of audiobooks, where former lovers Ben and Beatrice are voicing the characters in a steamy romantasy novel.

Ben (Casey Murphy) had moved on to the big screen as the villain in a superhero series. But he’s back in

new eyes after he saves the day for a wronged colleague.

Lest gentle readers think “Lady Disdain” is a contrived effort to make Shakespeare relevant, think again.

Gunderson’s play is its own frisky animal. It moves at breakneck pace, with the stage going dark to usher in new scenes.

The milieu is very much of the moment, when nude pictures (real or fake) of celebrities and civilians alike blow up on social media, destroying or elevating reputations overnight.

The characters in “Lady Disdain” are familiar in today’s internetdriven world, where one’s brand is marketed to strangers. There are “smash the patriarchy” feminists, young people sharing their recovery journey and ruthless business owners willing to jettison employees whose stock has fallen on social media.

Even if we don’t know these folks personally, we know their ilk. Think dueling lawsuits between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, the warring stars of “It Ends With Us.” BRINGING AUDIENCES INTO THE EQUATION

Images courtesy of Adrian Van Stee

Things get steamy between Ben (Casey Murphy) and Beatrice (Veronika Duerr) in “Lady Disdain.”

the audiobook world after his caped character got canned. His unexpected arrival irks his former paramour, Beatrice (Veronika Duerr). Her barbs are so caustic that she is dubbed “Lady Disdain” in the original Shakespeare play and she keeps the tradition going here.

Mirroring “Much Ado About Nothing,” the supporting characters in “Lady Disdain” engage in what was called “gulling” in olden days.

They tell Ben that Beatrice suggested him for her sparring partner, while Beatrice is led to believe that Ben lobbied to work with her.

Underscoring the Shakespeare connection is a neon sign on stage reading, “Man is a giddy thing.”

Unless you’re familiar with the Bard, you may not recognize the quote from “Much Ado.” Today, the word “giddy” is used to describe overwhelming happiness. Back in Shakespeare’s day, it meant “fickle” or “frivolous.”

It’s often said that it’s a “women’s prerogative to change her mind,” but it’s Benedick who has a change of heart in “Much Ado.” In “Lady Disdain,” Beatrice sees Ben through

The version of “Lady Disdain” that audiences saw on opening night June 12 was refined in previews as Gunderson and Director Sean Daniels watched how scenes were landing.

If something wasn’t working, Gunderson would tweak the script and have actors deliver different lines in the next performance.

“Lauren has a real love of audiences. She loves to research and she’s very fast,” Daniels says.

Sarasota theater fans will remember Daniels from his time at Florida Studio Theatre, which he joined as associate director in 2023. One of his plays, “The White Chip,” a semiautobiographical show about a theater director who gets sober, went on to play in New York, Tokyo and London.

What Sarasota theatergoers might not know is that Daniels went to high school with Gunderson in Atlanta and that she is an alum of Dad’s Garage, the successful theatrical troupe that Daniels co-founded in 1995. Dad’s Garage has come to Sarasota for the FST Improv Festival.

“Lauren is an old friend of ours,” Daniels said in an interview. “She married my wife and I.”

Even with a playwright as widely acclaimed as Gunderson (“Silent Sky,” “The Book of Will,” “I and You”) getting from script to stage doesn’t happen overnight. Daniels says he knew Gunderson was working on an update of “Much Ado” and reached out to Peter Rothstein about directing it not long after Rothstein was hired as producing artistic director of Asolo Rep in 2023.

Fast forward. After a stop in Madison, Wisconsin, “Lady Disdain” is making its second world premiere in Sarasota, in a production turbocharged by scenic design, lighting design, sound design and original music from Asolo Rep’s creatives.

“What’s really cool is that this play is eventually going to be seen everywhere and that Sarasota audiences get to see it first,” Daniels says. (Well, almost first.)

“Lady Disdain” is propelled by sexy voices bringing the innuendoladen dialogue of bodice-rippers to the airwaves. Even the customary warning to silence your cellphones before the curtain rises is delivered in a swoon-worthy fashion by Murphy.

If you want to see the antithesis of Dad bod, keep your eyes peeled toward the end of the show. Like everything else in “Lady Disdain,” it happens in the blink of an eye.

Reading the credits, you’ll see that Urbanite Theatre Artistic Director Summer Dawn Wallace serves as intimacy coordinator, so presumably, there will be no sexual harassment and defamation lawsuits, à la LivelyBaldoni, from the on-stage coupling.

Wallace is also friends with Gunderson. In September 2025, Gunderson delivered the keynote speech at Urbanite Theatre’s annual Modern Works Festival celebrating female playwrights.

Attendees got to learn about Gunderson’s creative process, which has yielded honors such as the Lanford Wilson Award from the Dramatists Guild of America and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award, not once but twice.

Even among Sarasota’s colorfully dressed theater patrons, it was hard to miss Gunderson on opening night of “Lady Disdain.” She wore an eye-catching hot pink silk shirt, red sequined pencil skirt, silver stiletto heels and oversized glasses.

With classic lines enlivened by outrageous color, Gunderson’s attire suggested a desire to upend convention.

She looked like a woman with the sensibility to give the Bard a glowup.

A giddy thing indeed.

IF YOU GO

‘LADY DISDAIN’ When: Through June 27 Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $31-$77 Info: Visit AsoloRep.org.

Romantasy author Alice (Brett Ashley Robinson) gives encouragement to Claudio (Ben Clark), who’s struggling to stay sober, in Asolo Rep’s “Lady Disdain.”

16

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

A Girl Scout grows up and conquers her demons MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER A+E EDITOR

A

ddictions come in many forms — drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, social media, porn, shopping and awards. Yes, you read that last one right. It’s one of the most all-American forms of addiction. Though applauded by all and ostensibly a positive pastime, going for the gold over and over can mask emotional deficiencies, the socalled hole in the soul.

People are caught off guard when former professional athletes and child actors end up in the news for drug or alcohol-related offenses.

But it’s really not a big surprise.

Those whose moment of glory has passed are trying to replace the high that comes from winning and being adored by audiences.

But it’s not just celebrities who can never get enough love. It can be anyone checking their phone to see how many “likes” their Instagram Courtesy image

Cristela Carrizales is the star of Lifeline Productions’ “Begin Again Badge,” which runs through June 21 at the Cook Theatre.

or Facebook post got. As more than one self-help book has pointed out, we’re all dopamine junkies now.

Not everyone wants to see a show about someone who hit bottom, even if their life is on an upswing.

Many people go to the theater to escape their problems, not to hear about somebody else’s.

But who can resist a show called “Begin Again Badge?” Who among us did not spend their childhood racking up badges as a Girl Scout, a Boy Scout and for the ultra-ambitious, Eagle Scout?

Cristela Carrizales’ premise to get audiences to join her on her twisting journey to self-acceptance is genius.

Why? Because everyone can relate.

Carrizales is a Latina raised by a single mom with abusive boyfriends.

She’s an ex-military wife who has lost more than 150 pounds (about half her body weight) and has been sober for about three years. She and her former husband spent about a decade trying to conceive to no avail. In short, “Begin Again Badge” checks all the boxes for the confessional one-woman show.

But beyond Carrizales’ outsized talent and knockout humor, what makes “Begin Again Badge” so appealing is that its theme of looking for love in all the wrong places and learning to find it in the mirror rings true regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or even socioeconomic class.

Over breakfast at the Toasted Mango Cafe, Carrizales talked about the journey that brought her to the stage of the Cook Theatre. She ordered waffles topped with fresh mango and whipped cream along with a side of bacon. Most of it ended up in a takeout box, because Carrizales can only eat small amount of food at one time after undergoing bariatric surgery for weight loss.

In both her show and the interview, what comes across is Carrizales’ zeal for life and her no-holds-barred honesty.

Whether it’s joking about her late-in-life alcoholism that took three trips to rehab to get in check (“Chocolate cake is

my true love, not booze”) or being ghosted on dating apps, Carrizales is not afraid to laugh at herself. She wants you to laugh along.

During her childhood, Carrizales was surrounded by music because her grandmother was a fan of Broadway musicals. Asked to name her musical influences, she says without hesitation, “Babs, (shorthand for Barbra Streisand) and of course, Linda Ronstadt.”

Carrizales became even more of a Ronstadt fan after the folk rock superstar embraced her Mexican heritage by recording mariachi classics on “Canciones de mi padre” (“Songs of My Father”).

Carrizales is proud of her Hispanic roots, but explains that her family has been in Texas longer than it’s been a state. Still, when she was growing up in Dallas, assimilation was the order of the day. “We weren’t allowed to speak Spanish. We were kind of invisible,” she recalls.

CURSED WITH A CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY

One of the most heart-wrenching vignettes in “Begin Again Badge” is how Carrizales was always called Lisa by the nuns at her Catholic elementary school. Because there was another chubby Latina girl named Lisa, Carrizales assumed the sisters couldn’t tell them apart. But years later, when she asked Lisa whether she was ever called Cristela, the answer was no. “My identity was literally erased,” she tells the audience.

Although Carrizales lost a highly coveted role in a communion ceremony to the other Lisa, she won recognition by earning badges as a Girl Scout and by performing in choir and theater performances in junior and senior high and college.

When her life went off the rails after her marriage ended, she found solace on the stage again. In Oklahoma City, she honed her talents in cabaret and improv. Her ability to dramatically shift her persona, raise her voice and suddenly burst into song drive the narrative of “Begin Again Badge.” Throughout the show, Carrizales earns a series of badges as

she reaches milestones in her life.

In the improv world, Carrizales crossed paths several times with Will Luera, the longtime head of Florida Studio Theatre Improv who is now artistic director of Sarasota’s Lifeline Productions. “People in Sarasota may not realize it, but in the national improv world, Will Luera is famous,” she says.

A nonprofit theater company, Lifeline was founded three years ago

by Joel Ehrenpreis to shine a light on mental health. Its first production was “Clowns Like Me,” a oneman show starring Joel’s son, Scott Ehrenpreis, who has been diagnosed with OCD, bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorder.

Lifeline followed up “Clowns Like Me,” which played Off Broadway in New York, with Luera’s one-man show, “Entangled,” which explored mental health through a humorous lens.

When Carrizales pitched “Begin Again Badge” to Luera, he presented it to Ehrenpreis. “Joel and I brought Cristela’s show in because it felt like a strong fit for the kind of work we want to support at Lifeline: personal, honest and rooted in a clear point of view,” Luera says.

Adds Ehrenpreis: “The moment I met Cristela, I knew we had found our next piece — a raw, gut-punching and brilliantly humorous story of hope and healing.”

When it was time to drive from Oklahoma, to Sarasota, Carrizales gave herself five days for the trip. “I stopped whenever I wanted to. I ate whatever I wanted to. Oh my God, the nature I saw. What I realized is that I’m happier on a back road doing 65 miles an hour than I am on the interstate doing 95,” she says.

Carrizales asked a friend to create an inspirational playlist of 20 songs for her trip, which she saved for the last day.

“When I arrived in Sarasota, I was centered, focused and peaceful. I really savored the solitude. It was the first time being alone felt good,” Carrizales says.

It was time to add the Solo Road Trip badge to her sash.

IF YOU GO

‘BEGIN AGAIN BADGE’ When: Through June 21 Where: The Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $37.25 Info: Visit LifelineProductionsInc.org.

Cristela Carrizales’ premise to get audiences to join her on her twisting journey to selfacceptance is genius. Why? Because everyone can relate.

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Lifeline Productions presents Cristela Carrizales’ ‘Begin Again Badge.’

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

17

Carlos Pagán solidified jazz in Sarasota The Bronx native served on the board of the Jazz Club of Sarasota and was a programmer at WSLR. MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER A+E EDITOR

I

n the world of radio, it’s an open secret that people with beautiful voices don’t always have pretty faces. But WSLR disc jockey Carlos Pagán was blessed with both, noted fellow deejay Louise Coogan during a June 11 radio tribute to the Jazz Club of Sarasota board member.

Pagán, a Bronx native who moved to Sarasota with his wife, Wendy, in 2015, died June 7. He was 78.

“He was tall, handsome and sophisticated with a beautiful voice.

But he was just a radio geek like the rest of us,” Coogan said. “He understood the responsibility that comes when someone puts a microphone in front of you.”

Pagán hosted a weekly Metropics jazz and world music radio show, but on June 11, his colleagues turned the show into a tribute. During the decade he lived in Sarasota, Pagán was a major force in bringing jazz to local audiences.

Pagán was also known for directing the documentary, “All There Is — A Circus Story,” which had its world premiere at the 2019 Sarasota Film Festival and continues to screen periodically on the Tampa/ Sarasota PBS TV station WEDU. The film featured local circus performers reflecting on the legacy of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Pagán’s multimedia career spanned radio, TV and film and included on-air host and producing jobs in LaCrosse and Madison, Wisconsin, as well as Miami. He won nine regional Emmy awards.

A graduate of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx and the University of Wisconsin, he founded the Sarasota-based internet radio station Metropics in 2016 and served as its programmer and host.

He met his wife in 2002 at a Hal-

Carlos Pagán, a fixture of the Sarasota jazz scene, moved to Sarasota with his wife, Wendy, in 2015. He died June 7.

loween party in the Cocoanut Grove neighborhood of Miami. After being introduced by friends, they learned they had both lived in New York City and had attended the University of Wisconsin. They married in 2004 and honeymooned in China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Carlos Pagán promoted jazz and world music through his Metropics internet radio station and his weekly WSLR program of the same name.

In an email, Wendy said, “Many readers may have never heard of Carlos Pagán. What was unique and one man’s legacy is that he consciously strived to think, act and live higher than his solitary life circumstances of growing up a kid in the turbulent South Bronx. He believed strongly in deep and open conversation that provided critical listening to one’s opponent — or adversary — to find common ground and solutions for a better planet.”

During the WSLR 96.5 community-radio tribute, Coogan and other past and present colleagues praised Pagán for his professionalism and his generosity in sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of music and radio with others.

When Jesse Coleman became station manager at WSLR and its affiliated listening room, Fogartyville, in April 2024, Pagán was the first programmer that he sat in with. “He

was precise, planned and methodical about the way he approached every track,” Coleman said.

When trumpet player Mark Gruder retired to Sarasota in 2018, he was looking for a part-time volunteer job and heard about the opportunity to host a radio show on WSLR. “Even though Carlos’ parents were Puerto Rican and my grandparents were Jewish émigrés, we bonded over our Bronx origins,” Gruder said.

With Pagán’s help, Gruder developed his radio show, “The Blue Groove,” a world music/jazz show on WSLR. Among his fellow programmers, Pagán was known for his ability to quietly arrive at the last minute and deliver a perfect broadcast. “He set the standard for being a professional on a public radio station,” Coleman said.

A playlist of Pagán’s favorite songs put together by Wendy kicked off with Jackson Browne’s “Alive in the World.” Its lyrics, “I want to live in the world/I want to stand and be counted/With the hopeful and the willing/With the open and the strong” epitomized Pagán’s approach to life.

LEVERAGING MIAMI JAZZ CONTACTS TO HELP SARASOTA

When he arrived in Sarasota, Pagán brought his contacts that he had built as part of Miami’s Latin jazz scene. Those ties helped bring top performers like percussionist Sammy Figueroa to the Sarasota Jazz Festival, presented annually by the Jazz Club of Sarasota.

“When I met Carlos, I saw instantly that he had an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz artists and recording,” said Jazz Club President Ed Linehan. “He had lived in Miami, where he and Wendy were involved in the jazz community and had relationships with some of the bigger names. Beyond that, he was a gentle, kind, thoughtful person and a good friend.”

He added: “It’s hard to be a jazz fan right now because so many are leaving us.” When Linehan was caring for his wife, jazz vocalist Synia

NOW SHOWING!

Courtesy images

Carroll, Pagán took the reins of the March 2025 Sarasota Jazz Festival.

(Carroll died later that year.)

At the time, Pagán quipped to a reporter, “Don’t leave the accent mark off my name because I don’t want people to think I’m a pagan.”

Family and friends say he was deeply spiritual, but found his sustenance in the teachings of several religions.

Pagán was proud of his Puerto Rican heritage and was dedicated to reaching out to underserved audiences and protecting the earth.

But underpinning it all was the belief in the power of the arts. “He believed in the healing power of music and the visual arts and their ability to connect us globally when everything else is in chaos,” Gruder said.

In addition to Wendy, Pagán is survived by his mother-in-law, Martha Nwaobia, brothers-in-law Tracy Anderson (Mary), Bethel Nwaobia (Justine), sister-in-law Lori Christianson, and many nieces, nephews and other family members.

Carlos Pagán promoted jazz and world music through his Metropics internet radio station and his weekly WSLR program of the same name.

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

THURSDAY ‘LEAVING ON A JET PLANE’ 7 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 N. Palm Ave. $42 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Created by Aaron Gundy, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” features an acoustic trio who take you on a flight to the feel-good era of folk music in the late 1960s and 1970s. Among the singer/songwriters whose works are featured in this upbeat show are Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Lovin’ Spoonful. Runs through July 19.

‘HONKY TONK ANGELS’ 7 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St. $25-$59 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Follow three Dolly Parton wannabes on a road trip to Nashville who forge lasting bonds of friendship along the way. This tale gives its performers the chance to belt out country favorites like Parton’s “9 to 5” and Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” among others. Runs through June 21.

OUR PICK

JUNETEENTH TALENT SHOWCASE This year’s Juneteenth festival spans two days at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. The festivities begin with a talent showcase on Friday night and continue on Saturday with an arts festival that begins at 11 a.m. and includes live performances, short films by Ringling College students, food trucks and other vendors.

The capstone of the Saturday festival is “Enigma,” at 7:30 featuring WBTT artist Brian L. Boyd.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 19 Where: Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave. Tickets: Free Info: Visit WestcoastBlackTheatreTroupe.org.

‘WHO IS EARTHA MAE?’ 7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St. $5-$44 Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.

DON’T MISS

You may know singer Eartha Kitt as the sultry siren who sang “Santa Baby,” a 1950s holiday ditty that lives forever on the internet.

Or maybe you remember her as Catwoman from the 1960s TV series “Batman.” One thing is sure: You’ve never seen the glamorous entertainer backstage as Eartha Mae, a country girl from South Carolina who became a citizen of the world. Jade Wheeler created and stars in this show with spirited piano accompaniment by Catherine Stornetta. Runs through June 21.

‘ROMEO AND JULIET’ 7:30 p.m. at Dingbat Theatre Project, 7288 S. Tamiami Trail $15 and up Visit DingbatTheatreProject.org.

You may have seen “Romeo and Juliet,” but you haven’t seen Dingbat Theatre Project’s version of the Bard’s tale of star-crossed lovers.

The adults-only production features burlesque and drag performances interwoven with club music. This adaptation is created and directed

by Dingbat founder Luke Manual and features choreography by Yasha Wilson. Runs weekends through June 28.

SATURDAY AC/DUCE/C — AC/DC TRIBUTE 7 p.m. at Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. $30.90-$72.10 Visit SarasotaOpera.org.

During the off season, Sarasota Opera uses its 100-year-old Opera House to screen films and host concerts, like this one honoring AC/DC. AC/DUCE/C comes to Sarasota courtesy of Vintage Vinyl Productions, known for such tribute bands as Fleetwood Mach and Almost Eagles. Get ready to rock on in an opera house.

IF YOU GO

When: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday, June 18 Where: Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road Tickets: $15-$20 Info: Visit Ringling.org.

have a permanent home in Gallery 12 after a decadelong project.

SCRIPT & SONG WITH SAM BEAM AND LINDSEY FERRENTINO 6:30 p.m. at Hermitage Artist Retreat, 6630 Manasota Key Road, Englewood $5 with registration Visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

The Summer Circus Spectacular runs through Aug. 8 at The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater.

Image courtesy of Ann-Kathrin Brocks

COMEDY LOTTERY 7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Bowne’s Lab, 1265 First St. $15-$18 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

JP SOARS & THE RED HOTS 6 p.m. at The Oval at The Bay, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts Free Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

Florida Studio Theatre’s own improv troupe takes over Bowne’s Lab with “Comedy Lottery,” giving the audience the chance to select the night’s games. If FST Improv isn’t on your radar, it’s time for a new machine. Runs through June 27.

Known for his 2024 album “Brick

by Brick,” JP Soars is a Florida blues rock singer and multiinstrumentalist. He’s backed by the Red Hots, including drummer Chris Peet and bassist Cleveland Frederick. So if Dad has a hankering for the blues, bring him down to The Bay.

SUNDAY ‘SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING NEW’ 11 a.m. at the Sarasota Art Museum campus of Ringling College, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail $20 Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.

“Something Borrowed, Something New” features major modern artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker and Ai Weiwei. Their works have been loaned by private collectors in Southwest Florida to SAM for the show, which runs through Sept. 27.

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe founder and Artistic Director Nate Jacobs will host free Juneteenth celebrations at the theater on June 19-20.

SUMMER CIRCUS SPECTACULAR The Ringling and the Circus Arts Conservatory join forces for their annual Summer Circus Spectacular in the Historic Asolo Theater. Ringmaster Ashley Vargas, a veteran of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and circuses around the world, presides over a showcase of circus artists in a program designed for all generations. Among the circus arts represented are clowning, juggling, hand balancing, aerial arts and duo roller skating. For $5 more, make it a circus day and tour The Ringling’s Historic Circus Galleries and Tibbals Learning Center, which contains a miniature circus of 42,000 pieces built by Howard Tibbals.

Runs through Aug. 8.

THIS WEEK

FRIDAY

Courtesy image

MONDAY ANCIENT ART FROM CYPRUS AND THE MEDITERRANEAN 10 a.m. at The John and Mable Ringling Art Museum, 5401 Bay Shore Road Free with $30 admission; Mondays free Visit Ringling.org.

In 1928, circus magnate John Ringling moved beyond collecting Baroque paintings with a major acquisition of more than 2,000 pieces of Cypriot art at the Anderson Galleries in New York, where the Metropolitan Museum was selling parts of its ancient art collection. For the first time, Ringling’s treasures

The folks at Hermitage Artist Retreat are celebrating because Hermitage Fellow Bess Wohl just won the Tony Award for Best Play for “Liberation.” As part of their Hermitage fellowships, visiting artists share their latest works-inprogress with the community. Come see what Grammy Award nominee Sam Beam (also known as Iron & Wine) and celebrated Broadway playwright Lindsey Ferrentino are up to in this sunset performance on Hermitage Beach.

MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ WITH FRED JOHNSON 7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Court Theatre, 1265 First St. $34-$39 Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Jazz Club of Sarasota keeps the music playing in the off season with its Monday night jazz series at Florida Studio Theatre. This week’s featured performer is Fred Johnson, with a tribute to Duke Ellington.

Backing Johnson on vocals is a band consisting of LaRue Nickelson on guitar, Michael Ross on bass and Billy E. Peterson on drums.

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JUNE 18, 2026

YOUR NEIGHBORS

Boomeranging gavel Rotarians pass the gavel to the first president to serve consecutive terms.

O

n Longboat Key, it’s not uncommon for leaders to wear many hats. Terri Driver certainly did while serving her first term as Rotary Club of Longboat Key president, during which she managed the club’s communications, organized events, and even donned the costume of Josh the Otter to teach students at Tuttle Elementary School about water safety.

Rotarians recognized her commitment to bettering Longboat Key on June 11 at Hugo II. They applauded her figurative hats, but also clapped and laughed as fellow Rotarian Carol Erker gave Driver not one, not two, but a tower of three actual hats to wear.

Driver made history with the local chapter as she passed the presidential gavel to ... herself.

Since Sydelle Pittas and fellow members formed the chapter in 2014, a president has never served two consecutive terms.

“One of the most important things I want to say is that in the past year of being president, I learned so much,” she said.

She said she appreciated members’ support as they tested new initiatives and projects, and the collaborative spirit of neighboring Rotary clubs on Anna Maria Island and in Bradenton. She found packing grab-and-go meals for students particularly rewarding and said that is one cross-club project she would like to see continue.

Fortuitously, that interest in “switching things up” matched district-level encouragement later that year to experiment with ideas.

Driver was proud to report that the club completed 17 community improvement projects, hosted three main social events and welcomed guest speakers from many backgrounds.

Attendees raised their

glasses in salute of the new (and past) president after District 6960 Governor Nominee Designate Sue McConnell installed Driver and her fellow officers, who included Jeffrey Driver, Erker, Ellen Greenberger, Brad Marner, Alzira Meierling, Janet Shapiro and Jan Wallace.

Driver also recapped the club’s activities this year and presented Presidential Award Certificates to members who displayed exemplary service.

Members including Wallace said they were proud to keep the momentum going for the club’s reading days at the elementary school.

At each place setting that evening, Rotarians had a handmade card from students thanking them for their time in the classroom.

Closing out her first term, Driver told members, “I got to know a lot of you over the past year and learned what your passions and interests were. I learned more in this past year than in the previous four-and-a-half years that I have been part of this club.”

She presented awards to Marner, Susan McGuire, Shapiro, Erker, Wallace, Eugene Luca and James Chirgwin for all going above and beyond this year. Driver commended them for their work supporting local veterans, the youth and other neighbors.

The club’s next major event will be organizing the “Hot Diggity Dog!” pet parade at Freedom Fest this Fourth of July. Visit LongboatKeyRotary.org for details.

Guest Irina LaRose and member Connie DiMaggio attend the annual passing of the gavel for the Rotary Club of Longboat Key.

— DANA KAMPA

Rotary Club of Longboat Key member Carol Erker illustrates how hard returning President Terri Driver works to fill multiple roles with the club by presenting three immensely stylish hats for her to wear.

Photos by Dana Kampa

Newly sworn-in Rotary Club of Longboat Key board members include Brad Marner, Carol Erker, Janet Shapiro, Jan Wallace, Jeffrey Driver and Terri Driver.

Rotary Club of Longboat Key President Terri Driver and District 6960 Governor Nominee Designate Sue McConnell share a smile during the passing of the gavel to the returning president.

Rotarians raise their glasses in cheers to their president, Terri Driver, who agreed to serve a second term.

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

Louise “Weezie” J. Stewart 1949-2026

SWEAT EQUITY

Louise “Weezie” J. Stewart passed away Saturday morning, April 11, 2026.

ummer heat can be a deterrent to getting outdoors, but members of the Manasota Track Club hit the road early Saturday morning to run a few miles, then turn their attention to their quarterly community cleanup.

The club oversees its adopted portion of roadway off Longboat Key Little Beach at New Pass Bridge. With just about a dozen people lending a hand, the group collected an estimated 75 pounds of trash.

Their efforts didn’t go unnoticed, as a pair of cyclists crossing the bridge called out to the safetyvested group below, “Thank you for everything you do.”

The collection figure is made even more impressive by the tiny sizes of much of what they collected: cigarettes, beverage containers, fishing gear waste and bottle caps.

Rob Loeffler, a longtime club member and MTC funding coordinator, said these quarterly cleanups have the trifold benefit of keeping the community clean, giving volunteers a chance to connect, and letting club members earn volunteer points necessary to compete in the MTC Racing Series.

He said the club is seeing strong participation, with approximately 790 active members and plenty of community members engaging in events like the cleanups and its Siesta Key summer beach runs.

Given the increase in temperatures during this time of year, Loeffler said the focus is less on organized races and more on letting runners settle into a relaxed pace to maintain stamina over the summer, while making time to hang out with friends.

“Otherwise, it’s just about being together and being social, being together and running,” he said.

Loeffler was one of the originators of the Adopt-A-Highway

TRIBUTES

S

Weezie, born in Atlanta, Georgia on October 2, 1949, was the daughter of Henry J. and June C. Jasiewicki. Hers was a spirited life of adventure and variety, punctuated by an intense desire to, as William David Thoreau put it in his classic, “Walden,” “....live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”

She did. Right up to the end. Never fading into the dark night of life but dancing right through to her last

breath, leaving an indelible impression. Weezie did so through her numerous avocations of tennis, golf, fitness, and lasting friendships cultivated along the way.

She leaves behind a sibling and her beloved daughters and their families to mourn her absence: sister, Gail Higbee; Dawn Stewart and son, Emory Vinsant; Kim Stewart Gies and husband, Jeff, and their sons, Paul and Henry.

She was predeceased by Ray W. Stewart.

DONATIONS: Contributions to the charity of your choice are welcomed.

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Dolores Virginia Levy 1932-2026

McKenna and ultramarathoner Mo Hogan beat the heat with an early morning 5K before joining the Manasota Track Club’s Adopt-A-Highway cleanup June 13 at Longboat Key Little Beach.

cleanup, stemming from socially distanced exercise in the early 2020s.

“During COVID, I spent a lot of time running out here on Longboat because being outdoors was the key,” he said.

“I kept running by the signs, and I thought this was something the track club might like to support, so we can be a bit more visible in the community.”

The cleanups also offer students an opportunity to chip away at their necessary volunteer community service hours.

Participants including Mo Hogan, who is working to expand the club’s communications outreach, enjoyed the sights of a manatee surfacing near St. Armands Circle and a partial rainbow while taking her daughter, McKenna, out for a pre-cleanup 5K that morning.

Club members swapped past race stories, thoughts on the roster of organized runs and shared tips for their techniques to stay cool while training over the summer.

Loeffler added, “Running, even

though it is an individual sport, can be very social. As many of my running colleagues will tell you, it’s always easier and better and more pleasant to run together.”

He said one thing he appreciates about the club, which has been bringing together community members from many walks of life since it began in 1975, is that people enter with a variety of experience levels and goals, yet consistently walk away with the same sense of community.

“We come from so many different backgrounds, and everyone brings a different flavor to our club,” he said. “We have small groups in the club, but it’s not competitive at all. It’s more about camaraderie than competition.”

Those participating in the MTC Racing Series can mark their calendars for the Sept. 20 Enviro Run 5K. Memberships are available at individual or family rates.

— DANA KAMPA

SUMMERTIME CLUB FUN The Manasota Track Club brought back its Siesta Key Summer Beach Run series on June 2. The 5K run recognized the memory of Mickey Johnson, a U.S. Army veteran who was also an avid bicyclist, Friends of The Legacy Trail member, active community member and dedicated supporter of the track club, earning him the title of Volunteer of the Year.

The series continues at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays on Siesta Key Beach. Participants meet at the yellow lifeguard stand. The kids’ run starts earlier at 6:30 p.m.

For information on upcoming club events, visit RunSignUp. com/MemberOrg/ManasotaTrackClub or see the Manasota Track Club page on Facebook.

Manasota Track Club board member Rob Loeffler lends a hand collecting trash at the club’s quarterly cleanup, keeping the shores of the New Pass area clean.

Dolores Virginia Levy with those beautiful blues eyes, warm heart and great sense of humor passed away May 8th 2026. Preceded by her husband Gene in 2001, and leaving behind her 3 children, Lynn (John) Carson, Bruce (Lila) Levy, Karen (Elliot) Martin and her loving granddaughters Valerie & Julia Kersten. Born Sept 3, 1932 in East Islip NY, daughter of Charles & Helen Rumplik and sister to Robert and Charles, she went on

to graduate from St Lawrence University. Dolores & Gene raised their family in Oakdale NY and in 1996 moved to LBK, FL. Dolores loved Tennis, and found her 2nd family and friends at the LBK Tennis Center organizing the Saturday Rombo games even from afar. She left LBK in 2019 for Portland ME and then to Millbrook NY in 2022. She will be remembered fondly by everyone who knew her.

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Photos by Dana Kampa

Volunteers checked high and low for trash in need of removal along the shoreline.

The morning cleanup crew included Kiley Johns, Khloe Vavra, Danny and Marie Witherrs, Rob Leary, Karen Mann, Rob Loeffler and Mo and McKenna Hogan.

YourObserver.com

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

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HEALTH & WELLNESS

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

You can live with arthritis. Here’s how.

As counter-intuitive as it might seem, exercise goes a long way toward relief.

MIRABAI HOLLAND CONTRIBUTOR

U

pwards of 60 million people in the United States are affected by arthritis, and as of now, there is no cure. It’s a disease in which the joints become inflamed, swollen and painful. In many cases, joints can degenerate to the point of becoming nearly useless. But that doesn’t have to happen. In most cases you can manage arthritis with a combination of medical care and lifestyle. And it so happens arthritis prevention and management has been a specialty of mine for a couple of decades. It all started with my dad. My dad had both forms of the condition, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, that came on in his 30s. He had it bad, so bad that despite his efforts to stay mobile, he required a wheelchair for years.

I was a young exercise physiology graduate student when he told me he didn’t think his physical therapy was helping much. He asked me if I had any ideas.

A flood of stuff came to mind, but I wasn’t sure any of it would be better than what he was already doing. So I did a bunch of research and tried out my ideas on my dad.

I designed an exercise program around what he was able to do: stretching, light weights, seated, and in some cases, standing cardio. I put him in the 90-degree water of the summer Gulf and the equally warm water of his condo’s pool. Together we put together an anti-inflammatory diet he could actually enjoy eating.

He was a foodie, so it needed to be delicious.

After just a few months, he was able to get out of the wheelchair and use it as a walker part of the day, and combined with some new meds from his doctor, he eventually spent most of the time walking with the aid of a cane. He was a test study of only one subject, but at his urging, I presented my exercise and lifestyle protocol to the National Arthritis Foundation.

Their scientists liked it, and my protocol was included in the Arthritis Foundation’s instructors manual, People With Arthritis Can Exercise. Turns out, information I compiled and the protocol

I designed eventually became part of the standard for helping to manage arthritis. Since then, there has been a ton of research supporting and refining a lifestyle approach to living with arthritis.

There are over 100 conditions grouped under the definition of arthritis.

Osteoarthritis, the gradual degeneration of the cartilage padding around joints causing inflammation and pain is the most common. It can eventually lead to the need for joint-replacement surgery. Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, gout and psoriatic arthritis are also included. Causes and symptoms vary, but there are a few lifestyle practices that can help prevent or manage all of them. n Exercise. It may sound counterintuitive when you’re in pain, but the old adage holds. If you don’t use it, you lose it. At times when you are not having a flare up, low-impact exercises, such as light cardio, dance, aquacise, walking, biking and swimming, help maintain joint stability.

Exercises such as tai chi, yoga and stretching promote flexibility and range of motion. n An anti-inflammatory food plan such as the Mediterranean diet loaded with antioxidants and omega 3s is one of the most valuable lifestyle practices available to you. It can make a huge difference in your joint health and your wellness and longevity in general. Studies prompted

knees. n Stress management relieves joint inflammation along with stress. n Nonsmokers have less joint inflammation.

So if you have any form of arthritis, you already know it’s going to be a lifelong issue. But in most cases a combination of medical treatment and lifestyle can help you live a normal happy life.

by the observation that people who live in countries that eat a Mediterranean diet have fewer cases and reduced severity of arthritis. This is a mostly plantbased diet. The fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts and beans are naturally anti-inflammatories and full of antioxidants. Fish, such as salmon and mackerel, are high in omega 3s, often recommended to help reduce inflammation. Added sugar, like sweets, not found in foods themselves, should be kept to a minimum. It triggers inflammation and stiffness. Each type of arthritis can be addressed by tweaking the Mediterranean food plan. n Stay hydrated. The National Arthritis Foundation recommends drinking about 8-10 cups of water a day. That’s around 2.5 liters. It helps flush out toxins and keeps your joints lubricated. n Sleep is one of the most important and often one of the most ignored lifestyle practices.

Your brain needs a half-hour of sleep for every hour awake to process memories. People with arthritis often have trouble sleeping because of pain. According to the Arthritis Foundation, as much as 80% of people with arthritis have sleep issues. Finding a comfortable position or two is key, and coming up with ways to pad and prop yourself is very personal. n Healthy weight management goes a long way toward relieving pressure on your joints. For every pound of weight you lose, you get four pounds less pressure on your

The gentle, warm waters of the Gulf can be an aid to mobility for those with arthritis.

In most cases, you can manage arthritis with a combination of medical care and lifestyle.

Mirabai Holland is CEO of NuVue LLC, a health education and video production company. She is a certified health coach, exercise physiologist and wellness consultant for Manatee County government employees and has a private practice. Visit MirabaiHolland. com or contact her at AskMirabai@MovingFree.com.

An anti-inflammatory food plan such as the Mediterranean diet helps with arthritis symptoms.

JoDene Moneuse

A FAMILIAR FACE WITH A NEW FOCUS!

SCAN the QR CODE

to view my fabulous listings and recent sales!

Greg Koss Now Serving Longboat Key in Vacation Rentals & Property Management.

941.302.4913 461664-1

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Greg Koss, former owner of the well-known David Gregory Salon at the Centre Shops on Longboat Key, has returned to his real estate roots. He is now managing the Property Management Division at Wagner Realty, just a couple of doors down from his former salon.

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CELEBRATING 86 YEARS OF REAL ESTATE EXCELLENCE

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Stop by and visit Greg, who is ready to assist with vacation rentals, property management, and real estate services.

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

23

Local Roots, Legacy of Experience: One Family, Two Generations #1 Individual Agent SW FL Coldwell Banker 2024 & 2025 Ryan Ackerman 941.387.1818

Barbara Ackerman 941.387.1820

HARBOR ACRES | $16,950,000

AQUA | $5,500,000 NEW PRICE | NO CONDO FEES IN 2026 OPEN SUN 1-4 BY APPOINTMENT ONLY | CALL (941) 387-1820

GATSBY MANOR | 1240 HILLVIEW DR. 4BR+STUDY/3.5BA • 8,000 SQ FT UNDER AIR

Bayfront Gated Estate • Premier Waterfront for BOATING ENTHUSIASTS Deep Water, New 20,000 LB Lift and Seawall • Spectacular South Views 15 Car Motor Court • 2-Story Library • All Level In-Home Elevator 700+ Bottle Wine Room • Ground Level A/C Bonus & Play Space

280 GOLDEN GATE PT. #600 3BR+OFFICE OR 4BR/3.5BA • 4,101 SQ FT

Stunning Full-Floor Residence • 180° Unobstructed Bay Views Private Elevator Foyer • 10’ Walls of Impact Glass • Deeded Boat Slip Private 2-Car Garage • Excellent On-Site Amenities

NEW PRICE AMAZING OPPORTUNITY

$539,000 LAWRENCE POINTE

1932 HARBOURSIDE DR. #242 2BR/2BA • 1,192 SQ FT

Private Beach Club Access • First-floor End Unit • Sarasota Bay Water Views Updated Kitchen Finishes • Move-in Ready Resort-style Community Amenities

OYSTER BAY ESTATES

Hurricane Impact Windows & Sliders 72” Glass Fireplace • High-Capacity Wine Room • Gourmet Quartz & Stainless Kitchen • Hardwood Floors

Amazing Gulf to Bay Views • Beautifully Renovated Designer Kitchen and White Marble Bath • All New Wood & Porcelain Tile Floors

109’ of Waterfront 25x18 Owners Suite w/ Separate Gym or Nursery & Private Sun Deck Sprawling Screened and Open Air Wood Deck Swim Spa • Private Trex Dock • 2-Car Garage

Corner Unit with Sunset Views • Unique Floorplan w/ 36’x11’ Sun Room • Private 1-car Garage AND Covered Parking Space Expansive Balcony with Beach & Gulf Views

Bayfront Panoramic Views • Private Elevator Entry Open Floor Plan • Boat Dock Available • Expansive Outdoor Terrace w/Summer Kitchen • Private 2-Car Garage • Gated Pet-Friendly Community

2120 HARBOURSIDE DR. #623 3BR/2BA • 2,031 SQ FT

Beautifully Updated • Corner Residence w/ Direct Bay Views • Large Balcony off Living Room & Primary BR • Garage Parking Excellent Amenities Incl. Bay Isles

$5,595,000 GRAND BAY IV

1429 N. LAKE SHORE DR. • 5BR/4F, 2H BA • 4,545 SQ FT • 3-CAR GARAGE Brand New Construction • Modern Oasis All on One Level • Open Floor Plan • Quartz & Stainless Chef’s Kitchen • Oak Wood Floors 175-Bottle Wine Room

$4,295,000 MARK SARASOTA

464 GOLDEN GATE PT., #702 3BR/5BA+DEN • 3,377 SQ FT • Bayfront

$1,195,000 FAIRWAY BAY - ATRIUM $1,095,000

1445 GULF OF MEXICO DR. #101 3BR/3BA • 2,092 SQ FT

$3,350,000 OYSTER BAY ESTATES

1241 GULF OF MEXICO DR. #803 3BR/4F BA • 3,045 SQ FT 2 GARAGE PARKING SPACES

$1,975,000 LA BELLASARA

7430 COVE TER. • 3BR+OFFICE/3.5BA 4,200 SQ FT • Elevated 2-Story Home on

$1,300,000 PLAYERS CLUB III

Unobstructed Direct Bay & Sunset Views • Corner Location • Meticulously Renovated 2 Private Balconies • Gated, Pet Friendly Community • Covered Parking Space

$4,695,000 WATER CLUB I

1421 N. LAKE SHORE DR. • 4BR/4F, 2H BA • 4,217 SQ FT • 2-CAR GARAGE

CORAL COVE

101 SUNSET DR. #301 2BR/2BA • 1,778 SQ FT

Gorgeous • Sunrises, Sunsets, Bay, Beach & City Skyline Views • Blank Canvas • 10’ Ceilings • 2 Prime Side-by-side Parking Spaces • Dual Gated • Pet-Friendly

$1,499,500 WATER CLUB I

111 S. PINEAPPLE AVE. #1013 • 2BR+ DEN/2BA • 1,711 SQ FT • 2-PARKING SPACES • Modern Downtown Residence

South / Southwest Bay & City Views Hurricane Impact Windows & Sliders • 10’ Ceilings • Just Steps to Elevator • Pet-Friendly

$1,879,000

3010 GRAND BAY BLVD., #493 • 2BR/4BA 2,550 SQ FT • 9th Floor Cayman Plan with

$1,099,000

1241 GULF OF MEXICO DR. #109 2BR/2.5BA • 2,000 SQ FT

Beautifully Furnished Plaza-Level Residence 10’ Ceilings Brazilian Cherry Wood Floors Top-of-the-Line Kitchen Appliances • Floor-toCeiling Impact Glass Windows & Sliders

The Ackerman Group | Coldwell Banker Realty • 443 John Ringling Blvd., Ste. F | Sarasota, FL 34236

461553-1

FAIRWAY BAY I

YourObserver.com

YOUR CALENDAR

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

THURSDAY, JUNE 18

SUMMER NIGHT OUT 4-6 p.m. at Whitney Plaza, 6838 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Check out the first Summer Night Out, featuring shopping, snacks and bubbles. Hosts include Driftwood Beach Home and Garden, Design 2000 and Ventura’s Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar. Guests will also have the chance to meet the artists with Little Blue Designs and Vintage Key and Herb Methodology will have a guest spot.

MEDITATIVE SOUND BATH 2-3 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Take in the sounds of crystal and Tibetan bowls, chimes, gongs and more at this sound bath session. Attendance is free, though contributions are appreciated. Visit TheParadiseCenter. org for more.

SATURDAY, JUNE 20

PUBLIC TURTLE WALK 6:45 a.m. at Longboat Key Beach Access, 4795 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Join wildlife experts at the Longboat Key Turtle Watch’s guided public turtle walk. Participants must be able to walk for about a mile in the sand.

Comfortable shoes and sun protection are recommended. No reservation required. Visit LBKTurtleWatch. com.

MONDAY, JUNE 22

463598-1

FLOWER ARRANGING 5-6:30 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Learn all about how to make blossoms and buds shine at this interactive workshop. Cost is $30. Call 941-3836493 or visit TheParadiseCenter.org.

RECURRING EVENTS MONDAYS AND THURSDAYS

LONGBOAT LIBRARY 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., 555 Bay Isles Road.

Open to peruse a variety of books.

Call 941-383-2011.

IYENGAR YOGA 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Certified instructor Deborah DiCarlo focuses on alignment, precision, timing and sequencing in this class designed for all ages. Class is on the second floor, accessible via stairs only. Cost is $20 for drop-ins or one class pass. Call 941-383-6493 or visit TheParadiseCenter.org.

TUESDAYS

ROTARY CLUB 5 p.m. at All Angels Episcopal Church, 563 Bay Isles Road. The Rotary Club of Longboat Key typically meets the first and third Tuesdays of the month to hear from community guest speakers and plan upcoming events. Visit LongboatKeyRotary.org to learn more or contact President Terri Driver at TDriver1@comcast. net or 703-517-8925.

BEST BET

THURSDAY, JUNE 25

OFF THE CLOCK NETWORKING 5-7 p.m. at Café on St. Armands, 431 St. Armands Circle. Join the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce for the latest social hour. Attendees can enjoy light bites, signature cocktails and fine wines available at the cash bar. Entry is $10 for members; $20 for guests. Visit LongboatKeyChamber. com for more information.

POP-UP LIBRARY 10 a.m. at the Town Center Green, 600 Bay Isles Road. The Sarasota County Pop-Up Library hosts services on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, with storytime beginning at 10:30 a.m. and others available from 10-11:30 a.m.

QIGONG 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Experienced instructor Sandi Love leads this class on ancient healing arts, designed to improve mental and physical well-being through gentle movement. Cost is $20 for drop-ins or one class pass. Call 941-3836493 or visit TheParadiseCenter.org.

WEDNESDAYS

TAI CHI 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Certified instructor Reuben Fernandez leads this fitness class focused on overall with easy-to-follow exercises and breathing techniques. Cost is $20.

Call 941-383-6493 or visit TheParadiseCenter.org.

COMMUNITY BINGO 2-4 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Caller Renee Fannin runs the show for this fun and lively game. Cards are $1 each; $2 for the final round. Call 941-383-6493 or visit TheParadiseCenter.org.

THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS

BRIDGE CLUB 1 p.m. at the Bayfront Park Recreation Center, 4052 Gulf of Mexico Drive. This American Contract Bridge League-certified group meets twice weekly. Reservations required. Contact Patty Mayer at 262-215-2566 or PattySarasota33@gmail.com.

SATURDAYS

RUN CLUB 7 a.m. at Sips coffee shop, 6830 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Join this community running club for a morning jog at your own pace. The group is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Celebrating 50 YEARS of Living and Working on Longboat Key Cathy C. Meldahl, P.A. Your Longboat Key Community Realtor

461092-1

• 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

462613-1

941.724.7228

CathyMeldahl@michaelsaunders.com

FELTZ COLLINS ARCHITECTURE FELTZARCH.COM

456000-1

24

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

25

PROMENADE - NEW PRICE

1211 GULF OF MEXICO DR. #709, LONGBOAT KEY, FL 2 BED / 2 BATH • NOW OFFERED FOR $1,695,000

EMERALD HARBOR

BAYOU - BAY ISLES

SANCTUARY

5970 EMERALD HARBOR DR. LONGBOAT KEY, FL 4 BED / 3 ½ BATH • $2,795,000

3131 BAYOU SOUND LONGBOAT KEY, FL 3 BED / 2 ½ BATH • $1,650,000

565 SANCTUARY DR. #B106LONGBOAT KEY, FL 3 BED / 3 BATH • $1,799,000

GULF FRONT LUXURY

6685 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE, LONGBOAT KEY, FL 8 BED / 8 BATH / 2 HALF-BATH • $15,550,000

INN ON THE BEACH

GRAND BAY III

COREYS LANDING

210 SANDS POINT RD. #2405 LONGBOAT KEY, FL 1 BED / 1 BATH • $1,100,000

3030 GRAND BAY BLVD. #312 LONGBOAT KEY, FL 3 BED / 3 ½ BATH • $995,000

3459 BYRON LANE LONGBOAT KEY, FL 3 BED / 2 ½ BATH • $849,000

TANGERINE BAY

EMERALD POINTE SOUTH

WINDING OAKS

340 GULF OF MEXICO DR. #12 LONGBOAT KEY, FL 3 BED / 3 BATH • $1,775,000

1914 HARBOUR LINKS CIR. #10 LONGBOAT KEY, FL 3 BED / 3 ½ BATH • $1,445,000

3460 WINDING OAKS DR. LONGBOAT KEY, FL 3 BED / 3 ½ BATH • $1,150,000

VIEW ADDITIONAL BRUCE MYER GROUP LISTINGS ON OUR WEBSITE

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BRUCE MYER

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CHASE MYER 941.315.5318

26

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

LONGBOAT KEY 6664 & 6660 & 6670 Gulf Of Mexico Drive 2 Beds 2 Baths 10,298 Sq. Ft. Mark Huber 941.356.2435 A4694502 $18,500,000

LONGBOAT KEY 4127 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #N102 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 3,521 Sq. Ft. Kim Ogilvie & Lynn Morris 941.376.1717 A4680618 $4,700,000

BAY ISLES 1571 Harbor Cay Lane 4 Beds 3/1 Baths 4,209 Sq. Ft. Julie Klick & Beverly St. Hilaire 941.780.6001 A4666688 $4,550,000

THE RESIDENCES AT THE ST. REGIS LONGBOAT KEY 1591 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #413 2 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,154 Sq. Ft. Michael Moulton 941.928.3559 A4627935 $4,499,000

BAY ISLES 510 Harbor Gate Way 4 Beds 5/1 Baths 5,080 Sq. Ft. John August & Jeff Weller 941.320.9795 A4671696 $4,395,000

LONGBOAT KEY 562 Ranger Lane 4 Beds 3 Baths 3,149 Sq. Ft. Cheri Castro 941.740.5371 A4675541 $3,499,900

LONGBOAT KEY 5422 Sandhamn Place 3 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,802 Sq. Ft. Richard Perlman 941.228.8580 A4686120 $3,499,000

LONGBOAT KEY 1005 Bogey Lane 4 Beds 4 Baths 3,624 Sq. Ft. Michael Nink 941.914.2805 A4680006 $3,300,000

LONGBOAT KEY 1281 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #708 3 Beds 4/1 Baths 3,273 Sq. Ft. Kim Ogilvie 941.376.1717 A4677632 $3,275,000

LONGBOAT KEY 535 Sanctuary Drive #A401 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 3,115 Sq. Ft. Susan Alliano & Ingrid Walker 941.735.6571 A4685033 $3,265,000

LONGBOAT KEY 595 Bowsprit Lane 4 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,550 Sq. Ft. Melissa Gissinger 941.404.2722 A4668868 $3,140,000

LONGBOAT KEY 535 Sanctuary Drive #A603 3 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,375 Sq. Ft. Steve Walter & Janet Walter 941.809.0907 A4689260 $2,899,000

LONGBOAT KEY 635 Jungle Queen Way 4 Beds 3/1 Baths 3,047 Sq. Ft. JoDene Moneuse 941.302.4913 A4679064 $2,895,000

LONGBOAT KEY 1241 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #804 3 Beds 4 Baths 3,045 Sq. Ft. Michael Moulton 941.928.3559 A4669837 $2,775,000

THE RESIDENCES AT THE ST. REGIS LONGBOAT KEY 1591 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #216 1 Beds 1/1 Baths 1,556 Sq. Ft. Lynn Morris & Kim Ogilvie 941.400.4526 A4665247 $2,750,000

LONGBOAT KEY 536 Ketch Lane 3 Beds 3 Baths 2,960 Sq. Ft. Kathy Callahan & Todd Callahan 941.900.8088 A4686553 $2,599,000

LONGBOAT KEY 545 Sanctuary Drive #B305 3 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,580 Sq. Ft. Maruta Miluns 941.374.9702 A4681142 $2,495,000

THE RESIDENCES AT THE ST. REGIS LONGBOAT KEY 1591 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #512 2 Beds 2/1 Baths 2,154 Sq. Ft. Michael Moulton 941.928.3559 A4668544 $2,400,000

CONRAD BEACH 311 Firehouse Court 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 2,352 Sq. Ft. Kathy Harman 941.900.9828 A4665445 $2,399,000

CONRAD BEACH 333 Firehouse Court 4 Beds 4/1 Baths 2,900 Sq. Ft. Steve Walter & Janet Walter 941.809.0907 A4672573 $2,325,000

LONGBOAT KEY 548 Gunwale Lane 3 Beds 2 Baths 1,853 Sq. Ft. John August & Jeff Weller 941.320.9795 A4680965 $2,200,000

LONGBOAT KEY 775 Longboat Club Road #808 3 Beds 3 Baths 2,122 Sq. Ft. Lenore Treiman & Daniel Treiman 941.356.9642 A4683021 $2,195,000

ST. ARMANDS CIRCLE 41 S Adams Drive 2 Beds 2 Baths 3,913 Sq. Ft. Jenifer Schwell 941.780.0968 A4672116 $2,050,000

BAY ISLES 3070 Grand Bay Boulevard #632 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,276 Sq. Ft. Richard Perlman 941.228.8580 A4627468 $699,000

LONGBOAT KEY 528 Forest Way 2 Beds 2/1 Baths 1,440 Sq. Ft. JoDene Moneuse 941.302.4913 A4695863 $585,000

THE RESIDENCES AT THE ST. REGIS LONGBOAT KEY 1561 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #403 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 4,187 Sq. Ft. Michael Moulton 941.928.3559 A4627926 $13,000,000

BAY ISLES 560 Harbor Point Road 4 Beds 5 Baths 5,245 Sq. Ft. Jonathan Fox & Meghan Leiter 941.544.6649 A4671218 $9,700,000

888.552.5228 | MICHAELSAUNDERS.COM

458489-1

THE RESIDENCES AT THE ST. REGIS LONGBOAT KEY 1561 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #304 3 Beds 4/1 Baths 4,891 Sq. Ft. Lynn Morris & Kim Ogilvie 941.400.4526 A4685495 $13,000,000

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

JUNE 1-5

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

I

an and Sheila Aitken, of Barrington, Illinois, sold their home at 119 N. Warbler Lane to David Cain, trustee, of Sarasota, for $6.55 million.

Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 5,099 square feet of living area. It sold for $3,825,000 in 2018.

REAL ESTATE

Bird Key home tops week’s sales at $6.55 million

27

THE BEACH RESIDENCES

BIRD KEY

Richard Norman Uhler and Irma Terrazas-Zambrana, of Sarasota, sold their home at 367 W. Royal Flamingo Drive to Daniel Scales, trustee, of Sarasota, for $3,795,000.

Built in 1967, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 4,143 square feet of living area. It sold for $3.9 million in 2021.

COUNTRY CLUB SHORES

Gerard and Martha Mos, of Kansas City, Missouri, sold their home at 581 Yardarm Lane to Allegria Sul Mare LLC for $2,075,000. Built in 1968, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,192 square feet of living area. It sold for $793,000 in 2008.

THE PLAYERS CLUB

John Bartlett II and Maria Barlett, trustees, of Longboat Key, sold the Unit 110 condominium at 1485 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Michael and Lucia Burbridge, of Sarasota, for $1.43 million. Built in 1981, it has two bedrooms, three baths and 1,722 square feet of living area. It sold for $737,500 in 2012.

Dana Kampa

The home at 119 N. Warbler Lane sold for $6.55 million. Built in 1997, it has three bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 5,099 square feet of living area.

LONGBOAT SHORES

Walter and Grace Hackett and Hugh Overfield, of Sarasota, sold their home at 615 Buttonwood Drive to Neal Clark Horne and Jennifer Ann Horne, of Ellsworth, Michigan, for $935,000. Built in 1967, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,080 square feet of living area. It sold for $450,000 in 2021.

BEACHPLACE

Rebecca Gloriod, trustee, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, sold the Unit 304 condominium at 1115 Gulf of Mexico Drive to James and Maureen Ducey, of Hingham, Massachusetts, for $850,000. Built in 1979, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,503 square feet of living area. It sold for $400,000 in 2019.

CLUB LONGBOAT BEACH AND TENNIS

Gulf of Mexico Drive to Steven Chiavelli and Barbara Chiavelli, trustees, of Canton, Georgia, for $775,000. Built in 1978, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,068 square feet of living area. It sold for $217,000 in 1996.

CASA DEL MAR

Providence Global Investments LLC sold the Unit 14 condominium at 4621 Gulf of Mexico Drive to James Stephen Loop and Elizabeth Jane Loop, of Cumming, Georgia, for $700,000. Built in 1973, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 900 square feet of living area. It sold for $605,000 in 2021.

to Robert and Catherine Holland, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, for $530,000. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,192 square feet of living area. It sold for $180,000 in 1989.

Marisa Goldberg and Michelle Langille, of Hartsdale, New York, sold their Unit 145 condominium at 1930 Harbourside Drive to Overkill Enterprises LLC for $515,000. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,270 square feet of living area. It sold for $490,000 in 2017.

ONLINE

FAIRWAY BAY

Rauno Vaulamo, of Helsinki, Finland, sold his Unit 254 condominium at 1932 Harbourside Drive

See more transactions at YourObserver.com.

Madeline Reiber, of Sarasota, sold her Unit 331 condominium at 5055 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Thomas and Lori Lahart, of Longboat Key, for $850,000. Built in 1973, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,484 square feet of living area.

SEAPLACE

Allan and Tina Gottesman, of Longboat Key, sold their Unit G8-303-G condominium at 1925

TOP BUILDING PERMITS These are the largest building permits issued by the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Department for the week of June 5-11 in order of dollar amounts.

LONGBOAT KEY Address

Permit

Applicant

415 L’Ambiance Drive #D405

Comm. Alteration

Brett Markley

$600,000

4125 Gulf of Mexico Drive #201 Comm. Alteration

Franklin Kenny

$300,000

3030 Grand Bay Blvd. #394

Ben Chapin

$202,071

2525 Gulf of Mexico Drive #12A Comm. Alteration

Richard Herrick

$166,170

765 Hideaway Bay Drive

Swimming Pool/Spa

David Reynolds

$113,225

570 Birdie Lane

Res. Windows/Doors

Jared Lee Mellick

$106,596

1401 Gulf of Mexico Drive

Accessory Structure

Keith Olsen

$102,244

1945 Gulf of Mexico Drive #207 Comm. Alteration

Richard Herrick

$100,000

575 Sanctuary Drive #A404

Comm. Alteration

Peter Baldi

610 Yardarm Lane

Res. Dock/Seawall/Lift Lee Darrell Palmer

$55,852

580 Rountree Drive

Swimming Pool/Spa

Danny Cartaya

$40,000

681 Emerald Harbor Drive

Res. Roof

Miles Wade Garner

$39,550

5960 Gulf of Mexico Drive

Res. Demo

Sherri Yonkers

$35,000

3391 Bayou Lane

Res. Alteration

Matthew Shanley

600 Wedge Lane

Res. Dock/Seawall/Lift Mark Powers

$28,098

6601 Gulfside Road

Res. Demo

$27,755

3030 Grand Bay Blvd. #314

Comm. A/C Changeout Dennis John Zacek

$27,718

3312 Bayou Road

Res. Pool Cage

Robin Klein

$26,684

701 Gulf Bay Road

Res. Demo

Patrick McManus

$25,000

3592 Fair Oaks Lane

Res. A/C Changeout

Howard Allen Stanton $22,400

3060 Grand Bay Blvd. #146

Comm. A/C Changeout Gary Christopher

Comm. Alteration

Loyd Glasgow

Amount

$74,106

$32,539

Felix DeJesus Guerra $20,000

4500 Gulf of Mexico Drive #PH4 Plumbing Alteration

Marcio Munoz

$20,000

615 Buttonwood Drive

Res. Demo

Sherri Yonkers

$15,000

2110 Harbourside Drive

Comm. Alteration

James David Capo

$14,741

(#521, 528, 538, 548, 558, 542, 552, 517, 537, 547, 557)

400 Central | 727.209.7848 | From $1.3M Call for an appointment | Residences400central.com

Let’s build something extraordinary together.

The Edge Sarasota | 941.866.3068 | From Mid $3M Sales Gallery at 1801 Main Street | TheEdgeSarasota.com

941.951.6650 MSCDeveloperServices.com

2151 Gulf of Mexico Drive #PH2 Comm. A/C Changeout Steven Marino

$14,352

572 Yawl Lane

$12,892

5655 Gulf of Mexico Drive #B203 A/C Changeout

Waldorf Astoria Residences Sarasota From From $2.5M to $30M+ | WAResidencesSarasota.com

$20,498

1241 Gulf of Mexico Drive #704 Comm. Alteration

Plumbing Natural Gas

For nearly 50 years, Michael Saunders & Company has led Southwest Florida real estate. Our Developer Services Division offers unmatched expertise from concept to sell-out, partnering on 85+ landmark projects like the St. Regis Longboat Key Residences, The Collection, The Mark and The Ritz-Carlton Residences with innovation and integrity.

Randy Mask Steven Marino

3540 Gulf of Mexico Drive #305C Comm. A/C Changeout James Roadman

$12,767 $11,950

842 Bayport Way

Comm. A/C Changeout Robert Holsbeke

$10,823

6925 Gulf of Mexico Drive #24

Comm. Windows/Doors Richard Scott Eason

$10,306

1145 Gulf of Mexico Drive #501 Comm. A/C Changeout Michael Turner

$10,300

Source: Town of Longboat Key

Prices as of January 2025

Issa Homes at SeaFlower | 941.491.7879 From $1.29M | SeaFlower.IssaHomes.com

460075-1

Daniel Napoli and Tina Shao Napoli, of Lakewood Ranch, sold their Unit 701 condominium at 1300 Benjamin Franklin Drive to Winston Taft LLC for $4,708,000.

Built in 2005, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 4,194 square feet of living area. It sold for $3.35 million in 2013.

YourObserver.com

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

ADVERTISEMENT

Where Prestige Meets Performance Redefining Real Estate Excellence

BY ADNAN DEDIC

TOP 1% RE AL ESTAT E AG E N T IN T H E CO U N T RY

$1 BILLION TOTAL SO L D T R AN SACT I O N S

#1 RES I D E N T I AL R E AL ESTAT E B RO KE R AG E IN T H E U. S .

E XC LU S IVE LY F E AT U R E D I N : FO R B ES YAH O O BU S I N ESS I N S I D E R S RQ 3 5 U N D E R 3 5 N E W YO R K W E E KLY PHOTO CREDIT: JOHN REVISKY

WA L L ST R E E T T I M ES

THE NEW STANDARD OF SARASOTA LUXURY

PROVEN RESULTS

In Sarasota’s hyper-competitive market, Adnan Dedic doesn’t just participate—he

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and results. His command of Sarasota’s most coveted address-

work ethic forged in a remarkable personal history.

es — from the shores of Siesta Key to the glittering waterfront corridors of Sarasota — is unmatched. Dedic consistently rep-

A LEGACY OF RESILIENCE

resents the area’s most significant properties, including a $30

Before closing $100 million in annual sales, Dedic was a child refugee fleeing

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net-worth clients place in his hands.

million waterfront estate that stands among the highest-priced

that would come to define every chapter of his career. It is this same resilience — the ability to rebuild, adapt, and thrive under pressure — that caught the attention

What sets Dedic apart is the standard of service he delivers.

of both Forbes and SRQ Magazine’s “35 Under 35,” two of the most competitive

In a world where timing can mean millions, he operates with a

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stands that true luxury is an experience defined by unmatched

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What further separates Dedic is his background as a tech venture founder. In a market moving at the speed of data, he leverages proprietary tools and advanced analytics to give clients a measurable competitive advantage. He treats every listing like a high-stakes launch, blending Silicon Valley strategy with the high-touch service expected in the multi-million dollar waterfront sector. Recognized not simply

Adnan Dedic Luxury Real Estate Advisor 941.726.2917 adnan.dedic@compass.com

for what he has sold, but for how he sells — with precision, purpose, and a personal story that resonates — Dedic represents a new archetype in luxury real estate: the resilient entrepreneur who never forgot where he started.

Compass is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions.

462383-1

28

YourObserver.com

29

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

SUNRISE / SUNSET Sunrise Sunset

FRIDAY, JUNE 19

Submit your photos at YourObserver. com/Contests.

All submissions will be entered in the 2026-27 Weather and Nature photo contest. In February 2027, you will vote for your favorite photo, and the submission with the most votes will win a $500 gift card.

High: 89 Low: 81 Chance of rain: 21%

Thursday, June 18

6:35a

8:27p

Friday, June 19

6:35a

8:28p

Saturday, June 20

6:35a

8:28p

Sunday, June 21

6:36a

8:28p

SATURDAY, JUNE 20

Monday, June 22

6:36a

8:28p

High: 88 Low: 80 Chance of rain: 24%

Tuesday, June 23

6:36a

8:28p

Wednesday, June 24

6:36a

8:29p

WEATHER

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

FORECAST

MOON PHASES SUNDAY, JUNE 21 High: 89 Low: 79 Chance of rain: 23%

June 21 First

June 29 Full

July 7 Last

July 14 New

TIDES Highs Lows Thursday, June 18

—

2:34p

—

11:13p

Friday, June 19

6:10a

3:38p

9:56a

11:56p

Saturday, June 20

6:25a

4:46p

11:30a

—

Sunday, June 21

6:47a

6:03p

12:35a

1:00p

Monday, June 22

7:15a

7:42p

1:12a

2:27p

Tuesday, June 23

7:46a

9:41p

1:48a

3:46p

Wednesday, June 24

8:21a

11:28p

2:22a

4:51p

Donna Jablonski took this photo of an egret going for a stroll in the Publix parking lot on Longboat Key.

We have all of your luxury flooring needs carpet | hardwood | tile | stone | pavers | and more

Daily crossword puzzles available at YourObserver.com/crossword

GETTING A BIG BREAK by Jared Goudsmit, edited by Jared Goudsmit 118 Do penance 119 Did some modeling 120 “See what I ___?”

121 Anatomical pouches 122 Job benefits

©2026 Universal Uclick

ACROSS 1 Radio toggle 5 Shift, Tab, etc.

9 Avocado dip, for short 13 Janitors’ tools 17 “The Harlequin’s Carnival” painter Joan 18 Defeat decisively 19 Jacob’s biblical twin 20 Activist Tiphagne 21 Weather warning, e.g.

24 Slept in nature 25 Teeter-totter 26 Beer barrel 27 Place to see “Aida” or “Akhnaten” 29 Cut off 31 ___-on sentence 33 Doctors’ org.

34 Hi-___ image

Geronimo Stilton 54 Infomercial knife brand 55 Ctrl+V 57 Glum 58 Like an intense love affair 59 In a smooth-talking way DOWN 63 Won social approval 1 Iowa college town 2 Performer in an “invisible 64 Nail a test 65 Golden-brown pears box” 66 Suffix for “lock” or 3 Person who defies “word” convention 67 Like many foods in Jew4 Tasty bits of food 5 Mardi Gras parade group ish cuisine 68 “Arrived!”

6 Very long time 69 Puts a cold pack on 7 “Ugh, that smells hor70 Trio + five rible!”

71 St. Louis Blues’ org.

8 Eyelid woe 72 Annoying commenter 9 Hair goop 75 “Pass a cold one over 10 Apply to 11 Seniors’ advocacy group here!”

12 Like baby penguins and 76 Crowdfunded flick, e.g.

78 What cats are said to teddy bears have 13 Office note 79 Get up 14 Not accidentally 15 Period before opening 82 Little taste of lassi 86 “Be honest!” day 87 Fail to mention 16 Dodges a tough ques89 Abu Dhabi leader tion 93 Like the novel “Heated 20 “LMAO” 35 Honeycrisp fruit 56 “So, so frequently ...”

90 Villain’s foe Rivalry” 22 Chairperson’s mallet 37 Color of honey 60 Bungee cables, etc.

91 “Let ‘er ___!”

23 “I feel the same way!” 96 “Road work ___? Uh, 40 Teeming (with) 61 “You’re ___ of a kind” 92 Ration (out) 24 Glenn Close’s appear- yeah, I sure hope it does!”

42 Squabble 62 “The Sunshine Makers” 94 Combine 97 Oklahoma city whose ance in “Hook,” e.g.

43 Spanish nickname for drug 95 Give a new moniker to flag features an Osage 28 Rides the rapids Puerto Rico 63 Chitchat 97 Work hard shield 30 Commercial on the 46 Tube attached to a 66 Slalom athlete 99 Softball stat 98 Mary-Kate or Ashley airwaves sprinkler 69 Tax Day org.

101 Produce-regulating org. 32 Hot chocolate dis100 Certain sculptures 47 Goof up 70 “I got this” 104 Bestselling John Green penser 102 Gulped down lassi 48 Submitted, like a tax 72 Food item “al pastor” novel, or a hint to spotting 35 Ye olde beers 103 Real jerks return 73 Parent honored in May the six-letter word spelled 36 Amusement ___ 105 Soothing balm 49 Leaky tire sound 74 Judo belt out in the gaps dividing 106 Nothin’ 38 Cantaloupes, etc.

50 “The Mischievous Dog” 77 Fruity, sugary cereal each set of circled letters 39 Makeup-applying verb 107 “It’s a ___!” (“Easy!”) fable writer balls 109 Dad’s bro 108 NPR bag 40 Elevate 51 Alternative to 2% or 80 “Kinda” 112 Societal troubles 41 App with photo dumps, 109 MLB official whole milk 81 Dojo teacher 113 Giant tubs that a super- for short 110 Prefix for “liberal” or villain might fill with acid 53 Betty Boop or Bugs 83 “___ be fun!” “realist” 42 Luster Bunny 84 Type of chemical bond 114 They explode in space 44 “Repeat ___ me ...”

111 Burnable music 115 Mainstream ___ 54 “Get the ___?” (“General 85 “We made a choice, purchases 45 Doorbell sound idea makes sense, yeah?”) there’s no reversing it now” 116 Get checkmated, e.g.

50 Bone-dry 55 Primps 88 “Absolutely, it’s a plan!” 117 Adjust, like an article 52 Rodents such as

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.

“CR HLB’K JL WB TLQ YSUT VRSGIQRG ...

KYRQR SQR BL FLVAQLVWGRG. WT W KYLIJYK S GLBJ CSGB’K EIWKR QWJYK, W’H HWGFSQH WK.” TQRHHWR VRQFIQN

“N QONBA QOX RNBDXJR QOKQ LX KZZ JXRVHBM QH ... XIHAX K RQHJU ... NQ’R BHQ TFRQ KSHFQ ZNRQXBNBD QH IHWKZ DUYBKRQNWR.”

XYNZU SZFBQ

“QU WLO VIIH PO ZBO BOZXQJA XION JIW PZHO KN, ZN PQWL Z UQNW LZGGOBQJA IJ IKB NHKTT, PLC WLOJ XI PO BOZX QW?” UBZJF HZUHZ Puzzle Three Clue: J equals N

crossword

Puzzle Two Clue: K equals A

457538-1

Sarasota 941.355.8437 | Bradenton 941.748.4679 | Venice 941.493.7441 | manasotaonline.com

Come Shop our Showrooms!

Puzzle Two Clue: S equals A

at MANASOTA FLOORING INC

sudoku

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

©2026 Andrews McMeel Syndicate

06-18-26

THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

RED PAGES INFORMATION & RATES: 941-955-4888

Vacation/ Seasonal Rentals

redpages@yourobserver.com • yourobserver.com/redpages DEADLINES: Classifieds - Monday at 2PM 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.

Notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

2220 Doud St., Sarasota, Fl 34231

#’s Out at 8:00am 9:00 am - 5:00pm

Call Ken for more information (941) 356-3318 Or Visit: AntiquesandChatchkes.com Estate Sales Conducted by: Antiques & Chatchkes

Merchandise Wanted SENIOR LOOKING to purchase precious metals, diamonds, time pieces, coins, jewelry, antique and estate jewelry, and some collectors plates. Personal and confidential.

Please call Marc: 941-321-0707

Antiques/ Collectibles

Paintings •B Bronzes •P Sculptures •O Oriental Rugs •S Asian Art •A Antique Furniture •A

Al Tomlinson Honest Evaluations NO ONE PAYS MORE!

941-400-8811 Boat Slips for Rent/Sale BOAT SLIPS FOR LEASE ON LONGBOAT KEY Annual and monthly leases are available. Deep water slips up to 40 ft with water and electrical service. Easy access to Sarasota Bay, ICW and Gulf Call 941-500-3895.

Autos Wanted CASH FOR YOUR CAR We come to you!

Ho Ho Buys cars.

941-270-4400.

Use the

RED PAGES to clean out your garage

CALL 941-955-4888

Reservations 941-383-5577 wagnerlbkrentals@gmail.com Visa/MC 5360 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Suite 101 Longboat Key, FL 34228 Rental office 9a.m. - 5p.m.

M-F Wagner Realty Since 1939 www.rentalsonlongboat.com

Auto Transport SHIP YOUR car, truck or SUV anywhere in the United States.

Great rates, fast quotes. Call Hawley Motors: 941-923-3421.

Cleaning Over 1 Acre Beachfront House $6.5 million

House on Canal with Pool & Dock $1,250,000

Positions Wanted POSITION NEEDED Accountant/Bookkeeper needed part-time for a small HVAC Company in Bradenton. Please send resume'/inquiry to Sales@ckphvac.com. or Rae@ckphvac.com (330) 413-2740 Rae@ckphvac.com

941-955-4888

YourObserver.com/RedPages

SEAPLACE LBK gulffront highrise.Peaceful greenbelt & bay views, elegant turnkey-furnished 2BR/2BA, hurricane-impact ready, half mile beach, next to clubhouse pool, gym & sauna, 2 properties from St. Regis restaurants & beach bar $549,000 (619) 787-7811

Vacation/ Seasonal Rentals L’AMBIANCE, LONGBOAT KEY Beach front 2BR/3BA condo on high floor with wrap-around terrace, 270 degree views over the Gulf, Sarasota Bay and LBK Club.

Sunrises, sunsets through floor to ceiling windows. View at: www.thephotos.smugmug.com Call John at: 203-984-8477 or E-mail: garment@optonline.net

Pool Home Completely Upgraded $545,000

Luxury Sarasota Bay views 4 Bed 5 Bath with Boat Dock $1.76 million Near South bridge to Siesta One level, heated pool, stroll to shops. 3Bed-2.5Bath $1,250,000 Brooke O’Malley CLUB REALTY Call 941-726-2677

This week’s Crossword answers

Call 941-955-4888

Where Clean Meets Care Delivering reliable, top-quality cleaning for homes and businesses.

Contact: (407) 528-6401

Painting CARL DATTILO Painting Licensed & insured. Interior/ Exterior painting including drywall repair and retexturing.

Wallpaper installation & removal, pressure washing. Residential & condos.

Honest & reliable.

For Free estimates call CARL 941-448-8468 35+ years experience.

Professional Services AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR Edited and Published HighCottonPublishing.com 941-706-2463

This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers

Puzzle One Solution: “We don’t go in for half measures ... There are no compromises. If I thought a song wasn’t quite right, I’d discard it.”

Freddie Mercury Puzzle Two Solution: “I think the singers that we all respond to ... evoke a story ... It’s not just about listening to vocal gymnastics.”

Emily Blunt Puzzle Three Solution: “If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it?”

Franz Kafka

This week’s Sudoku answers

SEARCH the RED PAGES for GREAT DEALS To place an ad

FIND BUYERS & SELLERS HERE!

Homes for Sale

Plantation Golf Course View Condo 3 Bed $294,000

A POWERFUL COMBINATION

40+ years in Sarasota

PLACE YOUR AD: Call: 941-955-4888 Email: RedPages@ YourObserver.com

Sailboat Access Canal 4 Bed Pending $675,000

IN PRINT AND ONLINE

auto

WANTED

Between Houses or Condos

YourObserver.com/RedPages

RED PAGES

ANTIQUES WANTED

Color background: $ 5 per week Ad border: as low as $3 per week

SEASONAL RATES

BUY STUFF HERE!

Condos/Apts. for Sale

15% DISCOUNT FOR 4-WEEK RUN

©2026 NEA, Inc.

House full of furniture including a dining room suite with buffet, king-size bedroom suite, sofa and occasional chairs, curio cabinets, patio furniture, occasional tables, lamps, and area rugs. Antiques, artwork, men's clothing, electronics, plants and decorative pottery planters, and garage items.

Lots of Brice-a-Braca!

Condos/Apts. for Rent

First 15 words ................... $ 17.50 per week Each Add’l word .........50¢

Beachfront, Bayfront and In

Ask about our special rates!

2BR/2BA FAIRWAY Bay Harborside Longboat Key Luxury 2-bedroom, 2-bath townhouse behind the gates in Fairway Bay. 2-car garage plus extra space for hobbies and storage. Kitchen, floors, appliances, and baths all recently updated. The home is minutes from private beach access, LBK Club, and local shopping. Fully furnished or unfurnished options.

(941) 928-0079 kimberley@kpaa.ca

Jun 19th - Jun 20th

jobs

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

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

Call Hawley Motors: 941-923-3421.

You’re only cheating yourself.

Items Under $200

STORAGE FACILITY Boat/ RV/ Trailer. Secure facility, low monthly rentals, Clark Rd area.

941-809-3660, 941-809-3662.

peekers’ place

stuff

Deluxe Estate Sale

Autos Wanted

WEEKLY MONTHLY

©2026 Universal Uclick

Garage/ Moving/ Estate Sales

real estate

Service Directory - Friday at 3PM • PAYMENT: Cash, Check or Credit Card

LONGBOAT KEY: Beachfront Condos, 1st or 2nd floor, 2BR/2BA, W/D in units, free Wi-Fi, heated pool, & parking.

Call 941-383-3338.

RED PAGES AD RATES

home services

Made for where you live. Here!

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31

LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

SELL YOUR CAR!

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Windows

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Serving Longboat Key Since 2005

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463068

Res. | Com. | Lic. | Ins.

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Financial Services

DR. DAVID CIFRA, DC

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463496

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441238

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LONGBOAT OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2026

B U YE R’ S

$2,795,000

Designed by famed architect Mark Sultana, this modern boater’s paradise is immediately ready for your enjoyment.

A newer-built residence, the 4BR layout abounds in sleek interior finishes, offering a resurfaced pool, newer dock, lift, and seawall that perfectly complements a coastal lifestyle.

www.705JungleQueen.com

2050 BEN FRANKLIN DRIVE #B-704

www.OrchidBeachB704.com

TO

TO

TO

667 MOURNING DOVE DRIVE $10,995,000

6001 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE $9,995,000

401 QUAY COMMONS #805 $8,495,000

2116 CASEY KEY ROAD $6,995,000

www.667MourningDove.com

www.6001GulfofMexico.com

www.RitzResidences805.com

www.2116CaseyKeyRoad.com

TO

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Gulf-to-Bay 4BR, 5,500 SF estate on Casey Key with deeded private beach access, 100+ feet of deep-water bay frontage, and lovely updates.

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Furnished and highly customized, this 3BR, 8th-floor Ritz residence is a showcase of panoramic views, offering high-end finishes and a private garage.

B U YE R’ S

Gulf-Front 6,900 SF masterpiece perfectly placed on nearly an acre of direct beach frontage along Longboat Key’s shoreline.

B U YE R’ S

This stunning direct bayfront 5BR Murray-built estate spans nearly 6,600 SF and captures panoramic bay views that stretch out to the Gulf.

$2,495,000

Fully furnished and offering nearly 3,000 SF of professionally designed interior, this 3BR Lido Key residence showcases breathtaking beach to bay views. Harmoniously blending luxury and comfort, complemented by world-class amenities and the convenience of two parking spaces.

TO

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www.LaBellasara304.com

705 JUNGLE QUEEN WAY

B U YE R’ S

$3,775,000

Golden Gate Point is your front-row seat to Sarasota waterfront luxury! This furnished 4BR residence is perfectly placed in the gated enclave at La Bellasara. Combining the feel of singlefamily living with 3,200+ SF inside, 2-car garage and dock, just a short walk from the best that a downtown coastal lifestyle offers.

B U YE R’ S

464 GOLDEN GATE POINT #304

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E XC L US I V E L I S T I N G S - TO U R T H E S E L U X U RY H O M E S TO DAY

476 MEADOW LARK DRIVE $4,199,000

8017 MANASOTA KEY ROAD $3,995,000

7689 COVE TERRACE $3,499,000

8250 HUGH ALISON PLACE $3,249,000

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www.8017ManasotaKey.com

www.7689 CoveTerrace.com

www.8250HughAlisonPlace.com

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TO

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Custom 5BR, 5,100 SF residence captures the essence of Laurel Oaks’ golf-course lifestyle, on nearly an acre with sweeping fairway views.

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This 5BR estate offers a bay-to-Gulf lifestyle that Just three homes in from the open bay waters, this combines deep-water boating access and a updated 4BR waterfront residence is on a quiet private beach to enjoy on Manasota Key. cul-de-sac with nearly 100’ of water frontage.

TO

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This 4BR waterfront residence blends timeless coastal design with extensive updates and exceptional indoor-outdoor living.

3548 FAIR OAKS LANE $2,895,000

2410 HARBOURSIDE DRIVE #142 $2,695,000

35 WATERGATE DRIVE #1506 $2,499,000

355 SOUTH SHORE DRIVE $2,295,000

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Design your waterfront dream home in the heart of one of Sarasota’s most sought-after neighborhoods. Unobstructed bay access!

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This 15th-floor Ritz-Carlton corner residence is the epitome of downtown luxury living with stunning views. Includes 2 parking spaces!

B U YE R’ S

Beautiful updates throughout this direct bayfront, nearly 3,400 SF residence, offered fully furnished with secure parking and beach access.

B U YE R’ S

B U YE R’ S

Boaters will love this direct bayfront, 4BR courtyard residence within the Longboat Key Club community. Bike to deeded beach club.

1513 OAK STREET #18 $1,449,000

1055 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE #504 $1,299,000

5320 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE #101 $999,000

1350 SIESTA BAYSIDE DRIVE #1350B $949,000

www.1513OakStreet.com

www.Beachplace8504.com

www.LongboatLanding101.com

www.1350SiestaBayside.com

TO

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B U YE R’ S

Experience turnkey island living at this 3BR townhome residence a short walk from famed Siesta Key Beach. Includes private 1-car garage.

TO

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Rarely available within the intimate community of Longboat Landing, this updated, turnkey 3BR bayfont residence offers effortless island living.

B U YE R’ S

Furnished, direct Gulf-front getaway boasts an average of $70,000/year in rental income!

Includes covered and additional parking spaces.

B U YE R’ S

This 3BR, two-story, 1,900+ SF residence offers the privacy and comfort of a single-family home with the walkability and energy of downtown.

3295 ALEX FINLDAY PLACE $879,000

5311 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE #5 $799,000

1328 SIESTA BAYSIDE DRIVE #1328C $714,000

1111 NORTH GULFSTREAM AVENUE #10E $699,000

www.3295AlexFindlayPlace.com

www.BeachCastle5.com

www.1328SiestaBayside.com

www.OneWatergate10E.com

Perfectly placed on an oversized corner parcel, this 3BR, 2,273 SF courtyard home is waiting for your personal touches.

Turnkey furnished and updated, this 2BR Beach Castle getaway is steps from the Gulf, offering proven rental potential.

Located in a gated community, this 2BR turnkey getaway offers a beach-to-bay Siesta Key lifestyle, with its own private garage.

Located on the 10th-floor, this nearly 1,600 SF downtown residence offers captivating city, bay, and bridge views. Includes 2 parking spaces!

$400+ MILLION SOLD IN THE LAST TWO YEARS The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2023 Coldwell Banker.

All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logo are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

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443 John Ringling Boulevard, Suite F, Sarasota, FL 34236 | PettingellProfessionals.com | 941.387.1840 YouTube.com/@PettingellProfessionals | Instagram.com/RogerPettingell | Professionals@Pettingell.com