LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 38, NO. 7
FREE
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Beauty secrets.
PAGE 1B
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
Town Commission undeterred by bridge issues. PAGE 3A
Drawbridges: No drawbacks
YOUR TOWN
BP money to reduce pension debt
SHOFAR SOUNDS
Commissioner Larson argued $23 million in unfunded liabilities is more pressing than other proposed uses.
Courtesy photo
Tennis greats Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova met up with Bud Collins and his wife, Anita Ruthling Klaussen, for the ceremony honoring Collins at the U.S. Open.
KURT SCHULTHEIS SENIOR EDITOR
What’s the most pressing need for the $967,931.82 the town of Longboat Key received from a BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement last month? Four out of seven commissioners think it’s a consolidated pension fund that’s saddled taxpayers with approximately $23 million in pension debt. At its Sept. 9 regular meeting, commissioners wrestled with what Mayor Jack Duncan called “a windfall that needs to be shared with the citizens of Longboat Key.”
U.S. OPEN CELEBRATES BUD COLLINS It’s hard to find a man more colorful than tennis sportscaster Bud Collins. Not only is he known for wearing extravagant, patterned pants, but he also lights up a room wherever he goes. “I would say he’s colorful in every way,” said Katie Moulton, former general manager of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, where Collins frequented. “He’s colorful in the way he greets and cares about other people. He always brings a happy tone to whatever group he’s in, and he is someone who knows how to bring a smile to people’s faces.” On Sept. 6, the U.S. Tennis Association named the U.S. Open’s media center in Collins’ honor. SEE PAGE 6A
SEE PAGE 5A
ARTS+CULTURE
Photo by Amanda Morales
Dr. Lowell Lakritz has been performing with a shofar for more than 30 years. SEE PAGE 10A
Ernie Kretzmer’s gift of giving. Page 12A