bserver O SARAS TA
Happy Mother’s Day!
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
in this issue DIVERSIONS Kobernick-Anchin centenarians share a special bond. PAGES 17A
OUR TOWN
NEIGHBORS
Meet the model behind Sarasota’s newest mural. PAGE 12A
Kyle Turoff steers her family business into new territory. INSIDE
HACKING HAPPENINGS
Thursday, MAY 10, 2012
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
Investigation focuses on security A computer forensics investigation into the city’s Information Technology department is now focused on shoring up shoddy security at City Hall.
Melissa Herron
+ Beautiful moment Melissa Herron and her husband, Mike, of Bradenton, are active members of the Longboat Key Turtle Watch. Herron is used to watching Longboat Key’s spectacular sunrises, but this sunset photo, taken on Greer Island, was a more rare sighting for her. She said the lighting was spectacular on this January night, and she couldn’t resist capturing this universal moment between a mother and child, when the mom was showing her child the beauty of the world. Herron’s daughter, Danielle Etienne, jokingly asked her mom why she didn’t submit a photo of the two of them for The Observer’s Mother’s Day photo contest. “This appeals to everyone,” Herron said of the photo. This year’s contest included 25 submissions, and 3,993 total votes were cast. Herron’s winning photo received 1,370 votes. As the winner, Herron will receive a $75 gift certificate.
Last month, Sarasota city commissioners learned that the computer upgrades, on which they spent millions of dollars in previous years, were never installed. On Tuesday, a computer security expert expressed that the lack of upgrades could come back to haunt them.
Sylint Group Chief Executive Officer John Jorgensen told the Sarasota City Commission at its regular meeting Tuesday the city’s “network security status is a great concern to us.” The Lake County Sheriff’s Office recently hired Sarasotabased Sylint to work with the FBI
to combat a computer-hacking attack that had resulted in theft of private department information. Sylint warned it’s concentrating now on a lack of security upgrades at City Hall to prevent a similar attack here in Sarasota. “These hacker attacks are oc-
curring all over the country,” Jorgensen said. “Any city that is deemed to be an enemy of these attacks has suffered information losses.” Jorgensen called the city’s security risk “significant” and said his company has been diligently working to prepare for and install the necessary cyber-security
SEE SECURITY / PAGE 2A
¡BAILAMOS! Nick Friedman
The Gulf Coast Latin Chamber of Commerce presented its Cinco de Mayo and Taste of Latin America celebration Saturday, May 5, in downtown Sarasota. Attendees danced to live music and enjoyed Latin American food as they celebrated the Mexican holiday. For more photos, see page 15A.
Nick Friedman
Friends and family shared memories of the late Esthus at Crocker Memorial Church.
+ Sarasota honors Pete Esthus Long-time board member and treasurer of the Historical Society and owner of Sarasota Lock and Key, George “Pete” Esthus, died May 3. In celebration of his life, on Tuesday friends and family packed the Crocker Memorial Church, which Esthus had a large hand in helping to preserve, to share their memories of the man who kept the history of Sarasota alive.
TAX CASE
by Kurt Schultheis | City Editor
Furst won’t appeal Marina Jack decision After Marina Jack filed a lawsuit to dispute Sarasota County Property Appraiser Bill Furst’s claim the restaurant owes $1.5 million in back property taxes, Marina Jack could appeal the ruling. Sarasota County taxpayers don’t have to worry about Property Appraiser Bill Furst appealing a judge’s ruling on a tax dispute lawsuit between the property appraiser’s office and
Marina Jack restaurant owner Bob Soran. However, there’s a strong possibility Soran will appeal. If Soran chooses to appeal the case, a lawsuit that has already
cost taxpayers $265,951 through April 30, would increase dramatically as the case continues in a court of appeals. Soran challenged Furst’s August 2010 decision to collect $1.5
million in taxes on the property — $300,000 for 2010 and $1.2 million for unpaid back taxes.
SEE MARINA JACK / PAGE 2A
INDEX Briefs.................... 4A Classifieds..........28A
Cops Corner.......... 9A Crossword...........24A
Opinion................. 8A Real Estate.........23A
Sports.................21A Weather..............24A
Vol. 8, No. 27 | Two sections YourObserver.com