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NEWS

Breweries push for place among city businesses.

PAGE 3A

OUR TOWN

preservation society

DIVERSIONS

STORYTIME

Heroes and villains called this Lido Shores mansion home. INSIDE

Couple preserves other families’ heritage with stories. PAGE 12A

by David Conway | News Editor

Payne Auditorium gains support At a community workshop Monday, city staff and residents discussed the future of Payne Park. Several residents encouraged the city to find a way to preserve the park’s auditorium.

Courtesy photo

Member Polly Curran with guest Carolyn Quick

+ Flower power The Sarasota Chapter #115 of Ikebana International held its annual holiday luncheon demonstration Dec. 2. Muriel Scrivner, professor at the Ikebana School, demonstrated a modern approach to the sixth-century art form with her presentation “Ikebana in Glass.” The club is planning its next event, the 46th Annual Flower Exhibition, which takes place in February at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

On Monday, a city-held community workshop at Payne Park Auditorium largely served as a platform for residents to argue for that building’s continued existence.

The meeting was focused on updating the Payne Park master plan, and a wide variety of speakers — from shuffleboard-

ers to disc golfers — appeared at Monday’s workshop. Still, the most common discussion topic was the auditorium, the future of which is uncertain.

The city has considered tearing the building down because it doesn’t bring in enough revenue to cover its maintenance expenses. City officials decided

to postpone any decision on the auditorium’s fate after receiving feedback from people who wanted it preserved.

Those people made up a sizable contingent of the audience at Monday’s meeting. Many complained about what they

SEE AUDITORIUM / 9A

Payne Park Auditorium

DEAR SANTA ...

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

+ Frosty the sandman Beachgoers maintained the holiday spirit while basking the sun at Siesta Beach this weekend. Leah Redmond, Derek White, Kyle Treen and Billy Schumann built this beach bum snowman, which was one of about three snowmen lining the beach.

Harriet Sokmensuer

Third-grader Ashton Bentley reads the letter he wrote to Santa before dropping it in the mailbox at Macy’s, Friday, Dec. 6. Macy’s invited children from the Suncoast School for Innovative Studies to read their letters before sending them to the North Pole. The event was part of Macy’s Believe program that benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation. For more photos from the event, see page 3B.

CELERY FIELDS FOREVER

Nature center and industrial complex provide similar boons

CONA President Lourdes Ramirez and Dawn Moore

The Audubon Society and Benderson Development will work together to create friendly boundaries on dual projects east of Interstate 75.

+ CONA celebration The Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations held its annual holiday party Monday, at the Sarasota Botanical Garden.

Members enjoyed drinks and snacks as they socialized and discussed upcoming plans. The party was adorned with poinsettias.

by Alex Mahadevan | Staff Writer

Courtesy photo

A bird sits on a boardwalk in the Celery Fields to dry its wings.

The closest thing to an office for Sarasota Audubon President Jeanne Dubi is a boardwalk that extends over the water in the Celery Fields off Palmer Boulevard.

It’s here that Dubi chats with tourists who are birding for the first time.

“We’ll see you again sometime soon when we have our Nature

Center,” Dubi told the tourists Monday before they left the popular bird-watching location.

SEE PRESERVE / 2A

INDEX Opinion.................8A Classifieds ........ 11B

Cops Corner....... 15A Crossword.......... 10B

Neighborhood...... 1B Real Estate.......... 6B

Sports................ 20A Vol. 44, No. 20 | Three sections YourObserver.com Weather............. 11B

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YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

PRESERVE / FROM PAGE 1A

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In the spring, a makeshift parking lot less than 100 yards away will become the site of a $1.3 million environmental education and visitor center. The Sarasota Audubon Society will operate the center and fund it using donations. The society will lease the land from the county for $10 per year; so far, it has raised 70% of the funds needed to build the center.

Currently, the county is building a restroom facility in the location. The Audubon Society plans to break ground on its nature center shortly after the restroom’s completion. The nature center will use infrastructure from the county facility.

The Celery Fields was primarily an agricultural site for its namesake vegetable before the county bought the roughly 400 acres in 1995. After that, the county converted it into a stormwater resource by digging retention ponds that store runoff before it flows into Phillippi Creek and Sarasota Bay. “That’s when the birds came,” Dubi said.

In total, 217 different species of birds have been identified within the boundaries of the Celery Fields. According to Dubi, in comparison to the roughly 300 species in the county as a whole, that number is remarkable for one location. And the variety is notable, as well. For example, a possible sighting of the Limpkin, a large marsh bird, attracts people from around the country.

“And we have plenty of them in Sarasota,” Dubi said.

Carlson Studio Architecture designed the proposed nature center for the Sarasota Audubon Society.

Bird watching generates $250 million in annual economic impact for Sarasota County, according to an Audubon pamphlet. The nature center would further bolster local eco-tourism.

“The nature center will be a significant addition to our destination providing new nature and wildlife programming to the delight of residents and visitors alike,” wrote Visit Sarasota County President Virginia Haley in the pamphlet.

Dubi envisions an exhibit explaining the history of the Celery Fields within the proposed nature center. Ringling College of Art and Design students have inked prelimi-

A family of ducks navigates the waterways of the Celery Fields Monday.

nary plans for a garden.

Sarasota Audubon will have a site for connecting with students, with a 24-seat enclosed classroom and an outdoor patio surrounding the building. Plans include a reception area, restrooms, a break room and an administrative office.

And, while the Sarasota Audubon Society will soon fulfill its need for a physical location, Benderson Development is negotiating with the county to buy a 42-acre parcel one mile north of the proposed nature center to fulfill another need: industrial space.

According to research from CoStar, a commercial real estate information and marketing service, industrial vacancy rates in Sarasota and Manatee counties have fallen from 12% in 2010 to less than 8% in the second quarter of 2013. As the economy rebounds, firms are quickly occupying manufacturing sites, said Benderson Development Vice President Larry Fineberg during a Nov. 26 Sarasota County Commission meeting.

Benderson Development has offered the county $2.5 million for the property near the Celery Fields to initially construct 200,000 square feet of multi-tenant buildings for light manufacturing, assembly

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warehousing, research and development and office space, according to preliminary bid documents.

Fineberg explained to commissioners that creating the needed product would make Sarasota County competitive with Manatee County in terms of attracting new firms to the area.

“The one thing we can say about industrial and commercial is on the weekend it’s quiet,” Dubi said. “All around here you can see industrial spaces, and we live quite well with them.”

During the meeting, commissioners directed Benderson to include specifications for lighting and a buffer to be compatible with the nearby environmental needs.

“We’re going to make it fit with everything else around it,” Fineberg said. “But, getting a shovel in the ground is the most important thing now.”

Sarasota Audubon will help the development company choose native flora for such a buffer, Dubi said.

“We will be working with Benderson all along the way in the process,” Dubi said.

“The important thing is that the Celery Fields and the nature center are really protected.”

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SARASOTA OBSERVER

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

what ales you?

3A

by David Conway | News Editor

Zoning code bubbles to surface for breweries When the management of Darwin’s on Fourth announced it was opening a new brewery in Bradenton, some people wondered what it meant for the future of the Sarasota restaurant.

Matt Cornelius, the director of operations for Darwin’s Brewing Co., said the restaurant wasn’t going anywhere, and the Bradenton brewery didn’t signal any dissatisfaction with the city of Sarasota. In fact, the group’s first choice was to open the distribution craft brewery next to Darwin’s on Fourth.

However, the group faced an obstacle in the form of the city’s zoning- and buildingcode regulations. Darwin’s is allowed to brew beer to serve at the restaurant, but a larger-scale brewery has to abide by different guidelines. According to the zoning code, breweries are only allowed to operate in areas zoned for manufacturing; the Rosemary District is zoned Downtown Edge for mixed-use properties.

Cornelius said city staff was accommodating in listening to the group’s plans for a brewery, but that the location ultimately didn’t provide the freedom Darwin’s sought.

“I think (staff) had a good understanding of what we were trying to do, and they just said it was something that the code didn’t permit,” Cornelius said. “That was that.”

As a result, Darwin’s expanded its search for a new brewery location up and down the Gulf Coast. It found a taker in Bradenton. Cornelius said the city not only offered incentives for the group to open the brewery — he declined to give specifics — but that David Gustafson, the executive director of the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority, actively recruited Darwin’s when he heard the restaurant was seeking to tap a new location.

Although Cornelius repeated that Sarasota staff was a pleasure to work with, he said the city could benefit from re-examining its zoning policy to adapt to changing economic climates, particularly when it comes to microbreweries.

“A truth that’s coming into more and more focus is that there’s somewhat of a burgeoning craft-beer industry in the greater Tampa area,” Cornelius said. “I think the cities that are able to craft their local economic policies in a way to provide incentives, those are the ones that are going to see the direct benefit from that sort of growth.”

City Senior Planner Courtney Mendez said, as it stands, making an adjustment to the code to allow for breweries in commercial areas would be difficult. Even if a place such as the Rosemary District asked the city to OK breweries in the area — a move Blue Rooster owner Devin Rutkowski suggested in an interview with the Sarasota Observer — a change to the code would affect all similarly zoned areas surrounding downtown.

Recent efforts to open two new craft breweries in the city of Sarasota have come with challenges due to the city’s zoning and building regulations.

David Conway

JDub’s Brewing Co. owner Jeremy Joerger, who is opening the first distribution brewery in the city of Sarasota, had to work with the city to rewrite certain regulations before getting approval for his business. Joerger said he was satisfied with the process overall.

A separate challenge arose earlier this year with JDub’s Brewing Co., which became the first distribution brewery to receive approval to operate in the city. It is located on Mango Avenue, near Ed Smith Stadium. According to Mendez, the city and JDub’s had to thoroughly examine the plans for a proposed taproom, in which the brewery could serve its beer to visitors.

JDub’s owner Jeremy Joerger believed the taproom would be an accessory use to the brewery, meaning it didn’t have to go through the same approval process a bar would.

The city disagreed with calling the taproom an accesssory use — customers could come to the brewery just to have a beer. They agreed with Joerger that it wasn’t the same as a bar, either, and eventually created

a new usage classification specifically for the the taproom.

Joerger said city staff was helpful in opening the brewery. Mendez and Joerger said they hope the experience with JDub’s will make the process easier for new breweries.

“As long as they’re comfortable with the parameters we have for our taproom, other production brewing companies should be able to open without having to deal with the same hurdles that we had to go through,” Joerger said.

“We think we did some good in the city for future breweries.”

JDub’s hopes to begin brewing in January. With construction underway, Joerger said he had no issues with the way the city zones breweries.

“This is a common issue that all breweries operating in Florida have to deal with,” Joerger said. “To be zoned properly, you’re usually in a warehouse somewhere that’s not close to downtown.”

The city is working on a new form-based zoning code that could lessen the emphasis on usage-based regulations and allow for different guidelines in different areas.

Still, Urban Design Studio Director Karin Murphy said approved usages will be determined by the will of a given neighborhood.

As a result, it’s not guaranteed breweries will have more freedoms under a new code.

“Even though as urbanists, sometimes we’ll say the form is more important than the use, that’s not always the case with the community,” Murphy said.

In the shorter term, Mendez acknowledged the increasing prominence of craft breweries and said the city would consider modifying the code as necessary if trends emerge that demand adjustments.

“It’s just the way it works in the zoning code,” Mendez said. “Needs change, the characters of uses change, and we have to be responsive and look at the code and make changes as they’re appropriate.”

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NEWSBRIEFS + Commission delays decision on pet ordinance The public comment section of the Dec. 10 Sarasota County Commission meeting lasted for longer than two hours after at least 25 attendees spoke on whether the commission should hold a public hearing on an ordinance banning the sale of commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits at local pet stores.

Commissioners persuaded both sides of the argument to allow only three additional speakers from each side of the issue to proceed to the rest of the agenda.

Commissioners voted to delay the decision so County Attorney Stephen DeMarsh could further review the proposed ordinance and offer an opinion.

“Clearly there are some legal concerns,” DeMarsh said.

Proponents claimed the measure would prevent the sale of animals that come from unsanitary and cruel conditions of out-ofstate “puppy mills.” Opponents, mostly owners and employees of local pet shops, said the ordinance unfairly demonizes their industry and restricts the freedom of choice for Sarasota County residents.

“I’m just concerned that we’re treading water here in free enterprise,” said Commissioner Joe Barbetta.

“Nobody in this room supports puppy mills,” said Seascape Aquarium and Pet Center owner Rick Marot. “But, you’re going about this all the wrong way.”

+ Comissioners critique TCO issued for Bob’s Boathouse A Nov. 27 extension for a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) for Bob’s Boathouse should not have been issued, said Sarasota County Planning and Development Services Director Tom Polk.

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The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce welcomed Kevin Cooper as vice president for public policy and Sarasota Tomorrow initiatives during a reception Thursday, Dec. 5.

Cooper spent more than two years as executive director of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, a position in which he tackled the Siesta Key Crystal Classic and the Fourth of Cooper July fireworks, among other major island initiatives.

“We needed a key executive with a record of focused work, strong results, and a high level of commitment,” said Chamber President Steve Queior in a news release. Cooper will work with state and local government officials and push community and economic development projects ahead as part of the position.

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Polk told commissioners during a Dec. 11 meeting that mistakes within the building department allowed the restaurant to continue running despite having outstanding water and sewer capacity fees. The owner also has yet to comply with shoreline planting requirements or final site and development certification.

“I’m not happy seeing ‘not completed’ on what I consider to be key items,” said Commissioner Joe Barbetta.

Sarasota County Code Enforcement has cited Bob’s Boathouse with two notices of violations since it opened in the fall.

Commissioner Christine Robinson moved to assign staff to review the TCO process, which was approved unanimously.

Polk said staff would meet Friday to begin analyzing the process.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

downtown vision

5A

by David Conway | News Editor

New DID board member brings merchant’s perspective Ron Soto, owner of Soto’s Optical and president of the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association, is the newest member of the Downtown Improvement District Board.

CURRENT DID BOARD MEMBERS Chairman: Ernie Ritz Vice Chairman: Mark Kauffman Tom Mannausa Eileen Hampshire Ron Soto

David Conway

Soto’s Optical owner Ron Soto said he hopes to focus on improving the cleanliness and safety of downtown as a member of the DID board.

focusing on the types of improvements he would like to see going forward. He pointed to the Dec. 4 installation of lights on oak trees along Main Street — a Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association project — as a worthwhile effort.

He also encouraged increased sidewalk maintenance on the 1400 and 1500 blocks of Main Street, saying it was a smaller-scale effort the DID could undertake even

with much of its budget already allocated to other projects.

DID board member Mark Kauffman, a developer who owns several properties downtown, said Soto was a welcome addition to the board.

Although Kauffman said he felt the DID already had the ears of the merchants, he said Soto’s ability to provide that perspective was appreciated.

“I think he’ll have an excellent impact,” Kauffman said.

“He’s a downtown activist, he’s a nice guy and he brings a nice angle to the table as a business owner.”

Soto said he expected to mesh well with the rest of the DID board, and that with another merchant on board, the dynamics of the group moved closer to an optimal combination.

“I think we can more forward, and I think it’s a really good mix right now,” Soto said.

Not content with its ability to undertake significant improvement projects, the Downtown Improvement District board is looking to potentially expand its borders next year.

Property owners within the district are required to pay an additional 2 mill property tax to fund the DID. With that in mind, the board is brainstorming potential improvement plans that could help persuade new areas to acquiesce to the expansion.

At a meeting Tuesday, one of the mostdiscussed targets for expansion was a bayfront area that includes the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota and Hyatt Regency hotels. DID operations manager John Moran said a proposed tram that would circulate between the bayfront hotels and downtown was gathering support from those hotels, but no funding had been found.

If the DID offered its support for such a project, Moran said, it could be a way to ingratiate itself with the property owners in that area.

“Could that be a project, if presented to those who would otherwise be in opposition, that would neutralize them or create support for joining the DID?” Moran said.

Beyond laying the groundwork for expansion plans, the DID undertook other future financial management strategies. The board voted to keep $68,000 in reserve for 2015, more than half of its available funds for fiscal year 2014. DID member Mark Kauffman said it was important to roll money over to future years so that a more significant fund can be developed.

“I would rather squirrel away money so that we can do a big-impact project — if not this year, then next year or the following year — rather than to dissipate what funds we have,” Kauffman said.

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In Soto’s eyes, that process should begin with beautifying and maintaining the area and improving security downtown.

“To me, bricks and mortar makes a great downtown, but downtown needs to be clean and safe for people to feel comfortable shopping,” Soto said. “That’s my priority, making downtown clean and safe.”

Soto said he didn’t want to criticize any previous actions of the board; instead, he’s

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The Downtown Improvement District board welcomed a new member at its Nov. 26 meeting, as the City Commission tapped Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association President Ron Soto to join the group.

Soto, a lifetime Sarasota resident, has owned Soto’s Optical on Main Street for 28 years after joining the family optometry business in 1975.

He said his reason for applying to join the DID board was simple: He wanted to help improve downtown.

“I own property in the downtown area,” Soto said. “I’ve got a business in the downtown area, so I’ve got a vested interest in seeing downtown thrive and succeed better.”

Before Soto replaced William Pettey on the DID board, which is made up of downtown property owners, Art To Walk On owner Eileen Hampshire was the group’s only merchant. With a board largely made up of members who were property owners above all else, Soto said the DID’s focus was primarily on hardscape improvements.

“My feeling is they were worried more about improving the property values downtown,” Soto said. “I’m more worried about building business downtown.”

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

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YourObserver.com

corps concerns

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

by David Conway | Staff Writer

Lido, Siesta residents want their voices heard The Army Corps of Engineers met with Lido Key and Siesta Key residents last week in separate meetings about the Lido Key beach renourishment project.

At a meeting Friday, Lido Key residents wondered what they had to do to get the spotlight shone on them.

During an informational session with the Army Corps of Engineers, Lido Key residents stressed the importance of a proposed Lido Beach renourishment project.

Beyond that, they began to consider how to better communicate their feelings on the project, which would be a joint effort between the Army Corps and the city of Sarasota, to the general public and local officials.

Residents were concerned about detractors of the project on Siesta Key drowning out supporters of the project on Lido. The meeting came the morning after a contentious Siesta Key Association meeting with the Army Corps, during which Siesta residents aired a series of concerns about the potential impact of the project.

The proposed project would renourish the Lido shoreline, which the state has evaluated as critically eroded, with sand taken from Big Pass, which has not been dredged before. Army Corps representatives said models showed negligible effects on Siesta Key as a result of the proposed dredging, but several Siesta residents said they believed the project is far riskier than engineers say.

John Lambert, a member of the Lido Key Residents Association board, said a compelling argument in support of the project could be made about the economic impact of Lido Beach. If the beach continued to erode, Lambert said, the tourism revenue derived from the area would quickly dissipate.

“Tourist development shows Lido Key as

File photo

a beach to come to,” Lambert said. “What are people going to come to, rocks? Ben Franklin Drive?”

Another resident suggested hiring a public-relations specialist to provide outreach on Lido Key’s behalf. Lido Key Residents Association President Carl Shoffstall said the association’s board would consider the idea. At the very least, he said, the group had to ramp up its communication efforts.

Board members have met with individual Sarasota County commissioners to communicate their support for the proposed beach renourishment. Lambert said attendees at Friday’s meeting should email the commission with messages backing the project, as well.

The proposed project is still in its planning stages, and it will be more than a year at the earliest before federal funding for the renourishment efforts can be secured, according to Army Corps Project Manager Milan Mora. Still, Lido residents said they have to coordinate their outreach strategy now to get the project off the ground.

“We’re going to have to get a game plan going here,” Shoffstall said.

Siesta Key residents sound off

Before the Dec. 5 Siesta Key Association meeting with the Army Corps, President Catherine Luckner said she hoped the meeting would be an opportunity for residents to get involved in the conversation surrounding a proposed project that would dredge Big Pass.

At the meeting, residents did get involved with the conversation — often talking over representatives from the Army Corps and the city of Sarasota to voice their concerns about the proposal.

The meeting crystalized the unease many Siesta Key residents have with the proposed project.

Several residents said they were upset the project had progressed to the point it has without any public hearing or peer review of the Army Corps’ information.

Mora stressed that the proposal had not been finalized, and once it was submitted, the process of getting the state to approve it would take about a year.

“It’s not a plan that’s set in stone,” Mora said. “It could definitely change. It’s an early start to the process.”

Mora said the full projected impact of the project on Siesta Key wouldn’t be known until February, when a feasibility study will be finished. Still, he said a study from 2004 forecasted a minimal impact for the project, and the proposal was in keeping with a county-approved inlet management plan.

Many residents were not satisfied with that response. One of the most outspoken audience members at the meeting was Cynthia Scheider, a resident who lives off Big Pass. She was worried about the effect the project would have on her own home, but she said her greater concern was about any potential impact on Siesta Beach.

Despite what the Army Corps was saying, she believed its engineers didn’t truly understand the dynamics of the area.

“It looks great on a computer, but they don’t know what damage they’re going to do,” Scheider said. “They shouldn’t do it.”

Mora said he felt the meeting went pretty well, and he said the Army Corps would continue to be in communication with Sarasota citizens. He said he understood the concerns of Siesta Key residents, but that dredging Big Pass was the most feasible option for renourishing Lido Key. “It’s a hard process,” Mora said. “If there were sand offshore that I could use, then I would not be here.”

Luckner said the meeting was more contentious than it ideally could have been.

Now that people have been engaged, she said, she hopes future conversations surrounding the project will be more productive in addressing the concerns of Siesta Key residents.

“When people are afraid, they get mad, that’s pretty natural,” Luckner said. “What I’m hoping now is that energy will now be directed into some of the efforts that it takes to get to where we want to go.”

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

Observer opinion | our view SARASOTA

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

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

Editor & CEO / Matt Walsh mwalsh@yourobserver.com Publisher / Lisa Walsh lwalsh@yourobserver.com Chief Digital Officer / Emily Walsh ewalsh@yourobserver.com Executive Editor / Kat Hughes khughes@yourobserver.com Deputy Executive Editor / Jessica Luck jluck@yourobserver.com Managing Editor / Randi Donahue rdonahue@yourobserver.com News Editors / David Conway, dconway@yourobserver.com Nolan Peterson, npeterson@yourobserver.com Community Editor / Harriet Sokmensuer harriets@yourobserver.com Managing Editor/Diversions-Season / Stephanie Hannum, stephanie@yourobserver.com Arts & Entertainment Editor / Mallory Gnaegy mgnaegy@yourobserver.com Black Tie Assistant Editor / Heather Merriman hmerriman@yourobserver.com Managing Editor/Design / Nancy Schwartz nschwartz@yourobserver.com Design Editor / Nicole Thompson nthompson@yourobserver.com Director of Advertising / Jill Raleigh jraleigh@yourobserver.com East County Advertising Manager / Lori Ruth lruth@yourobserver.com Sales Manager / Penny DiGregorio pdigregorio@yourobserver.com Sales Manager / Rosemary Felton rfelton@yourobserver.com Senior Advertising Executive / Laura Ritter lritter@yourobserver.com Advertising Executives / Robyn Didelot, rdidelot@yourobserver.com Patti Duff, pduff@yourobserver.com Laura Fernandez, lfernandez@yourobserver.com Beth Holman, bholman@yourobserver.com Beth Jacobson, bjacobson@yourobserver.com Robert Lewis, blewis@yourobserver.com Suzanne Munroe, smunroe@yourobserver.com Brand Marketing Manager / Leslie Gnaegy lgnaegy@yourobserver.com Sales Coordinator/Account Managers / Lori Downey, ldowney@yourobserver.com Susan Leedom, sleedom@yourobserver.com Rachel Livingston, rlivingston@yourobserver.com Classified Advertising Sales Executives/ Maureen Hird, mhird@yourobserver.com Deedie Parker, dparker@yourobserver.com Director of Production and Information Technology / Kathy Payne, kpayne@yourobserver.com Assistant Production Manager / Brooke Schultheis, bschultheis@yourobserver.com Advertising Graphic Designers / Monica DiMattei, mdimattei@yourobserver.com Marjorie Holloway, mholloway@yourobserver.com Jim Knake, jknake@yourobserver.com Chris Stolz, cstolz@yourobserver.com Luis Trujillo, ltrujillo@yourobserver.com Director of Digital Sales / Kathleen O’Hara kohara@yourobserver.com Interactive Art Director / Caleb Stanton cstanton@yourobserver.com Digital Marketing Consultant / Brandon Steinert bsteinert@digitalobservermedia.com Digital Fulfillment Specialist / Jordon Stone jstone@digitalobservermedia.com Digital Content Producer / Alex Mahadevan alexm@yourobserver.com Chief Financial Officer / Laura Keisacker lkeisacker@yourobserver.com Controller / Lisa Schwenk lschwenk@yourobserver.com Office Coordinator / Donna Condon dcondon@yourobserver.com

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Puppy mills: Caveat emptor The truth is — or, we’ll call it our truth — Sarasota County commissioners were afraid to vote “no” on the puppy-mill ordinance Tuesday. You can imagine they were imagining the grief and tormenting that would befall them if they voted against the animal-lovers.

So they punted.

Really? Have the county attorney provide a legal analysis of a proposed ordinance in 60 days?

What a wimpy stall tactic.

There is no reason to debate this. The County Commission should not ever, or even consider, or even think about adopting an ordinance prohibiting pet-store owners from selling puppies or kittens or rabbits or gerbils purchased from socalled puppy-kitten-rabbitgerbil mills.

The issue is simple: It’s one of buyer beware. Let the free market regulate this matter.

It will, and it does.

Consider a larger context: Imagine the outrage and outpouring of women’s rights’ activists if the County Commission were to vote on whether to ban abortions at Planned Parenthood.

Imagine the outrage if the County Commission were to vote on an ordinance banning whiskey, wine and beer at restaurants and bars on the basis that alcohol is bad for you.

Imagine the outrage if the County Commission were to vote on limiting the speed of boats in Sarasota Bay to 15 mph on the theory that going faster than that can be fatal in a boat wreck.

Imagine the outrage if the County Commission were to vote on the Michael Bloomberg ordinance banning Big Gulps.

Or an ordinance limiting the amount of salt allowed on your food. Or the sale of French fries cooked in transfats.

And on and on.

There is no end to the do-gooders who want to legislate your way of life according to their mores.

And what do these special interests always do to get their way? They go to their governments and pressure them to intervene and pervert the law on their behalf.

French writer-economist Frederic Bastiat, in his classic book, “The Law,” wrote: “It is not true that the function of law is to regulate our consciences, our ideas, our wills, our education, our opinions, our work, our trade, our talents or our pleasures.

“The function of law is to protect the free exercise of these rights, and to prevent any person from interfering with the free exercise of these same rights by any other person.”

But we have all learned that is not how our society works. Special interests use “the law” — legislation — in direct opposition to its purpose. As Bastiat put it: “The law has been used to destroy its own objective. It has been applied to annihilat-

ing the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect.

“The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. … ” Go ahead, make the law. Ban pet stores from buying from “mills.”

Then what?

Who will police this? And who will pay for the policing — taxpayers? Sarasota in Defense of Animals?

Fact is, no matter what “law” the County Commission adopts, it will never outlaw the bad actors. It’s like requiring childsafety seats in automobiles for all children under the age 5. Yes, they reduce the number of child fatalities in auto accidents, but they don’t eliminate them. You can’t police every instance of stupidity.

So it’s mystifying why the proponents of this puppy-mill ban on pet stores apparently refuse to accept there is no better regulator of their distaste for puppy mills than Adam Smith’s free hand of the market.

It always works. Eventually, Bernie Madoff got caught. The marketplace, not regulators, caught him. Arthur Nadel got caught. The marketplace, not regulators, caught him.

When lululemon sold crummy women’s workout wear, the market punished the company. It wasn’t the law.

When Enron collapsed, it was because potential suitors discovered financial problems and misrepresentations. The marketplace, not regulators, stopped it.

The bad actors always, eventually, get punished — mostly by the market.

Take pet store owners. A good one who believes passionately that he can fill a need in the marketplace invests capital — real money — to buy or lease property and equipment and buy pets to sell to consumers. He is incentivized to please his customers: He wants to make a living and a profit, and he wants a good reputation that will spread to other potential customers.

If he has a brain, he will know that if he purchases substandard puppies from unscrupulous, substandard kennels, the effect on his business won’t be good. Duh. How long will an apple seller last selling bruised apples?

And then there is the store owner who tries to operate on the cheap and con his

THE CASTAWAY by Jorge Blanco

customers. He buys from a shoddy mill and sells the puppies. His customers learn the truth — and, unfortunately, are burdened with a problem. But the word spreads. The con man disappears, and his supplier, the puppy mill, loses a buyer. This same experience occurs in other markets. Eventually, the mill owner either folds, attracts the policing arm of the law or (unlikely) is incentivized to clean up his operation.

The market takes time. But it works. And it works better than the law.

If Sarasota in Defense of Animals wants to put an end to unscrupulous puppy mills, rather than use the law, expend the effort to educate. Educate the pet-store owners and educate the consumers.

There was a time in this country when Americans did not turn to their government to manage every aspects of our lives. There was a time when consumers lived by the best law of all, the law of the market: Caveat emptor … Buyer beware.

Educate buyers to beware. We don’t need a puppy-mill ordinance. There is no compelling argument for the County Commission to intervene.

+ It’s only (others’) money

The federal government’s trillion-dollar budgets and long-term debt have so many zeroes that Americans seem to have lost perspective on the magnitude of numbers.

Let’s try this on you: Have you ever asked anyone for $1 million?

Even for a CEO who runs a company that generates $1 billion in annual sales, handing over $1 million isn’t done lightly or haphazardly.

Now consider these numbers: • $11,100,000,000 That’s how much U.S. taxpayers lost in the General Motors bailout — $11.1 billion.

• $17,400,000,000 That’s how much GM bondholders lost when the federal government took control of GM. Poof! Gone.

And yet when you read or heard the news reports that the federal government finally sold its remaining ownership of GM, most of the reports carried a tone that this was a successful government accomplishment — losing only $11.1 billion of other people’s money.

The reports say the federal government bailout saved the company and the American auto industry.

That is ridiculous conjecture. That claim presumes that GM would have folded and shut down altogether had not Bush and Obama stepped in with taxpayer money.

Hailing the bailout ignores what should have occurred: GM should have gone through legal bankruptcy proceedings the way most other mismanaged companies do. And in that orderly process, the marketplace would have determined what should be saved and jettisoned. Instead, government interveners confiscated $50 billion from taxpayers and ultimately lost $11.1 billion of that money. That’s a victory?

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

AUDITORIUM / FROM 1A felt was an unreasonable fee structure to use the auditorium: The building costs at least $160 per hour to rent, with a two-hour minimum per event.

People who attended the Adult Singles Club of Sarasota and Manatee Counties, which held dance nights in the auditorium until October, praised the building. Despite the city’s claims that the infrastructure and air conditioning must be overhauled, several speakers said they hadn’t had a problem with the building, and that the dance floor and stage were well-suited for their events.

Murray Duffin is one of the dancers who spoke at Monday’s meeting. He said the depiction of the auditorium as run-down confused him.

“I think it must all be among a few people who work for the city, because I’ve never heard a negative characterization of the building from anybody,” he said.

He said if the city wanted to make more money, it should charge less and hold more events, rather than charging the current rates and holding fewer events. He thought the auditorium wasn’t succeeding only because the city hadn’t made that a priority.

“What gets done is what gets measured,” Duffin said. “Give somebody the job to make this place successful.”

Pete Theisen is the president of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association, a group that sent a letter to the city in August supporting the preservation of the building. He said he and many other people in the community view the auditorium as a public possession, and are reluctant to lose it.

Members of the Alta Vista Neighborhood Association, which once held meetings in the auditorium for free, said resident groups only stopped using the space because the city started charging to rent the building.

Rather than tear it down and build a new auditorium in the future, he said, the city

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

should just focus on preserving the existing usable building.

“We need to get over the idea that everything we do has to be done in the most expensive way possible,” Theisen said.

The auditorium also received support from those interested in preserving a building that dates back to 1962. Pandora Seibert, an interior decorator, said as older buildings are torn down with greater frequency, it’s important to fight to maintain the ones that are still in place.

“The era of the building, the architecture is why I came out,” Seibert said. “It’s really necessary to preserve the building.”

City Commissioner Susan Chapman, who attended Monday’s meeting, said she was surprised by the condition of the auditorium after hearing reports from city staff about the need for major improvements to maintain the building.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s in as bad shape as it’s been made out to be,” Chapman said.

Despite some concerns from some attendees, Public Works General Manager Todd Kucharski said no decision has been made about the future of the auditorium because the city wanted to hear more from its residents. After the city is satisfied with the response it’s received, a consulting firm will use that information to recalibrate the park’s overall master plan.

“Once we get the feedback, we’ll incorporate that within the master plan,” Kucharski said. ‘Then, our consultants will review what makes the most sense for the community going forward.”

The city will continue to gather input from residents until January, and the consulting firm David Johnston and Associates will present its recommendations to the community in February or March, Kucharski said. Until then, the auditorium’s fate is unclear.

“If the best option is to keep it and renovate it, that’s what we’ll do with it,” Kucharski said. “Whatever the commission and the community wants, that’s the way it’ll be.”

+ On Batwoman, Robin

As for the batmobiling (filing lawsuits on behalf of clients), that’s the business every licensed attorney engages in. Citizens for Sunshine has a real board, and those individuals are very much in favor of transparency by elected and appointed officials around Florida, not just here in Sarasota.

I don’t know of any law firm that’s in business to do anything but represent clients and make a profit. The interests of Andrea’s clients are to enforce transparency laws in this state. I don’t know of any attorney or law firm in town who does more pro bono work than Andrea. Additionally, the media never hears about cases that are resolved without filing lawsuits. There have been plenty of those cases.

It would have been more productive if someone from your editorial board had reached out to ask us questions about these matters before publishing an editorial.

Michael Barfield Sarasota

Dear Editor: I would like to respond to a recent editorial in which Andrea Mogensen and I are portrayed as Batwoman and Robin. I also wanted to say something about the Downtown Roundtable that Kerry Kirschner is a proponent of. I’ll start with the roundtable.

Prior to reading an email from Mr. Kirschner to you that appeared on the city’s website, Andrea or I had never heard anything about the roundtable. We never made any public records request or claim relating to the roundtable. We’ve never claimed or taken any position that anything about the roundtable violated the Sunshine Law in any fashion because we knew nothing about it. I’ve never met Mr. Kirschner and do not know why he decided to pull me into the situation about the roundtable.

After the editorial, I did see an opinion letter from the city attorney in response to Sunshine Law concerns raised about the roundtable. It is noteworthy that the city attorney’s opinion explicitly pointed out that his advice about the roundtable was not based on any expansive views of the Sunshine Law or the recent lawsuit against two city commissioners. Rather, the opinion states that this has long been the law in Florida.

Thinking of a Reverse Mortgage?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Please email letters to Managing Editor Randi Donahue, rdonahue@yourobserver.com. Letters pertaining to local matters receive precedence. Letters may be edited for grammar and space.

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YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

THE GOOD NEWS // How donors, volunteers and beneficiaries connect

Sponsored Content

by Nick Friedman | Staff Writer

“Here’s what I know: People are good; people want a better life.

A lot of times, they just need the opportunity. They need folks to believe in them. It’s amazing what people can accomplish. I love being involved in that life — it’s a wonderful thing for me.” — PHILIP TAVILL

PHILIP TAVILL

President // Children First

With all of Sarasota’s natural beauty and its wealth of cultural, social and intellectual assets, people often forget the struggles that many local families face every day. And these challenges are only magnified when the family has children to care for and raise.

Local nonprofit organization Children First was founded in 1961 with this at the core of its mission. Its founders realized that comprehensive family care was the key to ensuring the next generation of children has an opportunity for success.

“It’s important to me for a very simple reason,” says Children First CEO and President Philip Tavill. “I believe everybody, regardless of circumstance, should have an opportunity

to be successful in life. If you invest when they’re still in the womb, and you make sure their brains and everything else are developing properly, they’ve got an opportunity for success. From conception to age 5, you get one shot, and it’s thrilling to be part of giving that child every opportunity.”

Today, the organization serves approximately 500 children whose families qualify as living in poverty.

Tavill says they begin working with mothers as early as during pregnancy, after which the children enter an early-childhood development program designed to help prepare them for kindergarten.

Care includes nutrition (the children eat breakfast, lunch and a snack every day at Children First) physical and mental health screenings to ensure healthy development, as well as social and emotional monitoring.

One key element of the organization is its comprehensive nature. The programs don’t begin and end with the children; family advocates also work with the parents to help improve their financial situations.

“If you can provide help for the child, but not for the family, that’s not going to go very far for that child,” says Tavill.

Unfortunately, due to the recent

economic recession, Tavill says many parents who were once able to provide for their children have lost their source of income, and Children First’s waiting list has grown to 300 children.

The organization hopes to raise funds to provide an appropriate space for the waitlisted children as well as money to scholarship them, which costs between $9,000 and $10,000 per year, per student, for educational programs, screenings, family counseling and food.

“It’s easy to say that’s an awful lot of money,” says Tavill. “But, when you consider 238 service days each year, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., our per-hour cost for nutrition, education, health, mental and family services is really efficient, and we’re effective at what we do. In our ideal world, we would serve every child in Sarasota County in need.”

// BY THE NUMBERS

300 500

NUMBER OF CHILDREN ON THE WAITING LIST APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF CHILDREN CURRENTLY SERVED

YOUROBSERVER.COM/THEGOODNEWS // Visit our website to watch a video about Children First and its mission to help impoverished families.

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SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

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The Republican Women’s Club of Sarasota held its annual holiday luncheon Friday, Dec. 6, at Michael’s On East. Members brought gifts for the Children’s Guardian Fund. Donations included toys and necessities such as pajamas and slippers for foster children in the state.

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ELLA MARJORIE TAYLOR

Nikki Taylor and her husband, Trevor, welcomed the newest addition to their family, Ella Marjorie Taylor, at 9:47 a.m.

Nov. 6, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

Ella weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and was 19 inches long. Proud siblings are Madison and Austin Taylor.

Thrilled grandmother is Marjorie Broughton, of Sarasota. Proud aunt and uncle are Chris and Trelawny Ferraro, and proud cousins are Xander and Xaiden Ferraro, of Bradenton.

KAREN AND DINO OLIVA SIESTA KEY RESIDENTS, 40 YEARS

From the perspective of their children, Siesta Key residents Dino and Karen Oliva operate like a captain and co-pilot. It’s an appropriate description considering Dino is a retired Southwest Airlines pilot and Karen is a retired flight attendant.

Dino first saw Karen at a gettogether for Southwest pilots and flight attendants. He says he knew right away that he wanted to marry her. And marry her, he did: The Olivas celebrated their 40-year wedding anniversary Dec. 6, at Disney World.

The Olivas stayed at the Yacht Club in Lake Buena Vista and traveled to the Disney theme parks by boat or bus. To commemorate all of their travels together throughout the years, the Olivas strolled around Epcot and visited the different countries. On their anniversary, they enjoyed an elegant dinner at French restaurant Monsieur Paul’s. On one dessert plate, spelled out in raspberry sauce, were the words, “Happy 40th Anniversary.”

Throughout the years, the Olivas have learned to respect each other’s differences. Family members describe Karen as full of adventure, positive energy and enthusiasm and Dino as thoughtful, calm and calculated.

And if you ask Dino what creates a strong marriage, he’ll say: “It’s knowing just what to say — and that’s, ‘Yes, Dear!’”

Dino and Karen have five children and five grandchildren with one on the way. Their family wishes them the happiest of anniversaries.

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Thomas Lai Cramer celebrated his rite of passage to adulthood with a bar mitzvah celebration Saturday, Nov. 9.

Thomas’ mother, Sharon, and sister, Violette Levy, hosted the event, which kicked off with services held Saturday morning at Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road. The services were followed by a buffet luncheon at the temple.

Later that evening, about 80 guests filled The Field Club dinning room for dinner, dancing and dessert.

According to Sharon Cramer, it was not an ordinary bar mitzvah celebration because there was no theme and the celebration was low-key. Also, in lieu of gifts, donations were made in honor of Thomas’ bother, Billy Levy, to the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation.

Thomas is in seventh grade and attends the Goldie Feldman Academy at Temple Beth Sholom.

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SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013 Photo by Randi Donahue

James Wood and Kate Thomas conduct an interview for a family’s book and documentary.

TRUE TALES

by Randi Donahue Managing Editor

James Wood and Kate Thomas help Sarasota families preserve their genealogy through books and documentaries.

Four-year-old Parker Menough and his 6-year-old sister, Savannah, don’t know that a relative on their mother’s side volunteered to fight in the American Revolution four times. Or that their heritage on their father’s side is traceable back to the 1500s. But, their parents, Aaron and Amanda, are about to change that.

Enter James Wood and his wife, Kate Thomas. After the couple moved in October 2012 to Palmer Ranch from London, with their daughter, Penelope, they established The Tale of You — a U.S. version of a business with which they’d already found success overseas. Now, people contact Wood and Thomas to have their family histories brought to life. Through a set of interviews and researched genealogy, the couple handcrafts clients’ biographies in both print and multimedia formats.

According to Wood, Thomas turns to the obituaries first in the newspaper. Thomas’ love of everyday people’s stories sparked the business idea. The couple wanted a way for people to tell their own tale and to feel the benefit of it while they were still alive.

“Life rattles along at such a fast pace, but when we see people reflect and feel their existence, it

always surprises us how emotional they can get,” says Wood. Thomas says most clients aren’t used to having people listen to their story.

“I love it when you ask a question that they hadn’t thought of before and that allows them to appreciate their own life,” she says.

Wood, whose background is in technology, films and edits the interviews while Thomas, who has a master’s in creative writing, conducts the interviews and then transcribes them. She combines the interview with her researched genealogy to turn the words into stories. The finished products include a documentary-style video and a hand-bound book, both of which can be passed down from generation to generation.

The Tale of You’s multimedia component offers a way for children in today’s fast-paced and technology-driven society to learn about their origins. Wood sees it as a way to bridge the generation gap.

“There is so much value in having someone’s story documented for their own cathartic benefit, but also for lessons that can be learned and to pass down to future generations,” says Wood. As The Tale of You’s first Sarasota clients, the Menoughs chose to do a video and

a book.

“I wanted (them to see) my parents on video and hear first-hand stories of how their grandparents told those stories,” says Amanda Menough.

For Thomas, piecing together the genealogy is a lot like being a detective. To find clients’ true lines of lineage, she goes through source documents, such as censuses, that date back to the early 1800s.

Through her research, the thing that’s been most surprising to Thomas is the number of people who have been in America for hundreds of years.

The Tale of You clarifies family stories that have been told for years, many of which have become muddled due to a long game of genealogical telephone.

“I’ve heard my parents tell stories of how my family was related, but it started to become mythology to me,” says Aaron Menough. But, he says working with Wood and Thomas has given him a sense of organization and certainty about where he comes from. “Holding the end result in my hand and seeing 500 years of history makes it come alive and very tangible.”

For more information on The Tale of You, visit taleofyou.com.

ORIGINS

Kate Thomas, who was born in Texas, assumed her family was a more recent addition to the America.

But she discovered through her research that her great uncle was Peter Gideon, a horticulturist and farmer in Minnesota in the 1800s, who after years of trying to grow things in the harsh Minnesota climate eventually prevailed and was attributed with breeding and growing the “wealthy” apple. By the early 20th century the wealthy apple was one of the top-five apples

grown in the U.S. Although Thomas has had success discovering her own story, it was not the case for her husband, James Wood. Records are harder to find in England, where he was born.

“My grandfather was very important to me, and he died when I was young,” says Wood.

“He used to tell me all sorts of wild stories, mostly about how he lost his finger in World War II. There is not a week that goes by when I don’t wish that I knew more about his life in Liverpool and his memories of driving tanks in Africa, being married, having kids … etc.”

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

COPS

LONGBOAT

DEC. 4

LIGHT SHED 5 p.m. — 1500 block of South Drive.

Burglary. A man said the shed at the back of his property was burglarized. The shed door was unlocked, and the suspect took yard and carpentry tools, including chainsaws. The man said a tree-trimming crew had been in the area recently; he thought a member of the crew might have been the burglar because the crew could have seen into the shed.

DEC. 7

PASS-IVE AGGRESSIVE 10 a.m. — 4000 block of South Tamiami Trail. Battery. A man said after he steered

CORNER his car from the middle lane into an outside lane, the driver of a passing vehicle started honking his horn and yelling. The man went back to the middle lane and moved ahead of the passing car, which started following too closely. The man stopped his car and got out, asking the other driver what his problem was. The man said the other driver charged at him and pushed him into his driver’s seat.

The other driver said the man cut him off without using any signals, and after he pulled ahead of him, the man slammed on his brakes as if he were trying to get hit. The other driver admitted to pushing the man back into his car, but said the man was waving his arms and running in a threatening manner when he got out.

SAFETY FIRST 5:30 p.m. — 2500 block of Fruitville Road. Suspicion General. An anonymous complainant was concerned after seeing a child on the back of a motorcycle. The complainant said the woman and her child were driving slowly on Frutville Road, going westbound. An officer found the woman and her son, who were wearing helmets, riding an electric scooter on their way to the downtown Christmas parade. There were no further issues.

DEC. 8

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH 5:50 a.m. — 3600 block of Colorado Street. Criminal Mischief. A woman said

15A

her neighbor witnessed a car crashing into her mailbox. The neighbor said another woman who lived down the block hit the mailbox. The other woman said she would pay for the damage to the mailbox, but denied hitting it.

LOSING ARGUMENT 11:02 p.m. — 900 block of Beach Road. Disturbance. A man and a woman were engaged in a verbal argument about her phone.

The woman said she lost her phone in the sand during the argument and was having difficulty recovering it. The man said he lost his backpack and its contents during the argument. He also had injuries under his eye and on his arm, which he could not say how he got. The man appeared to be extremely intoxicated. A witness said he saw the man trip and fall on the ramp leading to the beach after the argument.

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Fifth annual Gingerbread Festival — starts at 10 a.m. at Westfield Sarasota Square Mall, 8201 S. Tamiami Trail, near Costco. Join the Community Youth Development of Sarasota County in celebrating the holiday season with a visit to its Gingerbread Village.

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The 28th annual Sarasota Christmas Boat Parade of Lights — starts at 6 p.m. and features a competition of decorated power and sailboats in several classes. The best areas for viewing are Marina Jack, Bayfront Park, City Island and Centennial Park. The Bayfront Park spectator viewing area has been expanded to include the entire northern tip of island near the fountain. A cash donation from the proceeds of this event will be made to the Suncoast Charities for Children Inc. The Suncoast Charities for Children is asking parade viewers to bring infant and toddler diapers, baby wipes and infant/toddler educational toys for donation. Donations will be accepted at Marina Jack and the entrance to Bayfront Park.

appetizers, this Winter Wonderland event will serve as a toy drive for Big Brothers Big Sisters. This event is free for members and $10 for future members. Please bring an unwrapped toy.

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Music Together Concert — starts at 5:30 p.m. at Arlington Gymnasium, 2650 Waldemere St. Allisongs for Tots and Music & Me LLC are producing three benefit concerts in St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota to benefit 4-year-old Teeja Johnson. Teeja has been battling neuroblastoma, an aggressive pediatric cancer, for the past year. The 45-minute concert is geared toward families with children 8 and younger, and will feature singer/performer Gerry Dignan performing “Music Together” songs. The concert is free,

SATURDAY, DEC. 14 Sandy Claws Beach Run — race-day registration begins at 7 a.m.; one-mile fun run begins at 8 a.m.; and the 5K starts at 8:20 at Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road, Siesta Key. Preregistration for the 5K race is $25 and $18 for the one-mile fun run. Race-day registration is $30 for the 5K race and $20 for the fun run. Those interested in partici-

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but a suggested donation of $25 per family is requested. RSVP with the number of people in your party to allisongs@hotmail.com.

SATURDAY, DEC. 14 AND SUNDAY, DEC. 15 Holiday Party for the Birds — runs from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday and 2 to 4 p.m.

Sunday, at Save Our Seabirds, 1708 Ken Thompson Parkway. Bring the whole family to this holiday arts-and-crafts event. Spread the holiday cheer by decorating a treat for birds that you can either take home to your feathered friends or donate back to Save Our Seabirds. For more information, call 388-3010.

17A

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18 Holiday Party and Toys for Tots Dinner — starts at 6:30 p.m. at Roast Restaurant and Bar, 1296 First St. Enjoy an appetizer and champagne reception followed by a three-course meal from Chef Andrew Thompson.

Benefits Toys for Tots; please bring an unwrapped new toy. Cost is $55 per person. To reserve your spot, call 3667950.

SUNDAY, DEC. 15 Sisterhood Garden Party — takes place from 10:15 a.m. at Temple Beth Sholom, 1050 S. Tuttle Ave. Learn about the Papa Ed and Mimi Sustainable Organic Kibbutz Garden.

For more information, call 9558121.

TUESDAY, DEC. 17 Riverview Kiltie Band Winter Showcase — starts at 7 p.m. at Riverview High School, 1 Ram Way. Celebrate the return of the holiday season with the Kiltie Band and choir musical showcase. A $5 donation will be collected at the door. For more information, call 923-1484.

FRIDAY, DEC. 20 Ice on the Diamond — takes place at 7 p.m. at Ed Smith Stadium, 2700 12th St. The stadium will be transformed into a winter wonderland for this holiday-themed ice-skating show. Tickets range from $5 to $45. For more information, call 893-6300.

SATURDAY, DEC. 21 Greet the Light — takes place at 7 p.m. at The Ringling Museum Courtyard, 5401 Bay

Shore Road. Celebrate the Winter Solstice, as well as the launch of Ringling’s Art of Our Time season. The evening will include fire dancers, a DJ and drinks. Tickets are $10 for members and $15 for non-members. For more information, call 359-5700.

NOW THROUGH JAN. 5 ‘Icons of Style’ Exhibit — runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road. This exhibit celebrates the roles of fashion makers, the models who wear their designs and the media.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $5 for children and $20 for seniors. For more information, call 359-5700.

Open House SPECIAL EVENT

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There is a place for everyone in the Ranch!

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18A

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

night light

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

Christmas displays

Sarasota

The return of the holidays means the return of the season of light shows throughout Sarasota.

Regatta Drive Address: 8000 Bee Ridge Road Dates: Friday, Dec. 13 through Thursday, Dec. 26 Chuck Pearson and his family started lighting their home in 1999 with about 50,000 lights. But, as the display grew to hundreds of thousands lights and mechanical figurines, the crowds became hard to handle, so Pearson and his wife decided to “pull the plug.” Today, the lights are

Address: 3151 Ashton Road Dates: Friday, Dec. 6 through Wednesday, Jan. 1 Each year Glen McParland and his family add something new to their light display. This year, McParland has introduced a 30-foot inflatable Rudolph that chases a homemade 5-foot carrot.

McParland not only strings the lights around his home using cherry pickers for weeks, he also creates most of the decorations at home.

The Snowflake House started five years ago when McParland hung "Monster Flake," an 8-foot light-up snowflake, 30 feet off the ground.

Soon, McParland had dozens of

on at Pearson’s church, Grace Baptist, where there is ample parking and hot chocolate and cookies.

The display runs on a 30-minute program insync with Christmas music. Pearson says his favorite part is seeing the reaction of the people as they walk through the sea of lights.

This display allows you to walk along a path that runs right through the show.

BY THE NUMBERS: 275 — number of Christmas trees ranging from 5 feet tall to 51 feet tall

20 — number of angels that light up during the songs 6 — number of years the show has been held at Grace Baptist Church 75 — number of people who are currently building the display

Cedarwood Drive

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

Regatta Drive Photo by Randi Donahu e

smaller snowflakes floating over his home with the help of zip lines.

McParland asks families to stay in their cars to keep traffic moving. This year will be the last year

McParland lights his home here because he and his family are moving up north to Illinois, where they will continue their display.

YOUROBSERVER.COM // Do you think your Christmas lights should have made this list?

Email a photo, address and description of your display to nthompson@yourobserver.com to be included on YourObserver.com's interactive map of Sarasota's best light displays.

Address: Farthest west point of Regatta Drive, which is located off Gulf Gate Drive Dates: From now until Jan. 1 At the end of Regatta Drive there is a cul-de-sac where houses are adorned with Christmas lights big and small.

One of the most impressive is the low-hanging tree whose foliage spans across two home’s yards and is lined in lights.

Cedarwood Drive Address: Cedarwood Drive and Kingswood Drive Dates: From now until Jan. 1 Although there is a dancing tropical Santa Claus, the row of candy canes along the curb and multi-colored arches spanning the street give this neighborhood's light display a more traditional feel.

This is perfect for any family who prefers to enjoy the spirit of Christmas in a quiet setting.

Don’t Miss These Special Editions!

December 26 - Christmas Edition

Deadline: Tuesday, December 17, 4 p.m.

January 2 - Year in Review/Year in Pictures

Deadline: Wednesday, December 18, 4 p.m.

January 9 - Top issues for 2014 Deadline: Thursday, January 2, 4pm

To reserve space or for questions, contact your Observer advertising representative 941.366.3468

119647

The Observer Media Group offices will be closed December 24 through January 1.

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

CONVERSATION STARTERS

19A

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

Tiger Bay Club discusses drug-related crime on North Trail

Sarasota Police Officer Dominic Harris, Kiki Ladendorf and Dep. Chief Steve Moyer

Members of the Sarasota Tiger Bay Club met for lunch Thursday, Dec. 5, at Michael’s On East.

Attorney Dan Bailey, with Williams Parker Harrison Dietz & Getzen, acted as moderator for the discussion on drug-related crime on the North Trail. Panel members were Vice Mayor Willie Shaw, Lt. Pat Ledwith from the Sarasota Police Department, Capt. John Walsh from the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office and the Rev. Kelvin Lumpkin.

Carolyn Johnson and Commissioner Suzanne Atwell

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

Michele Grimes and Stephen Walker

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Only dentists who have been trained in a hospital setting should perform dental procedures with sedation, as this training ensures they’re fully prepared to handle any emergencies that may arise. In addition, the dentist’s office should be equipped with a dedicated recovery room and hospital-caliber equipment with full emergency capabilities.

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Sports

YOUTH | HIGH SCHOOL | GOLF | SENIORS | COMMUNITY | TENNIS

5

SOCCER Sarasota teams go head to head with Lakewood Ranch. PAGE 21A

YOUROBSERVER.COM

GIRLS BASKETBALL

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

by Jen Blanco | Sports Editor

HIGH

MOMENTS OF THE WEEK

1

Carter Akins scored 20 points to lead the Sarasota Military Academy boys basketball team to a 73-45 victory over The Out-of-Door Academy Dec. 3.

Jen Blanco

2

Francisco MarcanosSantos scored his first goal of the season to help lead The Out-of-Door Academy boys soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Sarasota Christian Dec. 3.

3

Jacqueline Kulle scored 18 points to lead the Cardinal Mooney girls basketball team to a 34-39 victory over Bayshore Dec. 6.

4

Luis Rivera scored 17 points, as the Sarasota High basketball team posted an 82-29 drubbing of Oasis Dec. 6.

5

Claire Mobley scored a pair of goals to lead the Riverview High girls soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Berkeley Prep Dec. 4.

Sarasota High freshman Madison Pack and Ja’da Bennett both landed starting roles on the varsity squad in their first season with the Lady Sailors.

ON THE RISE

Freshmen Madison Pack and Ja’da Bennett have been instrumental in helping lead the Sarasota High girls basketball team to a 10-1 record in their first season with the team.

SARASOTA — Madison Pack and Ja’da Bennett have given the term “learning curve” an entirely new meaning this season.

Rather than taking the traditional route of stepping back and watching those ahead of them and, in turn, progressing and gaining experience over time, the two have been forced to take a more unconventional route this season.

Having been thrust into starting roles in their first season with the Sarasota High girls basketball team, Pack and Bennett are adjusting to having all eyes on them and the expectation that comes with being an instrumental part of the Lady Sailors program.

“I think it’s scary for us because we are freshmen and we’re going to make mistakes,” says Pack, who plays center and forward for the Lady Sailors.

“We try to do everything right on the court, and sometimes we try too hard.”

Although things don’t always go the way their coach may have scripted it, the two are relishing the experience of being on Sarasota’s varsity squad.

“I think it’s a good experience,” Bennett, a forward, says.

“Not a lot of freshmen are on varsity, so I was kind of surprised.”

In their first season with Sarasota, Pack and Bennett have

Sarasota freshman Ja’da Bennett looks to pass the ball to an open teammate in the first half against Riverview Nov. 26.

Sarasota High freshman Madison Pack drives the ball down the lane in the Lady Sailors 46-40 victory over Riverview Nov. 26.

helped lead the Lady Sailors to a 10-1 (3-0 Class 7A-District 10 record). Most recently the team defeated Palmetto 41-34 in district play. Sarasota returns to action Dec. 12, at Lakewood Ranch.

Through the first 11 games of the season, Pack is averaging 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while Bennett is averaging 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and two steals per game.

“They both have made huge strides since the start of the season,” coach Rob Jutras says.

“Confidence is the key. With each big win and successful outing they are gaining confidence in themselves, their teammates and our way of doing things.

“Their advanced maturity has allowed them to trust in the system and perform well within it,” Jutras says. “They are rarely frustrated on the court and don’t back away from the pressures that come with success and expectation.”

Pack and Bennett both played together in middle school, which has helped them transi-

tion to the varsity level.

“We know what each other’s strengths are, and we try to use that,” Pack says.

Since the first day of practice, Pack and Bennett have been focused on playing team basketball — something that wasn’t always the case when they were younger. Although, being part of a team that won the district title last season and advanced to the regional quarterfinals has helped ease the transition.

“It’s easier because we’re surrounded by all of these other girls who are really good,” Bennett says.

Now with 14 games still remaining on the schedule before the district tournament, Pack and Bennett are hoping to improve their on-court presence and become better overall players — something their coach believes is entirely possible this season, given a little more time and experience.

“As they continue to develop their physical basketball skills, they need to work on their communication and focusing on the mental aspect of the game,” Jutras says. “Because they are competing against older, stronger and more experienced players, they need to understand how communicating better can help the entire team as they individually adjust to the speed of the high school game.”

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

WEEKLYROUNDUP

Sarasota High junior Christian Gaines receives a pass from a teammate in the first half.

21A

LAKEWOOD RANCH HIGH GIRLS (6) VS. RIVERVIEW HIGH (2) LAKEWOOD RANCH BOYS (8) VS. SARASOTA HIGH (0)

Riverview High’s Paige Reichenberger controls a pass from a teammate in the final two minutes of the first half.

Sarasota High midfielder Tommy Kelly receives a throw-in during the first half of the Sailors’ district game at Lakewood Ranch Dec. 6.

Morgan Johnson Photos by Jen Blanco

Sarasota High’s Mauricio Arambula maintains possession for the Sailors in the first half.

INTERCOASTAL MEDICAL GROUP

Riverview High senior co-captain Allison Jones brings the ball down the field late in the first half of the Lady Rams’ 6-2 loss to Lakewood Ranch Dec. 9.

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Riverview High senior Kendal Gollnick defends Lakewood Ranch senior Delaney Riggins’ pass.

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

SIDELINES

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

The Cardinal Mooney High boys soccer team defeated Booker 4-0 Dec. 5. Nick Rigas scored a pair of goals to lead the way for the Cougars. John Rodman had a goal and as assist, and Alex Turner scored a goal. Michael Staikos earned the shutout.

+ Lady Sailors cruise to victory

+ Lady Thunder, Lady Blazers tie

BOYS BASKETBALL

+ Baseball camp to be held at ODA Current and former baseball greats will share their baseball talents and their Christian testimonies during

STANDOUT

the Athletes in Christ Major League Believer baseball camp from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 14, at ODA. The camp is free to all players in grades eight through 12. Those expected to attend the camp include Troy Mattes, Cord Sandberg, Correlle Prime, Carmine Giardina and Robert Hinton, among others.

Athletes in Christ is a Bradentonbased non-profit organization that shares the message of Jesus Christ through baseball camps and other athletic events.

Individuals interested in participating can visit AthletesInChrist.org to download a registration form.

18

Ryan McMahon

PLAYER

Boys Basketball Cardinal Mooney

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The place the Sarasota High girls basketball team is ranked in the state in Class 7A in the 2013-14 FABC/Source Hoops Girls Basketball State Rankings.

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The number of boys basketball teams scheduled to compete in the 2013 Suncoast Holiday Classic Dec. 26 through 30, at Riverview High.

The Baltimore Orioles will present Ice on the Diamond — A Holiday Celebration at 7 p.m. Dec. 20, at Ed Smith Stadium.

The holiday-themed show will feature world-class ice skaters on a specially engineered ice stage at the ballpark. The show’s cast includes Michael Chack, a U.S. national bronze medalist, and Erica Archambault, a U.S. junior national champion. Triple gold medalists Stephanie Kuban and John Hunt are the lead pair.

The event is part of the Orioles’ Arts in the Ballpark initiatives, a series of arts-and-entertainment activities at Ed Smith Stadium.

Tickets for the show can be purchased online at orioles.com/sarasota, by calling 893-6300 or in person at the Ed Smith Stadium box office.

Tickets range from $5 to $45.

16.7

Stop by for a peck of fresh citrus and a bushel of Old Florida!

The number of saves Abby Bannar made in The Out-ofDoor Academy’s 2-1 loss to St. Stephen’s Dec. 2.

+ Orioles to hold ice show

The Sarasota High girls basketball team cruised to a 65-41 victory over North Port Dec. 5.

Camille Giardina scored 19 points to lead the way for the Lady Sailors.

Shelby Miller and DeQuandra Hill each scored 11 points. Ja’da Bennett added 10 points. Madison Pack contributed eight points.

WATCH DEC. 17 Sarasota vs.

Braden River (7 p.m.)

STATS 7

+ Cardinal Mooney Boys Soccer

The Out-of-Door Academy girls soccer team tied Sarasota Christian 2-2 Dec. 3.

ODA’s Abby Lagasse scored the first goal of the game off an assist from Katy Lang. With ODA trailing 2-1 in the second half, Lexi Murphy scored the tying goal unassisted.

GAME TO

JUST THE

KUDOS

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

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SARASOTA OBSERVER

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

GEORGE W. BUSH

PLATON

LARA LOGAN

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

Monday, February 10th, 2014

WES MOORE

LEON PANETTA

Thursday, March 6th, 2014

Thursday, March 20th, 2014

To become an RCLA member and receive advance notice for the 2015 Town Hall series call 941-925-1343 or visit www.rclassociation.org Morning Lectures: 10:30 AM — Evening Lectures: 7:30 PM Thanks to our generous PRESENTING sponsors.

Roberta Leventhal Sudakoff Foundation • SunTrust • Tidewell Hospice • Robert W. Baird & Co. The Observer Group • Oberndorf Family Foundation • Community Foundation of Sarasota County Gulf Coast Community Foundation • BMO Private Bank • Sun Hydraulics Corporation Sabal Trust Company • Williams Parker • Tervis Tumbler • Center for Sight • Sarasota Magazine Thanks to our PATRON sponsors.

Shepley Bulfinch / Sweet Sparkman Architects • Willis A. Smith Construction • Bank of America

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Neighborhood B U S I N E S S | C L A S S I F I E D S | E A S T L I F E | R E A L E S TAT E | G A M E S | T R AV E L | W E AT H E R

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

REAL ESTATE

REINDEER GAMES

WEATHER

Sarasota by the Sea home sells for $550,000.

Achieva Reindeer Trot features festive pups.

Sun shines on Siesta in this week’s photo.

PAGES 6-7B

’tis the season

PAGE 10B

PAGE 4B

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

Kathleen Lessig and Tabby Tellbuescher

Gianna Helm, Jacob Todd and Benjamin Todd dressed as elves.

A Sahib Shriner, of Sahib Shrine Temple, drives a vintage car.

Phil and Betsy Ranelli

Cameron Lovell waves to Santa.

Downtown Sarasota transformed into a winter wonderland for the 18th Annual Holiday Parade Saturday, Dec. 7.

Crowds lined Main Street to view the parade, which included more than 80 entries and 4,000 participants.

High school marching bands led the way for the final float carrying the guest of honor, Santa.

Above: The Observer makes it snow on Main Street.

Left: A member of the Venice High School Color Guard dons a festive outfit.

The Sarasota Firefighters’ Benevolent Fund uses an antique fire truck filled with children for its float.

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

2B

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

SCHOOLBOARD

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

Sarasota Christian gives back

RIVERVIEW SOCCER PLAYERS SUPPORT ALUMNUS

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

Above: Daniel Hildreth tapes down labels at The Salvation Army.

Sarasota Christian School students spent Tuesday, Dec. 3, giving back to their community.

The day, dubbed “Giving Tuesday,” was organized as a part of a capstone class assignment for senior students.

High school students helped 13 nonprofits with everyday chores.

Capstone is a course focused on helping students prepare for college and the future, not only through academic lessons, but also community outr e a c h projects.

S t u Jessica Daulong sweeps the dents were warehouse floor at The Salvation asked to Army’s toy-distribution center. think of a

project in which Sarasota Christian high school students could participate.

At Family Promise, a center that helps newly homeless families, students cleaned the bus used to transport families, washed the windows of the center’s “promise house” and organized a storage space.

Senior Cece Genson said the experience was fun and eyeopening.

Although this is the first Giving Tuesday, Sarasota Christian Principal Pete Conner said the day would become an annual event for future classes.

Other organizations included in the day were the Salvation Army, Save Our Seabirds, Community Haven and the Southeastern Guide Dog Center.

‘Tis the Season to Indulge!!

CHOCOLATE GIFT TOWERS, TRUFFLES & TREATS

Members of the Riverview High School boys soccer team volunteered at the Walk for Epilepsy Saturday, Nov. 16, at Payne Park. Players set up tents, tables, flags and signs before participating in the walk. The event raised about $35,000 for the JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation and epilepsy services of Southwest Florida. The Rams contribution was $700. JoshProvides was founded in honor of Josh Chapnick, a Riverview alumnus and former member of the school’s soccer team.

LAW AND ORDER

RAMS REUNITE

Students of Booker High School’s Law Academy participated in a mock jury selection Tuesday, Dec. 10. The selection is part of the school’s Broadway League Grant Seminar. Ten schools across the country receive the grant each year. Local attorneys Shelli Freeland Eddie and Adam Tebrugge acted as the prosecutor and defense attorney, respectively.

This year, students used the Roxie Hart murder case from the Broadway musical “Chicago” as their example. Jury selection is one of five themes the Law Academy taught. Next, the Law Academy will explore the theme of celebrity lawyers and their impact on high-profile cases.

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Riverview High School is preparing for its alumni game, which takes place Saturday, Dec. 21. All alumni soccer players are welcome to play and reconnect with past and current Riverview Rams. The game runs from 10 a.m. to noon at the school’s soccer practice fields, 1 Ram Way.

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Gift Certificates Available.

Florida’s Fresh Catch Grouper, Snapper, Stone Crabs, Shrimp!

941-918 CLAW(2529) • 8780 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota 34238 www.lotsalobstersarasota.com

(next to SkyKing fireworks, just south of Sarasota Square Mall)

Siesta Key’s Corner Grocery & Epicurean Oasis

1211 Old Stickney Pt. Rd., Siesta Key, FL • 312-0472 www.crescentbeachgrocery.com

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www.CompleteDentistry.org

Complimentary 2nd Opinion

DATE

Time

Time

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12/12 Thu 04:00 AM L 10:02 AM H

02:42 PM L 08:30 PM H

12/13 Fri 04:52 AM L 11:12 AM H 03:24 PM L 09:07 PM H 12/14 Sat 05:36 AM L 12:08 PM H 04:03 PM L 09:41 PM H 12/15 Sun 06:15 AM L 12:54 PM H 04:39 PM L 10:15 PM H 12/16 Mon 06:51 AM L 01:31 PM H 05:14 PM L 10:47 PM H 12/17 Tue 07:24 AM L 02:00 PM H 05:49 PM L 11:21 PM H 12/18 Wed 07:56 AM L 02:24 PM H 06:27 PM L 11:56 PM H SOURCE: NOAA Full Moon

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Reserve your Christmas Dinner

• Deli Salads & Sandwiches • Quality Meats • Gourmet Foods • Ready-to-Go Meals • Party Trays & Platters • Gift Baskets • Premium Cigars • Full Service Grocery • Florida Lottery

SARASOTA OBSERVER

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

polar express

YourObserver.com

3B

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

DOG TRAINING CLASSES I N S A R A S O TA A N D PA L M E T T O

You and your dog will work in a group setting with a Southeastern Guide Dogs trainer. Cost is $150 per six-week session.

Classes Offered Puppy Kindergarten Basic Obedience Intermediate Obedience Classes starting early January. Sign up at

128789

GuideDogs.org/dogtraining

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

SSIS third-graders collected letters from students, teachers and staff members.

Christian Santiago reads his letter.

Zoe Ahl sends letters to Santa.

128689

SSIS students send letters to North Pole

Third-graders at the Suncoast School for Innovative Studies sent letters to Santa Friday, Dec. 6. Macy’s invited the children to read their letters before placing them in Santa’s big red mailbox. In addition to writing their own letters, the students collected 1,386 letters from other students, teachers and staff. The event was part of Macy’s Believe program that benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

WHERE

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• 1-2 STORY HOMES

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Offer void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. Prices may not include lot premiums, upgrades and options. Community Association and other fees may be required. Prices, promotions, incentives, features, options, amenities, floor plans, elevations, designs, materials and dimensions are subject to change without notice. Square footage and dimensions are estimated and may vary in actual construction. Floor plans and elevations are artist’s conception and are not intended to show specific detailing. Floor plans are the property of Taylor Morrison, Inc. and its affiliates and are protected by U.S. copyright laws. For further information, please see a Taylor Morrison Sales Associate and review our Terms of Use. This is not an offering in any state where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. © November 2013 Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc., All rights reserved. FL GC#CBC1257822

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4B

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

CHRISTMAS PAGEANT by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

reindeer games

Kids spread holiday cheer

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

Antonia Forlenza, Jeanni Castro and Kristlyn Ferran sit on Santa’s lap.

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

Achieva Reindeer Trot features festive pups

Above: Southside Elementary’s Hula Club performs in the courtyard.

Left: Emma Zamikoff with her violin

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art opened its doors for an evening of music and holiday cheer Thursday, Dec. 5 for Holiday Splendor.

Children performed in holiday-themed programs, including Christmas carols, hula dancing and musical performances. Guests received free admission if they brought a toy to donate to Toys for Tots.

Dog owners dressed their fourlegged friends in the Christmas spirit at the third annual Achieva Reindeer Trot Saturday, Dec. 7, at Payne Park. The race featured a 5K, 10K and dog walk, as well as a dog-costume competition and visits with Santa. The run benefited local classrooms.

Chris Deluna with Kiwi

Left: Dave Klein helps organize the donated toys.

Lily won first prize in the dog costume competition as the Grinch.

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Give them a home for the Holidays 2542 17 St., Sarasota, FL 34234 - Hours: M - F 11am -7pm S - S 11am - 5pm 941.366.2404 www.catdepot.org

EASYBRIDGE IS HERE!!

In-Between BRIDGE CLUB

Call Michelle Golden

941-365-7875

Town & Country Plaza NW Corner Fruitville & Beneva Unit 612 ♦ Inside Courtyard ♦ Sarasota, FL

1 mile north of Siesta Key Village off Ocean Blvd.

349-1166

Worship Service 10:00 Chapel Kidz 10:00 Coffee fellowship on deck.

Adult Bible Study 9:00 Nursery open for 10:00 service

The Rev. Kathleen Wiggins

SUNA SALON & SPA

COMMUNITY MEETING

Experience European Elegance Eyebrow Threading • Brazilian & Bikini Sugar Waxing Hair Color & Cut (Men & Women) Manicure & Pedicure (Shellac Available) Keratin Treatment (Brazillian Blowout) All services performed Facial • Microdermabrasion

Lift Station 87

R

125667

esidents are invited to a community outreach meeting on the updated status of the Lift Station 87 Project.

The City’s new engineering firm, McKim & Creed, Inc., will present outcomes of the evaluations and investigations, including recommendations, initial cost estimates, and estimated timeline for project completion. The City Commission will consider those recommendations in January. The meeting will start with a presentation at 6:00 p.m., followed by a question and answer session.

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Once completed, the Lift Station 87 project will improve wastewater service and reliability for Sarasota’s residents and protect the environment.

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Date: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 Meeting: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Place: Waldemere Fire Station Conference Room 2070 Waldemere St. For more information about the Lift Station 87 Project, go to www.liftstation87.com or call our project information line at 941-356-8071.

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127374

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All cats and kittens $50* * Now through Dec. 31, 2013.

invited to our place

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1st FOUR lessons

a to l n D Selby wines and dines THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

YourObserver.com

5B

KEVIN A. DALTON, Realtor® 941-918-0570 | 941-928-9106 cell

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE

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by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

REMAX ALLIANCE GROUP | 2000 Webber Street | Sarasota

guests at annual event

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens held its annual Wine, Dine and Pine event Thursday, Dec. 5.

Guests enjoyed live music, specialty desserts and a silent auction. All proceeds benefited Selby Gardens.

STONEYBROOK GOLF & C.C. WONDERFUL, BRIGHT, CHEERY, WELL MAINTAINED 2BD/2BA TURN-KEY 2nd Flr. Condo with great golf views! Condo features tiled flrs, including Lanai, above average furnishings, soft Florida colors, new AC, full golf membership incl., near pool, assumable rental income in place for 2014 season. Tennis, fitness, Clubhouse.....................................................$149,000 FABULOUS TURN-KEY FURNISHED 2BD/2BA CONDO with wonderful golf course views on the 3rd fairway. This Condo has tiled floors, new appliances, newer AC system, above average furnishings, tiled lanai and has been extremely well maintained. Condo is close to heated pool and includes a full golf equity membership. Enjoy golf, tennis, fitness, walking trails, clubhouse......................................................................$146,000 FANTASTIC 1661 SQ. FT. END UNIT Abbey Veranda located on the 7th fairway. This beautifully decorated and turn-key furnished Veranda has been extremely well maintained and features tile floors, chair rails, enclosed tiled lanai, dry bar, walk-in closets, new AC system, garage + more. A full golf equity incl., tennis, fitness, clubhouse, walking trails..................................................................................$274,900 GREAT VIEWS OF 8TH FAIRWAY!! 2nd floor 2BD/2BA Condo, turn-key furnished, tile, high ceilings, tiled lanai, excellent condition, light & bright, near pool & tennis, short walk to clubhouse, golf equity incl., fitness center, grill room, near Costco, Lowe’s & Kohl’s...............................................................................................$144,900

128917

SARASOTA OBSERVER

Wendy and Phil Lamacchia

The Perfect Holiday Gift • Window tint • Bluetooth • Ipod intergration • Back-up cameras • Car Mats

• Radar detectors • Seatcovers • Care care products • Paint protection film • 4X4 accessories

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

Anne Logan and Phyllis Kirtley Martin Wilheim and Tom Buchter

DRIVING EXPRESSIONS, INC. 922-2711 • Mon.-Fri. 9-5:30 7322 S. Tamiami Trail (US-41 across from Wilde Honda)

Jim Paone and Ree Marko

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Bob Ploussard and Mary Lou Loughlin

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Offer void where prohibited or otherwise restricted by law. All information (including, but not limited to prices, availability, incentives, floor plans, site plans, features, standards and options, assessments and fees, planned amenities, programs, conceptual artists’ renderings and community development plans) is not guaranteed and remains subject to change or delay without notice. Maps and plans are not to scale and all dimensions are approximate. Please see a Taylor Morrison Sales Associate for details and visit www.taylormorrison.com for additional disclaimers. © November 2013, Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc. FL GC#CBC1257822. All rights reserved.

124742

taylormorrison.com | 866.495.6006

6B

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

real estate | transactions

By Adam Hughes | Research Editor

Home in Sarasota by the Sea sells for $550,000 The following residential real estate transactions took place between Nov. 25 and Nov. 29.

A home in Sarasota by the Sea tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Ian Howard sold his home at 6630 Midnight Pass Road to Sunshine Homes of Sarasota LLC for $550,000. Built in 1955, it has three bedrooms, three baths, one half-bath and 1,790 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $500,000 in 2011.

and 1,453 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $542,000 in 2005.

Gulf Gate

William and Darla Furst, of Sarasota, sold their home at 3057 Gulf Gate Drive to William and Ginger Fudge, of Lexington, Ky., for $223,000. Built in 1966, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,437 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $160,000 in October.

SARASOTA

Gulf Gate Woods

Bay Haven

Emmons Development of SRQ LLC sold the home at 910 Virginia Drive to Brenton and Careen Yarnal, of State College, Pa., for $420,000. Built in 1925, it has four bedrooms, three baths, one half-bath and 2,400 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $125,000 in 2011.

Tahiti Park

Arthur and Patricia Seaborne, of Sarasota, sold their home at 1600 Palmetto Lane to Patrick Whitten and Bridget Burke, of Peoria, Ill., for $395,000. Built in 1958, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,326 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $510,000 in 2004.

Gulf Gate East

Jerry Eyck, trustee, sold the home at 4220 Kingston Court to Susan Meyer, of Irving, Texas, for $360,000. Built in 1984, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 1,998 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $218,000 in May.

Florence

Joseph Gherardi, of Stockton, N.J., and Dennis Delellis, of Bristol, Pa., sold their home at 5812 Briarwood Ave. to John and Diane Goodwin, of Sarasota, for $346,000.

Built in 1976, it has three bedrooms, two

U.S. Bank, trustee, sold the home at 7456 Blaine Way to Donald Lichter Family Trust for $218,800. Built in 1979, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,772 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $180,000 in 2000.

Harriet Sokmensuer

This home at 6630 Midnight Pass Road has three bedrooms, three baths, one half-bath and 1,790 square feet of living area. It sold for $550,000. baths, a pool and 1,716 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $375,000 in 2006.

Granada

E. Diane Hewitt, of Sarasota, sold her home at 3648 Jacinto Court to James and Stacie O’Neil, of Nokomis, for $315,000.

Built in 1954, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,593 square feet of living area.

Renaissance

Thomas and Donna Cassin, of Sarasota, sold their Unit 22 condominium at 750 N. Tamiami Trail to Gordon Love, of Sarasota, for $299,000. Built in 2001, it has one bedroom, one bath and 975 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $235,000 in 2001.

Broadway Promenade

Cindy Pearl, of Durham, N.C., sold her

Unit 2401 condominium at 1268 11th St. to Robert Williamson, of Bradenton, for $280,000. Built in 2007, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,279 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $290,000 in 2007.

South Gate

Daniel Martinelli, of Sarasota, sold the home at 2440 Parson Lane to Oscar and Lissette Callejas, of Sarasota, for $266,000.

Built in 1956, it has two bedrooms, two baths, one half-bath and 1,448 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $105,000 in May.

Cityscape at Courthouse Centre

Susannah O’Brien, John O’Brien III and Christine O’Brien, of Tega Cay, S.C., sold their Unit 3 condominium at 1990 Main St. to ADJ Florida Inc. for $265,000. Built in 2005, it has two bedrooms, two baths

SIESTA KEY Sara Sands

Craig Siege, of Sarasota, sold his home at 5174 Sandy Cove to James Radcliffe, trustee, of Sarasota, for $450,000. Built in 1970, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,233 square feet of living area.

It previously sold for $315,000 in 1999. A second building was built in 2003 and has one bedroom, one bath and 1,144 square feet of living area.

Fisherman’s Cove

Allan and Nickola Waugh, of Sarasota, sold their Unit 106 condominium at 9000 Blind Pass Road to William Bortz, trustee, of Sarasota, for $405,500. Built in 1968, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 969 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $499,000 in 2004.

Siesta Shores

Thomas and Tracy Frascone, of Sarasota, sold their Unit 15 condominium at 417 Beach Road to Andrew and Terri Jessen, of

LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKER

1111 Ritz Carlton Dr # 1106 #A3984397 $799,900 Pamela Charron

Sarasota 941-951-6660 941-993-3388

367 Sugar Mill Dr #A3987773 $799,000 Nicole Dovgopolyi

Osprey 941-966-8000 941-356-5849

5740 Midnight Pass Rd # F-408 #A3980498 $775,000 Stephanie Kitsemble

Siesta Key 941-349-3444 941-313-0874

109 Bayshore Rd # 6 #A3973895 $749,900 Joyce Cann

3936 Spyglass Hill Rd #A3983486 $745,900 Michael Cochrane

Sarasota 941-966-8000 941-539-4520

464 Sherbrooke Ct #N5781404 $699,000 Harvey Davis

Venice 941-493-2500 941-223-0424

7352 S Serenoa Dr #A3988930 $600,000 R Kim Gilliland

Sarasota 941-349-3444 941-809-5151

8776 Midnight Pass Rd # 404C #A3972932 $525,000 Marlene & George Marshall

Nokomis/North Venice 941-966-8000 941-735-8596

673 Beach Rd # 2 #A3985714 $2,499,000 Michael Hays

Siesta Key 941-349-3444 941-539-8850

6206 Midnight Pass Rd # 102 #A3982403 $495,000 Tara Lamb & Judy Greene

Siesta Key 941-349-3444 941-376-1826

Siesta Key 941-349-3444 941-266-4873

650 Egret Walk Ln #A3988428 $489,000 Barbara E Gahry

Venice 941-966-8000 941-586-3936

FAMILIAR FACES. EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. Showcase your property to over 6,500 affiliate branches in 52 countries.

6453 Indigo Bunting Pl #A3988514 $479,000 Daria Spina

25 Sandy Hook Rd #A3988917 $2,295,000 Denise Mei

Lakewood Ranch 941-349-3444 941-650-7207

8766 Misty Creek Dr #A3988442 $459,000 Lee Byron and Sue Keal

Sarasota 941-349-3444 941-350-5542

Siesta Key 941-951-6660 941-685-3198

4425 Collingswood Blvd #C7048968 $424,900 Genevieve Ramachandran

Port Charlotte 941-639-0000 941-639-0000

1921 Monte Carlo Dr # 405 #A3985129 $390,000 Pat Mudgett & Mackenzie Mudgett

Sarasota 941-951-6660 941-320-7758

1603 Palmetto Palm Way #D5795585 $389,900 Ellen Baker & Michael Hollenbeck

North Port 941-473-7750 941-268-4999

5591 Cannes Cir # 203 #A3988745 $370,000 Lenore Treiman

Sarasota 941-966-8000 941-356-9642

5855 Midnight Pass Rd # 527 #A3988749 $349,000 Joyce Naegele

Siesta Key 941-349-3444 941-586-7959

3392 Sunset Key Cir # 0 #C7050081 $329,000 Jennifer Calenda

Punta Gorda 941-505-5555 941-916-0798

5120 Highbury Cir #A3987825 $299,900 Drew Russell

Sarasota 941-966-8000 941-993-3739

4846 Wilde Pointe Dr #A3980070 $289,900 Sara Ann Leicht

Sarasota 941-966-8000 941-586-4790

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

7B

michaelsaunders.com

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

Explore now on your phone or tablet.

These are the largest city of Sarasota and Sarasota County building permits issued for the week of Nov. 25 through Nov. 29, in order of dollar amounts.

CITY OF SARASOTA Address

Permit

Applicant

Amount

686 Beverly Drive 622 Siesta Drive 1643 Sixth St. 555 S. Gulfstream Ave. 1422 Euclid Ave. 1330 Main St. 3741 Tangier Terrace 2059 Hibiscus St. 3353 Higel Ave. 1949 Wisteria St.

Remodel Garage Re-roof Remodel Deck Mechanical Pool Cage Re-roof Mechanical Plumbing

C. Johnson Lisa Gialdini Linda Lee, trustee Christine Otto David Pignotti Kathleen Mahoney Richard Mutter Shauna Vanderhoek Lee Harrison Frank Howell

$42,300 $25,000 $16,500 $16,000 $13,254 $10,150 $10,122 $8,112 $7,485 $6,000

SARASOTA COUNTY Address

Permit

Applicant

Amount

5421 Plaza Des Las Palmas 2063 Cordes St. 5230 Avenida Del Mare 7478 Botanica Parkway 4198 Hearthstone Drive 1016 Point of Rocks Road 2430 Sonoma Drive W. 2333 Sunnyside Lane 547 Pine Ranch E. Road 2517 Riverbluff Parkway

Remodel Addition Addition Remodel Re-roof Alterations Addition Windows Re-roof Windows

Philip Falcone Lawrence Hammelman Richard Schultz William Lewellen, trustee Robert Banta Milinka Sukola Robert Martineau Bracelis Nataniela Jeffrey Cole Jane Hellinghausen

$73,010 $61,400 $55,000 $31,000 $22,700 $20,093 $16,000 $15,326 $15,010 $14,700

367 W Royal Flamingo Dr #A3988843 $3,195,000 Christine Del Monte

Sarasota 941-349-3444 941-266-6733

Source: Sarasota County; city of Sarasota

Deer Creek

Walter Mannini sold his home at 8488 Woodbriar Drive to Francis and Claudia Brooks, of Sarasota, for $400,000. Built in 1994, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,879 square feet of living area. It

Venice 941-966-8000 941-961-8632

RE N TA L

1713 Moon Dr #A3988924 $224,800 Lynn Ludecke

Siesta Key 941-951-6660 941-330-0987

8630 Midnight Pass Rd # 308A #A3971932 $3,500 Lisa Gullick

8250 Sanderling Rd #A3940236 $11,500,000 Linda Dickinson & Kelly Quigley

9024 Bantry Bay Blvd #D5795339 $249,900 Randall McLendon/Joni McLendon

5271 Chase Oaks Dr # 5271 #A3988417 $197,000 Marianne Lebar

Siesta Key 941-552-4200 941-321-6973

4626 Sawyer Rd #A3987447 $1,850 Lisa Shope

Siesta Key 941-349-3444 941-544-4849

8037 Midnight Pass Rd #A3988714 $1,899,000 Sandy and Jerry Strom

Siesta Key 941-966-8000 941-650-8297

88 N Casey Key Rd #A3988894 $1,695,000 Nancy Moore

Osprey 941-966-8000 941-374-2200

500 S Palm Ave # 31 #A3988085 $1,500,000 Michael Moulton

Sarasota 941-383-7591 941-928-3559

990 Blvd Of The Arts # 804 #A3985921 $1,299,000 Linda A. Page

Sarasota 941-951-6660 941-504-0123

1752 Lincoln Park Cir #A3975711 $1,295,000 Kim & Michael Ogilvie

Sarasota 941-951-6660 941-376-1717

1999 Bel Air Star Pkwy #A3979987 $1,199,000 Lee Byron and Sue Keal

Sarasota 941-349-3444 941-350-5542

1530 Hansen St #A3977046 $1,179,900 Harvey & Ethel Lovelace

Sarasota 941-349-3444 941-586-7390

4708 Ocean Blvd # 11 #A3983971 $1,150,000 Kristina Talkie & Judy Arreola

Siesta Key 941-349-3444 941-266-8658

1910 Webber St #A3982005 $849,900 Jennifer Pecora

Sarasota 941-951-6660 941-780-1925

432 Walls Way #A3977914 Karen Landis

Osprey 941-966-8000 941-400-6049

Turtle Rock

John Belaski, of Venice, sold his home at 8247 Nice Way to John and Melinda Adams, of Sarasota, for $349,000. Built in 1999, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,032 square feet of living area.

YOUROBSERVER.COM // Go online to read more real estate transactions.

Englewood 941-473-7750 941-504-5675

Sarasota 941-951-6660 941-650-0337

RE N TA L

6157 Midnight Pass Rd # E #A3973619 $279,000 Larry Mitchell

7647 Sanderling Rd #A3968606 $1,995,000 Ellen Wells

4539 Hamlets Grove Dr #A3988767 $249,900 Paul Desantis

4216 Vicenza Dr # 27 #N5782220 $179,900 David Sheptak

Sarasota 941-951-6660 941-875-3699

Venice 941-485-5421 941-485-5421

Sarasota 941-552-4200 941-320-8022

645 Back Nine Dr #N5782633 $1,450 Karen Fox

Venice 941-552-4200 941-485-5421

Siesta Key 941-966-8000 941-350-3304

Mid Longboat 383.5502 • South Longboat 383.7591 • St. Armands 388.4447 • Main Street 951.6660 Palmer Ranch 966.8000 • Siesta Key 349.3444 • Venice 485.5421 • Englewood 473.7750

$825,000

113744

PALMER RANCH

previously sold for $450,000 in 2012.

Osprey 941-966-8000 941-400-6049

RE N TA L

Naples, for $272,000. Built in 1955, it has one bedroom, one bath and 544 square feet of living area. It previously sold for $205,000 in 2012.

550 Dove Pointe Pt #A3954446 $2,189,000 Karen Landis

A 27 Hole Executive Golf Course... 8B just 2 miles from Siesta Key’s South Bridge!

This beautiful 27 hole course is a favorite for local golfers. We are family (and kid) friendly, inexpensive, and very convenient. Gulf Gate Golf Club is the perfect place for your next golf outing. Enjoy the beautiful lake views and nature while playing or simply rest at the Bar.

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

SEASON SPLENDOR

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

Men’s and Women’s rental clubs available.

128915

Open 7 am–6 pm Sorry, no Credit Cards.

921-5515

2550 Bispham Road, Sarasota

clayton’s g r i l l e

FREE $20 OPEN Christmas Day GIFT CARD 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm with purchase of $100 Gift Card

Join us for our 9th Annual

GIFT CARD

PARTY

FREE $10 with purchase of $50 Gift Card

New Year’s Eve

WITHOUT GOING BROKE! NO EXPENSIVE PRICE FIXE AND NO COVER!

Dinner Party at Claytons 5pm till the cows come home!

128781

Decorations/Entertainment/Dancing and Free Champagne toast at midnight.

Breakfast & Lunch 8am - 2pm • Dinner 4pm - 10pm - Happy Hour 4pm - 6:30pm Daily

941.349.2800 • www.claytonssiestagrille.com www.sarasotacateringbyclayton.com

THE

BEST

76597

1256 Old Stickney Point Rd. • off Midnight Pass Rd. • Siesta Key

OF

DINING

Gift Cards Available online!

Book our private room for your office or holiday party!

20-40% OFF ALL CELLAR LIST WINES THROUGH DECEMBER 16

ANNUAL CELLAR WINE SALE! OUTSIDE DECK NOW OPEN!

THE KEY’S BEST HAPPY HOUR AND DINNER SPECIALS! Serving Daily 11am-9pm • Happy Hour 3-7pm Indoor & Outdoor Dining. Enjoy our Covered Patio 8865 Midnight Pass Rd., Siesta Key 941-349-2280

127124

S I E S TA K E Y

Right: Bernie and Maureen Walsh with Terry Farese

marina restaurant tavern

NEW ENGLAND SEAFOOD AT ITS BEST! Mon.-Thurs. 11:30-9 pm, Fri. & Sat. 11:30-9:30 pm Open Sundays 11:30-9pm • 5157 Ocean Blvd.

941-349-2323 • www.sarasotalobsterpot.com

1968 T C D 9 4 1 . 4 8 4 . 9 5 5 1 w w w. c r ow s n e s t - ve n i c e . c o m

SIESTA KEY’S MOST AFFORDABLE KID FRIENDLY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT! Open Daily for Lunch & Dinner • 1200 Old Stickney Point Rd. 941-349-3885 • www.captaincurts.com

Counting Down to

HAPPY HOUR DAILY • LIVE ENTERTAINMENT 2-For-1 Daiquiris 3-7pm • Lunch Specials Mon.-Fri. 5250 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key • 325 John Ringling Blvd., St. Armands 300 W.Venice Ave,Venice 941-349-8697 • www.daiquirideck.com

SOUTHSIDE

The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota invited members to its annual Holiday Open House Wednesday, Dec. 4.

The hotel unveiled its holiday décor while guests enjoyed champagne and festive gingerbread cookies.

Special guests included the hotel’s new general manager, Damian O’Riordan, and Santa Claus.

Locally Owned & Operated Lunch Mon. - Fri. • Dinner Mon. - Sat. • Sun. seasonally 1920 Hillview St., Sarasota • 941-952-0045 • hillviewgrill.com

CHRISTMAS Stress-free Shopping

A CASUAL NEIGHBORHOOD RETREAT M-F 11am-11pm • Sat 5:30-11pm • Sun closed Enjoy our solid comfort food • 1818 South Osprey Ave., Sarasota 941-955-7761 • www.knickstavernsarasota.com FOOD AND FUN FOR ALL AGES Lunch & Dinner Served from 11:30 am Live Entertainment 7 Days a Week • 1600 Harbor Drive S. 941-488-1456 • www.sharkysonthepier.com

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

Santa puts on the Ritz during holiday party

SEAFOOD, BURGERS & MORE

BRINGING ITALY TO SIESTA KEY Sun.-Thu:4-10pm Fri-Sat: 4-11pm Happy Hour: 4-6pm daily.

Reservations Recommended • 5104 Ocean Blvd.

941-349-1423 • www.cafegabbiano.com

VENICE

Addison Freeman sits on Santa’s lap.

At Carlisle Gifts, you’ll find the perfect gift for everyone on your list—home accessories, jewelry, books, toys, and more. Plus, we provide FREE gift wrapping to help make your holiday shopping a little less stressful!

ky’s Shar on the pier

VENICE’S WATERFRONT LANDMARK SINCE 1976.

Boat or Car • Lunch & Dinner • Open Daily 1st Floor Tavern • 1968 Tarpon Center Dr. 941-484-9551 • www.crowsnest-venice.com

3713 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota | 941-955-4009 | carlislegifts.com H O U R S Mon-Thurs, 9a to 8p | Fri & Sat, 9a to 9p

127209

127148

s i e s t a

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

Serving “Key” People Since 1949

by Harriet Sokmensuer | Community Editor

St. Andrew United Church of Christ held its third annual Gulf Gate Festival Saturday, Dec. 7. Visitors ate, played games and enjoyed the sunny afternoon. Activities included “walking the wire” with Rietta Wallenda and her daughter, Lyric, musical performances, and a Marine Corps League of Sarasota presentation of colors.

A portion of the proceeds benefited the Air Force Aid Society, Army Relief Society and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Henry Gilbertson was Iron Man.

B

Annual festival benefits servicemen

ar

ge

fun in the sun

9B & Packa

6519 Midnight Pass Rd., Siesta Key

941-349-1311

Full service bar & drive thru package window

(Located on south side of building).

Free hot dogs steamed in Sauerkraut ready at noon every Saturday!!!

Open 7 days a week ~ 365 days a year 10:00 A.M. ~ 2:30 A.M. Weekly Sunday 12 noon ~ 2:30 A.M. 90318

eReading

90318

SARASOTA OBSERVER

View the electronic edition of The Observer before the print edition hits the newsstands.

Photos by Harriet Sokmensuer

Roscoe Rann sizes up the slide with his mom, Barbara.

Sign up on Jolie Banks gets her face painted.

Best friends Deianeira MClain and Safira Meissner

Fish Hou y e K y e s s e a and the C

Does your water taste funny?

Go to www.AquaPlumbing.com to learn how to get better tasting water today!

127344

Waterfront Tiki Bar

T hanuk Yo

Fabulous Food, Moderately Priced

WATERFRONT SEAFOOD GRILL “Old Florida At Its BEST”

Sarasota and friends for supporting us for 13 years!

Come join us December 12th - 19th for our fresh

Maine Lobster dinner for $13.99

USIC LIVE M Bar Tiki at they Friday,

Thank you for continuing to support the Lobster Pot. New England Style Seafood on Beautiful Siesta Key

Ever ay & Sund y a d r u Sat 4-8pm

“Dinner special”

FREE glass of wine

w/purchase of entree.

Not valid with early bird pricing Expires Dec. 19, 2013 Must present coupon

OPEN: Monday - Saturday for Lunch & Dinner 5157 Ocean Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34242

941 - 966 - 1901

941.349.2323

sarasotalobsterpot.com

www.caseykeyfishhouse.com

128767

VALET PARKING

128703

FREE

801 Blackburn Pt. Rd. in Osprey (3 mi. south of Sarasota Square Mall)

10B

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

OBSERVER WEATHER

Do you love taking photos? We want your best photos of sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, etc.

Submit your local weather photos for a chance to have your photo published in the paper!

See all of the winning photos each week by visiting The Observer’s Facebook page.

TEMPERATURES

Record Temperatures High

Low

High

Low

Wednesday, Dec. 4

82

Thursday, Dec. 5

83

62

86 (1994)

31 (1989)

64

86 (1994)

33 (1974)

Friday, Dec. 6

84

65

86 (1994)

38 (1987)

Saturday, Dec. 7

82

64

86 (1972)

30 (1937)

Sunday, Dec. 8

86

64

87 (1978)

30 (1937)

Monday, Dec. 9

82

64

86 (1978)

30 (1984)

Tuesday, Dec. 10

81

59

86 (1972)

29 (1917)

AVERAGE GULF WATER TEMPERATURE: 73 SUNRISE / SUNSET

RAINFALL Wednesday, Dec. 4

0.00

Thursday, Dec. 5

0.00

Friday, Dec. 6

0.00

Saturday, Dec. 7

0.00

Sunday, Dec. 8

Sunrise

Sunset

Thursday, Dec. 12

7:11a

5:37p

Friday, Dec. 13

7:12a

5:38p

0.00

Saturday, Dec. 14

7:12a

5:38p

Monday, Dec. 9

0.00

Sunday, Dec. 15

7:13a

5:38p

Tuesday, Dec. 10

0.01

Monday, Dec. 16

7:13a

5:39p

Year-to-date: 2013 2012

52.47 in. 44.66 in.

Tuesday, Dec. 17

7:14a

5:39p

Wednesday, Dec. 18 7:15a

5:39p

Month-to-date: 2013 2012

0.01 in. 0.62 in.

MOON

 Samantha Bisceglia submitted this sunrise photo, taken from Siesta Key Beach.

Scan the QR code on your smartphone to submit your weather photos!

Or visit YourObserver.com and click on the “Contests” tab.

ACROSS

Edited by Timothy E. Parker

3

CRYPTOGRAMS KUN

PA B J D X U S X B E

U Y PA AT

XI

PAT J DA

NQASTGSY

U

B G X X BA . KA Z I HAT X I U N Z U B BA P Q BU DA G S X KA U P DXG D U S T G N G SNG N XG SY I S N I I X BA N N DKG Z S A E N X KG N E AU P X I N U HA I S T P E D B A U S G S Y. 2. X B Z

CZQVFZZC

UA P V F

L

ELJ

XA

BLCVZNN

O A AV M Q H B X

XA

I A E Z C N L V X L’ N N M Z Q H B . Q X O L J W Z L N X L C C J - Z J Z F G A V G Z I X W P X X B Z J C Z F P G Z F X B Z Q C G L C WAV U A A X I C Q V X !

Dec. 17 Full

Dec. 25 Last

Jan. 1 New

Jan. 7 First

THE 1980s by Tim Burr

O B S E RV E R C RO S S WO R D

1. N U S X U

PHASES

133 Put a value on 69 Update, as a road 134 “Even so ...” atlas 1 Like some evening 135 Searched for truffles 70 Key ___, Fla. gowns 73 Corner 7 Stammering Disney conveniences, in the DOWN dwarf 1980s 1 Hiker’s sock-clinger 10 Analyzes 76 Old West vehicle 2 Reagan’s was in the grammatically 1980s 16 90 degrees from vert. 77 Buy-one-get-one3 Workplace free item?

19 “The Little watchdog’s concern 78 Cannot ___ hear (is Mermaid” villain 4 Works on a unconscious) 20 Cheerleading sound soundtrack 79 Piggy abode 21 Wake from sleep 5 Privileged group 22 Classification system 81 Homer’s nice 6 Went out together neighbor 7 ___ personae (cast) for blood 82 Shakespeare title 8 Item fitted into a 23 They helped with thole character reception, in the 9 When repeated, a 84 Give the go-ahead 1980s ballroom dance 86 Univ. recruiter 26 South American 10 LaBelle and LuPone, 89 “Do no harm” org. cruise stop e.g.

90 Royal fur 27 Admiration 11 Rock concert venue 92 “Universal donor” 28 Largest active 12 Legendary Irish king blood type 13 Natural heater volcano in Europe 97 Window ledge 14 Those, in Madrid 29 Intelligence 99 Tree-hugger?

15 Appear that way 31 Fleur-de-___ 100 They got rid of snow, 16 President in 1945 33 “Diff’rent Strokes” 17 Expiration notices? in the 1980s character, in the 18 Something to come 102 Like the designated 1980s home to driver 34 Most of the world’s 24 Nighttime, poetically 104 1990s skiing star people 25 Homes made of Hermann 36 Lovers’ engagement twigs 105 “You ___ Me” (Sam 30 “Fine” or “liberal” 37 Digging, or word Cooke tune) followers after “digging” 31 “Into each ___ some 106 Happen 39 Diagnostic aids rain ...”

108 In large amounts 41 Benders 32 “To Live and Die 111 Audition tape 43 They were put in ___” (1985 film) 115 TiVo users may skip drives, in the 1980s 34 Inquire them 47 Sheltered valley 35 Part of a stairway 116 Gateway to the 49 Traffic sign word 38 Prefix meaning Internet 52 It stretches from “vision” 118 God, in Latin 40 Ballpark figs.

Maine to Florida 119 Like some decals 42 Vending machine 53 Fend off, as inserts 121 Unhittable serve mosquitoes 44 Plumbing flow 122 Form of 55 She starred with Bea regulator (Abbr.) communication, in and Betty 45 “I knew ___ say that!” the 1980s 56 Egg cell 46 Block, as a stream 57 New York’s ___ Island 128 Letters seen on 47 Color of some TVs 61 Have a major inexperience?

129 “___ Rouge” 48 They get framed a lot reaction?

(Kidman movie) 50 Delighted state?

63 Venomous snake 51 Took a quick look 130 Her counterpart?

66 Nobel Peace Prize 54 “___ and the Real 131 It suits you winner Le ___ Tho Girl” (2007 film) 68 Barbecue remnants 132 Director Burton

58 VCR inserts 59 “There was an old lady who lived in ___ ...”

60 McCullough’s “The ___ Birds” 62 Permit 63 Introductory Greek letters 64 Deli meat 65 Barbaric shout 67 Cello maestro Pablo 71 Foam alternative for shavers 72 Assayers’ samples 74 Some survey responses 75 Throat disorder 80 Downward dog discipline 83 Make docile 85 Ripped 87 ___ chi (martial art form) 88 Middles (Abbr.)

91 Tennis great Bjorn 93 Least cool 94 “My comment was serious” 95 Work the bleachers 96 “To the ___ of the Earth” 98 Brutish sort 100 Ankle bones 101 Go head-to-head 103 One of the Trimurti 104 Expresses grief 106 “Perceptual abstraction” 107 Spherical bacteria 109 Nonplus 110 Jerry or Jerry Lee 112 Directional ending 113 Wisdom tooth, for example 114 “___ a customer” 117 Home to Vientiane 120 Palindromic male name 123 Some fraternity letters 124 “... ___ will be done ...”

125 Even, as a score 126 Prior to, in poems 127 Tom Clancy’s “___ Storm Rising”

12-12-13

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

11B

Holiday Worship Guide Christmas

11107 Palmbrush Trail, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202 • (941) 753-9365 Pastor Jeffrey R Gross • www.livinglordfl.org Your family is invited to join our family to lift our voices as we celebrate our Savior’s birth!

East bradenton Campus - 15800 SR 64 E

ADVENT HOLDEN VESPERS

Christmasass-E4 ve pm

Dec. 21 at 4:30pm & 6:30pm | Dec. 22 at 9:00am, 10:30am & 12:00pm Dec. 23 at 6:00pm & 7:30pm | Dec. 24 at 2:00pm & 4:00pm

7:00 PM Wednesdays during December

BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICE

West bradenton Campus - 3304 43rd St. W

7:00 PM December 18th

ily M

127796

East Sarasota Campus - 8893 Fruitville Rd. Dec. 22 at 9:00am, 10:30am & 12:00pm Dec. 24 at 2:00pm & 4:00pm

127875

Dec. 21 at 6:30pm, Dec. 22 at 9:00am & 10:30am Dec. 23 at 6:00pm | Dec. 24 at 2:00pm & 4:00pm

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

CANDLELIGHT – COMMUNION – CAROLS 4:00 PM Traditional Service • 7:00 PM Family Service 11:00 PM Traditional Service with Choir

Celebrate Christmas with Redeemer

candlelight services

Fam s & Choir St. Nicholas, Carol 0 pm Carols begin at 3:3

ass - 6:30 pm Evening Choral M 6 pm music begins at & Organ artet

Carols, Brass Qu

St. Andrew United Church of Christ

music begins

Christmas Eve

Organ Brass Quartet & s Anthems & Carol

Pine Shores Presbyterian

6116 Crestwood Avenue (West of US 41 - North of Stickney Pt.)

Sunday Worship Services in Advent - 10:30 a.m.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service - 7:00 p.m.

You are also invited to join Mary Mother of Jesus Catholic Mass on Satudays at 4 p.m.

Communion & Candlelight at all Services

Nursery provided at the 5:00 & 7:30 services www.pineshorespres.org • (941) 922-1597

7:30 am Choral M ass - 10 a m Spanish M ass - 1 pm

Child care available for Christmas Eve 4 pm Mass

128446

128332

941-922-7595

s Day

munion -

Complimentary parking Christmas Eve from 3 pm to 1 am at BMO Harris Bank Garage, McAnsh Square

5:00 pm ~ Early Service for Children, Youth and Adults 7:30 pm ~ Traditional Service with Chancel Choir 11:00 pm ~ The Eve of Christmas

Special Music @ 6:45 p.m.

6908 Beneva Road, Sarasota 34238 www.uccstandrew.org

10:30 pm Midnight Massat- 9:30 pm

Christma

Holy Com

Celebrate the Birth of Jesus

www.redeemersarasota.org

128583

LIVING LORD LUTHERAN CHURCH

Come! God’s Son Is Born for All!

December 21 6:30 p.m.: A Christian Family Christmas December 24 – Christmas Eve 7:00 p.m.: Family Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 9:00 p.m.: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service December 25 – Christmas Day 10:00 a.m.: Christmas Worship Service

EVERY SATURDAY EVE

5:30 p.m.: worship with Holy Communion

EVERY SUNDAY MORN

128522

9 a.m.: contemporary worship with praise band 10:45 a.m.: traditional worship with choir

CHRISTMAS EVE

7 p.m.: Family candlelit service with children’s pageant 11 p.m.: Candlelit worship with Holy Communion

Christmas Eve Candle Lighting Service 7:00 PM

Concordia Lutheran Church

Looking for PEACE this Christmas?

Lakewood Christian Church Your church. Your community.

Join us for Christmas Eve Candlelight 3131 61 St. • Sarasota, Fl. 34243 Rev. Dr. Christopher Carlson

Childcare at 5:00 and 7:00 Peace Presbyterian Church has moved from the Manatee Association of Realtors to our new home at 12705 E. State Road 64 Lakewood Ranch, FL 34212

Tuesday, December 24

SUNDAY SERVICE

6:00 P.M.

10:30 am

(near Greyhawk Landing)

Services at the Fete Ballroom at the Polo Grill on Main Street LWR

10670 Boardwalk Loop • 941-357-7055 www.lakewoodchurchontheranch.com

941.753.7778 128040

127797

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Tel: 355-4729 • www.npcsarasota.com

Christmas Eve at 5:00, 7:00, or 9:00 Carols, candlelight, and communion

Communion Gathering

st

7pm

Please join us Every Sunday at 8:30 or 11:00

&

Northminster Presbyterian

ConcordiaSarasota.org

128584

9:00 AM and 10:30 AM

2185 Wood Street

(along School Avenue, north of Sarasota High School)

www.peacepcusa.org

Peace Presbyterian Church

127878

Regular Sunday Service Hours

LV7269

unityofsarasota.com

7:00 PM 128509

941-955-3301

10 a.m.: Christmas carol worship with Holy Communion

128546

3023 Proctor Rd Sarasota, FL 34231

CHRISTMAS MORN

New Years Eve Burning Bowl Service

12B

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

First Congregational United Church of Christ

Faith Lutheran Church

4:30 pm Christmas Pageant with Holy Communion 8:30 pm Christmas Eve Service with Holy Communion

Dec. 25

10:00 am Christmas Service with Holy Communion

128445

8700 SR72, Sarasota, FL

941-925-2525 www.stmargaretsarasota.org

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

5900 N. Lockwood Ridge Road • just south of University Pky.

The Rev. Charles Mann, Rector • 355-3262

DECEMBER 22ND

10:30am - Appalachian Christmas Cantata

Candlelight Communion

CHRISTMAS EVE

5pm - Family Candlelight Service 11pm - Acoustic Candlelight Worship

Music begins ½ hour before each service

Let Your Light Shine This Christmas

CHRISTMAS DAY

10am - Communion Merry Christmas! & Carols

Trinity - Sarasota Trinity United Methodist Church United Methodist Church

4150 S. Shade Ave. • Sarasota 924-7756 • www.iTrinity.org

4150 S. Shade Ave. 34231 924-7756 www.iTrinity.org

Join us as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

128511

127801

7750 Beneva Rd. Sarasota, FL 34238

December 22nd 10:30am - Appalachian Christmas Cantata

Christmas Eve Candlelight Services 7:00 and 10:30 pm Music and Carols 6:45 and 10:15pm

Christmas Day 10:00am

127798

6:00 & 9:00 p.m.

www.faithsarasota.com

4:00 p.m. - Soloists and instrumentalists; communion 7:00 p.m. - Family service with choirs and instrumentalists 11:00 p.m. - Communion; choirs, soloists, instrumentalists 1031 South Euclid Avenue • 941-953-7044

Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

941-924-4664

Dec. 24

CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SCHEDULE

127759

• Candlelight Christmas Eve Tue. Dec 24 @ 4:30pm & 7pm • Christmas Day Festival 7461 Prospect Road • Sarasota, FL 34243 Wed. Dec. 25 @ 10am • New Year’s Eve 941-355-2798 Tues. Dec. 31 @ 4:30pm www.beautifulsaviorlcms.com

128005

Holiday Worship Guide

Christmas Eve 5pm - Family Candlelight Service 11pm - Acoustic Candlelight Worship

Christmas Services at Saint Boniface Church Christmas Day 10am - Communion & Carols

Everyone Welcome!

The Episcopal Church on Siesta Key!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22 6:00 p.m. Christmas Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

CHRISTMAS EVE

941.907.3939

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES

Lorraine Road just north of University.

WEEKLY WORSHIP SERVICES

www.onthecorner.org 14306 Covenant Way Lakewood Ranch, FL

CHRISTMAS DAY 10:00 a.m. Christmas Day Eucharist with Organ and Carols

BRINGING PEOPLE TO MATURITY IN CHRIST

Sunday 9am Traditional Service Sunday 10:45am Contemporary Service Nursery available during 9am service.

Nursery and full children’s program during 10:45am service.

LV7296

5615 Midnight Pass Rd. (941) 349-5616 www.bonifacechurch.org Sarasota, FL 34242

128608

128590

Saint Boniface Church

4:00 and 5:30pm

128514

4:30 p.m. Family Service with Pageant and Eucharist 7:00 p.m. Christmas music for Choir, Strings & Organ 7:30 p.m. The Christ Mass, “Mass of the Nativity” 10:30 p.m. Christmas music for Choir, Strings & Organ 11:00 p.m. The Christ Mass, “Mass of the Nativity”

Arriving

on your

screen

Winter

2014!

LV7303

Observer Classifieds.

It’s read everywhere.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Dec. 26th

Service Directory deadlines Dec. 17th at noon Classified Ads deadline Dec. 18th at noon

ESTATE SALE Friday, December 6, 10a.m.-3p.m.

Saturday, December 7, 10a.m.-1p.m.

201 Seagull Lane, Bird Key 34236

Service Directory deadlines Dec. 18th at noon Classified Ads deadline Dec. 19th at noon

Items Under $200 For Sale 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.

(No phone calls please.)

(Please provide your name and address) Email ad to: classified@yourobserver.com Online at: www.yourobserver.com Or mail to: The Observer Group P.O. Box 3169 Sarasota, Fl 34230 CHRISTMAS TREE: 7 1/2 foot, full size, pre-lit, most lights work. $60. 941-346-7120.

COMPUTER: DUAL 1.8GHz HT Dell, refurbished $60, 941-756-6728 DAYBED: TRUNDLE, solid wood, with mattresses.

Good condition. $100. 941-926-7146.

DRY BLOCKED Firewood. $45 your truckload.

941-924-5093 DUO EXERCISE Bike by Liteaide: stationary, light, portable, used from your chair. New. $50.

(941)504-0165.

FREE WOODEN SWING SET. Slide, fort and 3 swings. Call for time to pick up and remove from Sarasota backyard. 302-3079.

GOLF CLUBS and bag: Lady’s Taylor-made.

Woods and irons. Nearly new. $175. 941-927-7452 KITCHEN AID Pro Stand Mixer, like new, with complete set of accessories. $125. 941-923-9040.

KITCHENWARE: REVERE pots, fry pans, coffee maker, cookie sheets, cake pans. 3 for $10.

941-925-7079.

MEN’S TUXEDOS: black, size 42, navy size 38.

Excellent cond., $30 each O/B/O. 941-953-5222.

NORDICTRACK VERTEX Weight System 670 Lightly used. U disassemble, move. New AbLounge2. $50 all. 941-914-0558.

POPCORN MACHINE: commercial, large 4/ft. high, stainless, $150. 941-346-1303.

STOCKING STUFFER: Go figure Sarasota, 33 true stories. $5.00. Paperback. 941-400-3109.

TOMMY BAHAMA fan/light, $70. Large planet picture, $20. Petmate fencing, $25. Swivel sweeper, $5. 941-320-6183.

TWIN BED: solid 941-320-3828.

oak,

like

new,

$150.

WII CONSOLE with sport accessories and games $100 O/B/O. 941-356-4460, leave message.

WOOD CARVING materials. Large box of carving wood, many tools, 3 instruction books, $50.

941-360-0612.

X BOX, 4 controllers 941-371-2750, ext. 522.

and 7 games. $50.

127825

The Observer Classified Dept. will CLOSE Dec. 23rd at 5pm for the holidays.

We will reopen Thursday, Jan. 2nd at 8:30am

1950'S LIONEL steam engine & tender, works, exc. cond. $200. More. 941 735-1452.

Autos For Sale OVER 30 VEHICLES IN STOCK $10K OR UNDER 2005 BMW 325I, 64K/miles, $10988 2007 Chevrolet Impala LS, like new, 30+MPG, 61K/miles, $8988 2005 Cadillac SRX, 80K/miles, perfect, $9988 2008 Mazda Miata, 95K/miles, $12988 2002 Chevrolet Malibu, 45K/miles, $5988 1993 Honda Accord, 90K/miles, $2988 2004 Toyota Camry, 87K/miles, $8988 2002 Cadillac Deville, 50K/miles, clean, $5988 2003 Nissan Xterra XE, 70/K miles, only $8988 Hawley Motors II 5741 Pinkney Ave. (1 block west of MacIntosh, off Clark) 941-312-5890 Financing Available

Autos Wanted WE BUY CARS. TOP $$ PAID FOR YOUR VEHICLES. Call Hawley Motors, 941-923-3421.

Boats ChitwoodCharters.com Cruise or Fish Hyatt Sarasota Docks 32’/53’ Yachts - 2hrs./2 months 941-383-5232

Merchandise Wanted SENIOR LOOKING to purchase precious metals, time pieces, coins, jewelry and antiques. Please call Marc, 941-321-0707.

Garage/Moving/Estate Sales

Jan. 2nd

Happy Holidays To You and Yours!

Furnishings ANTIQUE SECRETARY: 37”wx20”dx51”h, three bottom drawers. Good condition, $575 O/B/O. Buffet/Cabinet: 71”wx22”dx36”h, excellent, $575 O/B/O. 941-358-3404.

Modern style: Weber black lacquer baby grand piano, king & queen bed sets, leather sofa & matching chair, etegere, display cabinets, round dining table with lazy Susan & dining chairs, buffet, glass sculptures, coffee & end tables, easels, art supplies, yard tools, china, linens & kitchenware.

Sale by Julie McClure Pix: estatesales.net HOLIDAY BIZARRE: The Arbors Mobile Home Park, Rec Hall, 3250 Tamiami Trl., Osprey.

Saturday, December 14, 2-4pm.

MOVING AND Garage Sale: Sat., 8a.m.-2p.m., 7771 Pine Trace Drive (Off Whitfield and University).

OUR BOOKS 1/2 Price BEE RIDGE BOOKS 4104 Bee Ridge Road Bee Ridge Plaza Trade-In your Paperbacks 941-377-8998

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

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

Things To Do GULFSIDE MINI-VACATION IN NAPLES JUST $179 PER PERSON ***

Your Mini-Vacation Includes: • Check-in Sunday through Wednesday only • Gulfside accommodations for 2 nights* • Continental Breakfast Buffet • Dinner 1 evening ($27 voucher) at your choice of 7 local restaurants plus additional 10% off 2nd evening dinner at The Turtle Club.** • Lunch 1 day ($12 voucher) at your choice of 7 local restaurants plus additional lunch per person at The Turtle Club.** • Admission to 1 of 7 local attractions (Some attractions may require additional fees) * Available through December 18, 2013. Holidays and weekends excluded.

Based on double occupancy. Tax, tip & resort fees extra.

Type of accommodation subject to availability.

Bayside condominiums available at different rates. ** An 18% gratuity will be added by lunch and dinner vendors. ***Limited to one per customer.

FOR RESERVATIONS, Jewelry EXQUISITE JEWELRY Engagement Ring.

Outstanding 3.03 ct., Fancy Yellow.

Emerald cut VVS center stone with 2 plus kt. side stones in 18 kt. white gold mounting. Appraised over $50k. Sell now $23k. Fabulous ring, must see. Also 8 kt. Tennis Bracelet, white gold. $6500.

941-650-8080.

CALL (800) 243-9076 or (239) 597-3144 9225 Gulfshore Drive North, Naples, Florida 34108

www.vanderbiltbeachresort.com

12698

The Observer Classifieds Holiday Early Deadlines . for Dec 26th and Jan. 2nd

Business Opportunities JAN PRO CLEANING FRANCHISE: $950 Down Required, Financing Available for growth, Includes customers. Earn up to $10,000 Month+.

Call 941-907-8141.

Merchandise Wanted

Help Wanted

BUYING VINTAGE Sports Cards and Memorabilia, American Flyer and Lionel Trains, pre-1970.

Leave message 941-928-5908.

ACT! MODEL! NOW! Looking for new faces for print, motion pictures, TV commercials. Children, adults, senior. 813-902-1722.

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CASH FOR Old Military Items. Swords, uniforms, insignia & old guns. Call 941-416-3280.

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HOUSECLEANER for Company. Car needed, Experience helpful. Background Checked. Bring home $300-$400/wk. Call Drew 941-445-5844.

RELIABLE NAIL TECH to take over large clientele IMMEDIATELY at upscale LBK salon. Manicure, pedicure, gel service experience a must! Beautiful, friendly atmosphere family owned/operated.

941-387-9807.

Commercial Property For Rent EXECUTIVE SUITES: South Tamiami Trail, Gulf Gate area. Full service conference room. 3 Room Suite available. One month free rent. Wireless internet and utilities included. From $250/mo. Call 941-923-6050.

Condos/Apts. For Rent BENEVA & 17th St.: 55+ community, 2BR/2BA, 3rd floor, elevator. $850/mo. includes water. No pets. 941-228-4183.

GOLDEN GATE POINT: 2 beds, 1 bath, top floor, 950 sq.ft. with city, bay and bridge views. Yearly lease $1600/month, 3-4 months $2000 month.

Unfurnished, turn key possible. 303-944-8300

This week’s Crossword answers

Antiques/Collectibles CHINA & Crystal: 12 place settings of Edelstein’s Maria Theresia pattern in white & gold with additional serving pieces. $895. Fabulous 70 year old European Crystal, 73 piece set. $1200.

941-921-1674.

DEPARTMENT 56: Large selection of Christmas pieces. 941-925-4264.

Autos For Sale 2003 MERCEDES CKL320 convertible, all service records. Excellent condition, 72,000 miles. $7800.

941-927-7452.

2003 MERCEDES E320. Beautiful classic black, leather, garage kept, 125,000 miles with another 125,000 to go! Call 349-4835 to see, $11,999.

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HOUSE CLASSIFIEDS LP # 56733

2013

This week’s Cryptogram answers

1. Santa has reluctantly agreed to reduce spending a little. He moved to a smaller place in the Arctic and is insisting on sootless chimneys this year to save on dry cleaning.

2. The reindeer found a way to harness moonlight to power Santa’s sleigh. It may be a starry-eyed concept but they reduced their carbon footprint!

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For Qualified Waiting Clients Personalized attention

with professional advice.

Contact - Sarasotahonest Luxury Rentals 25 Years Experience - References available 941-225-1356 email: info@sarasotaluxuryrentals.com Personalized attention Vacation/Seasonal Rentals

with professional honest advice.

LANDLORD ALERT!! We have Tenant’s!!!

25 Years1-3BR Experience - References available or Wanted: Homes/Condos, Furnished

Unfurnished. Siesta Key Realty Incorporated, 941-349-8900, www.siestakeyrealtyrentals.com

Vacation/Seasonal Rentals

PEPPERTREE BAY, Siesta Key: 2BR/2BA, upstairs unit, ALERT!!

Gulf views. furnished, LANDLORD WeTurnkey have Tenant’s!!! garage. and April only.

Reduced Wanted:Available 1-3BR January Homes/Condos, Furnished or rate.

Lisa Beach Agent,Key 941-374-9133 or E-mail: Unfurnished.

Siesta Realty Incorporated, llblab@aol.com 941-349-8900, www.siestakeyrealtyrentals.com PEPPERTREE BAY, Siesta Key: 2BR/2BA, Adult Care Services upstairs unit, Gulf views. Turnkey furnished, garage. Available January and April only. Reduced rate. Lisa Beach Agent, 941-374-9133 A Lending Hand, Inc. or E-mail: llblab@aol.com

Adult Care Services

Provides home healthcare from as little as 4 hours to 24/7 care.

For more info Phone: 941-809-3725 License #230506 & #30211577

IN-HOME ASSISTED LIVING. Why leave the COMPASSIONATE, FEMALE caregiver from safety, beauty and comfort of your own home to Japan, 10+ years experience w/bathing, cooking, receive professional, affordable and compassioncleaning. careneed for your ones.Services Yasuko: ate care?Let Youme don’t to! loved ElderCare 941-323-3538. provides complete customized care perfectly tailored to suit your needs and lifestyle. Services IN-HOME Why leavetransthe include, butASSISTED not limitedLIVING. to, homemaking, safety, beauty anderrands, comfortmeal of your own home to portation, running prep., medication receive professional, affordable and compassionsupervision, 24/7 medical staffing, and more. ate care? don’t need to! ElderCare Services Please callYou 377-4465 for more info. or visit us on provides complete customized care perfectly the web @ eldercaresarasota.com. Licensed, tailored to suit your needs and lifestyle.

Services bonded and insured. Lic.#30211372 include, but not limited to, homemaking, transportation, running errands, meal prep., medication supervision, 24/7 medical staffing, and more.

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ALTERATIONS/UPHOLSTERY Honesty • Integrity • Quality • Value

Frank Beck Upholstery 127863

Sharon M. Guy

WorkS for you!

Call 955-4888 to reserve your space.

Sharon M.Park Guy, P.A. 8586 Potter Drive, Sarasota, FL 34238

8586 Potter Park Drive, Dent or Collision Sarasota, FL 34238Service

AUTO SERVICE Call Gary Auto Body & Paint Inc.

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Full Service Scratch & 941-923-2564 We do it all. We get it right!

4541 Clark Road, Sarasota Dent or Collision Service

dent repair & detailing too!

BOATPaintless SERVICES Call Gary Auto Body & Paint Inc.

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941-923-2564 SMS Mobile Marine Service GPS/Fishfinder Installation • Outboards BOAT SERVICES I/O’s • Inboards Call for appointment • 941-232-3523 DOCKSIDE BOAT REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE CERTIFIED & INSURED

127727

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ALL TYPES OF MASONRY Specializing in concrete driveways, pavers, Painting/Wallpapering decorative concrete, stone work, patios. for freePAINTING. and honestLicensed estimates.

CARLOCall DATTILO & insured.

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941-744-1020. 35+ years experience.

CARLO DATTILO PAINTING. Licensed & insured.

CUSTOM PAINTING, Wallpaper Removal.

Interior/ Exterior painting including drywall repair Quality work Wallpaper at a installation reasonable price. and retexturing. & removal, Free Estimates.

Established 1978.& Call Daniel at pressure washing.

Residential commercial, L.L. Armstrong condos.

Honest &Contracting. reliable. FreeLic./Insured. estimates.

941-323-5074.

941-744-1020. 35+ years experience.

RICK STEAKLEY PAINTING. Interior/Exterior.

CUSTOM PAINTING, Wallpaper Removal.

Pressure Washing.

Removal. Drywall Quality work atWallpaper a reasonable price.

Repairs.

Reasonable.

Reliable.

Professional.

Free Estimates.

Established 1978. Call Daniel at 30+/years experience.

References available.

L.L. Armstrong Contracting.

Lic./Insured.

Free Estimates.

Lic./Ins. 941-228-7605, 941-323-5074. rlsteakley60@gmail.com RICK STEAKLEY PAINTING. Interior/Exterior.

Pressure Washing. Wallpaper Removal. Drywall Pet Services Repairs. Reasonable. Reliable. Professional.

DOGGY 24 Houravailable.

Daycare.

30+/yearsHOTEL/GROOMING. experience. References FREE with groom are the best).

Free Daycare Estimates.

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Pet Services Pressure Cleaning

DOGGY HOTEL/GROOMING. 24 Hour Daycare.

JACK'SDaycare DETAILED Pressure and FREE with groomWashing. (we are Homes the best). flat window washing, pool Sleep decks. King.

Free 3925work, Brown Avenue behind estimates.

Licensed and Insured. 941-979-7095. doggyhotel.net 941-554-4620.

E-mail: kwantj@yahoo.com Cleaning PRESSUREPressure WASHING: Residential and Commercial.

ECO Pressure Cleaning.Washing.

Roofs, lanais, JACK'S DETAILED Homespool and areas, etc. Roof coating also. 941-756-4570. flat work, window washing, pool decks. Free estimates. Licensed and Insured. 941-979-7095.

E-mail: kwantj@yahoo.com PRESSURE WASHING: Residential and Commercial. ECO Cleaning. Roofs, lanais, pool areas, etc. Roof coating also. 941-756-4570.

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724-1395 Mercy’s Cleaning Service

We Use Organic Products

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The Service DirecTory

CALL FOR FREE ESTIMATE Masonry 726-1802 LIC/ INS ALL TYPES OF MASONRY Specializing in concrete driveways, pavers, decorative concrete, stone work, patios.

Call for freeMasonry and honest estimates.

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SMS Mobile Marine Service GPS/FishfinderCLEANING Installation • Outboards I/O’s • Inboards Call for appointment • 941-232-3523 Call Liz

for the Best Price Move Ins/Move Outs

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ADDY’S CLEANING SERVICE Best Prices in Town Commercial and Residential

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Law Office of Office in Palmer Ranch

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Sharon M. Guy

20 YRS. EXPERIENCE

CLEANING

Paintless dent repair & detailing too!

Yoder Aluminum Inc.

15505 Lemon Fish Dr. Dustin Yoder Bradenton, FL 34202 yoderaluminum@gmail.com Office 941-650-9790

MITCHELL HANDYMAN. Painting, Carpentry, Tile, Pressure Cleaning. Total Home Improvements, Repairs. Small and large! 941-284-8488.

376-4228SERVICE ADDY’S Ph. CLEANING singleturtle@aol.com 3687954-01

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AUTO SERVICE Office in Palmer Ranch

Insured Yoder Aluminum Inc.

15505 Lemon Fish Dr. Dustin Yoder Bradenton, FL 34202 “Specializing in 6” Seamless Gutters” yoderaluminum@gmail.com Office 941-650-9790

Home Improvement/ Remodeling

552-5766

ALUMINUM “Specializing in 6” Seamless Gutters”

Home Improvement/ Remodeling Furniture Repair ALBERTO’SHANDYMAN. REFINISHING Of Fine Furniture, MITCHELL Painting, Carpentry, Tile, Antiques, Cleaning.

Gold Leaf, Cane, Rush, Upholstery.

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SmallCall: and 941-296-5427. large! 941-284-8488.

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Furniture Repair OWN A MAC/iPHONE/iPAD? MacTutor has 21+ years experience teaching OfApple ALBERTO’S REFINISHING Fine products.

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812-3887 Antiques, Gold Leaf, www.FLMacTutor.com Quality Work. Call: 941-296-5427.

WILLS, Sharon M.TRUSTS, Guy, P.A.

Home Furnishing Restoration and Upholstery Specialist!

Allow me to do my very best for you!

• Integrity Hours:Honesty Monday-Friday 9am - 3pm•• Quality Weekends • byValue appointment

Gulf Gate Village 6568 Superior Ave., Sarasota, FL 34231

OWN A MAC/iPHONE/iPAD? MacTutor 21+ COMPUTER TECHNICAL Support.

H/Whas & S/W years experience Apple products. problems solved. teaching Virus/Malware removal; I speak English, Networking/ not “Geek”! Internet (941) 812-3887 data recovery; Issues; www.FLMacTutor.com Upgrades; A+, Network+ Cert. Tech. Navy trained electronics tech veteran. 941-225-0046.

Law Office of

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ESTABLISHED 1975!

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H/W & great S/W rates. Call for a quote.

941-330-4466.

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WILLS, TRUSTS, PROBATE, ELDER LAW ATTORNEY

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services available

BLUE FISH 941-705-3812.

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Residential cleaning, $60, 2 cleaners, and Commercial.

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Reasonable rates. Licensed. References. Call BRAZILIAN CLEANING Service by Maria.

941-650-6180.

Residential/ Commercial. Meticulous Cleaning.

BLUE FISH CLEANING 941-705-3812.

Excellent References.

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Insured, Bonded. Affordable reliable home Lic./ Ins. 941-400-3342. cleaning, $60, 2 cleaners, 2 hours.

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24 Years Exp.CLEANING Lic./Ins. Residential/Commercial.

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Looking for year-round customers!

We accept all Residential/ Commercial.

Meticulous Cleaning. major credit cards. Dottie, 941-321-6645.

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Lic./ Ins.CLEANING, 941-400-3342.

HOUSE housekeeping, pet sitting,

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Hours: Monday-Friday 9am - 3pm • Weekends by appointment ALUMINUM

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Computer Services

Provides home healthcare from as little as 4 hours FEMALE to 24/7 care.

COMPASSIONATE, caregiver from more info Japan, 10+ years For experience w/bathing, cooking, Phone: cleaning. Let me care 941-809-3725 for your loved ones. Yasuko: License #230506 & #30211577 941-323-3538.

In shop free estimates ESTABLISHED 1975!

CARPENTRY & REMODELING. Serving Sarasota Cleaning since 1982. Exterior siding and wood rot repairs.

Interior alterations, trim work Service. and doors.

Kitchen BETTY’S HOUSECLEANING Residential installations.

Drywall repairs. and and Commercial.

High Built-in qualitycabinets cleaning.

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Reasonable CALL rates.RON Licensed.

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by European 24 Years Exp. Lic./Ins. Residential/Commercial. couple.

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A Lending Hand, Inc.

ALTERATIONS/UPHOLSTERY

Gulf Gate Village Pick up and delivery 6568 Superior Ave., Sarasota, FL 34231

SHIP YOUR CAR, TRUCK OR SUV anywhere in CARPENTRY & REMODELING. Serving Sarasota the fast quotes.

Call sinceUnited 1982.States.

ExteriorGreat sidingrates, and wood rot repairs.

Hawley alterations, Motors, 941-923-3421.

Interior trim work and doors. Kitchen installations. Drywall repairs. Built-in cabinets and bookcases. CALLCarpentry RON VOIT 941-228-7601

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Yellow color $5 per Week • Border as low as $3 per Week

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GULFSIDE & Heating, LLC.SUV SALES & SERVSHIP YOURA/C CAR, TRUCK OR anywhere in ICE,United FREE ESTIMATES! MINUTE the States. Great10rates, fast RESPONSE. quotes. Call Visa/MC/Disc. #CAC1816929 941-962-6863.

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RENTERS: STOP Paying Your Landlord’s Homes For Sale Mortgage. Free Report reveals How Easy it is to Buy Your Own Home. www.OwnYourOwnHomeFl.com.

SORRENTO EAST Free recorded message Re/Maxhome Alliance Group.

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Homes For This 3BR/2BA split plan poolSale home has been lovingly cared for. Updated with granite kitchen, tile roof, new windows, doors, SORRENTO EAST A/C and so much more.

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For Qualified Waiting Clients

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LIDO SHORES: Waterfront home 3BR/3BA. LUXOR MHP Lagoon Pool/Spa, Dock, Private Beach access. $450/mo-1 bed/bath mobile homes.

Walking distance to world class shopping and 55+ community. No Pets. restaurants! Furnished or unfurnished. Annual 5811 14th St. W. Bradenton. rental. $4500/month. Call 941-928-1542.

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WANTED www.yourobserver.com LUXURY ANNUAL RENTALS Real Estate Wanted

Home Improvement/ Remodeling SARASOTA OBSERVER DECEMBER 12, 2013 THETHURSDAY, SARASOTA OBSERVER/ STEVE ALLEN FLOOR COVERINGS Thursday, December 12, 2013

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INN ON THE BEACH: LONGBOAT KEY CLUB. Condos Forturnkey, Sale tennis, Golf

By Owner. Private club suite, course What view, 650/sq.ft. $349,000.

708-267-6704.

FREE! every Real Estate buyer or seller needs to know!

WHISPERING SANDS: 2BR/2BA Siesta Key Go to: www.yourmarketupdate.com Gulfside, 55+, 1,575 sq/ft., 2nd flr. Enclosed Lanai, 36’x8’.

Steps to LONGBOAT Elevator, Laundry, Pool, INN ON THE BEACH: KEY CLUB. Clubhouse & Gym. Recent New tennis, Heat/AC/

By Owner. Private club suite, turnkey, Golf Refrigerator. to shops and dining.

Reduced course view,Walk 650/sq.ft. $349,000.

708-267-6704. $19K, $305K firm. 199 Whispering Sands Dr. #205.

WHISPERING 941-346-0514. SANDS: 2BR/2BA Siesta Key Gulfside, 55+, 1,575 sq/ft., 2nd flr. Enclosed Lanai, 36’x8’. Steps to Elevator, Laundry, Pool, Homes For Rent Clubhouse & Gym. Recent New Heat/AC/ Refrigerator.

Walk to shops andhome dining.3BR/3BA. Reduced LIDO SHORES: Waterfront $19K, $305K firm. 199 Whispering #205.

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NEW & REFURBISHED On Site or In Shop COMPUTER NETWORKING PCAND & LAPTOP DSL CABLEREPAIR SETUPS TRAINING SALES & SERVICE BACKUP & RECOVERY NEW & REFURBISHED VIRUS & SPYWARE EXPERTS! On Site or In Shop SETUP,NETWORKING INSTALL, UPGRADE LAPTOP REPAIR SPECIALISTS AFFORDABLE DSL AND CABLERATES SETUPS TRAINING 3204 Gulf Gate Dr., Sarasota (Across from the Library) BACKUP & RECOVERY VIRUS & SPYWARE EXPERTS! SETUP, INSTALL, UPGRADE LAPTOP REPAIR SPECIALISTS AFFORDABLE RATES 3204 Gulf Gate Dr., Sarasota (Across from the Library)

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THE SARASOTA OBSERVER/ Thursday, December 12, 2013

15B Classifieds 15B

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SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

Judie Berger

17B

Trust THE REALTOR WITH PROVEN RESULTS “As an attorney for over 30 years in NJ and PA, I’ve represented hundreds of clients in real estate transactions.

Judie has represented me in Siesta Key transactions. In my opinion, a real estate professional’s experience,

5411 Avenida del Mare - $1,089,000

5353 Cape Leyte Drive - $1,095,000

Siesta Key home near beach, 154’ frontage on deep water.

Gorgeous tropical yard, boat lift. 3 beds/3 baths

777 Beach Road #4B - $649,000

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2 beds/2 baths. Excellent income potential

SOLD

SOLD

unsurpassed knowledge of the marketplace, competence, and utmost integrity are prerequisites of the best of the best...

Judie defines them all.”

Joseph Honer, Esq. Siesta Key, FL and Media, PA

1001 Benjamin Franklin Drive - $399,000

709 Treasure Boat Way - $1,550,000

7220 Proctor Road - $,1,000,000

Deeded access across the street to Lido Beach.

Large condo with eat-in kitchen. 2 beds/2 baths

Custom 4 beds/3 baths Siesta Key waterfront pool home. Exquisite appointments, large patio, and outdoor kitchen – perfect for entertaining

5300 sq. ft. casually elegant estate on 2.5 acres, built 2007, 2 ponds, 15 minutes to Siesta Key. 4-5 beds/4.5 baths

Your

Top producer on SieSTa Key - premier SoTheby’S inTernaTional realTy a leader in SaraSoTa reSidenTial SaleS VoTed SaraSoTa magazine’S FiVe STar agenT “beST in clienT SaTiSFacTion” 7 yearS in a row Specializing in luxury marKeTing and negoTiaTion diScreeT conSulTaTionS

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HOMESOFSARASOTA.com Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

128931

Here are 15 Reasons Why You Should Choose Wagner Realty: People’s Choice Award Winner 15 Years Straight TA

S SIE

Y KE

TA

S SIE

GULF TO BAY COMPLEX

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ILD

PM

Y KE N OPE

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1-4 Y A ND

SU

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U OB T Y AD

RE

JAYMAN RD.

80 x 110 $9,000 Jim Frost, PA 941.544.9748

ET!

N

HO

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O EM

NR

SA

3 HOMES FROM THE BAY 3BD/3BA $339,000 Tanya Stutzman 941.504.8785

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TATUM RIDGE - MAINTENANCE FREE

ER

LM PA

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4/3 w/3car Garage $439,000 Iva Fadley-Dane, PA 941.350.8001

VACCARO DRIVE, SARASOTA Alex M. Morel, PA 941.822.1519

Lake View & Amazing Sunsets $354,990 Tina Biter 941.932.3367

CH

N RA

RK MA

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Mary Lou Spinelli 941.539.4736

W NE

T. NS O C

NORTH SARASOTA

Price Range: $250,000-$500,000 Mike Doyle 941.284.2552

Sarasota Office: 1440 First Street. Sarasota, FL 34236

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3Bd/2BA, Pool $1,375,000 Ryan Hoffman 941.773.9184

LD

O TS

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LAKERIDGE FALLS

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18B

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

How Do You Spend Your Winter?

Why Not In The Sun And Surf?

#1 Agent in the Siesta Key Office for 22 years!

Betsy

de Manio

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

Realtor®

office: 941-349-2922 cell: 941-914-5540 betsy@betsydemanio.com

Siesta Key Beach Front and Just Blocks from Siesta Key Village

Gulf Views and Island Paradise Living!

1.5 Blocks to Siesta Key Beach and Village

140 Avenida Veneccia

• 2,560 SF, 3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths, 1 Car Garage.

• Outdoor shower to wash off sandy toes.

• Elevator to every floor!

• Covered Loggia under building for al fresco • Solid maple cabinets, granite counters dining and entertaining. & SS appliances.

• A short walk to SK Beach and SK Village!

MLS A3977131 $975,000

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate 5145 Ocean Blvd., Sarasota, FL Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Owned and Operated by NRT,LLC

Voted Sarasota Magazine’s five Star Agent “Best in Client Satisfaction” 8 Years in a row Coldwell Banker - International President’s Premier Agent

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Choose your own architect or builder. Boat slips are available.

KlausLang@michaelsaunders.com

500 Beach Road

• 2,491 SF, 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths, 4 Car Garage.

• 1 of 3 freestanding condos that make up Siesta • Community pool and private walkway to beach.

Beach House.

• 15’ x 20’ bonus room!

• Gulf Views!

• Open kitchen with breakfast bar.

MLS A3983728 $1,999,000

Visit also: www.sarasotahomesnearringling.com

EXPANSIVE Gulf froNt oN SIEStA KEY! Introducing BankUnited Home Mortgage Center.

Just a better Introducing home buyingBankUnited Home Mortgage Center. experience.

At BankUnited, we understand that finding the Introducing BankUnited right Mortgage mortgage is just as important as finding Home Center.

the right home. From application to closing, our loan consultants will work with you through every step of the financing process to help you make owning your dream home a reality. *BankSpeak At BankUnited, we understand that finding the right mortgage is just as important as finding the right home. From application to closing, our loan consultants will work with you through every step of the financing process to help you make owning your dream home a reality.

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*Bank Speak At BankUnited, we understand that finding the right mortgage is just as important as finding the right home. From application to closing, our loan consultants will work with you through every step of the financing process to help you make owning your dream home a reality.

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*BankSpeak

Introducing BankUnited Home Mortgage Center.

** To be eligible for the closing cost discount you must be an existing BankUnited accountholder. Discount on closing costs is only applicable to first mortgage purchase or refinancing transaction loan amounts greater than $150,000.

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Other At BankUnited, weto understand thatproperty finding the right mortgage is justrestrictions, limitations and fees may apply. This is not a commitment as importantto aslend. finding the right home. From application to closing,

278 feet of Gulf frontage!

©201

our loan consultants will work with you through every step of the financing process to help you make owning your dream home a reality.

ron Stahl realty

rstahlrlty@aol.com

128927

941 374 1671

We’re with you.

We’re with you.

** To be eligible for the closing cost discount you must be an existing BankUnited accountholder. Discount on closing costs is only applicable to first mortgage purchase or refinancing transaction loan amounts greater than $150,000.

Fee reductions are those in effect as of October 10, 2013 and are subject to change without notice. Cannot be combined with any other offers or specials.

All loans subject to credit and property approval. Other restrictions, limitations and fees may apply. This is not a commitment to lend.

Member FDIC ©2013 BankUnited, N.A.

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To learn more about our home mortgage products, stop into your is only applicable to first mortgage purchase or refinancing transaction loan amounts greater941.592.7649 than $150,000.

941.730.3517 branch, our Home Mortgagenotice.

Center atCannot 941.592.7649 Fee reductions are those in effect as of October 10, 2013 and are local subject tocall change without be SSvirsky@BankUnited.com BLeereveld@BankUnited.com Seeing is Believing!! or visit us at www.mortgages.bankunited.com. combined with any other offers or specials.

All loans subject to credit and property approval. Other restrictions, limitations and fees may apply. This is not a offered at $7,900,000 commitment to lend.

ron Stahl

10/10/13 5:05 PM

13_BKU_1192 Jumbo Home Mortgage Print ad_Luxe Interiors.indd 1

10/10/13 5:05 PM

Stephanie Church 941.724.5448

1280 Northport Drive, Sarasota

Siesta Key’s most dynamic bay views. 3 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, 1 half bathroom, Approx. 3000 sq. ft., 4 car garage, private pool overlooking the bay, point lot with 230 ft. of waterfront, 12,000 lb. boat lift.

A3986456 $2,295,000

We

7445 Sanderling Road, Sarasota

Exclusive waterfront lifestyle in The Sanderling Club.

5 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, 1 half bathroom, 4,308 sq. ft., 1.07 acre lot , 89 ft. on Heron Lagoon, full gulf views, private beach access and boat slip available at bayside marina.

A3986383 $2,000,000

StephanieChurch@michaelsaunders.com www.StephanieChurch.com www.Facebook.com/srqrealestateagent

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

19B

The Grand Club

in the heart of Siesta Key

Gulf and Bay Club is the premier gulf front gated community on over 30 acres with 780 feet of beach frontage right on world famous Siesta Key beach.

Amenities include 3 heated pools (including a lap pool), 8 tennis courts, 6 dry saunas, a fitness center with spa, an expansive clubhouse with library and computer room, racquetball and basketball courts and multiple barbecue areas with picnic tables.

Monthly Rentals Available

5760 MIDNIGHT PASS RD,#D-605

5780 MIDNIGHT PASS RD,#B-608

Fully furnished 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with updated appliances and newer carpet.

Great View.

Priced at $649,000

Best value at Gulf and Bay Club. 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo with sweeping views of beach and comlpex .

Priced at $599,000

Gulf & Bay Club Realty, LLC Licensed Real Estate Broker 5730 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota, FL 34242

941-349-3000 www.gulfandbayclub.com

Marc Turgeon,GRI Sales & Rental Manager

Thomas Fastiggi Broker 128924

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search

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video

- November, 2013 Top Listing Associate in Units and Volume

YOUR SARASOTA DIGITAL AGENCY

DigitalObserver Media

Betsy deManio Top Sales Associate in Units

HELPING YOU THROUGH A SEA OF DIGITAL DECISIONS.

941.914.5540 Top Sales Associate in Volume

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Congratulates Its Siesta Key Leaders — January 2013 Top Listing Associate

Bob Stahlschmidt in Units 941.266.2684 AGENT NAME

Top Closing123.456.7890 Associate in Units

Top Sales Associate in Units AGENT NAME

CALL TODAY FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION

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AGENT NAME

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Bob Stahlschmidt 941.266.2684 123.456.7890

digitalobservermedia.com

Top Listing Associate

Betsy deManio in Volume941.914.5540

AGENT NAME

Betsy deManio 941.914.5540 123.456.7890

5145 Ocean Blvd., Sarasota, FL 34242 | 941.349.4411 | FloridaMoves.com 121362

5145 Ocean Blvd., Sarasota, FL 34242 \ 941.349.4411 \ FloridaMoves.com

©2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker Real Equal EstateHousing LLC. Coldwell BankerOperated is a registered trademark Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An©2013 Equal Opportunity Company.

Opportunity. by a subsidiary of licensed NRT LLC.to6537FL_1/13

An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. 6537FL_1/13

20B

SARASOTA OBSERVER

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

v

4011 shell road

uniquely amazing properties

5Br • 5Ba • 4hB • 4cg 9,202 sF $9,500,000 siesta key

schemmelpropertygroup.com

facebook.com/schemmelpropertygroup

1629 cariBBean drive 4Br • 7.5Ba • 2cg 6,150 sF $2,695,000 coral cove

4021 las palmas Way 5Br • 7.5Ba • 2cg 6,444 sF $1,590,000 prestancia

4369 Boca pointe drive

Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Top Producing Agent Team in Sarasota 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012

4Br • 3.5 Ba • 3cg 4,847 sF $1,195,000 prestancia

Joel schemmel, J.d. 941.587.4894 joel.schemmel@sothebysrealty.com

7729 red cedar lane

sharon chiodi 941.809.0380 sharon.chiodi@sothebysrealty.com

5Br • 5Ba • 3cg 5,027 sF $799,000

schemmelpropertygroup.com

Bent tree

SPG | S CHEMMEL P ROPERTY G ROUP

6727 midnight pass road, 108a

Results

1450 point crisp – pending 1456 point crisp – pending 385 n point road, 401 – pending 8222 shadow pine Way – pending 3859 Boca pointe drive – pending 2910 casey key road – closed 7500 calle Facil – closed 3994 hamilton club circle – closed 3988 losillias drive – closed 1384 harbor drive – closed 4081 escondito circle – closed 5098 timber chase Way – closed 7261 villa d’este drive – closed 1255 n. Basin lane – pending 2374 Bougainvillea street – closed 1504 casey key road – closed 7661 calle Facil – closed 4285 escondito circle – closed 4520 murcia Boulevard #115 – closed 525 s shore drive – closed 420 Beach road, 801 – closed 452 e royal Flamingo – closed 556 sutton place – closed 7560 trillium Boulevard – closed

under contract

280 golden gate point | downtown sarasota

siesta key

reservations Being accepted

Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered service marks used with permission. Each office is independently owned and operated. Equal Housing Opportunity.

128922

2Br • 2Ba 900 sF $239,000

Diversions YourObserver.com

A&E

Sarasota struck a chord with composer Lera Auerbach PAGE 2

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2012

BLACK TIE

A&E

Spotlight: Ringling wood carvers PAGE 4

‘SPARCCle by the Bay’ PAGE 11

HOME&GARDEN | HOME OF THE MONTH

by Robert Plunket | Contributing Writer

Photo by Heather Merriman

Heroes and villains, con men and a pop star — they’ve all called this Lido Shores mansion home.

HOME&GARDEN COVER STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

2

DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: MUSICAL DIRECTION

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

COMPOSER OF NOTE Sarasotan Lera Auerbach’s life is composed of unique opportunities that led her to become a composer and concert pianist in high demand.

T

Photo by Mallory Gnaegy

“I love this place,” Lera Auerbach says of The Hermitage. “I think it’s one of the jewels of not just Florida, but it is an incredibly important residency in the U.S.”

he first time composer Lera Auerbach came to Sarasota was to visit the Warm Mineral Springs in 2009. She went swimming one foggy morning, and when her head breached the salty surface she heard beautiful, sad singing in the distance. Unable to see through the fog, she swam over to where a group of elderly Ukrainian women was singing a folk song.

Inspired, Auerbach swam to the shore and immediately began notating what she had heard, later asking the group of women to tell her the words. It was perfect for Auerbach’s current opera composition at the time, “Gogol” because the character Gogol is Ukrainian-born. The signing inspired a scene in the opera.

Auerbach will share other stories surrounding her work in a presentation Thursday, Dec. 12 at the Historic Asolo Theater. The event will showcase the 40-yearold, Russian-born composer and concert pianist’s art. The modern

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

3

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT composer is in high demand internationally to compose works for famed groups such as the Royal Danish Ballet and the National Symphony Orchestra.

The 2009 visit sold Auerbach on the area, and she bought a vacation home here a month prior to her residency that year at Hermitage Artist Retreat. It’s a place where national artists of all disciplines are nominated to live and work in the serene setting of Manasota Key. Coincidentally, the home she bought was just down the road from the Hermitage.

And, when her New York home and studio — including her piano and manuscripts — burned down the last day of her fourweek work residency, it was as if the world was telling her something: Just stay put.

The more time she spent in Sarasota over the next four years, and the more fresh Gulf air that filled her lungs, the more she felt at peace. This fall, she bought a new permanent home here with her husband, Rafael DeStella, their dog, cat, ferret, guinea pig and an eventual aviary for birds.

Personal independence

It’s not the only time in Auerbach’s life that greater forces took her somewhere new. It’s how her career took off in the first place.

Auerbach came from a family where generations of musicians preceded her, on both sides of her family. The same time Auerbach learned to read in her hometown, Chelyabinsk, Russia, she learned to notate. And at age

4, as a child would, she’d dream up stories, but hers were illustrated with sounds. She remembers one tragically romantic story she wrote based on a poem by Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov about a sinking ship. By age 12, her community staged an opera she wrote.

At age 17, before the Soviet Union dissolved, she won a cultural exchange contest that granted her the opportunity to travel to the United States and perform a tour of concerts. Before this trip, she had never traveled anywhere, she spoke no English, had no money, and the only person she knew of in the United States was an acquaintance of her mother’s.

During the trip, her isolation continued as she traveled under the guard of a KGB group, where one untrusting man wouldn’t let her talk to fans following a performance. Feeling a surge of independence, she proudly told the man that America is a free country and she can talk to whomever she wants. So, when the other teens on the tour got to New York, and the rest of the group went shopping, they forbid Auerbach from going, instead leaving her in the hotel room. But, things have a way of working out for her.

“I had this sense, this feeling of freedom,” she says. “I sensed it so strongly and felt I needed it as air.

I had this gut feeling that this is the place for me.”

With that gut feeling, Auerbach called her mother’s acquaintance, introduced herself

IF YOU GO Lera Auerbach featuring cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan In partnership with Hermitage Artist Retreat and The Ringling’s Art of Our Time When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12 Where: Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road Cost: Tickets $5; free to museum members, same-day ticket holders and students Info: Call 360-7399

Courtesy

Narek Hakhnazaryan and asked to be introduced to other musicians. After this friend called another, Auerbach ended up playing for faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, which was closed at the time. She played an uncustomary informal audition and was accepted on the spot. Within one day’s time, Auerbach learned she could either stay in New York or return home, stifling the opportunity — and her protective parents gave their blessing for whatever choice she made.

“The whole trip was a miracle,” she says. “…If I didn’t take (the opportunity) it wouldn’t have repeated itself.”

Without knowing when she would be able to see her fam-

ily again, if ever, she made the leap. It was the Fourth of July, and Auerbach marks it her own day of independence.

She transferred to Julliard the following year and was able to see her family five years after leaving her homeland.

Future compositions

Today, Auerbach’s plans for the future consist of finishing the pieces she commissions six years out. She’s working on a 21st century take on the opera “Eugene Onegin,” named “Tatiana,” for choreographer and director of Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier.

He’s one of the first big names to begin commissioning Auerbach, and they’ve been collaborating for 10 years. The other big ballet they collaborated on, “The Little Mermaid,” won the 2012 Echo Klassik award for best DVD recording. The award is the European equivalent of the Grammy’s.

Before she can get to that piece, she’ll perform at Historic Asolo Theater. It wasn’t until a recent trip to Sao Paulo, where Auerbach is the composer in residence at the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, that she picked up a guest soloist for her Hermitage program.

The Brazilian orchestra performed a three-day profile of her work, in which Auerbach also performed. She performed one of her own pieces, “Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 69” with cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan.

Hakhnazaryan won the 2011 XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition, making him one of the most in-demand and sought after cellists of recent time.

“It was as if he grew up with this music,” she says.

And as fate (and fortune) would have it, he didn’t have a concert on Dec. 12 and decided to join her program. Life always seems to work out for Lera Auerbach; she always seems to strike the right note.

I had this sense, this feeling of freedom. I sensed it so strongly and felt I needed it as air. — Lera Auerbach

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YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: LIVING EXHIBITION

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor

Greatest whittle show on Earth The Circus Museum wood carvers are part of the only living exhibit at The Ringling. They carve on-site every Thursday morning, but their camaraderie is the best part of the display.

Photos by Mallory Gnaegy

A few of the The Ringling’s woodcarving shop’s volunteers: Don Welch, Nora Sellmer, Marty Rosen, Martha Kelley (painting volunteer), Don Haynie and Manfred Klatt

O

ccasionally, a family of tourists will stop by The Ringling’s Circus Museum woodcarving shop. The guys (and one woman carver) love it when children visit. It’s as if they’re waiting for one question in particular: “What is that?” a child asks them regarding the to-scale camel sculpture they have been carving since 2008.

“It’s a giraffe,” one of the volunteers responds.

The children usually know better, but the carvers always try to put it past them. Both parties involved get a kick out the banter.

It’s exemplary of the kind of fun that keeps the dozen-or-so volunteers coming at 10 a.m. every Thursday morning.

The best time to visit the shop during season is before lunch.

It’s when the wood carvers are in action. Three or four of the volunteers work on the large camel carving, while the other 10 hunch over projects around the periphery. There are a handful of women who come to paint some of the finished products on Wednesdays. The Ringling offers these ornaments and decorative art they create in the gift shop of the Circus Museum. They usually fly off the shelves as quickly as they are produced.

This exhibit started more than three decades ago. Five men — Joe McKennon, Bruce Miller, Dr. Alex Aitken, Ed McDonnell, and Bernie Lippner — were The Ringling’s first generation of wood carvers. They began re-creating and salvaging the historic carv-

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

5

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Regularly asked questions and the typical responses you will hear:

BY THE NUMBERS

What is it? It’s a giraffe. It’s a camel.

proud of their scars and sores. And if Manfred Klatt hears you ask, he might show you his two missing finger tips.

3 — numbers of new members in the past six years

Is it made of fiberglass? No. Once they are painted, they might look like they aren’t made of wood — they are indeed made of wood.

surviving circus wagon was built. You can see it in the circus museum.

Does it have a name? No. Not yet, but they are open to any child’s suggestion.

What kind of wood is the camel?

Linden wood.

How long have you been working

on it? Since Lincoln was in office.

We don’t remember. For three years.

Did it start out as one piece of wood? No, it started in segments of wood based on a model form.

Do your fingers ever get sore?

No, and most wood workers are

1879 — the year the oldest-

1979 — the year the newest circus wagon, The Griffin, was built. You can see it at the Circus Museum.

18 – number of tassels on the camel

20 – average hours it takes for one tassel

12 – hours it takes to complete an ornament

Manfred Klatt works on carving the tassels earlier this year in June.

YOUROBSERVER.COM // See a video of the woodcarvers.

4 – people it takes to complete an ornament (one cuts it out, one carves it, one designs it, one paints it)

Above: Marty Rosen holds the sign they use to recruit new wood carvers. They aren’t currently seeking volunteers. Inset: A hibiscus Rosen carved in his free time.

Haynie carved 1,020 Santa Claus ornaments as an artisan on display.

All of the volunteers started with woodworking experience. Marty Rosen, 75, the designated camel project manager and designer of the majority of the ornaments, was in advertising and would rush home daily at 5 p.m. to carve furniture and other decorative carvings in his garage. The other men have similar stories; they are retired industrial arts teachers, a policeman, a dentist, a commercial banker, and there have been a couple of FBI agents, to name a few of the careers from which they are retired. They all wear volunteer lanyards with their names, and most of them have additional

merits designating “1,000-plus hours” or even “5,000-plus hours.”

They’ve had three new members in the past six years. The newest volunteer and only female carver, Nora Sellmer, started two years ago. It’s a difficult position to get — the group is not actively seeking new volunteers. But when it is, there’s an interview process that involves seeing a craftsman’s work. Sellmer had to take a cabinet door she made off of her own kitchen cabinets to demonstrate her ability. She was a professional sign maker in Vermont and one of few who actually comes in with detailed, hand-carving experience in addition to woodworking.

The large-scale works are a great opportunity for woodwork-

ers.

“We can make these things (ornaments) at home in our garage, but where are you going to do that?” Dick Dorn asks, pointing to the camel. “Most woodworkers would give their right teeth to come in here (and work on that).”

But, most of the guys come for the craftsmanship and stick around for the camaraderie. They occasionally socialize outside of the shop and will go to dinner or on other field trips. They went to see an art show in Venice that featured one of Marty Rosen’s wood sculptures. And there’s always something to talk about in the shop — it’s never quiet.

“But we don’t talk politics,” says John Haynie with a laugh.

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the elephant, but his name was left off the plaque on the base of the completed carving that lists the names of men who work on them. But, Haynie created the textural folds in the elephant’s skin.

“I said, ‘How come my name isn’t on it?’” Haynie says. “And they said, ‘Kid, we didn’t have room!’”

It made him mad, so he started making tree ornaments — before that time they didn’t make any smaller carvings. Prior to his time at The Ringling, in Historic Cold Spring Village in Cape May, N.J., a living history museum with a similar woodcarving exhibition,

126570

ings on the sides of circus wagons, chariots and animal cages. They re-created a 1902 Ringling Bros.

Griffin wagon, which they completed in 1979. It was the group’s biggest project, re-created using photographs. It’s on display at the museum along with the rest of the bigger pieces the men today create.

The group of carvers you’ll find on Thursdays these days is the second generation, although a couple of them (Graham Barkhuff and Don Welch) came around when the first-generation carvers were still carving. After the Griffin wagon and wagon carving in the early ’90s, the carvers started producing the large carousel animal sculptures. These parade outside the wood carving shop and, when completed, become a display in the Circus Museum. Wood carving is a way to demonstrate the old circus art form as a way to prevent it from becoming a lost art.

The first sculpture was “Ringo’s horse.” In fact, Barkhuff claims one of the legs as his handiwork.

“I got the tail,” Don Welch says, chiming in.

The horse was completed in 1999. Then came the baby elephant in 2002 and the tiger in 2008. They’ve been working on the camel for three hours a day, one day a week since 2008. They expect it’ll take another three years.

The tree ornaments they make (tigers, snowmen, Santa, elephants, lions and camels — oh, my!) started in 2002 out of spite.

John Haynie tells the story. He was around when they started carving

DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: HIGHLIGHTS

European Traditions

Panelists Tony Stopperan, executive producer; June Petrie, producer; Bradley Battersby, writer/director; Jacob Cooper, actor; Nick Morgulis, director of photography; Lindsay Tornquist, actor; Brendan Ragan, actor

Since 1993

Lucky audience sees unveiling of first full-length feature film

by Mallory Gnaegy | A&E Editor There was a full house of Ringling College of Art and Design film students, donors, faculty and interested parties at the producer’s cut screening of “The Lucky 6” Saturday, at the college.

A panel of those involved in the creation of the first full-length feature film produced

by Ringling College spoke about the process in between four 10-minute segments of film. It wasn’t the final product, but it was enough to wow the audience — especially with a budget of less than $60,000. The production quality involved “a lot of movie magic,” says Producer June Petrie.

“It’s all Tony Stopperan’s fault,” says Larry Thompson, president of Ringling College of Art and Design. Stopperan was responsible for the collaborative effort between Ringling College and FSU/Asolo Conservatory For Actor Training — if you’re curious, you can read a profile The Observer produced about Stopperan online at YourObserver.com. Although they can’t say if the collaboration on a full-length feature film will happen again in the future, it has already opened a lot of

Executive Producer Tony Stopperan and Ringling College of Art and Design President Dr. Larry Thompson

doors. In fact, Stopperan nodded to the fact that famed director Roman Coppola has shown interest in bringing a movie production to the campus.

It hasn’t been announced or confirmed, but considering the attendance and vocal outpouring of support from Sarasota Film Festival Board President Mark Famiglio, it might be safe to assume you can see the final product of “The Lucky 6” in the Sarasota Film Festival in April. At least, that’s what the producers hope.

Photos by Mallory Gnaegy

Dr. Murf Klauber, Tana Sandefur and Thomas Savage

Director of Photography Nick Morgulis with Ringling College of Art and Design students Jeffrey Boos and May Todd, who worked on “The Lucky 6.”

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DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

7

// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: REVIEWS

THEATER // ‘White Christmas’ It’s snowing at The Players. Stage snow, of course. The occasion: Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Dewayne Barrett is the director and choreographer of this sentimental holiday favorite.

It’s a musical — and mostly music. The production offers a snappy revue of 16 Berlin standards: “I Love a Piano,” “Sisters,” “Blue Skies,” “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep),” “How Deep is the Ocean” and “White Christmas,” to name a few. Berlin’s tunes are familiar, even to baby boomer ears.

The man was a hit machine. The story, thin as it is, basically functions as a setup for his tunes. Said story was lifted whole-hog from the 1954 Bing Crosby/Danny Kaye musical.

In case you missed the rerun on Turner Classic Movies, the musical unfolds in the post-World War II period. Two Army buddies (Bob Wallace, played by John Andruzzi, and Phil Davis, played by Joseph Strickland) are now a song-and-dance team. (Highly successful headliners on “The Ed Sullivan Show!”) But, instead of opening in Miami, they wind up going to Vermont to save their general’s dilapidated country inn by putting on a show in the barn out back. (For some reason, this always seems to work in musicals.) Along the way, they fall in love with a sister act (Alana Opie and Tahlia Byers). Do the brothers win their hearts? Do they save the general’s inn? Does it snow? Does Godot show up? The outcome is never in doubt.

Barrett directs this period piece with period flair. His high-energy production honors the style of the times. Think tap-dancing chorus lines and four-part harmonies in an alternate theatrical universe where Bob Fosse and Andrew Lloyd Webber had never been born.

As to the high-energy performers: Wallace and Strickland make a believable comedy team; they riff off nicely against each other and make you buy it. Opie and Byers alternate between screwball patter and heartwarming moments as the Haynes sisters.

In supporting roles, George Naylor makes a suitably crusty General Waverly; Mary Wickes is a scene-stealer as the desk clerk with a Broadway background; Kaitlyn Cairo is endearing as a wannabe child star who

Courtesy

John Andruzzi, Alana Opie, Joseph Strickland and Tahlia Joanna star in "White Christmas." always dials it up to 11; Jolie Rand and Lauren LaBoissiere earn giggles as perpetually giggly chorus girls, Rita and Rhoda; Brian Finnerty is funny as the perpetually angry Dom DeLuise-ish stage manager; Bill Cairo’s taciturn New Englander character has pretty much one line — “A-yup.” But he makes that funny, too.

The production’s acting styles and songand-dance routines evoke the 1950s film without being a dead steal. Barrett’s homage offers room for inventiveness and surprise.

The costumes and scenery hit the same note — suggestive and evocative without being literal and dull. Kudos to set designer Kirk Hughes, costumer Jared Walker and everyone on the Players’ creative team for engineering this lost world.

You get the sense that everyone involved in this had a whole lot of fun. The opening night audience did, too.

At the risk of unwrapping the present too early and spoiling the surprise, “White Christmas” offers a big thumbs-up for family values, military loyalty, true love, Christmas spirit and nostalgia. In the world of this musical, all the bad guys were defeated in World War II. The only conflicts are misunderstandings; the only ending is happy. Is it sentimental? You better believe it.

It’s like stepping into a giant Christmas card.

— Marty Fugate

IF YOU GO ‘White Christmas’ runs through Dec. 22, at Players Theatre, 838 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For more information, call 365-2494 or visit theplayers.org.

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DIVERSIONS

YourObserver.com

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// HOME&GARDEN : HOME OF THE MONTH

by Robert Plunket | Contributing Writer (continued from page 1)

Heroes and villains, con men and a pop star — they’ve all called this Lido Shores mansion home.

S

Above: A custom Waterford chandelier graces the entrance hall. Bobby Vinton’s blue velvet drapes frame the view.

Right: Marble benches facing New Pass commemorate the home’s previous owners.

G

rant’s

arasota has had its share of larger-thanlife characters over the years, and it seems that an awful lot of them have owned the white modernist mansion that catches everyone’s eye on the bridge to Longboat. Topped by a circular room with a 360-degree view, it’s been home to some of the town’s most colorful heroes and villains, and even a pop icon.

Phillip Hiss, the community leader and architectural designer who developed Lido Shores and the Sarasota School of Architecture, built the home. Famously avant garde when completed in 1955, the home was where Hiss and his wife, Shirley, raised their family and set the stage for Sarasota’s incarnation as an intellectual town with progressive ideas and a sophisticated visual style.

When Hiss helped found New College back in 1960, he donated the home for use

G

as the official residence of the college president.

The idea proved impractical, however, so the house was sold to the Count de Rohan, a French nobleman and film producer. The count glamorized the house, adding an elevator and its signature circular room. He sold it to another Frenchman, Francois Gardinier, a gofor-broke entreprenuer and wine baron who at one point owned U.S. Phosphoric and many of the old resorts on Longboat Key. Gardinier renovated the home to suit his lavish lifestyle; he added a 12-foot-by-12-foot walk-in safe complete with a bank vault door (to accommodate his $20 million art collec-

Photos by Heather Merriman

tion) plus a four-bedroom guesthouse.

And then came Dale Murray. Court papers from one of his many legal wranglings described his life as “a Greek tragedy.” Sarasota knew him in his heyday, when, as owner of Chris-Craft, the famous boat builder, he dazzled the town with his deals, private jets and political connections. At one point, he was building ultra-fast boats for the Colombian drug cartel while building even faster ones for the U.S. Coast Guard. This conflict of interest lead to a contract on his life, which accounts for the home’s extraordinary security system, installed with the help of the FBI. But Chris-Craft went bankrupt during the BCCI banking scandal in the late 1980s, and the downward slide accelerated.

Murray made the news one last time in 2002 when he was sentenced to prison for failing to support the il-

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

9

// HOME&GARDEN

Top: In the security command post, the remnants of the FBI-installed 1980s security system.

Bottom: The entrance gates to the property were once the doors to a Mexican Colonial church.

Clockwise from above: The swimming pool has an adjacent four-bedroom guesthouse; the dining room seats 18, with a pin spot above each place setting; the living room boasts a marble fireplace mantel from China; the renovated master bath features floor-to-ceiling water views.

legitimate daughter he had with a topless dancer from Kentucky.

His defense? He had run out of money. *** The current owners, Ralph and Sherri Trine, sometimes marvel at the unique history of their home.

They’re successful entrepreneurs, too, but grounded in a no-nonsense Midwestern work ethic.

They have turned the legendary Westway house into a private family retreat of peaceful relaxation, reunions and vacations.

When the Trines bought the place in 2003, it badly needed updating and renovation. The bones of the house were excellent, with its modernist beginnings still in evidence. Designed on a grid of 13-foot sections, the rooms are

well-proportioned and complement each other, with a classic simplicity of white walls and glass doors and windows, most facing an extraordinary view of New Pass.

The Trines installed a new kitchen and reconfigured the master suite, turning an adjoining bedroom into a spectacular bath overlooking the water. The three guest rooms in the main house are all exactly alike, a concept dating back to Gardinier’s ownership.

“He didn’t want any of his guests to feel slighted about getting the second — or third — best room,” Sherri Trine explains.

This has been a second home for the Trines. They run a familyowned manufacturing business in Indiana, where they are active

in local philanthropy. They are so active, in fact, that Ralph’s alma mater, Tri-State University, in Angola, Ind., recently changed its name to Trine University.

“The house demanded elegance,” Sherri Trine says.

She furnished it in white and neutrals so as not to distract from the blues and greens that flood in from the outdoors. The furniture, mostly from Baker, is in a style that suggests French art deco.

Decorative items — including the white marble fireplace mantel in the living room — that come from the couple’s frequent trips to China, complement it. They’ve been more than 30 times.

The circular room on the third floor still holds many memories of the house’s sixth owners, singer

Bobby Vinton and his wife, Dolly.

It was here that Vinton wrote and recorded music. He added the granite-topped bar and a bath, plus a sauna by the pool.

The house has provided a bridge between the Trines and the Vintons. The crooner serenaded Sherri Trine with a special version of “Happy Birthday” during one of his concerts, and, though now settled in another home on Manasota Key, he has been known to drop by and reminisce about his Lido Shore days.

The Trines are moving on, to a smaller place on Longboat. Like the previous owners, they are leaving some of their own special touches behind. They have placed six marble benches facing New Pass, each incised with the

names of the colorful crew who previously owned the mansion.

Sherri Trine says she fell in love with the house the first time she entered through the wooden gates, which were once the doors to a Mexican Colonial church.

A row of palm trees leads to the front door, which opens to the home’s grandest room, a twostory entrance hall with a spectacular Waterford chandelier. The enormous window facing the view is framed by a pair of draperies, a relic that dates back to the Vinton days.

And, yes — they’re blue velvet.

1415 Westway Drive is listed at $8.5 million. For more information, call Reid Murphy of Developers Realty at 232-3304.

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// FOOD&COOKING:

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

COLUMN

TIDBITES

by June LeBell

OFF THE HOOK RINGS A BELL

Contributing Columnist june@junelebell.com

ROAST IS TOASTING AROUND THE CORNER FROM THE OPERA HOUSE

M

any restaurants have tried the space on First Street, around the corner from the Sarasota Opera House, but none has stayed open long. Now, a new contender that just may put down roots there is Roast, a restaurant and full bar, that’s taken the neighborhood by storm. In fact, we ate there when it first opened about a month ago, and when we tried to make last-minute reservations for dinner before a concert, we couldn’t get in.

When we walked by, we saw a line at the door and a lively crowd at the tables inside and out, in the beautiful courtyard.

Open for lunch and dinner, Roast features grilled and roasted meats, seafood, shareable plates, salads, soups and vegetarian and pasta dishes. It also offers catering — the main dining room downstairs and the courtyard area have a capacity of about 50 each — and it also has

a cocktail lounge and a smaller dining room on the second floor that can seat up to 30. Combined it could host a charming cocktail party for as many as 100 people.

It’s a fun foodie place with beautiful surroundings. The chef/proprietor, Andrew Thompson, and General Manager Frank Zilleckis call it, “Modern American with a European influence.” Whatever they call it, it’s good and we hope it sticks around a long time.

HALF SHELL OYSTER HAS A NAME AND PLACE CHANGE

O

ur old favorite, the Half Shell Oyster House on Main, has packed up and moved to 5230 University Parkway and changed its name to The Half Shell Seafood House. But, what’s in a name when the food is better than ever?

It still has the best, freshest, largest oysters for the best price in town: One dozen raw oysters, perfectly shucked and glistening in their juice, are a mere $13. And, the other day when we were there for lunch, the oysters

Courtesy of LCD Photography

Polo Lounge

were a little smaller than usual (still huge, by most standards, though), so, without saying a word, four more were added to the iced tray, giving us an even 16 for the same price.

The restaurant also added some incredible dishes that are packing in the customers for lunch and dinner. Among them is a lip-smacking lobster macaroni, piles of steamed mussels, a whole listing of steamed crabs from king to snow, and to-diefor seared ahi tuna.

POLO GRILL REOPENS

T

he Polo Grill and Bar in Lakewood Ranch has not only refurbished and spiffed up its premises after a short closing this summer, it’s also hired a new chef. Tommy Klauber, the proprietor of Polo Grill, has brought in Stephane Pierre.

“His mastery of cooking and his big, warm personality have won over many of our frequent customers and staff. Anyone who has the chance to come out, meet him and try his foods will truly enjoy it.”

Pierre, 44, a Belgium native, has more than 25 years of experience in the culinary arts and fine dining.

He started out as a fish cleaner at the Michelin-starred Devos Restaurant in Brussels and went on to receive an official appointment by the royal family of Belgium to serve the royal court. He’s racked up a bunch of impressive culinary awards from certified master chef to being named a disciple of the famous Auguste Escoffier and president of the Euro Toques Society.

RE-IMAGINE HEALTHCARE

Polo Grill Chef Stephane Pierre at The Polo Grill is a huge establishment. Aside from the dining room and bar areas, which have been made more beautiful than ever, there’s a huge banquet hall that can serve a variety of configurations and is used for many major events with sit-down capacity for hundreds of diners.

If you’ve been to The RitzCarlton, Sarasota since the restaurant became Jack Dusty, you know two of the people associated with the opening of J.D. were Patrick Bucko and Ruth Hardy. Now the pair is starting a new venture called Off the Hook Seafood Company with a trio of other foodies: Nick and Tracy Melone and Sean Dargin, who’ll oversee the bar.

Off the Hook opened about a month ago in the restauranthappy Gateway Avenue — 6630 Gateway, to be precise — and they tell us the new venue is offering local seafood with weekly changes and a latenight menu.

Bucko, who was born in Sarasota, has already spent some 30 years in the restaurant business. In fact, he started working at The Pub out on Longboat when he was just 15.

Since 1993, Bucko’s been a server, bartender and manager of such important Sarasota landmark establishments as Euphemia Haye, Horse Feathers and the Cork and Bottleshop Restaurant. He’s also worked for Sean Murphy’s group at not only the Beach Bistro, but also the other Eat Here restaurants in our area.

He got the Jack Dusty team going about a year ago, and now he’s got his own place with his friends. They are serving up seafood that’s, well, right off the hook. The new restaurant is open from 4 p.m. until close Tuesday through Sunday.

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INSIDE: 21st annual Hot Dogs & Cool Cats Gala PAGE 14

YourObserver.com

Travis and Lindsay Scheuer

Co-Chairs Pat Good, Carol Chiarella, Lisa Walsh and Sandra Lindqvist

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

Richard and Barbara Kistler

by Heather Merriman | Black Tie Assistant Editor

Jenny and John Wiseman

Photos by Heather Merriman

The lighted dock and boats at the Sarasota Yacht Club set the perfect scene for SPARCCle on the Bay Sunday, Dec. 8. Carol Chairella, Pat Good, Sandra Lindqvist and Lisa Walsh cochaired the event, which benefits Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center.

Guests enjoyed cocktail hour with drinks and hors dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;eouvres in the festively decorated lobby,

and some gathered on the patio to enjoy the warm December weather.

SPARCC Board of Directors Chairwoman Susan Lanier and President and CEO Olivia Thomas welcomed more than 150 guests as they gathered in the dining room. The dance floor stayed busy the entire evening, with live music provided by Soul Sensations.

Sisters Diane Muir and Joyce Nuehring

Diane and Tim Muldoon

Laura and Eric Christiansen Anna Maria Troiano, Jacqueline Morton and Carol English

Bud Borax and Elissa Soyka

BLACK TIE COVER PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

12

DIVERSIONS

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// BLACK TIE: COLUMN

BLACKTIE&TALES

HOT FLASH

by Black Tie Staff

Man-olo men Brian Bethune and Bennett Maki

SHOE FEVER

Marilyn Bezner and Wendy Rose with the new kettle car.

KETTLE KICKOFF Sheriff Tom and Tracy Knight

Photos by Heather Merriman

SPARCC’LING BRIGHT

T

he lights of the boats at the Sarasota Yacht Club were the perfect backdrop for Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center’s SPARCCle event Dec. 8, but many guests shined bright inside the party. Notably seen in purple (SPARCC’s signature color) — some even sporting purple toenail polish — was Sheriff Tom

S TIDBIT

The cookie gang …

This gang gathers at Elisabeth Waters’ home every year to bake dozens of varieties of cookies — her recipes. Waters is reported to have more cookie sheets, silpats and other baking toys than Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table combined (and Santa hats for her guests). The most popular item among her bakers this year — includ-

and Tracy Knight, Rosemary Eure, Olivia Thomas, Emily Walsh and Anna Maria Troiano. Also spotted looking fabulous at the event was Jacqueline Morton, who recently suffered a broken kneecap. The injury even hindered her from wearing a custom Oscar de la Renta gown to her son’s recent wedding.

ing Heather Dunhill, Shelley Sarbey, Shirley Lascelle, Karin Silver, Sandy Chororos, Marina Bourantonis, Isa Lambert and Felice Schulaner — were the Rumkugeln (rum balls) … Congrats … Scott George, development director of Community AIDS Network, and John Mason, executive director of Historic Spanish Point, were wed in November in the first same-sex marriage to take place in Tuxedo Park, N.Y., where they

T

he Sarasota Salvation Army celebrated the kickoff of its red kettle, 22-day holiday fund drive with “The Sound of Hope” kickoff party Dec. 5, at Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota.

Guests, including Dr. Arthur and Lynn Guilford and Glenda Leonard, enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, photos with the kettle car and signed up to volunteer as bell-ringers.

“This is the first year all of the bell-ringers are volunteers,” says

formerly lived. The men have been a couple for more than 30 years … ’Tis the season … The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota and new General Manager Damien O’Riordan hosted its annual Holiday Open House Dec. 4. Guests, including Minta Getzen, Anne Weintraub and Carolyn Ann and Doug Holder, admired the stunning (and huge!) Jack Dusty-inspired gingerbread ship, which was the product of more than 200 hours of

Glenda Leonard of Sarasota Salvation Army. The event was designed to attract more volunteers and sponsors.

Also new this year is the “kettle car.” Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota has provided a smart car for the organization to use during the fund drive. The car is a “mobile kettle” and will drive around Sarasota accepting donations.

Mercedes also has provided a Sprinter van that resembles a sleigh to promote the drive.

work by the Ritz-Carlton pastry staff … The calendar calls … BT is collecting events for the 2014 Black Tie social calendar — if we don’t know about it, we can’t cover it! Email event information to stephanie@yourobserver.com: name of your event; group hosting; group benefiting; time, date and place; ticket price; chairperson; contact name; phone number and email; website and event description.

There is a new designer on the scene at Saks Fifth Avenue Sarasota. The store celebrated its launch of Manolo Blahnik with an exclusive first-look party Dec. 4, in the shoe department.

Fashion columnist Heather Dunhill (rocking a pair of Manolos, of course!) hosted the event, and firstlook shoppers enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and drinks, such as white cranberry martinis, while trying on shoes from the Manolo Blahnik Resort 2014 Collection. “Manolo” men carried trays of Manolo pumps and offered guests compact mirrors wrapped in the Manolo Blahnik at Saks Sarasota launch logo.

Pastries by Design created an incredible cake, a red Manolo pump atop a shoebox — it looked so real that a customer grabbed the shoe, breaking it in half.

Spotted shopping at the event were Lesley-Ann Morris and her mother, Dorothea, and Kyla Weiner (with cutie daughter Amara), who treated herself

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY

(continued from page 11)

Bill and Bonnie Chapman with Susan Lanier and Pat Edwards

Rochelle and George Steassa

13

Sam Quartermaine, Dr. Eddy and Angela Regnier and Erika Quartermaine

Tracy and Andrew Lundin with Dana Duckman

Eddie and Michelle Kaprellian

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Susan Lanier, Bernabe Somoza and Gay Zuercher

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY 21ST ANNUAL HOT DOGS & COOL CATS ‘LAUGH YOUR PAWS OFF!’ GALA Benefiting Humane Society of Sarasota County | Saturday, Dec. 7, at Sarasota Yacht Club

 Leanne Yarn and Ryan Perrone

 Jennifer and Bob Rubenzer

Mark and Michelle Burnett with Sonja Viklund and Ed Klein

Photos by Heather Merriman

Co-Chairs Molly Crawford and Chris Voelker

Graham and Jill Edwards with Noel, a Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog

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DON’T FORGET to RSVP for our first exhibition opening of the season, Marlene Rose, Glass Artist.

The opening will be held at the Longboat Key Center for the Arts on Saturday, January, 18 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

To register for classes or to RSVP for our January opening reception, call 941.383.2345 or email lbkca@ringling.edu

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Siesta Interiors

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY

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Jamie Guy, James Thermidor, Jeffery Acton, Alan Hsu, Brian Baldwin and Richard Landsaw

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY MEN, WHISKEY & WATCHES Benefiting Child Protection Center Friday, Dec. 6, at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

Photos by Heather Merriman

Co-Chairs Angie Nutter and Courtney Edbrooke

Jasmar Molina and Emily Demichele

Key Chorale and Circus Sarasota present

Elizabeth Miller and Kristi Quarles

Cirque des Voix

Drew and Barbara Cervasio with Dennis McGillicuddy

Jessica Walsh, Samantha Benna, Mackenzie Mudgett, Amy McKinlay and Jenny Wilkins

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Nick Gladding and Dan Bailey

Photos by Heather Merriman

Co-Chairs Mary Mapp and Jessica Richardson

Michael and Jennifer Murray

26TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF TREES, LIGHTS AND HOLIDAY GIFTS

Jeff and Christine Winsler

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Sat/Sun–December 21 & 22–7:30 p.m.

Broadway’s Original “ANNIE”

ANDREA McARDLE With Steve Marzullo, piano

“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

A feast of holiday music also featuring baritone Todd Donovan, singers Maria Wirries, and Deborah Berioli, pianist Alan Corey, dancers from the Carreno Dance Festival, Le Voci di Venizia Singers ( Sat ) and Gloria Musicae Singers ( Sun)

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY 29TH ANNUAL POINSETTIA LUNCHEON Benefiting Sarasota Opera Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Michael’s On East

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VISITING ARTISTS DINNER SERIES II: DAVID GREILSAMMER Benefiting Sarasota Orchestra Thursday, Dec. 5, at Darwin’s on 4th Photos by Heather Merriman

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2013

// BLACK TIE: CAMERA READY ‘CHRISTMAS IN CANDY LAND’ Benefiting Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida, Suncoast Sarasota Region | Sunday, Dec. 8, at Michael’s On East

Sarah Robbins, Phil Mancini and Wendy Merriman

Felicity Stack with her twin boys, Walter and Amadeus

Arabella and Kandy Magnotti

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Codi and Kelli Elliot with Skyler Haber

Photos by Heather Merriman

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Award-Winning Designs | Enduring Quality | Incomparable Value

Exquisite Island Coach Homes from the high $300s to $500s.

LEED Certified | Move-in Ready | Models Open Daily

LEED & ENERGY STAR LEADERSHIP IN HOUSING CERTIFICATE

2012 - 2013 ! minto creates better places to inspire life

(888) 358-8565

For more information about our award-winning homes and communities throughout Florida, visit mintofla.com

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12300 Manatee Ave. West, Bradenton, FL 34209 On SR 64. On Anna Maria Sound, just east of the Anna Maria Bridge.

Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Oral representations cannot be relied upon a correctly stating the representations of the developer. For correct representations, make reference to the purchase agreement and homeowner documents, including the documents required by section 718.503, Florida Statutes, to be furnished by a developer to a buyer or lessee in condominium communities. Not an offer where prohibited by state statutes. © Minto Communities, LLC 2013. All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced, copied, altered, distributed, stored or transferred in any form or by any means without express written permission. Artist’s renderings, dimensions, specifications, prices and features are approximate and subject to change without notice. Minto, the Minto logo, Harbour Isle and the Harbour Isle logo are trademarks of Minto Communities, LLC and/or its affiliates. CGC 1519880. 12/2013.