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PER PA S W
bserver LONGBOAT
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
NEWS
DIVERSIONS
Chief provides license plate camera recap. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
FREE • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2014
LOVELY GALA
Club Longboat celebrates Valentine’s Day with Gala event. PAGE 4B
Ricardo Graziano prepares to debut a world premiere. INSIDE
lengthy litigation
by Kurt Schultheis | Managing Editor
Unit owner proposes new lawsuit A former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association board member urges unit owners to join him in a lawsuit against the board.
Courtesy photos
+ Dora Walters to explore Key history Retired Longboat Observer Senior Editor Dora Walters has been braving the recent snow storms at her home in Morganton, Ga., but she has sunny days ahead. Walters will return to the Key and speak to the Longboat Key Historical Society 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at Christ Church of Longboat Key, Presbyterian. Mark the date on your calendar — and get Walters’ inside scoop on the biggest stories she covered during her career.
A unit owner is threatening to add another lawsuit to the legal mess that surrounds the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort. Colony Beach & Tennis Resort unit owners Sheldon and Carol Rabin, owners of two shuttered beachfront condos, are con-
sidering filing an injunction in Sarasota Circuit Court against the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association, citing its failure to maintain the existing buildings on the property. The injunction will request the association undertake its main-
tenance and repair responsibilities and seeks damages from the association board for what it claims is the board’s breach of fiduciary duty. In a memo to unit owners dated Feb. 14 titled “Preserving Our Valuable Investments,” Sheldon
Rabin noted he has retained attorney Alan Tannenbaum, of Sarasota-based Tannenbaum Hanewich, to prepare the injunction. Tannenbaum has already secured permission from the Middle District of Florida’s Bankruptcy Court to pursue an
SEE COLONY / PAGE 12A
+ Rivalry to jazz up Shabbat services Let’s go go-go White Sox? Or do your three cheers go to the Chicago Cubs? This week’s Chicago Night Shabbat service at 8 Florence Katz p.m. Friday at Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, will be divisive. In honor of the Windy City, Chicago natives will be asked to sit on separate sides of the aisle based on whether they’re Cubs or White Sox fans. The service promises to offer plenty of Toddlin’ Town twists. However, when the congregation gathers at 6 p.m. Sunday, the rivalries will be long forgotten. That’s because members will unite to honor Florence Katz, who, at 98, continues to volunteer, enjoy life — and show what it means to be a good sport.
LUCK BE A LADY Kelsey Grau
Sandra Ceshker smiles after receiving a good hand in blackjack at the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key’s Valentine’s in Las Vegas Dinner Dance & Casino Party Friday. More than 200 guests played blackjack, roulette, three-card poker and craps, with proceeds going toward the Longboat Key Kiwanis Foundation scholarship program. For more photos, see page 1B.
SEASONAL FORECAST
by Robin Hartill | News Editor
Key tourism: Brace for the storm Frigid temperatures and snow storms up north continue to bring a flurry of tourists to hotel rooms on sunny Longboat Key. Residents of the Midwest and Northeast braced Monday for the second snow storm in less than a week. As they waited for ice and snow, many Longboat Key residents and visitors were also waiting — in traffic, that is. That’s because
traffic backed up as they hit the beach on President’s Day in mid70-degree temperatures. Visit Florida, the state’s agency that promotes tourism, Tweeted this reminder on Feb. 13: “Snow is on the ground in 49 of the 50 states with only Florida
completely snow free!” For local hotels and resorts, frigid temperatures translate to a flurry of phone calls and emails from northerners in search of sunshine. “It’s hard to find a room on the island,” said Gail Loefgren,
president of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce, who said that the chamber gets more calls whenever temperatures drop up north. “People are calling from the North saying that they’re done with winter.” “It’s definitely given us positive numbers here,” said Matt Angelo,
SEE TOURISM / PAGE 12A
INDEX SEE OT / PAGE 18A
Calendar............ 16A Classifieds......... 16B
Cops Corner....... 12A Crossword.......... 15B
Neighborhood...... 1B Opinion.................8A
Real Estate........ 12B Weather............. 15B
Vol. 36, No. 29 | Three sections YourObserver.com