Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer 6.4.26

SARASOTA/SIESTA KEY

Observer

SEASON SUMMER 2026

T H E O B S E R V E R ’S G

U I D E TO T H E A R TS

AND SOCIETY

INSIDE MUSIC DANCE ART THEATER BLACK TIE

YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

VOLUME 22, NO. 43

YOUR TOWN

Cops: Connect with your kids Recent arrest emphasizes need of digital vigilance for youngsters’ safety. SEE PAGE 3

Ian Swaby

Teamwork in the cards for dad, son

Scott Johnson, his wife, Sue Johnson, and his sister, Lori Johnson-Kern, came out to pay respects to Mickey Johnson, the father of Scott and Lori.

Memorial miles

Lori Johnson-Kern describes her late father, Mickey Johnson, as someone who wouldn’t miss the Manasota Track Club’s beach runs “for anything.”

“He loved the Manasota Track Club and all the people.’’

The club’s first Siesta Key beach run of the season is always the Mickey Johnson Memorial 5K, which was June 2.

The run remembers the Nokomis resident, who died in 2017 after he was struck by a vehicle while cycling in Venice.

She said the turnout for the event was “great” each year.

“We’re very honored and grateful that they’re still doing this,” she said.

Car trader learns from his experienced new partner in their joint-venture side gig: buying, selling and trading Pokémon collectibles.

SEE PAGE 16

Ian Swaby

Sailing through the years Jan and Tim Solomon had long enjoyed sailing with Sally Reed and her late husband, Tom Reed, who operated the Key Sailing charter business out of Marina Jack.

However, the couple were surprised when it was announced during one voyage that the Reeds would be selling them the business.

“I thought it would be too fun,” Tim Solomon said.

Nonetheless, the Solomons are beginning their 20th year at the helm of the yacht.

They celebrated the company’s 30th anniversary, which was June 1, with one of their favorite activities: sailing. That included “taking out some of our favorite guests,” with a trip planned for Sally Reed, as well.

“It really has been a fairytale,” said Jan Solomon. “Tim and I still love each other more and more every day.”

Ian Swaby

Silas and Josh Stacy stand amid their Pokémon collection.

Siesta task force won’t sleep on the status quo County Commission will soon choose seven to serve for two years on a beautification panel, but what else will they consider? SEE PAGE 5

$0.10

Courtesy image

Lourdes Ramirez is president of Protect Siesta Key.

A+E

A cool, musical cave PAGE 12

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

WEEK OF JUNE 4, 2026

Discovery of bones prompts SCSO probe

“In all honesty, government works so slow. You get more time, they’re just going to take more time.”

County Commissioner Mark Smith. Read more on page 5

BY THE NUMBERS 7

Members to be appointed to a Siesta Key Beautification Task Force PAGE 5

$1.6 MILLION

Approved budget of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County PAGE 9

11

Games played at the Single A level this season before Sarasota High graduate Owen Ayers’ promotion to Double-A in the Chicago Cubs’ Minor League Baseball system PAGE 21

CALENDAR n Sarasota Planning Board

regular meeting — 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 10, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St.

n Sarasota County School Board regular meeting — 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 16, North Port City Hall, 4970 City Hall Blvd., North Port

Courtesy photo

University Town Center is poised to welcome more than a dozen new tenants, such as Ikea this summer and Dick’s House of Sport in 2027.

New offerings coming to UTC this summer T

he University Town Center district will add more than a dozen new eateries, retailers and other businesses in the coming months.

They include: ■ Mister 01 Extraordinary Pizza will open next to Mission BBQ in The Market at UTC. ■ Just Salad will open next door in Suite 113, offering a fastcasual array of salads.

■ Playa Bowls will set up shop in the West District at UTC, at 81 N. Cattlemen Road.

■ Pure Green will offer coldpressed juices, smoothies and

acai bowls at 5275 University Parkway, Suite 130.

■ Zen Dumpling will be in the Shoppes at UTC near Marshalls.

Founded in Jacksonville, the.

■ Ikea is set to open this summer in UTC’s West District, at 147 N. Cattlemen Road, a 48,000-square-foot store tucked between DSW and Golf Galaxy.

■ West Elm will feature modern home furnishings next to L.L. Bean in the West District.

■ Pure Hockey will be in the Square at UTC, where construction is underway on a

6,000-square-foot expansion.

■ Body Hot Pilates will open a fitness studio next to New Balance at 315 N. Cattlemen Road of at least 95 degrees.

Inside the mall: ■ ScandyCandy will open its third store in Florida and the first on the Gulf Coast.

■ James Avery Artisan Jewelry will open on the second floor, its first Florida store.

■ Dick’s House of Sport is under construction and projected to open in 2027.

The discovery of skeletal remains in northern Sarasota County just outside the Sarasota city limit brought multiple agency response to a wooded area near Newtown.

On the morning of Friday, May 29, construction workers discovered the partial human remains in a wooded lot off Leonard Reid Avenue just east of U.S. 301.

Members of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, Criminal Investigations Section, Emergency Response Team and Sarasota K-9 Search and Rescue were on scene throughout the weekend searching the area in an attempt to locate additional remains and any potential evidence.

Florida Gulf Coast University’s Human Identity and Trauma Analysis program and the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office were brought in on Sunday to coordinate efforts to locate and identify the remains.

At this time, the approximate age, gender, manner of death and how long the remains have been at the site is undetermined.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact SCSO’s Criminal Investigations Section at 941-861-4900.

Bicyclist dies after Ringling Bridge crash A bicyclist was killed in a Saturday crash with a vehicle on the Ringling Bridge.

The Sarasota Police Department Traffic Unit is investigating the May 30 crash, which occurred at approximately 11:30 p.m. Officers responded to the 1100 block of John Ringling Causeway at the twin bridges between Bird Key and Plymouth Harbor, where the bicyclist was hit by a vehicle.

The bicyclist, a 35-year-old Sarasota woman, was riding in westbound lanes when a vehicle, driven by an 18-year-old Sarasota man, collided with the bicyclist. Neither person involved in the crash was identified.

The driver cooperated with investigators.

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W HAT ’S HAPPENING

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

Online predator case offers lessons for parents Do you know what your kids are doing online? As this Sarasota detective who specializes in online abuse will tell you, it’s essential to keep them safe.

Dangers to children lurk within smartphones and other electronic devices.

ANDREW WARFIELD | STAFF WRITER

R

eading something like a terrifying movie script, the probable cause affidavit that

led to the May 20 arrest of Carson Kennedy Smith, of Sarasota, described in explicit detail the sordid events of the 23-year-old’s alleged sexual battery of a 15-year-old Venice girl.

Smith was taken into custody by the Sarasota Police Department following an investigation into the four in-person interactions with the teen, the last leading to the alleged statutory rape of the girl who told officers she was under the heavy influence of marijuana at the time.

The pair had previously met on the online platform Snapchat, at which time Smith allegedly told the girl he was 18 years old. Over the course of several weeks, police say he drove to Venice on four occasions in his white pickup, then brought her back to his apartment at Cordelia in The Quay.

He met her at a convenience store and gas station near a friend’s home, where she told her mother she was spending the night.

According to the affidavit, the three prior encounters were generally nonphysical, although the girl told investigators Smith repeatedly told her, “I don’t want to get in trouble with any parents or the law.”

On April 23, though, according to the affidavit, she said Smith picked her up for the last time and brought her back to his apartment, where they engaged in sexual intercourse.

According to Detective Amelia Wicinski of the Sarasota Police Department, the outcome could have been much worse, and the girl’s experience serves as a lesson to parents and children about potential dangers lurking online. As SPD’s in-house internet crimes against children detective in the Criminal Investigations Division, she works in both proactive and reactive capacities to help prevent inappropriate, and even dangerous, online encounters between children and adults.

“I work with the National Center of Endangered and Missing Children, so I go out in the community and I teach parents and children classes on cyber safety,” Wicinski said. “I educate the parents on kinds of parental controls and the applications that they’re familiar with, but sometimes are ignorant to what their kids are exposed to.”

Wicinski is not investigating the Smith case. That is the purview of Detective Angela Cox, who interviewed the victim and her mother before determining there was probable cause to arrest the perpetrator.

Cox said she believes the Venice girl may not be Smith’s only victim.

“Because this suspect used a platform like Snapchat, there is a possibility that there were other, similar interactions with minors,” Cox told the Observer. “We want to give any

Detective Amelia Wicinski of the Sarasota Police Department.

Courtesy image

SPD Detective Amelia Wicinski specializes in internet crime prevention and online exploitation of minors.

FOUR WAYS TO KEEP KIDS SAFE ONLINE According to the National Child Protection Task Force, here are four actions parents and caregivers can take to help prevent their children from ending up in a dangerous situation online.

GATHER AROUND THE DINNER TABLE EVERY NIGHT: A conversation with your children each night over a meal will help them open up about their day and provide a gateway for serious conversation.

EDUCATE CHILDREN ON INTERNET SAFETY: By making your children aware of the dangers online, you can arm them with the tools to navigate potential negative encounters.

ESTABLISH TECH GUARDRAILS: Carry over the rules you establish in the physical world to their online activities. This can include what apps and games are allowed, as well as what devices are allowed and where and how they can be used.

Photos courtesy of Sarasota Police Department

possible victims a chance to come forward. Just because an application like Snapchat claims that messages and images are deleted once opened, anything sent digitally can live on forever. Be careful what you share with someone digitally or post online.”

‘SEXTORTION’ AND OTHER CRIMES

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are an estimated 500,000 online predators active each day, and children between the ages of 12 and 15 are especially susceptible to being groomed or manipulated by adults they unwittingly meet online.

In the case of Smith’s victim, had it been someone else, her online encounter could have resulted in human trafficking, or worse.

“When our kids go missing, whether they started off meeting somebody online and they went with that person or they left home and then met somebody, that’s when trafficking happens,” said Kevin Branzetti, co-founder and CEO of the National Child Protection Task Force in a statement on the organization’s website. “Some of them are slowly coerced into it; some of them are quickly pushed into it; some are physically forced into it. It’s all a scam in the end, a farce to get them to become trafficked.”

SPD’s Wicinski encourages parents to maintain awareness of any apps their children are using on their phones, laptops or tablets, study them for any direct contact functions and apply parental controls that may be available. Games, such as Roblox, are especially problematic because they open the gateway to private messaging with strangers worldwide. Although most apps include restrictions for underage users, they are easily defeated by the user being untruthful about their age.

Teens are often more tech-savvy than their parents about hiding their online activities. Indications of inappropriate interactions, Wicinski said, can include changes in behavior or social circles.

ONLINE PROTECTION DO’S AND DON’TS Tips from the National Child Protection Task Force to keep kids safe online.

DO: ■ Closely monitor children’s use of online services.

■ Conduct regular internet searches of children’s information to monitor the exposure and spread of their information on the internet.

■ Consider credit or identity theft monitoring to check for any fraudulent use of child’s identity.

■ Have open communication with your children to help prevent cybercrime. Talk about their online activities and what games they play.

■ Conduct regular updates from software companies to help stop security breaches.

■ Keep all text, email and other message interactions as evidence.

DON’T: ■ Delete messages from the offenders. It’s crucial for investigations.

■ Provide detailed information about children when creating user profiles. Use initials instead of full names, avoid using exact dates of birth, avoid including photos, etc.

■ Post hoax threats online. They can have devastating consequences, disrupt school, waste law enforcement resources and put first responders in unnecessary danger.

LEARN THE APPS YOUR CHILDREN USE: Learn about safety features to activate while your children are utilizing the app and take an interest in what they are playing and learning to maintain an open dialogue about their online engagement and interactions they are having with friends. Enforce limitations on when and where they use devices and with whom they communicate.

And parents shouldn’t be hesitant, she said, about exercising their authority.

“I know on iPhones parents can set the location settings for the phone,” she said. “Even if the child has an Instagram account and is trying to turn the location setting on, the parental controls of the phone will supersede that. Also, kids might be trying to put themselves on the map on Instagram, but the parents’ controls on the device can supersede that.”

Another online trend targeting youthful victims is “sextortion.”

According to the Jacksonville office of the FBI, there was a 60% increase in reported incidents across the state in the first seven months of 2025.

Sextortion can start on any site, app, messaging platform or game where people meet and communicate, where predators ask children to send explicit photos. They then threaten to publish those images or they threaten violence to coerce the victim to produce more images. The shame of sextortion often prevents reporting of the abuse.

SPD’s Wicinski said adults who become aware of the exploitation of children by a stranger online, or who want more information on how to prevent it, can find assistance at their local law enforcement agency.

“Someone like me exists in almost every agency across the country, and we are more than willing to talk with parents about it,” she said. “I can’t stress enough that if they even just have a question, or they’re just not familiar with something, and they don’t want to trust what their kid tells them, they’re more than welcome to call someone like me and walk them through what security measures they can put in place to help.”

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

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major repaving project is coming to North Tamiami Trail.

The Sarasota City Commission last month authorized a local agency program agreement between the city and the state of Florida for a resurfacing and safety improvement project on U.S. 41 from Myrtle Street to General Spaatz Boulevard at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.

The Florida Department of Transportation is providing $5.25 million for the project, which includes construction and engineering inspection services for approximately 1.24 miles.

Improvements include milling and resurfacing, as well as safety modifications at the University Parkway intersection.

Those include widening, pedestrian signage, high-emphasis pavement markings, new pedestrian signals and updated signal timing.

No city funds will be used as the project is fully funded by FDOT and the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Also approved was an authorization for the city to engage in a local agency program agreement with FDOT for the design and extension of Circus Trail along Circus Boulevard into and through Bobby Jones Golf Club and Nature Park.

FDOT requires a resolution to formally authorize and document execution of the agreement.

Also fully funded by the state, the project requires no city funding.

Andrew Warfield

LAND SALE TO CASL

Approved unanimously by the City Commission was a purchase and sale agreement of city-owned property at 905 Royal Palm Drive with Community Assisted and Supported Living Inc. There, CASL will build two onebedroom, one-bathroom and two two-bedroom, one-bathroom units for qualifying occupants earning at or below 50% of area median income.

It will maintain affordability for 20 years with an extended use period of 30 years for households at or below 80% AMI. Based on the Sarasota County Property Appraiser’s website, the assessed value of the property is $172,600. CASL proposes to acquire the parcel for $220,000.

CASL will utilize $1.43 million in federal HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan funds for acquisition, design and construction of the affordable rental units.

The parcel is off Royal Palm Avenue just north of 47th Street.

The 1.2mile stretch of North Tamiami Trail from Myrtle Street north will be resurfaced and safety features enhanced.

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

Siesta Key advisory task force will include seven members The Sarasota County Commission will seat the group with a two-year task to recommend aesthetic and infrastructure improvements.

STAFF WRITER

L

ikely this month, a seven-member Siesta Key Beautification Task Force will be seated by the Sarasota County Commission.

Its 24-month mission, according to the commission-approved resolution setting up the board, is “to review existing reports, studies and findings related to Siesta Key beautification; to identify opportunities to enhance the appearance and character of Siesta Key; to evaluate specific focus areas including, but not limited to, streetscapes and corridors, landscaping and vegetation, signage and wayfinding, public spaces and beach access areas and cleanliness and maintenance; and to develop and present recommendations.”

County commissioners, during their May 19 meeting, unanimously agreed to form the task force. It will be comprised of one appointee by each commissioner plus two at-large members approved by majority vote.

The task force, which will serve in an advisory capacity, may be extended up to an additional 24 months at the will of the commission.

Commissioners eschewed suggestions that the task force have a 48-month sunset, but agreed to extend it from the proposed 18 months to 24 months.

“In all honesty, government works so slow,” said Commissioner Mark Smith. “You get more time, they’re just going to take more time.”

The genesis of the task force, Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corp. spokesperson and real estate agent Natalie Gutwein told the Observer, emerged following the 2024 hurricane season, when residents and multiple civic organizations on the Key noted what they considered a too-slow response to recovery, and

WANT TO SERVE? Each county commissioner will appoint one person to the seven-member task force with two more members chosen by a vote of the commission.

Members may not be employed

by Sarasota County, under contract with Sarasota County or are party to active litigation against Sarasota County during their service on the task force.

Members must meet all other qualifications in accordance with the Advisory Council Member Rules of Procedure.

Applications may be made through Friday, June 5, via the Advisory Council Application page at SCGov.net.

Term: Effective until May 19, 2028 Meetings: Monthly or as needed County staff contact: Eileen Dutka at EduTKA@SCGov.net

that the Key doesn’t get its fair share of tourism development tax revenues that it generates.

“Residents, business owners, property owners, the Siesta Key Association, the Siesta Key Village Maintenance Corp. and the Siesta Key Chamber all came together and said we really need to look at what’s going on out here,” Gutwein told the Observer. “We bring in one-third of the tourism development dollars, but we’re not getting any of it back.

We get voted best beach and all these great things, but if you don’t take care of your asset, you’re not going to have it any longer.”

One organization that has fre-

File photo

quently found itself in opposition to county government approvals of higher density development is Protect Siesta Key. The group is regularly represented before the commission — and successfully in court against approvals of projects that would permit higher-density development — by resident Lourdes Ramirez.

She told the Observer the organization is in support of the task force, providing it focuses on infrastructure and minimal beautification improvements. One Protect Siesta Key member has applied for a seat on the task force, “to ensure that it stays on course,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez told commissioners, however, that the formation of the task force aligns suspiciously with that of development of a new Siesta Key Community Master Plan.

“Right now, there are two separate processes moving forward, the master plan and the task force,” Ramirez told commissioners. “They’re loosely connected by the word ‘beautification,’ but in reality, they have very different goals. Honestly, this has all the markings of a scam.

Courtesy image

Natalie Gutwein is among those leading the charge to create the Siesta Key Beautification Task Force.

“Residents asked for storm resilience, traffic and infrastructure improvements, but that’s not what the master plan is focused on.

Instead, the county inserted language about reviewing the zoning code in the comp plan. Residents did not ask for that. Frankly, I don’t believe this board asked for that.”

Gutwein told the Observer the coalition of entities that have pushed

for the task force since late last year are not in support of any Comprehensive Plan or master plan changes that would weaken protections against higher intensity and density, but rather want to coalesce around an effort to draw more attention to Siesta Key’s challenges, such as faster storm recovery and the desire of residents and businesses to maintain its beach village character.

“We’re just looking to do things to improve the village,” Gutwein said.

“We want to have unified signage.

We want infrastructure improvements, lift station improvements, trolley stop pull-offs so traffic doesn’t get stopped.”

That and more awareness marketing of the Key along highways beyond a couple of exit signs on Interstate 75.

“We’re named consistently year after year nationwide and worldwide among best beach designations, but we’re rarely getting anything back from the county that is indicative of that,” she said. “Beaches on the East Coast of Florida do a better job of advertising on I-75 in our own backyard than what we do.”

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ANDREW WARFIELD

The mission of the Siesta Key Beautification Task Force is to recommend enhancements to Siesta Key, such as the streetscape in Siesta Village.

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BEACH CHAIRS NOT INCLUDED 4:30 p.m., 1000 block of Benjamin Franklin Boulevard Disturbance: Four guests of a resort on Lido Beach refused to pay for the use of rental beach chairs for at least the half day they were occupied, and also refused to vacate the chairs. The rental company called for law enforcement assistance to settle the matter.

A hotel employee explained to officers the chair rental company serves its beach area via an agreement with the inn and guests are made aware that the chair and hotel operations are separate.

According to the incident report, upon contact with the guests they were “in disbelief” that officers were present, but they quickly complied and left the chairs.

Whether they paid for the afternoon’s use of the loungers was not included in the incident report.

DOOR BUSTER 2 p.m., SPD headquarters Criminal mischief: One male and one female complainant arrived at police headquarters to report damage to a church bus used to transport the homeless, which occurred following a physical altercation between the male, who was the driver, and a male passenger.

The driver said he turned onto Nancy Street off South Tuttle Avenue to report the altercation with the man who — deciding it was an opportune time to disembark — pushed through the doors that were closed at the time. The female complainant stated the church was now unable to use the bus because of the severely damaged door, which was repaired two years prior at a cost of $800.

The damage was photographed and preserved as evidence, and a criminal mischief charge against the perpetrator was forwarded to State Attorney’s Office for review.

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CUT OFF BY THE LIQUOR STORE 4:19 p.m., 1000 block of North Tamiami Trail Disturbance: While traveling to a grocery store in response to a call regarding a disturbance, an officer was provided by dispatch a

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description of a male subject who was involved in an altercation with a security guard, and that he was last seen heading northbound on Central Avenue. The officer observed the subject matching the description near 11th Street. While being temporarily detained, the man refused to identify himself or provide any statement. The officer took a photograph of the subject to retain as possible evidence.

Meanwhile, another officer spoke with the manager on duty, who requested no charges be filed, but the subject be given a trespassing warning. The officer who located the fleeing subject spoke with the security guard involved, who confirmed the photo of the man as the perpetrator. He stated the man appeared to be intoxicated and became verbally aggressive with the liquor store clerk after being refused the opportunity to purloin additional spirits.

The guard said the subject began harassing people outside of the store until he was ordered to leave the premises. Distributing the photograph with fellow officers, the subject was later identified and was added to the trespass file and, thus, is banned from the premises for one year or is subject to arrest.

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

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ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS MAKE REFERENCE TO THIS BROCHURE AND TO THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO BE FURNISHED BY A SELLER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE. THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN FILED IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA AND NO OTHER STATE. THIS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL OR SOLICITATION OF OFFERS TO BUY THE CONDOMINIUM UNITS IN STATES WHERE SUCH OFFER OR SOLICITATION CANNOT BE MADE. PRICES AND AVAILABILITY ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE ANYTIME WITHOUT NOTICE.

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

OPINION / MY VIEW

SARASOTA/SIESTA KEY

This is not how to ‘cut’ taxes The governor’s property tax plan won’t eliminate taxes. It will just shift them.

Your city will become increasingly dependent on the state.

“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.”

ANNUAL PROPERTY TAXES BY JURISDICTIONS

Friedrich Hayek

Dollars in billions 2015 School boards $12.0 $10.4 Counties $4.0 Municipalities Ind. School Districts $1.9 Total Statewide $28.3 6.8% Yearly % Chg. Total % Change since 2015

“Road to Serfdom,” 1944

2016 $12.3 $11.1 $4.4 $2.0 $29.7 4.9%

2017 $12.6 $11.9 $4.8 $2.1 $31.4 5.7%

2018 $13.1 $12.8 $5.2 $2.1 $33.3 6.0%

2019 $14.2 $13.8 $5.6 $2.2 $35.7 7.3%

2020 $14.7 $14.6 $5.9 $2.4 $37.7 5.5%

2021 $15.3 $15.5 $6.3 $2.5 $39.6 5.2%

2022 $17.5 $17.5 $7.1 $2.8 $44.9 13.1%

2023 $20.1 $19.6 $7.9 $3.3 $50.9 13.5%

2024 $21.5 $21.7 $8.7 $3.4 $55.2 8.4%

4.9%

10.9%

17.6%

20.7% 33.2% 39.9%

58.6%

79.8%

95.0%

POPULATION + INFLATION VS. GROWTH IN TAXES

One measurement of whether government is growing too fast is to compare the annual growth rate of tax collections versus the combined growth in population and inflation. (Population figures in millions)

JEFF BRANDES

F

loridians are angry about property taxes. They should be.

Over the last decade, home values have surged, tax bills have climbed and many families feel like they are paying rent to the government on homes they own.

The frustration is real.

The affordability crisis is real.

The desire for meaningful tax relief is real.

But anger is not a fiscal plan.

Our legislators need to think hard in this week’s special session on property taxes and do the right thing for the right reasons.

Gov. DeSantis’ plan is not it.

What the Legislature was expected to do this week reminds me of a professor in college who would listen to students passionately advocate for a solution. Then, he would lean back in his chair and ask a simple question: “And then what happens?”

No matter the issue, he always came back to that question. Not because he opposed change, but because he understood that good policy requires thinking one step beyond the headline and one step beyond the applause.

That question has been stuck in my head as Florida debates one of the most significant changes to its tax system in modern history.

Property taxes deserve reform. They may even deserve replacement. But before we blow up the system that funds local government, we should ask the same question: And then what happens?

Florida is not debating a tax cut.

Florida is debating a fundamental redesign of how local government is financed.

Florida’s property tax system generates $52 billion each year for local governments. Replacing that revenue is not a bookkeeping exercise. It is a redesign of the state’s fiscal architecture.

Property taxes fund much of the basic operating system of local government: police, fire protection, roads, parks, emergency services and debt on infrastructure taxpayers have already approved.

You may believe local governments spend too much.

But believing there is waste in government is not the same thing as having a plan to replace billions of dollars in revenue.

Every serious reform proposal should answer four basic questions: ■ What gets cut?

■ What replaces the revenue?

■ How do we pay existing debt and obligations?

■ What happens during the next recession?

Those are not arguments against tax relief. They are questions responsible adults ask before making permanent changes

CORRECTION

In last week’s Opinion, “Buchanan, Robinson provide relief,” the Observer incorrectly stated former Sarasota County Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates did not charge a commission on the Sarasota school district’s voter-approved school tax.

Ford-Coates did charge a commission, but it was paid by the Sarasota County Commission.

Florida 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Population growth 1.6% 1.6% 1.5% 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1.7% Inflation rate 0.7% 2.1% 2.1% 1.9% 2.3% 1.4% 7.0% Population + Inflation rates 2.2% 3.7% 3.7% 3.5% 3.9% 3.0% 8.7% Property tax revenue growth 6.8% 4.9% 5.7% 6.0% 7.3% 5.5% 5.2% Cumulative population + inflation: 42.8%; cumulative tax revenue growth: 76.4%

2022 1.7% 6.5%

2023 1.6% 3.4%

2024 1.7% 2.9%

8.2%

5.0%

4.6%

13.1%

13.5%

8.4%

Source: Florida Legislature; Office of Economic & Demographic Research

to a system that affects every homeowner, renter, business, city and county in Florida.

The most important question may not be about taxes at all. It may be about governance.

For generations, Florida has operated on a simple principle: Local governments raise local revenue and answer to local voters. If a city council or county commission spends too much, voters can replace them. The accountability is direct.

The emerging alternative moves Florida toward something very different. Local governments would become increasingly dependent on state support and state-controlled trust funds to maintain core services.

Consider small counties like Liberty, Lafayette or Glades. These are proud Florida communities with strong local identities but small populations and limited tax bases. Under this model, some counties could become increasingly dependent on state trust fund dollars to fund deputies, firefighters, road maintenance and other core services.

Independent local government means paying your own bills.

Once a county becomes dependent on Tallahassee to fund basic services, local selfgovernment is eroded. Decisions that once belonged primarily to local voters become increasingly subject to state appropriations, state priorities and state politics.

Local officials spend less time answering to residents and more time lobbying the state for funding.

And then what happens?

What happens during a recession when state revenues decline? What happens if multiple counties need assistance at the same time? What happens if the trust fund cannot meet every request? Who decides which communities receive funding and which are told to wait?

History offers another warning.

Big structural reforms are easiest to adopt during good times and hardest to sustain during bad times. Florida’s economy is strong today. But recessions still happen.

Housing markets cool. Sales tax collections decline.

The real test of a tax system is not how it performs when the economy is booming. It is how it performs when the economy is under stress.

Those questions become even more important when viewed against Florida’s long-term budget outlook. State economists are already projecting structural deficits in the years ahead. If the state itself is facing fiscal pressure, it is reasonable to ask whether it can permanently assume a larger role in financing local government.

None of this means reform should stop. Quite the opposite. Florida should absolutely pursue property tax reform. We should challenge wasteful spending, examine larger homestead protections and explore alternatives.

But reforms this large should be approached with humility.

Reforms this large should be tested, measured and evaluated before they become permanent.

That is why any proposal of this magnitude should include a sunset provision. If the reform works, extend it. If it creates unintended

WHO PAYS FLORIDA’S PROPERTY TAXES

Florida businesses, second-homeowners and rental properties (e.g. the tenants) pay 65% of Florida’s property taxes.

HOW COUNTIES GET THEIR MONEY Revenues

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WHERE THE COUNTY MONEY GOES Expenses

The two pie charts show data for all Florida counties from 2019.

Source: Florida House of Representatives

consequences, fix it. The larger the experiment, the more important the safety valve. Most important, we should be honest about what may happen next.

Government has only a handful of ways to collect revenue. Property taxes, sales taxes, fees, assessments, utility taxes and state transfers all come from taxpayers.

Nearly one in three Floridians rents their home. If this proposal simply shifts the burden from property taxes to fees, assessments, sales taxes or other revenue sources, renters will not be spared. They will receive the bill in a different form.

If local governments replace lost property tax revenue with other taxes, fees or state transfers, taxpayers may discover they did not eliminate the bill. They simply moved it.

That is the question at the heart of this debate. Is this a tax cut, or is it a tax shift?

The choice before Florida is not

between tax relief and the status quo. It is between thoughtful reform and blind faith.

Floridians deserve tax relief. They also deserve honest answers.

The irony is hard to miss.

The Boston Tea Party was a revolt against distant government making decisions for local communities.

I am arguing against distant government making decisions for local communities.

Read that twice.

Before we redesign the financial foundation of local government; before we trade local accountability for state dependency; and before we replace a system we know with one we have not fully modeled, we should ask the question my professor asked all those years ago: And then what happens?

Jeff Brandes served in the Florida House and Senate from 2010 to 2022. He is president and founder of the Florida Policy Project (FloridaPolicyProject.com).

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

With data in hand, EDC gets a new contract

EDC FY2027 EDC BUDGET GOALS PUBLIC REVENUE Interlocal per capita Sarasota County: $298,476 City of North Port: $96,301 City of Sarasota: $58,279 City of Venice: $29,802 Town of Longboat Key: $4,782

With its budget now set, the Sarasota County EDC turns its focus to expanding industrial and commercial sites.

Other County private investment match: *$245,875 Tourist Development Tax: $125,000 Total public revenue: $858,515 (54%)

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

N

ot so long ago, annual contract and budget discussions between the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County and county commissioners were laced with threats of defunding the organization.

Led by former Commissioner Mike Moran, the majority of the board in the past had demanded greater transparency and clear deliverable metrics of the EDC to retain its status as the county’s official businessretention and -recruitment organization.

In her three years at the helm of the EDC, Executive Director Erin Silk and the organization’s reconstituted board of directors and staff have managed just that. The result was compliments all around as the County Commission unanimously — and with little discussion — approved the EDC’s fiscal year 2027 contract.

At just less than $1.6 million, the EDC’s budget is flat compared to the current fiscal year as it inches closer to its goal of balanced funding from public and private sources.

The EDC was created in 2004 through an agreement between the county and its four municipalities, each contributing funding on a per capita basis.

Until fiscal year 2024, it also received nearly $500,000 from a countywide business license tax, before Moran led a charge to eliminate the fee, which for most businesses was less than $20 per year.

That was replaced by a 50% match of private donations by the coun-

9

File image

Erin Silk is president and CEO of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County.

SARASOTA COUNTY EDC DELIVERABLES Since 2019, Economic Development Corp. has help attract: ■ $91.2 million new taxable capital investment ■ 680,000 square feet built or leased ■ 1,500-plus projected new jobs ■ $88 million new annual payroll ■ $6.9 million new annual tax revenue Source: Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County

ty, compelling the EDC to be more aggressive in its private fundraising and its goal of 50% private funding.

That goal is within reach. For next fiscal year, public funding is at 54% “At our core, we’re about diversifying our economy, growing the tax base and creating high-quality career opportunities that support

Elizabeth King

Benderson Development is wrapping up its latest phase of construction at the business and industrial park off Toledo Blade Boulevard.

long-term community prosperity,” Silk told commissioners. “Approximately 70% of our work is focused on business retention and expansion, because existing businesses are the heart of our business community.

They’re often the most likely source of new jobs and investment.”

She cites as an example 22 active expansion projects in the EDC’s support pipeline.

“Collectively, these projects present the potential for more than 1,000 new and retained jobs,” Silk said.

“They’re approximately $33 million in new taxable capital investment.

Their demand is about 560,000 square feet of commercial and industrial space.”

Therein lies the rub.

To continue that momentum, Silk told commissioners they will receive next month a proposal to help create more opportunities for commercial and industrial development in the unincorporated areas of the county.

“If Sarasota County wants to compete for and retain high-value employers and long-term economic investment, we must increase our inventory of shovel-ready sites,” she said.

According to Silk, in 2019 Sara-

sota County had more than 1,000 acres available in its major employment centers. Today, that number has dwindled to approximately 285 acres with only 100 ready to develop.

“Our major employment centers are being built out, which is a good thing, but we need to continue to look outside of them for opportunities,” she said.

Among the proposals is to reduce the business park rezoning threshold from 10 acres to 2 acres to support and retain local small and midsized businesses as they grow. “This is especially critical because land costs have gone up by 85% and construction has gone up by 30%, so attracting those smaller projects that our local entrepreneurs want is key,” Silk said.

Another recommendation will be to raise the by-right height in business park zoning from 35 feet to 45 feet to accommodate modern advanced manufacturing and corporate operations.

The EDC projects a need for 152 acres and 1.45 million square feet for business recruitment and expansion over the next five years and, in the next 10-plus years, 578 acres and 3.58 million square feet under roof.

PRIVATE REVENUE Private Investment: $550,000 Programs: $50,000 Fee for services: $20,000 Interest and grants: $20,000 In-kind donations: $100,000 Total private revenue: $740,000 (46%) Total revenue: $1,598,515 * Capped at $500,000, excludes nonprofits and in-kind

In the interim, the EDC can move forward with its fiscal year 2027 planning free from the political drama of the past.

“Anybody who has lived here as long as some of us have really do enjoy the benefits of having a healthy economic base, and without a healthy economic base a community dies,” said Commissioner Teresa Mast. “It’s vital that we work to have those site-ready locations and that we work within the communities that will embrace them.”

Commissioner Mark Smith said continued diversification beyond the narrowly focused industries that carried the region for years is essential for future economic stability.

“A diversified economy is essential. If we rely totally on construction and service industries, we’ve seen what happens,” Smith said.

“These are great jobs, and so I just want to say thanks, and I’m fully supportive of approving the next contract.”

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

Prominent Sarasota philanthropist, former Tropicana CEO dies at 67 Brock Leach reached the pinnacle of Corporate America. Then, right before he turned 50, he switched for a career in the ministry. * *Restrictions apply. See server

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rock Leach’s friends at the University of Chicago would jokingly say they were mad at him when job offers came rolling in: He always got the plum offers, while the others would often be stuck with courtesy rejection letters.

“He would get a job offer every time he was interviewed,” said one of those friends, Julie, of those heady days in the early 1980s. The pair, friends at first, would go on to date and then get married, in 1982. “Brock was always a big picture person and someone who always knew where he was going. He was a very strategic thinker, and people saw that.”

Brock would go on to lead a big and full life, where, among other roles, starting with husband and father, he was president and CEO of Frito-Lay North America and CEO of Tropicana Products in Bradenton; a committed philanthropist, mostly BRATING CELE to education, social justice and equal opportunity causes; and, in a unique career move that began in his late 40s, an influential minister.

Brock died May 25 at his home in Sarasota after a four-month battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor. He was 67.

From work to nonprofits, Julie Leach said her husband had the same philosophy: Don’t do it alone.

“He loved engaging with a group of people to solve problems,” she said.

“He always thought more people in a room were better.”

Many in the Sarasota-Manatee nonprofit community reacted to Leach’s death with social media comments on his wide and deep impact on people and organizations.

Jenny Sumner Carswell, a project manager at Tampa General Hospital, wrote on Facebook that “to know Brock Leach was to know the world still has hope ... Brock was a visionary who uniquely brought the business model to advocate for underserved populations. He helped people believe in themselves. Advocacy was deep in his bones, and his kindness was next level. He was a beloved colleague and friend who helped spearhead the redesign of Tampa General Hospital’s Clinical Pastoral Education program.”

MORE INFORMATION

A celebration of Brock Leach’s life will be planned at a later date.

He is survived by his brother, John Leach, of Colorado Springs, his wife, Brock Leach Julie Leach, his two children, Joshua Leach and Elizabeth Savage, his son-in-law, Justin Savage, and two grandchildren. Those who wish to honor Brock’s memory are invited to make a donation in his name to any of the following organizations: Children First, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, the Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota, the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition and the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe.

He began his corporate career as assistant product manager on the Lays potato chip brand, then worked his way up in PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay’s North America division. In 1999 he was named president and CEO of the company’s Bradenton-based Tropicana unit, and the family moved to Sarasota. In 2002, Leach took on a new role: chief innovation officer for all of PepsiCo, where he helped develop new strategies with the company to promote health and wellness. Julie said that was Brock’s favorite role with the company.

Then in 2006, after nearly 25 years with PepsiCo, Brock, recalled Julie, said “‘I’m 48. If I don’t do this now, I never will.’”

This meant chasing his next dream of becoming a minister. Brock believed his calling was to pursue a career in religious leadership. He earned a master’s of divinity from Meadville-Lombard Seminary in Chicago and was ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister in 2011.

Later, he returned to school at Boston University, graduating with a Doctor of Ministry in 2024.

After his ordination, he served for four years as vice president of strategy, mission and innovation at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But his greatest religious passion, according to his official obituary, was to develop “innovative forms of religious community that would meet the human need for spiritual vitality.

“He spent his final years and months mentoring young religious leaders to identify their sense of personal calling and promote new religious communities.”

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

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JUNE 4, 2026

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

COOL OFF CABARET

AT THE

Catherine Randazzo is associate producer of Florida Studio Theatre.

Image courtesy of Emiliano Mejias

Images courtesy of Sorcha Augustine

Collin Purcell, Katie Blackwell and Brian Ott bring back the feel-good era of folk music in “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”

Florida Studio Theatre’s music shows provide a welcome respite from summer in the city.

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER A+E EDITOR

F

lorida Studio Theatre offers cabaret shows all year, but there’s nothing like slipping into one of them when temperatures are in the 90s.

When you step inside one of FST’s two dimly lit cabarets, you enter a cool musical cave, one with cold drinks, reasonably priced food and friendly faces.

The cares of the outside world are left behind as you groove to the upbeat, idealistic soundtrack of baby boomers’ youth.

Maybe the reason FST cabaret resonates so strongly in the summer is that even those who are retired remember the freedom of the months without school. There was more time to daydream, wander and listen to music. Before the era of personal digital devices, music mainly came from the radio — either in a car or the transistor model you took with you everywhere during your summer travels.

As Van Morrison asks in “BrownEyed Girl,” Whatever happened /To Tuesday and so slow/Going down the old mine/with a transistor radio Sure, there was vinyl, but the record player was at home. And who wanted to be stuck at home during the summer?

Yes, it’s true

that Brian Wilson spent years in his room and even wrote a song about it. But he was a troubled genius. The rest of the Beach Boys raced cars, chased girls and tried to catch the next wave.

When FST launched its summer cabaret series in 2014, it tuned the nostalgia dial to the doo-wop days of the 1950s immortalized in Broadway’s “Jersey Boys” and to the Beach Boys-inspired groups of the 1960s surfer movement.

But the surfer craze has receded at FST Summer Cabaret. Time has moved on to folk music era of the 1960s and early 1970s. With its small stage and intimate setting, the Goldstein Cabaret isn’t much different from the Greenwich Village clubs in the 2024 Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” except there are no candles and cigarettes.

Another perennial draw for FST’s boomer patrons is Motown, Berry Gordy’s Detroit hit factory. Its artists spanned the decades. After learning their craft in Motown groups, singers such as Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Michael Jackson went solo and became superstars.

Before folk princess Linda Ronstadt topped the charts with soulful ballads like “Blue Bayou” and had-enough anthems like “You’re No Good,” she was a member of the lesser-known Stone Poneys. The Poneys’ big hit (“Different Drum”) was written by The Monkees’ Mike Nesmith. As FST Summer Cabaret performer Brian Ott rightly notes during a show, “There was a lot of cross-hybridization.”

Singers who were starting to become popular would record a ditty by an unknown song-

Florida Studio Theatre cabaret veteran Brian Ott returns to FST in “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”

IF YOU GO ‘LEAVING ON A JET PLANE’ When: Through July 12 Where: Florida Studio Theatre’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 N. Palm Ave. Tickets: $42 Info: Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

writer pal so they could gain recognition and hopefully earn royalties.

The quintessential female folk singer, Joni Mitchell, is sui generis.

She’s one of a kind. The only thing she shares with some other folk stars of her era is that she’s Canadian, like Gordon Lightfoot and Neil Young.

Her provenance cost her a spot on The New York Times’ list of the 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters, but to her fans, Joni’s the GOAT. You’ll find acoustic folk music, Motown and pioneering female troubadours of the 1970s showcased in this year’s crop of FST Summer Cabaret shows. The series is programmed by FST Associate Producer Catherine Randazzo, who joined the theater the same year it launched its summer cabaret.

This year’s three shows are “Leaving On a Jet Plane” (through July 12), “Songbirds of the Seventies” (July 7-Sept. 6) and “Legacy: Motown & More!” (Aug. 4-Oct. 4). Subscriptions are $59, which brings the cost of each show to about half of the single ticket price of $42.

COMFORT FOOD FOR BOOMERS

After more than a decade, Randazzo understands the taste of her older audiences, the majority of whom are repeat subscribers. She knows what they like. “It’s like comfort food.

People grew up with it,” is how Randazzo described the mix.

Unlike the cabaret shows created by FST CEO and Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins and Managing Director Rebecca Hopkins during season, the summer cabarets aren’t produced by FST. That means it’s up to Randazzo to fill the stage. To do that, she relies on her relationships with producers and artists. She also scouts for talent at conventions where producers offer cabaret fare to regional theaters like FST and cruise lines. It’s not unusual

for her to work with artists to cultivate followup shows to programs that have performed well for FST. For instance, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” grew out of last summer’s “A Band Called Honalee.”

A Band Called Honalee is a real band that performs songs by Peter, Paul and Mary and other folk singers. Its roster of vocalists have solo careers and also appear with the band all around the country. One “Honalee” member, Katie Blackwell, is in the trio of vocalists in “Jet Plane.” The others are Collin Purcell and Brian Ott, who both play guitar.

They are backed up by Geoff Neuman and other rotating bass players.

FST audiences will remember Ott, a native of Minnesota, from his recent appearances in “A Band Called Honalee” and “59th Street Bridge,” a show inspired by the songs of Simon and Garfunkel and other folk singers.

On stage, Ott’s the thread that runs through FST’s folk-driven cabaret, but the idea for “Leaving on a Jet Plane” comes from Aaron Gandy, Randazzo says.

A former member of Band Called Honalee, Gandy is now part of Epic Arts Management, a firm that Randazzo calls a “creative partner” of FST. “I discovered Epic Arts Management and its producing director, Ron DeStefano, from looking at websites. During the pandemic, Ron reached out with a show called ‘Shades of Bublé,’ that we picked up.

His pitch was that he can bring a new generation in.”

Even though it takes its title from a Peter, Paul and Mary song, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” is not a tribute show.

Its subtitle is “A Folk Journey,” and it makes good on its word. These are the songs that propelled the struggle for civil rights, women’s liberation, better conditions for workers, ending war and protecting the environment from pollution.

Many of these issues are back in the news again. Hearing Blackwell sing “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot” during “Big Yellow Taxi” seemed quite apt for 2026 Sarasota.

But the throughline of “Jet Plane” is the loneliness of life on the road.

It’s a theme that the artists lean into by revealing their hometowns. Each spoke of ambivalent feelings — being grateful to be performing in Florida, but missing loved ones back home.

The playlist mines homesickness with the titular song, and with Blackwell’s moving cover of Joni Mitchell’s “California” and the trio’s excerpt of CSNY’s “Love the One Your With,” a solution to loneliness that rings differently today than in the free-love era. Perhaps it was my imagination, but the applause seemed restrained after that number.

“Leaving on a Jet Plane” covers a lot of territory with medleys, including tributes to CSNY and the Loving Spoonful. The audience was encouraged to join in on The Turtles’ “Happy Together” and John Denver’s “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” but they sang even when not invited.

There were a few surprises, including “Early Morning Rain,” a lesser-known Gordon Lightfoot song about being stuck at the airport. For a troubadour, the only thing worse than having to catch an early plane is watching it take off without you because you don’t have a gig lined up to pay for your ticket.

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‘THE COMMON GROUND’ 7 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $20.70 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

Set in a coffee shop, “The Common Ground” follows a young woman as she rebuilds her life, one cup of coffee at a time. Repeats June 6.

Gabrielle Leonore’s confessional one-woman show won rave reviews at major fringe festivals, including Edinburgh. Repeats June 7.

‘IT’S ALIVE! LIVE’ 10 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $20.70 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

Casey Berkery’s creation features TV talk show-style interviews with things that go bump in the night and other ghoulish creatures. What could go wrong? Repeats June 6.

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

FRIDAY

Follow three Dolly Parton wannabes on a road trip to Nashville as they pursue their dreams of country music stardom. Runs through June 21.

‘GREASE IS THE WORD’ 7 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $12.30 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

‘MY LIFE AS AN INSPIRATIONAL PORN STAR’ 8:30 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $20.70 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

Created by Kelly Haramis and Kallista Schneiderman, the show tries to right the real-life wrong of Haramis not being cast in a high school production of “Grease.”

Repeats June 6.

DON’T MISS SAVOR SARASOTA RESTAURANT WEEK Now in its 21st year, Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week is actually a two-week period where more than 60 restaurants offer prix fixe menus that give locals the chance to step out of their comfort zone and try new dishes for affordable prices.

Lunch menus are just $25 per person and dinner offerings are $45 during what many locals call “the most wonderful time of year.” Runs through June 14.

IF YOU GO Where: Assorted eateries in downtown Sarasota, St. Armands Circle, Lakewood Ranch, Siesta Key and Venice Tickets: $25 for lunch; $45 for dinner Info: Visit VisitSarasota.com.

‘TIMEY WIMEY STUFF’ 8:30 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $20.70 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

THIS WEEK

MONDAY

Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine

Jade Wheeler pulls back the kimono on the life of Eartha Kitt in “Who is Eartha Mae?” at Urbanite Theatre through June 21.

‘CONFESSIONS OF A THEME PARK WORKER’ 10 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $20.70 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

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

‘CASA HAVANA’ 2:30 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $20.70 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

‘WHO IS EARTHA MAE?’ You may know singer Eartha Kitt as the sultry siren who sang “Santa Baby,” a 1950s holiday ditty that lives forever on the internet. Or maybe you remember her as Catwoman from the 1960s TV series “Batman.” One thing is sure: You’ve never seen the glamorous entertainer backstage as Eartha Mae, a country girl from South Carolina who became a citizen of the world. Jade Wheeler created and stars in this show with spirited piano accompaniment.

Runs through June 21.

returns to his Christian college to lead a homecoming pep rally.

Winner of last year’s Audience Choice Award at the Squeaky Wheel Fringe, Tania Vergara Dance Theatre returns with “Casa Havana.”

SATURDAY

OUR PICK

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 4 Where: Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St. Tickets: $5-$44 Info: Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.

Victoria Montalbano returns to the Squeaky Wheel Fringe with a humorous show inspired by a medical scare. Repeats June 7.

This tell-all tale provides a peek into the inner workings of more than one theme park. You’ll never look at Orlando the same way again.

Repeats June 6.

13

Everyone’s a winner when the audience selects games for Florida Studio Theatre’s improv troupe.

Runs through June 27.

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

See the works of major modern artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close and Ai Weiwei on loan from local private collectors. Runs through Sept. 27.

‘THE ONE’ 10 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $10.20 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

‘THE PEP RALLY: A RELIGIOUS VARIETY SHOW’ 2:30 p.m. at Cook Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $20.70 Visit SqueakyWheelTheatre.org.

This one-woman piece weaves together dance, music, audio, video and writing.

In this multigenre show featuring some familiar faces from The Sarasota Players, Ezra Mathers

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

After a decadelong project, John Ringling’s Cypriot treasures have a permanent home in Gallery 12 for the first time.

THOMAS CARABASI’S NEW STANDARDS QUARTET 7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Court Cabaret, 1965 First St. $34-$39 Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Thomas Carabasi’s New Standards Quartet raises percussion to a new level as it blends favorites from the American and Brazilian songbooks with originals. In addition to Carabasi on drums, the quartet features Alejandro Arenas on bass, Perry Chiles on sax/flute and Patrick Bettison on keys.

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A slimmer Sarasota Music Festival aims to be as satisfying as ever

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ince it was founded 62 years ago, the Sarasota Music Festival has become a reason for classical music fans to stick around Sarasota past the end of season.

Each June, the SMF brings together student musicians and professional faculty members. They rehearse together and then play side by side in public concerts.

Sarasota’s arts patrons provide support for the SMF, founded at New College of Florida by Paul Wolfe and then merged with the Sarasota Orchestra’s predecessor in 1985.

That’s not expected to change this year, when the festival runs only two weeks (June 1-13) rather than its normal three.

For nearly a decade, the Sarasota Music Festival was led by Jeffrey Kahane, a Los Angeles-based conductor, pianist, educator and scholar. Kahane and the SMF parted ways in August 2025.

This year’s festival was organized

by Sarasota Orchestra employees and faculty, with heavy input from its fellows. The result is fewer public performances and more interaction between fellows and faculty.

Is it still worth staying in town for?

Definitely, even despite last-minute changes in the schedule and faculty.

In recent years, the SMF has held about 10 public concerts. This year, there will be four. But they still contain the star power the community has come to expect, even if some familiar faces like Kahane, cellist Mike Block and violinist/fiddler Tessa Lark are gone.

Unfortunately, a mainstay of the festival, former SMF Artistic Director Robert Levin, was forced to cancel. He was replaced by pianist and composer Michael Stephen Brown.

Some know Brown from his appearances with La Musica, the Sarasota chamber group that shares its artistic director, Wu Han, with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

In April, Brown debuted his “The Carnival of Endangered Wonders” at La Musica concerts in Sarasota. The new composition was paired with the 1886 piece by Camille SaintSaëns, “Carnival of the Animals,” that inspired Brown’s piece.

Brown returns to the Sarasota stage again June 6 in an SMF concert entitled “Mozart and Schumann.”

The program also includes SMF faculty artists Alan Stepansky on cello, Mark Nuccio on clarinet and Andreas Oeste on oboe. A 2011 SMF alum who teaches at Penn State,

IF YOU GO

SARASOTA MUSIC FESTIVAL When: Through June 13 Where: Holley Hall and the Sarasota Opera House Tickets: Festival pass for rehearsals $75; concerts $35-$50.

Info: Visit SarasotaOrchestra.org.

Oeste replaced faculty member Toyin Spellman-Diaz, who also had to bow out.

Before she canceled, SpellmanDiaz dispelled any notion that this year’s SMF was short on star power.

“I think it’s pretty star-studded,” she said in an interview. “You’ve got Jeffrey Scott, a founding member of Imani Winds, a Grammywinning quartet. (Spellman-Diaz is also a member.) There’s no brighter star than Jasmin Choi on flute, and there’s conductor Nicholas McGegan.”

Scott and fellow Imani Winds member Valerie Coleman are among the SMF faculty members who will perform at the June 12 concert, “Tchaikovsky, Ravel, & Dvořák.” It takes place at Holley Hall, which has mostly general admission seating.

(Note to self: Arrive early.)

Those who want to see Choi and McGegan should attend the SMF closing night concert on Saturday, June 13, at the Sarasota Opera House.

Called “The Masters in Concert,” it features Franz Schubert’s “Overture in the Italian Style,” Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2 with Choi and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. violinist Alexander Kerr will perform.

The public concerts of the SMF kick off Friday, June 6, with “Beethoven & Mendelssohn.” The concert includes faculty members Stepansky (cello), Peter Kolkay (bassoon), David Bowlin (violin) and Teng Li (viola). Despite its title highlighting male masters, the program also features works by two female composers — Florence Price’s “Adoration” and Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet.

As in any educational environment, Spellman-Diaz says it’s hard to strike a balance between SMF faculty members who are great performers and those who are effective teachers. Spellman-Diaz was involved in the planning for this year’s festival, which she says will be more responsive to student needs than ever.

“I’ve had fellows tell me that they learn more in a couple of weeks at the Sarasota Music Festival than they do all year in school,” she says. “That’s what it’s all about.”

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JUNE 4, 2026

YOUR NEIGHBORS Wheeling and dealing Car-selling dad teams up with his 7-year-old son to collect and sell Pokémon.

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

I

t wasn’t long ago that Josh Stacy knew very little about Pokémon.

His main line of business is used cars. But after his 7-yearold son, Silas, became interested in the mobile game “Pokémon Go,” it opened up a new market.

For a little over the past two months, rows of Pokémon trading cards and card packages have joined the products on offer from his automobile business Trade Guru, which he established after moving to Sarasota in 2018.

“I’m in the car business,” he said.

“I love to buy, sell and trade — that’s what I do. And so we went to a card show, and I thought I’m on the wrong side of the table — I want to be on that side of the table.”

It’s a project he and Silas are managing together, and one in which he

Cards sit in a display case.

Silas Stacy pre-grades a card.

IF YOU GO TRADE GURU SARASOTA Where: 5041 S. Tamiami Trail Visit: TradeGuruOnline.com.

plans to involve the community by hosting games and tournaments.

THE BUSINESS OF POKÉMON

The inventory the two have currently acquired, Josh Stacy estimates, is now at thousands of cards and hundreds of sealed products.

He had always been what he describes as “somewhat of an investor,” with experience in assets like Bitcoin and exchange-traded funds.

“I started doing research and seeing Pokémon actually has long-term potential for investing,” he said.

The Japanese brand, centering on the eponymous creatures, is estimated as the world’s highest-grossing media franchise.

Launched in 1996 through a pair of games for the Game Boy, the franchise also includes other video games, animated series, films and the trading card game.

According to the latest figures from The Pokémon Co., which manages the franchise, more than 85 billion cards have been produced in the past 30 years, with about 10 billion produced in 2025 alone.

“I sell depreciating assets in cars, and I got into Pokémon and thought, ‘Wow, a lot of times, these products are appreciating, collectibles, and it was kind of a cool thing to think that you can buy something today and it’ll be worth more next year,” said Josh.

He says the hope is they can go on to obtain cards wholesale from a distributor. He also says he’s open to ideas about creating deals that combine the cards with car purchases.

“So far, people just have thought it’s kind of cool. There hasn’t been any crossover sales, where people come for cars,” he said.

However, with over 1,000 different Pokémon species in the index, the venture wasn’t something he could jump directly into without research.

“It’s a lot of learning when you come in fresh, and you know mainly who Charizard is, and that’s about it,” he said.

Due to his experience with the game, Silas brought a lot of knowledge of Pokémon, including the indi-

Photos by Ian Swaby

vidual species’ special powers.

“Pokémon Go, I think it’s the best game to learn about Pokémon,” he said. “It has all the Pokémon, so it’s really, really fun.”

“It’s not every day you can find a hobby that you can interact with a 7-year-old, so it’s been fun,” Josh Stacy said.

The father and son pursue the business in addition to a lot of other commitments. Josh coaches Little League, and he says the family is involved with their church. They also homeschool their children, including his daughter.

Josh is also a seminary student working on a master’s degree in divinity, with the end goal of being a full-time pastor. He describes the business of Trade Guru as being based on Christian values and avoiding the deceptive practices associated with used car dealers.

However, he says working with the cards has been a new way for them to spend time together.

“We’ve always been besties, so this has been cool, but he pretty much just followed me around his whole life,” he said. “He’s always come to work with me and stuff, but this definitely increased more of our fellowship together.”

CARD CURRENCY

Josh Stacy says knowing too little about the cards can be dangerous to a vendor, as there are valuable items that customers can bring.

Indeed, there is plenty that makes Pokémon a promising business venture right now, he says.

The Pokémon Co. releases new sets regularly throughout the year, and the recent “Ascended Heroes” set was met with particularly high demand.

“The prices have skyrocketed, the

lines have skyrocketed, the demand for ‘Ascended Heroes’ is through the roof,” he said. “We got into the hobby a week before the release, and so our introduction into Pokémon has been this tidal wave.”

Stacy also bought two of his friends’ vintage collections, which includes the first set ever released in 1999.

One tool that’s helpful to a collector is being able to pre-grade the cards.

He says this is necessary to find out which cards are worth sending out to be professionally graded, which he says costs between $30 and $150.

That’s one area in which Silas has been able to help out.

Some kids have approached their vendor table asking Silas for advice.

For Silas, one of the challenges right now comes with selling.

“That’s been a fun little thing between us, deciding what he gets to keep in his personal collection and what we need to put back out for others to purchase,” Josh said.

However, he has one card, featuring his favorite Pokémon Mega Lucario, he doesn’t plan to part with.

Josh says he thought the business would be a great entry-level point for Silas to learn marketing, trading and assessing value.

He says in his teenage years, Silas could “maybe even develop this into something bigger than I could.”

Where it goes from here, Josh says, is still unfolding.

“I don’t have to make rent at the end of the month by selling so many cars, and so it’s nice to just have this kind of in the background and see where the Lord takes it,” he said.

“We’re grounded in our faith and everything we do, and so we firmly believe that this will go where He wants it to go.”

Silas and Josh Stacy stand amid their collection.

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hen the flood arrives in the Book of Genesis, God doesn’t just save humanity through the ark; he saves all of the animals, as well, Temple Emanu-El’s leaders reminded a gathering of people.

A series of pups and a pair of cats were honored for their importance to their human companions’ lives during the temple’s annual Blessing of the Animals, held May 23.

The event also offered the opportunity for attendees to dress up their pets and for a family pet photo, a free veterinarian consultation, a free consultation with an animal behavioral therapist and a raffle.

Attendees included temple members Sandra Liederman and her daughter Josie Liederman, who brought their dog Ozzie to be blessed. They said they had another dog who died during the summer, and Sandra Liederman said they brought Ozzie to the event”because we love him.”

“It’s just a nice tradition,” she said. “Our dogs add a lot of value to our lives. They really make a difference, and getting them blessed is really just a special little thing you can do for them.”

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Fellowship:

Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Certification:

Board Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine with Subspecialty Certification in Rheumatology

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Cattleridge Medical Building II 5951 Cattleridge Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34232

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www.SarasotaLuxuryLeasing.com

Medicare and most insurances accepted

1440 First Street | Sarasota, FL 34236 8.26.21_IMG-Kassover-LWRII-18x24poster.indd 1

463796-1

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YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

DOWNTOWN SARASOTA 401 S Palm Avenue #1102 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 4,385 Sq. Ft. Lenore Treiman 941.356.9642 A4689269 $5,675,000

GOLDEN GATE POINT 660 Golden Gate Point #61 2 Beds 2/1 Baths 3,405 Sq. Ft. Kelly Quigley 941.356.9954 A4677999 $2,695,000

DOWNTOWN SARASOTA 1155 N Gulfstream Avenue #401 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 2,625 Sq. Ft. Marci McFarland & Andrea O'Brien 941.961.3390 A4689843 $2,649,000

SARASOTA (WEST OF I-75) 2424 Ashton Road 3 Beds 3 Baths 2,872 Sq. Ft. Pat Rodriguez 941.685.5805 A4691268 $2,642,500

SARASOTA (WEST OF I-75) 1725 Baywood Drive 4 Beds 4 Baths 3,612 Sq. Ft. Kelly Quigley 941.356.9954 A4680848 $2,595,000

BIRD KEY 443 Bird Key Drive 3 Beds 3 Baths 2,676 Sq. Ft. Julie Klick & Beverly St. Hilaire 941.780.6001 A4686032 $2,275,000

SIESTA KEY 4708 Ocean Boulevard #E4 3 Beds 3 Baths 2,277 Sq. Ft. Mina Johnson & Ethel Lovelace 941.404.9347 A4689440 $2,199,000

LAKEWOOD RANCH COUNTRY CLUB 7527 Greystone Street 4 Beds 4 Baths 3,850 Sq. Ft. Victoria "Tori" Turner 662.614.2783 A4692043 $2,075,000

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

BAY ISLES 2450 Harbourside Drive #234 3 Beds 3 Baths 3,383 Sq. Ft. Beverly St. Hilaire & Julie Klick 818.416.2505 A4682324 $2,000,000

SARASOTA (WEST OF I-75) 1880 Loma Linda Street 4 Beds 4 Baths 2,904 Sq. Ft. Barbara May & Fred Sassen 404.822.9264 A4688301 $1,895,000

TANGERINE BAY CLUB 360 Gulf Of Mexico Drive #333 3 Beds 3/1 Baths 2,581 Sq. Ft. Sherry Dominick 203.605.9582 A4675387 $1,795,000

DOWNTOWN SARASOTA 1931 High Point Circle 3 Beds 2 Baths 1,712 Sq. Ft. Fred Sassen & Barbara May 404.408.5956 A4690458 $1,495,000

SIESTA KEY 5880 Midnight Pass Road #704 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,498 Sq. Ft. Linda Stowe 941.228.5685 A4685065 $1,495,000

SIESTA KEY 6300 Midnight Pass Road #708 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,271 Sq. Ft. Rudy Dudon & Sophia Dudon 941.234.3991 A4684587 $1,350,000

SIESTA KEY 6234 Midnight Pass Road #307 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,105 Sq. Ft. Marlene Marshall 941.539.8850 A4692040 $1,100,000

SARASOTA (WEST OF I-75) 2492 Waterview Court 3 Beds 2 Baths 2,017 Sq. Ft. Tori Beckham 941.544.6734 A4691223 $1,095,000

SIESTA KEY 611 Venice Lane 3 Beds 2 Baths 2,168 Sq. Ft. Christine Pope & Paul Pope 941.685.5565 A4686684 $1,072,000

DOWNTOWN SARASOTA 642 Ohio Place 2 Beds 1 Bath 850 Sq. Ft. Doug Parks 941.400.9087 A4693770 $815,000

SIESTA KEY 6312 Midnight Pass Road #305S 2 Beds 2 Baths 894 Sq. Ft. Ryndie Brusco 941.809.6913 A4684866 $775,000

SIESTA KEY 6154 Midnight Pass Road #A-05 2 Beds 1/1 Baths 836 Sq. Ft. Rudy Dudon & Sophia Dudon 941.234.3991 A4687809 $625,000

SIESTA KEY 6154 Midnight Pass Road #A-3 2 Beds 1/1 Baths 836 Sq. Ft. Ryndie Brusco 941.809.6913 A4689306 $619,000

SIESTA KEY 8767 Midnight Pass Road #505F 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,421 Sq. Ft. Kaitlin Kuhn 941.400.7861 A4686097 $600,000

THE MEADOWS 2042 Country Meadows Place 3 Beds 2 Baths 2,052 Sq. Ft. Susan Keal 941.320.1689 A4673225 $515,000

SIESTA KEY 8773 Midnight Pass Road #302G 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,303 Sq. Ft. Marlene Marshall & George Marshall 941.539.8850 A4691760 $500,000

SIESTA KEY 6536 Peacock Road 7 Beds 7/2 Baths 4,697 Sq. Ft. Rudy Dudon & Brian Loebker 941.234.3991 A4688703 $5,650,000

SIESTA KEY 7233 Pine Needle Road 3 Beds 3/2 Baths 4,294 Sq. Ft. Rudy Dudon & Allison Werner 941.234.3991 A4688394 $4,300,000

OYSTER BAY 1815 S Lake Shore Drive 5 Beds 4/1 Baths 4,177 Sq. Ft. Mary Pat Radford & Georgina Clamage 941.587.9905 A4690123 $4,250,000

888.552.5228 | MICHAELSAUNDERS.COM

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YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

ADAM HUGHES

Other top sales by area

RESEARCH EDITOR

T

erence and Angela Nutter, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the home at 5362 Shadow Lawn Drive to J. Gordon and Gretchen Cooney, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, for $4.49 million.

Built in 2023, it has three bedrooms, three-andtwo-half baths, a pool and 4,294 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.1 million in 2022.

SIESTA KEY: $2,680,000

Siesta Beach Martin Swaggard and Lisa Dalton, of Sarasota, sold their home at 4881 Oxford Drive to William Edward McManus and Jamie Babchick McManus, of Franklin, Tennessee, for $2.68 million. Built in 2020, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 2,819 square feet of living area.

It sold for $2.03 million in 2021.

PALMER RANCH: $955,000 Image courtesy of realtor Morgan Marziali

The home at 5362 Shadow Lawn Drive was built in 2023 and has three bedrooms, three-and-two-half baths, a pool and 4,294 square feet of living area.

SARASOTA

HARBOR ACRES Drayton and Kara Saunders, of Sarasota, sold their home at 1349 Harbor Drive to Gary Aletto, of Carmel, Indiana, for $3,625,000.

Built in 2012, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 4,337 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.25 million in 2017.

BAY VIEW HEIGHTS Pamela Taylor, trustee, and Robert Mark Taylor, of Sarasota, sold the home at 1732 Cunliff Lane to Bank of America, trustee, of St. Louis, for $2,375,000. Built in 2013, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,714 square feet of living area.

BLOSSOM BROOK Neal and Jennifer Horne, of Sarasota, sold their home at 2311 Grove St. to Betty Ann Born, of Sarasota, for $2.2 million. Built in 2024, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,909 square feet of living area.

RIDGEWOOD

Dustin Stroth and Nicole Kaney, of Sarasota, sold their home at 2381 Florinda St. to Coryn Currie, of Sarasota, for $1.5 million. Built in 1957, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,439 square feet of living area. It sold for $465,000 in 2014.

PHILLIPPI GARDENS David Lemieux, trustee, of Rochester, New Hampshire, sold the home at 5669 America Drive to Carl Thomas Pearson and Sabine Walter, of Bozeman, Montana, for $950,000. Built in 1976, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,651 square feet of living area. It sold for $600,000 in 2023.

FOREST LAKES COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES Steven Papuchis and Kaitlyn Rondolino sold their home at 1734 Riviera Circle to SLF Properties LLC for $899,000. Built in 1971, it has four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,982 square feet of living area. It sold for $474,000 in 2021.

ESPLANADE BY SIESTA KEY Jerry and Lois Cybalski, of Sarasota, sold their home at 8148 Gabanna Drive to Accum Holdings Inc. for $890,000. Built in 2015, it has two

MAY 18-22

REAL ESTATE

A Siesta Isles home sells for $4.49 million

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

19

bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,115 square feet of living area. It sold for $797,000 in 2015.

ESSEX HOUSE Nola Hietbrink, of Sarasota, sold the Unit 1007 condominium at 707 S. Gulfstream Ave. to Sean and Laura O’Connor, of Sarasota, for $800,000. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,395 square feet of living area. It sold for $585,000 in 2014.

ONE WATERGATE

Shirley Jones Harris, of The Bronx, New York, sold her Unit 16D condominium at 1111 N. Gulfstream Ave. to Jeffrey and Susan Cooper, of Sarasota, for $800,000. Built in 1974, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,736 square feet of living area. It sold for $174,000 in 1996.

to William Barth and Carley Holtsinger, of Sarasota, for $685,000.

Built in 1957, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,252 square feet of living area. It sold for $750,000 in 2022.

Dawna Eldringhoff, of Sarasota, sold her home at 2513 Mineola Way to Nicolai and Jessica Israileff, of Sarasota, for $675,000. Built in 1957, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,951 square feet of living area. It sold for $420,000 in 2019.

ONLINE See more transactions at YourObserver.com.

Turtle Rock Douglas and Janet Smith, of Sarasota, sold their home at 4980 Sabal Lake Circle to Michael and Kathy Perivolaris, of Sarasota, for $955,000. Built in 1999, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,466 square feet of living area.

OSPREY: $2 MILLION

Southbay Yacht and Racquet Club Douglas and Jamie Killian, of Osprey, sold their home at 304 Yacht Harbor Drive to Wylan Ellis Bernitt and Nicole Leigh Bernitt, of Osprey, for $2 million.

Built in 1978, it has three bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,324 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.65 million in 2023.

NOKOMIS: $3.65 MILLION

Casey Key Lemon Bay Vacations LLC sold the home at 217 Casey Key Road to Miller Southwest LLC for $3.65 million. Built in 1979, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 2,990 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.1 million in 2017.

THE STRAND OF SARASOTA William Joseph Ford, trustee, of Winter Springs, sold the Unit A519 condominium in 1709 N. Tamiami Trail to George and Pamela Coblyn, of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, for $775,000. Built in 2022, it has one bedroom, two baths and 1,193 square feet of living area. It sold for $957,500 in 2024.

PHILLIPPI COVE Patricia Ann McGraw, of Bradenton, sold her home at 2538 Trinidad St. to Marek and Bozena Brzostowski, of West Nyack, New York, for $765,000. Built in 1995, it has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,152 square feet of living area. It sold for $262,000 in 2019.

JOHNSON ESTATES Pavel and Tatsiana Stukov sold their home at 1600 Kenilworth St. to Adam Nayfeh and Lindsay Savigne, of Sarasota, for $725,000. Built in 1947, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,748 square feet of living area. It sold for $333,000 in 2020.

SOUTH GATE Karen Turley, trustee, of Sarasota, sold the home at 3410 S. School Ave. to Christopher Fowler, trustee, of Sarasota, for $710,000. Built in 1956, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 3,229 square feet of living area. It sold for $484,000 in 2018.

Jill Curtis, of Palisades, New York, sold the home at 2715 Valencia Drive

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These are the largest city of Sarasota building permits issued for the week of May 18-22, in order of dollar amounts.

CITY OF SARASOTA Permit

Applicant

Amount

1851 Datura St.

Addition

Michele Finizio

$225,000

1330 Harbor Drive

Renovations

Jeffrey Jones Jr.

$200,000

941.951.6650

1631 Laurel St.

Garage

Jeffrey Labelle

$130,000

MSCDeveloperServices.com

734 Indian Beach Circle

Windows/Doors

Charles Price

$88,950

1267 13th St.

Alterations

Mary Thomas

$45,279

2631 Puritan Terrace

Alterations

Steven Paley

$42,917

1848 Loma Linda St.

Mechanical

Eric Sandburg, trustee

$40,353

2632 Novus Place

Generator

Thomas Dion

$25,000

2230 Alameda Ave.

Windows/Doors

Christophe Coutelle

$19,000

3618 Palonia Court

Pool Cage

Richard Wolowski, trustee

$17,199

Source: City of Sarasota

Prices as of January 2025

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

460073-1

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

Address

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

YOUR CALENDAR

, S T N E PAR

NEED G N I H T E M SO H G I H R U O Y FOR

D A R G L O SCHO ?

T

ER M M U S S I H O DO T

SEND THEM TO US

AND WE’LL TEACH THEM THE

HVAC TRADE

FRIDAY, JUNE 5

DANCE DANCE SARASOTA 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. at North Palm Ave. Free. The Fresh Fridays series of block parties closes with a dance party. Guests can enjoy a soundtrack from DJ D2, food giant outdoor games and giveaways. Visit DowntownSarasotaDID.com.

FRIDAY, JUNE 5, TO SUNDAY, JUNE 7

SARASOTA GUITAR AND AMP SHOW 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Blvd. $20 at the door for one day; advance tickets $15. Ages 12 and under free. Visit SarasotaGuitarShow.com.

BEST BET

SATURDAY, JUNE 6

SRQ CON 2026 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Selby Library, 1331 First St. Free. The annual pop culture convention at Selby Library, SRQCon, will include a scavenger hunt, button making and other activities. Vendors on both floors of the library will be selling art, comics, toys merchandise and other items. Visit SCGovLibrary.

LibraryMarket.com.

SATURDAY, JUNE 6

NAMASTE AT THE BAY YOGA — THE BAY SARASOTA 9-10 a.m. at Sarasota Garden Club, 1130 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. This recurring event features a variety of yogis at The Bay. This week’s instructor is Jessica McHugh. Registration requested. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

HANDS-ON HVAC TRAINING. REAL SKILLS. GREAT CAREER OPTIONS. HIGH DEMAND.

SUMMER LEARNING KICKOFF PARTY Noon to 2 p.m. at Gulf Gate Library, 7112 Curtiss Ave. Free. All ages welcome. Enjoy lawn games and buttonmaking, paint your own flower pot and sign up for the summer learning challenge to receive a snow cone.

Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket. com.

HIGH EARNING POTENTIAL. BUILD YOUR FUTURE. A SKILL THAT STICKS FOR LIFE.

SATURDAY, JUNE 6 TO SUNDAY, JUNE 7

ST. ARMANDS CIRCLE CRAFT FESTIVAL & SIDEWALK SALE 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 300 Madison Drive. Free. Stroll St. Armands Circle while enjoying works from over 100 artisans and craftspeople. Visit StArmandsCircleAssoc.com.

SUNDAY, JUNE 7

NEXT CLASS STARTS TH

941-210-0993 • anthonyscoolschool.com

459013-1

JULY 6 !

SUNDAYS AT THE BAY FEATURING JASON WHITE — THE BAY SARASOTA 6-7 p.m. at The Oval, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Every Sunday. This week’s performance is Jason White, who melds country, pop, and soul, with musical influences including Willie Nelson, Otis Redding, Garth

Ian Swaby

Robert Winkle, Lori Goldmeier and Geoff Martz

Brooks and Brian McKnight. Registration requested. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10

TAI CHI AND QIGONG — THE BAY SARASOTA 8-8:45 a.m. at Common Ground, The Bay, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts.

Free. Learn and practice the ancient Chinese exercise forms of Tai Chi and Qigong. Instructor Gail Pettit leads the class. Registration requested. Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

THURSDAY, JUNE 11

CINEMA AT THE BAY: ‘CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND’ 7:30-9:50 p.m. at The Oval, 1055 Boulevard of the Arts. Free. Enjoy an outdoor movie under the stars.

In this classic film (PG) an Indiana electric lineman finds his life changed after an encounter with a UFO, that leads him on a quest for answers. Registration requested.

Visit TheBaySarasota.org.

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JUNE 4, 2026

SPORTS

“ I was basically leading the team in a lot, but I just want to take it higher, take it to another level and see how far I can really go.”

— Jayla Griffin, Cardinal Mooney girls basketball SEE PAGE 23

Baseball breakthrough

FAST

BREAK Owen Ayers played his first two seasons of Minor League Baseball exclusively with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of Single A. So far in 2026, he’s spent time with the South Bend Cubs of High-A and the Knoxville Smokies of Double-A.

Sarasota High graduate Owen Ayers has reached Double-A, his highest level yet in the minors.

Images courtesy of Cody Linn/Marshall Athletics

Across his two seasons with Marshall from 2023-24, Owen Ayers posted a .287 batting average, .378 on-base percentage, 15 home runs and 62 RBIs.

JACK NELSON SPORTS REPORTER

T

here isn’t one dimension of the game Owen Ayers is overly concerned with. Struggles haven’t persisted for him in the batter’s box, on the base paths or behind the plate.

When they do occur, inconsistency is the cause, he said. So the 24-yearold catcher has dedicated himself to approaching every game the same in his third season of minor league play.

“The hardest thing for me is just trying to show up and be the same guy every day,” Ayers said. “That consistency is what allows your talent (to shine and for me) to play my best.”

It took two years to learn that — two seasons spent at the same level in the Chicago Cubs’ system. The results of putting it into practice have him trending upward.

Ayers, who graduated from Sarasota High in 2019, has been with the Knoxville Smokies of Double-A since April 21. It’s the highest level of professional baseball he’s played in since the Cubs selected him with pick No. 572 overall in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

Remarkable consistency with the South Bend Cubs of High-A earned him that promotion. He batted .372 with six home runs and 14 RBIs across 43 at-bats, getting sent up after just 11 games.

“I think he could be a big-leaguer, and scouts that I’ve talked to feel the same way,” said Clyde Metcalf, the Sarasota baseball coach from 19812022. “His career’s on the ascent, and if he just keeps his head down and keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s got a really good shot to one day play in the big leagues.”

It’s not this year alone that has treated Ayers well. He ended 2025 strong, and translated that success quickly coming out of spring training.

Last fall, the catcher posted a fourth-best .379 batting average along with three home runs and 16 RBIs for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. He stayed patient at the plate, drawing more

walks than any other player, and his 25 hits were tied for sixth-most.

That effort earned him recognition as the AFL Breakout Player of the Year. The previous three award winners — Caleb Durbin in 2024, Oliver Dunn in 2023 and Edouard Julien in 2022 — each made their respective MLB debuts one season afterward.

Triple-A still stands in Ayers’ way if he’s going to continue that trend.

Again, he pointed to consistency as the “how” behind that award being added to his trophy case.

“I figured some things out — how to be consistent, show up every day and do the same thing,” Ayers said.

“But that’s something that I think tends to go up and down in this game, where you figure some things out, and then you fall back and have some struggles, too.”

Pro successes aside, he was not a four-year player in high school. He made varsity for the first time as a junior in 2018 and was a “late bloomer,” Metcalf said, with the Sailors.

Metcalf got to know him as a talented, but skinny, ballplayer who lacked the physical stature to match his abilities. Ayers was listed at 6-foot-1, 170 pounds as a senior, per MaxPreps.

The now-catcher didn’t even play that position for Sarasota in his first season with the team. Metcalf, though, found a use for him elsewhere on the diamond.

Such is the intuition of a Florida Sports Hall of Famer who saw 14 of his former players reach the majors by the time he retired.

“He came to us as a catcher, but we had a guy ahead of him, so we played him in right field,” Metcalf said. “He probably led the state in assists that year, throwing guys out, because he had a cannon for an arm. He was a tremendous outfielder.”

Ayers hadn’t impressed enough to earn an NCAA Division I offer by the time he graduated, though. He worked from the bottom up by playing three seasons with the State College of Florida from 2019-22 at the junior college level.

During that span, he recorded a .276 batting average, .383 on-base percentage, 23 home runs and 112

File image

In 2018, during his first season on varsity, Owen Ayers batted .239 with 16 hits and six RBIs as a junior for the Sailors.

RBIs. Marshall baseball’s staff was plenty impressed and offered Ayers the opportunity to transfer into their program for the 2023 season.

As a junior for the Herd, he tallied 23 doubles, setting the program’s single-season record. Then he set it again with 25 as a senior, while bumping up his batting average from .283 to .292.

He now considers himself an advocate for the juco road to the pros — one which is less traveled than the NCAA’s. He’s proof it can, in fact, pay off.

“It was big for me, because I needed a lot more at-bats and playing time,” Ayers said. “You get to play a lot, and that was a big part of development for me.”

Consistency began to define his play near the end of year two with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of Single A. In July 2025, he racked up 18 RBIs in an 18-game stretch.

But that was disrupted when he broke a bone in his right hand, ultimately requiring surgery and was placed on the 60-day injured list.

Ayers came back to assemble an award-winning fall. Then he followed it with a stellar start to 2026, climbing a few rungs on the minorleague ladder.

He’s tried to be the same guy throughout it all, not just from month to month, but from week to week and day to day.

“I’ve gotten to that point where the skills and the talent is there,” Ayers said. “It’s just, ‘How often can I put that together and be my best self out there on the field?’”

CATCHING FOR A WORLD SERIES CHAMPION During Owen Ayers’ days of JUCO baseball, he overlapped with Justin Wrobleski at the State College of Florida.

He caught for him during the 201920 season.

The COVID-19 pandemic cut their time together short, and Wrobleski transferred to Oklahoma State for the following season, but he did make four starts as a Manatee.

Wrobleski has since won two World Series titles with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024 and 2025.

This season, he’s a member of the team’s starting rotation, and owns a 2.87 ERA with a 7-2 record through nine starts.

Jack Nelson

Cardinal Mooney football’s Davin Davidson journeyed to Los Angeles last weekend for the finals of the Elite 11 quarterback camp, one of the highest honors for quarterback recruits.

D

avin Davidson, a rising senior quarterback for Cardinal Mooney, competed in the finals of the Elite 11 quarterback camp from May 29-31 in Los Angeles.

The Florida commit was one of 20 quarterback recruits in the country to participate and the lone representative for the state of Florida. He was ranked No. 9 after Day 1, No. 11 after Day 2 and finished 12-for-18 with two touchdowns and one interception in the seven-on-seven portion of the camp on Day 3.

Davidson guided the Cougars to the FHSAA Class 2A state title in December 2025 as a firstyear starter, racking up 2,360 yards and 23 touchdowns against six interceptions on a 64.6% pass completion rate. ... Madison Muller, a rising junior for Riverview High cross country/track and field, placed third in the high school girls’ 2-mile run (10:30.95) at the inaugural Under Armour Track and Field Nationals. She also finished seventh in the mile run (4:53.01) for the event, which was held from May 29-31 at IMG Academy. Last fall, she won the FHSAA 4A cross country state title in 17:37.2, and last month, earned silver with a 10:31.95 in the 3,200-meter race of the 4A track and field state championships. Also at the Under Armour Track and Field Nationals, rising juniors Annabella Cicilioni of Sarasota High and Ava Fanchi of Riverview reached the finals of their respective races. Cicilioni placed fifth in the 2,000-meter steeplechase (7:44.33), while Fanchi finished eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.32). ... Rising senior guard Johnny Lackaff of Sarasota was named the 7A Boys Player of the Year on May 26 by the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches.

Fourth-year coach B.J. Ivey, meanwhile, was named the 7A Boys Coach of the Year one day earlier. Lackaff powered the Sailors last season with 23.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game as their leading scorer. Under Ivey’s tutelage, Sarasota reached the first FHSAA state title game in program history, ultimately falling to Miami Columbus 53-50 to conclude its season with a 25-7 record.

NEW DIRECTION PAGE 22

22

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

NELSON’S NOGGIN

JACK NELSON

Sarasota Crew’s success started with a change in culture The youth rowing club has become a known nationally, thanks to its focus on individual development.

T

he culture of Sarasota Crew was fundamentally flawed. It had long prioritized all-star rowers instead of taking an individualized approach to its athletes.

There was more of an emphasis on results than the process of development that made those results possible. Casey Galvanek saw it as “chasing medals.”

In 2009, when Galvanek stepped in as coach, he realized that culture wouldn’t just need to be adjusted or mended — it had to be changed entirely.

So he promptly went about changing it.

“Individual development instead of chasing medals,” Galvanek said.

“That was the vision from the start, making sure that the student-athletes could set their own goals.”

Nearly two decades since he began executing that vision, Sarasota Crew has become the pre-eminent power on the national youth rowing landscape. It regularly dominates regattas at the state and regional levels and is plenty active at the national level.

The Osprey-based club will be well-represented — once again — at the USRowing Youth National Championships from June 11-14 at Nathan Benderson Park. It boasts 16 entries, tied for second-most among the 236 participating clubs hailing from all over the country.

That’s more entries for Sarasota Crew than in 2025 or 2024, when it featured 13 and 14, respectively.

Last year, its U16 Women’s Eight won the junior national title, while the U17 Men’s Eight and Youth Women’s Four also reached the A

File image

The title-winning U16 Women’s Eight plus coxswain for Sarasota Crew at the 2025 USRowing Youth National Championships. From left: Addison Wilson, Brooke Wilson, Gabrielle Davis, Maya Jewell, Lillian Teague, Megan Murdock, Isabella De Liz, Sydney Soboleski and Rose Ottaviano.

Finals to race for titles.

But the club’s decorated history dates back much further than that.

Since 2011, when Galvanek was in his third year as coach, the championship culture is undeniable.

Sarasota Crew is the overall team points champion of the USRowing Southeast Youth Championships for 15 years running. It also lays claim to 15 team titles at the Florida Scholastic Rowing Association Sweep Championships and 14 at the FSRA Sculling Championships.

Trophies or medals are not the club’s goal, but they are a frequent byproduct of the real goal being pursued — specialized, rower-byrower development.

“We’re making sure that everybody’s getting what they want out of the program instead of forcing upon them some kind of unrealistic goals that were set by others that had different goals,” Galvanek said.

“That’s really the big difference in the program. Over the years, we’ve had success, and it wasn’t because we were chasing that success as a team.”

“Culture” is a modern-day buzz word in the sports world. Coaches speak of it constantly, often advo-

Image courtesy of Lisa Worthy

Casey Galvanek, who now serves on the board for Sarasota Crew, pioneered the club’s culture change. He is the USRowing men’s head coach and was the men’s sweep coach for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

cating for it as the foundation of winning.

Some of them, though, use it ad nauseam to the point where it loses luster. The word is only impactful if actually acted upon and put into practice.

For Sarasota Crew, “culture” carries genuine meaning. Coaches and athletes alike have lived it. They’ve seen what it looks like on a day-today, year-to-year basis.

Sebastian Spivey helps carry

out the club’s culture, which, as outlined by Galvanek, prioritizes individual development. The lead girls coach pointed to hard work as a crucial component.

“It’s a perpetual motion,” Spivey said. “You work hard and you see good results with it, so it encourages more hard work and then encourages even more good results.

It happens in a cycle.”

He’s an alumnus of the club himself. From 2009-15, he rowed for Sarasota Crew, and was co-captain of the Youth Men’s Eight at the 2015 USRowing Youth National Championships.

But Spivey also remembers earlier days, like in 2011, when he joined competitive racing for the first time and looked up to the club’s thenYouth Men’s Eight.

He saw the embodiment of a proper, productive culture in them.

“I saw how fast they were, how hard they worked, how they carried themselves around and just their general attitude. (It was a) winning culture, and an entertaining culture, too,” Spivey said. “It was just enjoyable to come into the doors of practice ... try to hang with them as much as you possibly can, even

though you weren’t (with them).”

More than a few rowers over the years have bought into Sarasota Crew’s culture and ran with it.

Several eventually competed at the NCAA Division I level, and one in particular did much more.

Clark Dean is perhaps the greatest product of the club. After graduating in 2018, he rowed for Harvard from 2018-23 and took his talents to not one, but two Olympic Games.

He competed for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the Men’s Eight and Men’s Four, respectively. His boat fell short of hardware in 2020, but won bronze in 2024 — the first medal in Men’s Eight for Team USA since 2008.

Dean is the shining example of what Galvanek sought to create nearly two decades ago, but by no means is he the only example.

“Every single year, there’s a banquet for the graduating seniors,” Galvanek said. “Hearing their stories, and what rowing meant to them in the environment that we created, that — by far — is the most meaningful time of the year.”

Sarasota Crew was founded in 2002. It had existed for seven years before Galvanek took on the role of head coach, and during that span, prioritized medals above all else.

Times have changed. That’s because the culture has changed. It will be in motion, for all to see, from June 11-14 on the waters of Nathan Benderson Park.

A junior national title isn’t Sarasota Crew’s goal, but it would be quite the byproduct.

Jack Nelson is the sports reporter for the East County and Sarasota/Siesta Key Observers. Contact him at JNelson@ YourObserver.com.

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

How are you feeling about your recruitment?

I’m taking three official visits pretty soon. I haven’t made up (my mind on) exactly where I’m going yet, but I’m going to take those visits. I plan to commit soon — July or August.

How would you reflect on your junior season?

It was a good season. With all the coaching changes and all the adversity we went through, we did pretty well. We made it pretty far considering what we had to go through.

What do you think of your new coach Amanda Boswell?

I’ve met with her, and we’ve talked a couple times. She’s a really good coach. I know she has a really good background, so I’m excited to play under her and see how far we can make it.

What are your season goals?

(I want to) beat myself last year. I was basically leading the team in a lot, but I just want to take it higher, take it to another level and see how far I can really go — push myself.

How do you want to improve?

My biggest thing would be my 3-point shooting. I mostly go downhill or mid-range. I just really want to improve that so I’m really set when I go to college.

My mom (Kenesha Andrews), she would always put me and my sister in sports. I played soccer, my shoe flew off, I got embarrassed and I just stuck to basketball.

Why have you stuck with it?

It can take you far in life. You meet a lot of people and you can build a lot of connections through it. It’s a really good way to just put yourself out there and get exposed to people.

What quote or piece of advice have you always carried with you?

“Your time is coming.” Patience is a really big thing in sports. A lot of people get (college) offers at different ages for different reasons, honestly. But don’t compare yourself to other people, because your time is coming.

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Jayla Griffin was a new kid on the block for Cardinal Mooney girls basketball in 2025-26. She transferred from Bloomingdale High in Valrico after helping the Bulls to the 2025 FHSAA Class 6A state title.

She led the Cougars with 15.7 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. The rising senior guard holds NCAA Division I offers from Florida Atlantic, Northern Kentucky, North Florida, Bradley, Delaware State, Hampton University and Florida A&M. Griffin, who added the Rattlers to that list May 21, is the Sarasota Athlete of the Week.

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Jayla Griffin

If you would like to make a recommendation for the Sarasota Observer’s Athlete of the Week feature, send it to Jack Nelson at JNelson@ YourObserver.com.

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WEATHER

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

FORECAST THURSDAY, JUNE 4

SUNRISE / SUNSET Sunrise Sunset

High: 88 Low: 72 Chance of rain: 3%

FRIDAY, JUNE 5 High: 89 Low: 72 Chance of rain: 19%

Thursday, June 4

6:34a

8:21p

Friday, June 5

6:34a

8:22p

Saturday, June 6

6:34a

8:22p

Sunday, June 7

6:34a

8:23p

Monday, June 8

6:34a

8:23p

Tuesday, June 9

6:34a

8:23p

Wednesday, June 10

6:34a

8:24p

MOON PHASES

SATURDAY, JUNE 6 High: 91 Low: 74 Chance of rain: 17%

June 8 Last

June 14 New

June 21 First

June 29 Full

RAINFALL

SUNDAY, JUNE 7 High: 92 Low: 77 Chance of rain: 16% Manjesh Lingamurthy took this photo of a white ibis on Siesta Key Beach.

Monday, May 25

0.39

Tuesday, May 26

0.01

Wednesday, May 27

0.4

Thursday, May 28

0.03

Friday, May 29

0

Saturday, May 30

0

Sunday, May 31

0

*Rainfall totals from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

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

YEAR TO DATE: 2026 12.31 in.

2025 10.77 in.

MONTH TO DATE: 0 in.

2026 2025 2.10 in.

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Daily crossword puzzles available at YourObserver.com/crossword

THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ by Ryan Mathiason, edited by Jared Goudsmit 116 Of help 117 “I swear!”

118 Grads-to-be, for short 119 Genesis garden 120 Drops in for a bit

©2026 Universal Uclick

ACROSS 1 Pig on British TV 6 Movie that might make you snicker and swoon 12 Wild guess 16 Shaq’s Southern alma mater 19 Sleepover game challenges 20 ___ borealis 21 Plushie with a “belly badge” 23 Fantasy movie with Lindsay Lohan, or a hint to 70-Across 25 Forest-damaging precipitation 26 Group of eight 27 ___ cable (console-TV connector) 29 Locates

86 Rowing stick 30 Server who may wear back tour, say 87 Cardinals’ homes skates 58 Burn on the grill 89 “Relax, soldiers!”

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101 Organism that needs 42 California wine region 69 Lock of hair oxygen 43 “I pranked those folks” 70 They produce milk 46 “___ habits die hard” 73 “SNL” comic ___ Marshall 103 Canon rival 104 “___ No Love in Okla49 Cinderella team’s 74 Zodiac’s big cat chance to shine, or a hint to 75 Poems of praise homa” (Luke Combs song) 76 Not outsourced 97-Across 105 No later than 53 ___ up (agitate) 78 Cause-and-effect con106 Marvel-ous team?

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82 Important court figure

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57 Long African river 58 Google browser 60 Cozy Russian headwear item 121 Eyelid concerns 61 NFL analyst Tony 63 Back of a ship DOWN 64 Spicy marinade 1 Adobe file format 65 Nobelist Murad 2 Body part with a canal 66 Overtime rounds 3 Buys in advance 67 Great ___ (large dogs) 4 Hunky-dory 71 Early hour to wake up 5 Invite for 72 Fishy, in slang 6 Whitewater vessel 7 “___ Last Summer” (ABBA 73 Paul McCartney, e.g.

74 Word before “show” or song) “bloomer” 8 CT scan alternative 77 Tony ___, aka Iron Man 9 Fish-and-chips fish 10 “Your Song” singer Rita 78 Smooch 79 Field of study with star 11 Chaos signs 12 Many emails about 81 Straighten out, like knotunpaid tolls ted cables 13 Implicitly understood 83 Backside 14 Singer Grande, to fans 84 Routes 15 What may support a 85 Q-tip, e.g. king?

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111 Coding conditionals “Heated Rivalry” 44 Starting point, or (0,0) 112 Well-used pencil 113 Fish eggs on a graph 114 Gridiron distances 45 Church donation 47 Toronto Maple ___ (NHL (Abbr.)

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celebrity cipher

By Luis Campos Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present.

Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

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UXTIVN FBGY

“A EM DBX DM YIHO UBAHIKX ... A DBX DM FO YMROCD DM VYM A IW VYOR A IW AR UQFJAK, FQD A IJCM DBX DM LOOU DYARPC NMB WXCOJN.”

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Handyman Services JAMES BOTTORFF EXPERIENCED HANDYMAN SERVICES Call or Text 941-807-0032 Registered in the state of FL. MITCHELL HANDYMAN. Painting, Carpentry, Tile, Pressure Cleaning.

Home Improvements, Repairs.

Small and large! 941-284-8488.

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Helps with medication, transport, errands, light cleaning.

Great for all types of patients 941-400-1667 lahego90@hotmail.com

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

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

Honest & reliable.

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

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

Handyman

Home Watch

C.T. MALLETT

Carpentry • Painting Pressure Washing

HANDYMAN SERVICES

Accepting Credit Cards

941.302.5850

SERVING SIESTA KEY & SARASOTA COUNTY

KEENS HANDYMAN SERVICES

INTERIOR RENOVATIONS • DRYWALL • PAINT • TRIM • DOORS 941.650.9790 • TILE • FLOORING • SHOWER 941.650.9790 YoderAluminum.com TEXT OR CALL 574-354-7772 YoderAluminum.com

Auto Service

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Recognized Among the Best Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Physicians in America

Call to reserve your ad space: 941-955-4888 YourObserver.com/RedPages

Board Certified in the specialty of non-surgical spinal decompression

DR. DAVID CIFRA, DC

Landscaping & Lawn

Midtown Medical Park 1215 S. East Ave. Suite 210 Sarasota, FL 34239

Doors

The Only Thing You Have To Lose ... Is The Pain!!

DON’T let your

Rich Briandi | 941-356-5616 Lic./ Insured

Movers

Home Services

PATIO DOORS be a DRAG or your

INJECT-AFLOOR SYSTEM

WINDOWS be a PANE!!

MAKE YOUR

IN-HOAMTEES ESTIM Call us today!

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Handyman

STEVE PANEBIANCO H R S

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ome epaiR eRvice • No JoB Too SmaLL • ScReeN RepaiRS • paiNTiNG/DRY WaLL • TiLe RepaiRS • & mUcH moRe!

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FREE

GROUT

peekers’ place

453817

Sliding Glass Door Repairs Sliding Glass Door Deadbolts | Window Repairs

DON DI STEFANO (941) 893.8475

462824

Driveways | Yards | Dirt Work | Light Demo

www.SarasotaDiscCenter.com DrCifra@SarasotaDiscCenter.com

DO YOU HAVE LOOSE & HOLLOW TILES?

Wizard Moving SRQ For $149 per hour you get:

A truck, 2 men with equipment, experience and a great attitude to

make your moving day a pleasure.

Licensed and insured #IMT708

This week’s Crossword answers

This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers

Puzzle One Solution: “You have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow ... Hope that all will be all right.”

Harvey Milk

Puzzle Two Solution: “I do try to have privacy ... I try to be honest to who I am when I am in public, but I also try to keep things for myself.”

Zendaya Puzzle Three Solution: “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?

We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.”

Marie Curie

This week’s Sudoku answers

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463073

941-735-3362

Shell Work & Landscape Stone

©2026 NEA, Inc.

Pegatronics.com 462820

YOUR BUSINESS

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Learn Computer Basics Phones/Tablet Help Apple & Microsoft Problems Solved On-Site and Off Much More! Call Today!

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*DRILLING CHARGES MAY APPLY FOR MARBLE, GRANITE OR PORCELAIN. COUPON REQUIRED.

Do You Have Neck or Low Back Pain?

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6968 Beneva Road

Hardware Repair Virus / Malware Cleanup Software & Printer Install New Computer Setups New Purchase Consults Seniors & Beginners

LIFETIME GUARANTEE • LICENSED • BONDED • INSURED COVERAGEAREA: AREA:LAKEWOOD PARRISH TO NORTHPORT COVERAGE RANCH TO S. VENICE

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Health

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$

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941-929-9095

COMPLETE INSTALLATION PACKAGE

OBSERVER RED PAGES

Computer

(Next to Beneva Flowers)

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CALL PINNACLE TODAY! 941-306-1999

©2026 Universal Uclick

462819

Owner /Insured Operator Insured

Dave and Connie Grundy 462872

Dustin Owner Yoder/ Operator

463011

Dustin Yoder

463072

“Specializing inin6” Gutters” “Specializing 6” Seamless Seamless Gutters”

Pinnacle Home Watch.com Stop Worrying About Your Home While Away

364556 463061

Aluminum

463436

26

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

Pet Services

Screening

Pet Care by Melanie Gates

Pool Enclosure Specialists

Res. | Com. | Lic. | Ins.

• Pool Enclosures • Front Entry Screens • Lanais • Concrete & Pavers

Dog Walking (sm/md) Cat sitting & Cat/Kitten Introductions Administering medication

Call Today: (941) 925-3200 info@bishopsaluminum.com

463020

30+ years Exp. & Excellent References

463017

(941) 966-2960

Formerly known as Sunrise Windows

SCC131150987

UP TO

SCREEN MACHINE

Rescreening & Repairs

941-879-3136

Transportation

“No Job Too Small” Insured

BLACK LABEL CAR SERVICE “Luxury for Less”

• Pet Screen • 20/20 No-See-Um Screening • We Paint Pool Cages

5

senior citizen discount.

www.sunsetwindowcleaningsrq.com

PURIFIED WATER WINDOW CLEANING AVAIL ABLE!!

410036

463014

463062

Roofing

SPECIAL 00

$

941 - 248 - 4734

All Florida Airports, Concerts & Dinners - Hourly Cruise Ships & Medical | See Specials at: www.blacklabelcarservice.com

160

INCLUDING SCREENS, TRACKS, MIRRORS & FANS 462822

Screen Repair | Per Panel Pricing Building | Under Truss | Lanais | Entryways Prompt Estimates (usually no visit necessary)

25 $

STANDARD WINDOWS

RE-SCREENING

Eldridge Re-Screen 941-270-1561

Serving Longboat Key Since 2005

Established in 1989 Serving Our Area for Over 35 Years

Dog Sitting (sm/md)

Licensed

Windows

Call Tibor for FREE ESTIMATES 941- 284 - 5880

Trees

463015

Serving South Sarasota Only including: Palmer Ranch – Osprey – Nokomis

27

Window Cleaning

Kenneth Fuhlman Inc. Building & Roofing Contractor

463074

• Aluminum, Vinyl, & Wood Soffit and Fascia • Metal & Shingle Roofing • Pool Cage, Pan Roofs & Lania Fabrication • Aluminum Welding & Fabrication

CALL 941-955-4888

(941) 544.5663 | luislopezlanwservice@gmail.com

RED PAGES

Showcase your products or services each week in the Red Pages.

463012

Licensed & Insured CCC - 058059 CBC - 1253936

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TREASURES

found here.

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WINDOW CLEANING, PRESSURE WASHING, & GUTTERS CLEANING! CALL JUAN & CINDY LICENSED & INSURED 239-203-5913 l 407-902-7845 jccpcleaning@aol.com | jccpwindowcleaning.net

462795

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941-626-3194 kennethfuhlmaninc.com

Find anything in the RED PAGES

941-955-4888

28

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026

Not just Luxury. Statement-making. Legacy-worthy.

Always next level. Real estate elevated, Above All. THE GULF COAST LUXURY LEADER

Scan below for a full list of Open Houses, property details, driving directions and more

CASEY KEY 3708 Sandspur Lane Valerie Dall'Acqua

$1,995,000 941.445.7295

TRITON COVE 3040 Gulf of Mexico Drive #3 Frank Lambert & Anita Lambert

LIDO SHORES $1,899,000 941.920.1500

1168 Westway Drive Kimberly Ide

$3,250,000 401.487.6928

LAUREL OAK ESTATES

LONGBOAT KEY 3344 Sabal Cove Lane Judy Mitchell & Rick Smith

7107 Hawks Harbor Circle Mia McKeehan

1255 Tarpon Center Drive #406 Valerie Dall'Acqua

$1,160,000 941.726.0898

VENICE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB $475,000 941.445.7295

VENETIAN GOLF & RIVER CLUB 101 Mestre Place Pat Guenther

$434,900 941.961.3570

2660 Dick Wilson Drive Linda Dooley

BOCA ROYALE

HAWKS HARBOR

SAN MARCO

$1,699,000 941.275.6838

535 Fallbrook Drive Debi Cohoon

UNIVERSITY PARK $824,900 941.223.9363

7131 Kensington Court Dennis Blazey & Paula Patten

VENICE GARDENS

$450,000 941.877.2550

1007 River Oaks Court Debi Cohoon

$425,000 941.284.3789

525 Clubside Circle #53 Van Parker

SARASOTA 3049 Gypsy Street Jaci Krawtschenko

26127 Norman Drive Debbie Sugden

$1,349,000 941.400.7359

$575,000 941.302.2481

SORRENTO EAST $449,000 941.877.2550

450 Rubens Drive East Thomas Netzel

NORTH PORT

CLUBSIDE VILLAS AT PLANTATION $385,000 941.468.0493

$447,000 941.539.0633

3623 Starboard Avenue Jody Callan

$345,000 941.525.8707

The first luxury high-rise residences in downtown Sarasota with short-term rental freedom RESIDENCES FROM THE $900S S A R AV E L A . CO M | 9 41 . 2 0 3 . 5 3 8 3 Artist and computer renderings, floor plans, and depictions are for illustrative purposes only and may differ from the final product. Dimensions, features, finishes, and amenities are approximate and subject to change without notice. No representation is made regarding future views or surrounding development. This is not an offering where prohibited by law. Any offering may be made only through the applicable disclosure or offering plan. © 2025 Sotheby’s International Realty. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark and used with permission. Each Sotheby’s International Realty office is independently owned and operated, except those operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. The Sotheby’s International Realty network fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Any services or products provided by independently owned and operated franchisees are not provided by, affiliated with, or related to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC nor any of its affiliated companies. Buyer’s Brokerage Compensation not binding unless confirmed by separate agreement among applicable parties. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Sotheby’s International Realty® affiliate company in the world BROKERAGE | RENTALS | RELOCATION | NEW DEVELOPMENT | MORTGAGE | TITLE | INSURANCE | FINE ART CONSIGNMENT VENICE | 941.412.3323

LAKEWOOD RANCH | 941.907.9541

LONGBOAT KEY | 941.383.2500

RENTALS | 941.203.3433

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. Property information herein is derived from various sources including, but not limited to, county records and multiple listing services, and may include approximations. All information is deemed accurate. Source: BrokerMetrics®

457757-1

SARASOTA - DOWNTOWN | 941.364.4000