Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer 7.2.26

SARASOTA/SIESTA KEY

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Observer JULY 2026

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THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

VOLUME 22, NO. 47

YOUR TOWN

Stormwater budget surges The proposed increase of 73.3% is needed for staffing and operations. SEE PAGE 5

Courtesy image

Rabbi Michael Shefrin’s daughter, Maya Shefrin, and Temple Emanu-El Religious School student Hannah Marco hold cutouts of the faces of Rabbi Brenner Glickman and Rabbi Shefrin.

Twice the blessing

On June 29, Temple Emanu-El marked two milestones.

It celebrated 20 years since Rabbi Brenner Glickman became its spiritual leader and 10 years since he was joined

by Rabbi Michael Shefrin at an evening Shabbat service.

Members young and old gathered for songs, prayers, and remarks from the rabbis, as well as Temple Emanu-El President Dennis Reens and Past President Barry Gerber.

Attendance for the event overwhelmed the capacity of the social hall, according to Glickman’s wife, Rabbi Elaine Glickman.

As the service ended, attendees were directed to look under their seats to find cutouts of the faces of both rabbis.

RED, WHITE AND BUSINESS The annual business awards honored the region’s enterprising spirit . SEE PAGE 14

Courtesy image

Senior Friendship Centers volunteer Nancy Rozance and client Antonio Pinell.

Sea of smiles

Clients of Senior Friendship Centers’ Adult Day Care enjoyed a unique experience as they helped volunteers create undersea-themed decorations.

But there was still more, as they gathered for an underseathemed prom — the organization’s first prom for clients living with mild cognitive impairment.

Attendees had the chance to dress up and be celebrated in the experience, which aimed to provide movement and connection.

The event featured a DJ, dancing, hors d’oeuvres, punch, a photo booth with sea creature hats and headbands, and prom awards including awards for the cutest couple, best dancers, most accessorized, most sparkly and most swagger and bling.

Ian Swaby

Ruby Rug and Aydar Rakhmatullin welcome visitors in the lobby of the Frank G. Berlin Sr. Sarasota Business Awards on June 26.

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Image courtesy of Sarasota Police Department

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Officer Tripp Schwenk and wife, Heather, enjoy an amusing anecdote during his retirement ceremony from the Sarasota Police Department.

Hometown hero passes torch The former Olympian recently retired from SPD. SEE PAGE 3

Spectacular summer PAGE 10

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

WEEK OF JULY 2, 2026

“We’re making some really huge impacts on the nitrogen removal, and that just improves the water quality of our bay.”

County burn ban applies to fireworks Given the state of recent weather forecasts, it may not rain on your Fourth of July plans, but those same dry conditions prompted Sarasota County fire officials to remind residents that a burn ban has been effect since mid-April, and it applies to the use of personal fireworks and sparklers.

Philip Peickert, an assistant fire chief with Sarasota County, said if the fire department is alerted to the use of fireworks, crews will respond and put them out.

Although sparklers may be considered harmless, they can burn at temperatures above 1,200 degrees, capable of igniting vegetation.

Other forms of outdoor burning are not permitted, including campfires; bonfires; non-sanctioned controlled burns; and burning of yard and household trash, construction debris and organic debris.

Sarasota County Stormwater Director Ben Quartermaine Read more on page 5

BY THE NUMBERS 2

Olympic swimming medals won by now-retired SPD officer Tripp Schwenk.

PAGE 3

21.92

Full-time equivalents planned to be added to Sarasota County’s Stormwater Department next fiscal year.

PAGE 5

New law allows school district to recover fee

10

Businesses honored at the Frank G. Berlin Sr. Sarasota Business Awards on June 26.

PAGE 14

CALENDAR n Sarasota City Commission regular meeting — 9 a.m., Monday, July 6, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St. n Sarasota County Commission regular meeting — 9 a.m., Tuesday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 8, South County Administration Building, 4000 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice.

Photo by Dana Kampa

A new Pinchers seafood restaurant location is planned to open this fall at the former Tommy Bahama restaurant at St. Armands Circle.

Pinchers restaurant coming to St. Armands T

he former Tommy Bahama restaurant at St. Armands Circle will soon be home to a new Pinchers location.

The seafood restaurant with 10 locations around the Gulf Coast has signed a lease for more than 8,000 square feet of space at 300 John Ringling Blvd., where it plans to begin serving customers this fall.

“We are shooting to be open in October,” Kevin Rooney, vice president of marketing and advertising for Phelan Family Restaurants, told sister publica-

tion Business Observer.

Specializing in seafood such as crab and shrimp, Pinchers is among more than a dozen concepts within the portfolio of Phelan Family Brands. The company was established in 1997 with the debut of Pinchers Crab Shack in Bonita Springs and has expanded over the years to include other concepts like Deep Lagoon and Texas Tony’s Rib & Brewhouse. With the new Pinchers, Phelan Family Brands will have 27 restaurants on the Gulf Coast, Rooney says.

Tommy Bahama vacated the space in late 2024 following hurricanes Helene and Milton and relocated to 465 John Ringling Blvd. in the former Shore restaurant location.

At 200 seats on two floors, the restaurant will employ approximately 75 to 100 people.

Plans include potentially expanding one of the two bars so that they are the same size on both levels.

The nearest locations to the St. Armands restaurant are in Venice and Lakewood Ranch.

A proposal that requires county governments to either pay tax collector fees on school taxes or waive them altogether is now Florida law.

Proposed by Republican State Rep. James Buchanan, the provision was part of a broader tax package signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this week. The accommodation addresses, for now, a dispute between Sarasota County Schools and Tax Collector Mike Moran’s office over such a fee.

The legislation went into effect July 1 for one year.

At issue is a 2% fee charged by Moran’s office on revenue generated by an additional 1-mill school tax approved and renewed several times by Sarasota County voters.

In August 2025, Sarasota County commissioners shifted the responsibility of paying the fee to the school district after more than 20 years. The district then sued Moran’s office, seeking to claw back the $2 million in fees paid.

Days after a May County Commission vote to reverse its August shift, $2.1 million was refunded to the school district.

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W HAT ’S HAPPENING

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

A medalworthy career

Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche presents officer William “Tripp” Schwenk with his framed badge and other mementoes during his June 26 retirement ceremony.

Thirty years after winning gold in the 1996 Summer Olympics, officer Tripp Schwenk hangs up his badge next to his goggles to mark the end of a 26-year career with the SPD. ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

G

rowing up in Sarasota, William “Tripp” Schwenk enjoyed playing many

sports. When he was introduced to the pool in the form of competitive swimming at age 9, though, he knew then he wanted to be an Olympian.

Returning to Sarasota after a successful swimming career that included one gold and one silver medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, he knew his next career would be in law enforcement.

On June 26, the 55-year-old Schwenk concluded his 26-year career with the Sarasota Police Department, the private ceremony at SPD headquarters held before a room filled with family members and nowformer colleagues.

“Officer Schwenk dedicated 26 years to serving the city of Sarasota with integrity, professionalism and commitment to our community,” said SPD Chief Rex Troche. “We’re grateful for his service. He’s left a lasting impact on our agency and city.”

Schwenk began his career in 2000. One of his posts was with the K-9 unit, partnering with Kuda, a German Shepherd who served the department from 2006 to 2014. Taking advantage of his aquatic acumen, he later worked with the marine unit and served 21 of his 26 years on SPD’s dive team.

As a child, he gravitated toward swimming with the Sarasota Sharks program, he said, because, well, Florida is hot.

“I got in a pool and it was a place to

Retired Sarasota Police officer Tripp Schwenk shows off his two Olympic medals and badge.

FIFTH PLACE AS MOTIVATION A backstroke specialist, Tripp Schwenk’s first Olympic experience was the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he placed fifth in the 200-meter backstroke.

And what do you get for fifth place?

“You get a pile of nothing,” Schwenk said. “Actually, that’s not true. You get a certificate. Every time I had to look at it, it made me more mad. You participated in the Olympic Games, you finished fifth, and that sucks.”

He used that as motivation while training for 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he won the gold medal in the medley relay and took silver in the 200-meter backstroke. He also placed fifth in the 100-meter backstroke, earning yet another certificate.

He shares a former world record as a member of the U.S. 4 x 100-meter relay team set at the 1993 FINA World Swimming Championships in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, with a time of 3:32.57.

Images courtesy of Sarasota Police Department

SPD officer Tripp Schwenk drops into the water from a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office helicopter during a water rescue training exercise.

Courtesy image

play, but it was also a place to cool off, and I just kind of took to it,” he said. “Swimming was the one thing that I just took to it. I was like a fish in the pool. I was not a great swimmer to start off, though. I would say very mediocre as a young kid, but I absolutely loved it. I loved that it was a team sport, but also an individual performance-based sport.”

His Olympian proclamation, Schwenk said, was met with skepticism by his parents.

“They told me I was crazy,” he recalls.

He found a higher level of family support when he decided to return to Sarasota after his swimming career ended and become a police officer.

“I had friends who were cops here.

I have two uncles who were both at the time active feds, and had some conversations with them when I was finished swimming,” he said. “They both told me that if I’m interested in this, go local and see if I like it. We’ll talk a couple of years down the road about going fed.

“Well, I got here. I obviously loved it. Heck, my second year here, we chased an ‘America’s Most Wanted’ guy (Richard Evonitz), a serial killer, and caught him.”

MEMORIES OF THE OLYMPIC PARK BOMBING

Schwenk’s time as an Olympian was marked by a major tragedy. It was July 27, 1996, after the final night of the swimming competition at the 1996 Olympic Games. Team USA was celebrating its haul of 26 medals in downtown Atlanta, miles away from Olympic Park when, at 1:20 a.m., a bomb exploded behind the stage during a late-night concert.

That’s when pagers issued to all athletes by Team USA started buzzing, reading “exit plan alpha” with instructions on where to shelter.

“None of us had any clue what was going on,” Schwenk said. “Then we started seeing images pop up on TVs around the place, so we secured the women’s team and got them into a limo. I tried to get a cop to stop, and he almost ran over me, obviously going toward Olympic Park.”

From there, members of the men’s team traveled to their assigned evac-

“Sarasota is a safer community because of his service, but it’s also a better community because of his compassion, generosity and unwavering commitment to helping others succeed.”

— Jay Riley

uation hotel until they were given the all-clear about four hours later.

The bombing and its impact, Schwenk said, put a “huge damper” on his second and final Olympics, and personally set him back financially in appearance compensation.

“My sponsors at the time were ready to hear about my swims, but instead, the next day all anybody cared about was the bombing, and rightfully so,” he said. “It cost me a significant amount of money, but money is nothing compared to human life, and it cost some other people a lot more.”

The blast killed a 44-year-old woman and injured over 100 others.

LASTING LEGACIES

In the four years between the 1996 Olympics and his rookie year with the Sarasota Police Department, Schwenk spent his time coaching swimming and teaching clinics, working for swimwear brand Speedo, and swimming for one more year before leaving competition.

“It was a little bit because of aging, but more than anything else my body was just … ” he said, his voice trailing off. “My kidneys were shot and we really didn’t know the extent of what was going on.”

Facing dialysis, he said he got the “blessing of all blessings.”

“I ended up getting a kidney transplant here after four years on the job.”

He didn’t have to look far for a donor. His wife’s sister, Lisa Chapple, was a match.

The procedure took place at UF Health in Gainesville. When he arrived at his hospital room, his coach from University of Tennessee had already decked it out in the motif of University of Tennessee orange.

“He was there with Tennessee swimming stuff all over my room,” Schwenk said. “I said, ‘Coach, thank you. I love you for being here, but they’re gonna kill me.’”

The rivalry between the two Southeastern Conference schools did not extend to the surgical suite though.

“The University of Florida saved my life,” he said.

It was a life he spent serving the community in which he grew up, where he attended Riverview High School.

“My dad grew up moving all over the country. His dad was an engineer and they moved from job to job all over the place, and I didn’t want that,” Schwenk said. “I wanted to put down roots and have a family. I came home to my hometown, tried to try to do the ‘hometown kid comes back and does good.’ I got to do some really cool stuff, and I got to do it daily protecting the people in the city. I walk away from this knowing that I did my best to make this a better place.”

Jay Riley, a family friend and director of business outreach and community engagement in the Office of External Affairs at the USF Sarasota-Manatee, said Schwenk achieved that objective.

“Tripp’s legacy extends far beyond his extraordinary accomplishments as a police officer and Olympic champion,” Riley told the Observer.

“He has always been the first to step forward whenever someone needed help. Whether mentoring young people, encouraging college students to pursue their dreams, supporting first responders or quietly standing beside children and families battling cancer, Tripp has consistently used his platform to serve others.

“Sarasota is a safer community because of his service, but it’s also a better community because of his compassion, generosity and unwavering commitment to helping others succeed.”

Schwenk said he won’t stay retired for long and is entertaining potential opportunities. His wife, Heather, is a physician’s assistant specializing in cancer treatment.

“I hope to God nobody ever has to go see her,” he said.

The couple’s children are following in Tripp’s wake. His son, Toby, is a rising junior at the Virginia Military Institute, where he is a member of the swim team. Just last week, his daughter, Taylor, arrived on campus at North Carolina State University where she, too, will swim as a member of the Wolfpack squad.

It was an eventful week for the family.

“I just turned 55 last week. I became an empty nester, and four days later, I’m retired from this place,” he said.

Schwenk leaves SPD satisfied he went the distance. That accomplishment didn’t come with another medal, but it did come with a frame containing his badge, patches and other law enforcement mementoes.

“One thing I will say about this job is the day that you can’t learn anything is the day you need to stop working,” he said. “We’re always learning and processing how to be a better citizen, how to be better dad, how to be a better cop, how to be a better husband.

“It doesn’t matter what it is. I think it’s our role on this planet to make things better, and not just as a cop. I think it’s our role as human beings.”

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

More than a donor

and software for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.

That business, today named Clairo, noted Morganroth’s contributions in a June 30 LinkedIn post that said, in part, he was “a visionary leader whose work helped shape the field of cardiac safety and clinical research.”

Dr. Joel Morganroth is remembered for both his philanthropic gifts — at least $30 million — and his philosophical advice to multiple local leaders.

LASTING LEGACY

MARK GORDON BUSINESS OBSERVER

M

eeting Dr. Joel Morganroth for the first time, for some, could be intimidating.

That fits, at least based on his long list of life accomplishments: cardiologist, clinical researcher, entrepreneur and philanthropist, for starters. Also husband, father and grandfather. Other words people use to describe Morganroth include brilliant, thoughtful, curious, intense, compassionate and funny — with a sense of humor that leaned toward puns and riddles.

Adding to the potential intimidation, say several who knew Morganroth well, was that he set a high bar for himself and expected others to match him.

But something could melt away the intimidation: Brandy and Bentley, the pair of white, fluffy Maltese dogs Morganroth and his wife, Gail, doted on.

“Those dogs really helped,” The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee CEO Shep Englander said, recalling his first few meetings with Morganroth. “They helped us all relax.”

Joel Morganroth died June 25. He was 80 years old.

Over the past 15 years, the Morganroths have been one of the leading philanthropic couples in Sarasota. While they often tried to avoid the spotlight, few have matched their widespread gifts to a host of noted organizations — in time and treasure. The couple, after raising a family in the Philadelphia area, visited friends in town in 2009, and, said Joel in a 2025 interview with the Observer, “We immediately fell in love with Sarasota.” They moved soon after, first to Lido Key and

MORE INFORMATION Dr. Joel Morganroth, who died June 25 at 80 years old, is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dr. Gail Morganroth; his two brothers, Mark and Melvin Morganroth; his three children, Dr. Jennifer Morganroth, Jessica Morganroth (Andrew Quinn) and Jason Morganroth (Leah Morganroth); and his four grandchildren, Chloe, James, Isabel and Analise.

Donations may be made to Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, and Temple Emanu-el, 151 McIntosh Road, Sarasota, 34232.

later Siesta Key. “The impact Joel has made on Sarasota will last in perpetuity,” Marie Selby Botanical Gardens President and CEO Jennifer Rominiecki said. “He strived for excellence in everything he did. And that made everyone around him strive for excellence.”

Some of the significant gifts the Morganroths made include: ■ $15 million in January 2018 to Ringling College, in what the school said was its largest single gift ever and the first eight-figure gift since the institution was founded in 1931.

■ $5 million in January 2019 to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in downtown Sarasota. That gift, at the time, was the largest single donation toward the organization’s 10-year, $42.5 million master plan.

The couple donated another $5 million in late 2024 to Selby Gar-

File photo

Drs. Joel and Gail Morganroth could often be seen doting on their dogs, Brandy and Bentley. The couple is seen here at the Siesta Key home in early 2025.

dens.

■ $2.5 million to support the Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

■ $6 million toward redevelopment and other projects at the The Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee campus.

VISIONARY LEADER

Joel Morganroth was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1945, the son of Grace and Ben Morganroth. His father had a furniture business, and he and his two brothers had a middle-class childhood, Morganroth said in a February 2025 interview with the Observer.

A high school wrestler, Morganroth later used the discipline and strategy of the one-on-one sport to teach life lessons to family and friends. He earned undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Michigan; he was valedictorian of his medical class,

according to his obituary. After school, he was a clinical associate at the National Heart and Lung Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and then completed a fellowship in cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania. He later served in the U.S. Public Health Service as a surgeon and lieutenant commander.

Joel and Gail met in the early 1970s — he was a resident, she was an intern — at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard’s teaching hospital. The doctors married in 1972 and had three children, and later, welcomed four grandchildren.

As his medical career progressed, Joel Morganroth did something unusual in the field: He spent time as a practicing cardiologist, clinical researcher and FDA consultant — as opposed to doing one or even two of those.

In 1993, Morganroth helped launch a company, eResearchTechnology, that provided technology

Legacy and impact were words spoken often about Morganroth in the days after his death, both in interviews and at a memorial service held for him June 30 at Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, a Philadelphia suburb. A contingent of Sarasota-area friends and nonprofit leaders attended the service.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care President and CEO David Verinder, in an interview with the Observer, said Morganroth was someone who, after a conversation with him, you always felt smarter for having it. They once had an in-depth chat about obtaining FDA clearance, something Verinder said SMH isn’t doing, but he learned a lot about the pitfalls and challenges from Morganroth’s experience.

Rominiecki at Selby Gardens shared similar sentiments. When Morganroth chaired the nonprofit’s board, she recalls, he suggested and then guided the organization through a process to pay for one phase of a project through bonds.

That process, which addressed the challenge of having cash on hand as opposed to committed dollars, was key to completing the project, she said.

And Englander, at the Federation, had the same experience as Rominiecki and Verinder when it came to working alongside Morganroth or seeking his input. Morganroth chaired the search committee for the Federation that hired Englander in 2021.

“Every time you spoke to Joel, you had to do your best thinking, lay out your best plan, because you knew he was going to bring his best,” Englander said. “And he was always looking at not just now, but what your organization would look like five or 10 years from now.”

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

5

County Stormwater budget request swells by 73% In his first budget presentation, Sarasota County Stormwater Department Director Ben Quartermaine proposes 22 more employees and a $35 million spending increase.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

W

hen Sarasota County spun off the Stormwater Department from Public Works during Fiscal Year 2026, the personnel and funding portions of the operation came with it.

During the County Commission’s June 17-18 budget workshop, Director Ben Quartermaine presented his first official budget proposal, one striking a stark contrast to every other county department. While they were all asked to contribute to an effort to keep year-over-year spending below a 1.6% growth rate, Stormwater presented a budget increase of just less than $35.3 million for a total of nearly $83.5 million, an increase of 73.3%.

The extra funding, though, is needed to ramp up operations, and for Quartermaine to finish building out his staff with 21.92 additional full-time equivalents for a total team of 129.95.

Stormwater Department funding, though, does not greatly impact the general fund. Instead, the bulk of its funding is from the county’s Stormwater Environmental Utility, which operates as a non ad valorem enterprise fund, along with Resilient SRQ federal grants, the navigable waterways maintenance fund, regional off-site mitigation areas fund, Surtax and other state and federal programs.

Quartermaine’s highest profile mission this fiscal year was to oversee the dredging of Phillippi Creek, which is part of an effort that, to date, has contributed to removing 68,000 pounds of nitrogen from waterways that feed into the Gulf.

“We’re making some really huge

impacts on the nitrogen removal, and that just improves the water quality of our bay,” Quartermaine told commissioners. “In addition to Midnight Pass, our numbers regarding especially Little Sarasota Bay and Dona Bay are continuing to increase in terms of water quality.”

That is in part because the department’s in-house crews have removed nearly 5,000 tons of sediment in total, Quartermaine said.

“I just want to highlight the pounds of nitrogen that you removed thus far — massive amounts that can’t be overstated,” Commissioner Joe Neunder said. “And the phosphorus, those two chemicals are proliferation for red tide events and the health of the bay. That’s a big number in my book.

“You guys are, you’re kicking it and taking names.”

Commissioner Teresa Mast echoed Neunder’s praise for the Stormwater Department’s work.

“I think what’s really important for all of our residents to understand is that this was a heavy lift. It will continue to be a heavy lift, and it’s one that I’ve said to people, we’re doing it in phases,” she said. “We have a two-year plan, a five-year plan and a 10-year plan, and I think as we move through that, those phases continue to provide the incredible updates that you’re doing.”

Included in Quartermaine’s staffing request are: ■ Nine new field operations staff, including two skilled trades workers to support the aquatics team that applies pesticide and herbicide treatments in waterways and canals.

■ One project manager to support the planning group and management of the Resilient SRQ projects.

The county has $80 million to $100

Image courtesy of Sarasota County

Ben Quartermaine was hired by Sarasota County to head up the new Stormwater Department and tasked to help prevent future flooding from tropical weather events and maintain runoff water quality.

STORMWATER MANAGEMENT BUDGET PROPOSAL FY2026

FY2027 Prelim. Difference

Change

FTEs

108.03

129.95

21.92

20.3%

Personnel

$10,672,424

$13,489,036

$2,816,612

26.4%

Operating

$37,495,172

$83,462,348

$35,294,752

86.6%

Total budget

$48,167,596

$83,462,348

$35,294,752 73.3%

BUDGET VARIANCES -$10,483,285: Reduction in one-time costs -$4,014,366: Transfers/Payments in lieu of taxes -$1,673,722: Net personnel operating costs $1,104,290: Compensation, collective bargaining contracts, budget variables, internal service charges $2,623,745: Level of service approved by commission, FY2027 9 FTEs and grapple truck $2,782,010: Reserves $44,956,080: Grant increase

million in grant funding to invest in resilience projects over the next five years.

■ One professional engineer to support the operations work and certify that all of the county facilities

including parks, utilities and buildings are effectively managed and in functional compliance.

■ Two business professionals to support operations staff and engineering staff.

■ One technical specialist to support the water quality team.

Many of the Stormwater Department’s functions are out of the view of the public, Quartermaine told commissioners.

“A lot of our focus in the past year has been flooding and flood management, but certainly a big part of what we do is water quality. We’re proud to keep our beaches open, and that’s a big goal of our crew,” he said.

Much of that work occurs underground.

“For the miles of stormwater pipe assessed for renewal and replacement, our target is 48 miles a year,” Quartermaine said. “This year to date, we’ve done approximately 75 (miles), and this is a big part of our stormwater system that goes unnoticed.”

Quartermaine added meetings are scheduled with Sarasota City Manager Karie Friling and other staff regarding the long-time interlocal agreement with the city to manage stormwater within the city limits.

That agree can be terminated by either party at any time.

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TRIBUTES

Maryanne Elizabeth Maier, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, artist, and friend, passed away peacefully on June 20, 2026, at the age of 92 in Sarasota, Florida.

Born in Rochester, New York, Maryanne lived a life that was anything but ordinary. She charted her own course, created her own destiny, and embraced every chapter of her life with enthusiasm, courage, love, and boundless energy. A force of nature in every sense, she approached life as a grand adventure and inspired those around her to do the same.

Odio commodo duis.

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Nunc maecenas nascetur.

Blessed with beauty, charisma, and an infectious spirit, Maryanne was a true social butterfly who gathered friends wherever she went. She had a gift for making connections, welcoming people into her life, and creating lasting friendships.

Whether planning an outing, exploring a new place, or simply sharing a conversation, she was always ready for the next adventure.

Maryanne was a world traveler, visiting many countries and continents around the

world, bringing friends and family with her and creating amazing memories along the way.

Maryanne was an accomplished and award-winning artist whose stunning seascapes captured the beauty, power and serenity of the sea she loved so deeply.

She studied at the Paier School of Art in Connecticut and earned recognition and awards at home and abroad throughout her artistic career for her talent, creativity, and dedication to her craft. One of the highlights of her career was being commissioned by The Barnum Museum Foundation to complete a painting of P.T. Barnum’s meeting in New York with “The Swedish Nightengale” Jenny Lind. The National League of American Pen Women recognized this work as historical and, as a result, in the late 1970’s Maryanne was invited to a reception at the White House where she met Rosalyn Carter. She often spoke about this encounter as being one of the most memorable moments of her life. Through her paintings, she shared her unique vision of the world and left behind a legacy of beauty that will last for generations.

After spending her early years in Lynn, Massachusetts, Maryanne and her husband, Robert, made their home in Milford, Connecticut, where they raised their family. Following Robert’s passing in 1995, she eventually settled in Sarasota, Florida, where she spent the last 34 years of her life. Sarasota became her cherished home,

a place where she enjoyed the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the sea, and the companionship of countless dear friends.

Her faith was an essential part of her life, and she found comfort, purpose, and community through her beloved Saint Armand’s Key Lutheran Church. She was very active in the Women’s Ministry and the Book Club. She also took charge of the various paintings that hung in the church and was responsible for their placement throughout the

different seasons. She was critical in establishing the columbarium where the ashes of the cremated are held. She will be interned there. On her 90th birthday, Maryanne’s family gifted to the church the chimes that ring out 3 times daily. She was surprised and ecstatic to learn of this tribute.

During the pandemic, Maryanne inadvertently started a rock garden that ended up bringing love, light and positivity to those who were struggling or just needed a connection during

this difficult time. At first, it was just a few small hand painted lady bugs that she placed in a corner of St Armand’s Circle. It quickly grew into an army of devoted rock painters, all of whom continue to this day painting rocks with messages, images and signs of love, joy and peace. The Magical Garden of St. Armand’s, as it is known today, has been written up as a place of interest in Sarasota.

Maryanne is survived by her three children: Robert Maier and his wife, Mary

Riley Maier, of Sarasota, Florida; Cynthia Kemp and her husband, Stephen Kemp, of Culpeper, Virginia; Randall Maier (deceased) and Marybeth Bisson and her husband Steve Bisson, of Boston, Massachusetts.

She was the proud grandmother of Alexandra Silver, Victoria Kemp, Ian Maier, Stephen Bisson, William Kemp, Jason Bisson Kerr, and Spencer Bisson, and the loving great-grandmother of Charles Silver and Arthur Silver. Maryanne also leaves behind her beloved partner John Filak of Sarasota, Florida who filled her later life with love and happiness.

Though she will be deeply missed, the memories she created, the beauty she brought into the world, and the love she shared with family and friends will endure for generations. Her legacy lives on in the countless lives she touched and in the example she set: to be fearless, joyful, creative, and fully alive.

Maryanne’s was a life beautifully lived, deeply loved, and forever remembered.

“Like the tides she painted so beautifully, Maryanne’s influence will continue to move through the lives of those she loved—steady, enduring, and impossible to forget.”.

SERVICE: Maryanne’s wish was to be cremated. Her ashes will rest in the columbarium in St Armand’s Key Lutheran Church.

A memorial service in her honor will be planned for later this Summer/Fall.

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Maryanne Elizabeth Maier 1934-2026

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

OPINION / MY VIEW

SARASOTA/SIESTA KEY

The 56 who signed for us

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

Friedrich Hayek

“Road to Serfdom,” 1944 President and Publisher / Emily Walsh, EWalsh@YourObserver.com Executive Editor and COO / Kat Wingert, KWingert@YourObserver.com

MATT WALSH

I

t’s a glorious day.

Come Saturday, July 4, that’s how we should feel.

As many people have often said: Being an American is winning life’s lottery. Nowhere in the world are people as free as we are.

In spite of the deranged ingrates disavowing our nation, the truth is we should be deeply grateful for all we have.

Grateful to the 25,000 Colonists who died for the cause of Liberty during the Revolutionary War; and grateful to the 56 courageous, visionary men who signed the Declaration of Independence, a document that changed the course of mankind for the better.

With their signatures on that parchment, each of the Signers became a marked man, destined for prison or a hanging if captured.

They knew the risk. But, by God and with God, they were sticking to their convictions: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

So ask yourself on this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence: Would you have signed the Declaration? Knowing there were traitorous countrymen everywhere willing to expose you.

Would you sign such a document today knowing it would put a bounty on you and your family?

We can only imagine what it was like on July 2 and July 4, 1776, when the members of the Continental Congress voted to approve and ratify the Declaration.

The emotional stress had to be both exhausting and exhilarating.

Thomas Jefferson wrote afterward about the July 4 ratification: “The debate seemed as though it would run on interminably. The weather was oppressively warm and … the horse flies swarmed thick and fierce, alighting on the legs of the members and biting hard through their thin silk stockings.

Handkerchiefs in hand, they lashed at the hungry pests to no avail.”

After they voted, you can just imagine what coursed through the chambers — jubilation, apprehension and fear. John Hancock: “We must be unanimous.

There must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together.”

Benjamin Franklin: “Yes, we must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

The actual signing of the Declaration did not occur until Aug. 2. That’s when 55 members of the Continental Congress added their names below that of Hancock’s.

And at that moment, they continued to know the gravity and risk of what they were doing.

Indeed, for fear of expected reprisals, the names of the 56 Signers and their families were not made public for six months.

Most of the Signers, according to historians, felt as Rhode Island’s Stephen Hopkins did. At 69, Hopkins was the second-oldest signer behind Franklin. After signing the Declaration, as he handed the quill to his fellow Rhode Islander, William Ellery, Hopkins said: “My hand trembles, but my heart does not.” Hopkins suffered from palsy.

And then there was John Morton of Pennsylvania. Morton’s district opposed independence. But he followed his conscience and courage. He became the third and crucial vote that put Pennsylvania in favor of independence.

Many of Morton’s relatives, neighbors and friends turned against him. In his last hours, Morton said: “… tell them that they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge it to have been the most glorious service I ever

The 56 signers, along with their ages, listed in order of the way they signed, appear on the Declaration of Independence from left to right.

(At the top) MASSACHUSETTS John Hancock, 39 (Column 1) GEORGIA Button Gwinnett, 52 Lyman Hall, 41 George Walton, late 20s/30s (Column 2) NORTH CAROLINA William Hooper, 34 Joseph Hewes, 36 John Penn, 46 SOUTH CAROLINA Edward Rutledge, 26 Thomas Heward Jr., 30 Thomas Lynch Jr., 26 Arthur Middleton, 34

(Column 3) MARYLAND Samuel Chase, 35 William Paca, 35 Thomas Stone, 33 Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 38 VIRGINIA George Wythe, 50 Richard Henry Lee, 43 Thomas Jefferson, 33 Benjamin Harrison, 50 Thomas Nelson Jr., 37 Francis Lightfoot Lee, 41 Carter Braxton, 39 (Column 4) PENNSYLVANIA Robert Morris, 42 Benjamin Rush, 30 Benjamin Franklin, 70 John Morton, early 50s

‘THE FATHER OF THE REVOLUTION’ Often considered the most rebellious American and a one-man revolution, Samuel Adams, 53, was arguing for independence a decade before the Revolution.

He was a business failure — losing a banking job; squandering money from his father; failing at a family brewery. With six children, he and his wife were so poor, it is written they would have starved if not for John Hancock.

Adams stoked anti-British sentiment by writing thousands of letters to newspapers around the colonies, signing them with fictitious names, giving readers the impression that all of Boston was against the British.

He organized the “Sons of Liberty,” rebels whose resistance spread to dozens of towns. Called by the British “the most dangerous man in Massachusetts,” Adams organized and gave the signal to start the Boston Tea Party.

Paul Revere’s warning saved Adams and Hancock from sure death on the night the British marched into Lexington to arrest them.

Adams is often referred to as “the Father of American Independence” and “the Father of the Revolution.”

LEADING FINANCIER ENDS IN POVERTY Historians often say American independence would not have been without three men: George Washington, commander in chief; Benjamin Franklin, who persuaded the French to help the Americans; and Robert Morris, 42, regarded as the “Financier of the Revolution.”

At age 23, he became a partner in one of the colonies’ leading trading businesses.

Morris actually opposed independence and abstained from the July 2 vote.

But after the Declaration was approved, he vowed, “I pledge myself and all that I possess to the cause.”

As superintendent of finance for the war, Morris persuaded rich Americans to lend money to the new nation.

He created the Bank of North America, the country’s first successful bank.

He lost about 150 of his business’ ships during the war. After

rendered my country.”

Morton was the first of the 56 Signers to die, April 1, 1777.

Few of us today know anything about most of the 56 Signers. We know Hancock, Franklin, Jefferson

(Column 6) NEW HAMPSHIRE Josiah Bartlett, 46 William Whipple, 46

George Clymer, 37 James Smith, 57 George Taylor, 60 James Wilson, 33 George Ross, 46

MASSACHUSETTS Samuel Adams, 53 John Adams, 40 Robert Treat Paine, 45 Elbridge Gerry, 32

DELAWARE Caesar Rodney, 47 George Read, 42 Thomas McKean, 42

RHODE ISLAND Stephen Hopkins, 69 William Ellery, 48

(Column 5) NEW YORK William Floyd, 41 Philip Livingston, 60 Francis Lewis, 63 Lewis Morris, 50 NEW JERSEY Richard Stockton, 45 John Witherspoon, 53 Francis Hopkinson, 38 John Hart, 60s Abraham Clark, 50

the war, Morris made bad investments, causing him to spend three years in debtors’ prison. He lived his last five years in poverty.

Morris was one of five Signers to also sign the new U.S. Constitution.

RIDE TO THE RESCUE One of the most heroic stories of the Declaration involved the three delegates from Delaware — Caesar Rodney, 47, Thomas McKean, 42, and George Read, 42.

Read opposed independence.

Rodney and McKean supported it.

For the Declaration to be approved, Delaware needed two votes in favor.

There was one problem. On July 1, Rodney was back in Delaware, helping squelch a Loyalist uprising.

If he missed the July 2 vote, Delaware would thwart the Declaration.

Knowing Read was going to vote no, McKean hurriedly arranged for a messenger to ride 80 miles as quickly as possible to Dover to tell Rodney he was needed the next day.

After the messenger tracked down Rodney, Rodney mounted a horse within 10 minutes and headed for Philadelphia. It was a horrendous journey. It rained the entire trip, with Rodney riding through mud and rising streams.

On top of that, he was ill.

As John Hancock took his seat to begin debate, McKean heard a horse’s hooves on the cobblestones. It was Rodney — gaunt, mud-splattered and fatigued.

McKean escorted Rodney into the chambers. When it was Delaware’s turn to vote, Rodney pulled himself out of his chair and said: “As I believe the voice of my constituents and of all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, and my own judgment concurs, I vote for independence.”

PLUNDERED, BURNED, IMPRISONED The Signers expected reprisals.

And indeed there were.

The British burned the homes of 12 Signers; 20 Signers lost all or much of what they owned; nine Signers died as a result of hardships suffered during the Revolution.

Of all the Signers, those from New York and New Jersey suffered among the severest retribution.

■ Francis Lewis (NY) — The

and John Adams. But who else?

To be sure, every Signer has a remarkable life story. The ones cited here are just few. But hopefully, they will spur you to appreciation and gratefulness for all that we have

CONNECTICUT Roger Sherman, 55 Samuel Huntington, 45 William Williams, 45 Oliver Wolcott, 49 NEW HAMPSHIRE Matthew Thornton, 62

British took his wife prisoner and burned and plundered their home. She was confined and suffered ill health in a filthy jail cell for months. George Washington arranged for her release in exchange for two women prisoners of the Americans. Mrs. Lewis never regained her health and died two years later.

■ William Floyd (NY) — The British took over his family farm on Long Island, “despoiling of almost everything but the naked soil.” The Floyd family “was exiled from their home for seven years.”

■ Philip Livingston (NY) — Livingston, a successful importer, lived in a country estate in Brooklyn Heights. The British seized his property and turned it into a naval hospital. Livingston never returned to his home. He died in 1778.

■ Lewis Morris (NJ) — A landowner with 2,000 acres of farmland in Westchester County, Morris lost his property when the British invaded and burned its timber and crops and confiscated his livestock. His family was unable to return to rebuild for seven years.

■ John Hart (NJ) — While his wife lay on her deathbed, the British seized Hart’s farm and grist mills. He fled before being captured and lived in the woods and caves. By the time he was able to return home, his wife had died and his 13 children were “scattered.”

■ Richard Stockton (NJ) — After signing the Declaration on Aug. 2, Judge Stockton rushed to get to his home just north of Trenton to rescue his wife and six children. During the night, the British crashed into his home, dragged and beat Stockton and threw him in prison. Congress arranged for his parole. When he returned to his home, its contents had been burned; horses stolen; and one of the finest collection of books burned to ashes. The Stocktons became so destitute they lived on charity.

■ Arthur Middleton, Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heward Jr. (SC) — All three served as officers in the militia, and all three were captured during the 40-day siege of Charleston. They spent 10 months on a prison ship in St. Augustine, Florida. The British also imprisoned Rutledge’s mother.

After a prisoner exchange at the end of the war, Middleton and Rutledge returned to their plundered plantations.

Sources: “They Signed for Us” and “The Signers, the 56 Stories Behind the Declaration of Independence.”

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and help you think on July 4: It is indeed a Glorious Day. Be proud and grateful. Happy Fourth of July.

Keep the torch of liberty burning.

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YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

The City Commission is returning for its first meeting since new City Manager Karie Friling arrived a month ago.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

F

or the first time in the 21 months since the retirement of Marlon Brown, the chair of the city manager at the dais of the meeting chamber at Sarasota City Hall will be occupied by an official city manager during a City Commission meeting.

Coincidentally, the agenda of the Monday, July 6 commission meeting includes a recognition of the city by the International City/ County Management Association for 80 years under the councilmanager form of government.

When the meeting is gaveled in at 9 a.m., Karie Friling will begin her first meeting after just more than a month on the job, her position filled in the interim first by nowretired Public Works Director Doug Jeffcoat followed by the retired Longboat Key Town Manager Dave Bullock and, most recently, Interim Deputy City Manager Jennifer Jorgensen, previously the director of governmental affairs.

The commission returns from its monthlong summer sabbatical to a relatively light agenda. Perhaps the most vexing item is to provide direction to staff about a request to permit food trucks to operate in the Downtown Bayfront zone district.

An ordinance adopted in 2021 first permitted food trucks in the North Trail, Central Business Newtown, Downtown Edge and Governmental districts. In 2022, it was amended to include Downtown Core and in 2024 to allow in Urban Mixed-Use. In other business, the commis-

UNDERWHERE? 3 p.m., 2100 block of Eighth Street Suspicious incident: In one of the most vexing cases in Cops Corner history, a woman told an officer she placed her laundry in a shared laundry room washing machine.

When she returned to transport the wet, clean clothes into the dryer, she stated she found a pair of women’s underwear that did not belong to her.

In an exhaustive effort to find the owner of the feminine unmentionable, she was provided a link where she could upload photos of the garment. No further action was taken, nor was it necessary.

FRIDAY, MAY 29 Image courtesy of city of Sarasota

sion will consider appointments to four city boards.

On the Planning Board, the terms of Shane Lamay and Dan Deleo expire in July. Lamay has applied for reappointment. In addition to Lamay, the commission will consider applicants Rebecca Owens, Norman Schimmel, Tiffany Nisbet and Justin Bloom for the two seats.

On the Sarasota Housing Authority Board, the terms of Carolyn Mason and David Morgan also expire this month, both seeking reappointment. No other candidates have applied for those two seats.

On the Board of Adjustment, Matthew Ruch has reached term limits and two former Planning Board members, Terrill Salem and Damien Blumetti, applied for his seat.

And finally, per Florida statue, an auditor selection committee is required to conduct a request for proposals for external audit services. Vice Mayor Kathy Kelley Ohlrich has been appointed to chair the committee, and applications to be considered were received from Hugh Fiore and Kelly Brown.

Commission meetings are held in the meeting chamber at City Hall, 1565 First St. Live broadcasts and archived meetings may be viewed on the city’s Facebook page and its website at SarasotaFL.gov under “meetings, agendas and videos.”

New City Manager Karie Friling will participate in her first Sarasota City Commission meeting on Monday, July 6.

NO OPEN DOOR POLICY 11:37 a.m., Central Avenue Dispute: Residents of a condominium building frequently have vehicles park in front of the driveway to their building as people visit a nearby coffee shop, blocking their right to unencumbered vehicle access to the street. One condo dweller took matters into his own hands, leaving him possibly facing a charge of trespassing an occupied conveyance.

A woman, who said she was a delivery driver, parked in the offending manner as she entered the shop to pick up an order. As she went to leave, the man, who happens to be president of the condo association, walked toward her vehicle as she began to drive away, knocking on her window to get her attention.

Thinking she may have left something atop the vehicle and was merely being informed by a helpful passerby, she stopped.

That’s when he pulled open the driver’s side door to admonish her over her transgression. She drove away, but returned a few minutes later to lodge a complaint with law enforcement.

None of those details of the incident are in dispute, as security cameras documented the veracity of the interaction. The woman, however, also claimed the man reached into her vehicle and shoved her. The video does not indicate he reached into the vehicle and initiated physical contact.

COPS CORNER

Commission to mull food trucks in downtown zone district

MONDAY, JUNE 1

9

THURSDAY, MAY 28

MESSY EATERS 7:54 p.m., 1500 block of North Brink Avenue Dispute: A hospitable man who permitted a female acquaintance to come to his home and do laundry objected to where she wanted her children to eat pizza while she tended to her task. The man said he wanted them to eat in the garage “because they were messy,” according to the report, a demand the woman found unacceptable.

This led to a shouting match, which prompted the gracious host to wish for the woman and her sloppy brood to vacate the premises. When interviewed by the officer who responded to the disturbance, the man referenced prior incidents where the two entered into arguments for various reasons while he allowed her access to his laundry machines.

The two are not in a relationship — the man advised they were merely friends — and there was no mention in the report whether he shared genetic material with the slovenly offspring. The officer advised the woman gather her belongings and return home.

Still, it is illegal to gain entry to an occupied vehicle without prior authorization by the occupant, and the officer determined there was probable cause to forward the case to the State Attorney’s Office for review.

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JULY 2, 2026

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT Circus Arts Conservatory alum Emma Grace Clarke demonstrates her aerial prowess.

LET’S PLAY

Clown Davis Vassallo and emcee Ashley Vargas keep the crowds laughing at the Summer Circus Spectacular at The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater.

CIRCUS

mance, is a crowd pleaser for sure.

Another showstopper in the Summer Circus Spectacular is seventhgeneration circus artist Yelitza Vivas.

Her hand-balancing act combines jaw-dropping strength and ethereal grace. With her colorful paisley unitard, Vivas would stand out in any crowd. Her performance is one that you won’t soon forget.

Husband and wife Davis Vassallo and Ashley Vargas clown around at the 2026 Summer Circus Spectacular.

LITTLE EMMA IS ALL GROWN UP

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER A+E EDITOR

B

efore the action gets underway at the Summer Circus Spectacular, Italian clown Davis Vassallo does a little houseclean-

ing. He takes his feather duster and

Hand balancer Yelitza Vivas wows the crowd at the Summer Circus Spectacular.

starts brushing the heads of people in the audience. Is Vassallo as tidy at home? You’ll have to ask his new bride, Ashley Vargas, who is the emcee of the show produced by Sarasota’s Circus Arts Conservatory.

At no point during the circus in The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater do Vassallo and Vargas publicly announce that they are man and wife. But they seem so sympatico that we decided to do a little internet sleuthing.

We learned that the adorable clown and the charming emcee were married in May in Italy and are “honeymooning” in Sarasota. With his Chaplinesque oversized shoes and black suit, Vassallo looks every inch the clown, but not a scary one. For her role as mistress of ceremonies, Vargas wears a double-breasted coat and a hat cocked sideways. She looks a bit like an Art Deco bellhop, only with a skirt instead of trousers.

While Vargas clearly runs the show at the circus, she is periodically summoned from backstage by Vassallo (“Ashley!”) to bring out props while he leads audience recruits in humorous but harmless stunts.

Set inside a jewelbox theater rescued from a castle in Asolo, Italy, the Summer Circus Spectacular is more intimate than the one the CAC stages during season under the Big Top at Nathan Benderson Park. The Historic Asolo Theater, or HAT for short, only seats 279 patrons, while the CAC’s tent holds up to 1,645 guests.

The summer show is just an hour long, so it’s perfect for people of all ages who can’t sit still or stay off their devices. There were four generations of a family at a recent show, where Vassallo responded to a baby’s periodic howls with comedic aplomb.

His ability to improvise and go with the flow is inspiring.

For whatever reason, clowns with Italian style seem less threatening than the traditional American clowns of yore that have been demonized by Hollywood in horror films. Vassal-

lo’s persona is reminiscent of Italian actor Roberto Benigni, who won the Best Actor Oscar in 1999 for “Life is Beautiful,” about a man who uses humor to create a fantasy world during the Holocaust.

At any moment, I expected Vassallo to start singing “Shaddap Your Face,” a 1980s ditty by Joe Dolce, an American-Australian artist of Italian descent, that inexplicably became a global chart topper. (“What’s-a matter you?”)

To the American sensibility, the Italian style of communicating with lots of gestures and facial tics is funny even without words. Woody Allen has been known to splice silent footage of Mussolini in his films to get a laugh.

Vassallo is funny without trying too hard, or at least without appearing to do so. The kids in the audience eat it up. His intentionally hapless slack wire routine drew howls of laughter, especially when he lands in a sensitive place.

Once it became evident that anyone in the audience could end up on stage, the younger patrons were on the edge of their seats. Vassallo had no trouble finding volunteers for the ensembles he put together on the fly. Music and sound effects drove the action, once again in a manner that seems deceptively simple but depends on perfect timing.

There are some truly thrilling performances in the 2026 edition of the Summer Circus Spectacular, including aerial feats and circular roller-skating on a platform by Duo Transcend. Audiences might know the married couple, Mary WolfeNielsen, and Tyce Nielsen, from their appearance on “America’s Got Talent,” where they were finalists.

Every performer in the Summer Circus Spectacular, a joint venture of the CAC and The Ringling that dates back to 2007, is a standout. Each drew spirited cheers of approval and multiple rounds of applause from the audience.

If the performers didn’t think the audience response was sufficiently

Courtesy images

Mexican-American juggler Noel Aguilar impresses with his quicksilver hands.

enthusiastic, they encouraged them to turn up the volume with gestures like holding a hand to an ear.

One performer who used this approach to winning results was juggler Noel Aguilar, a Mexican-American performer who is part of a multigenerational circus family. Although he is about 30 years old, Aguilar has the face of a child and a diminutive but powerful physique. Like a tot playing with toys, he captures the audience’s heart, something he did amid the sequins and feathers on the runway at the CAC’s recent Cirque Vogue fashion show.

Even if he occasionally falls short of his ambitious goals on stage, Aguilar’s short, but pulse-racing perfor-

Superstar aerialist Nik Wallenda bills himself as “America’s Hometown Hero” at his Wonderland holiday circus and other local appearances and with good reason. But he’s getting a little competition lately from Emma Grace Clarke. Now 18, Clarke is the daughter of CAC President and CEO Jennifer Mitchell. She is the poster girl for the Circus Arts Conservatory’s training program.

Like Cowgirl Jessie in “Toy Story 5,” Clarke is getting a starring role in Sarasota’s circus arts scene with her aerial artistry. Just 11 when she appeared on The Mall on Washington, D.C., for a Smithsonian Folklife Festival dedicated to circus arts in 2017, she recently received the Circus Ring of Fame Foundation’s Generation NeXt Award. Clarke also performs internationally with the world-renowned Flying Caballeros. Fans of Sarasota’s Sailor Circus of youth performers have watched her grow up.

Speaking of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, it was put on pause this year for the Great American State Fair, part of America 250 celebrations. But Mitchell was recently summoned to Washington to meet with Smithsonian officials, so Sarasota-based circus artists could be back on The Mall in the not-toodistant future.

Even though Mitchell wasn’t on hand to greet patrons of the Summer Circus Spectacular on a recent day the way she normally does, patrons still got to pose for free selfies with the circus performers in the lobby of The Ringling after the show.

If you still haven’t had enough circus, you can take your ticket to The Ringling box office and add an admission to the Circus Museum and affiliated exhibits for just $5.

Circus aficionados around the world are well aware of Sarasota’s role in the history of the entertainment that dates back to the Roman empire. However, newcomers may not be aware that The Ringling houses Howard Tibbals’ miniature circus of more than 42,000 pieces.

You can also learn about the history of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which John Ringling first brought to town nearly 100 years ago.

With its caring ushers who will store strollers, walkers and wheelchairs during the show, The Ringling ensures the Summer Circus Spectacular is something that the whole family can enjoy together, regardless of where they are on the road of life.

Like baseball, the circus is sometimes viewed as old-fashioned and out of date. But both Great American pastimes give us a chance to collectively celebrate what we have built together during the past 250 years and remind us of what unites us.

IF YOU GO SUMMER CIRCUS SPECTACULAR When: Through Aug. 8 Where: The Historic Asolo Theater, 5401 Bay Shore Road Tickets: $15-$20 Info: Visit Ringling.org

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

11

Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Now, her photos are featured in an indoor and outdoor exhibition at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

Runs through Sept. 13.

SATURDAY

Feeling patriotic but looking for a laugh? Florida Studio Theatre Improv explores “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Laughter” in this comedy musical with a promise to share an untold story of the American Revolution.

SUNDAY

Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine

Kelsey Stalter, Katharine McLeod and Kraig Swartz star in “Dog Mom” at Florida Studio Theatre through July 26.

THIS WEEK

singer/songwriters whose works are featured in this upbeat show are Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Lovin’ Spoonful. Runs through July 19.

‘DOG MOM’ 7 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave. $25-$46 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Directed by Nancy Rominger, “Dog Mom” follows a hardnosed New Yorker whose heart begins to melt after she fosters a stray dog. Runs through July 26.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

‘LEAVING ON A JET PLANE’ 7 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre’s Goldstein Cabaret, 1239 N. Palm Ave. $42 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

‘SHARED LIGHT: LYNN GOLDSMITH’ 10 a.m. at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St. $28 Visit Selby.org.

Created by Aaron Gundy, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” features an acoustic trio that takes you on a flight to the feel-good era of folk music in the late 1960s and 1970s. Among the

During the past half century, Lynn Goldsmith’s photographs of celebrities and nature have been featured in magazines and have

DON’T MISS

THE BERMUDA MAVERICKS It’s not so often that McCurdy’s Comedy Theatre co-founder Les McCurdy takes the stage.

This time, he’s one half of the Bermuda Mavericks. The other half is Ken Sons. Together, these brothers from different mothers deliver the right amount of stand-up comedy and improv. Runs through July 3.

IF YOU GO When: 7 p.m. Thursday, July 2 Where: McCurdy’s Comedy Club, 1923 Ringling Blvd.

Tickets: $26 Info: Visit McCurdysComedy. com.

been the subject of 17 books, including “Patti Smith: Before Easter After.” Goldsmith’s work is also held by numerous private collectors and museums, including the Smithsonian National Portrait

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

“Something Borrowed, Something New” features major modern artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker and Ai Weiwei. Their works have been loaned by private collectors in Southwest Florida to SAM for the show, which runs through Sept. 27.

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

In 1928, circus magnate John Ringling moved beyond collecting Baroque paintings with a major acquisition of more than 2,000 pieces of Cypriot art at the Anderson Galleries in New York. For the first time, Ringling’s treasures have a permanent home in Gallery 12 after a decadelong project.

Courtesy image

OUR PICK JOHNNIE BARKER & FRIENDS Sarasota Music Archive kicks off its Jazz Happy Hour summer series with Johnnie Barker & Friends. Along with an ensemble of talented musicians, Barker brings jazz, soul and rhythmic groove to downtown Sarasota. Local arts patrons know Barker from his collaboration with Sarasota Contemporary Dance and his appearances at events hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota.

IF YOU GO When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 8 Where: Selby Library, 1331 First St. Tickets: Free with registration Info: Visit SarasotaMusicArchive.org.

WEDNESDAY ‘THE WIZARD OF OZ: YOUTH EDITION’ 1 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $15-$19 Visit AsoloRep.org.

Asolo Repertory Theatre continues its summer tradition of staging a musical aimed at kids with “The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition.” Follow the yellow brick road to family entertainment with a one-hour show during which everyone can sit still and stay off their electronic devices.

Runs through Aug. 8.

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

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YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

The arts incubator signs development deal with Manhattan Theatre Club.

www.instagram.com/observergroup

MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER A+E EDITOR

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missioned through the initiative between The Hermitage and MTC are “The Orange Grove,” with a book

by Lindsey Ferrentino and original music by Sam Beam, also known as Iron & Wine, and “It’s All Relative,” with a book by Sofya Levitsky-Weitz and music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez.

A modern retelling of Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” “The Orange Grove” follows a fruit farm in Florida on the verge of collapse.

“It’s All Relative” zeroes in on the weekly brainstorming sessions that Albert Einstein and his first wife, Mileva Mari, who was also the scientist’s collaborator, held with their friends to explore the nature of the universe and humanity’s place within it.

MTC recently presented a new version of “Queens,” by Hermitage Greenfield Prize winner Martyna Majok, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Cost of Living” was also presented on Broadway by MTC. Other creatives whose work was nurtured by the Hermitage and presented by MTC include two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage (“Ruined”), Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright David Auburn (“Proof”) and Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (“Lackawanna Blues”).

As part of their Hermitage Fellowships, artists agree to share their works-in-progress with the local community, often in tandem with fellows in other disciplines. These programs take place on Hermitage Beach, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in downtown Sarasota and elsewhere.

On June 22, Ferrentino (“The Fear of 13”) and Beam, a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, appeared on the Hermitage Beach on Manasota Key for a sunset performance called “Script & Song: A Beachfront Evening of Theater and Music.”

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t’s a little over 1,200 miles from the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Englewood to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York City, but the distance feels a lot shorter now that the arts incubator has signed a development deal for musicals with the theater’s owner, Manhattan Theatre Club.

Recent wins by alums of the Hermitage have also helped raise visibility for the retreat, which is run

by Artistic Director and CEO Andy J. Sandberg.

In June, Hermitage Fellow Bess Wohlman became the first woman in nearly 40 years to win the Tony Award for Best Play. She won for “Liberation,” which she partially wrote at the Hermitage during her fellowship on Manasota Key. The last time a woman took home Best Play Tony Award was in 1989, when Wendy Wasserstein won for “The Heidi Chronicles.”

Wohl’s Tony for “Liberation,” a tale about a women’s consciousnessraising group set in 1970s Ohio, follows her Pulitzer Prize for the same work. Clearly, great things are coming out of those cottages on the beach in Englewood, and the world is noticing. Wohl is just one of many Hermitage Fellows who have used their time in Florida to develop plays, literature, visual artwork, music and more.

The Hermitage’s new agreement with Manhattan Theatre Club, one of New York’s leading nonprofit theater companies, will provide playwrights with time and space in Florida to develop musicals.

“We are excited to be launching this collaboration with Manhattan Theatre Club,” Sandberg said in a statement. “We are proud to be an incubator for new works across all artistic disciplines, with many notable musicals being developed right here on Manasota Key. As our friends at MTC deepen their commitment to commissioning new musicals, this partnership provides a meaningful development step on this journey for some of the leading composers, lyricists and librettists of our time.”

Since joining Hermitage in 2020, Sandberg has kept his own performing career alive in addition to serving as an arts administrator.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Hermitage to provide meaningful development opportunities to our commissioned musicals,” said MTC Artistic Director Nicki Hunter.

Hunter added: “One of my hopes for MTC’s future is that we can continue to build upon our rich legacy as a home for new plays by also developing exciting world-premiere musicals. Being able to offer this group of talented artists the opportunity to develop these works at the Hermitage is particularly meaningful.”

The first two musicals com-

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JULY 2, 2026

YOUR NEIGHBORS

Still making milestones

Glenridge resident Sylvia Waller’s 105th birthday is coming up on July 10.

Sarasota resident prepares to turn 105.

IAN SWABY STAFF WRITER

W

hile she was growing up, the person Marsha Kaplan admired most was her Aunt Sylvia Waller.

Even though the Colorado resi-

dent isn’t a fan of the Florida heat,

Photo by Ian Swaby

she is counting down the days to her trip to Sarasota for Waller’s 105th birthday.

When she arrives, she will be among a gathering of four generations of family members, an event that has repeatedly taken place each year since Waller hit the mark of 100 — and kept on going.

“We’ve gone every year, 101, 102, 103, 104, so she’s got quite a following, and she loves to see us,” said her grandson, Sam Terman. “I think as she gets older, that’s probably what she looks forward to the most, is seeing her family.”

According to Kaplan, the centenarian has always had a passion for others. Like Waller, Kaplan had a career as a social worker, something she chose to pursue because of her aunt.

Today, as Waller approaches her July 10 birthday, she resides at the senior living community of The Glenridge on Palmer Ranch. She is well-liked by the staff, family members say, and many of her caregivers have become friends.

“Smile and the world smiles with you,” Waller recited when the Observer paid her a visit. “Cry and you cry alone.”

Waller has outlived many family members, including her two siblings, her husband, Sidney Waller, and her daughter, Marcie Waller Terman — Sam Terman’s mother — who died last year.

“As you get to be 105, a lot of those people who care about you have died,” her son, Todd Waller, said.

“She’s got the nursing staff at The Glenridge, and they all love her, and then she’s got extra caregivers, and they all love her too. So she is loved by everybody that knows her.”

Sylvia Waller and Sidney Waller are pictured at the time of their wedding.

Courtesy images

Sylvia Waller and her family gather during a birthday celebration.

“She’s lived a very long and rich life. I don’t know what her secret is, but she’s got it.”

THE ART OF A LONG LIFE

Waller grew up in Evanston, Illinois, a place she describes as “a nice place to live” with “good people.”

Her Jewish family fled Poland during the 1920s when she was just 6 years old at a time when antisemitism was growing and communities were threatened by anti-Jewish pogroms.

She later became a medical social worker in the Chicago area, and her activities included serving elderly Jewish people in Rogers Park, as well as at multiple city hospitals.

From 1945 to 1946, she joined the U.S. Army as a social worker for the Red Cross, which included serving hospitals in the Midwest, assisting patients and communicating with patients’ families. Her work ultimately resulted in a citation from President Harry S. Truman in 1946.

It was also in the service, while on a train to a Kansas hospital, that she met her husband, Sidney Waller, then an officer in the Army, who was

— Sam Terman, grandson

Marsha Kaplan’s husband, David Kaplan, poses with Sylvia Waller and pillow gifts from her 102nd and 103rd birthdays.

on his way to be treated.

Waller said she and Sidney Waller both loved “all the same things.”

They were married for 69 years.

Sidney Waller served as general counsel for the National Association of Retail Druggists, as well as an adjunct professor of law and commerce at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, before he died in 1994.

Todd Waller said Sylvia Waller is very proud of her son and late daughter with double doctoral degrees — Todd Waller has degrees in both law and medicine, while Marcie Waller Terman had a Ph.D. and a law degree — as well as her four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Being

raised by Sylvia Waller was an experience that involved repeated exposure to the arts.

With her, Todd Waller saw many plays, musicals and Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances.

“It was so amazing, and she would start talking about art at the Chicago Art Institute or the (John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art), and the docents would stop and listen to her, because she just knows so much,” he said.

“I was (an) extra at the opera, but I didn’t sing,” Sylvia Waller recounted. “You wouldn’t want to hear me sing.”

The couple appeared in 33 operas, which included performances at the famous Chautauqua Institution in New York, and the Sarasota Opera.

“I was able to ... get to know most of the people that are working there,” Waller said.

Their philanthropic endeavors were also recognized in the Chautauqua press, her son said.

Waller also used to be an avid painter. Hanging in her room at The Glenridge is some of her work, including dancing figures in flowing gowns and poses and a Picassoinspired piece.

Some of her other past activities included gardening and leading the bridge club at the Chautauqua Institution.

Meanwhile, the couple had the chance to travel extensively. Waller said she visited many places in Europe and Scandinavia.

(Her favorite country was Africa.)

“We were in Africa, and a monkey just stopped, jumped on me,” Waller said. “Everybody there was trying to save me from the monkey.”

Some of her philanthropy has involved supporting Jewish organizations, and she has also been closely involved with Temple Emanu-El and its senior rabbi, Brenner Glickman.

“If anybody needs help, she’ll help them,” Kaplan said. “She is unbelievably generous.”

Kaplan said when her mother died in the early 1990s, she and Waller became even closer, with Waller becoming like a second mother to her.

“She’ll break her back for anybody.

She’s just the kindest person, and my husband says he loves going out there because she treats us so well,” she said.

That followed with how Waller treated her children, she said.

“When you ask her, she won’t remember their names, but if I start talking about them, she will,” she said.

What’s the reason Waller has been through 104 birthdays?

Family members say one of the factors appears to be taking care of her health.

“I’m very proud of her,” Todd Waller said. “She keeps in good health. She’s always kept in good health, she’s always eaten right, so if there’s anything that plugs eating right and exercising, it’s her, because it’s just remarkable how she’s still mentally fairly sharp at 105.”

Although she is in a wheelchair today, for years, she attended athletic activities locally as well as at the Glenridge.

Her friend, Linda Chandler, who met her while serving as her caregiver, said Waller still always wants to exercise three times a week.

“She only eats healthy foods, not sweets, not fried food,” Chandler said. “And she has people around her who are young and they love her, and I think that’s what keeps her going.”

“I’ve got good friends,” Waller notes.

She also always looks forward to welcoming her family.

At her birthday celebrations, Sam Terman said one of the things she enjoys is having his elementary school-aged daughters dress up and dance for her.

“She’s lived a very long and rich life,” Terman said. “I don’t know what her secret is, but she’s got it.

She’s got lots of friends, is stimulated at the Glenridge. They treat her well. She always loves to see her great-grandkids dance. That’s what she always says.”

14

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

Hot Dog Day brings pups to Limelight District

Tanjee Lane, Tyler Marion, Ning Tinsley, Jessica Johnston and Nickie Hartsock of SPARCC, an event finalist.

A

lthough dogs can’t technically speak, their barking contributed to the celebration of National Hot Dog Day. Hamlet’s Eatery and The Bazaar on Apricot & Lime brought back their annual Hot Dog Day for a sixth year with vendors, live music, flavorful foods, drinks and a chance to meet some furry friends.

The heat didn’t stop attendees from exploring the vendors on June 27. Hamlet’s Eatery and The Bazaar partnered with local groups and businesses including Low Rider Dachshund Rescue, Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Coffee Spot.

Hamlet’s Eatery also brought back their hot dog topping bar, as well as $4 beers and free samples provided by Surfside, represented by Goldcoast Eagle.

“The Bazaar’s mission in general is to support small local businesses. When we do events outside, it allows us to bring in more small businesses, whether they’re for profit or nonprofit, to be able to support them and give them an affordable place to meet people and get to know the community,” said Kim Livengood, owner of Hamlet’s Eatery and The Bazaar.

Ian Swaby

Local successes, national milestone

A

s this year’s Frank G. Berlin Sr. Sarasota Business Awards began, there were patriotic colors in the room with performers wearing red, white and blue feathers.

As the event began, Heather Kasten, president and CEO of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, compared the spirit of the country’s founders to that of business leaders in the community.

“That same entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well here in Sarasota, represented by the finalists that we get to celebrate today,” she said.

The annual awards luncheon, held June 26 at The Ora, recognized 10 winning businesses from among 30 finalists across all categories.

DeAnna King accepted the Breakthrough Business of the Year award for her business, King HR Services Inc. She called receiving the award “amazing, a bit overwhelming,” adding that, “all of the hard work that I put into the business, and being in the community and helping the clients is paying off.”

She said of the award, “I think that it shows other entrepreneurs or business owners that you can do it, and to just keep on going.”

WINNING BUSINESSES Small Business of the Year ■ Stage Door Studios Medium Business of the Year ■ Blue Collar Roofing

— CARLIN GILLEN

Karen and Jim Donahue celebrate Hot Dog Day with Hamlet’s cheeseburgers instead of hot dogs.

Large Business of the Year ■ Tommy’s Express Car Wash Community Impact ■ Gulf Coast Community Foundation Non-Profit of the Year ■ Harvest House Breakthrough Business of the Year ■ King HR Services Inc. Rising Star ■ Kaitlyn Perez Communications Woman-Owned Business of the Year ■ State Street Eating House + Cocktails Workforce Development & Innovation ■ Children First Hospitality Business of the Year ■ The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

Photos by Carlin Gillen

Roxie Cave can’t help but smile at new rescue Lulu, from Low Rider Dachshund Rescue, being held by volunteer Cyndi Fredricks.

— IAN SWABY

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SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

GATOR CLUB 4TH OF JULY BLOCK PARTY 5-11:55 p.m. at 1290 Main St. Free, 21+. Celebrate America’s 250th anniversary at a July Block Party hosted by The Gator Club. Enjoy live music, good food and drink and the fireworks with your friends and community. Visit SarasotaFL. gov.

ne Check Away Inc., is a relatively new nonprofit in Sarasota’s scene, incorporated in 2020.

However, its first event, Sarasota Key Quest Fest, brought together about 35 community partners and was operating at full capacity, according to Chief Administrative Officer Darrick Paul.

He said the event, held June 27 at The Bay’s Civic Green, was intended to share resources the community can use when it comes to hurricane preparedness beyond just the storm itself.

“We believe that if you can educate people, equip and empower, great things will happen,” Paul said. “And also, we believe if you feed people and entertain people, they’re more likely to retain what you’re saying.”

The event involved focus on preparation, protection and prevention, drawing from the organization’s divisions of healthcare, housing stabilization and education.

Amid live music, food trucks and a kids’ play area with inflatables, attendees could talk with staff at various stations before receiving a stamp that served as a “key.”

Collecting the keys allowed attendees to enter for giveaway items, including a generator and an iPad. “This is a result of eight, nine months of relationship building with individuals, and I think it’s a testament to the traction we’re making through strong partners by their presence,” Paul said.

Photos by Ian Swaby

Bob Miner and David Pruyn perform with Big Night Out.

Megan Betancourt and Sophia Gallos represented the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s park service.

JULY 4TH FIREWORKS CELEBRATION 9 p.m. at Bayfront Island Park, 5 Bayfront Drive. Free. Come with friends and family and enjoy fireworks with the amazing view of Sarasota Bay. Visit SarasotaFL.gov.

SIESTA BEACH COMMUNITY FIREWORKS DISPLAY SPONSORED BY SIESTA KEY CHAMBER 7-9 p.m. at Siesta Beach, 978 Beach Road. Honor America’s independence and celebrate this historic milestone as a community.

Watch the fireworks on the sands of Siesta Beach and make lasting memories with friends and family.

Be sure to register online. Visit SarasotaCountyParks.com.

Valentina Lopez and her son Joshua Romero, 3, represented Colombia’s football team.

SPIRIT OF 76 — CELEBRATING AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY 7-10 p.m. at Selby Five Points Park, 1 Central Ave. Free.

Hosted by NextMark, the Downtown Improvement District and the city of Sarasota invite people to enjoy a night filled with live music, fun activities and local vendors.

Activities include face painting, yard games and Light Up the Sky, an interactive virtual firework projection.

Visit SarasotaFL.gov.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8

FOURTH OF JULY ALL-AMERICAN COOKOUT 5:30-9:30 p.m. at Selby Gardens, Downtown Sarasota Campus, 1534 Mound St. Tickets up to $35 per person. Join in the Fourth of July celebrations by taking part in Selby Gardens’ most memorable traditions. Enjoy an evening that includes an All-American cookout, lawn games, Spheres Bubble Show

by Blaise Rhynds and a firework show to end the night. Visit Selby. org.

SARASOTA MUSIC ARCHIVE JAZZY HAPPY HOUR: JOHNNIE BARKER & FRIENDS — AN EVENING OF MUSICAL EXCELLENCE 6-7 p.m. at the Selby Library, 1331 First St. Check the website to make a reservation. Johnnie Barker, bassist and bandleader, takes you through a musical showcase of jazz, soul and rhythmic groove.

Watch the spectacular ensemble of Johnnie Barker & Friends and celebrate the musical history of deep-pocket soul. Visit SCGovLibrary.LibraryMarket.com.

SUNDAY, JULY 5

THURSDAY, JULY 9

BAYFRONT PARK (MAIN) LIBERTY LITTER CLEANUP 7:30-10 a.m. at Bayfront Park, 5 Bayfront Drive. Be sure to register; no walk-up volunteers are accepted. Make a positive impact in the community by cleaning up Bayfront Park. Bring you sun protection and wear closed-toe shoes.

Clean up starts 8 a.m. and cleaning supplies are provided. Visit EventBrite.com.

— IAN SWABY

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FRIDAY, JULY 3

Mila McIntosh, 6, tosses a beanbag.

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16

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

ADAM HUGHES

Other top sales by area

RESEARCH EDITOR

J

effrey Hoerle and Allison Stark Draper, of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, sold their home at 730 Sarabay Road to Southboundrealty LLC for $4.7 million. Built in 2011, it has four bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, a pool and 6,308 square feet of living area. It sold for $3.1 million in 2017.

SARASOTA

SARASOTA BAY PARK Thomas John McCarthy and Carrie Elizabeth Benes, of Sarasota, sold two properties at 2445 Alameda Ave. to Greg and Malinda Isaacs, of Sarasota, for $1.15 million. The first property was built in 1925 and has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,595 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 2002 and has one bath and 306 square feet of living area. They sold for $849,500 in 2020.

BAYSO SARASOTA Michael Nixon, of Arlington, Virginia, sold his Unit 1008 condominium at 301 Quay Commons to James and Fani Polyak, of Sarasota, for $1.14 million. Built in 2023, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,589 square feet of living area. It sold for $994,700 in 2023.

GRANADA 3500 Flores Avenue LLC sold the home at 3500 Flores Ave. to 3500 Flores LLC for $1.1 million. Built in 1956, it has three bedrooms, two baths and 1,793 square feet of living area. It sold for $650,000 in 2023.

HIBISCUS PARK Fakarava LLC sold the home at 2160 Sunnyside Place to Pascal Florida Invest LLC for $825,000. Built in 1954, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,542 square feet of living area. It sold for $468,000 in 2020.

SOUTH GATE William Clifton Rowden Jr. and Rebecca Rowden, of Grand Haven, Michigan, sold their home at 2639 Bougainvillea St. to Flavia Tamsin Miracle, trustee, of Sarasota, for $820,000. Built in 1960, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 2,435 square feet of living area. It sold for $760,000 in 2022.

RUSTIC LODGE Christopher Dixon sold the home at 2410 Prospect St. to Michael and Carol Drum, of Annapolis, Maryland, for $765,000. Built in 2017, it has three bedrooms, two-and-ahalf baths and 1,969 square feet of living area. It sold for $715,000 in 2021.

PAYNE PARK VILLAGE Babak Kimiayi and Tracie Volder Kimiayi, of Sarasota, sold their home at 2554 Ruffing Court to Sanford and Veronica Blanchard,

JUNE 15-19

REAL ESTATE

A Sarabay Acres home tops sales at $4.7 million

RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

17

SARASOTA: $1,825,000

San Remo Estates M&J Pham Development LLC sold the home at 3705 Tangier Terrace to Suzanne Popolizio, of Sarasota, for $1,825,000. Built in 1956, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,529 square feet of living area. It sold for $900,000 in 2025.

SIESTA KEY: $1,575,000

Ian Swaby

The home at 3705 Tangier Terrace was built in 1956 and has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,529 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,825,000.

of Sarasota, for $714,000. Built in 2023, it has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,116 square feet of living area. It sold for $750,000 in 2023.

PATRICIA MANOR George and Richele Hofsommer, of Elkhart, Indiana, sold their home at 2641 Martin St. to James Trevor Godshall and Ashlyn Brooke Godshall, of Syracuse, Indiana, for $630,000. Built in 1955, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,415 square feet of living area. It sold for $525,000 in 2023.

CITRUS SQUARE Joseph and Deborah Defeo, of Salt Point, New York, sold their Unit 306 condominium at 445 N. Orange Ave. to Ralph Desmond, of Sarasota, for $575,000. Built in 2009, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 924 square feet of living area. It sold for $575,000 in 2024.

Christopher and Christina Kaiser, of North Salem, Indiana, for $1,525,000. Built in 1961, it has four bedrooms, four baths and 3,632 square feet of living area. It sold for $700,000 in 1991.

JAMAICA ROYALE Peggy Yen, trustee, of Baltimore, sold the Unit 22 condominium at 5830 Midnight Pass Road to James and Sue Weaver, of Dublin, Ohio, for $960,000. Built in 1967, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,194 square feet of living area. It sold for $863,000 in 2008.

ONLINE

PHILLIPPI GARDENS Nathalie Angele Collado and Benjamin Coquillou, of Orlando, sold their home at 2436 Constitution Blvd. to Dustin and Hannah Leatherman, of Sarasota, for $560,000. Built in 1972, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,459 square feet of living area. It sold for $245,000 in 2020.

CORWOOD PARK Dana Rickard, trustee, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, sold the home at 4395 Sarasota Ave. to Marina and Miro Radovich, of Sarasota, for $550,000. Built in 1972, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,761 square feet of living area. It sold for $153,000 in 2012.

See more transactions at YourObserver.com.

Siesta Isles Charles Richard Agnew, of Sarasota, sold his home at 822 Paradise Way to Timothy David Reibling, trustee, for $1,575,000. Built in 1962, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,517 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.2 million in 2025.

PALMER RANCH: $860,500

Turtle Rock Thomas and Margaret Ryan sold their home at 5149 Far Oak Circle to Mary Collins, of Sarasota, for $860,500. Built in 1995, it has three bedrooms, threeand-a-half baths, a pool and 2,648 square feet of living area. It sold for $425,000 in 2001.

NOKOMIS: $2,965,000

Casey Cove Steven and Deborah Grossman, of Sarasota, sold their home at 929 Casey Cove Drive to Mark Daniel Southern and Patricia Southern, of Big Rock, Illinois, for $2,965,000. Built in 1960, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 3,639 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,705,000 in 2011.

Anytime.

Anywhere.

Observer.

WESTLAKE ESTATES Prather Holdings LLC sold the home at 5328 Fox Run Road to Ryan and Mallory Hupalo, of Sarasota, for $525,000. Built in 1979, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,872 square feet of living area.

It sold for $395,000 in 2025.

SIESTA KEY HERON LAGOON LODGES Kevin Mann and Lisa Diane Ruus, of Ontario, Canada, sold their home at 8592 Hidden Lagoon Road to

TOP BUILDING PERMITS These are the largest city of Sarasota building permits issued for the week of June 15-19, in order of dollar amounts.

CITY OF SARASOTA Address

Permit

Applicant

1622 Bay Point Court

Alterations

Artem Korban

2430 Prospect St.

Addition/

Peter Goman

Amount $350,000 $200,000

In-depth reporting, real-time breaking news, stories shaping your community.

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Renovations 2376 Burton Lane

Pool/Spa/Deck

Stanislav Sprogis

2612 Mulberry Terrace

Pool/Spa

Gary Garnjobst

2487 Novus St.

Solar System

Mandi Wolters

1870 Datura St.

Re-roof

Leonard Mindlin, trustee $51,000

943 Pomelo Place

Pickleball Court

Thomas Wiegand Vicki Hadley

636 Columbia Court

Mechanical

William Moore

1316 Allendale Ave.

Plumbing

Pedro Colon

$56,236 $39,250 $24,820 $19,248 $18,420 Source: City of Sarasota

Need help? Contact Customer Service at 877-231-8834 or email customerservice@yourobserver.com

465037-1

555 S. Gulfstream Ave. #202 Alterations

$80,000 $76,565

JULY 2, 2026

SPORTS FAST

BREAK

Building

BACK

Sarasota Little League lost hundreds of thousands of dollars last fall, and ever since, it’s been working to recover.

HOW TO HELP

Jack Nelson

Sarasota Paradise forward Jonathan Bolanos (right) evades a defender during an April 22 game against Corpus Christi FC. The first-year professional soccer club has four months remaining in its regular season.

T

he Sarasota Paradise are 5-10-1 entering July of their first season as a professional soccer club, competing in USL League One. They’ve won four of their last six matches, including over the league’s top team — Union Omaha — by a 2-0 score June 13. Anderson Rosa, a 24-yearold defender from Brazil, is the team’s leading scorer with four goals, while Sander Røed, a 25-year-old midfielder from Norway, boasts a team-high six assists. As of June 28, the Paradise are in 12th place out of 17 teams and need to be in the top eight to qualify for the postseason when the regular season ends Oct. 24. Next, the club will visit the Richmond Kickers at 7:30 p.m. July 3 and Greenville Triumph SC at 7 p.m.

July 8 before returning home to face Miami FC of USL Championship at 7:30 p.m. July 11. ... Evan Poznanski, a rising senior at Sarasota Christian, competed in Prep Baseball’s West Florida Top Prospect Games on June 23 at IMG Academy. The 5-foot-11, 167-pound third baseman/ shortstop recorded the third-fastest 60-yard dash of anyone at the showcase in 6.85 seconds. As a junior with the Blazers, he posted a .393 batting average, .525 on-base percentage, three home runs and 29 RBIs. Sarasota Christian finished 13-11 with a loss to Canterbury in the 1A-11 district semifinals. ... Less than one month remains until fall camp begins for high school football teams across the state July 27. Cardinal Mooney is the reigning FHSAA Class 2A state champion, and will host Berkeley Prep at 7 p.m. Aug. 21 in Week 1 action. Booker, which reached the 3A state semifinals in 2025, welcomes 7A state semifinalist Venice at 7:30 p.m. that night. Riverview will face Naples on the road and Sarasota will face Bayshore at home — both at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21. Sarasota Christian, as a member of the SSAA, is set to visit Canterbury in Week 1 at 7 p.m. Aug. 21.

Stone Meininghaus (left) and Lorenzo Izzo show off their district championship rings.

If anyone is interested in supporting Sarasota Little League, donations can still be made at Zeffy.com/ EN-US/ DonationForm/ SupportOur-League.

As of June 29, it raised $27,594 en route to its $100,000 goal on Zeffy.

JACK NELSON SPORTS REPORTER

A

ll sorts of people stepped forward to assist Sarasota Little League in its moment of need.

Donations came in from local businesses, former players and worried parents, among others.

One in particular has stuck with Alexis Meininghaus, league president since July 2025, and it didn’t come through the online fundraiser most donors used.

She received a physical check from a 97-year-old man who also attached a handwritten letter describing his own experience playing baseball in Little League.

“He just wanted to support in any way that he could,” Meininghaus said. “It really just hit home that this is a much bigger deal. It means so much to the community.”

Sarasota Little League reported a disappearance of more than $200,000 from its treasury last October. It was left with around $950 in its checking account and, without outside financial assistance, would not have been able to complete the fall 2025 season.

Ahnaysa Turner, who had served as the league’s treasurer since 2022, was arrested the following month on one count of grand larceny in excess of $100,000. She has since pleaded no contest and agreed to pay $176,000 in restitution, according to court documents. Her sentencing is set for Monday, July 6.

There were more than 160 offseason ATM withdrawals totaling more than $159,000 made from November 2022 to September 2025, according to the arrest affidavit. There were also unauthorized Amazon purchases totaling $14,527.15 on a league credit card and 120 in-season ATM cash transactions totaling $95,670, of which $63,780 was paid to umpires.

Mike D’Hondt, coach of the Sarasota Little League 12U American AllStars, was the league’s vice president and on the phone with Meininghaus when the lost funds were discovered.

“You’re going to have some tough practices, but don’t let them make you quit.”

— Lucas Seng, Sarasota Tsunami swim team SEE PAGE 19

“There was a sense of helplessness,” D’Hondt said. “We (needed) support, and if we (didn’t) get it, then we might have (had) to shut the season down. But the community came through for us.”

Thanks to an emergency Zeffy online fundraiser and an in-person fundraiser last November at Twin Lakes Park, the league collected enough donations to finish that season. It was also able to run a normal spring season from February to June.

Now, with teams moving through district and sectional tournaments ahead of the Little League World Series, the league could be in a better spot financially, but it’s not in a bad spot, Meininghaus said. She also said the league has been conservative in its spending and has held off on capital improvements, such as new dugouts and sunshades for spectators, it hopes to add.

Sarasota Little League spent last fall and this spring trying to build back financially. Hand in hand with that process was building back any trust lost from its member families.

It received fewer registrations for the spring 2026 season than in spring 2025, but only by less than five, per Meininghaus, significantly less than she first expected. So those numbers were a pleasant surprise.

“A lot of us on the board felt guilty, initially, because we didn’t know,” Meininghaus said. “We wanted to do everything we possibly could to get people in here and gain that trust back.”

Just seeking out donations was a tricky endeavor. Turner had not filed taxes for three years, so the league lost its status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

An accountant promptly stepped up to file them and the IRS accepted the league’s request to expedite the processing of those forms. By opening day Feb. 12, its nonprofit status was reinstated.

“That was really nerve-wracking for me,” Meininghaus said. “We could take donations, but we had to do it a little differently and let everyone know our situation at the time.

Some were fine with it, and some were more reserved about it.”

John Fetsick, general manager at University Park Country Club, volunteered to take over as interim treasurer. Sarasota Little League also brought in Michael Corley, a nonprofit consultant and founder of The Corley Co., to educate board members on board governance.

But above all else — to ensure security for the future — the league put an emphasis on reviewing and revising its financial safeguards.

It has stopped all cash handlings and gone fully electronic so it could keep complete records moving forward. There are also multiple people on the league’s bank accounts so numbers can be double- or triplechecked at any time.

Images courtesy of Alexis Meininghaus

Dylan Parrish (right) steps up to the plate for the Sarasota Little League 12U American All-Stars during Florida’s District 16 tournament. The team will have to advance through sectional, state and regional tournaments to qualify for the Little League World Series.

All board members and coaches are required to complete background checks on JDP, as dictated by Little League. Sarasota Little League has added a second mandatory, multistate background check run by a private detective.

And the safeguards don’t end there.

“At every board meeting, we bring out the bank account on the big screen so that everybody can see it,” D’Hondt said. “The finances are presented — budget, month spent to date, monthly reports and stuff like that are done. Those hadn’t been done for some time.”

Last month, the league had its annual elections and 35 people came out. It was the most Meininghaus has seen in her seven-plus years on the board.

There were 16 members of the board in 2025. Everyone who ran was voted on. This year, the board is 23 members deep and still, 12 people were turned away.

D’Hondt, who dubbed that turnout the “diamond in the rough” of their financial situation, also said more interest in the board should help keep families in Little League.

The league’s process of building back started with the community. It relied on the kindness of others to get back on its feet and return to normal operations.

These days — as it had well before 2025 — it hopes families can rely on Sarasota Little League to offer a youth sports experience that kids can’t get anywhere else.

Mike D’Hondt (back row, far right) poses for a photo with the 12U American All-Stars, who won the District 16 title on June 24. He’s in his sixth year on the board and 12th as a coach for Sarasota Little League.

YourObserver.com

19

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

When and why did you start swimming?

It was eight years ago when I started competitively swimming, but a little before then, I joined the stroke school (offered by Sarasota Tsunami). I was just going around trying out sports and I stayed here.

Which events do you specialize in and why?

Mainly, I’m a 500-, 1,000- and 200yard individual medley (swimmer).

Also, the 400-yard individual medley. I found that I can’t expend all my energy in just a 50- or 100 (-yard race). I can hold it and keep going.

After all these years, what’s driven you to stick with this sport?

I almost quit three years ago, because I did not have any motivation.

But then (Tsunami) coach Lisa (Repassy) motivated me, and I’ve been on the rise. I’ve made a lot of friends and just kept improving.

Which quote or piece of advice have you always remembered?

You’ve just got to stick with the sport.

What’s a fun fact about you not many people know?

I’m actually part of a Boy Scout troop. (I’ve been in Boy Scouts) since first grade.

Who is your favorite professional athlete and why?

I like Michael Phelps. He posts a lot of inspirational quotes and stuff, which I see more than a lot of athletes. He posts motivational quotes almost every day — more than one.

It helps (me) to keep pushing.

“WINNER”

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Do you have any fun summer plans?

In a few weeks, I’m going up to Minnesota with the Boy Scout troop to go canoeing for two weeks on the border waters of Canada.

If you could go anywhere for a dream vacation, where would you go and why?

Anywhere with mountains and cool weather to get away from the Florida heat.

If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you eat and why?

Probably my mom’s (Sara Seng’s) homemade carbonara.

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What did you think of your performance at the Mark McCaw Invitational?

I was pretty surprised, actually. I did not go into that meet expecting to do too well. I was expecting just to go in and have a little bit of fun and not go after it too much.

You’re going to have some tough practices, but don’t let them make you quit. You’ll eventually come out of it if you just keep working.

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First-place finishes were not few and far between for Lucas Seng at his latest meet. The rising sophomore at Suncoast Polytechnical High, competing for the Sarasota Tsunami in the boys’ 13-14 age group, won five events at the Mark McCaw Summer Invitational, which was hosted by Gulf Coast Swim Team in Fort Myers from June 19-21. He earned gold in the 200-yard freestyle (2:07.08), 50-yard backstroke (31.67), 100yard backstroke (1:05.73), 100-yard breaststroke (1:18.00) and 200-yard individual medley (2:19.55), while the Tsunami placed fourth as a team. Seng is the Sarasota Athlete of the Week.

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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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Shop our 6,000 sq.ft. Showroom for the common problem – Bronze or Stainless Shop our| SARASOTA, 6,000FL 34232 sq.ft. Showroom for the 5678 FRUITVILLE Best ROAD & Most Extensive Collection Anywhere.

Steel.

941.378.5678 | THEPLUMBINGPLACE.COM Best & Most Extensive Collection Anywhere.

Best & Most Extensive Collection Anywhere.

Best & Most Extensive Collection Anywhere.

JOHN SMITHMAN, OWNER

JOHN SMITHMAN, OWNER

5678 FRUITVILLE ROAD | SARASOTA, FL 34232 941.378.5678 | THEPLUMBINGPLACE.COM

Save Up to 15% on Lighting & Ceiling Fan Installation

JOHN SMITHMAN, OWNER

JOHN SMITHMAN, OWNER TRUST. KNOWLEDGE. SERVICE. 5678 FRUITVILLE ROAD | SARASOTA, FL 34232 Both materials offer excellent salt Shop our 6,000 sq.ft.ROAD Showroom for the 5678 FRUITVILLE | SARASOTA, FL 34232 941.378.5678 | THEPLUMBINGPLACE.COM 941.378.5678 | THEPLUMBINGPLACE.COM

BestPlumbing & Most Extensive For over 30 years The Place Collection Anywhere.

SMITHMAN, has worked hard toJOHN earn the trust of OWNER our 5678 FRUITVILLE ROAD | SARASOTA, FL 34232

customers and contractors.

And with over 941.378.5678 | THEPLUMBINGPLACE.COM

with a minimum of maintenance. A variety of

Shop our 6,000 sq.ft. Showroom for the

Best & Most Extensive Collection Anywhere.

• TUBS • VANITIES FAUCETS SINKS •• • TUBS • VANITIES • SHOWERS styles and finishes provide a perfect match to FAUCETS SINKS Beautiful AND Durable • • • • SHOWERS MIRRORS STEAM MIRRORS STEAM ROOMS • SAUNAS WHIRLPOOLS Exterior Door Hardware existing color schemes including rich patinas of ROOMS • HARDWARE TOILETS • TOILETS • BIDETS • LIGHTING • ACCESSORIES SAUNAS• BIDETS classic bronze, contemporary polished or DOOR AND CABINET HARDWARE matte nickel, and black.

LIGHTING • ACCESSORIES www.theplumbingplace.com

FROMOWNER THE PLUMBING PLACE JOHN SMITHMAN,

150 years of combined experience, our

5678 FRUITVILLE ROAD | SARASOTA, FL 34232 941.378.5678 | THEPLUMBINGPLACE.COM

friendly and knowledgeable staff delivers

It’s a frustrating reality for many Gulf Coast

exceptional customer care.

homeowners – discolored, pitted and tarnished exterior door hardware caused by our harsh salt-rich air.

We eventually learn that the tease of “lifetime

459015-1

ony Lil ’ T

tolerance and oxidation/corrosion resistance

brass” really means a lifetime of maintenance

and repair. There is a practical solution to this common problem – Bronze or Stainless Steel.

Both materials offer excellent salt

tolerance and oxidation/corrosion resistance

a minimum of maintenance. A variety of call it the pluming boutique, so clean,with organized, big

460991-1

Smitty’s Architectural Hardware, located Limit 1 coupon per household. Restrictions may apply. Residential customers “Everything about the place is beautiful, we shouldwww.theplumbingplace.com inside The Plumbing Place, displays many and kitchen fixtures, fittings and Beautifully crafted bathroom only. Coupon must be redeemed on day of purchase. Expires 6/30/26

lines of door hardware infrom beautiful styles for accessories leading designers.

Masterpieces of functionality and style showcased in an astounding showroom. styles and finishes provide a perfect match to

existing color schemes including rich patinas of Z. selection of items, friendly staff…” - RANDA classic bronze, contemporary polished or matte nickel, and black.

20

YourObserver.com

WEATHER

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH

FORECAST THURSDAY, JULY 2

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.

SUNRISE / SUNSET Sunrise Sunset

High: 91 Low: 77 Chance of rain: 74%

FRIDAY, JULY 3 High: 90 Low: 78 Chance of rain: 59%

Thursday, July 2

6:38a

8:29p

Friday, July 3

6:39a

8:29p

Saturday, July 4

6:39a

8:29p

Sunday, July 5

6:39a

8:28p

Monday, July 6

6:40a

8:28p

Tuesday, July 7

6:41a

8:28p

Wednesday, July 8

6:41a

8:28p

MOON PHASES

SATURDAY, JULY 4 High: 89 Low: 77 Chance of rain: 71%

July 7 Last

July 14 New

July 21 First

July 29 Full

RAINFALL

SUNDAY, JULY 5 High: 89 Low: 76 Chance of rain: 66%

Monday, June 22

0

Tuesday, June 23

0

Wednesday, June 24

0

Thursday, June 25

0.87

Friday, June 26

0

Saturday, June 27

0

Sunday, June 28

0

*Rainfall totals from Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

Kathy Schwartz took this photo of a seagull flying over Siesta Key at sunset.

YEAR TO DATE: 2026 13.19 in.

2025 22.20 in.

MONTH TO DATE: 2026 0.88 in.

2025 13.53 in.

We have all of your luxury flooring needs carpet | hardwood | tile | stone | pavers | and more

Daily crossword puzzles available at YourObserver.com/crossword

BEARING FRUIT by Bob Weisz & Zachary Edward-Brown, edited by Taylor Johnson

©2026 Universal Uclick

ACROSS

30 Not much 1 “Sk8er ___” (Avril Lavigne 31 “Soldier” insect 32 Necklace sometimes song) made with pua keni keni 4 Jam Master Jay and Mix blossoms Master Mike, for short 34 “Fur Elise” key 7 Knee injury spot, briefly 36 Broke down grammati10 Total up cally 13 VFX tech 38 Hand sanitizer target 16 Crawl (along) 40 Salts, maybe 18 “___... Sasha Fierce” 42 Branch of mathematics (Beyonce album) involving polygons 19 Minor star 44 Book that introduced the 21 Snitch (on) 22 Rhythmic Spanish dance “nutritarian diet” 46 See 58-Across 24 Grammy-nominated 47 Simplicity “Dirty Computer” singer 48 Word in some animal 26 “Peanuts” character shelter names who believes in the Great 50 Software malfunction Pumpkin 53 Pack to capacity 27 Soviet spy org.

55 “Who ___ to say?”

29 Majestic

56 Toy brick company 93 Pilot, for one 58 With 46-Across, golf great 96 Secrecy doc known as “The Big Easy” 97 Holi celebrant 60 Connected with 99 “___ Miserables” 64 Period that started with 101 Ferrari alternative, the Hijrah in 622 CE informally 67 “Come in!”

102 Number of B vitamins 69 Honda luxury brand 104 Fertile area in a 10670 Flight unit Down 71 On edge 105 Piano practice piece 73 Fight to the end 107 Saturn, Jupiter and 75 Russian ruler until 1917 Pluto 77 Zilch 109 Cry a little 79 Supporter of the arts?

112 HVAC measure 80 Buffoons 113 Bibimbap topper 83 Coffee that won’t give 116 Brownie ___ (earned you a buzz things) 85 “Go, team!”

117 Lists one by one 88 Highway divider 124 Super 8 alternative 91 CBS procedural 126 Daring poker play 92 Social equal 128 Hot pot mushroom

129 Garments worn by many 59 Snakelike fish characters on “The Bear” 61 Language-learning app 130 Put up, as a building with an owl mascot 131 Rarin’ to go 62 “ur so right” 132 Cats’ cries 63 Granola grain 133 Engraved 65 “We should!”

66 Comedian Garcia 134 ‘Tude 68 Regret 72 Part of NSFW DOWN 74 Twister or Go 1 Tricolor symbol of pride, 76 Fruity drink suffix informally 78 Opera solo 2 Using the internet 80 Cinco + tres 3 “The temptation is too 81 Most populous continent great!”

82 Shark parts 4 Loud noise 84 Certain Greek islander 5 First lady in the ‘60s, 86 Whispery video genre casually 6 Air pollution portmanteau 87 ___ bag (crescent-shaped purse) 7 “True” or “false” (Abbr.)

8 Certain woodwind player’s 89 Condition for which fidget spinners can be insert helpful 9 Bedsheets and such 90 D.C. ballplayers 10 On the lam 92 Evidence board fasteners 11 Big name in PCs 94 Heartfelt request 12 Dad on “black-ish” 13 Card game that’s a varia- 95 ___ Perignon 98 Start to play? tion of rummy 100 Surname that anagrams 14 Ones marking exams to “trustee” 15 Water cooler?

102 Starter follower 17 “My DMs are open” 103 Invasive lizards in 20 Lily variety Florida 21 Voted out 106 Gobi or Mojave 23 Adult ed. course 108 Civil War prez 25 Palindromic address 110 Seemingly forever 28 “Thai” herb 111 Get through to 33 High regard 113 Dutch cheese 35 “Twister” or “Go” 114 Stare in shock 36 Theorize 115 Greek sandwich 37 Hair colorant 118 “Nick at ___” 39 Big ___ (burger) 41 Vice president who wrote 119 Not new 120 Rx item “Earth in the Balance” 121 Ancient senator’s gar43 Pointy-eared Tolkien ment figure 122 Squeaks (out) 45 Dutch blooms 123 Titles for knights 48 Ewe’s mate 125 Scatter seeds 49 Australian birds 127 VCR button for taping 51 Atlanta-based channel

457540-1

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.

“K VEPBW AEKGA LE RYZIRY. K BGMEQBW DBKGA H OHIL EC LYB RYEKI ... K RBILHKGVQ BGMEQBW NHLRYKGA HGW VKTLBGKGA LE JQ WHW.” HIBLYH CIHGXVKG

“O VEHVYLVQ LX UV M YRMPPOYMR LJVMLVC MYLXC ... O ZSOYWRA RVMCIVQ LJML O JMQ LX HMA UMYW DA PYJXXR RXMIP.”

KCMIYVP DYQXCDMIQ

“T UMK’L GVKL LM ZJ TK LOJ QVTKRLSJVQ ... TX LOJ ASTLTAR RLVSL WTBTKH QD QMYTJR, LOJK T’Q TK UJJI LSMNZWJ.” EMOK AVSIJKLJS Puzzle Three Clue: O equals S

crossword

Puzzle Two Clue: P equals S

Sarasota 941.355.8437 | Bradenton 941.748.4679 | Venice 941.493.7441 | manasotaonline.com

The Grounded Feeling Everyone will Enjoy

Puzzle Two Clue: I equals R

at MANASOTA FLOORING INC

sudoku

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.

52 Chart-topping songs 54 Serve as a go-between 57 Fall for it ©2026 Andrews McMeel Syndicate

07-02-26

Made for where you live. Here!

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

RED PAGES redpages@yourobserver.com •yourobserver.com/redpages

Homes for Sale

Vacation/ Seasonal Rentals

DEADLINES: Classifieds - Tuesday at Noon

August 29th -September 5th

Service Directory - Friday at 3PM • PAYMENT: Cash, Check or Credit Card

Spacious 2 bedroom 2 bath, full kitchen, top rated resort, sleeps six, Pool/Barbecue. Steps to Crescent Beach and walk to shops.

The Sarasota and Siesta Key Observer reserves the right to classify and edit copy, or to reject or cancel an advertisement at any time. Corrections after first insertion only. *All ads are subject to the approval of the Publisher. *It is the responsibility of the party placing any ad for publication in the Sarasota and Siesta Key Observer to meet all applicable legal requirements in connection with the ad such as compliance with towncodes in first obtaining an occupational license for business, permitted home occupation, or residential rental property.

Notice: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

stuff

CIVIL WAR and World War 2 Headline News papers $30- $100.

Howard Miller Grandmother Clock, perfect condition $600.

Sehatz Anniversary clock, $90.

Antique Tube Radios $60, postcards $5, & documents.

Prices Negotiable (941)284-0296 THRIFTING FOR Missions Did you know you can find books, puzzles, furniture, clothing and more at World's Attic Thrift Shop?

Our proceeds go to missions both locally and around the world? 700 N. Beneva Rd. Sarasota. Bring this ad and get 10% off your order (cannot be used during our 50% off sale July 3rd). $1.00 (941) 330-0065 www.worldsattic.org

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

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

ABOVE GROUND Pool, Brand new. Bestway Steel Pro Max 15’ x 15’ x 48” $200 or best offer (941)914-8318 NINJA AIRFRYER. Hardly used.

Paid 200. Sell for $40.

Instructions included.

610-223-1992 PURPLE ROCKING Barrel Chair, like new $70 Call Pat (941)228-9467 ZERO GRAVITY chairs. Have 3. 2 tan, 1 black, $20-$25, 20% off all 3. $65.00 (941)966-6816

Help Wanted

Autos for Sale 2007 JAGUAR XK convertible.

Baby blue 43467 Mileage. $18500 (941)350-6544

BUY STUFF HERE! YourObserver.com/RedPages

Antiques/ Collectibles

INSURANCE PREMIUM TAX SPECIALIST. Sarasota, FL. Prep & file complex tax returns for clients across multiple U.S. jurisdictions in compliance w/ evolving regs.

Anlyz & apply state insurance laws & financial procedures to ensure full regulatory adherence. Support quarterly & annual closings by compiling, validating, & reconciling financial data w/in general ledger. Conduct detailed financial anlys, recncle bank accts, & assist w/ specialized acctg projs as assigned. Collab'n w/ acct mngrs & clients is essential to deliver accurate reporting & maint high srvc stndrds. Provide a broad spectrum of sophisticated acctg & tax functions for an extensive portfolio of captive insurance companies & risk retention groups. Req Bachelor's deg in any field & 2 yrs exp using TriTech Premium Pro, State Allocator & Municipal Allocator; Proficiency in MS Office apps & IIF Converter. $56,200/yr. Send resume to: Sheri Flannery, Amynta Agency Inc., 1605 Main St, Ste 800, Sarasota, FL 34236-5823.

Honest Evaluations NO ONE PAYS MORE!

941-400-8811

Autos Wanted WE BUY cars. top $$ paid for your vehicles.

Call Hawley Motors: 941-923-3421.

FIND LOTS OF BUYERS & SELLERS HERE! CALL 941-955-4888 YourObserver.com/RedPages

real estate

40+ years in Sarasota

Reservations 941-383-5577

101 Longboat Key, FL 34228 Over 1 Acre Beachfront House $6.5 million

Rental office 9a.m. - 5p.m.

Sailboat Access Canal 4 Bed Pending $675,000

Ask about our special rates!

Plantation Golf Course View Condo 3 Bed $294,000

Since 1939

M-F Wagner Realty www.rentalsonlongboat.com

SELL IT FAST! Place Your Ad Online

Condos/Apts. for Rent THREE BEDROOM CONDO Unit 1701 available for monthly rental in Copperleaf the Brooks.

Contact donnamariecos5@icloud.com

Advertise your business or service in the Observer

YourObserver.com/RedPages

Luxury Sarasota Bay views 4 Bed 5 Bath with Boat Dock $1.76 million Near South bridge to Siesta One level, heated pool, stroll to shops. 3Bed-2.5Bath $1,250,000 Brooke O’Malley CLUB REALTY Call 941-726-2677

Land for Sale BURIAL PLOT FOR SALE Valued $18,000, asking $9,000.

Palms Memorial Park Sarasota Garden of Shalom.

Email Ron: news711@aol.com

FIND BUYERS & SELLERS HERE!

Auto Transport SHIP YOUR car, truck or SUV anywhere in the United States.

Great rates, fast quotes. Call Hawley Motors: 941-923-3421.

941-955-4888 YourObserver.com/RedPages

5:00 pm- 6:30 pm 589 Commonwealth Lane Beautiful pool and canal front home.

June McEleavy (941)228-8139

BETTY’S HOUSE CLEANING SERVICE. Residential, high quality cleaning. Reasonable rates. Lic./Insured.

Free Estimates!

Call 941-650-6180 BRAZILIAN CLEANING Service

by Maria. Residential. Meticulous Cleaning. Excellent References.

Free Estimates. Reliable. Lic./Ins. 941-400-3342. Instagram: Braziliancleaningsrq

TOTAL HOME SERVICES CLEANING Residential/Commercial, Vacation Rentals, Real Estate, Clubhouse/Amenities.

Power Washing (Soft Wash), Construction, Window washing/DI Window Cleaning



Manufactured Home Community 55+ Active Lifestyle









(941)756-4570 (941)782-8018 totalhomeservicecleaning @ymail.com

Open House 1st Saturday of the month 10am-2pm

To schedule a tour, call 844-552-4574

CALL TODAY 941-955-4888

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.

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

SARASOTA PAINTING & DESIGN INTERIOR / EXTERIOR / CABINETS WE ARE THE BEST Residential & Commercial.

Fully Insured, Full Service.

We work with the most beautiful properties in the Sarasota and surrounding areas!

CALL or TEXT Don 941-900-9398 28 Years Experience

Personal Services EXPERT PILATES coaching for women in a private studio (941) 228-5276 https://suespilatesfitness.com/ PERSONAL TRAINING at your location Over 25 years of fitness coaching experience (941) 228-8341 https://ironcave1-harxv.com

Professional Services

3901 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota View our listings online: www.bahiavistafl.com

RED PAGES

CARL 941-448-8468 35+ years experience.

Cleaning

Twilight Open House, July 3rd

Al Tomlinson

Houses or Condos

5360 Gulf of Mexico Dr., Suite

COME CHECK Out a Recently Renovated Home

Paintings •B Bronzes •P Sculptures •O Oriental Rugs •S Asian Art •A Antique Furniture •A

Between

Visa/MC

Open House

ANTIQUES WANTED

WANTED

SEASONAL RATES Beachfront, Bayfront and In

Pool Home Completely Upgraded $545,000

jobs

ADVERTISE YOUR MERCHANDISE with the total value of all items $200 or less in this section for FREE! Limit 1 ad per month,15 words or less. Price must be included next to each item. No commercial advertising.

Ad runs 2 consecutive weeks in 1 Observer.

Call 941-955-4888 Or Email ad to: classified@yourobserver.com (Please provide your name and address) Or Online at: www.yourobserver.com Or mail to: The Observer Group 1970 Main St. - 3rd Floor Sarasota, Fl 34236

auto

Items Under $200

WEEKLY MONTHLY

House on Canal with Pool & Dock $1,250,000

Merchandise Wanted SENIOR LOOKING to purchase precious metals, diamonds, time pieces, coins, jewelry, antique and estate jewelry, and some collectors plates. Personal and confidential.

Please call Marc: 941-321-0707

(941)349-7484

wagnerlbkrentals@gmail.com

CASH FOR YOUR CAR We come to you!

Ho Ho Buys cars.

941-270-4400.

GREAT FINDS LOCATED HERE!

$2,100

home services

General Merchandise

JUST LISTED! Spacious 4/3 in Siesta Isles 4,161 sq. ft. home at 813 Idlewild Way. The front exterior belies the massive interior space, it's a MUST SEE to appreciate the size! 109' on Grand Canal, 4BR/3BA, .31 acre, pool/spa, metal roof, whole house generator, impact windows/doors, extensive renovations, 10,000-lb boat lift + double Jet Ski lift. $3,795,000 Lori Madden, Mangrove Realty (941) 780-8443

The CRYSTAL CLEAR choice!

INFORMATION & RATES: 941-955-4888

Where Clean Meets Care Delivering reliable, top-quality cleaning for homes and businesses.

Contact: (407) 528-6401

AUTOBIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR Edited and Published HighCottonPublishing.com 941-706-2463

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

Handyman

Home Watch

C.T. MALLETT

Carpentry • Painting Pressure Washing

HANDYMAN SERVICES

Accepting Credit Cards

941.302.5850

464972

SERVING SIESTA KEY & SARASOTA COUNTY

KEENS HANDYMAN SERVICES

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

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

24/7 SERVICE

WE COME TO YOU

INCLUDES22MOEN MOEN STAINLESS INCLUDES STAINLESS STEEL STEELANTI ANTISLIP SLIP CONCEALED PEEN CONCEALED SCREW SCREW GRAB GRAB BARS (16”BARS & 24”)(16” & 24”)

941.966.0333 LIFETIME GUARANTEE • LICENSED • BONDED • INSURED COVERAGEAREA: AREA:LAKEWOOD PARRISH TO NORTHPORT COVERAGE RANCH TO S. VENICE

GET YOUR LIFE BACK!

Landscaping & Lawn

Driveways | Yards | Dirt Work | Light Demo

Rich Briandi | 941-356-5616

Give Us a Call - We Can Help

Lic./ Insured

FREE CONSULTATION 941.358.2224 Recognized Among the Best Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression Physicians in America

Movers

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.

DR. DAVID CIFRA, DC

Pegatronics Computer Instruction and Repair It’s Easier Than You Think!

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

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

Licensed and insured #IMT708

Pet Services

www.SarasotaDiscCenter.com DrCifra@SarasotaDiscCenter.com

Pet Care by Melanie Gates

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

Pegatronics.com

Dog Sitting (sm/md)

Home Services

941-735-3362

Dog Walking (sm/md) INJECT-AFLOOR SYSTEM

RED PAGES Bring Results | 941-955-4888 453820

Doors

MAKE YOUR

LOOK LIKE

NEW AGAIN

PATIO DOORS be a DRAG or your

WINDOWS be a PANE!!

Sliding Glass Door Repairs Sliding Glass Door Deadbolts | Window Repairs

FREE

IN-HOAMTEES ESTIM Call us today!

941-203-1604 463454

www.ezslider.com

peekers’ place

You’re only cheating yourself.

DON’T let your

GROUT

HEROES found here.

Relax. You’ve got better things to do. Find a professional here in the Red Pages.

RED PAGES Made for where you live. Here!

Call 941-955-4888 or visit YourObserver.com/redpages

DON DI STEFANO (941) 893.8475

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

DO YOU HAVE LOOSE & HOLLOW TILES?

Cat sitting & Cat/Kitten Introductions Administering medication 30+ years Exp. & Excellent References

463500

463499

Board Certified in the specialty of non-surgical spinal decompression

(941) 966-2960

This week’s Crossword answers

This week’s Celebrity Cipher answers

Puzzle One Solution: “I loved going to church. I enjoyed being a part of the choir ... I certainly enjoyed watching and listening to my dad.”

Aretha Franklin Puzzle Two Solution: “I expected to be a classical theater actor ... I quickly learned that I had to pay back my school loans.”

Frances McDormand

Puzzle Three Solution: “I don’t want to be in the mainstream ... If the critics start liking my movies, then I’m in deep trouble.”

John Carpenter

This week’s Sudoku answers

©2026 NEA, Inc.

6968 Beneva Road

463458

Shell Work & Landscape Stone

Do You Have Neck or Low Back Pain?

Do You Want To Avoid Surgery?

DON’T THROW YOUR COMPUTER OUT THE WINDOW – CALL LORITECH!

DRGRABBARS.COM

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

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Health

New & Refurbished Computers Servicing PC & MAC on Site or In Shop Virus and Spyware Removal- Free Software We Make Windows 10 User-Friendly!

941-929-9095

249 235

* $ $235

$

364556 463515

Call to reserve your ad space: 941-955-4888

COMPUTER REPAIR SALES & SERVICE

(Next to Beneva Flowers)

COMPLETE INSTALLATION PACKAGE

WITH THE RED PAGES

5-Star Rated

Computer

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

CALL BEFOREYOU YOU FALL CALL BEFORE FALL

Home RepaiR SeRvice • No JoB Too SmaLL • ScReeN RepaiRS • paiNTiNG/DRY WaLL • TiLe RepaiRS • & mUcH moRe!

FAST • EASY • SAFE

941.270.4400

Kitchen/Bath Remodeling

STEVE PANEBIANCO

SELL YOUR CAR!

CALL PINNACLE TODAY! 941-306-1999

©2026 Universal Uclick

463452

Owner /Insured Operator Insured

Dave and Connie Grundy 463455

Dustin Owner Yoder/ Operator

463493

Dustin Yoder

Pinnacle Home Watch.com Stop Worrying About Your Home While Away 463930

Aluminum

463929

22

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2026

Rescreening & Repairs

Screening

Eldridge Re-Screen

SCREEN MACHINE

Serving Longboat Key Since 2005

RE-SCREENING

941-879-3136

Transportation

Formerly known as Sunrise Windows

941 - 248 - 4734 463495

Roofing

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

UP TO

STANDARD WINDOWS

Trees

Kenneth Fuhlman Inc.

INCLUDING SCREENS, TRACKS, MIRRORS & FANS

Building & Roofing Contractor

463932

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

463494

Tree Removal Tree Trimming Lawn Maintenance and More!

20 years local experience Licensed & Insured

CREATE BUZZ!

Advertise your business in the Red Pages. Call 941-955-4888

Screening

Pool Enclosure Specialists Established in 1989 Serving Our Area for Over 35 Years • Pool Enclosures • Front Entry Screens • Lanais • Concrete & Pavers

463498

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

SPECIAL 00 5

$

941-626-3194 kennethfuhlmaninc.com

160

25 $

senior citizen discount.

www.sunsetwindowcleaningsrq.com

PURIFIED WATER WINDOW CLEANING AVAIL ABLE!!

Call Tibor for FREE ESTIMATES 941- 284 - 5880

463496

464420

BLACK LABEL CAR SERVICE “Luxury for Less”

Window Cleaning

FREE ESTIMATES, CALL TODAY!

(941) 544.5663 | luislopezlanwservice@gmail.com

Made for where you live. Here.

RED PAGES

SCC131150987

YourObserver.com/RedPages

YOUR HOME

found here.

Find a place where you can visit listings, not just imagine them.

RED PAGES Made for where you live. Here!

Call 941-955-4888 or visit YourObserver.com/redpages

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

463450

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

Licensed & Insured CCC - 058059 CBC - 1253936

Res. | Com. | Lic. | Ins.

463456

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

“No Job Too Small” Insured

941-270-1561

Windows

410036

Licensed

23

24

YourObserver.com

SARASOTA OBSERVER | THURSDAY, JULY 2, 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

HOLMES BEACH 518 58th Street Laurie Mock

$3,500,000 941.232.3665

MAPLE LAKES 7808 34th Court East Reid Gerletti

SARASOTA $2,451,488 941.376.1159

401 Quay Commons #505 Rebecca Simmons

$6,900,000 248.766.0872

THE DEMARCAY

VENICE ISLAND

33 South Palm Avenue #701 $1,995,000 Roberta Tengerdy & Jessica St. Andre 941.321.2292

ARIA

DESOTA PARK | WEST OF TRAIL 1915 Clematis Street Moriah Taliaferro

$3,200,000 941.504.9910

BRADENTON 10019 Degas Terrace Joe Harris & Charles Totonis

200 Daylily Boulevard Beth Sargent & Carter Sargent

EAGLES POINT AT THE LANDINGS 5420 Eagles Point Circle #402 Peg Davant

$650,000 941.356.4552

$734,000 941.716.1277

117 Daylily Boulevard Jody Callan

$625,000 941.284.3789

12287 Lavender Loop Molly Laramie

PRESTANCIA 7418 Monte Verde Jaci Krawtschenko

556 Bocelli Drive Mike Warm

$1,250,000 941.504.0944

PROMENADE $1,195,000 941.525.2740

1211 Gulf of Mexico Drive #109 Bill Blume

VENICE WOODLANDS

VENICE WOODLANDS $835,000 941.539.0974

500 Alhambra Road Sandra Simic

$699,999 941.525.8707

GREYHAWK LANDING $619,900 941.549.1748

$975,000 941.525.6257

PROVIDENCE RESERVE 10808 Whitland Grove Drive Kaila Stickelman

$650,000 941.685.4164

THE VENICE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB 417 Wellington Court Debi Cohoon

$599,000 941.877.2550

78 Grand Bayfront Residences from $4.7 Million 475 Quay Commons, Sarasota Reserved Parking Across from Ocean Prime 941.499.8704 | TheResidencesSarasotaBay.com

Delivery This Year

ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING REPRESENTATIONS OF THE SELLER. 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. The renderings, terms, conditions, and statements contained in these materials are proposed only, and the Developer reserves the right to modify, or withdraw any or all of same in its sole discretion and without prior notice. The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Sarasota Bay are not owned, developed or sold by Marriott International, Inc. or its affiliates (“Ritz-Carlton”). KT Sarasota South, LLC uses The Ritz-Carlton marks under a license from Ritz-Carlton, which has not confirmed the accuracy of any of the statements or representations made herein. 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.

Artist’s Rendering

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®

457759-1

SARASOTA - DOWNTOWN | 941.364.4000