Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer 09.29.22

TOWN

Bay’ter park right here, Bill

He’s the chief operating officer of The Bay Sarasota, the multiyear, public-private effort to convert 53 acres of city-owned land into a signature park on the bayfront.

So Bill Waddill’s support and patronage of even the initial stages of the ambitious project should come as no surprise.

But what might is that no matter how crowded or popular the mangrove walk, or the Canal District or the Sunset Pier might become, he never has to worry about parking.

Just behind the Blue Pagoda, which is now part of the park, his own little piece of parking heaven exists.

Not a shelter

Though some flights might have been canceled earlier, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport said it would close at 8 p.m. Tuesday and reopen when it was safe to do so.

In announcing the closure, airport officials stressed the terminal would be locked and secured and would not be open to passengers or others seeking refuge from Hurricane Ian.

“The airport terminal is not a shelter,’’ officials said, adding the airport status would be updated on the SRQ Facebook page and Twitter@SRQAirport.

Shifting hurricane forecast prompts last-chance run for sandbags, evacuation orders.

Eric Garwood

File photo

Eric Garwood

Patty Avery was among one of the first to arrive Tuesday morning at a county-run sandbag station at Ed Smith Stadium.

Bobby Jones

WEEK OF SEPT. 29, 2022

BY THE NUMBERS

1925

When famed golf course designer Donald Ross drew the plans for Bobby Jones Golf Course in Sarasota.

PAGE 4A

3,182

World record for push-ups done in an hour.

PAGE 2B

70,000

Square footage of the Clive Daniel Home store recently opened in Fruitville Commons.

YOUROBSERVER.COM

CALENDAR

(as currently scheduled)

n Sarasota City Commission regular meeting — 9 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 3, Commission Chambers, City Hall, 1565 First St.

n Sarasota County Commission — 9 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 11, Commission Chambers, County Administration Center, 1660 Ringling Blvd.

n Sarasota County School Board — 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 4, School Board Chambers, Landings Administration Building, 1980 Landings Blvd.

Oct. 11 deadline looms for voters

Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Ron Turner wants county residents to know that Oct. 11 is the last day to register to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 8 general election.

“New paper voter registration applications must be completed, signed and returned in person to an elections office or postmarked by Oct. 11, and they may also be submitted electronically through RegistertoVoteFlorida.gov before midnight on Oct. 11,” Turner said.

Florida voter registration applications are available at elec-

tions offices in Sarasota, Venice and North Port, and at public libraries, military recruitment offices and public assistance offices.

Applications also may be downloaded at SarasotaVotes. gov or submitted through any driver license or tax collector’s office that issues Florida driver licenses or Florida ID cards.

“Before the Oct. 11 deadline, voters should confirm their voter eligibility and that their registration information is current,” Turner said.

Voters whose signatures have changed since the last election or who have moved or changed names may also update their records by completing a voter registration application. Turner reminds voters who plan to vote by mail that the signature on file in the Florida Voter Registration System at the time their ballots are received in the elections office is the one that will be used to verify the signature on the Voter’s Certificate on the ballot return envelope.

Sarasota names new fire chief

Nine months after Michael Regnier left Sarasota County Fire Department to become assistant fire chief on Longboat Key, the county has named a new fire chief following a national search.

And it didn’t have to look outside of Florida to find him.

David Rathbun, a 32-year veteran of Orange County Fire-Rescue, is scheduled to take over as fire chief on Nov. 7, taking the helm from Mike Hartley, who served as acting chief during the search. As Rathbun rose through the ranks in Orange County, he held leadership positions in nearly every division of the department.

He retired as the department’s deputy fire chief in January.

“Chief Rathbun brings valuable experience along with a deep knowledge of the fire service in the state of Florida to Sarasota County as the next fire chief,” said Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis. “He has a strong understanding of leading a fire department that provides life-saving service to a community.”

Rathbun started with Orange County Fire-Rescue as a firefighter/ EMT in 1989 and has served as a lieutenant, battalion chief, assistant chief, division chief of logistics, division chief of operations and division chief of planning and technical services.

In those roles, he managed fire operations, emergency medical services, special operations, fleet and equipment needs for a department with more than 1,500 personnel. He developed standard operating procedures, long-term station location plans and facility capital improvement plans, implemented a strategic planning process, a new computer-aided dispatch system, and managed re-accreditation.

“The opportunity to work with the heroes of Sarasota County Fire Department is an extraordinary one,” Rathbun said. “I look forwarding to getting to know them and deepen the ties we have with our residents and visitors.”

Rathbun holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing.

“A lot of people aren’t aware of Ross, so this is an opportunity to show people why people like me consider him one of the all-time greats.’’

Richard Mandell, on famed golf designer Donald Ross Read more on page 4A

File photo

The general election is Nov. 8.

Residents gear up, board up

Evacuations get underway, residents scramble for last chance at sandbags as path of hurricane moves ever closer to Sarasota.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

As the predicted track of Hurricane Ian gradually came into focus on Tuesday morning, officials in Sara sota and Sarasota County began to put emergency plans into action as did residents.

Sarasota County ordered evacu ation Level A for residents on or nearest the coast, adding that more evacuations would be considered. Public schools in Sarasota County are also closed potentially through Thursday, many of them converted into temporary shelters.

At 5 a.m. Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center issued this warn ing: “There is a danger of life-threat ening storm surge along much of the Florida west coast where a storm surge warning has been issued, with the highest risk from Fort Myers to the Tampa Bay region. Residents in these areas should listen to advice given by local officials.”

Heeding the warning, long lines of residents showed up more than two hours early to a county sandbag site at Ed Smith Stadium, the hours for which had been extended.

Chris Ransom, Patty Avery and Jeanine Arguello were among the first, arriving around 6 a.m. to the site that opened at 8 a.m.

A fresh dump truck load of sand landed at their feet as they grabbed shovels.

“It started shifting again to the south,’’ Arguello said of the storm’s predicted landfall as she piled sand through a makeshift funnel crafted from a cut-off orange traffic cone.

“It looks like the center might go right over us,’’ Avery said.

Cars, trucks and vans backed up from the serpentine line within the stadium parking lot to Tuttle Ave nue, around the corner at 12th Street as far back as the stadium’s main entrance.

Kristine Ensing, who was experi encing her first hurricane in Florida, worked in her car with a laptop com puter on the passenger seat while the line moved slowly in front of her. She said she was told the wait from her spot in the line might extend to two hours, and workers said they were told they needed to shut the gates by noon.

“I’m not even sure where to put sandbags,’’ Ensing said.

Emergency Management Director Ed McCrane said emergency shelters would open at noon for evacuees, which includes the barrier islands, bayfront residents and residents who live in RVs, mobile homes and boats.

Shelters in Sarasota include:

n Booker High School.

n Brookside Middle School.

n Fruitville Elementary School.

n Gulf Gate Elementary School.

n Philippi Shores Elementary School.

n Riverview High School.

n Southside Elementary School.

“When you go to that evacua tion center at noon, please eat a meal before you come; bring all your disaster supplies; your emergency kit including bedding, toiletries, water and supplies,” McCrane said. “It’s very important to bring a flash light with you as well and continue to monitor local media and county social media channels.”

The decision to evacuate the bar rier islands and other flood-prone areas comes as the National Weather Service forecast storm surge at five to 10 feet.

“Those could be inundated by storm surge if that threat presents itself, and based on the information that we have there’s a potential for enough storm surge to affect level A,” McCrane said. “So regardless of the year of your home, regardless of what floor you’re on, if you live in Level A you need to evacuate.”

For those who cannot drive to an evacuation center, Sarasota County will provide bus transportation for them and their pets to and from an evacuation center. The ride program is activated only when Sarasota County has a declared county emer gency, an activation is ordered, and evacuation centers are opened.

IN YEARS PAST

2004 HURRICANES CHARLEY, FRANCES, IVAN AND JEANNE Synopsis: Four hurricanes threatened the area over the course of August and September. Charley posed the biggest peril but curved inland to strike at Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, not as originally forecast much closer to Longboat Key.

Evacuations: Yes (for Charley)

2017 HURRICANE IRMA Synopsis: The biggest threat the area has faced in the past five years, Irma’s potential for a coast-scraping disaster didn’t materialize as the storm moved up the middle of the Florida peninsula instead. Where it did strike, near Naples and throughout Central Florida, Irma did significant damage. By the time Irma reached latitudes equal to Sarasota-Manatee, the storm had fallen from Category 4 to Category 2, with its strongest winds well inland. Evacuations: Yes.

2020 TROPICAL STORM ETA Synopsis: Although no evacuations were ordered, the November storm created serious seawater flooding issues on the northern half of Longboat Key. Water rushed through the streets of Longbeach Village, swamping homes, yards and swimming pools. High tides combined with storm surge to form a potent mixture.

Evacuations: No, though several people were rescued and taken to shelter during the storm’s flooding.

2021 HURRICANE ELSA Synopsis: Most of the July storm’s worst weather remained offshore.

Evacuations: No.

Transportation is offered at des ignated rally points throughout the county. In Sarasota, those include:

n Colonial Oaks Park, 5300 Colonial Oaks Blvd.

n Lido Beach, 400 Benjamin Franklin Drive.

n Potter Park, 8587 Potter Park Drive

n SCAT Downtown Transfer Station, 150 N. Lemon Ave.

n SCAT UTC Transfer Station, 500 N. Cattlemen Road.

n Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road.

Transport will be provided by

Sarasota County Area Transit and school district buses.

Luggage is limited to two carry-on size bags a person that can be stored under a seat or held in your lap. Pets must be in a crate or carrier, and you must bring all pet supplies. Pas sengers cannot specify which shel ter and all transportation will cease operations within eight hours of expected landfall.

Not everyone needs to consider evacuation, McCrane said.

“If you live in a home outside of an evacuation area that you’ve protect ed with impact windows or hurricane shutters, and your home was built since 2002, you’re safe in your home for this type of event,” McCrane said. “Don’t go to the evacuation center unless you need to as a last resort.”

The city of Sarasota also declared

a state of emergency. According to a release, municipal crews are out clearing storm drains, positioning generators to maintain water and sewer service in the event of a power failure and working with construc tion companies to ensure work sites are safe and equipment such as cranes are secured.

The declaration provides the city with more flexibility regard ing expenditures and allocating resources, which may be necessary with storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico breaching portions of Ben Franklin Drive, additional localized street flooding, and the potential for wind damage caused by strong wind gusts and tornadoes.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The westbound travel lanes on the Siesta and John Ringling Causeway bridges were scheduled to be closed to non-residents at 3 p.m. and all lanes at 6 p.m., restricting entry. Water to the barrier islands was be shut off at 7 p.m. to protect the distribution system and resources.

Wednesday and Thursday’s trash, recycling and yard waste pickups for City of Sarasota customers have been suspended. Collections scheduled for Sept. 29 will be picked up on Friday and regularly scheduled Friday collections will be deferred to Saturday.

Photos by Eric Garwood

A convenience store on U.S. 301 near downtown was boarded up but remained open.

A county dump truck unloads a fresh pile of sand at Ed Smith Stadium.

Cars back up on Tuttle Avenue at the entrance to Ed Smith Stadium.

Seven years later, Bobby Jones Golf Club is visibly taking shape

After years of different plans, project leader Richard Mandell says Donald Ross’ century-old vision is being restored to the city-owned course.

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

When golf course archi tect Richard Mandell first toured the Bobby Jones Golf Club complex while preparing to bid on its restoration, he was accompanied by his son, Thomas, who was in seventh grade at the time.

To put into perspective how much time has passed since that first visit, as earthmovers now excavate, haul and push dirt around to reshape Sarasota’s municipal golf facility to its original Donald Ross layout, Thomas is now a college freshman.

“I’m waiting for my five-year pin (from the city),” Mandell joked dur ing a recent visit to the project, one of three he has underway in Florida.

Much has happened since the Pinehurst, North Carolina-based Mandell was tapped to restore the course associated with two of the game’s most iconic names — Jones, the player, and Ross, the renowned architect — attached to it.

As the scope of the project changed

multiple times over the ensuing fiveplus years, the frequent changes resulting in a series of delays, the club operated as normal until it was closed at the onset of COVID-19. Although golf enjoyed a renaissance throughout the pandemic, the deci sion was made to keep Bobby Jones closed until it was renovated.

Meanwhile, maintenance opera tions ceased and the 45-hole prop erty became overgrown.

Back in 2016 when talk of reno vating the club began, it had already entered into the death spiral that afflicted many golf courses in the 2010s — declining revenue leading to reduced capital investment resulting in deteriorating conditions prompt ing reduced play causing declining revenue, and so on.

“When I first visited in 2016, what I saw were declining conditions based solely on a lack of capital being put back into the golf course,” Mandell said. “That is typical of courses that haven’t been renovated in 30 years or more. At that time, the newest holes were 29 years old and tired. Yet there were other holes out there that hadn’t been touched for a lot longer than that.

“What I saw were lots of drainage issues, outdated golf course features and poor turf conditions.”

Built on a floodplain between Fruitville Road and 17th Street, drainage has always been an issue at Bobby Jones. Water management in 1925, when Donald Ross designed the original 18 holes, was at best guess

with Anne and her team at Blue SRQ.”

Photos by Andrew Warfield Morning sunlight filters through the trees as another day of restora tion work at Bobby Jones Golf Complex begins.

work to the extent it was considered at all. Future expansions that added 18 more holes incorporating the original front and back nines into the American and British courses only exacerbated the frequent flooding and persistent wet conditions.

The final iteration of the restora tion plan brought Bobby Jones back to the original Donald Ross layout, incorporating modern golf course design, engineering and draining techniques intended to alleviate flooding and waterlogged condi tions. Initially scheduled to open this fall, delays in starting work pushed construction into the rainy season causing further delays.

Mandell said he expects to course to open for play in mid-summer 2023, likely followed shortly by the nine-hole short course across Circus Boulevard.

At $12.5 million, the golf portion of the project includes the 18-hole restoration, the adjustable par-3 course, practice facility temporary clubhouse and eventually a new per manent clubhouse and other util ity buildings. The golf complex will

cover 187 of the 307 acres there, the remainder of the site comprised of a nature park and drainage of canals.

The work is funded by a $20 mil lion city bond, a $3 million South west Florida Water Management District grant for wetlands improve ment, which requires a 50% local government match; and a $487,500 Florida Department of Environmen tal Protection grant. Golf revenues are planned to cover course opera tions and be applied toward the debt service.

THE BEST LAID PLANS

Mandell didn’t have to go far to find the Bobby Jones course layout, which Ross drew in 1925, and the hole-byhole notes and detail drawings. Just more than two miles from his Pine hurst office is the Tufts Archives, where the drawings are preserved.

Mandell is using the sketches to restore the 6,240-yard course as Ross envisioned, but elevations, mounding and shaping will vary from the original in order to facili tate drainage.

“The first step is getting dirt in the

right spots and controlling the water and the drainage,” Mandell said. “Then it’s the shaping of the mounds and the construction of the drains.”

Once rough grading, irrigation and drainage are installed, Mandell and the construction crews turn their attention to arguably the most importing part of this or any golf course, the greens. Here, the Ross sketches are somewhat light on the details.

His notes for the No.1 green, for example, read: ”Body of green raised with 2’ to 2 1/2’ fall from left rear corner to right front corner. Large undulating mound graded very eas ily on all sides.”

For the par-3 No. 13: “Built-up 3’ at front and 5’ at rear – slight ter race effect. Terrace at left corner 6” below body of green. Terrace effect across front, raise the sides and rear having a slight undulating effect. Long slopes on all sides. Sand pock ets 1, 2, 3 on left & right front corner and at rear at edge of canal.”

Mandell mirrored the green shapes and adapted the elevation chang es and desired green speeds to the

modern game for the recreational golfer. Undulating greens, he said, need not be lightning fast to be fun.

“I will review the slopes every 10 feet both vertically and horizontally to make sure that everything drains properly and they are no pockets and to make sure there are pinnable areas (flat areas where holes can be cut) slope-wise, and make sure there is variety in those slopes,” he said.

Bobby Jones is Mandell’s 11th Donald Ross restoration. He takes personally the task of preserving the legacy of one of the world’s most renowned golf course architects.

“A lot of people aren’t aware of Ross, so this is an opportunity to show people why people like me consider him one of the all-time greats,” he said. “I feel almost like I’m a project manager for Ross in this case because I’m trying to imple ment all the information that we have. Right we only have 26 aerials, which are not that informative, other than it tells us how few trees were out here originally.”

COMMUNITY BENEFIT

As crews have been removing soil from the nature park area for use at the golf course, they’ve been shaping the wetland as they go.

In addition to drainage from the golf course, the wetland will serve as a natural water purifier as it gradu ally filters stormwater runoff enter ing the property from 17th Street and surrounding neighborhoods before it

exits at Fruitville Road.

“Within the park, we’ve created this wetland, and that was always the plan whether it was going to be golf or a park,” Mandell said. “We diverted one of the canals so that we can get the driving range somewhat to the clubhouse, but it also enabled us to divert that water into a pretty expansive wetland. This is where this is a community project in that everyone who’s not even a golfer benefits in the sense that his site is a detention for stormwater. Once it comes through the canals and it goes through the wetland and it gets fil tered, when it leaves down on Fruit ville it’s much cleaner. And when it gets to its final destination, Bobby Jones has done its part in cleaning up that water.

“The purpose of a floodplain is to hold water, and it’s still going to be that way. The whole front nine was always lower than floodplain, so it’s no surprise as to why it was always wet. Now we’re trying to fix that while also providing our service to the city.”

Once areas of the golf course are completed, the fairways, rough, green and green complexes will be sprigged. The grow-in requires six to eight weeks before the course is playable. Areas that can be will be planted this fall, the remainder in the spring. The course will open with a temporary clubhouse and the time frame for a permanent facility remains to be determined.

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Courtesy photo The par-3 No. 13 layout by Donald Ross.

Richard Mandell, who is tasked with designing the restoration of the Bobby Jones Golf Complex, talks shop with his “shaper” Lawrence White. In the background is 17th Street.

COPS CORNER

MONDAY, SEPT. 19

AT LEAST THEY STACKED THEM

12:46 p.m. 1800 block of Main Street

Illegal dumping: An officer was dispatched to a vehicle service center to investigate the dumping of six tires by two men. The owner of the business said surveillance video showed two men unloading and stacking the tires in front of the shop and driving away. A partial license plate number was visible. The case remained open as the investigation continued.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21

DOG BURGLAR

7:07 p.m. 2100 Block of Eighth Street

Burglary: An officer responded to a residential burglary call involving a dog the victim said is valued at $6,000. The officer observed a screen removed from the victim’s open front window and blinds in disarray. She said the only item missing from the residence was one of her two dogs. The victim said her ex fiancé was her primary suspect, mentioning he was upset that she had kept the dogs, adding he may have taken that particular dog out of spite because it was her favorite of the two. A canvass of the neighborhood yielded one witness who gave a description of a man who was in the neighborhood earlier in the day asking about any residents with dogs. The case remained open for further investigation.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 23

PARKING DISPUTE

11:48 a.m., 1500 block of 30th Street

Dispute: An ongoing parking dispute developed into confrontation that brought police the scene of multiple women involved in a verbal altercation. The complainant stated she parked at the location to unload food when she was confronted by two women. During the argument, the complainant said one of the women was beating on her trunk, although no damage was observed. The officer spoke with the subjects,

who said the altercation stemmed from an incident the previous night and they believed the complainant purposely blocked their vehicle to start the conflict. The officer advised both parties to refrain from interacting with each other.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 16

WOMEN SCORNED

5:15 a.m., 2700 block of Noble Avenue

Disturbance: An argument over infidelity likely led to the slashing of four tires, a man told police. The accused woman, though, suggested the damage was done by one of the other women he was involved with. The complainant, the man’s ex-girlfriend, said the pair had been together for 26 years and recently separated. She said he was spending the night with her and had been drinking when he starting an argument about her seeing other men. After the argument became aggressive the man attempted to leave, but when backing out of the parking space discovered all four tires had been slashed. He attempted to re-enter the residence, accusing the woman of causing the damage, prompting her to call law enforcement. The man admitted he never saw the woman leave the home with an object that could slash tires.

With conflicting stories regarding the tire damage and no security video available, the two were advised to separate for the rest of the night.

The coming revival of unbiased journalism

A local Colorado newspaper was founded with one idea in mind: report the news objectively, and keep opinions on the opinion page. We applaud its efforts and strive to do the same.

VINCE BZDEK EDITOR, COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE, SEPT. 17, 2022

Acolleague asked me over lunch recently whether anyone really values unbiased news anymore. Or even recognizes what it is.

“Hell yes,” was my response.

I actually think people are crying out for more rigorous, agenda-free journalism, even if they don’t know exactly what that looks like now, or remember the days before cable TV and the internet, when all news aspired to be unbiased and straight.

Filling that gap was the main reason we launched The Denver Gazette two years ago this week.

The goal was simple: Revive a tradition of strong, balanced local news in Denver. We weren’t seeing much unbiased news in the city. It seemed like every outlet still standing had some sort of lean to it, The Denver Post, The Colorado Sun, Westword, Colorado Public Radio, not to mention national media outlets that were building business models around their partisanship, like MSNBC and Fox News. And all the slanted news was getting sloshed together with opinion and clickbait and even disinformation on social media. It’s gotten pretty confusing out there in the media Wild West.

What if we revived a journalism model that did its damnedest not to spin the facts, and at the same time included a full range of Colorado’s voices?

We launched The Denver Gazette with the belief that balanced, rigorous journalism is about to make a comeback, and we’re hoping to lead the way in Colorado.

We journalists need to be better at explaining the value proposition of such journalism, since many folks have now grown up without it. True journalists believe journalism’s role is to report as completely and fairly as possible all the verifiable facts so readers can decide for themselves what the truth is. We do not believe journalism should try to direct readers to a certain viewpoint. We should aim to inform, not lecture or divide.

For journalists at all of our publications — The Denver Gazette, The Colorado Springs Gazette and Colorado Politics — fairness is our guiding light. Fairness means an open-minded pursuit of the truth, a willingness to genuinely listen to all relevant parties and a commitment to thorough research of the facts, following them wherever they take us.

It means ensuring that our reporting is rooted in evidence, expertise and experience. Once we have done that, we endeavor to tell our readers what we’ve learned honestly, straightforwardly and

fearlessly, without personal opinion or bias.

My wife is pretty sick of hearing me talk about these values and how much of journalism seems to have lost them and why it is so vital for the future of our country to bring them back. “So then why do you have opinion pages?” she asks.

“Why do you endorse candidates if you’re trying to be as fair and balanced as possible?”

Some media outlets have done away with opinion pages and endorsements to answer that question. But I tell her that canceling viewpoints or canceling the entire conversation among various viewpoints doesn’t serve our democracy well. We’re already too siloed; we’ve gotten bad at discourse. Instead, we should be encouraging courageous conversations among viewpoints, not suppressing the exchange of ideas. And newspapers can do that well. We’ve been doing it well for 100 years after all.

We include opinions in our daily report because we believe the broader the range of voices in our paper, the more representative our coverage will be.

At their best, daily newspapers are a place where everyone can gather and be heard, a tent big enough for us to hash out our differences with respect for one another. We launched The Denver Gazette with the strong belief that not all Denver’s voices, and Colorado’s voices, were being heard, and the conversation in Colorado wasn’t wide open enough.

We believe that by bringing together the community’s voices and our journalism in a daily package, we provide an irreplaceable public service. By partnering with us by subscribing, our readers help us sustain local journalism’s essential mission of shining light on our community and ensuring the public’s right to know.

So I tell my wife, yeah, our paper delivers news and opinion, but we believe in keeping a bright, sharp line between the two. Opinion will appear on opinion pages, and news on news. The problem with much of the internet and cable TV is the two are smooshed together with no clear distinction between the two.

But there’s been an interesting development in national media recently that makes me think we’re on the right track.

I’m talking about CNN, which became a punching bag during the Trump administration as it played up partisanship to brand itself as an alternative to Fox News, encouraging its newscasters to voice their opinions when reporting on Trump.

But CNN is under new management now and recently announced an effort to return to its roots and inject more balance into its programming.

Longtime Colorado businessman and philanthropist John

Malone, chairman of Douglas County-based Liberty Media Corp., is a member of the Warner Discovery board of directors, which now owns CNN.

Malone said in a CNBC interview last November that “I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing.”

Similarly, Warner Discovery President and CEO David Zaslav said at a company town hall in April that CNN should set itself apart from “advocacy networks.” CNN needs to be about reporting, truth and facts, he said.

“If we get that, we can have a civilized society,” said Zaslav. “And without it, if it all becomes advocacy, we don’t have a civilized society.”

As a result, the new CEO of CNN, Chris Licht, recently fired left-leaning anchor Brian Stelter and moved left-leaning anchor Don Lemon from prime time to a revamped morning show. Licht wants to eliminate extreme points of view from panel discussions. He wants to eliminate reports that traffic in “outrage porn” just to get viewers and clicks. He ordered that the on-air “breaking news” banner be reserved for real breaking news.

Some media watchers suggest Malone is the driving force behind this CNN overhaul.

Wouldn’t it be something if the revival of robust, nonpartisan journalism at a local and national level was birthed right here in Colorado?

We believe such a revival is inevitable, because good journalism is the lifeblood of a good community, and public enlightenment is essential to good government. When local journalism thrives, democracy thrives.

In the end, we’re talking about journalism that trusts and respects that its readers will know the truth when they see it.

As Augustine of Hippo once said: “The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.”

Publisher’s Note: This column is reprinted with permission from The Colorado Springs Gazette. It has been edited for space.

Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944

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New performance hall critical for city

BY KEN SHELIN GUEST COLUMNIST

Whenever we talk about new projects involving public funding in Sarasota, it’s essential to consider whether a project is a wise use of money and whether it will pay off for us as a city. It is also critical that we make decisions on these projects based on facts.

There’s a lot of false and misleading information being spread about the city’s plans for a new performing arts center, and unfortunately, some opinions are not based in real ity. In short, the current Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall does not work for the future: It’s too small to be competitive for some of the most popular national touring shows, its infrastructure is failing, it lacks current technology and it’s not built to cope with sea level rise. It would cost more to rehabilitate the building than to start fresh. Expanding the seating capacity of the Van Wezel would essentially demolish and reconstruct most of the structure and the foundation. Such changes would likely affect the shape of the building, sight lines and acoustics.

To learn more about the condition of the current facility, I did some research and also recently took a behind-the-scenes tour. Here’s what I found:

n The roof is tin, uninsulated and past its warranty. Replacing it would cost millions of dollars. When interior humidity is high, condensation can drip into the auditorium.

n Interior flooding and moisture are serious problems: Linoleum covering the concrete floors has to

be replaced every two years. When holes have been drilled in the basement flooring in the past, ground water has come up. And elevator shafts flood occasionally.

n The building has inadequate space for the operating kitchen, the cleaning staff, the maintenance shop, the wood shop, the metal shop and equipment storage.

n The dressing rooms are below sea level, making them damp and causing buckling of linoleum coverings, creating risk of injuries.

n There is little off-stage space, making it difficult to maneuver set and prop changes during large shows. There’s only one loading dock door with three bays for the up to 19 tractor-trailers that must be unloaded for large shows.

n The lack of a center seating aisle causes hassles for patrons, and creates problems for sound and light operators who normally locate at the back of that aisle. The operators must locate to either side of the auditorium, which results in missing lighting and sound cues from the stage. Sound equipment mounted on the side walls of the

auditorium also blocks sight lines.

Even with an expensive, complicated facelift, we’d still end up with an aging building and now one with higher maintenance and operating costs and the lack of flexibility of uses that a new center would provide.

Tourism and the arts and culture are the bedrock of Sarasota’s economy. The creation of the Van Wezel helped cement Sarasota’s reputation as Florida’s cultural capital. The city has done a stellar job of operating it successfully, but time and economics have not been kind to the facility and unfortunately, everything has a shelf life.

When you look at this project, it’s important to consider the economic impact of the arts on our community and how a new performing arts center would boost that. According to a 2017 economic impact study by Americans for the Arts for Sarasota/Manatee Counties, local industry expenditures amounted to $341 million, and 8,705 jobs were generated related to the arts.

Sarasota has sun and sand like many other cities throughout Flor-

ida, but what makes us different is our incredibly diverse performing and visual arts industry. This difference is what makes us attractive to visitors and encourages people to consider Sarasota as a place to relocate or start a business.

Government’s role in our economy should be proactive. It plays an important role in shaping our local economy, and it’s essential that the city take steps to assure the continued vibrancy of our bedrock arts and culture industry. We are fortunate that this project is being driven by a public-private partnership that’s a best practice model for performing arts centers around the country.

I urge Sarasota citizens to look at the facts about this project and make their decisions accordingly. I believe that when you do, you will agree with me that this is a game-changer project for our city’s future.

Ken Shelin is an active community leader and former city of Sarasota commissioner.

Van Wezel

Arts Hall does

the future.

Courtesy photo

The roof on the Van Wezel is made of tin and is past its warranty.

SARASOTA FROM

SPENCER FORDIN

A+E EDITOR

Landscape photographer John Kincaid has been all over the world hanging out of helicop ters and diving under water in search of the most striking images.

And every time he’s clicked the shutter, he’s been chasing a shot from Sarasota.

Kincaid, who’s about to have his own photography exhibit at Art Ova tion, first visited Sarasota when he was in high school. He can remem ber immediately being entranced by Siesta Key’s beauty, but also he recalls dropping his camera and acci dentally catching a unique image.

“I thought it was the most beauti ful place I’ve ever seen,” says Kincaid, decades later. “I had this disposable camera, and I remember I dropped it in the sand. When I picked it up, I hit the shutter. That was one of my first times doing something unexpected. I have that shot to this day. It was a purple sky, like an inch above the sand. That was a turning point in my artistic journey. I’ve tried to go back

whenever I could.”

Now, Kincaid is creating his indel ible images quite intentionally.

He first forged a career in software development for 15 years, and then he decided he’d rather chase his pho tography dreams for a living.

Kincaid has opened permanent galleries in Bora Bora and in Viet nam, and he hopes to have a more lasting presence in Sarasota once his exhibition closes.

The photographer says his parents moved here briefly when he was in college, and when his wife was preg nant, they came down here for their last hurrah before becoming parents.

He has so much history in Sara sota that he knew exactly how to approach it as a photographic sub ject: from above the clouds and along the beach line.

Kincaid came down here in Febru ary for his first pass at photographing the area, and he contracted Sarasota Helicopter Tours to fly him over the Siesta Key beaches.

The photography came easily; he only needed three trips over the key to get the images he wanted.

Then he spent the next few months trying to line up a place to show them.

“Our work is a tough industry. For my whole career, I’ve just done my own galleries,” says Kincaid, who will be at Art Ovation from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17. “When I got in touch with Art Ovation, they were really receptive, and it’s right downtown in the arts district. It’s a good stepping point, but I’m still working on something for St. Armands Circle.

“I’m all in on this. I’ve just got to find the right place.”

Kincaid, chatting with the Observer from Bora Bora, says he’s looking forward to meeting with Sarasota residents during his time at Art Ovation. His photos are available for purchase from his website, but he hopes being in town will allow for a bit more personal interaction.

His shots show you exactly the side of Sarasota you might expect. There’s elevated shots of beachgoers enjoying the weather and postcard perfect pictures of the sunset.

ABOVE

His love affair with Sarasota started early, but now John Kincaid returns as a master of aerial landscapes.

Photo by Spencer Fordin

John Kincaid stands on a Sarasota runway in February.

SEE LANDSCAPES, PAGE 13A

Every pixel tells a story in John Kin caid’s “Siesta Key Beach.”

Photo courtesy of John Kincaid

Kids in the hall

Take a field trip with the Sarasota Orchestra, which will play several concerts for area schools and wrap it all up with a free evening performance for families.

SPENCER FORDIN A+E EDITOR

famous overture is building to crescendo. The orchestra is playing at full steam, and out in the audience there’s a sea of children pretending to ride on horse back.

That’s a scene from a previous edi tion of the Sarasota Orchestra’s fam ily concert, and for Alyson Rozier, it’s most notable for a regular attendee getting in on the fun. Rozier, the orchestra’s director of education, says she can still see it in her mind.

“My favorite story from a few years ago. One of the donors, a sweetheart lady in her 90s, she’s sitting there and we were doing William Tell,” she says. “The kids were jumping up and down pretending like they were riding a horse to William Tell. So she joined in, and it’s just hilarious to see this 90-year-old lady bouncing up and down pretending to ride a horse.

“We were like, ‘This is what it’s about. You’re supposed to enjoy music like this and have this much fun.’”

The family concert, long a staple of the orchestra season, fell victim to the pandemic and has not been presented since 2019.

But it’s back on the agenda this year, and the orchestra will play a free concert for area families Oct. 7 at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

That show is part of a busy week for the musicians that will see them play for nearly all of the area’s fourth and fifth graders. The Sarasota Orches tra will play nine performances in the space of four days, bringing nearly 10,000 kids for a life-changing experience.

“We have full halls for these shows,” says concertmaster Daniel Jordan, whose 9-year-old son, Spencer, will be in attendance at the family con cert. “I think that’s really exciting for the kids to be in a big concert hall like that and to see all the other kids. They ride the buses there and get to be part of a big experience.”

Jordan, in fact, said his son got to be a part of the last family concert in 2009. Young Spencer was sitting in the second row and was called up to be a guest conductor, which meant that he got to tell both his mother and his father how to play violin.

“I have a great picture of him con ducting with my wife and I in the shot playing violin,” says Jordan.

“He still talks about conducting the Sarasota Orchestra on the Van Wezel stage.”

And that’s exactly the point; the Sarasota Orchestra is hoping to introduce kids to classical music and to the concert experience at an early age. The hope is that it will represent an indelible memory and that it will spur the kids to a lifelong apprecia tion for the arts.

Rozier, now in her 18th season as part of the orchestra’s education program, says that there are 235 kids in the regular Youth Orchestra afterschool program. They range in age from nine to 21, and there are eight different groupings dependent on both age and ability.

Those kids are already bitten by the classical music bug, says Rozier, and the family concert represents an opportunity to recruit kids who haven’t picked up an instrument yet.

“They don’t know if they like it until they’re exposed,” she says.

“The majority of kids that attend a concert or Youth Orchestra, they’re not going to study music. But we want them to have an appreciation for it. We want you to go to a concert later. We want you to allow your kids to learn an instrument. If you get a stressful career in medicine or law, what’s your outlet going to be? Music can always be a part of your life.”

IF

When:

orchestra. The music itself is really good. And every single section in the orchestra gets a chance to shine.”

p.m.,

Where: Van Wezel Performing

N. Tamiami

Info: SarasotaOrchestra.org.

This music, especially, can appeal to all ages.

The orchestra will be playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” as part of this show, and it will also play Ros sini’s “Overture to the Barber of Seville,” which suspended adoles cents of all ages may recall from a famous Bugs Bunny cartoon.

But the biggest part of the show will be composer Greg Smith’s “The Animated Orchestra,” which invites audience participation and even gives the orchestra some acting roles.

“There’s a whole story,” says Jor dan. “There’s a narrator, there’s audience involvement and there’s musician acting involvement which is really fun for us. By the end of it, the audience is in stitches and it’s also a really great way to feature the

In the weeks before the concerts, the Sarasota Orchestra sends out an informational packet to all of the participating schools that includes lessons about the composers and the history of the pieces.

But it also includes hands-on activities that invite the students to try drumming, singing and dancing.

Then, when the kids enter the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, they’re primed for what they’re about to see, and they’re encouraged to play along from their seats.

“There’s a whole different energy when you’ve got kids,” says Jordan.

“You break some of the barriers for a normal concert-going experience, which I think is a good thing. There’s also such an excitement; it’s really inspiring for the people up on stage to get to experience it from the eyes of kids maybe seeing an orchestra concert for the first time.

“Even just walking into the concert hall, seeing those faces, or hearing the way they cheer when the con ductor walks out. It’s just different.

It’s not polite clapping. It’s a clap ping of excitement and wonder.”

Courtesy photo

The Sarasota Orchestra is excited to have kids back in the hall for its annual family concert.

Landscapes

FROM PAGE 11A

Kincaid says he doesn’t map out his shots beforehand because of the nature of helicopter photography.

“We’re doing these circles around Siesta Key. The light changes so quickly,” he says. “Everything depends on how many people there are on the beach and where the light is hitting. You just have to commu nicate with the pilot as best you can and get the shots you need.

“I try not to plan too hard because you’re almost never going to get that exact shot.”

That’s the hard part about shoot ing from the sky. The helicopter is moving and so are you. But from the ground, says Kincaid, you can con trol all the elements a little bit better.

There are no underwater shots in his current Sarasota collection, but Kincaid took a variety of shots from the beach to provide a different perspective on life in Sarasota.

“To really know a place, you have to do both,” he says. “When you can see things from the ground, you can plan what you’re going to do.

“I really started off loving the aeri als, but I also have this quad panel of the four Siesta Key Beach chairs that came very close to my heart.”

That shot — the quad panel of the lifeguard chairs — actually made Kincaid break a sweat.

He started out shooting just after sunrise, and the sun was lighting up the back of the yellow lifeguard stand in a way that made him take notice.

Then he had what he describes as

IF YOU GO

JOHN KINCAID: SIESTA KEY, SARASOTA

When: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Oct. 11-17

Where: Art Ovation, 1255 N. Palm Ave.

Tickets: Free

Info: KincaidGalleries.com/ Sarasota or KincaidGalleries. com/VIP

an epiphany.

He could shoot all the lifeguard stands and infuse his sunrise shot with colors that speak to everybody.

All it took was a little hustle.

“Here I am running down Siesta Key Beach with my tripod and all my gear to get the next one. And the next one,” he says. “I got to the end and the light had changed a little bit.

“Ever so slightly. And it was better. So I start again, run all the way back and get them all.”

Kincaid likes to say that everybody in today’s society is a photographer.

If you have a phone in your pocket, then you too are capable of creating striking artistic images.

But if you’re going to try to cre ate a gigantic photograph with crisp details, you need a little better tech nology. Kincaid says that the 100 megapixel cameras he works with are unforgiving in that they can focus on minute areas with great clarity. That also means your shot has to be per fect, because when the images are blown up, any imperfection will be plainly evident.

“I’m shooting all in manual. You have to move very quickly,” he says.

“If you’re off just a little bit, the shot will look good on your computer but it’s not printable. In my whole career, whenever I have something on the wall, people don’t just stand back and look at it. They walk up to it, and their noses are almost touching the print so they can see the detail.”

The photographer still holds his initial impressions of Sarasota close to his heart, and that’s why he’s look ing forward to meeting the public at Art Ovation.

He’s planning on being at the exhibit every day from 4 to 9 p.m., and he wants to line up individual

appointments for any potential cus tomers who would like to sit down with them.

He wants to hear their stories; he wants to know which places they feel are most emblematic of home.

And if he sends a print to you, you can expect it to have the scent of coconut and vanilla.

“I’m looking forward to being able to talk about it and hearing other people’s stories about their first time at Siesta Key Beach,” he says. “I’m hoping people have had those experiences in Sarasota and want to bring them home.”

Photo courtesy of John Kincaid

John Kincaid’s “Siesta Sunset” perfectly captures the curvature of Siesta Key.

WEEK

THURSDAY

KALOS

7 p.m. at Fogartyville, 525 Kumquat Court

$18 members; $20 nonmembers; $13 students Visit WSLR.org/Fogartyville.

This trio has mastered the sounds of Celtic music both on their own and collectively. Ryan McKasson, a former U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, has teamed with guitarist Eric McDonald and accordion player Jeremiah McLane to form a touring trio that plays traditional music while still finding ways to make the material sound fresh.

SATURDAY

SHOP ON APRICOT

Creative Liberties

10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Creative Liberties, 901B Apricot Ave.

Free Visit CreativeLiberties.org.

You can have your art and frame it too. This popup market event is a cooperative partnership between Creative Liberties and The Green Bazaar, and it will allow you to see the works of several local artists and buy them on the spot. There will be food and drinks available, and you’ll be able to chat with the artists who created the work.

CELEBRATING LGBTQ + CINEMA

2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Burns Court Cinema, 506 Burns Court $8-$10

Visit FabAF.org.

It’s a triple-header of films celebrating diverse viewpoints at Burns Court Cinema. The event, organized by the Fabulous Arts Foundation, will bring three distinct pairings of works. “1987” and “Rebel Dykes” will be shown at 2:30 p.m.; “Fractal Visions” and “Art and Pep” will play at 4:30 p.m.; and “Dracudate” and “Death and Bowling” will show at 7:30 p.m.

‘OUT OF BOUNDS’

Florida Studio Theatre

7:30 p.m. at Bowne’s Lab, 1265 First St. $12-$15

Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

The improv artists at Florida Studio Theatre are pulling out all the stops for this show, which pits two teams of expert ad-libbers against each other in competitive rounds of impromptu songs, spontaneous scenes and fast-paced games. Who will win? Let the audience decide.

TUESDAY

CHARLOTTE SORSEN — ‘WALKING ON CLOUDS’ 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Island Gallery West, 5368 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach Free

Visit IslandGalleryWest.Artspan. com/home.

The vibrant and colorful acrylic paintings of Charlotte Sorsen will be the featured gallery attraction at Island Gallery West for all of October. Sorsen, who studied at the New England School of Art and Design,

doesn’t just paint; she also works in glass-making, glass beads, jewelry and clothing design. But this show will be based around her paintings and around her artist’s eye perspective of the Gulf Coast waters, skies, clouds, birds and plants.

WEDNESDAY

‘THE ’70S: MORE THAN A DECADE’ 7:30 p.m. at Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $18 Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Go back in time with the Florida Studio Theatre cabaret and chair-dance along to the most beloved songs of a consequential decade that started more than 50 years ago. This show — written by Rebecca Hopkins, Richard Hopkins and Sarah Durham with musical arrangements by Jim Prosser — will hit the high notes on transformative artists like Marvin Gaye, The Who, The Bee Gees and more.

DON’T MISS

SUNDAY

MAGNIFICENT MARKOVS

*This performance has been postponed due to Hurricane Ian. Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org for information on the rescheduled date.

This family act is ready to take the violin to the farthest frontier. Alexander Markov, an electric violinist who won the Gold Medal at the Paganini International Violin Competition, will play with his virtuoso parents Albert and Marina Markov. The family will bring you both the classical sound of the violin but also the contemporary notes of rock and pop.

MONDAY

FREE MONDAYS

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Free Visit Ringling.org.

The Ringling Museum opens the doors to its art collection and its Bayfront Gardens for free on Mondays, allowing you to stroll through one of Sarasota’s most scenic and artistically enriching locations without opening your wallet. Ca’ d’Zan is not included in Free Mondays and, in fact, will not open back up to the public until Oct. 4.

“Classically rocking violin

the line between classical, rock and pop.

Enquirer

Violin phenom Alexander Markov unites with his gifted violinist parents Albert and Marina and the “first family of violin” presents classical favorites. Alexander and his electric gold violin are then joined by Key Chorale and the Booker High School VPA Choir for his original composition, Caesar, for electric violin, organ, choir, percussion, rhythm section, and orchestral musicians.

View our schedule of 25 concerts at

office: 941-306-1202

‘GUYS AND DOLLS’ Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is telling you a classic story of gangsters and the women who love them. The play, based on the short stories of Damon Runyon, first made it to Broadway on 1950 and was selected as the 1951 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The show’s music and lyrics were written by Frank Loesser, and Jim Weaver will direct the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe pro duction. The show will still be in preview mode when you see it; Guys and Dolls will begin its theatrical run in earnest on Oct. 8 and it will run all the way through Nov. 20.

IF YOU GO When: 7:30 p.m., Oct. 5 Where: Donelly The atre, 1012 N. Orange Ave. Tickets: $20-$38 Info: Westcoast BlackTheatre.org.

‘LEAD WITH A LAUGH’ 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail Free with museum admission Visit SarasotaArtMuseum.org.

Sure, you’ve considered doing your family tree. But have you considered doing it as a collection of beaded portraits? Artist brothers Steven and William Ladd have created a rich and varied body of work based on their family history and memories, and the last decade of their work is currently displayed at Sarasota Art Museum until February. You’ll see their family tree, a representation of their home property in New York and wall hangings made in several different colors and textures.

OUR PICK DISCOVERIES: MOZART AND TCHAIKOVSKY The Sarasota Orchestra kicks off its winter season with masters who may have admired each other. Guest conductor Nic McGegan, music director laureate of San Francisco’s Philharmonica Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, will lead the musicians through the works of Mozart and Tchaikovsky. The latter artist, the composer of Swan Lake, famously said that he not only loves Mozart; he worships him. Guest cellist Zlatomir Fung will take on a starring role on Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.

*This performance is canceled due to Hurricane Ian. Ticketholders can request an account credit, receive a refund or donate their tickets at SarasotaOrchestra.org.

COUPLES COOKING: DISHES FROM PUERTO RICO 6:00 p.m. at Publix Aprons Cooking School, 2875 University Parkway $110 Visit ApronsCookingSchool.Publix. com.

It’s a hands-on date night activity that may fire your belly for years. Aprons Cooking School is presenting an evening of Puerto Rican cooking for couples, and you’ll learn how to make four widely varying dishes: corn fritters with cheese, chicken empanadas, rice and beans with a plantain casserole and creamy coconut pudding. Wine will be included as part of the evening; all chefs must be 18 years old, and wine will only be served to chefs 21 and older. Put a little spice in your dating life and in the meals you can cook at home.

Theater...

CAT CARE CLINIC

Open to the Public

2542 17th St., Sarasota, FL 34234

For pricing and services, go to www.catdepot.org

By Appointment Only - 941.366.CATS (2287) 379616-1

Dance... where it all

20th

Visual Art...

“Violin and Voice”

Thursday, October 6 @ 6pm • Bay Preserve (Osprey)

Violinist and Beyoncé collaborator Lady Jess combines her talent with award-winning playwright Terry Guest in this dynamic program of words and music Presented in partnership with Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast

“As the Musical Turns: A Soap Inspiration”

Friday, October 21 @ 6pm • Hermitage Beach (Manasota Key) Pulitzer Prize and 2022 Tony Award winner Michael R. Jackson will share how soap operas and other sources of inspiration have shaped his work. Presented in partnership with Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe

“Composition to Performance: Music Start to Finish”

Friday, October 28 @ 5:30pm • Hermitage Beach (Manasota Key) Composer Nkeiru Okoye and musician David “Doc” Wallace discuss the process of making music, from imagination to interpretation.389453-1

To register (required) for upcoming programs:

(941)

YOUR NEIGHBORS

Let’s get nautical

LESLEY DWYER STAFF WRITER

An all-women’s club has been sailing the waters around Sarasota and Longboat Key for 50 years, but somewhere along the line, Luff ing Lassies became a more suitable name than the original, Sarasota Sailing and Sinking Society.

Luffing means to steer a boat up into the breeze and is a more apt moniker for this group that not only enjoys the wind-driven, nautical pursuit but also teaches it every Sep tember during a two-week course.

“A lot of times, women crew for their husbands or boyfriends or on other boats,” Donna Hillmyer said. “With this, you are the one driving the boat, going where you want to, and it’s your challenge that you’re taking on. It’s really empowering.”

The first week is spent on the basics. The second prepares pro spective Lassies to race. The Lassies operate under the larger umbrella of the Florida Women’s Sailing Asso ciation and every Thursday during race season, they race a different club from the association.

Some Lassies start off knowing how to sail, while others start from scratch. But they all have to attend the learning sessions.

“We like them to come in for these two weeks because they create a bond with those women. The camaraderie is just stronger.” Hillmyer said. “It’s like going through hell week together. They have a really good time.”

The first day takes place under the pavilion at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron, the Lassies’ home base on City Island. Prospective Lassies rotate through three stations on land before a swim test.

Lassies learn to sail on Sunfish, personal-sized craft with a single sail. One is set up on land so the women can learn how to hold the tiller, which steers the boat. Another station is set up to learn how to tie

Women’s club promotes sailing and racing, but it all starts with a two-week introduction to knots, tillers and more.

sailing knots. And the final station offers practice on ducking under the sail when changing direction — or jibing.

After practice on land wraps up, the women are told to jump off the dock into Sarasota Bay, once wearing a life vest and once without.

“It’s so we know and they know that when they hit the water, because you often swim more than you sail in the beginning, that they aren’t nervous and won’t react adversely,” Hillmyer said.

Carrie Seven moved from St. Lou is this past year and is one of the 10 women enrolled this year. She heard of the Lassies in 2018 when her sail ing club in St. Louis, the Flying Scots, participated in the squadron’s Mid winter Regatta.

“I absolutely fell in love with the place,” Seven said, adding she had a Sunfish at home and was told about the local racing club. “I said that’s where I want to be in the next four to five years, whenever my boys are out of the nest.”

The boys left the nest last year, and at age 51, Seven headed for Sarasota.

Thirty women applied this year, but there were only 10 spots avail able. Some women realize before and during the classes that sailing isn’t for them, but the class size is inten tionally kept small because it’s easier to teach a smaller group.

Adding this year’s recruits to the roster makes a total of 100 Lassies. Ages in the group vary from the mid40s to the 80s.

If a member can’t sail anymore,

they can stay on as a social Lass ie and continue to attend parties. Retired Lassies also have their own club called the Anchors. They meet for lunch once a month.

Rita Steele, Hillmyer’s mother, has been in the club since 1979 and is still an active Lassie.

But Steele hadn’t sailed a day before joining. During her first race, everyone else had made it through the course and were waiting to start the second race.

“They came out and said you have to go back to the start, so that’s how I started,” she said. “So it’s possible for everybody to learn how to sail, and we have so much fun.”

One station is set up to teach knot tying.

The current Lassies out on the water while the prospective Lassies learn on land for the day.

Carrie Seven is new to the Lassies, while Donna Hillmyer was practically born into the group. Her mother joined in 1979.

Photos by Lesley Dwyer

The prospective Lassies jump off the dock at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron for the mandatory swim test.

Strong arms raise money for mental health

Jewish Family & Children’s Service of the Suncoast on Saturday relied on a gymnasium staple to help raise money to further its mission to offer a range of programs to help youth, teens, adults and seniors cope with long and short-term mental health challenges.

Dozens of people showed up at the Sarasota Classic Car Museum on Tamiami Trail to do as many pushups as they could as part of a pledge challenge to raise money.

During the event, participants exercised at their own pace competing not against each other but against their goals. Many worked out for a few minutes, recorded their progress, rested and went at it again.

In the first hour, several participants were in the range of 200-400 completed. Hard-core athletes and kids took part side by side as public-address host Ed Robinson urged them on with trivia, such as the world record for pushups in an hour: 3,182.

“I’m breaking a sweat just watching,’’ he said.

It wasn’t all just perspiration and philanthropy, though. Sponsors offered goody bags and an ice cream truck stood by outside for a quick blast of carbs and calories.

—ERIC GARWOOD

11-year-old Isiah Collins met a new friend.

Shannon Corrasco was up to about 450 pushups after the first hour.

Photos by Eric Garwood

to the floor of the Sarasota Classic Car Museum on Tamiami Trail.

Keyan Thorne, left, and Joseph Toddman of Bradenton’s Southeast High School worked together as a team.

Auxiliary 1st Vice President Andrea Andrus with Ning Qin and Maggie Shaw

SPARCC gets season off and running

The Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center started its season by welcoming supporters to a coffee get together on Sept. 21.

Members met at the Sarasota Yacht Club and learned about SPARCC’s services and plans for this coming fundraising season.

SPARCC President & CEO Jessica Hays thanked the audience for attending and brought up the importance of coming SPARCC events — including a card and game party, a golf tournament, a holiday luncheon and the annual gala — and how they provide funding for the organization’s work helping people who are experiencing abuse.

The SPARCCle by the Sea gala is scheduled for Nov. 18 at the Westin Sarasota.

—HARRY SAYER

TRIBUTES

Samuel G.H. Turner II 1941-2022

Nantucket, MA- Samuel Gilbert Hathaway Turn er II passed away peace fully Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022 with his children beside him. He was 80.

Born in Elmira, N.Y. on Aug. 31, 1941, to Barbara Clute Turner and Hathaway Turner, he grew up on Sene ca Lake with his beloved sis ter, Wendy Turner Maxwell.

He shared a love of cars, engines and machines with his father, and boating with his mother. He graduated from Choate and attended Union College, where he met Frances Hetherington Con nor at a party. They married on July 13, 1963 and moved to Rochester, N.Y., where he was embraced as a son by Heather’s parents, Ruth Ma comber Connor and Samuel Powers Connor Jr.

Sam drove school buses and was a volunteer fire fighter while he finished his degree at the Univer sity of Rochester (1967), and Hether taught biology at Rush-Henrietta High School. He joined Sam Con nor in the insurance busi ness, becoming a partner at Amsden-Connor-Mitchell.

Sam continued to enjoy his love of vintage cars and rac ing through involvement in the SCCA and Riter Resto rations with his friend Barry Brown.

He volunteered his time with many nonprofit organi zations, including Roches ter’s PBS station Channel 21,

His happy place, his natural habitat, was to be surrounded by family and friends, especially grandchildren.

Community Chest, United Way, Allendale Columbia School, and was a partner in many of Hether’s projects.

They were founding members of Christ Clarion Church (Pittsford, N.Y.), and active members at Third Presbyterian Church (Rochester, N.Y.), Siesta Key Chapel (FL), and First Congregational Church (Nantucket) where Sam loved giving tours of the tower overlooking the island. Our minister, Ruth Smalt, was miraculously on Island and visited Sam with song and prayer on his last day.

They raised three children in Rochester and Nantucket: Michele MacCaul Turn-

er (Geoffrey Friedman) of Northampton, MA, Samuel Connor Turner (Anne Cassidy) of Sonoma, CA, and Robert DeWitt Turner (Megan Sweeny) of Nantucket, MA, along with 10 grandchildren: Grace, Jack, Alice, Lucy, Hazel, Sam, Mae, Alex, Jeremiah and Ellie, ranging in ages from 12-27.

Sam lived his life with kindness as his North Star.

He was always present in his children’s lives. He was fun.

He could fix anything, and always needed a “helper.”

His children had lots of wheels and motors: bikes, go-karts, snowmobiles, boats and vintage cars. He helped with math homework, and with finding vans to take on cross-country adventures. He was a thoughtful listener and a great cheerleader, who acted as a father figure to many of his children’s cousins, friends and those in need.

His happy place, his

Non Surgical Treatment for Benign Thyroid Nodules

natural habitat, was to be surrounded by family and friends, especially grandchildren. Seven days before his death, he was out to dinner with a table full of kids, telling stories and feeling ever grateful.

The family is thankful for the many people who looked after Sam with such loving care, and who became his community wherever he was: Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket (PASCON), Best of Care, the staff and residents of Sherburne Commons, Fusaro’s, Downyflake, and the Siesta Key Village Cafe.

The family plans a memorial service to celebrate his life next summer.

Therapy to Sarasota

Even if they’re benign, thyroid nodules can greatly impact your quality of life, creating unsightly swelling in your neck, making it difficult or uncomfortable to swallow, and sometimes even affecting your ability to breathe easy throughout the day.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) provides a non-surgical alternative to reduce or shrink these nodules right in the doctor’s office. Performed by world-renowned thyroid and parathyroid surgeon, Dr. Ralph P. Tufano, this quick and minimally invasive procedure uses radiofrequency waves and heat — instead of blades and incisions — to treat the nodule, rarely ever compromising overall thyroid function.

262-0500

Photos by Harry Sayer

Bonnie Van OverBeke follows up in the program.

Avondale home sells for $3.4 million

ADAM HUGHES RESEARCH EDITOR

Ahome in Avondale tops all transactions in this week’s real estate. Robert Elmes and Lindsay Ann Wardman, of Longboat Key, sold their home at 1835 Lincoln Drive to James and Kathleen Haft, of Longboat Key, for $3,395,000. Built in 2000, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,476 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,635,000 in 2019.

SARASOTA

BOOTH’S Brian Edward O’Brien and Kathleen O’Brien, trustees, of Sarasota, sold the home at 1715 Arlington St. to Susan Moss, of Sarasota, for $2.65 million. Built in 2012, it has four bedrooms, four baths, a pool and 3,741 square feet of living area. It sold for $1.65 million in 2018.

BAY HAVEN

Theodore Coleman and Kasey Coleman, as Plenary Guardian, sold two properties at 2850 Bay Shore Road to Sara Hunt Bronson and Ronald Jay Bronson, of Sarasota, for $1.2 million. The first property was built in 1957, it has three bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,891 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1997, it has one bedroom, one bath and 638 square feet of living area.

LA LINDA TERRACE

Todd Mandell, trustee, sold the home at 2254 Hawthorne St. to Gerald Collins and Heidi Wilhelm, of Sarasota, for $1 million. Built in 2018, it has three bedrooms, twoand-a-half baths and 2,332 square feet. It sold for $720,000 in 2018.

Q Ellsworth Schave and Rachel Harrington, of Houston, sold their home at 236 Cosmopolitan Court to Morgan Steffes and Howard Steffes, of Sarasota, for $875,000. Built in 2015, it has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 1,929 square feet of living area. It sold for $650,000 in 2020.

RUSTIC LODGE

Norwood Restoration Group Inc. sold the home at 1307 Shade Ave. to Timothy Rice, of Seattle, for $780,000. Built in 1961, it has two bedrooms, one bath and 1,056 square feet of living area. It sold for $370,000 in January.

CORAL COVE Alberto Quesada and Marcia Vargas, of Memphis, sold their home at 1830 Upper Cove Terrace to Rachna Mohan and Justin Snyder, of Houston, for $775,000. Built in 1962, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,670 square feet of living area. It sold for $490,000 in 2019.

EUCLID Gary and Deborah Landsman, of Sarasota, sold their home at 2011 Euclid Terrace to Courtney and John Foley, of Montclair, New Jersey, for $733,000. Built in 1956, it has two bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,572 square feet of living area. It sold for $187,000 in 2013.

SOUTH GATE

Kelly Andrus, of Lake Lure, North Carolina, sold her home at 2511 Alpine Ave. to Robert and Sheridan Skinner, of Sarasota, for $675,000. Built in 1959, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,889 square feet of living area. It sold for $255,000 in 2019.

EAGLES POINT AT THE LANDINGS Florence and Thomas Harvey, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, sold their Unit 104 condominium at 5440 Eagles Point Circle to Jary and Patricia Ernberger, of Sarasota, for $650,000. Built in 1996, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,603 square feet of living area.

TOP BUILDING PERMITS

WILLOWBROOK

Cherie Broussard Lydick, trustee, and Peggy Demayo, of Conroe, Texas, sold the home at 9112 Willowbrook Drive to Alexey Ivanov and Zhanna Ivanova, of Sarasota, for $570,000. Built in 2001, it has three bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,278 square feet of living area.

GULF GATE

Jennifer Dubin, of Sarasota, sold her home at 7035 Antigua Place to Jeffrey and Julie Young, of Sarasota, for $550,000. Built in 1966, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 1,518 square feet of living area.

ONLINE

See more transactions at YourObserver.com

Other top sales by area

SIESTA KEY: $2.05 MILLION

Siesta Isles

Christopher Ebert, of Vernon, Ohio, sold his home at 5613 Cape Leyte Drive to Adrian Brown, of Fishers, Indiana, for $2.05 million. Built in 1967, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a pool and 2,752 square feet of living area. It sold for $875,000 in 2009.

PALMER RANCH: $1.29 MILLION

Turtle Rock

Leslie and Mary Ann Bildy, of Sarasota, sold their home at 4732 Sweetmeadow Circle to Daniel Paterson and Pamela Paterson, trustees, of Sarasota, for $1.29 million. Built in 1996, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 3,484 square feet of living area.

OSPREY: $2.19 MILLION

Oaks II Duncan and Pamela GoldieMorrison, of Darien, Connecticut, sold their home at 689 Eagle Watch Lane to Julian Joffe, trustee, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, for $2,187,500. Built in 1991, it has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 4,975 square feet of living area. It sold for $1,185,000 in 2021.

Eric Garwood

1835 Lincoln Drive was built in 2000 and has four bedrooms, four baths and a pool.

Fast Break

First and foremost: stay safe as Hurricane Ian approaches. Athletic ac tivities will return soon, but that is far less important than everything else happening

Middle schoolers on varsity football fields? It’s not likely to happen anytime soon for Florida High School Athletic Association schools. At a board of directors meeting held Monday in Gainesville, the FHSAA rejected a proposal that would have allowed high school football programs to play middle schools from feeder schools if said feeder school does not offer a football program.

Former Riverview High star, University of South Florida Hall of Famer and Booker High girls basketball coach Tia Grace has found a new gig. Grace will be the first girls basketball coach at Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy, a tuition-free public charter school which opened this school year. Grace went 49-31 in three seasons at Booker.

Venice High football coach John Peacock took to Twitter on Monday to announce that the Indians’ game against Riverview High, scheduled for Friday, would be postposed to either Oct. 7 or Oct. 10. In doing so, he called the game the Indians’ most important district game of the season — which could be considered a slight against Sarasota High, the third team in the district triumvirate. The Indians are 2-2; the Rams are 1-3; the Sailors are 3-2.

Sarasota High senior Alec Miller, a boys cross country runner, won the St. Leo Abbey Invitational (16:03.19), held Sept. 24 in St. Leo. Miller bested 250 other runners in the field and it was not close: second-place Kirin Karver, a Berkeley Prep senior, finished 19.24 seconds after Miller.

Tornadoes football growing, still learning

RYAN KOHN SPORTS EDITOR

The improvements are coming.

Booker High football Head Coach Scottie Littles knows they are — even if the team is experiencing growing pains in the meantime.

“I’d hate to play us in week eight or week nine,” Littles said. “I’d hate to see us when we finally figure it out. It’s learning moments (right now). The future is bright.”

Littles was speaking Sept. 23 after his team’s 42-28 road loss to Braden River High, a game in which the Tor nadoes (2-3) appeared to have the talent to go step for step with the perennially playoff-bound Pirates (3-1). Booker senior quarterback Will Carter Jr. had three touchdown passes of 50 yards or more: two to junior wideout Josiah Booker and one to senior wideout Omarion Pat terson. All three passes saw Booker and Patterson get behind the Pirates defense, where Carter threw passes that kept his receivers in stride.

Littles said the loss also fell on the shoulders of the coaching staff. After finding success in the passing game in the first half, the Tornadoes went to the running game in the second half, but found little room. The Tor nadoes ran for just 2.5 yards per carry in the game. Littles said in retrospect the team should have stuck with what was working instead of trying

to get their running backs going.

The game against Braden River was one of three 2022 games that Booker has lost but could have won if a handful of plays went differently. In the team’s season opener against Cardinal Mooney High on Aug. 26, the Tornadoes failed to score an offensive touchdown despite hav ing multiple possessions inside the red zone and lost 10-9. On Sept. 9, Booker lost 28-21 to Sarasota High and the red zone issues flared again: in five trips, Booker scored just one touchdown, but fumbled twice and was stopped on fourth and goal from the two yard line. On the other red zone possession, penalties forced the Tornadoes out of field goal range.

The losses were due to a lack of execution that Littles finds unac ceptable. Littles knows consistent excellence is a lot to ask of an inexpe rienced team in its first year under a new coach, but Littles does not lower

his expectations, no matter who he is coaching.

“A lot of these kids have never played football,” Littles said. “You have kids that we just found in the hallway and we’re trying to get them to play football. But we’re going to keep fighting. If we keep doing what we are doing some bounces are going to go our way.”

Despite holding a 2-3 record, the Tornadoes’ talent is causing other teams to take notice. Braden River Head Coach Curt Bradley was com plimentary of the Booker roster after the game, letting out a laugh at how improved this year’s team is com pared to previous years. The Tor nadoes went 0-8 in 2021 and 1-8 in 2020.

“Look, they’ve got some good athletes over there,” Bradley said.

ELSEWHERE ON THE GRIDIRON

n Sarasota High lost 3128 to Calvary Christian to fall to 3-2. The Sailors fell behind 21-0 before making it a competitive game late, even taking a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter before Calvary retook it.

n Cardinal Mooney High lost 41-21 to Carrollwood Day School to fall to 1-4.

The Cougars trailed 2721 in the fourth quarter before Carrollwood Day broke open the game.

n Sarasota and Cardinal Mooney are scheduled to play each other Friday at Mooney. The game will likely be rescheduled because of Hurricane Ian.

n Riverview High (1-3) had an off week. The Rams were scheduled to host Venice High (2-2) on Friday, but the game has been already been postponed to a TBD date.

File photo

Shantia Grace

The Tornadoes fell to 2-3 after a 42-28 loss to Braden River High on Sept. 23.

SEE FOOTBALL, PAGE 10B

Photos by Ryan Kohn

Braden River senior Connor Kisiah (2) lays a hit on Booker running back Ahmad Hunter. Despite a strong season, a Hunter and the Booker ground game struggled against the Pirates.

Booker wide receiver Omarion Patterson (6) hauls in a deep pass from Will Carter Jr.

Cougars volleyball sharpens claws

Now experienced — and fully healthy — the Cougars are ready

the regular season strong.

You know what they say: As soon as a talented team gets its bear ings, a hurricane hits.

OK, maybe no one says that. People might start saying it in reference the Cardinal Mooney High volleyball team, though, especially after this week.

The Cougars, perennial state contenders in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s ultra-competitive Class 3A, began their 2022 slate with their usual strategy of playing the hardest teams possible — all on the road, no less. This year’s schedule was even more difficult than most: Mooney has played the FHSAA’s No. 1, No. 2, No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 ranked teams in the state, in all classifications, as of Sept. 26, in addition to many other strong teams. Mooney, itself ranked 66th in the state and 17th in 3A, has gone 7-6 through the stretch.

At a glance, the record appears nothing special. For Mooney, which was 9-4 at this point of the season in 2021, it’s not. But the team feels it is much closer to the dominant Cougars teams of the past than it appears.

“Against Venice (High) it was 8-8 in the fifth set,” Mooney head coach Chad Davis said. “Against Tampa Prep we should have been up two sets to none, but we had a collapse in the second set. Against Carrollwood Day School, the final two sets were 25-23. But hey, no one’s going to feel sorry for us. It helps them, going through that adversity.”

Davis said the Carrollwood Day loss on Sept. 16, the team’s third defeat in a row, stung particularly

hard. It was a long bus ride back to Sarasota. But the following week, Davis and the team returned with a reset mindset. They focused on getting their mood right as much

as their play. It has helped; the team is 2-0 since then. Davis said the stretch also revealed “critical points” where the team needed to get better, like in its blocking.

Providing a different spark to the team was the return of one of Mooney’s stars, senior Madeline Carson, a middle hitter. Carson missed arguably the team’s toughest five-match stretch of the season — which included those three consecutive losses — with an injury. Davis said he believes could have won each of those contests if Carson, whom he called one of the five best volleyball players in the Sarasota area, had been available. It’s not an excuse for losing — Davis wants to emphasize that. But it might be reality. Cougars junior Helena Hebda, a setter/outside hitter, said Carson helps the team not just offensively but as a blocker.

Davis said when the team can pair Carson with Riley Greene, a sophomore middle blocker who stepped into Carson’s spot admirably while she was injured, on the court together, it makes the Cougars difficult to stop, especially with University of Texas commit Jordyn Byrd, a senior, crushing kills next to them, and Hebda setting them up. Davis made sure to give shouts to Katie Powers, the team’s sophomore libero, whom Davis said is the best libero in the area “by far,” as well as Sawyer DeYoung, a senior who stepped into an unfamiliar role as an outside hitter and is starting to find her groove.

After Carson’s return, the team had 3-0 sweeps of Sarasota Christian on Sept. 22 and Belleview High on Sept. 23. The Cougars were looking to extend that streak on Monday against the Classical Academy of Sarasota and on Tuesday against Bradenton Christian, but both matches were canceled because of precautions for Hurricane Ian. A tournament the team is scheduled to play at Venice High, to begin Sept. 30, likely will be canceled.

It is unknown when the Cougars will be allowed back in the gym. Davis said if the school’s gym is

open over the weekend, the team will use the opportunity to practice. While it is frustrating to have to stop now instead of carrying on the momentum from Carson’s return, Davis said he believes his players will be able to pick it up again.

Hebda echoed her coach’s sentiments. Hebda, a setter/outside hitter, said having to play the rescheduled matches in a compressed time period could be good preparation for the postseason. The FHSAA decided to shorten the length between playoff matches this year. In the past, teams could wait almost a full week between games. That won’t happen in 2022, when the playoffs will begin the week of Oct. 17 and end with the state championships Nov. 11-12 in Winter Haven, less than a month later.

Hebda said the rocky start did not cause the team’s confidence to waiver.

“If anything, I think we’re even more confident now,” Hebda said. “We know our potential. We see it every day in practice. We have been close against some great teams in terms of points and now we’re at full strength.”

Full disclosure: I was planning on going to Monday night’s match against Classical Academy. It would have been my first look at the team this season. While canceling the match, it became apparent, was the right move for the safety of all, it’s a shame the team will have to stop and start after getting its full assortment of players healthy again. Then again, every team will have to deal with the storm’s effects. Based on the Cougars’ history, if there’s a team who can overcome it and peak at the right time, it’s them.

Once the storm passes, the Cougars will be on the prowl.

Ryan Kohn is the sports editor for the Sarasota/Siesta Key Observer. Contact him at RKohn@ YourObserver.com.

Football

“They’re able to spread teams out (on defense) and attack.”

Josiah Booker is one such athlete. The wideout leads the Tornadoes with 455 receiving yards (91 yards per game) and four touchdowns. And even though the Tornadoes run ning game was stuffed by the Pirates, junior running back Ahmad Hunter is having a breakout season, rushing for 482 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and four touchdowns.

The good news for Booker is the Tornadoes have yet to play a district game. Pending the effects of Hur ricane Ian, that could change this week or next week. Booker, which is in a district with Bayshore High (0-4), DeSoto County High (4-1) and Lemon Bay High (1-3), is scheduled to play at Bayshore on Friday. While that game’s date will likely change, nothing had been announced as of Monday night. The teams will have multiple options to make up the game if it is canceled, including playing the following week (Oct. 6); Booker has an off week scheduled

for that date, while Bayshore’s Max Preps schedule says its opponent on that date is TBD.

The lack of district games played means Booker has more time to learn before playing the games that means the most in terms of the postsea son — which is exactly what Littles and his team want. It is more time to learn the discipline side of the game, eliminating penalties like the encroachment penalty the team took when Braden River faced a 4th and four in the first quarter. The penalty gave Braden River a first down, and the Pirates would score on the drive.

More good news: Booker, a Flori da High School Athletic Association Class Suburban 2 school, hung with Braden River, an FHSAA Class Sub urban 3 school, one usually near the top of its class. If the Tornadoes can jump up a level and still be competi tive, playing schools with a similar size advantage should prove easier.

It’s part of why Littles believes it’s only a matter of time before those frustrating losses turn into wins.

“There are no moral victories,” Little said. “We should have won that game (against Braden River). We didn’t find a way to execute at the end. But if we execute, we’ll be fine.”

FROM PAGE 8B

Ryan Kohn

Booker junior running back Ahmad Hunter gets to the edge against Braden River. Hunter has been a bright spot for Booker’s offense.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29

High: 81 Low: 75 Chance of rain: 88%

FRIDAY, SEPT. 30

High: 81 Low: 74 Chance of rain: 65%

SATURDAY, OCT. 1 High: 83 Low: 72 Chance of rain: 30%

SUNDAY, OCT. 2 High: 84 Low: 71 Chance of rain: 24%

Sunrise Sunset

Thursday, Sept. 29 7:22a 7:18p

Friday, Sept. 30 7:22a 7:17p

Saturday, Oct. 1 7:23a 7:16p

Sunday, Oct. 2 7:23a 7:15p

Monday, Oct. 3 7:24a 7:14p

Tuesday, Oct. 4 7:24a 7:13p

Wednesday, Oct. 5 7:25a 7:11p

MOON PHASES

Oct. 2 First Oct. 9 Full Oct. 17 Last Oct. 25 New

Monday, Sept. 19

Tuesday, Sept. 20

Wednesday, Sept. 21 0.37

Thursday, Sept. 22 0

Friday, Sept. 23

Saturday, Sept. 24

Sunday, Sept. 25 0

YEAR TO DATE:

MONTH TO DATE:

6.68

FUNNY BUSINESS by Rebecca Goldstein. Edited by David Steinberg

By Luis Campos

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

letter in the cipher stands for another.

STJYJ

MaryAnn Tygh Parks captured this mother and baby moorhen out for a swim in Celery Fields.

- Friday

3PM

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