SARASOTA/SIESTA KEY
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Food and fun from the sea.
PAGE 20
FREE • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023
VOLUME 19, NO. 10
YOUR TOWN
Quay dispute is up in the air City allows public hearing on condo that would span project’s main street. SEE PAGE 3
GROWING AWARENESS Dariela Delgado
A man of high caliber Visitors to this past week’s City Hall Art Exhibit had a rare chance to hear about the community’s history and culture from art experts ... and meet a man featured in one of the photographs hanging on the wall. A photo of Sean Clougherty, also known as the “Human Cannonball,” is featured in the exhibit, and he explained a little about how he ended up in the circus. “I grew up in Venice, and I was cleaning pools at the age of 21. The gentleman who I was cleaning the pool for had a cannon on the side of his house. One day he came up to me and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in getting shot out of that cannon?’” said Clougherty. “I said, ‘Yeah’ because I always wanted to be Evel Knievel.” Clougherty is part of the city of Sarasota Facilities Division team.
Dariela Delgado
Southside Elementary unveiled its newly planted daffodil garden in the courtyard to remember childhood victims of the Holocaust.
File photo
Southside students hear the history of the Holocaust from those who experienced it. PAGE 18
You’ve been warned They said they would warn us. And so, Florida Department of Transportation did just that this week, relaying through the city of Sarasota that traffic troubles could resume at the Gulfstream Avenue roundabout this weekend. FDOT went on to say that excavation and curb construction would begin on Sunday and extend through Thursday, Feb. 9, with some work during the day and at night. Work was to begin midweek but was delayed, FDOT said. Access will be maintained for all routes, but lane closures will likely result in traffic backups. Organizers at Save our Seabirds on City Island tweeted that if traffic backups develop as they did when similar work was performed in January, it could compromise bird rescues around the area. Longboat Key Fire-Rescue officials have said their crews can move through traffic with red lights and sirens, but can be delayed returning from Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
A+E
Wanted: Experts
File photo
The city of Sarasota is exploring future uses for the repurposing of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall once a new Sarasota Performing Arts Center is built.
In assembling a panel on new uses and upgrades for Van Wezel, city seeks people from a variety of disciplines. SEE PAGE 5
Family act. INSIDE