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JUNE 2020 PROJECT UPDATE
Siesta Key Hotel project proceeding
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MUSIC MINDED
Retired surgeon, Michael Peikoff, finds joy in creating music
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KID’S CORNER
President’s Column By Norm Olshansky April and May will be months to remember. Stay at home orders, wearing of masks, social distancing, meetings and happy hours on zoom, LRC closed, South Gate closed, nonstop coronavirus talking heads on tv, suspension of elective medical procedures, delayed travel plans, inability to visit loved ones and friends in hospitals or in nursing homes. Hopefully, June will bring some relief while at the same time we work to prevent another flare up of the virus. Several people have asked if we know if and how many cases of the Coronavirus have occurred within The Landings. This is not public knowledge and the County only publishes the number by zip codes. We encourage anyone who thinks they may have been exposed to, or have the virus, to notify people with whom they have been in contact and seek appropriate medical attention. The decision in April to close the South Gate due to concerns about the pandemic was not an easy one for the board. I personally must have received over 50 phone calls and 75 emails from residents expressing appreciation or disdain for our decision, which was hotly debated by the board and was not a unanimous vote. Given the easing of confinement
rules by the County, we reopened the Gate on May 8th. There are continuing concerns by residents living near the South related to dog walkers entering the gate from Philippi Shores. The security committee is in the process of evaluating the extent of the problem by seeking volunteers to take shifts by the gate to determine who may be trespassing vs who are residents going in and out. If not residents, they will be told that they are trespassing and will be issued a polite warning. Let us know if you are willing to volunteer. In addition, the security committee is looking at the feasibility and cost of erecting full gates that will allow residents in and out but which will require a code to enter by foot or bike. We should be getting a report from
the committee over the next few months. We want to thank residents who have been following County and Landings guidelines regarding dogs on leash. Fortunately, we have only had a few individuals who have been in violation. We have been asked to remind residents so that we will not have to report frequent violations to County authorities. Just another reminder that the best source for how to contact residents, is the free “directory” on the website. It is the only source for up to date listings. Additions and changes are made regularly. The green book is available but is not updated until a new one is made available. For a hard copy, you can purchase the green book for $5. Blogs and other important resources on the website are regularly updated too, so check out the website often. We are looking for volunteers for a special project for LMA. Over the years there have been new rules, policies, procedures, etc. that were approved by the board and are found in past minutes. Unfortunately, we do not have a single source policies and procedures manual that is up to date. We are looking for volunteers who can scan through past minutes and pull out items that
need to be put into our manual. Please contact me or Dee Ricapita if you are someone you know might be interested. We are fortunate to have Steve Brockenshire as our new Argus Manager. He comes to us with a wealth of knowledge, not only as a property manager but also as a retired attorney. He currently serves on the HOA Board where he lives in the Meadows. We would appreciate if all board members, committee chairs and other volunteers copy him and me on your work on behalf of LMA so that we can coordinate and communicate with each other more effectively. You may have noticed that The Eagle has fewer pages due to a reduction of advertising. Despite the impact of the virus on local businesses and The Eagle, the new publishers have been great at including our items and finding room for Landings copy. We really appreciate the service they provide to our community. Many of our snowbirds have stayed in The Landings longer than usual given the pandemic. For those who will be leaving this month, we wish you well and will look forward to your return in the Fall.
Getting to know the artists of The Landings By Marie-Louise McHugh
Ellie Wood, 8, Phillippi Shores IB World School, 2nd Grader
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RACQUET CLUB NEWS Playing during Covid-19
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I had the most unusual interview with my neighbor Jeff Packman. Just before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the beginning of the “Stay-at-Home” and “Social Distancing” orders, Bob Manteiga told me about Jeff Packman and his photography. Jeff,, and his wife Paige, are my neighbors. I knew Jeff as a tennis
player, but he never mentioned that he was a photographer and a world traveler. So, we met in a driveway, under the shade of a tree on a recent morning, sitting safely 8 feet apart, to talk about his art and travels. He moved to The Landings a couple of years ago after retiring from 39 years as an invest-
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SAFETY MATTERS Updated monthly metrics
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Dry Goods Porter in La paz, Bolivia, photo courtesy of Jeff Packman
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RECIPE CORNER
Carmie’s Crockpot Chili
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Jeff Packman relaxing at home in The Landings
ment adviser in Seattle, WA. He was familiar with Florida as his parents had spent time in Ft. Lauderdale, and over the years Jeff had discovered and liked Sarasota. He and Paige were looking for a tennis community, so their good friends Rich and Debbie Greenspan introduced them to The Landings. They rented here for a while before buying the place they are living in now. Jeff’s interest in photography started in High School. At that time, cameras did not have autofocus or many automatic settings, which forced him to learn how to really work a camera.
Later, he shot mostly slides, so he took great pains to frame his photographs precisely as you really can’t reframe slide images once the film is developed. He worked on composition and color with people in candid shots but also people posing for him. He documented his trips extensively with beautiful photographs of people, animals and breathtaking landscapes. In his 30s, Jeff took two years off to travel the world — five continents. Later, he lived in Mexico for two years, commuting to Seattle regularly for his work. His world travels made Continued on page 17