On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Christ Church of Longboat Key will host a food drive to benefit Our Daily Bread of Bradenton, which provides assistance for people in need after the recent hurricanes.
Our Daily Bread of Bradenton serves people in Manatee County by serving daily meals and providing a food pantry. All donations collected by Christ Church will be supplied to the organization. Possible food donation items include canned tuna, dry pasta, peanut butter, jelly and canned vegetables. Other items, such as diapers, toilet paper and other toiletry items, are also in high demand.
From 9-10:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, donations can be dropped off in the parking lot of Christ Church (6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive).
Bicyclists asked to avoid GMD
The town of Longboat Key asked the cycling community to avoid Gulf of Mexico Drive and other bike paths until further notice. According to an email sent by Assistant to the Town Manager Susan Phillips on Oct. 22, the town is increasing debris collection services on the island with more than 40 trucks operating along GMD. Additionally, piles of sand and storm debris may present dangerous conditions on the island’s bike paths. Phillips said there is also the potential of underlying road damage masked by overwashed sand.
WEEK OF OCT. 24, 2024
BY THE NUMBERS
n
“Hurricanes we used to have are not like the ones
we’re having today. They’re a different breed, and they’re much more dangerous.”
Climate Adaptation Center Founder Bob Bunting on the area’s recent hurricanes Read more on page 3A
Mobile assistance center coming to LBK this week
Starting Friday, Oct. 25, the Florida Small Business Development Center Network from University of South Florida will be available to help Longboat Key residents and business owners. Representatives from the center will be available to help business owners apply for several disaster loans, which help provide assistance during times
of physical and revenue losses.
The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan can provide $50,000 or $100,000 for small and agricultural business to assist with physical and revenue losses.
The U.S. SBA Business Physical Loan could be awarded for up to $2 million and cover physical losses.
Lastly, the U.S. SBA Economic
Inquiry Disaster Loan can also be awarded for up to $2 million and cover revenue losses.
For more information about the loans and the SBDC, visit SBDCTampaBay.com.
The mobile assistance center will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 25-31. It will be stationed at The Centre Shops of Longboat Key (5370 Gulf of Mexico Drive).
St. Regis open, with limited discounts
According to an Oct. 18 release from Magrino PR, hired by the St. Regis Longboat Key, the resort is now open after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“The St. Regis Longboat Key Resort is now open following minimal impact from Hurricane Milton. Our dedicated team is actively restoring the landscaping to its original splendor, and we are excited to welcome the community back,” the release said. “We appreciate everyone’s understanding during our closure and look forward to providing exceptional dining experiences and vibrant events. Together, we celebrate resilience and the spirit of our community.”
The resort, which held an unveiling ceremony on Aug. 16, was open for a little more than a month before Hurricane Helene caused the resort to pause operations. Then, a week later, Hurricane Milton hit the island as the resort was working on restoring landscaping on the property.
The Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce also shared that the resort is offering a special discount for residents of Manatee and Sarasota Counties.
The discount is valid from Oct. 14 to Nov. 2 and includes 20% off best available rates and a waived resort fee.
To book this discount, contact the St. Regis Longboat Key at 941-2311000 ext. 6142 and mention the resident’s rate during booking.
Correction
In the story, “Lido, St. Armands suffer less damage than Siesta,” (Oct. 17 edition) the Observer incorrectly identified a Lido Key resident as Mike Regnier. The correct identification should have been William J. Quinn, former fire chief for the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority.
Carter Weinhofer The
HURRICANES DEBBY, HELENE AND MILTON
THREE STRIKES BUT NOT OUT
Sarasota County took on Debby, Helene and Milton but recovering.
CARTER WEINHOFER STAFF WRITER
One flooded entire neighborhoods. Another moved piles of debris and trees and caused tornadoes across Florida. A third, though recently out of the spotlight, produced record rainfall.
Recently, Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the Suncoast in two different ways, in a matter of two weeks. Many areas around Longboat Key, Sarasota and Manatee counties are still recovering from what officials have called historic storms.
For Climate Adaptation Center founder Bob Bunting, walking around Longboat Key after Hurricane Milton was personal. Bunting lived on the island for years before moving to Sarasota while focusing on the CAC.
“It’s so devastating to see it,” Bunting said while talking about seeing his former neighborhood on the north end of the island.
Bunting and his staff at the CAC have decades of experience in storm forecasting, and the combined experience is “second to none,” he said. According to him, the CAC predicted that the eye of Hurricane Milton would traverse through Sarasota before any other forecasters.
This would later become a reality as Hurricane Milton’s winds caused massive damage to vegetation and structures.
Using his experience and knowledge of the area, Bunting dissected how the hurricanes differ, and how their intensity signifies the impacts of climate change.
STORM PERSONALITIES
Bunting said hurricanes are like people. Every person is a person, but everyone is unique, just like hurricanes.
“Each one of these storms had a
different personality, and with each one of them lessons to learn,” Bunting said.
When looking at this hurricane season as a whole, not just the past month, the Atlantic hurricane season was active starting with Hurricane Debby. From Hurricane Debby to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Bunting said this season presented a “hat trick” of hurricanes.
In terms of the projected outcome and strength, each one was worse than the one before it, according to Bunting.
First was Hurricane Debby, which made landfall in the Big Bend of Florida as a Category 1 hurricane on Aug.
1. When it swept past the Sarasota area, it was a tropical storm. Still, it brought up to 18 inches of rain within three days.
This excessive rainfall caused stormwater and wastewater systems to become overwhelmed, leading to overflows into local bodies of water.
Areas like St. Armands Circle, low areas of Longboat Key and some parts of Sarasota also experienced flooding.
Hurricane Debby’s personality is classified as a huge rain event, Bunting said.
Then came Hurricane Helene, which made landfall, again in the Big Bend, as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 26. As it passed Longboat Key, the storm was 130 miles away and intensifying.
Though Longboat Key didn’t suffer from a direct hit, the island experienced catastrophic impacts from the hurricane’s storm surge.
According to the latest estimates, Town Manager Howard Tipton said Longboat Key likely saw between five-and-a-half and six feet of storm surge from Hurricane Helene.
The result was flooded homes, some beachfront properties completely destroyed and sand that covered Gulf of Mexico Drive after the water receded back to the Gulf and bay.
Hurricane Helene’s personality would be classified as a storm surge threat, and Bunting said this storm
2024 CLIMATE CONFERENCE
The Climate Adaptation Center is hosting its annual Florida Climate Conference, with this year’s theme called “Climate and Human Health.” The two-day conference at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee will feature expert speakers talking about climate change’s impacts on human health.
The conference will be held Nov. 14-15 at the Selby Auditorium on the USF campus. For more information about the conference or to buy tickets, visit the CAC website at TheClimateAdaptationCenter.org.
“Each one of these storms had a different personality, and with each one of them lessons to learn.”
Climate Adaptation Center (CAC) founder Bob Bunting
HURRICANE DAMAGE BY THE NUMBERS On Longboat
$176 MILLION IN DAMAGES (ABOUT 20% OF TOWN
2,200 STRUCTURES
$14 MILLION IN DAMAGES 158 STRUCTURES
Photos by Kat Wingert and Carter Weinhofer
A partially dilapidated home in the Twin Shores community on Longboat Key after Hurricane Milton.
Just off the Legacy Trail north of Bahia Vista Street, the entire neighborhood was flooded from rain from Hurricane Debby.
Beachfront houses along Gulfside Road were among the worst damaged in Hurricane Helene.
ScaryGoodSa
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shows the impact major hurricanes can have from far away.
“They don’t even have to strike directly to cause havoc,” Bunting said. “They can be 100 miles away.”
Most recently, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key on Oct. 9. This storm was a major wind event, Bunting said.
When officials were looking at Hurricane Milton’s track the days leading up to landfall, it seemed to be a Category 4 or 5 hurricane heading for Longboat Key. Storm surge projections estimated that Longboat Key would have faced up to 15 feet of surge, which Tipton said would have been “starting over territory.”
The wind from Milton reached 100 mph gusts on the island, according to Tipton, and also caused tornadoes across the state.
On the island, the gusts mean more vegetative debris and structural damage on top of what was left after Hurricane Helene. It was “insult to injury,” as Tipton described it at an Oct. 21 commission workshop.
Aside from its wind personality, Bunting said the intensity and speed of this hurricane set it apart from the others this season.
For one, Milton went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in 30 hours, according to Bunting, which he said was the fastest-growing storm in Atlantic hurricane history. The hurricane ended up losing strength as it approached land and fell to a Category 3 storm.
Still, it was what Tipton described as the “poster child” of rapid intensification.
Hurricane Milton also had an unusual track, Bunting said, since it formed in the Gulf of Mexico and had almost a straight path directly east. Most hurricanes don’t follow as straight of a path as Milton did, Bunting said.
SIGNATURES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
All three of the hurricanes of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season impacted the Suncoast in its own way, but the fact that three hurricanes happened this season — and intensified in these ways — holds broader lessons to be learned.
“The signature of climate warm-
ing is all over them,” Bunting said.
“They’re pulling in from an atmosphere that’s much warmer.”
According to some estimates by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earth’s global temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the mid1800s. Warmer atmospheric temperatures also lead to warmer ocean temperatures, both of which are catalysts for stronger and more rapidly intensifying storms, Bunting said. Recent storms have been much stronger than what Bunting remembers seeing while growing up.
“Hurricanes we used to have are not like the ones we’re having today. They’re a different breed, and they’re much more dangerous. They’re more frequent and larger, in general. Slower moving, too,” he said.
While the area recovers from the damage dealt by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Bunting said this is also an opportunity to learn from the recent weather patterns.
“We got to sit back now and evaluate what the last five years have looked like around here and then, finally open our brains to the fact that climate has changed and it requires a different response than the one we had in the 1980s or ’90s,” Bunting said.
Part of that evaluation is how to rebuild after storms like Hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed some low-lying properties.
“It doesn’t mean we have to give up. What it means is we have to change the way we do business,” Bunting said.
To Bunting, it’s not so much the fact that people rebuild as it is the method by which people rebuild. This means modernizing building codes to build more resilient buildings and prepare for more frequent and intense storms, according to him.
People of the Sarasota area can still enjoy living here, Bunting said, but he believes public policy and infrastructure need to respond accordingly.
“There’s no point in rebuilding the past because we’ve learned some hard lessons here,” Bunting said. “If we learn it now, it’s going to save untold money and grief in people’s lives as we go into the future.”
Undergrounding uncertain again
After two hurricanes, FPL needs to push its time line for the utility into 2025.
CARTER WEINHOFER STAFF WRITER
Before Hurricane Helene, the town of Longboat Key’s underground utilities project was on track to be finished by the end of the calendar year. Now, the time line is back in question.
Florida Power & Light and its certified contractors had to respond to emergencies as a result of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which diverted their resources elsewhere.
Director of Public Works Isaac Brownman shared this update with town commissioners at the Oct. 21 regular commission workshop.
As of that day, Brownman had not heard back from FPL or Wilco about a revised schedule.
“We’re trying to get that information from (FPL) and to get Wilco to revise their schedule and give us something aggressive, yet reasonable, that we can now call our amended master schedule,” Brownman said.
Although Brownman could not provide any further updates from FPL, he did share good news that the new underground system seemed to work during both hurricanes.
Longboat Key did experience power outages during both Hurricane Helene and Milton, however, Brownman said both of those widespread outages were due to issues with FPL’s system off the island.
These problems were with substations and subaqueous power lines that, once FPL corrected, allowed Longboat Key’s power to return relatively quickly.
“Once they got that fixed, a lot of the island came right on, especially after Milton, which was quite impressive,” Brownman said.
If the town still operated mainly
on power lines, the wind from Hur-
ricane Milton could have left the island without power for much longer, according to Brownman, which is a testament to the efficacy of the project.
In the Sleepy Lagoon area, one of the island’s lowest neighborhoods, Brownman said there was saltwater and wrack lines on top of underground transformers and the transformers were still operational once the power was turned back on.
Brownman said he was pleased with this news, especially after experiencing the opposite during Hurricane Idalia, when about 20 new underground transformers failed because of saltwater intrusion.
Now, though, the project time line remains uncertain because FPL’s assigned project engineer was reassigned due to the storms. Other FPL contractors, like Wilco, are also assigned to assist in emergency situations.
Luckily, Brownman said, FPL assigned Wilco to Longboat Key and the surrounding area since the contractor knew the system well.
For now, Brownman said the town must wait until FPL is able to get back onto the project site and reevaluate the time line. As soon as Brownman has those updated time lines, he said he would share those with the commissioners.
WHERE DOES THE PROJECT STAND?
Before Hurricane Helene, Brownman received an update from FPL that showed the project had been on target to meet the original deadline. This commitment was to complete switching to the underground system by the end of October and to complete the overhead pole wreckout by the end of 2024.
Phases 1 and 2 are fully complete.
Phase 1 extends from the New Pass Bridge to the north end of Country Club shores, and Phase 2 covers from the Longboat Pass Bridge to Dream Island Road.
Phase 3, which covers from the
Although Brownman could not provide any further updates from FPL, he did share the good news that the new underground system seemed to work during both hurricanes.
north end of Country Club shores to the county line, was close to completion as of FPL’s last update. All transformers were energized and service conversions were completed. Only two switching orders remain.
Lastly, Phase 4 extends from the county line to Dream Island Road in the middle of the island. As of the last FPL update, 95% of transformers were energized, 19% of service conversions were completed and 53% of stitching orders were completed.
The underground utilities project has been an ongoing project for the
town for about 10 years now, which started with referendums in which town residents voted to approve the town’s option to borrow the $25.25 million for the Gulf of Mexico Drive portion of the project, and up to $23.85 for the neighborhoods’ portion of the project. Then, active construction began in July 2019. From 2019 to now, complications like easement acquisition and supply chain issues led to further delays.
“TOGETHER,
WE CAN MAKE AN EVEN BETTER SARASOTA”
RESLIENCY STARTS AT HOME
Souls on the streets
While cleaning up after Helene, Buttonwood Harbour residents discussed throwing out sentimental belongings, furniture and needing major repairs.
t was one of the worst moments of
When BJ Bishop and her husband, Dave, returned to their home on Buttonwood Drive after Hurricane Helene had passed, Bishop said she broke down. After Dave Bishop heard her scream when entering the house, he rushed to her.
“I haven’t sobbed that hard or that much since my late husband died,” Bishop said. The force of the water threw
ture
the house. Water dam-
age showed that three to five feet had infiltrated their home.
Almost everything was ruined — clothes, photos, appliances and wooden furniture. Some things held special memories for BJ Bishop, having been owned by her late husband or a part of her family for years.
Walking around to her neighbors, BJ Bishop highlighted how tight-knit the community was. Some neighbors stayed, but most retreated before Hurricane Helene’s arrival. Throughout the storm, and after, neighbors continued checking in on one another and swapping stories.
Nearly all said the same: This storm was unprecedented, and the amount of water was devastating.
NOTHING LIKE THIS ONE
Water was the major cause of damage from Hurricane Helene. Storm surge from the storm began on Sept. 26 as it passed Longboat Key and went north toward Florida’s Big Bend region.
Residents in Longboat Key’s lowest-lying areas were impacted by the worst of the surge, and Bishop said she estimated Hurricane Helene brought between three and five feet of water into her family’s home.
Many homes on Buttonwood Drive are directly on the canal, while others are only one lot away from it. Bishop’s home on the end of the street also faces water coming from the side where the canal curves and ends.
The Bishops lived in their Buttonwood home for 11 years almost to the day when Hurricane Helene’s impacts flooded Longboat Key.
Dave, though, has lived in the area for about 40 years, and BJ has lived on the island for 22 years.
“There’s never been anything that I’ve seen like this,” BJ said.
A couple of houses down from Bishops are Luis and Christine Ortiz, also long-time Longboat Key residents. The couple have been living on Buttonwood Drive since 1993 and started a landscaping business together in 1995 that serves many Longboat Key residents.
“We’ve been here for a very long time and have never seen anything like it,” Luis Ortiz said.
Luis and Christine stayed for Hurricane Helene. They said they have a family “policy” to leave if the storm will be a Category 3 or above.
But on the day Longboat Key saw Hurricane Helene’s impacts, they said the severity of the storm took them by surprise. They didn’t expect to have two to three feet of water in the house.
When the water started approaching the house around 5 p.m. that day, Luis said they frantically started moving items from off the ground, trying to save personal belongings.
Outside, their vehicles were stuck.
The Ortiz family lost two cars, a van and a dump truck they used for their
landscaping business, all of which were ruined by too much water intrusion.
PERSONAL LOSSES
Carolyn Wedekind, another Buttonwood Drive neighbor, is a part-time resident. She was on a cycling trip in Prince Edward Island when she heard that her neighborhood was badly damaged by Hurricane Helene.
She said she quickly finished the tour, arrived at her home in Wisconsin and scrambled in a day to fly down to see her Longboat Key house.
What she saw was much like Bishop’s experience — furniture strewn across the house, and personal effects ruined. Many cabinets and drawers were still filled with water when she opened them, she said.
“It’s just incredible the force of the water,” Wedekind said, explaining water moved some items to the opposite side of the house.
The water also rose about 3 feet in her garage, which ruined the car she had stored there. At the house, not much was salvageable. What she could save, she packed in boxes and the back of a U-Haul.
The rest, though, was piled up on the side of the street. Wedekind spoke about how emotional it was for
her and her neighbors to throw away belongings.
“You’re seeing people’s lives on the streets,” Wedekind said. “Everything has a story.” When Luis Ortiz shared his family’s story, he said the same.
“It’s like your soul is being taken out,” Ortiz said.
MOVING FORWARD (NOT AWAY)
BJ Bishop, also one of the town’s At-
Large Commissioners, isn’t planning on letting Hurricanes Helene and Milton deter her from living on the island. Hurricane Milton brought another foot of water into her home, and the wind placed two trees on top of her home. Still, she said they plan to renovate the house.
In the middle of recuperating from the hurricanes, Bishop also started her paperwork for running for reelection on the spring ballot.
“I kind of feel like an obligation,” Bishop said.
While other commissioners also suffered damage during the storms, Bishop said she was the only one who lost everything in the house. This may help her bring a unique perspective to the commission as the town deals with a long recovery phase, she said.
Photos by Carter Weinhofer Ripped-up drywall in Carolyn Wedekind’s house shows how high the water rose during Hurricane Helene’s storm surge.
Buttonwood Harbour, one of the island’s lowest-lying areas, had debris stacked along the road after Hurricane Helene.
Sarasota City Commission
The finish line is in sight. Yay. Election years can get to you. They’re exasperating and, most certainly, mentally exhausting.
That is, if you’re paying attention to the candidates and their pandering. And if you are and haven’t mailed in your ballot or gone to your early voting poll over the past few days, time is waning. You still can get focused and informed on the candidates and their positions on issues and on the meaning of and potential ramifications of Florida’s six constitutional amendments and the local ballot issues.
The Observer has tried to assist voters over the past two months. The box below contains all of our recommendations and links to our elections coverage and editorials on YourObserver.com.
This week, in our final installment of recommendations, we are focusing on the three Sarasota City Commission races.
While Longboat Key residents have no say in the voting for Sarasota City Commission seats, the business and governance of the city is crucial to Longboat Key. So much of what happens in the city spills over and affects Longboat Key.
SARASOTA CITY COMMISSION
So much of voting comes down to personalities, political affiliations and the candidates’ positions on issues, likability, competence and performance.
But instead of addressing those particulars among the six City Commission candidates, we urge city voters to go beyond merely judging one candidate against the other. Take time to assess the greater picture — what has occurred over the past four years in the city and the current state of the city.
The current state isn’t referring to the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. City commissioners had no control over those two destructive storms. And while there are some who still may want to bellyache about debris pickup, c’mon, in the overall scheme that should be, at most, a minor, minor factor. Actually, it shouldn’t be one at all in the totality of the policies the commissioners addressed over the past four years.
There will be plenty of time for
FEDERAL OFFICES
President — Donald Trump
U.S. Senator — Rick Scott
U.S. Congress, District 16 — Vern Buchanan
U.S. Congress, District 17 — Greg Steube
STATE OFFICES
Representative, District 71 — Will Robinson Representative, District 72 — William “Bill” Conerly
Second District Court of Appeal — Anthony Black, Edward C. LaRose, Susan H. RothsteinYouakim. Yes
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Amendment 1: Partisan school board elections — Yes
Amendment 2: Right to fish and hunt — Yes
Amendment 3: Adult personal use of marijuana — No
post-mortems on the storms.
Instead, when you assess the past as part of the referendum on the candidates, three issues should be top of mind: the local economy, public safety and quality of life.
LOCAL ECONOMY
Once this region emerged from the economic disruptions and contractions from COVID, the city has experienced extraordinarily strong economic health.
Here is one measurement: Capital flows where it is welcome.
Over the past four years, from 2020-2023, the value of building permits issued in the city totaled $1.84 billion, or an annual average of $459.8 million.
Compared to the four years prior to COVID (2015 to 2018), permits totaled $1.4 billion. From 2009 to 2013, the annual value of permits never topped $200 million a year.
Capital flows where it is welcome.
Likewise, this investment propelled a real estate market in which the city’s property values have almost tripled since 2016 — from $6.7 billion to $18.3 billion. In the past four years, values have risen an astonishing 56%.
By comparison, Bradenton’s property values increased 39.7% in the past four years to $5.9 billion.
Employment shows similar health. From 2020, as we were just coming out of the COVID job wipeout, up to 2024, overall employment rose 15.9% — an increase of 3,906 jobs. Bradenton added 2,596 jobs, a 15.1% increase, in the same period.
Prior to COVID, from 2015 to 2018, total employment rose 1,410, an increase of 5.5%.
The number of businesses operating in the city also has been on an upward trend — from a low of 4,176 in 2021 to 4,474 in 2024, an increase of 298, or 7.1%.
A final measurement to put an exclamation point on the economic health of the city: The growth in per-capita personal income:
$66,878
2020.......
2021 $70,884
2022 $69,376
2023 $84,035
That’s a 25.6% increase over four years, or 6.4% per year.
Of course, the “we don’t want growth” naysayers likely would say the robust statistics above are not really all that great because of inflation and population growth.
Yes, to an extent, inflation has pushed up everyone’s wages, which explains some of the increase in per capita personal income.
But their bigger bugaboo would be population growth. There’s the perception that the city’s population exploded after COVID, thanks to people fleeing the tax hells of the Northeast, Michigan and Illinois.
The data don’t show it. City population:
2020 57,683 / -
2021 55,386 / -3.9%
2022 56,489 / +1.9%
2023 57,005 / +0.9%
Amendment 4: Limit government interference with abortion — No
Amendment 5: Annual adjustments to the value of certain homestead exemptions — No Amendment 6: Repeal of public campaign financing — Yes
MANATEE COUNTY Supervisor of Elections — Scott Farrington County Commission, District 1 — Carol Ann Felts County Commission, District 3 — Tal Siddique County Commission, District 5 — Joseph Di Bartolomeo County Commission, District 7 At-Large — George Kruse School Board, District 1 — Mark Stanoch School Board, District 3 — Charles Kennedy
MANATEE REFERENDA
■ Continue school ad valorem
tax: Continue 1-mill ad valorem tax from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029. Yes
■ Tourist development tax: Shall Manatee County Ordinance No. 24-
Population actually has declined slightly since 2020.
The sum of it all: The local Sarasota economy is strong. It would not be so if the City Commission spent the past four years enacting more and more burdensome ordinances and increasing taxes.
Instead, the current City Commission and city administration lowered the city’s property-tax millage rate twice — in 2021 and 2022, an 8% decrease altogether.
Those two reductions are key factors in the health of every local and state economy. As economists Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore have shown in their annual Rich States, Poor States rankings since 2008, areas with declining tax and regulatory burdens always show stronger and faster economic and income growth than those with rising tax burdens.
Government policies matter.
PUBLIC SAFETY/CRIME
Public safety is one of the most important measurements for every region, city and neighborhood.
On this score, the city of Sarasota has had a favorable trend. After a peak of 2,141 violent offenses in 2018, the number every year has fallen between 1,780 and 1,950. Overall serious crime for the first eight months of 2024 shows a 25.8% decline compared to the same period in 2023.
As they should, city commissioners and the city administration see public safety as a top priority.
The city has increased sworn police officers in the past eight years from 161 in 2015 to 190 in 2023, an 18% increase. Sarasota has the highest ratio of police officers per 1,000 residents of any city south of St. Petersburg — 3.29 officers.
Two other public safety measurements:
■ The count for chronically homeless in the city has declined 77% since 2018 — from 351 to 80 in 2023.
■ There were no BLM-related riots in the city in 2020 or 2021.
QUALITY OF LIFE
To be sure, this is the most subjective area on which to measure city commissioners’ performance with data. Quality of life to one person is not the same to another.
Nonetheless, consider the following contributing to an improved quality of life over the past four years:
■ The approval of the first phase of the Marie Selby Botanical Garden’s master plan — since judged by Time as one of the 100 World’s Greatest Places.
■ The continued growth and popularity of the Bay Park.
■ Like it or not, the renovation of Bobby Jones and the new 90-acre nature park.
■ Like them or not, the completion of the roundabouts on Tamiami Trail and Ringling Boulevard. Traffic accidents have increased, but
49 be approved authorizing Manatee County to levy an additional 1% Tourist Development Tax from all short-term rentals of all lodging or accommodations. Yes
they are less severe than before; and more cars are moving faster through the intersections than previously.
■ The city’s 50-year partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help maintain Lido Beach.
■ 87 of 89 lift stations have been rebuilt.
■ $75.8 million is being invested to update the city’s water treatment plant and water mains.
■ And even though city policies haven’t solved the lack of affordable housing, the City Commission adopted in 2022, 2023 and 2024 comprehensive plan and zoning amendments and an urban mixed-use zone with incentives for increased density and attainable units. It’s working, albeit gradually.
RISING TRAJECTORY
Altogether, the city of Sarasota is and, for the past four years, has been on a strong, rising trajectory.
Sure, it has issues.
City commissioners need to be vigilant about spending. City employees per 1,000 population have risen 28.7% since 2016. Flooding and drainage infrastructure have risen to urgent in terms of critical neighborhood issues. After the recent flooding of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, surely discussions will ensue on constructing a new center on the bayfront.
But none of these issues rises to the level of negating or reversing what has been accomplished. Nor do these issues make a case for dumping or replacing the three incumbents —Mayor Liz Alpert and Commissioners Kyle Battie and Erik Arroyo.
Indeed, if you inspect the positions of the three commission challengers — Sequoia Felton, Ron Kashden and Kathy Kelley Ulrich, they all want policies that would stifle the city’s healthy economy. They want more rules, more regulations, more bureaucracy. In the name of being neighborhood advocates, the challengers are echoing calls for more group-rule democracy over individual property rights.
They say we must stop “overdevelopment.” That is the anthem of anti-incumbent candidates in the region’s 2024 elections. In reality, it is a euphemism for wanting to stop what they don’t like: population growth and development in their neighborhoods.
While the commission challengers make the hackneyed and false charge that the incumbents are beholden to developers, the truth is all five members of the City Commission have been respectful of balancing development, property rights and the rule of city law.
We’ve often said the litmus test for incumbents seeking reelection is how they have performed in office.
The state of the city of Sarasota proves the incumbents have done well. There is no need to change.
We recommend: Kyle Scott Battie, Liz Alpert and Erik Arroyo.
SARASOTA COUNTY
Tax Collector — Barbara FordCoates
Charter Review Board, District 1 — Jay Riley
Charter Review Board, District 3 — Tom DeSane
Charter Review Board, District 4 — Greg “Tex” Bukowski
Hospital Board, Central District Seat 1 — Sarah Lodge
SARASOTA CITY COMMISSION
District 1 — Kyle Scott Battie
District 2 — Liz Alpert
District 3 — Erik Arroyo
SARASOTA COUNTY REFERENDUM
■ Continue school ad valorem
tax: Continue the 1 mill per year ad valorem millage … beginning July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2030. Yes
“If we are to build a better world, we must remember that the guiding principle is this — a policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy.” Friedrich Hayek “Road to Serfdom,” 1944
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MATT WALSH
Understanding recent inflation
During 2021 and 2022 the United States experienced rapid and painful inflation. Painful for all but the top 10% on the economic ladder.
They saw their homes, boats and other assets substantially increase in value. The two years noted above were the first two years of Biden’s administration and he has received most of the blame for it.
There were two primary reasons for this rapid increase in prices. The first was supply chain interruptions caused by plant shutdowns because of COVID. Most critical were the computer chip shortages caused major manufactures in Taiwan and Japan. This shortage occurred at the same time demand for computer chips was accelerating. Please note that rapid inflation was a worldwide problem, and the U.S. made out better than most if not all other countries.
The good news here is that over the last the years, The United States has made and encouraged an enormous investment in domestic production of computer chips. We will begin to see production of these domestically manufactured chips. It takes time to build these complex manufacturing plants and get them up and running. This investment materialized during Biden’s term.
The second cause for inflation was/is the rapid growth of our federal deficit over the last seven years. Deficits are caused by lower tax revenue and increased expenses.
Both Biden and Trump spent
Please note that rapid inflation was a worldwide problem, and the U.S. made out better than most if not all other countries.
excessive amounts in providing COVID relief. Other expenses were also increasing rapidly. But Trump also passed a significant reduction in income taxes, a large proportion of which benefited the wealthy. A tax reduction during a time of rapidly increasing expenses was ill advised and contributed to rapid inflation. It usually takes a couple of years for a policy change to take effect, and the impact of the tax cut was felt during the first years of the Biden presidency.
In summary, rapid inflation was caused by COVID supply chain interruption, most importantly computer chip shortage. Biden should be given credit for investing in domestic production of these chips.
Significant increase of our budget deficit is the second. Both men bare responsibility here but, Trump more so because of income tax reduction.
An objective analysis would assign more responsibility for rapid inflation to Trump, but Biden has taken all the blame.
BOB FERRARA LONGBOAT KEY
Our Constitution says ‘We the People’ Before promoting the individual freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights, the preamble to the Constitution clearly lets everyone, except for (Observer Media Group CEO) Matt Walsh and people of his ideological ilk, know that we are engaging in a collective enterprise.
The first three words aren’t “I, me, mine,” but are “We the People,” followed by such Democratic and collective concepts such as the “common defense” and promoting “the general welfare.”
In the colonial world, where we had some four million people living on this vast continent, I could burn my trash, shoot my gun indiscriminately and kill all the animals I wanted and as many as I wanted. With 333 million people now here, we don’t have those freedoms any longer.
Our lives are better for those restrictions on our individual liberties. The sad irony is that we should be thanking the “childless cat ladies” because without their choices, we’d probably have another 50 million or so and our freedoms would be even more restricted.
My theory is that our quality of life and the regulations needed to ensure a high standard are in direct proportion to the increase in population. Want more freedom? Quit knocking the childless cat ladies and lionizing the Duggars.
It’s not a good argument to talk about diminishing life expectancy. That plays into our (people who believe in the collective) hands. Simply put, life expectancy diminished because of COVID-19 and a lack of mandates.
In the 1950s, we had polio. A vaccine was created, everyone had to get it and polio went away. In the “Every man’s a King world” of Matt Walsh, we had COVID, millions refused to get vaccinated, the disease persisted, mutated and
will be around killing and harming people as long as millions put their individual rights ahead of society’s.
I don’t want to live in a world where Typhoid Mary gets to put her individual freedoms above society’s.
You write: “The individual is superior to the collective. That principle must be revived. To do otherwise will sentence your heirs to total slavery and despair — except for a few.”
Except for a few?
How does majority rule, or democracy, result in “just a few” benefiting? It’s the exact opposite! Don’t gaslight us!
Yes, I’m aware of de Tocqueville’s concern about the “tyranny of the majority,” but are you arguing that a “tyranny of the minority” or an individual veto over any regulation that is distressing is a better way to go?
And, where is it written that a “majority” is always a “mob?”
That’s a pretty incendiary way of describing democracy.
You quote many people extol-
ling individual liberties.
I’ll top them with the Bible, Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Or Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. And, if two lied down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Admittedly, it’s complex, so I’ll go with Churchill and say that “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.”
MICHAEL GRAHAM SARASOTA
FRIDAY, OCT. 11
SNAKE EVICTION
1:45 p.m., 3400 block of Mistletoe
Lane
Animal Problem: A Longboat Key officer was dispatched to a resident’s call about a snake inside a home. When the officer arrived at the scene, the homeowner said she saw the snake in the lanai and wanted it to be removed by the police. The officer found the snake inside a table cover and moved it outside.
SUNDAY, OCT. 13
SUBMERGED SHOTGUN PROBLEM
9:31 a.m., 600 block of Longview Drive
Officer Public Service: An officer was flagged down by a driver needing help. The driver said his home was flooded during the hurricanes and he wanted some help securing his shotgun from his home. The officer entered the man’s home and grabbed the shotgun. After the man said he was afraid to clear the weapon due to it being submerged in water, the officer unloaded the weapon for him.
NO DISTURBANCE, JUST DEBRIS
10:45 a.m., 3500 block of Fair Oaks
Lane
Suspicious Incident: Dispatch sent an officer to investigate a suspicious incident reported at a home. The officer checked out the residence, which appeared to have tears in the lanai and windows covered in dirt from the latest hurricane. No handprints were visible on the doors and there were no signs of forced entry, so the of-
ficer concluded the residence was secure.
MONDAY, OCT. 14
FUMING ABOUT LATE DELIVERY
10:53 a.m., 5400 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Civil Disturbance: An officer was called to the Longboat Key Police Station to assist with a civil disturbance. At the station, the officer met with a man who said that in mid-September he ordered about $800 worth of propane from a company in Palmetto and it has yet to be delivered. The man said he needed the propane to run his generator since he did not have power restored. The officer advised the man that the situation between him and the gas company was a civil matter and not theft and that the recent hurricanes may have delayed the delivery schedule. If the order isn’t canceled and the man doesn’t get a refund, the officer said he could sue the company in civil court.
TUESDAY, OCT. 15
WRONG HOUSE
9:43 a.m., 6800 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Suspicious Person: A resident called to report suspicious men picking through trash and debris in the Village. When the officer arrived on scene, he met with the complainant who said she had confronted the men sitting outside of their vehicle in front of her home. According to her, the men said they were hired by a man, but the complainant said no one with that man’s name lived there and she asked them to leave the property.
She was able to give a description of the truck and a logo on its hood, and the officer was later able to find the truck. When speaking with the men who owned the truck, they said they had gone to the wrong address and parked in the complainant’s driveway by mistake.
CAN’T PARK THERE
9:56 p.m., 7000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Civil Dispute: Officers were sent to a report of a verbal argument that broke out between two men arguing over a vehicle parked on private property. An officer spoke with the complainant, who said he wanted the truck owner to move the vehicle but did not want to complete a formal trespass warning. Then, the officer spoke with the truck owner, who said he was fishing on the nearby bridge and didn’t realize he parked on private property. He drove the truck off the property without further incident.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16
DOCK FIRE
FRIDAY, OCT. 11
CANVASSING FOR KAYAKS
5:41 p.m., 600 block of Dream Island Road
Suspicious Incident: At the scene of a suspicious incident call, an officer was flagged down by someone who said he saw two men and a woman stealing kayaks nearby. The officer searched the area and found the three people matching the description given by the anonymous tip. The three said they were not stealing kayaks but found one that had been abandoned since Hurricane Helene. The officer said it was not wise to take
THURSDAY, OCT. 17
POTENTIAL LOOTING
11:15 a.m., 600 block of Buttonwood Drive
8:12 a.m., 500 block of Golf Links
Lane Fire: Longboat Key PD was sent to assist with a reported dock fire. At the scene, the officer saw a dock piling smoldering from a fire, and attached electrical boxes appeared to be the cause. Longboat Key Fire Rescue was able to put out the remainder of the fire and ensure the power source was turned off. The agencies spoke with the homeowner by phone and he said he would address the electrical box issues.
All are welcome at All Angels no exceptions
Worship Service Sunday 10 a.m. Live Stream the 10 a.m. service at AllAnglesLBK.org 563 Bay Isles Rd • 941-383-8161 AllAngelsLBK.org
Christ Church of LBK Parking Lot 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key
Our Daily Bread meets the needs of hundreds of hungry, needy people in Manatee County by serving daily lunches and stocking an open food pantry. WHAT IS NEEDED?
• Canned Tuna • Chicken • Meats • Dry Pasta
• Ramen Noodles • Peanut Butter • Jelly
• Canned Vegetables • Coffee • Condiments
OTHER ITEMS IN HIGH DEMAND:
• Diapers (Sizes 3,4,5) • Toilet Paper
• Tooth Paste • Tooth Brush • Shampoo
CHECK DONATIONS
(Made payable to: Our Daily Bread ) are also greatly appreciated.
QUESTIONS?
Contact Sue Wertman at quackbf@aol.com We invite everyone to join in this e ort to serve the needs of those hurting in our community.
Lost/Found Property: An officer responded to a resident’s emergency call about stolen items from the curb of his residence. The homeowner said he had placed a plastic tub on the curb next to the debris pile and now the tub was missing. In the tub were gold pocket watches that were family heirlooms. The officer documented the incident and gave the homeowner a case number and an email to send more detailed descriptions of the items.
LECTURE SERIES
PAINTING CURRENT EVENTS
QIGONG YOGA MEDITATION
BRIDGE MAH JONGG CANASTA
SUPREME COURT AMERICAN HISTORY
LITERATURE & POETRY MOVIE & BOOK GROUPS
MUSIC & ART APPRECIATION JAZZ NIGHTS
MORNING FORUMS THEOLOGY WORLD POLITICS
FILM FESTIVALS THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES
AUTOBIOGRAPHY iPHONE & iPAD BIRDING
NATURE WALKS WELLNESS
LANGUAGES SUNDAY CONCERTS
BROADWAY BIOS CRAFTS
SPECIAL ONE-TIME EVENTS & MUCH MORE!
Friends and Neighbors,
The storms we have endured in the past number of weeks have been devastating, and their effects will be felt throughout our community for a long time. Recently, we’ve heard from many friends and past clients who have been seriously affected and are uncertain about their immediate next steps.
Historically, our Seaward Companies have focused primarily on new construction— both residential and commercial—as well as consulting services. However, in light of the many inquiries we’ve received, we are now prepared to extend our services to those in our community who have been most impacted by the storm. We are ready to meet with property owners to discuss the best options moving forward.
Our Seaward team members are here to assist our clients and friends with all of your needs at this time.
•
Substantial Home Remodeling
Let us assist you with a full scope of services including initial assessment, engineering, selective demolition, and through the execution of your property restoration.
• New Home Construction
Let our team guide you from architect selection and home design through vertical construction on a new or replacement elevated home with enhanced hurricane resistance safety features.
• Sale of your Property
For owners who desire to sell their property at this time and forego a construction project, we may be able to assist by purchasing your property. Alternatively, we can also connect you with one of our island team members from our real estate division at The DiPinto Group at Coldwell Banker to accommodate your real estate needs.
We at Seaward Companies are happy to meet with you to discuss all options that you may be considering at this time. We understand over the past two weeks that these storms have affected everyone differently and there is no “one size fits all” solution. What we can do now, is provide you with as much information as possible regarding your property options, from local and trusted professionals in our marketplace. With this important information you will be in the position to make the best decision for you and your family moving forward.
Best regards.
Patrick DiPinto Seaward Homes and Seaward Consulting
Reed Medical sets up new location
After being affected by hurricane season, two organizations banded together to become the hub of health and wellness on Longboat Key.
Even with four-and-a-half feet of flooding from Hurricane Helene, Reed Medical Group did not miss a day of work during back-to-back hurricanes.
During house calls to its patients the week before Hurricane Milton, Dr. James Reed and his staff pondered where they would call home
after losing about 90% of everything from their clinic.
Dr. Daren Spinelle, the former concierge doctor at the Medical Suite at the Paradise Center, felt similarly to Reed Medical Group after losing his home in the north end of the island.
Displacement from his home caused him to feel unsure about continuing his practice at the Paradise Center. These situations led Reed and Amy Steinhauser, executive director of the Paradise Center, to an idea. He had recently chatted with Steinhauser about becoming a sponsor of the Paradise Center, but the building they lost in the hurricane solidified their permanent partnership.
Reed Medial Group is now the fulltime resident of the Medical Suite of the Paradise Center. Together, the two organizations plan to fundraise
to purchase the Tidewell Foundation building, which is for sale for $3.1 million. Reed and Steinhauser hope the center will become the hub for health and wellness on Longboat Key.
“Our visions align so well, so this is really the best thing for both of us,” said Steinhauser, “I think it is the perfect thing to merge all of the wellness services to support our community in the best way. Our plan together is to garner the support of Longboat Key so that his practice and the Paradise Center can thrive here for a long time.”
Without Spinelle’s practice at the Medical Suite, Reed Medical Group will become the primary concierge medical services on the island with the goal of making health care more accessible to residents. Spinelle will be moving on as a mobile doc-
tor, which will allow him to see his Longboat patients at the Medical Suite when needed.
Along with his primary care services, Reed said patients will have their pick of medical specialists, thanks to Spinelle’s carefully curated staff. Patients will have access to dermatology, chiropractic care, audiology, physical therapy, hormone replacement therapy and lifestyle medicine.
“The thought is this to be a home for health professionals to cross paths,” said Reed. “A lot of health problems can be handled by good primary care, but we have connections with the best specialists in town. There are also things we can’t do that Paradise Center programs will be able to fill, such as yoga and tai chi, as well as grief groups and socialization that we want to build on.”
Through this partnership, Reed also hopes to expand social opportunities for his patients to mingle and build community. He has started brainstorming with Steinhauser on different events they want to host and start support groups such as bereavement groups. To celebrate their partnership, a VIP reception will be hosted in January as the start of this new era for both teams.
Reed Medical Group started work in the Paradise Medical Suite the week after Hurricane Milton with a booked day of appointments for Monday, Oct. 21. With their hopeful purchase of the building, Reed Medical and the Paradise Center are excited to use the Tidewell offices to expand their programs and health opportunities for residents.
Paradise Center Wellness Director Debby Debile said the environment was already abuzz with the newness and hope from this alliance. It was the positivity they needed after going through the craziness of the hurricane season.
“After the hurricane, everybody’s been separated and trying to find what’s the next move,” said Angie Weaver, director of patient operations for Reed Medical Group. “I feel like this will bring people together and bring something uplifting to the community. It shows resilience for Longboat that we’re getting back up on our feet. We still have hope for this community. There’s still a lot that we have to offer.”
“I feel like this will bring people together and bring something uplifting to the community. It shows resilience for Longboat that we’re getting back up on our feet ...”
Petra Rivera
Back: Alexander Telfair, Angie Weaver, Mindy Ward, James Reed and Jessica Kowaliski. Front: Amy Steinhauser, Debby Debile, Sarah Lilly and Sara Carson
Angie Weaver, director of patient operations for Reed Medical Group
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
real creatures cavorting on swings suspended over the stage might sound schmaltzy, right up there with Thomas Kincade paintings and garden gnomes.
But anyone who makes that assumption can’t be familiar with Lang, a former dancer for Twyla Tharp’s traveling company who has choreographed for American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey and Birmingham Royal Ballet.
A VARIED BODY OF WORK
“Some choreographers have a style,” says Iain Webb, director of the Sarasota Ballet. “Jessica’s got the ability to create these incredible works that are very different (from) each other. For the audience, it’s going to be tremendous.”
CALLING ON ANGELS
Choreographer Jessica Lang found celestial inspiration for her Sarasota Ballet world premiere ‘A Time of Beauty.’
IF YOU GO
SARASOTA BALLET’S PROGRAM ONE: ‘RELATIVE WORKS’
When: Oct. 25-27
Where: FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail. Tickets: $35-$125 Visit SarasotaBallet.org.
MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Do you believe in angels?
Choreographer Jessica Lang does — at least as the source of inspiration for “A Time of Beauty,” her ballet making its world premiere at Sarasota Ballet on Oct. 25-27.
Lang, whose official title at Sarasota Ballet is the Virginia B. Toulmin & Muriel O’Neil Artist in Residence, got the idea for “A Time of Beauty” a few years ago. She was in London near St. Paul’s Cathedral when she discovered an installation called “Lunch Break.”
The piece by architects KHBT in collaboration with artist Ottmar Hörl featured 40 golden angels resting on swings.
Even guardian angels need a break every now and then. They’ve since flown away — the installation ran from June 2019 to March 2020 — but their celestial cousins will grace Lang’s second ballet choreographed exclusively for Sarasota Ballet.
To some, a ballet featuring ethe-
In addition to the angelic sculptures in London, Lang drew on the music of George Frideric Handel for “A Time of Beauty.”
“I wanted to do something ... with classical music, but I wanted to go a step forward to include voice,” Lang said in a joint interview with Webb in the Sarasota Ballet’s offices.
“I do a lot for opera and a lot for oratorio music,” she says. “This is Handel’s first oratorio that he ever wrote. He wrote it at 19, and he revisited it three times throughout his career.”
According to Lang, Handel first called the music “Triumph of Time and Dissolution.” He came back again with “Triumph of Time and Beauty” and then “Time and Truth.”
Lang says she is quite fond of a particular aria that Handel borrowed from himself for his opera “Rinaldo,” which she says is one of her favorites.
A SERIES OF LIFE-ALTERING ENCOUNTERS
Lang, who divides her time between New York City and Sarasota, says Handel’s oratorio could be used to accompany a full-length ballet if she used all hour-and-a-half of the composition. Instead, she picked six selections of music to help her embody the battle between time and beauty. Spoiler alert: Time wins. “It always does in the end,” notes Lang. Speaking to Lang about her life as her 50th birthday approaches, one can’t quite decide whether the random encounters that have helped shape her career are fated or serendipitous. For Sarasota ballet fans, they are certainly fortuitous, since they have brought one of the world’s leading choreographers to town.
After dancing for two years for Twyla Tharp’s “Tharp!” company, Lang had her own eponymous dance company from 2011-2019. During this time, both Jessica Lang Dance and the Sarasota Ballet were part of the Fall for Dance program at New York City Center in 2016.
Lang’s company was performing her work, “Tesseracts of Time,” while Sarasota Ballet was on the bill with Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Marguerite and Armand” featuring dancers
Jessica Lang rehearses with Sarasota Ballet’s Macarena Gimenez and Maximiliano Iglesias for the world premiere of “A Time of Beauty.”
Some of the angels at a 2019 art installation in London that inspired Jessica Lang.
Images courtesy of Mikenna Bowers Sarasota Ballet dancers rehearse for the world premiere of Jessica Lang’s “A Time of Beauty.”
Courtesy image Choreographer Jessica Lang
Johann Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru.
During the 2016 Fall for Dance gala and dinners, Lang and Webb met for the first time and talked informally about collaborating. The two were aware of each other because Lang had choreographed dances for the Birmingham Royal Ballet under Artistic Director Sir David Bintley, beginning in 2012 with “Lyric Pieces.”
ALL ROADS IN ENGLISH BALLET
LEAD TO ASHTON
Webb knows Bintley from their days dancing together at Sadler’s Wells, where Bintley was also choreographer before becoming artistic director of Birmingham Royal, as Sadler’s Wells is now known.
“We danced together, and I danced in his ballets before he became artistic director. I was already gone by then, but we go back a long time,” Webb says.
With name changes like Sadler’s Well Royal Ballet becoming Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1990, tracing the provenance of English ballet can get confusing.
It’s helpful to remember that all roads lead to Ashton, whose legacy has been preserved by Sarasota Ballet under the leadership of Webb and his wife, Margaret Barbieri, assistant director, both former dancers with Sadler’s Wells.
Lang calls receiving her first commission from Bintley for the Birmingham Royal a “Cinderella” moment. “My husband, Kanji (Segawa), went to the mailbox and came back with a thin letter with a big gold royal seal. ‘Look what you got!’ he said. I was afraid because the envelope was so thin. I assumed it was a polite rejection.”
When she opened up the letter and read it, Lang was “flabbergasted,” she says. “It was a beautiful letter from David articulating how he had watched my work and how much he loved it. It said he was commissioning me for a new work and asked whether I would come over next year,” Lang recalls.
Lang’s potential collaboration with the Sarasota Ballet got a boost when her parents decided to relocate from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where Lang was raised. She gave Webb a call when her parents were
house hunting in Sarasota, renewing their acquaintanceship and the possibility of working together.
But the idea began to take form after a dinner with Lang, her parents, Webb and Barbieri in a restaurant where Roxie Jerde, head of the Community Foundation of Sarasota, happened to be sitting at the next table.
“Roxie said, ‘If you can sign Jessica up, we want to be involved straight away,’” Webb recalled.
A SMALL TOWN WITH STRONG CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
After relaying the anecdote, Webb exults that he loves “the creative energy of Sarasota, where everything is connected, like having dinner and Roxie being on the next table.”
That chance restaurant meeting led to the Community Foundation’s support of Lang’s artist-in-residence position, which also received backing from the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Fast forward to Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. As Hurricane Milton approached, the Sarasota Ballet canceled rehearsals for Program One, “Relative Beauty,” which will feature Lang’s world premiere.
During the storm, Lang sheltered with her parents at their home in The Meadows. She said they experienced some minor damage, but were spared the brunt of Milton, which made
landfall on Siesta Key on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Meanwhile, the clock was ticking down toward Lang’s world premiere on Oct. 25.
“We lost four-and-a-half days of rehearsal, but the show must go on,” Webb says.
A TIME FOR HEALING
Originally, “A Time of Beauty” was to be the first ballet in Program One, followed by Ricardo Graziano’s romantic “Amorosa” and wrapping up with Kobborg’s production of “Napoli Act III,” which continues the legacy of Danish choreographer August Bournonville.
But after Hurricane Milton, Webb and Lang decided the audience should leave on a note of angelic healing. They tweaked the lineup so “Napoli” is the opener and “A Time of Beauty” is the closing performance of Program One.
Now, about those swings. How do they work? “Sarasota’s a circus town, so we went to the Wallenda family to get their help,” Lang says.
Asked specifically which Wallenda lent their aerial expertise to the ballet, Webb demurred. “The people in the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) union know the right people to call,” he says. “They have the contacts.”
As a choreographer, Lang has
“... As a choreographer, I need dancers who love to perform and go deeper into the role.”
Choreographer Jessica Lang
been able to bring to life the kinds of dance-fueled tales she had glimmerings of as a child. Even then, she says, “I was dreaming about ideas, movement and stories. But at that age, I don’t think you’re mature enough to know what your vision is.”
Lang spent years preparing for her career as a dancer, but when she finally achieved her dream, she discovered it wasn’t what she wanted after all.
“When I went to Juilliard, I assumed I would dance forever,” she says. “I loved it. Then I got into Twyla’s company and we started touring. The job was very different from the education. I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t like the repetition.”
Lang adds, “Some people love to perform, and that’s a good thing. As a choreographer, I need dancers who love to perform and go deeper into the role. They have to be willing to try again and get enjoyment out of the repetition. I just didn’t have that.”
Webb interjects, “George Balanchine was known for saying, ‘I don’t want people who want to dance. I want people who have to dance.’”
But that’s not enough. Choreographers like Balanchine and Lang don’t exist in a vacuum. They need audiences who want to see their dances. Sarasota’s got them, come hell or high water.
Hurricane Milton shaved four-and-ahalf days from Jessica Lang’s rehearsals with Sarasota Ballet dancers.
Image courtesy of Mikenna Bowers
A SLICE OF HEAVEN
A savory slice from one of these restaurants is guaranteed to steal a pizza your heart.
My favorite part of the week hits exactly at 5:01 p.m. on Friday. At that magical moment, I know the dreaded “What’s for dinner?” dilemma will dissolve into deliciousness. My husband and I will embrace our cheesy tradition: Friday night pizza! With a Friday night pie in hand, we know exactly what’s on the menu. Trust me, there’s no better plan than that. Here are my favorite slices of heaven in Sarasota and Manatee counties, just in time for National Pizza Month.
Pizza My Heart: My dad loved Connecticut-style pizza best, and Il Panificio’s Margherita ($22) landed the superlative “best pie in town.” It’s made with mozzarella, red sauce, fresh tomatoes and basil leaves. In Crust We Trust: My Connecticut roots would unplant themselves if I didn’t mention the clam pizza ($28) with mozzarella, fresh basil, buttery clams and red sauce.
CAPO PAZZO PIZZERIA 2053 Reynolds St., Sarasota; 941-487-8677; CapoPazzo.com
Pizza My Heart: Capo’s Sicilian MVP ($28) will make you question why it’s taken you so long to snag a slice (or three) of this sensational pie. It’s made with marinara, pesto, fresh mozzarella and pecorino Romana cheese.
In Crust We Trust: Capo has my best interest at heart with their wide selection of white pizzas. Get the Frank white ($17 and up) with ricotta, mozzarella, caramelized onion and a sesame seed crust.
Pizza My Heart: Tuesday through Saturday from 5-8 p.m., grab a personal-sized savory sourdough pizza. Don’t miss the mini curled pepperoni ($17).
In Crust We Trust: There are rotating feature pies (like the broccoli rabe, fennel sausage, black pepper and cured egg yolk one I scarfed up a few days ago) that you must try. But the Gucci ($19) is gooooooood: prosciutto, heirloom tomatoes, arugula, fresh mozzarella and that Gucci house tomato sauce.
Pizza My Heart: My dad would salivate over the Clemenza ($18) with spicy Calabrese salami, sweet Italian sausage, garlic confit, Calabrian chili, goat cheese, maple syrup (stay with me here) and arugula.
In Crust We Trust: The Fugetaboutit ($20), made with meatballs, sweet Italian sausage and ricotta, is the right way to end your workweek.
Pizza My Heart: Look no further for the best GF pizza in town. You can order any pie with a cauliflower crust or gluten-free for $5. If you love rich ricotta, the Siesta sands white pizza ($17 and up) is calling your name: olive oil garlic base, spinach, ricotta, broccoli, choice of prosciutto or turkey sausage. In Crust We Trust: The 1837 Chicken ($18 and up) comes with either sweet-with-heat BBQ or the house-made trifecta sauce base and drizzle. (Watch out for the heat!)
Courtesy image
Atria Cafe is a bakery by day and pizzeria by evening.
From the Raveis Family to Yours
We faced the storm together, and now, we’ll rebuild together. As a family-owned real estate company, we deeply care about our community and yours. We’re here for you every step of the way.
Allison Ficken
Alyssa Frudakis
Amanda Price
Andrea Cohen
Annemarie Boerner
Anthony Capotosto
Ashley Nevadomski
Beth Carlton
Bob McGrath
Bob Ruiz
Brandon Surline
Cal Stephens
Camille Surline
Chris Wortman
Colleen Katz
Cooper Daves
David Cyr
Dawn Bear
Debbie Nevadomski
CJ Henderson
SARASOTA & MANATEE | SALES ASSOCIATES
Douglas Brown
Emily Glasser
Eric Gard
Erik Sousa
Gerard Healy
Hailey Kendall
Holly Parry
Jan Youlden
Jennifer Thompson
Jim Gammello
Judy Etzel
Keith Redding
Kristina Camano
Kyna Smith
Linda Holley
Mary Ellen Clark
Monaliza Bresko
Nancy Greenspon
Neha Ketkar
Brian Tresidder
Nicole Logsdon
Phyllis DiBlasi
Regina Putrino
Renee Nadiv
Rolo Miles
Ryan Logsdon
Sally Sweeney
Samantha Kasprzyk-Benge
Sheri Lasley-Ruiz
Sheryl Levin
Stephanie Shaw
Sundi Engle
Svetlana Abrams
Taylor Thompson
Terry Woolard
Thomas Rummel
Trisha Boggs
Veronica Alves Machado
Shannon Yoder
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
‘OFF THE CHARTS’
7:30 p.m. at FST’s Court Cabaret, 1265 First St.
$18-$42
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
The creative team behind Florida Studio Theatre’s popular cabaret series is at again with “Off the Charts.” Richard and Rebecca Hopkins and Sarah Durham take the audience on a tour of 20th-century pop music, with arrangements by Jim Prosser. Stroll down memory lane with hits that ruled the Billboard Top 100 ranking, which debuted in 1958. Runs through Feb. 9.
‘SOUL CROONERS:
SOLID GOLD EDITION’
7:30 p.m. at Westcoast Black
DON’T MISS
‘SKYWAY’ ART EXHIBITION
The triennial contemporary Florida art exhibition encompasses five museums in the Tampa Bay area this year. Even if you don’t have time to visit all five “Skyway” museums, check out The Ringling Museum of Art and the Sarasota Art Museum. The Ringling features the multimedia works of 13 artists, running the gamut from Caitlin Albritton’s whimsical jewelry to Kiko Kotani’s breathtaking crocheted installations. SAM’s juxtapositions of multimedia works speak
Theatre Troupe, 1012 N. Orange Ave. $22-$52 Visit WestcoastBlackTheatre.org.
Created and directed by Nate Jacobs, “The Soul Crooners” returns to Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe’s main stage for the first time since its 2009 premiere. The opening show of WBTT’s 25th anniversary season celebrates the soul music of the 1970s. Runs through Nov. 17.
‘NINETEEN’
7:30 p.m. at Tree Fort Productions, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail $40 Visit TreeFortProductionsProjects. com.
Move over, “Suffs.” Sarasota’s got its own musical about the struggle for women’s suffrage. With her musical “Nineteen,” the multitalented Katherine Michelle Tanner celebrates the sacrifices and victories of suffragists on their long road to winning passage of the 19th amendment, ratified in 1920. Runs through Oct. 27.
‘JENNIFER, WHO IS LEAVING’
7:30 p.m. at Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St.
$5-$33 Visit UrbaniteTheatre.com.
Directed by Asolo Repertory Theatre
Associate Artistic Director Celine Rosenthal, “Jennifer Who is Leaving” is a comedy set in a Massachusetts donut shop about three overworked women. Runs through Dec. 1.
to the important contributions of Florida immigrants including Havana native Tatiana Mesa Paján, Sue Havens, originally from Rochester, New York, and Kirk Ke Wong, who was born in Shanghai. Runs through Jan. 25 at The Ringling and Oct. 27 at SAM.
IF YOU GO When: 10 a.m. at The Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bayshore Road, and Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $30 at The Ringling; $15 at Sarasota Art Museum Info: Visit SkywayTampaBay.com.
‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF’
7:30 p.m. at 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 1105
$25-$35
Visit RiseAboveArts.com.
Rise Above Performing Arts presents the tale of a half-blood son of a Greek god who is accused of stealing Zeus’ master lightning bolt. Adapted from the best-selling book of the same name, “The Lightning Thief” stars local students and features a pulsating rock score. Runs through Oct. 27.
FRIDAY
‘9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL’
7:30 p.m. at the Venice Theatre’s Raymond Center, 140 Tampa Ave. W., Venice
$15-$37
Visit VeniceTheatre.org.
This toe-tapping musical is based on “9 to 5,” a 1980 film about sexism in the office that featured the hit song of the same name by Dolly Parton, who also starred in the film with Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman. The Venice Theatre production is one of the community theater’s many revivals during its 75th anniversary season. Runs through Nov. 24.
SATURDAY
‘JUNIE B. JONES: THE MUSICAL’ Noon at FST’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.
$12
Visit FloridaStudioTheatre.org.
There’s plenty of song and dance for kids at Florida Studio Theatre. FST’s new production, “Junie B. Jones: The Musical,” was adapted from the young adult books by Barbara Park. Join the heroine as she embarks upon a new school year, recording all her adventures in her Top-Secret Personal Beeswax Journal.
SUNDAY
‘PURPLE! THE 2024 ORCHID SHOW’
10 a.m. at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St. $28 Visit Selby.org.
image
It’s the most wonderful time of year — when Marie Selby Botanical Gardens unveils its latest orchid show. The theme of this year’s show, presented by Better Gro, is “Purple!” Don’t be a shrinking violet; come see an astonishing display of purple orchids in the Tropical Conservatory, along with an exhibition of books, prints, photographs and other materials in the Museum of Botany & The Arts. Runs through Dec. 5.
WEDNESDAY
FORBIDDEN MUSIC IN PRE-NAZI GERMANY
10:30 a.m. at Selby Library, 1331 First St. Free with registration Visit SarasotaMusicArchive.org.
Sarasota Music Archive presents a lecture by Robert Vodnoy, music director of the Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota, exploring the evolution of German music in the early 20th century.
OUR PICK
‘THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW’ It wouldn’t be the spooky season without the Sarasota Players’ annual production of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” based on the Washington Irving story that follows schoolmaster Ichabod Crane as he battles his rival Brom Bones for the heart of Katrina. A costume contest will take place each night before the show. Bring your own chairs or blankets for seating. Runs through Oct. 26.
IF YOU GO When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24
Where: Sarasota Polo Club, 8201 Polo Club Lane
Tickets: $10-$25 Info: Visit ThePlayers. org.
Courtesy
The Sarasota Players’ “The Legend of Sleeping Hollow” runs Oct. 24-26 at the Sarasota Polo Club.
15 YEARS OF LAZY LOBSTER
Despite two hurricanes, Lazy Lobster opens its doors, hoping to bring comfort to Longboaters as it celebrates a milestone on the island.
PETRA RIVERA STAFF WRITER
No matter what their damage was, every customer had a story. This is what co-owners Michael and Catherine Garey recalled when the Lazy Lobster was one of the first restaurants to open after Hurricane Helene. Its first night back was packed with regulars searching for normalcy after being disheartened as they returned to the island. Customers expressed their gratitude for being open so quickly, and this stuck with the Gareys. So, it was a no-brainer to open right away when they were spared from damage a second time after Hurricane Milton hit.
As Michael Garey prepared to open after Milton on Oct. 15, it dawned on him that it was the 15th anniversary of the Lazy Lobster.
After years of being a place of delicious cuisine and community for the island, he didn’t envision celebrating this milestone as one of the only restaurants open after hurricane season wrecked Longboat Key.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
The story of the beloved eatery actually started more than 15 years ago, in 1979, when 20-year-old Garey was a busboy at Cafe L’Europe and co-owner Bob Fracalossy worked alongside him as the butcher.
Garey described these formative years to be the foundation for his career. He named his mentor Titus Letschert, who started Cafe L’Europe, one of the hardest workers he had ever met.
“Titus was a huge influence on my life,” said Garey. “He worked day and
night in Cafe L’Europe for years, seven days a week. So early on, I would do the same, work day and night and sometimes sleep in the restaurant throughout the week. He taught me this work ethic and passion that brought me my love to serve. It has always been something I’ve enjoyed.”
Garey and Fracalossy rose quickly through the years at Cafe L’Europe, with Fracalossy becoming the sous chef and Garey becoming general manager. They built a close friendship by working together every day and bouncing ideas off each other to keep customers coming back.
DYNAMIC DUO
In 1994, the duo moved off of the circle and onto the island to start up Cafe on the Bay, what is now Portofino Ristorante and Bar at Longboat Key Club. Fracalossy was the chef there for five years, but Garey started as its manager for a few months before returning to Cafe L’Europe.
After that, Garey and Fracalossy went their separate ways in the food industry. While staying in contact throughout the years, the pair’s strong friendship soon inspired the idea of owning a restaurant together.
Building off of this, Fracalossy bought the original Lazy Lobster on Lockwood Ridge Road in Sarasota in 2007. After working years on Longboat, the two thought it would be a better place to accomplish their restaurant dreams.
BECOMING LAZY LOBSTER
The current location of Lazy Lobster became available in 2009 and was known as an unlucky place for restaurants since they wouldn’t stay open for long.
Knowing this information, Garey and Fracalossy still wanted to keep an open mind when considering it.
Garey decided to bring his wife to have dinner to see if it was worth purchasing the spot.
“It ended up being us and one other couple having dinner at the restaurant,” said Garey. “I told her on the way out, ‘I want you to think about this with fresh eyes. We got a full parking lot and an unused ter-
race and put that with Bob’s food.’ When I told her that, she was convinced. That was in July. We made a quick turnaround sale and opened on Oct. 15, 2009. It did take a long two weeks, but after that, we know we hit on something.”
Garey said the first two weeks were chaotic. On that first weekend, the internet provider went out, which caused trouble with placing reservations and orders. Garey remembered standing on the side of Gulf of Mexico Drive, yelling into his phone, trying to book reservations because he had terrible cell service then.
After the first two weeks, Lazy Lobster took off. It is now a staple restaurant for Longboaters and a comfort to come back to after the hurricane season Longboat had.
“It is known as people’s neighborhood restaurant and that was our goal,” said Garey. “We didn’t have a fine dining pretense, and I think the island was grateful to have a more reasonably priced restaurant. There were already great restaurants out here that are going to do fine dining better than we could ever do. So, we decided to stick to our Lazy Lobster.”
As the Lazy Lobster grew, Garey was established as a pillar on Longboat with his heavy involvement in the community, such as being the former president of the Longboat Key Kiwanis Club and the chair of its Lawn Party for years.
With the hurricane hitting before its anniversary, the Lazy Lobster wasn’t able to celebrate it the way it wanted. Currently, it has a promotion where customers can enjoy $15 off of an online gift card of $115 or more until Oct. 31.
As the island gets back to normal, it plans to celebrate in more ways and give customers opportunities to enjoy more 15-year-themed specials.
“I have been in this industry since I was 17,” said Garey. “My favorite part about this hasn’t changed. The relationships I have built here make it all worth it. Some of our customers have become our best friends. So, there is no other place that I’d rather be doing business in the
than Longboat
Tampa Bay area
Key.”
Michael Garey opened Longboat Key’s Lazy Lobster 15 years ago with co-owner Bob Fracalossy.
Lori Sax
Titus Letschert and Michael Garey Courtesy image
Courtesy image
Longboat Key businesses moving forward
Businesses recount on how they were affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and wonder what the high season on Longboat will look like.
PETRA
RIVERA STAFF WRITER
Longboat Key Club Managing
Director Rick Konsavage’s priority after Hurricane Milton was to give members a sense of normalcy.
“The wind did some pretty serious stuff, landscaping-wise,” said Konsavage. “Trees were everywhere. It was like Jurassic Park out there. We spent that first weekend cleaning as much as we could to be able to put on some activities because everything else on the island is canceled. The people need something to do after these crazy weeks.”
A week after Milton, the resort is open with restaurants available for
reservations and golf and pickleball clinics on the schedule. But even with sprinkles of normalcy after two hurricanes, Konsavage and other businesses can’t help but be concerned about what this high season on Longboat Key will look like.
Lazy Lobster was among the first few restaurants on Longboat Key to open back to the public.
“It will honestly probably be a year until Longboat Key will have a normal season again,” said co-owner of Lazy Lobster Michael Garey. “Especially with most of the home rentals on the island being destroyed. We really count on them to bring in snowbirds and vacationers for business during the season.”
Garey was surprised to see the
restaurant packed around lunch and dinner times after the hurricanes. He said each customer expressed gratitude for being open and spreading some hope after a hard couple of weeks.
Other businesses were not as lucky. Around five buildings of Harry’s Continental Kitchens were flooded during Hurricane Helene, which made it lose all its equipment. During Hurricane Milton, three roofs were damaged.
After a week of recovery, Harry’s Corner Store is open for people to stop in for quick bites and essentials.
“We are trying to take it one day at a time,” said General Manager Hal Christensen. “We are hoping to be fully open by the beginning of November, but that is us hoping. I think with people knowing that the hurricanes went through here, it probably isn’t on their top list of places to go right now.”
Cafe L’Europe received about five feet of water throughout its restaurant after Helene, along with damaging its sliding glass doors and ruining all its equipment. After laying off most of its staff for unemployment benefits, the restaurant doesn’t have a time line for when it will be ready to open yet.
Executive Vice President Eleni Sokos said they are taking this as an opportunity to reimagine how Cafe L’Europe serves the community. With the effects the recent storms have had on St. Armands Circle, she believes a call to action is in order.
“This is the third time this season that the Circle has been flooded, and it has impacted all of us heavily,” said Sokos. “We need to figure out a resiliency plan to help these businesses stay operational or no one will want to do business on St. Armands Circle. It’s looking at the storm pumps and figuring out what kind of flood barriers the community can invest in.”
Heather Rippy, the owner of Driftwood Beach Home and Garden in
Whitney Plaza, was grateful that her shop only received four inches of water during Hurricane Helene compared to her house in the Village, which was flooded with two-anda-half feet. When Milton hurdled towards the Gulf Coast, Rippy was scared that her shop would be next. Thankfully, the shop was spared from any damage, and she is working to restore it to its previous state.
Before Milton, Rippy spread her inventory between different friends’ houses to ensure its safety. She recently replaced the store’s sheetrock and is working on bringing
inventory back. In the meantime, she has been selling items online.
Rippy has documented her experience through the shop’s Instagram page and was overwhelmed with care and support from her friends and customers.
“It’s just a good time for people to remember to support local business,” said Rippy. “Being closed for three weeks is a huge setback. We are paying out of pocket for all the work that has to be done after these storms, so hopefully, people can come to our aid to make sure we do have a season this year.”
Courtesy image
Heather Rippy moved all her inventory out of Driftwood Beach Home and Garden to clean up after Hurricane Helene.
Petra Rivera
The aftermath of Hurricane Helene at Cafe L’Europe.
2067 HARBOUR LINKS DRIVE, #4 Longboat Key
2067 HARBOUR LINKS DRIVE, #4
Longboat Key | Offered at $779,000 MLS# A4178487
2067
Organizations help heal Longboat
Services
offer relief and support for Longboat residents
PETRA
RIVERA STAFF WRITER
During the exchange of peace at its Sunday service on Oct. 20, congregants at All Angels By the Sea Episcopal Church lingered longer than usual, chatting with their friends and making their way around the room to say hi to everyone.
“Exchanging peace today with everyone was different,” said congregant Carol Erker. “It was a bit moving. People were just grateful to see each other after this time away and are looking forward to healing everything we lost from these past few weeks.”
After weeks of hurricane fatigue, the Rev. David Marshall at All Angels and other community organizations recognized the need for a space of healing on Longboat as residents try to move forward. With this in mind, he led a gratitude and healing Sunday service on Oct. 20 and was astonished by the turnout.
“The beginning part of healing
is gratitude,” said Marshall in his sermon. “This sense of gratitude is what set the early church apart from many others, and I would argue that our sense of gratitude is still what is setting us apart right now. What we do here through gratitude will bring healing out into our community, and our community will continue to bring gratitude and healing out into the world.”
After Marshall’s encouraging sermon, congregants got the opportunity to have healing prayers and chat with friends at the after-service coffee hour.
Marshall held the church’s first healing service the Sunday after Helene. Continuing the pattern, he led a more intimate service in the house of Music Director David Stasney on Oct. 13. The 20 congregants said the service was crucial to giving them hope as they came back to the island after Milton.
Marshall hopes to continue to make All Angels a space for people who feel welcomed after weeks of
displacements. They will continue with normal activities such as discussion groups, choir practices and services in the upcoming weeks.
Similarly, Christ Church of Longboat Key was delighted to be back on the island on Oct. 20 after weeks of worshipping with Kirkwood Church in Bradenton. The Rev. Julia Piermont led its service at 10 a.m. with a snack hour afterward to provide a space for people to rekindle friendships after weeks of being off the island.
The Paradise Center will also be focusing on themes of healing for its classes during the month of October. People can attend free classes that focus on resetting the nervous
system, such as sound baths, yoga, Pilates, qigong and tai chi.
Taking over for the usual current events discussion on Mondays, retired therapist Scott Anstadt will be leading a storm-related support group from 1 to 2:30 p.m. for people to speak about their experiences during and after hurricane season.
“We’ve been in trauma mode for weeks now,” said Paradise Center Wellness Director Debby Debile. “So, these particular programs are going to help us come out of that trauma zone and come back into our bodies so that we can actually feel things again and begin to heal physically and emotionally.”
Petra Rivera
The Rev. David Marshall praying over BJ and David Bishop at All Angels By the Sea Episcopal Church.
ONE PARK SARASOTA CONDO CELEBRATES GROUNDBREAKING AT THE QUAY
Downtown Sarasota’s waterfront district buzzed with excitement on October 1st as One Park Sarasota broke ground on its 18-story luxury tower. This 86-residence condominium, offering over 40,000 square feet of amenities, is a joint development by PMG and MoneyShow in The Quay’s bayside community. Coldwell Banker Realty’s Chelsa Vahtomin and Robert Robinson exclusively lead the sales team for One Park Sarasota.
“One Park Sarasota embodies our longstanding commitment to redefining luxury in Downtown Sarasota’s Waterfront District,” said Kevin Maloney, founder and CEO of PMG. “We are thrilled to officially break ground on this project and move forward with delivering a truly premier residential destination to The Quay. We are confident it will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of elevated living along Florida’s Gulf Coast.”
Alongside the groundbreaking marked by a traditional shovel
turn, buyers and local dignitaries gathered to celebrate the occasion with light bites, mimosas, and live music. The event also featured brief remarks from leaders of the One Park Sarasota development team.
“Reaching One Park Sarasota’s groundbreaking marks an exciting milestone for the city of Sarasota and its residents,” said Kim Githler, chair and CEO of MoneyShow. “With beautiful design, one-of-a-kind amenities, and an unbeatable location, this project will undoubtedly enrich our community’s residential landscape for years to come. We are proud to partner with PMG and contribute this signature project to Sarasota’s skyline.”
Designed by Sarasota-based Hoyt Architects, One Park Sarasota will offer 86 fully finished threebedroom residences, each with stunning views of Sarasota Bay, the city skyline, and its neighbor The Bay. The residences feature contemporary lighting packages, built-out closets, fully integrated
kitchens, and high-end Italian cabinetry in both kitchens and bathrooms. Designer-curated flooring options include porcelain, marble, or wood throughout.
Expansive glass walls, private terraces, midnight bars in primary bedrooms, and PMG’s advanced smart home technology ensure an unprecedented level of comfort and efficiency. The tower also includes top-floor penthouses and ground-level townhomes, each
with private rooftops, summer kitchens, and plunge pools.
Beyond its meticulously designed residences, One Park will feature an elevated amenity level brimming with resort-style features. The highlight is a pool area featuring two plunge pools, plenty of lounge chairs, and inviting social spaces. A state-of-the-art Fitness Studio will be equipped with the latest equipment, dedicated rooms for Pilates and spin, and an outdoor yoga/ fitness lawn.
The One Park Wellness Spa offers a tranquil retreat complete with a Hammam Spa and separate saunas for men and women. Entertainment options include a private theater room, a golf room, a wine and piano lounge, an owner’s lounge, and a hospitality suite.
Additional premium services provided by the dedicated concierge staff encompass valet parking, package delivery, and dog walking.
ARTIST CONCEPTUAL RENDERING
A Message to Our Community
Together, we rise
For nearly 50 years, this region has been more than just a place we do business—it’s where we call home. As we face the challenges brought by recent storms, we are reminded of the incredible resilience and unity that define our community. While there is much to rebuild and restore, these moments also offer opportunities to reimagine the future of this vibrant place we share.
As part of that commitment, the below offices are open to serve as community hubs—providing free WiFi, water, and a welcoming space where you’ll always find a friendly face. Whether you need a place to recharge, connect, or simply take a moment to breathe, we are here for you.
Downtown Sarasota | 1605 Main Street
Lakewood Ranch | 8325 Lakewood Ranch Boulevard
Bradenton | 4400 Manatee Avenue W
Palmer Ranch | 8660 S Tamiami Trail
Siesta Key | 5100 Ocean Boulevard
Longboat Key | 440 Gulf of Mexico Drive
Plantation | 490 Rockley Boulevard
Venice | 110 Nokomis Avenue N
Punta Gorda | 101 Taylor Street Nowhere but here.
Condominium in Windward Bay tops week’s sales at
ADAM HUGHES
RESEARCH EDITOR
Editor’s note: Because Sarasota County offices were closed for Hurricane Milton, this week’s real estate includes transactions from Sarasota.
Acondominium in Windward Bay tops all transactions in this week’s real estate.
Seth and Carrie Kalinsky, of Chantilly, Virginia, sold their Unit 205 condominium at 4540 Gulf of Mexico Drive to Thomas Stieber and Claudia Fraser Stieber, of Longboat Key, for $712,000. Built in 1975, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,312 square feet of living area. It sold for $740,000 in 2021.
FAIRWAY BAY
Brigitte Boltz and Klaus Hansen, of Simsbury, Connecticut, sold their Unit 155 condominium at 1930 Harbourside Drive to Robert Louis Fischer and Marjorie Anne Lane, of Potomac, Maryland, for $530,000. Built in 1982, it has two bedrooms, two baths and 1,270 square feet of living area. It sold for $175,000 in 1985.
SIESTA COVE
George Rauch IV and Kathleen
$712,000
Hogan Rauch, of Sarasota, sold their home at 5317 Siesta Court to Lennartz Investments LLC for $1,395,000. Built in 1994, it has four bedrooms, three baths, a pool and 2,918 square feet of living area. It sold for $629,600 in 2013.
SIESTA TOWERS Jeffrey Milone and Linda Ann Insano-Milone, of Sarasota, sold their Unit 4-C condominium at
4822 Ocean Blvd. to Michael Sondel and Melissa McKay, of Boston, for $860,000. Built in 1973, it has three bedrooms, three baths and 1,991 square feet of living area. It sold for $669,000 in 2021.
See more transactions at YourObserver.com
Brigitte Boltz and Klaus Hansen, of Simsbury, Connecticut, sold their Unit 155 condominium at 1930 Harbourside Drive to Robert Louis Fischer and Marjorie Anne Lane, of Potomac, Maryland, for $530,000.
Courtesy image
George Rauch IV and Kathleen Hogan Rauch, of Sarasota, sold their home at 5317 Siesta Court to Lennartz Investments LLC for $1,395,000.
Image courtesy of the Zarghami Group
YOUR CALENDAR
BEST BET
OCT. 25-31
SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER MOBILE ASSISTANCE At the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce, 5390 Gulf of Mexico Drive. The Florida Small Business Development Center will be available at the Centre Shops in its mobile office through the rest of the month to provide in-person advice and relief to Longboat Key businesses affected by hurricanes. There will be opportunities to talk about emergency bridge loans, physical disaster loans and more. Open every day except Sundays. Call the Chamber at 383-2466 for any questions.
MONDAY, OCT. 28
1-3 p.m. at Christ Church of Longboat Key, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Please join Christ Church as they come together to pack seeds, which are
worldwide to feed the hungry in our
Many of the seeds are
to
Call 383-1731 to reserve your place.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30
HURRICANE COLLECTION
FOOD DRIVE
9-10:30 a.m. at Christ Church of Longboat Key, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Christ Church will be collecting food to donate to Our Daily Bread for hurricane relief. The nonprofit is asking for canned tuna, chicken, meats, dry pasta, ramen noodles, peanut butter, jelly, canned vegetables, coffee and condiments. They would also appreciate donations of diapers (sizes 3,4,5), toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes and shampoo. Contact Sue Wertman at QuackBF@aol.com for any questions.
RECURRING EVENTS
MONDAYS
STRETCH AND STRENGTHEN
From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. This class is mostly seated and great for all fit-
ness levels. Suzy Brenner leads the class. Free for the rest of October. Call 383-6493.
‘COPING WITH OUR TIMES’ SUPPORT GROUP
1-2:30 p.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. The Paradise Center provides a space for people to share their hardships after being affected by two hurricanes. Retired therapist Scott Anstadt will discussion groups on all storm-related topics. Call 383-6493.
TUESDAYS PILATES SCULPT
From 9-9:50 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Pilates Sculpt is a combination class mixing traditional Pilates exercises into a fun, challenging workout to upbeat music. It will make you sweat, encourage your body to burn calories and make you stronger and more flexible. This class is for all levels. Free for the rest of October. Walk-ins welcome. Call 383-6493.
QIGONG
From 10-11 a.m. at The Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road. Qigong is a mind-body-spirit practice designed to improve mental and physical health. Class is outdoors, weather permitting. Free for the rest of October. Walk-ins welcome. Call 383-6493.
Courtesy image
Sue Wertman, Bob Weingartner and Kathy Pendleton
NATURE’S BEAUTY WITH
FORECAST
TIDES SUNRISE
MOON PHASES
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“FZYWPU XEA’P YFDWP BYSXAM Y OLZPPU GYVZ, XP’E YFDWP BYSXAM Y OLZPPU IXAK, Y OLZPPU BZYLP YAK Y OLZPPU EDWN.”
KLYJZ
BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER by Evan Park and Jeffrey Martinovic, edited by Jeff Chen
By Luis Campos
Diane Fairey captured this photo of a moon snail, sand
Several
PLEASE
2251 Gulf of Mexico Drive #204- Longboat Key
$7,999,000
Epic Gulf-front corner residence, which feels like a home on the beach, offers 3 bedrooms plus an office (or 4 bedrooms) and 3.5 bathrooms in a lavish 4,032 sq. ft. space. Revel in your own 3,400 sq. ft. terrace featuring an infinity pool, fire pit, and summer kitchen, with private stairs leading straight to the beach. With a gourmet kitchen, social room, guest suite, fitness center, and a stunning 5-car garage, Aria delivers unparalleled luxury and on-site management.
$8,150,000
A gated enclave of 16 luxury homes on the southern tip of Longboat Key, luxury waterfront architectural. Modern 4 bed + den/office + bonus area, 4.5 bath, 4,941 sq ft. Stunning living room with fireplace, gourmet kitchen, and spacious
415 L’Ambiance Drive #A401 - LongboatKey
$5,840,000
Experience luxury at L'Ambiance with this Southwest corner residence featuring a spacious wraparound terrace and stunning sunsets. Enjoy private elevator access, a custom-designed interior with new windows, kitchen, and baths. The Royal floorplan offers three bedrooms, all ensuite, a powder room, and a bonus room. Residents benefit from concierge service, a 24-hour guard gate, an Olympicsized pool, two tennis courts, a fitness center, game rooms, a library, a wine room, and guest suites. Small pets are welcome, and one underground parking spot is included. L'Ambiance on Longboat Key is not just a residence; it's an exclusive lifestyle waiting for discerning buyers seeking the pinnacle of luxury living lambianceA401.com
Lori Lawson
65 Lighthouse Point- Longboat Key
Sunrises, sunsets through oor to ceiling windows. View at: www.thephotos.smugmug.com Call John at: 203-984-8477 or E-mail: garment@optonline.net
LONGBOAT KEY: Beachfront Condos, 1st or 2nd floor, 2BR/2BA, W/D in units, free Wi-Fi, heated pool, & parking. Call 941-383-3338.
WEEKLY MONTHLY
SEASONAL RATES
Beachfront, Bayfront and In Between Houses or Condos
