Longboat lull: the final days of August

The kids are back in school, but the snowbirds are still up North. We’re nearly three months into hurricane season, but the biggest threat of storms lies in the weeks ahead.

It’s no wonder that the last week in August often comprises the dog days of summer. Even the Longboat Key Town Commission takes a recess for most of the month.

But although the last week in August may seem slower than a nesting sea turtle crawling to shore, it isn’t always slow season when it comes to news. Here’s a sampling of the big stories from the final week in August from the Longboat Observer’s 33 years of publication.

+ Murder and mayhem
Issue: Aug. 25, 1978
Two men and a 15-year-old girl escaped from a Washington State prison work-release program, stole a series of cars — and, somehow, found their way to the Longboat Key Holiday Inn. As one man, Steven Critzer, began drinking Volcanoes at the hotel lounge, a bartender told a Longboat Key detective who was having a drink that he thought he saw a gun on Critzer. The detective searched Critzer and found nothing. But within 30 minutes, Critzer had taken four hostages on the beach. Critzer then tried to take 17-year-old Edward McWilliams, who was on vacation with his family, hostage.

McWilliams allegedly challenged Critzer, saying, “What are you going to do if I don’t — shoot me?”
Tragically, Critzer shot and killed the teen.

A two-county, multi-agency manhunt ensued, with Critzer taking cover behind St. Mary, Star of the Sea, Catholic Church and police and SWAT team members taking their pursuit to the rooftop of Pattigeorge’s. Critzer was captured 12 hours after the shooting and eventually sentenced to life in prison.

+The road to Y2K
Issue: Aug. 31, 1979
Fortunately, crime sprees aren’t the norm around here, and the front-page story Aug. 31, 1979, was much more in Longboat Key’s style.

The Florida Department of Transportation looked ahead to Longboat Key’s future in the year 2000, from which the “public stayed away in droves.” The FDOT official predicted that by the new millennium, Longboat Key would have a bridge stretching from mid-Key to mainland Bradenton — and that $78 million in funds “might” be available. The official’s crystal ball also included a four-lane Gulf of Mexico Drive.

The sole attendees were two Longboat Observer reporters, former Commissioner Sidney Ochs and former state Sen. Pat Neal.

Neal said he was “too confused to comment.”

+ Law and Order: Longboat Key
Issue: Aug. 27, 1981
Aug. 24, 1981, was a day of historic proportions for the town of Longboat Key: The newly formed Code Enforcement Board met for the first time on a Monday morning and discussed ground rules, procedures, forms and a list of alleged violations. Making the short list for the next month’s meeting: a single-family property with two units, a garage improperly converted into a dwelling unit, a dock being used for restaurant seating, an improperly installed air-conditioner, sailboat interference with canal navigation and illegal paving.

Residents, you’ve come a long way: This year, the majority of Code Enforcement meetings have been canceled because most property owners have learned to solve their code conundrums without taking matters to the board.

+ The dark truth
Issue: Aug. 28, 1997
The dark truth about the town: In the summer of 1997, it wasn’t exactly keeping nesting sea turtles in the dark. In fact, a letter from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), revealed that the town was the worst violator of its own policies. The letter indirectly blamed the town and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for two streetlights that led to a minimum of 555 disoriented hatchlings and 28 turtle deaths. The DEP then went on to give the town a few helpful tips: Place shields on the lights or switch to low-pressure sodium fixtures.

+ Space for disagreement
Issue: Aug. 26, 1982
Some summers really are slow: The hottest issue of the day was at a Planning & Zoning Board meeting, where members debated whether parking spaces should be 9 or 10 feet wide.

+ Municipality magic
Issue: Aug. 30, 2001
The Longboat Key Town Commission headed to what’s been described as the most magical place on Earth — and suffice it to say, it wasn’t Town Hall. The commission attended the Florida League of Cities 75th Annual Conference at Disney World on the weekend of Aug. 23. Six commissioners, Town Manager Bruce St. Denis and Town Clerk Donna Spencer all came along for the ride — which included union-negotiation and reclaimed-water funding information sessions, along with a “Calming the Stressed Citizen” course. Then-Commissioner Ron Johnson told the Longboat Observer he learned about the public employees’ increased fear of litigation. He also took away another lesson:

“I can only eat so much,” he said.

+ Beefed-up security
Issue: Aug. 27, 1998
A plain-clothes police detective witnessed a 67-year-old Nebraska man sit down under a beach umbrella and disrobe. Police arrested the man on exposure of sexual organs and undressing on the beach. But here is the naked truth about the summer of ’98: It was just one of the many lewd acts that occurred on the island’s beaches. Earlier that month, a couple was reported to be having sex on the beach — and we’re not talking about the drink — in broad daylight. To combat the in-the-buff bandits, police stepped up enforcement, posing as beachgoers in some cases.

“We believe there are more than just him out there,” said then-Police Chief John Kintz.

Déjà vu all over again?
Longboaters often say they want to “Keep Longboat, Longboat.” Judging from these headlines of yesteryear, that doesn’t seem to be a problem. These headlines from the end of August in years past look they could have been ripped from a current newspaper.

• “Turtles continue to hatch” — Aug. 31, 1979

• “(Firefighter) union negotiations remain at impasse” — Aug. 28, 1986

• “Hearing airs Key’s trolley concerns” — Aug. 26, 1993

• “Community Center concept due in next two months” — Aug. 26, 1993

• “Klauber to town: ‘I will fight to the end’” — Aug. 24, 1995
• “Pilots oppose mid-Key flights” — Aug. 29, 1996