Lore: Theft put different spin on carpooling

A car thief made a splash April 3, 1997, when he drove a stolen Chrysler Lebaron into a swimming pool behind a Schooner Lane home.

Police attempted to pull over the speeding driver who fled, reaching speeds of more than 80 mph before skidding into the backyard pool.

The man, who had apparently hotwired the car, fled the scene on foot.

Meanwhile, the owner of the Chrysler was left with a sinking feeling.

“That’s the last convertible I’ll ever buy. It only had 40,000 miles on it,” he told the Longboat Observer at the time.

+ Look how far we haven’t come
Has it been a half-decade already?

During the first week in April 2008, the Longboat Key Club and Resort unveiled its proposed $500 million Islandside renovation-and-expansion plan.

It included a luxury 222-unit hotel, 261 condominium units, a resort meeting center, wellness center and spa and a new Rees Jones-designed golf course.

The Longboat Key Town Commission approved a scaled-back $400 million plan two years later.

The 12th Judicial Circuit Court quashed the ruling; the 2nd District Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling.

For better or worse, five years later, the Key Club has a new owner — Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties Ltd. LLC — but no new hotel or condo units.

+ Let freedom ring
The town celebrated the bicentennial anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1987, with plans to line Gulf of Mexico Drive with U.S. flags.

The Colony Beach & Tennis Resort joined the celebration, displaying eight flags on the property. But the town ordered the Colony to take its flags down April 3, 1987, because it was in violation of Longboat Key’s flag ordinance, which only allowed three flags to be displayed in the right of way.
The Colony had 48 hours to remove its excess flags.

+ Classic Cops
April 6, 1985 — 6:10 p.m. 1600 block of GMD. Assisted man with handcuff on left wrist, placed there by his lady friend; reason unknown.