Observer stories too wacky to be true ... weren't

Not to worry.

No former presidents are retiring to Longboat Key.

A marijuana grow house is not moving into the former downtown offices of Sarasota’s daily newspaper, and World of Weed is not setting up shop across the street.

There are no plans for a tiny-home community in Lakewood Ranch.

And, we realize this could be bad news to some, riverboat gambling is not coming to Siesta Key. Sorry, Floyd Mayweather fans.

So, if you had us figured out last week, then we hope you shared the same laughs we did in producing our annual April Fools stories in the March 30 edition of the Longboat Observer, Sarasota Observer and East County Observer.

If not, well, for one day each year, we are “fake news,’’ and our intent is to make you smile, not trick you into investing in a Senagalese savings and loan or voting for a chimp. For the record, we think our “fake news” is funnier and far more inventive than the garden-variety “fake news” we hear so much about. #SAD!

 If there is one thing regular readers of the Observer know, it’s to consume their news carefully as April 1 approaches and keep an eye out for our GOTCHA! disclaimer on Page 4A. It was there, honest.

Beyond the fun and frivolity was our usual supply of real community journalism, beginning with proper front pages on 5A in all editions.

It’s all in good fun. And while we tripped a few people up, most had us figured out . . . eventually:

• One emailer said he was, for a few fleeting moments, preparing to be respectful during the inevitable face-to-face meeting with the 44th president. He had just read the Longboat Observer’s Page 1A headline “Longboat’s newest retiree/Obamas follow daughter to Florida’’ alongside a photo of a water-skiing former commander-in-chief who clearly has been hitting the weightroom since Inauguration Day. “You got me,’’ he wrote.
• A Facebook commenter had this to say about Obama retiring to Longboat Key: "Where are the sharks when you need one?" On the flip side: "I would have moved back!" wrote another.
• Someone called looking to sign up for The Dating Game (Senior Edition). Sorry, ma’am.
• "It's pretty bad when an April Fools sounds good for your town,'' a Facebook commenter said about  riverboat gambling coming to Siesta Key.

So, as we press ahead with nothing but our brand of hyperlocal news on these pages for the next 52 weeks, remember again to cast a wary eye on our pages as April 2018 gets close.

Can’t say we didn’t warn you.