News Briefs

+ Longboat Key man charged in road rage stabbing
Sarasota police arrested a Longboat Key resident in connection with a stabbing that occurred following a road rage incident before 2:30 p.m. Nov. 6.

Steven Walters, 50, allegedly began punching 41-year-old Michael Gatz during the altercation in front of Petco in the Paradise Plaza parking lot near the intersection of Bee Ridge Road and South Tamiami Trail. Police say Walters then slashed Gatz in the face several times before fleeing the scene.

Officers found Walters walking through the parking lot, and he was treated for a cut on his hand at Sarasota Memorial Hospital before he was transported to Sarasota County jail. Emergency personnel airlifted Gatz to Blake Medical Center.

Sarasota police charged Walters with aggravated battery and tampering with evidence, both felonies.

+ Hixon takes out commission papers
Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Al Hixon picked up candidate paperwork to run for the Longboat Key Town Commission. Hixon told the Longboat Observer he has not returned papers or decided whether he will run. However, he will seek the District 4 seat planning board Vice Chairman Jack Daly has qualified for if he opts to run.

Mayor Jim Brown will term-limit out of the seat District 4 seat next spring. Vice Mayor Jack Duncan and Commissioner Phill Younger have qualified to run again for their respective District 2 and at-large seats.
The deadline for candidates to qualify for the town’s March 10, 2015 general municipal election is Nov. 17.

+ Hendry County lieutenant finds missing Key woman
A Longboat Key woman was found safe after the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a Silver Alert.

Diana Kesten, 66, was reported missing Nov. 6, after she did not arrive at her son and daughter-in-law’s Bradenton home as expected. Kesten’s son contacted Longboat Key police, who provided information to the FDLE and contacted local media.

Police issued be-on-the-lookout alerts and contacted the woman’s banks and Verizon to seek information about activity.

A Hendry County sheriff’s lieutenant found Kesten driving Nov. 7, after her cellphone pinged to a nearby location. Her cellphone had been turned off and on throughout the evening, and she had apparently driven throughout Punta Gorda and Lehigh Acres before traveling to Hendry County.

+ Correction
The author of the book review of “The Paying Guests,” by Sarah Waters, published in the Nov. 6 Diversions, was incorrectly credited. Jennifer McPheeters wrote the review.