- December 24, 2025
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Photo by Chechotkin
So why can't adults write their own letters to Santa?
It always seems to work with children.
For this, our Christmas Day issue, the East County Observer went to our readers to ask what they would wish for to make our community even a better place to live.
We received some very interesting, and some very fun, answers.
Dennis Kepple wants a "reasonably priced public golf course to be developed in the Lakewood Ranch area."
Kepple said, "Since Legacy Golf Club was stolen by the Country Club from us public golfers (actually sold to the Heritage Golf Group) and several others have been closed for housing development over the past five years, our options have become fewer and fewer."
Bob Richards has long wanted Manatee County, or anyone for that matter, to build "soft courts" or "Har-Tru" (clay courts) at Premier Park or at other parks in the area.
"And as we have discussed, the injury factor increases on 'hard courts' and all the leagues here in Florida have a mandatory rule that their matches must be played on 'Har-Tru,'" Richards said. "So even if I might be retired from tennis by then, for the sake of the county, I would strongly encourage 'soft tennis courts' to be built."
Richards said to look at the number of hard tennis courts that are being built at high schools.
"How many people do you see playing there?" he said. "The answer is none."
David Terminello knows that a lot of restaurants have been built in the area over the past few years, but he has a request for one more.
"My wish is for a Portillo’s restaurant in 2026," he said. "It's a no-brainer in my humble opinion."
So here are other wishes for the community.
"My wish is to slow down traffic. It’s crazy out there. I’ve been hit twice in the last two years. People are driving too fast and not paying attention because they’re on their cell phones. One car was totalled, and the other one was just dented. My street is 35 mph, and people whiz by all the time. My mailbox has been hit three times. My neighbor’s mailbox has been hit so many times that he constructed it with steel and concrete. Anything to slow down traffic, I’m all about it."
"What I wish is that people would show each other respect, consideration and kindness. I would hope that people would bend over backwards to say something nice to at least one person every day."
"A local coffee shop incorporated with a bookstore. It would be a place where we could study, work or just stay for a while if you want to cozy up with a book."
"I'm from up North, and there was an ice cream restaurant called Friendly's that I was a big fan of. I know there's some other ice cream shops, but there's something special about that one."
"Here on (Lakewood) Main Street, a little convenience store would be great. Someone asked for cigarettes the other day, and the next-closest gas station is two miles away."
"I would like to see some place that told you where to go for the best Christmas lights when you're out driving around — besides the mall, that's so crazy busy."
"I wish that our business community continues to expand and grow."
"I know they have the tree (at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch), but what if they did a tree decorating? Get the community involved in decorating the tree or a bunch of trees they set up. Kids could come and decorate the trees. Everybody brings an ornament."
"My wish is to have more events like Music on Main (which is held on the first Friday of every month) It brings everyone together to have fun and helps businesses."
"I'm thinking of the Kosher delis that we have in New York ... with platters of macaroni salad, pasta salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, all that. That would be amazing. We would be there every single day."
"A bakery. They've tried everything else in this little town here. One thing I think of is — being from a small hometown — you walk down a street and you smell a bakery in the morning and you're home."
"I want better health for the community."
