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News

  • By Brian Gunnell
  • December 28, 2011
Bridge Bites: Eschewing the finesse

I cannot recall seeing the word 'eschew' other than in bridge books.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Each morning, the Lakewood Ranch anglers climbed aboard these boats with hopes of catching the big one. Courtesy photo.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • December 28, 2011
Anglers earn bragging rights, remorse about the ones who got away

As the first woman member of the Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club, Jeanette Wirz has had to keep her fishing skills finely honed, earning herself many fishing accolades over the years.

  • East County
  • News
Sydney Ashley and her family adopted their dog, Ky-Man, from the Sarasota County Humane Society. Photo by Jen Blanco.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • December 28, 2011
Sixth-grader gives cash to Lakewood Ranch rescue

Sydney Ashley bought toys for the Humane Society of Lakewood Ranch using $130 she received for her 12th birthday.

  • East County
  • News
Read this week's Castaway Cartoon.
  • By Jorge Blanco
  • December 28, 2011
Castaway

Enjoy this week's Castaway cartoon.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
The current Longboat Key Publix store will close after Easter 2012 and re-open December 2012 if the application is approved. Photo by Rachel S. O'Hara.
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • December 28, 2011
TOP STORY, JULY: Publix plans

Publix Super Markets Inc. submitted July 6 a preliminary application to the town outlining a teardown and rebuild of Avenue of the Flowers.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Rehabilitation of the Siesta north bridge is scheduled to begin in June 2012. Photo by Norman Schimmel
    By
  • Rachel Brown Hackney
  • December 28, 2011
TOP STORY, JULY: Traffic, rainy delays top concerns with Siesta bridge project

Smooth traffic management and making sure the work is completed before tourist season begins in earnest: Those were the foremost concerns voiced July 7, when the Siesta Key Association board of directors hosted Florida Department of Transportation officials for a discussion of the 2012 north Siesta Key bridge rehabilitation project.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
For the last two years, business owner Mark Manges had his eyes set on a space in Lakewood Ranch's San Marco Plaza.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • December 28, 2011
TOP STORY, JULY: San Marco Plaza

With banks finally foreclosing on units in San Marco Plaza, business owners began snatching up spaces at reduced prices and increasing traffic to the plaza.

  • East County
  • News
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • December 27, 2011
IN THE PUBLIC EYE: Chris Gallagher

Sarasota resident Chris Gallagher is the senior designer at Sarasota-based Jonathan Parks Architect and a member of the city's Planning Board.

  • Sarasota
  • News
He had not even signed his contract yet, but interim County Administrator Terry Lewis already was hard at work during a county budget hearing June 14. Photo by Rachel S. O'Hara.
    By
  • Robin Roy
  • December 27, 2011
TOP STORY, JUNE: Lewis reports for duty ... again

Terry Lewis has delayed his retirement many times because he keeps getting called to duty. The latest call came from Sarasota County government.

  • Sarasota
  • News
The New Pass Bridge tender was never notified by a 911 operator that an ambulance was approaching and needed to get off the island.
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • December 27, 2011
TOP STORY, JUNE: Emergency-response issue arises

The New Pass Bridge log shows that the bridge tender was not notified in 17 different instances this year when an ambulance was headed toward the bridge to reach Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Dr. Stephen Leatherman — Dr. Beach — tells the approximately 4 million "Today Show" viewers that the best beach in the country for 2011 is the Siesta Key Public Beach. Photo by Norman Schimmel.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • December 27, 2011
TOP STORY, JUNE: Siesta Key Public Beach named No. 1 in the U.S.

Sarasota County officials were more than happy to join a crew from 'The Today Show' on the beach at 8 a.m. May 27 to celebrate Siesta's ascension to the No. 1 spot on the annual Top 10 Beaches list of Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
"I do believe in leading by example, showing respect and building relationships," Lakewood Ranch Town Hall's Executive Director Eva Rey said. "There isn't anything I would ask my employee to do that I wouldn't do myself."
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • December 27, 2011
TOP STORY, JUNE: Eva Rey

The Villages' Eva Rey was chosen as Lakewood Ranch Town Hall's new executive director.

  • East County
  • News
Abigail Swindell fed Gertrude and Margilow in May at her home in Sarasota. CLUCK is a group that has lobbied for urban chicken keeping throughout the county.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • December 26, 2011
YEAR IN PICTURES: May, 2011

Take a look back at photos from this year in The Sarasota Observer.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Before he walked away from the commission table mid-meeting May 25, Jim Ley shook hands and hugged all five county commissioners, including Chairwoman Nora Patterson. Photo by Robin Roy.
    By
  • Robin Roy
  • December 26, 2011
TOP STORY, MAY: 'Thanks' and 'goodbye'

Jim Ley had positive things to say about the residents and staff for which he served more than a decade as the chief executive of Sarasota County.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Key Club attorney John Patterson said the DCA's lack of objections means the central argument of the Islandside Property Owners Coalition (IPOC) has been eradicated.
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • December 26, 2011
TOP STORY, MAY: 'The end for IPOC'?

Attorneys for the town of Longboat Key and the Longboat Key Club believe a state report eliminates the Islandside Property Owners Coalition's central argument against the club's Islandside project.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
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