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Longboat Key | Opinion

    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • March 11, 2020
Role models for their successors

BJ Bishop and Sherry Dominick begin their terms on Town Commission as Irwin Pastor and Randy Clair exit.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Sarasota Suncoast Academy is one of 12 charter schools in Sarasota County.
    By
  • Adrian Moore
  • March 4, 2020
If charter schools are 'not as good as advertised,' why are families flocking to them?

Charter schools provide greater benefits than a report appears to show.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • February 26, 2020
He should be fired

FDOT is not the one to blame for the traffic backups on the Ringling Causeway. The city is. It controls the timing of the projects.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • February 19, 2020
How not to make law

Although the idea of merging FSU and New College came as a shock, it is worth exploring. That should have been done before drafting a bill. Lawmakers often forget they are the servants, not kings.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
New College has become a top producer of students who earn prestigious fellowships. They have awarded 74 Fulbright Fellowships to their students over the past 15 years.
  • By Sen. Joe Gruters and Reps.Wengay “Newt” Newton, Will Robinson, Margaret Good, Tommy Gregory and James Buchanan
  • February 18, 2020
My View: New College is a premier institution, let's not break it

Bill in Tallahassee would make Sarasota college part of FSU system.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Adrian Moore
  • February 6, 2020
Vacation-rental regulations come down to local control versus state preemption

With so many cities going too far with regulations, state control makes sense. If you don’t like vacation rentals, form an HOA.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • February 5, 2020
Traffic: Officials respond

Longboat town commissioners sent comments about traffic to Sarasota commissioners and FDOT, requesting immediate action and better coordination. And the city’s response? The usual nothing.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • January 29, 2020
Islanders to city: Fix 41-bridge backups now

Call city commissioners, and demand they do more to eliminate the backups. Their inaction is hurting the economy.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • January 23, 2020
The pressure is on, Mote

With the Sarasota County Commission agreeing to front $20 million to Mote Marine for its aquarium from bed taxes, the bigger challenge is yet to come: proving its vision is real.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • January 22, 2020
How to make Longboat's Gulf of Mexico Drive safer

Keep the transports out of the middle of GMD, let lights shine on the road, and buy GMD from the state.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Readers frequently pointed out the traffic bottlenecks in St. Armands Circle as something the'd like to fix -- if they had the power to do so.
    By
  • Eric Garwood
  • January 15, 2020
Kings of the road: What if you wore the crown?

Readers let us know where they stand on solutions to perennial roadway backups.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Hoyt Architects of Sarasota created this rendering of “Town Center Park,” site of the former Amore restaurant near Publix.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • January 15, 2020
The keys to a town center on Longboat

If Longboat Key commissioners are convinced the town needs a town center, they face two tough decisions: giving subsidies to developers and what to do about density.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
St. Armands Circle is a frequent source of traffic headaches.
    By
  • Eric Garwood
  • January 2, 2020
If you were king or queen, how would you fix traffic?

What are your potential solutions to our never-ending traffic troubles.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • January 1, 2020
2020 word of the year: Make it a ‘Golden’ year

Given the past three years of strife in Washington, one word that comes to mind is ‘stop’ — as ‘Stop it!’ But a better approach is to take the high road: the Golden Rule.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
This is the last week of lane closures because of the tree removal on the Ringling Causeway. (Nat Kaemmerer)
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • December 11, 2019
How about Sarasota traffic cops?

The city of Sarasota should be thinking about the effects of roundabout construction on residents’ and visitors’ experience here. Some customer service with traffic could sure help.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
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Latest in Longboat Key

1
Brent Piersma and Beverly Sutton fill seed packets for Hope Seeds.
  • December 5, 2025
Hope Seeds seeks extra hands
2
A satellite image of Hurricane Irma.
  • December 4, 2025
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3
Longboat Key Police Chief Russ Mager speaks at a Rotary Club of Longboat Key meeting Tuesday, Sept. 16. Mager, who spent nearly three decades in law enforcement primarily in Delray Beach, said LBKPD has training requirements similar to the much larger city of Delray and that officers on the Key are well prepared for any event that may take place thanks to partnerships the department has with neighboring jurisdictions.
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Sidewalks on the southern portion of Gulf of Mexico Drive will be closed nightly as construction crews begin work to install a gas line to accommodate a dredging project in Sarasota Bay.
  • December 3, 2025
Expect road, sidewalk closures on Longboat Key
5
Lucie Lapovsky, president of the Longboat Key Democratic Club, and Nick Gladding, president of the Republican Club of Longboat Key, are two members of Miracle on the Key, a group which aims to find common ground among hot-button political issues.
  • December 3, 2025
Longboat Dems, GOP join together to find common ground

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