• Alternate Text

  • Loading

  • Holiday Gift Guide
  • Health Observed
  • Crossword
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • e-Newspaper App
  • Longboat
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Opinion
  • East County
    • News
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
  • Sarasota
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Siesta Key
  • Arts + Entertainment
    • Eat + Drink
    • Arts + Culture
    • Reviews
    • Things To Do
    • Black Tie
    • Spotlight Partners
  • LWR Life
  • Galleries
  • More
    • Hurricane Season
    • Red Tide Map
    • Health Observed
    • Sand Bucket List
    • Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Contests
    • Tributes
    • Submit a Celebration
    • Submit a Tribute
    • Public Notices
    • Classifieds
  • Longboat
    • Longboat
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Opinion
  • East County
    • East County
    • News
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
  • Sarasota
    • Sarasota
    • News
    • Cops Corner
    • Real Estate
    • Business
    • Neighbors
    • Schools
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Siesta Key
  • Arts + Entertainment
    • Arts + Entertainment
    • Eat + Drink
    • Arts + Culture
    • Reviews
    • Things To Do
    • Black Tie
    • Spotlight Partners
  • LWR Life
  • Galleries
  • More
    • More
    • Hurricane Season
    • Red Tide Map
    • Health Observed
    • Sand Bucket List
    • Calendar
    • Celebrations
    • Contests
    • Tributes
    • Submit a Celebration
    • Submit a Tribute
    • Public Notices
    • Classifieds
  • Holiday Gift Guide
  • Health Observed
  • Crossword
  • Contests
  • Newsletters
  • e-Newspaper App

Longboat Key | Opinion

President Donald Trump
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • August 23, 2017
American family

President's finest words should be heeded

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Kristine Nickel
  • August 16, 2017
Thumbs up for treating hand pain

Your thumbs have a lot of work to do, but arthritis flare-ups aren’t always activity-related.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
The Colony Resort stands in tatters.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • August 2, 2017
A much better plan

Orlando developer Chuck Whittall learned a costly lesson about Longboat Key: Learn about it before you leap. With his newest development plans, Whittall clearly listened. It make sense.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • August 2, 2017
Good summer news

Tax rates same, down

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • August 2, 2017
Give taxpayers their money back

Hundreds of millions of dollars are sitting in reserve account.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • July 26, 2017
All study, little action

The first phase of the 20th traffic study in 10 years doesn’t give much hope for improvements at the two worst chokepoints — Gulf Drive and Cortez and U.S. 41 and Gulfstream-Fruitville.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • July 26, 2017
Postscript on Harmer's hiring

We erred

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Tom Harmer and David Bullock
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • July 19, 2017
Done before the vote

Tom Harmer is a good choice for Longboat. But the chronology of his hiring is curious: He executed a contract before commissioners voted to hire him. So much for transparency.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 19, 2017
Why Republicans can’t repeal Obamacare

It's the failure to understand

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Longboat Key Town Manager David Bullock, left, earns an annual salary of $181,688. Town officials are considering Sarasota County Administrator Tom Harmer as Bullock's replacement. Harmer earns an annual salary of $207,625.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • July 12, 2017
Convenient, but ...

Longboat’s Town Commission appears ready to hire Sarasota County’s Tom Harmer as the next town manager. He looks like a good fit. But do you buy the first car you see and like?

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
The Rotary Club donated $7,700 to help fund the agility equipment and two misting cooling stations, which look like fire hydrants, in the dog area at Bayfront Park.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 12, 2017
Fluffy Anderson sounds off on Longboat Key's Bayfront Park

Longboat Key letters to the editor

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Longboat Key's Bayfront Park is open to the public.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • July 12, 2017
One cheer for the remodeled Bayfront Park

The new Bayfront Park has more flaws than flair.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
The Keep Longboat Special group suggested a referendum to stop the development of any more hotel units on Longboat Key — beyond what already exists.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • July 5, 2017
Preserve the 250 units

Keep Longboat Special appears to be advocating a referendum to rescind the 2008 town vote to create a pool of 250 tourism units. Don’t go back to the old days; they really hurt the Key.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Zota’s opening creates an appropriate time to acknowledge and applaud Ocean Properties’ commitment to this region.
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • July 5, 2017
A bow to Ocean Properties' commitment

Rarely are private enterprises recognized and applauded for their investments and contributions.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • June 28, 2017
Ben Franklin, we need you more than ever

To preserve what our Founders created, Ben Franklin knew it depended on our having the proper temper in the public square.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
« 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 »
The best of Your Observer, delivered directly to your inbox

Get the latest in news, sports, schools, arts and things to do in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Longboat Key and East County.

Sign Up

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
Hurricane season ends without Florida landfall
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.
  • December 4, 2025
Longboat police chief begins community video series
4
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

App

Download the Your Observer app

Stay in the know with the latest local news. Any device, anytime, anywhere.

DOWNLOAD NOW

Contact

  • 1970 Main St.
  • Third Floor
  • Sarasota, FL 34236
  • Phone: 941-366-3468
  • FPN Verified

Extra, Extra!

  • Newsletters
  • App
  • Crossword
  • Contests

more

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Classifieds
  • Advertise
  • Rack Locations
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Options

sister sites

  • Business Observer
  • Jax Daily Record
  • Orange Observer
  • Accessibility Options
  • Copyright © 2025 Observer Media Group Inc., All Rights Reserved
Sign Up for Daily Headlines

A daily dose of news from Longboat Key, East County, Sarasota and Siesta Key.

Sign Up for In Case You Missed It

A Saturday dose of the week's top stories from Sarasota, Longboat Key and East County.

The Your Observer App is Here!

Get local news you can trust — now on your phone, tablet or laptop. Fast. Free. Easy to Use.
Stay informed, wherever you are.

Download Now