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Opinion

The Iwo Jima statue
  • By Harold Ronson
  • August 8, 2013
My take on why the Iwo Jima statue effort had to be abandoned

I am the veteran of the Iwo campaign who proposed donating the Iwo Jima statue to Sarasota. And I want to thank the Observer newspapers for your generous and thoughtful coverage of that effort, and make clear why it had to be abandoned.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 8, 2013
OUR VIEW: How districts compare

Everyone likes to see how he compares to his peers. That's especially so in education. It's no mystery, then, why consumers see so many publications produce national rankings of colleges and universities.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 7, 2013
OUR VIEW: Priceless opportunity

As this was being composed, the scene at the Manatee County Convention Center rekindled memories - those tiring days of the Longboat Key Town Commission hearings over the Longboat Key Club and Resort's proposed $400 million redevelopment and expansion plan.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 7, 2013
Letters to the Editor

Boats should stay off front yards

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
  • By Jorge Blanco
  • August 1, 2013
Castaway

Enjoy this week's Castaway cartoon.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 1, 2013
Our View: Disservice to taxpayers

Most everything legislators do is well intentioned. They get gold stars for that.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 1, 2013
Our View: Disservice to taxpayers

Most everything legislators do is well intentioned.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 1, 2013
Letters to the Editor

Although the "spin doctor" term is sometimes used by individuals less familiar with the profession, I would not expect our public officials to use it and certainly not in such a public way

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Betsy Falls and her father, Art Falls, at the Sea Stable
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 31, 2013
Our View: The Godfather of LBK

With Art Falls' death this past Saturday in Sarasota - exactly one month shy of his 87th birthday - Longboat Key lost one of its community godfathers and a man who spent 30 years making Longboat Key a better place for everyone - residents, visitors and businesses.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 31, 2013
Letters to the Editor

Manatee County will change forever

  • East County
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 31, 2013
Letters to the Editor

Boats should stay off front yards

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 25, 2013
OUR VIEW: 'Tis the season: for tax rates

It's that time of year. It's that time of year. All of our taxing authorities are in the midst of budgeting for next year. And for taxpayers, it's easy to get a bad case of 'MEGO' - 'My Eyes Glaze Over' - when all of the news reports come out about proposed millage rates (aka property-tax rates).

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 25, 2013
Letters to the Editor: Patriotism is dying

To have the city of Sarasota art snobs turn down the Iwo Jima statue is a lesson in what really matters to this town's leaders.

  • Sarasota
  • News
  • By Jorge Blanco
  • July 24, 2013
Castaway

Read this week's Castaway cartoon.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
One source of the controversy: on Bayview Drive on the north side of Longboat Key. Photo by Kurt Schultheis.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 24, 2013
Our View: Boat-trailer trash; or is it?

Knowing the history of restrictive zoning on Longboat Key, it's quite remarkable that now, in 2013, 58 years after the town's incorporation, there is not a law on Longboat Key's books banning the parking of boats in residential yards.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
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