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Opinion

    By
  • Jay Heater
  • January 20, 2023
Earn your beads at a Mardi Gras run in Lakewood Ranch

The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund is hosting its first 5K fundraiser.

  • East County
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • January 18, 2023
Do or die for New College

With his recent appointments to the New College board, Gov. DeSantis has put the school on notice that it can no longer do what it has been doing. There is a better strategy for the future.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Deep Lagoon Seafood & Oyster House is on its way to Waterside Place in 2023.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • January 12, 2023
Seeking clarity on major Manatee County issues in 2023

The fate of a county administrator, a major development and Premier Park are among the Manatee County items that will draw attention this year.

  • East County
  • Opinion
  • By Adrian Moore, Geoffrey Lawrence
  • January 11, 2023
Nikki Fried is right to sue for medical marijuana patients’ gun rights

Although federal law prohibits marijuana use, it doesn’t give it grounds to discriminate against marijuana users.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • January 5, 2023
Wake up. Have hope.

Our word for 2023 is "hope." We all must have hope — hope that our fellow Americans wake up to what is being done to them. History shows us the power of hope. It propels us to take action.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Emily Walsh
  • December 28, 2022
Vision 2023

As we move into the new year, Observer Media Group remains committed to its vision statement: Innovate and elevate.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Myakka City's Lily Wolfe, 9, and her rabbit, Smokey, are headed into competition at the Manatee County Fair.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • December 19, 2022
Important lessons by a not-so-silly rabbit in Myakka City

FFA and 4-H are important programs for sustaining our future farmers and ranchers in Manatee County.

  • East County
  • Opinion
Lakewood Ranch's Mark and Jane Imperiale have assembled a group of more than 50 bell ringers for the Salvation Army.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • December 15, 2022
Lakewood Ranch volunteers give a new ring to exit strategy

Salvation Army volunteers have fun while ringing the bell at a Publix location in Lakewood Ranch.

  • East County
  • Opinion
Right step for SMH board
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • December 14, 2022
Right step for SMH board

Hearing the stories of families who lost loved ones during the pandemic was a gut-wrenching baptism for SMH’s new board members. But they responded the right way. Rather than look for blame, they chose to learn.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
DeSantis’ political future? It’s property insurance
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • December 14, 2022
DeSantis’ political future? It’s property insurance

Long after Gov. Ron DeSantis is gone from Florida politics, his legacy will be tied to the issue Florida legislators are addressing this week in Tallahassee: property insurance.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Tramm Hudson
  • By Tramm Hudson
  • December 8, 2022
SMH Board chair vows to impartially examine COVID-19 response

A report is expected on what went right, what went wrong and what the hospital system can learn.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
  • By Adrian Moore, Vittorio Nastasi
  • December 7, 2022
It’s time for Florida to stop relying on ‘taxation by citation’

Relying on fees and fines as a source of recurring revenue isn’t sustainable and should be reconsidered.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
River Club's Vera and Jim Slocum have been each other's yin and yang for 65 years.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • December 7, 2022
Chance meeting led to 65 years of marriage for River Club couple

Lakewood Ranch's Jim and Vera Slocum have laughed a lot while being each other's "yin and yang."

  • East County
  • Opinion
Nancy Perpall has used many of her experiences as a lawyer to write her first novel with more on the way.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • December 2, 2022
Real life drama leads to local author's fiction

Lakewood Ranch's Nancy Perpall has turned a page in her life, going from her profession as an attorney to writing novels.

  • East County
  • Opinion
The school board blew it
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • December 1, 2022
The school board blew it

Sarasota school board members and Superintendent Aspen showed how not to operate as a competent board and poised leader.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
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Santa (Steven Trudell of St. Petersburg) gets the runners fired up just before the start of the 2025 Jingle 5K Dec. 12 in Lakewood Ranch.
  • December 13, 2025
More than 500 runners go the distance in Lakewood Ranch's Jingle 5K
2
Longboat Key Police Deputy Chief Frank Rubino (left) accepts a framed display of medals, patches and pins that demonstrate his 45-year career in law enforcement.
  • December 13, 2025
Longboat deputy chief with 45 years of experience to retire
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Nicholas Savarese, a teacher who has a background in chemical engineering, judges junior Lillian Pevzner-Downer's project on the comparison of conventionally grown crops with chemicals and pesticides versus organically grown crops at the Lakewood Ranch High School Science Fair.
  • December 12, 2025
Lakewood Ranch High revives its science fair

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