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Sarasota | 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
Dogs enjoy the surf at Brohard Paw Park Beach in Venice.
    By
  • Alex Mahadevan
  • July 19, 2013
FRIDAY FIVE: Places to bond with man's best friend

Break free from the old routine, and take your dog (or dogs) for more than just a walk at these five fun places to play with fido.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 18, 2013
OUR VIEW: The high cost of police

As of Tuesday and Wednesday, when the Sarasota City Commission resumed its budget discussions, commissioners faced a projected $2.54 million budget shortfall for the upcoming 2013-2014 fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Rodger Skidmore
  • By Rodger Skidmore
  • July 18, 2013
MY VIEW: 'Depiction' is key before placement of statue

The raising of the flag on Iwo Jima means different things to different people - usually based on different sets of "facts" - so real knowledge of history is important.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Iwo Jima veteran Harold Ronson, left: Should he give up? Sarasota Public Art Fund founder Thomas Savage, right: “You can’t fight City Hall” in Sarasota.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 11, 2013
Give up? They didn't at Iwo

What does it say about a community whose behind-the-scenes City Hall manipulators scotch an effort to bring to Sarasota's bayfront one of the greatest American icons depicting one of the greatest moments in American history?

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Minister Joel Osteen, left, leads Nik Wallenda and his family in prayer minutes before the Grand Canyon walk. (Photo from Salon.com)
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 27, 2013
Our View: Down with DOMA

We are all likely to drown over the next few days in the news and commentaries on the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. The court said it was unconstitutional. This is likely to become our next Roe v. Wade.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Enjoy this week's Castaway cartoon.
  • By Jorge Blanco
  • June 19, 2013
Castaway

Enjoy this week's Castaway cartoon.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
  • By Jorge Blanco
  • June 13, 2013
Castaway

Enjoy this week's Castaway cartoon.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Frank Atura
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 13, 2013
Our View: Capitalize on the moment

The cloud of euphoria enveloping the Sarasota Ballet this week is well deserved. And it is not over the top to exclaim this tiny (in budget) but extraordinarily talented ballet company, Sarasota's own, reached a historic high in its 26 years of existence this past weekend at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 13, 2013
Letters to the Editor

What should we believe?; Tyranny still exists

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 5, 2013
Our View: D-Day: Memorial Day cont'd

There are 25 million living American veterans. Since Gen. George Washington commanded the Continental Army, 42 million Americans have served the colors. A million have been killed in its defense. Another million and a half wounded.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • May 30, 2013
Our View: The city's days of reckoning

Page 1 headline: City budget - $6 million deficit.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • May 29, 2013
Our View: Right ideas, faulty methods

Last week in this space, we presented the context for how and why the referendum question on the indigent-care, one-half-cent sales surtax came into being.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
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