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Your Observer

Joe Thraen started building the three-wheeled, cartoonish creation "Tweety Bird" in 1990. Determined to build it by hand with legal parts, it was more than a decade before it was ready for flight. Rachel S. O'Hara.
    By
  • Alex Mahadevan
  • June 7, 2012
Siesta Key's 'mane man' closes shop

Joe Thraen will close Siesta Key's Classic Shapes in Hair June 9. The 71-year-old salon owner will ride off into the sunset on his Tweety Bird motorcycle, leaving behind 30 years of memories.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
    By
  • Alex Mahadevan
  • June 7, 2012
Crosswalks could provide marketing opportunity

As Stephen 'Dr. Beach' Leatherman crowns a new beach No. 1 in 2012, LED crosswalk lighting could give Siesta Key Village a progressive marketing edge.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
    By
  • Alex Mahadevan
  • June 7, 2012
Merchants market Village as bridge work begins

The Siesta Key Village Association has launched radio, print and billboard advertisements in anticipation of lane closures on the Siesta Key north bridge.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
The water main connection between Siesta Key and Casey Key was constructed with metallic materials and had to take an inefficient path because of technology in the early 1970s. Courtesy photo.
    By
  • Alex Mahadevan
  • June 7, 2012
County Commission approves direct water main connector

The Sarasota County Commission unanimously approved $1.13 million in funding for a new connection between Siesta and Casey keys.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Letters to the Editor

Let's pick up the trash

  • Sarasota
  • News
  • By Jeffrey Weisman
  • June 7, 2012
My View: Clearing the decks

Do little annoyances in your daily life bother you? They do me.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Fire Chief Henry Behrens stands atop the new Armstrong LaFrance fire truck in 1912 on South Pineapple Avenue. Photos courtesy of the Sarasota County History Center.
    By
  • Loren Mayo
  • June 7, 2012
A walk through time

The Sarasota City Commission will vote Monday, June 18, on whether to approve a permanent exhibit to be displayed in the Sarasota City Commission Chambers.

  • Sarasota
  • News
The following rendering shows how a roundabout at U.S. 41 and 10th Street would look. Courtesy rendering.
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • June 7, 2012
Roundabouts receive tentative approval

Sarasota city commissioners want to approve the landscaping of two U.S. 41 roundabouts along the bayfront at 10th and 14th streets because they feel they are 'signature pieces' that will act as the 'gateway of the city.'

  • Sarasota
  • News
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • June 7, 2012
Wal-Mart plans second Sarasota location

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to build its second location within city limits. An application has been proposed for the Ringling Plaza site.

  • Sarasota
  • News
The Sarasota County Jail is exceeding capacity, promoting discussions about the need for a new facility again.
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • June 7, 2012
Sarasota County may be in need of a new jail

The Sarasota County Commission was informed at a May budget workshop that the county jail is overpopulated with its average 967 daily inmates in May.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Sarasota, Sarasota County, City of Sarasota, Sarasota news, Sarasota people, Sarasota Observer, Observer Group, yourobserver.com, Siesta Key, Siesta Key life, Siesta Key News, Pelican Press
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
News Briefs

Chamber hopes poker night draws a full house

  • Siesta Key
  • News
Sarasota County settled on a location for the new emergency operations center on Porter Road east of Interstate-75, bucking any doubt about getting a $1 million grant extension. Courtesy of Sarasota County.
    By
  • Alex Mahadevan
  • June 7, 2012
Extension granted for new emergency operations center

The plans for a new emergency operations center in Sarasota County will move forward with a $1 million grant from the federal government.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Cops Corner: Pelican Press

Enjoy this week's edition of Cops Corner.

  • Sarasota
  • News
    By
  • Rachel S. OHara
  • June 7, 2012
Neighbors: Mark Lubas

Classically trained opera singer Mark Lubas has not only performed in a variety of operas throughout the U.S., he's also spent more than 20 years helping others find their own voice.

  • Siesta Key
  • Neighbors
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Catholic giant is awakened

Rare is the occasion when the Sunday bulletins at Catholic Churches forfeit their normally pastoral cover pages for a message like the one on the front of St. Martha's bulletin this past Sunday.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
Read this week's Cops Corner.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Cops Corner: Sarasota

Enjoy this week's edition of Cops Corner.

  • Sarasota
  • Cops Corner
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
News Briefs

Sarasota High School meetings set

  • Sarasota
  • News
Jill Ross poses with the first puppet she built, which she named Jerry. Ross built the puppet using Jim Henson’s technique.
    By
  • Nick Friedman
  • June 7, 2012
Neighbors: Jill Ross

Jill Ross is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist who uses her background in theater, arts and puppetry to brighten the lives of Sarasota Bay Club residents.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Jacob Madden, with CogPower Automotive in Sarasota, wants to bring QR code marketing technology to the used-car business. Photo by Lori Sax.
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • June 7, 2012
Queue It Up

Modernizing an industry can be tricky. A young Siesta Key entrepreneur is giving it a shot.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
Sue Jacobson is a Sarasota lawyer and regional president of the American Jewish Committee.
  • By Sue Jacobson
  • June 7, 2012
My View: FCAT hurts our children and our community

The "fix," simply redefining the result, is a tacit admission that the test score is more important than the factors behind it.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Letters to the Editor

Get moving on the garage

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
This home at 5073 Higel Ave. has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, a pool and 2,920 square feet of living area. It sold for $840,000. Rachel S. O'Hara.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • June 7, 2012
Three-bedroom Siesta Cove home sells for $975,000

The following residential real-estate transactions took place between May 21 and May 25. A home in Siesta Cove tops all transactions in this week's real estate.

  • Sarasota
  • Real Estate
Paul Weller took this photo of a sun halo with a jet contrail and some clouds June 4, on south Siesta Key at the Fisherman’s Haven condo.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Cool Today Weather Photo Contest Winner

Paul Weller took this photo of a sun halo with a jet contrail and some clouds June 4, on south Siesta Key at the Fisherman's Haven condo.

  • Siesta Key
  • Neighbors
Chap Percival submitted this photo of the sun halo Monday, June 4, taken on the Pine View School campus.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Cool Today Weather Photo Contest Winner

Chap Percival submitted this photo of the sun halo Monday, June 4, taken on the Pine View School campus.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
This home at 3920 Red Rock Way in Hansen has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a pool and 3,994 square feet of living area. It sold for $2.2 million. Photo by Nick Friedman.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • June 7, 2012
Three bedroom Hansen home sells for $2.2 million

The following residential real-estate transactions took place between May 21 and May 25. A home in Hansen tops all transactions in this week's real estate.

  • Sarasota
  • Real Estate
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 7, 2012
Observer Team Spotlight

This week's Observer Team Spotlight is Daniel Prewett.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
    By
  • Rachel S. OHara
  • June 7, 2012
Athlete of the Week: Julie Forbes

Julie Forbes has had a love of being out on the water since she was an infant. As a child, she accompanied her parents while they raced their sailboat on the Long Island Sound.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Join Emily Walsh as she reports today's headlines.
    By
  • Eddie Kirsch
  • June 6, 2012
June 6: Daily Headlines Video

Join us as we observe and report today's stories from Longboat Key, East County, Sarasota and Siesta Key.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
    By
  • Jen Blanco
  • June 6, 2012
Free high school football camp upcoming

Dave McNally of NFL High School Player Development will host a free football camp for all incoming ninth through 12th graders June 16 at Lakewood Ranch High, 5500 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.

  • East County
  • Sports
Dalton Burroughs, 3, tries to hit a ball through a wicket with a mallet, Wednesday, June 6.
    By
  • Rachel S. OHara
  • June 6, 2012
PHOTO GALLERY: Children's Day at Phillippi Farmhouse Market

The Phillippi Farmhouse Market celebrated the beginning of summer with a Children's Day from 9 am to 2 pm, Wednesday, June 6. There were a variety of free activities including face painting, arts and crafts, games, live music and a watermelon seed-spitting contest

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
    By
  • Alex Mahadevan
  • June 6, 2012
Siesta Key Association talks bridge, fireworks

The Siesta Key Association will gather for its final spring meeting on Thursday, June 7, and discuss the north bridge construction and fireworks laws and safety.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
Officers Kurt Denver and Carmen Woods, which were already in the area on patrol, rushed to the scene and got there as the child's father was pulling the infant out of the pool.
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • June 6, 2012
Sarasota Police save infant from drowning

Two police officers patrolling the Arlington Park neighborhood rushed to the scene of a drowning and performed CPR on an infant that fell in a pool.

  • Sarasota
  • News
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 6, 2012
Lakewood student earns kudos in MADD contest

From more than 130 entries nationwide, Lakewood Ranch High School student Nikelle Kelly has earned top honors.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 6, 2012
Harry's helps LBK Turtle Watch

Last week, the Longboat Key Turtle Watch received a check for its primary fundraiser, "Fiesta De Las Tortugas," held in May, at Harry's Continental Kitchens.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Photos courtesy of Mary Lou Johnson, Mary Lou Johnson Photography
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 6, 2012
Buried beach beauties relax

Local photographer Mary Lou Johnson captured this group of four cousins on the beach in the 6000 block of Longboat Key.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Courtesy of Kristi Dyer
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • June 6, 2012
Imagine hosts career day

Children at Imagine School at Lakewood Ranch recently learned about future career options during the school's third annual Career Day.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
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