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Your Observer

Massaro-Fain
    By
  • Nick Friedman
  • January 19, 2012
BUSINESS OBSERVER

Helbing recognized by Medical Economics; Grapevine earns top agency recognition; Sarasota attorney earns recognition; Manatee Tiger Bay adds Misty Servia

  • Sarasota
  • News
Unit 1404 condominium at 1111 Ritz Carlton Drive has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and 2,754 square feet of living area. It sold for $925,000. Photo by Nick Friedman.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • January 19, 2012
Oyster Bay Estates home sells for $2.7 million

Kenneth and Mitzie Henson sold their home at 1204 N. Lake Shore Drive to Ferdinand and Jamie Becker, Sarasota, for $2.7 million.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Chuck Comstock submitted this sunset photo, taken at Nokomis Beach.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 19, 2012
Cool Today Weather Photo Contest Winner

Chuck Comstock submitted this sunset photo, taken at Nokomis Beach.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
LAUREN MCCOMB <br><br> "Although fashion is important to me, style is key. I like to be sophisticated and modern while keeping things fun with great accessories. I like to have quality versus quantity and am always on the lookout for a fabulous deal."
    By
  • Black Tie Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Sarasota Prime Time - exhibit - meet - greet

Sarasota Prime Time - exhibit - meet - greet

  • Black Tie
Honorees Margaret Callihan, Eva Slane, Betsy Kane-Hartnett and Anne Weintraub
    By
  • Black Tie Staff
  • January 18, 2012
30th Anniversary of Women in Power

30th Anniversary of Women in Power

  • Black Tie
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN CLIC CLAC LACE BOOTIE <br><br> “I thought they were stunning with the lace-and-button detail and the signature Louboutin bottom.”
    By
  • Black Tie Staff
  • January 18, 2012
GUEST FASHION EDITOR: LAUREN MCCOMB

GUEST FASHION EDITOR: LAUREN MCCOMB

  • Black Tie
Join Emily Walsh for the Observer Daily Headlines.
    By
  • Eddie Kirsch
  • January 18, 2012
JAN. 18: 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
Don Giquinto and Ina Savage accept the first-place award on behalf of Siesta Dunes.
    By
  • Nick Friedman
  • January 18, 2012
PHOTO GALLERY: Siesta Key Condo Council Lighting Contest Awards

The Siesta Key Condominium Council met Tuesday, Jan. 17, and dished out awards to the winners of the Siesta Key Holiday Spirit Condominium Lighting Contest. Condominiums were divided into categories according to number of units. Category I was for condominiums containing 101 or more units, category II was for 51 to 100 units and category III was for 50 or fewer units. The first place winners for each category were Siesta Dunes, Beach Haven and Sandpiper Beach Club, respectively.

  • Siesta Key
  • News
    By
  • Kurt Schultheis
  • January 18, 2012
DSA expands First Friday to every Friday

A popular First Friday event sponsored by the Downtown Sarasota Alliance will now be held every Friday.

  • Sarasota
  • News
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Truckload of thanks rolls in

D.M. Williams, manager at Casa Del Mar, has been a big supporter of the Longboat Key Fire Rescue.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Rotary completes can-made firecracker

The Rotary Club of East Manatee sparked feelings of patriotism in honor of this year's Manatee County fair with the group's can sculpture - a firecracker standing 5 feet tall.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Guide Dogs seeks new puppy-raisers

Southeastern Guide Dogs is calling all puppy lovers as it readies to train a new group of guide dog puppies.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
Midfielder Maria Miller, 14, battles for position during the Braden River Soccer Club’s game versus the Ocala Lightning Elite Jan. 15.
    By
  • Jen Blanco
  • January 18, 2012
PHOTO GALLERY: USSSA Southeast Regional Championship

More than 50 youth boys and girls soccer teams from across the country and Brazil competed in the USSSA Southeast Regional Championship Jan. 14-15 at the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch. The top four finishers in each age division are qualified to attend the 2012 USSSA Soccer National Championships July 12 in Overland Park, Kan.

  • East County
  • Sports
The Colony Beach & Tennis Association believes it can move forward with plans for redeveloping the historic resort — even without the approval of longtime owner Dr. Murray "Murf" Klauber.
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Association disputes Klauber's claims

In a Jan. 16 letter to Town Manager David Bullock, Colony Association attorney Donald E. Hemke argued that the association doesn't need the approval of the resort's longtime owner to proceed.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Church members will decide Gill's future

The Longboat Island Chapel's board notified the Rev. Kenneth Gill of its decision last week to place him on administrative leave, but chapel members will have the final say over his future. with the church.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Interviews to begin soon for north-end project

The community-based planning effort for the island's north end will incorporate input from stakeholders, students and design professionals. information-gathering phase of a community-based planning effort for the island's north end.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Firefighter/paramedic Jim Reynolds has been a firefighter for 16 years, four-and-a-half of which he has spent on Longboat Key.
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Firefighter is engine behind equipment

Firefighter/paramedic Jim Reynolds researches equipment when he isn't handling emergencies - a contribution that helped earn him the 2011 Firefighter of the Year Award.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Commission gives its two cents

Town staff will ask the commission for direction about how to proceed with a forecasted 15-year shortfall of $4,763,431 in infrastructure surtax revenue.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Town hopes to cash in on video advertisements

The commission will discuss an advertising model that could help to offset the town's cost of offering live-streaming meetings.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Bridge crash causes $55,000 in damages

A driver struck a concrete guardrail Wednesday, Jan. 11, on New Pass Bridge, causing approximately $55,000 in damage, according to a Longboat Key police report.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Judy Kepecz-Hays stands in front of The Water Club, where her newest listing — a two-story, 5,300-square-foot residence priced at $4.75 million — is located. Photo by Rachel S. O'Hara.
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Kepecz-Hays takes No. 1 slot in 2011

Coldwell Banker's Judy Kepecz-Hays finished the year with sales volume of approximately $45 million, making her the top Sarasota-Manatee Realtor.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Key Realtors share their 2012 real-estate predictions

The top 10 Longboat Key-based Realtors for 2011 share their predictions of how the real-estate market will fare this year.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
File photo The Longboat Library opened in 1957 in its original location at the Twin Tarpon Shopping Center, 6350 Gulf of Mexico Drive.
    By
  • Robin Hartill
  • January 18, 2012
Longboat Library campaign seeks to balance books

The Longboat Library will soon begin an awareness campaign about its expenses in hopes of raising support for town funding.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Newly commissioned USMC 2nd lieutenants take the oath of office at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, Va. Courtesy.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Our View: Stand up for the honorable

Their act was deplorable. And stupid.

  • Longboat Key
  • Opinion
Jim Warnecke made sure to get a hug from his daughter, Brie Middlebrook, who sat in on the presentation with her first-grade class.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
Jim Warnecke makes landfall at Willis Elementary

Lakewood Ranch resident and hurricane hunter Jim Warnecke spoke with Willis Elementary first-graders Jan. 12 about chasing storms with the NOAA.

  • East County
  • News
CDD supervisors last week voted to hire attorney John Harllee as special council.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
Lawsuit filed in CDD debate

Both Stoneybrook Investors LLC, owners of the Stoneybrook Golf Club, and the Lighthouse Cove Condominium Association have served lawsuits to the Heritage Harbour South CDD.

  • East County
  • News
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
Sheriff releases few details in Ranch homicide

Manatee detectives now believe Ina Gross' murder was not a random act. However, Manatee Sheriff Brad Steube had not named a suspect as of Jan. 17.

  • East County
  • News
Unit 282 condominium at Grand Bay, 3040 Grand Bay Blvd., has three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and 2,143 square feet of living area. It sold for $880,000. File photo.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • January 18, 2012
Grand Bay condo sells for $880,000

Timothy Radigan, of Dunwoody, Ga., sold his Unit 282 condominium at Grand Bay, 3040 Grand Bay Blvd., to Diane Richter, of Louisville, Ky., for $880,000.

  • Longboat Key
  • Real Estate
Renderings of the widening project show 12-foot driving lanes and a five-foot sidewalk are part of the improvements.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
FDOT to widen State Road 64

The $12.7 million project will expand State Road 64 to six lanes from Carlton Arms Boulevard to Interstate 75.

  • East County
  • News
    By
  • Jen Blanco
  • January 18, 2012
School Board privatizes custodial services

The School Board on Jan. 9 approved privatizing services at four schools, including Braden River Elementary and Haile Middle School. The move is expected to save $160,000.

  • East County
  • News
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
Hayes will not seek re-election

District 5 Commissioner Donna Hayes announced she will not run for re-election in November as previously announced.

  • East County
  • News
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
Out-of-Door debuts student-directed play

Theater students at The Out-of-Door Academy will perform a student-directed play called 'Paper Candles' Jan. 18-20, in the school's Black Box Theater, 5950 Deer Drive, Sarasota.

  • East County
  • News
Bauhman and Mehraz Badiee hope to resume their work in Iranian politics and human-rights activism once their new business is established.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
Fighting for Freedom

Although Bauhman and Mehraz Badiee, owners of You Say When Yogurt Shoppe in Lakewood Ranch, left their home country of Iran more than 30 years ago, fighting for the freedom of Iranians is still close to their hearts.

  • East County
  • News
Read this week's Cops Corner.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • January 18, 2012
Cops Corner: East County

Enjoy this week's edition of Cops Corner.

  • East County
  • Cops Corner
The Courtyards at Market Square is about 21,500 square feet and has about 20 spaces for potential tenants.
    By
  • Pam Eubanks
  • January 18, 2012
New owner envisions revitalized Courtyards plaza

Courtyards of Market Square manager Al Salem said he expects to attract medical and professional businesses to the plaza.

  • East County
  • News
    By
  • Michael Eng
  • January 18, 2012
Observed: Time to take back Lakewood Ranch

I'll be honest: My original idea for this column was to chastise the Manatee County Sheriff's Office about the information - or lack thereof - it released in the days following the murder of Lakewood Ranch resident Ina Gross.

  • East County
  • Opinion
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