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Your Observer

At one of two "Jurassic Park" trunks, Ayla Puccio, 8, helped offer the chance to pet a dinosaur using puppets.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • October 30, 2025
Sarasota church, elementary school team up for trunk-or-treat

Church of the Redeemer volunteers brought to life places from "Jurassic Park" to the Hundred Acre Wood during trunk-or-treat at Alta Vista Elementary.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
A seaside table set with Siesta Summer's signature style — effortless elegance with a touch of coastal whimsy.
    By
  • Marty Fugate, Su Byron
  • October 30, 2025
Enjoy a quintessential Florida al fresco experience with tips from top planners

Creating the perfect picnic isn’t rocket science. But it is an art.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Rachel Ghormley says Euphemia Haye has been a family favorite on Longboat for decades.
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • October 30, 2025
Beloved Longboat restaurant continues legacy with new owners

The new owners of longtime local landmark Euphemia Haye aim to maintain the newfound momentum since taking over earlier this year. "There is a lot of love we are putting into this," says one co-owner.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
The first property at 1713 North Drive was built in 1953 and has three bedrooms, two baths and 2,827 square feet of living area. The second property was built in 1981 and has one bedroom, one bath and 400 square feet of living area.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • October 30, 2025
Top residential real estate sales for Oct. 13-17 in Sarasota, Siesta Key, Palmer Ranch, Osprey, Nokomis

A two-property sale in Ralph S. Twitchell on Big Pass Lane tops the week's sales at $3 million.

  • Sarasota
  • Real Estate
Carol Siegler sits with her great-grandson Miles Dadosky, 4.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • October 30, 2025
Plymouth Harbor resident reflects on a life filled with philanthropy

Carol Siegler celebrated her 100th birthday on Oct. 23.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Dr. Magdi El Shahawy gives his acceptance speech at the Sarasota High School Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 26 at Michael's on East. He's spent over 30 years working in athletic administration, with stints at Florida State, Michigan State, USC, Georgia and, currently, San Diego.
    By
  • Jack Nelson
  • October 30, 2025
Former defensive lineman leads group of stars into SHS Hall of Fame

Sarasota High School 1986 graduate Magdi El Shahawy has served as the University of San Diego's associate athletic director for academics after taking time off for family.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
From his Plymouth Harbor condo, Newman enjoys a sweeping view of Sarasota Bay — and a life rich in stories, family and photography.
    By
  • Eric Snider
  • October 30, 2025
Photography has done more than keep Lou Newman busy. It's kept him young.

From polar bears in the Arctic to pelicans on Lido Beach, Lou Newman has spent the last two decades capturing the world through his lens.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
This Lido Shores home was once the center of Sarasota's social scene — and scandal
  • By Robert Plunket
  • October 30, 2025
This Lido Shores home was once the center of Sarasota's social scene — and scandal

Once the stage for Sarasota's most dazzling dramas, this spectacular Lido Shores estate is back in the spotlight.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
The Lobster Dutchess features a whole Maine lobster stuffed with shrimp, scallops, crab and lobster meat, baked in buttery stuffing with Parmesan and a splash of sherry. Seafood Portugal combines lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp and sausage over pasta.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • October 30, 2025
Lobster Pot infuses New England tradition with Portuguese pizazz

The Medeiros family blends their Massachusetts past and Portuguese ancestry at the Siesta Key Village restaurant.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
  • By JL Bainbridge
  • October 30, 2025
Apples to Apples: How to Fairly Compare Financial Advisors

What Does Your Investment Firm Actually Give You?

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Sponsored Content
Sarasota Little League serves boys and girls 4-16 years of age at Twin Lakes Park on Clark Road.
    By
  • Eric Garwood
  • October 29, 2025
Sarasota Little League reports disappearance of $200,000

The baseball league president calls the loss a "betrayal" and seeks donations for its spring season as the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office investigates.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Gisele Pintchuck leads a Q&A session with Omer Shem Tov.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • October 29, 2025
Former Israeli hostage meets Sarasota supporter, recounts experiences

Omer Shem Tov, captured by Hamas during the Nova music festival in 2023 before he was freed this year, found a "second mother" who lives in Sarasota.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
A silver Volkswagen SUV was reported leaving the Town Square University Parkway with several leafy plants strapped to a roof cargo rack.
    By
  • Eric Garwood
  • October 29, 2025
Burglar makes off with Manatee senior center's therapeutic garden

Town Square University Parkway hopes donors now can help replace what was stolen.

  • East County
  • News
Senior midfielder Sofia Sepulveda (10) embraces junior midfielder Emily Simone (16), with junior midfielder Colette Maute (6) and sophomore midfielder Mia Alexander (12) joining in on the celebration. Riverview girls' soccer enters the 2025-26 season as back-to-back district champions.
    By
  • Jack Nelson
  • October 29, 2025
Storylines to watch as high school soccer returns to Sarasota

The Cardinal Mooney boys, Riverview girls and Sarasota Christian girls are among the teams with intriguing trajectories for 2025-26.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
Kalee Zavela, the Town of Longboat Key's first grants coordinator, explains what factors she weighs when pursuing project opportunities to improve the community, be it hurricane rebuilding or enhancing first responder equipment.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • October 29, 2025
Rotary honors the dedication of a town's grant coordinator

Rotarians heard from Kaylee Zavela about ongoing hurricane-recovery projects and other current undertakings.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
In an effort to raise support for mental health services, Kyndal Ray Edwards is walking to all four corners of the country. He reached Longboat Key on Oct. 25, and he set his sights on Sarasota on his journey southward.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • October 29, 2025
Cross-country walker reaches Longboat

In an effort to raise support for mental health services, Kyndal Ray Edwards is walking to all four corners of the country.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
St. Regis Longboat Key Resort installed a stainless steel metal arch on a converted groin extending into the Gulf. Longboat Key town staff asked the hotel to take the arch down because it does not follow town code.
    By
  • S.T. Cardinal
  • October 29, 2025
St. Regis resort's arched sign on pier causes dispute with town

The St. Regis is asking the town of Longboat Key to amend its sign code to allow for an arch it installed on a groin to remain in place.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
At 100 years old, Bernard Greenberg still has vidid memories of his time serving with the U.S. Army in New Guinea.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • October 29, 2025
WWII codebreaker to serve as 2025 Tribute to Heroes Parade grand marshal

Bernard Greenberg, who served with the 126th Signal Radio Intelligence Company, intercepted Japanese radio transmissions during World War II.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
The second floor of the Lakewood Ranch Library could open as early as April 2026.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • October 29, 2025
Lakewood Ranch Library's second floor could be built out by April

The second floor buildout is one of several projects Manatee County Libraries has slated for the upcoming year.

  • East County
  • News
Longboat Key Fire Chief Paul Dezzi said Fire Rescue responds to about 2,200 calls per year with 700 resulting in ambulance trips to the hospital.
    By
  • S.T. Cardinal
  • October 29, 2025
Longboat Link aims to reduce nonemergency 911 calls from older adults

Joint Fire Rescue and Youthful Aging initiative will provide follow-up services for Longboat residents who call 911 for nonemergencies.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Women prevent man from obeying restraining order
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • October 29, 2025
Women prevent man from obeying restraining order

A man tries to leave a bar in compliance with a protective order but is blocked. This and other Sarasota Police Department reports in this week's Cops Corner.

  • Sarasota
  • Cops Corner
Members congregate in the lobby of the Lakewood Ranch YMCA to socialize after exercising.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • October 29, 2025
Lakewood Ranch YMCA is 'more than a gym'

Members can learn Spanish or take art classes along with working out or taking a swim lesson.

  • East County
  • Neighbors
Sophomore midfielder Jordynn Roberts (left) aims for the ball at the feet of freshman defender Caroline Foster (right) during an Oct. 23 practice. After scoring 16 goals in her first year with Braden River, Roberts is back for more.
    By
  • Jack Nelson
  • October 29, 2025
With questions in net, BRHS girls soccer answers with scorers aplenty

The Braden River Pirates enter 2025-26 with their top three point leaders back from last season's regional finalist.

  • East County
  • Sports
Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis' compensation package including salary, benefits and pension contribution is $460,000.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • October 29, 2025
Commissioners lament top county officials' evaluation process

Expressing disdain for the public evaluation process of the county administrator and attorney, Sarasota County commissioners award a token bonus as a tough budget season looms.

  • Sarasota
  • News
The home at 178 N. Washington Drive was built in 2021 and has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 5,064 square feet of living area.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • October 29, 2025
Top residential real estate sales for Oct. 13-17 in Longboat, Lido, St. Armands, Bird Key

A condominium in L'Ambiance at Longboat Key Club tops the week's sales at $10.25 million.

  • Longboat Key
  • Real Estate
Wilma Davidson at home on Longboat Key, where she and her husband have lived full time for 20 years.
    By
  • Eric Snider
  • October 29, 2025
Curiosity and a zest for life drive Longboat woman's storied career

Writer, educator, pilot and lifelong learner Wilma Davidson has built a career — and a life — defined by curiosity, achievement and purpose.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Siesta Key Kiwanis Club members Shawna Smith, incoming president Mary-Lynn Desjarlais, Joy Horne Jones, Candace Anderson, Kimberley Amos and Steve Stonecipher (front). The club meets the first and third Wednesday of the month at Gecko's on Clark Road in Sarasota. (Photo taken at Hub Baja Grille on Siesta Key.)
    By
  • Louis Llovio
  • October 29, 2025
'Mighty' Siesta Key Kiwanis Club helps children, one community at a time

Poverty can happen anywhere. The Siesta Key Kiwanis Club is working to insulate Sarasota kids from its effects.

  • Siesta Key
  • Neighbors
Panther Preserve's Emily Kasperski shows off her beloved Bam, which will be on display at the Knights of Columbus Car Show and Cookout Nov. 1 at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church.
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • October 29, 2025
Bam takes center stage at Our Lady of the Angels car show

The Knights of Columbus event raises funds for St Jude Children's Hospital.

  • East County
  • Opinion
Il faut cultiver notre jardin
    By
  • Matt Walsh
  • October 29, 2025
Il faut cultiver notre jardin

Delving into a pile of history books during a sabbatical revealed a depressing truth: Nothing has changed. To improve society, we must tend our own garden.

  • Sarasota
  • Opinion
  • By Casino Craft
  • October 28, 2025
Add Excitement to Your Party! Casino Craft Deals in Risk-free Fun and Games

Casino Craft has four standard games – blackjack, craps, roulette and poker – but customers aren’t limited to those.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Sponsored Content
Dru Hershberger poses for a photo on Oct. 28 at Selby Aquatic Center before a practice with Sarasota Sharks. The freshman won gold for Sarasota Christian in the 500-meter freestyle at the FHSAA Class 1A District 8 championship.
    By
  • Jack Nelson
  • October 28, 2025
Sarasota Athlete of the Week: Dru Hershberger

The freshman for Sarasota Christian girls' swimming & diving brought home gold on Oct. 25 at the FHSAA Class 1A District 8 championship.

  • Sarasota
  • Sports
Rev. Bill Friederich and his wife, Bah Hero, attend the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet, at which Longboat Island Chapel won the Business Resilience Award. He is leaving the chapel and taking up a leadership role at Saint Andrew United Church of Christ.
    By
  • Dana Kampa
  • October 28, 2025
Longboat's Rev. Bill honored before going to Sarasota church

The outgoing care pastor and former senior pastor at Longboat Island Chapel is taking up a leadership role at St. Andrew United Church of Christ.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Lakewood Ranch's Everett Wyckoff, a 12-year-old with autism, plays the cajon alongside volunteer Jules Whittemore at Gulf Coast Music Therapy.
    By
  • Madison Bierl
  • October 28, 2025
ODA students use their musical talent to help kids with autism

Jules Whittemore leads a group of six students who volunteer their time at Gulf Coast Music Therapy.

  • East County
  • Schools
The meeting chamber at the former Sarasota County Administration Center now stands empty after the final County Commission meeting held there on Oct. 21.
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • October 28, 2025
Sarasota County closes business at 1660 Ringling Blvd.

With staff having vacated in preparation for the final move to its new center, the Sarasota County Commission gaveled out its final meeting on Ringling Boulevard.

  • Sarasota
  • News
School of fishermen dispelled from Longboat Pass Bridge
    By
  • S.T. Cardinal
  • October 28, 2025
School of fishermen dispelled from Longboat Pass Bridge

A disgruntled contractor threatened to dump debris on a property if he wasn't paid. This and other Longboat Key police reports in this week's edition of Cops Corner.

  • Longboat Key
  • Cops Corner
This Wild Blue at Waterside home at 1158 Blue Shell Loop sold for $4.43 million. Built in 2024, it has four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a pool and 4,523 square feet of living area.
    By
  • Adam Hughes
  • October 28, 2025
Top residential real estate sales for Oct. 13-17 in Lakewood Ranch

A home in Wild Blue at Waterside on Blue Shell Loop topped the week’s sales at $4.43 million.

  • East County
  • Real Estate
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