E A ST COUNTY
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
Dog parade gets green light PAGE 4B
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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FREE THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020
VOLUME 22, NO. 18
YOUR TOWN
Road project priorities shift
Manatee County considers four lanes on Upper Manatee River Road. PAGE 3A
Pam Eubanks
Baby’s leap thrills parents Leap Year won’t be one Lakewood Ranch’s Laura Williamson will ever forget. At 12:53 a.m. Feb. 29, she and her husband, Scott, welcomed their firstborn child, Teagan May Williamson, into the world. Born at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, she weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. Laura Williamson said the family will celebrate Teagan’s non-leap-year birthdays Feb. 28. “That way it will be in the same month, at least,” she said. “[Being born on Leap Day is] super special. She’s extra special now.”
THE HALL CALLS Mill Creek’s Jay Romine will be inducted into the Law Enforcement Officers’ Hall of Fame. SEE PAGE 8A Jay Heater
Jay Romine, the director of the MTC Law Enforcement Academy, will be honored for his 41 years of law enforcement service.
Local hospital has new vision
Courtesy photo
Fun things on Seuss Day When Mariah Esparza came to work March 2, she did not know she would have a sidekick. In celebration of Dr. Seuss Day, the Kiddie Academy at Lakewood Ranch teacher dressed like the Cat in the Hat, one of the author’s most famous characters. Two-year-old Brielle Paulina got into character too, dressing as the character Thing 2 with a red T-shirt, a red and blue tutu and a blue feathered headband.
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center adds Machine-Vision Image Guided Surgery tool. SEE PAGE 2A Jay Heater
7D Surgical Vice President Scott Young says his company’s guided surgery technology is like a GPS.
A+E Design of the times. INSIDE