E A ST COUNTY
Observer Lakewood Ranch’s weekly newspaper since 1998
Safe by the water
PAGE 14
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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FREE THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2019
VOLUME 21, NO. 35
YOUR TOWN
Planned apartments cause angst
Addition of apartment complexes concern homeowners. PAGE 3
Courtesy photo
Building a proper workout Mary Dougherty, executive director of the Lakewood Ranch-based Gulf Coast Builders Exchange, wanted to put members on the right track for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Dougherty (above with Rich Batchelder, a project manager with Plunkett Raysich Architects) said the organization has launched a summer-long health and fitness initiative. “Our members work in a highly competitive industry,” she said. “They are the foundation for our organization, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is critically important.”
She delivers in a heartbeat Mill Creek artist gains notoriety with her abstract and heartbeats art. SEE PAGE 8
Courtesy photo
What started as a favor for her sister-in-law has become a business for Mill Creek’s Kori Clark. Courtesy photo
New deputy in town The School District of Manatee County’s board approved Genelle Zoratti Yost (above) to serve as the interim deputy superintendent of Instructional Services beginning July 1. Zoratti Yost served as the superintendent of St. Lucie County Public Schools from June 2013 to June 2015 and as a deputy superintendent in St. Lucie County from 2003 to 2012. “I believe her wealth of knowledge and familiarity with public education in the state of Florida will be a valuable asset,” Superintendent Cynthia Saunders said.
Purr-fect program Pam Eubanks
Ginger, the most social of six feral cats at Manatee County EMS Station 5, relaxes in the shade. She is part of a program to find homes for feral cats.
County EMS finds value in providing homes to feral cats. SEE PAGE 4
A+E Nature’s wonders. INSIDE