LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 40, NO. 25
FREE
Colony fix is no lock Unicorp drops zoning request, but OK from town not assured. PAGE 3A
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Help is on the way.
PAGE 6A THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018
YOUR TOWN
Bret Hauff
The site of the former Colony has been condemned by the town as unsafe. Demolition plans are connected to pending litigation.
Photo courtesy Tom J. Thomas
Diana Dill, vice president of development for Meals on Wheel Plus of Manatee
Showing heart
GOOD TASTE
On Jan. 14, All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church members met some new faces. During the “Have a Heart” coffee hour, congregants met with four organizations the church will sponsor in 2018. Children First, Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee, Tidewell Hospice and UnidosNow gave presentations so congregants could get to know the organizations. The outreach committee of the church reviews applications from 10 to 15 organizations and awards grants based on the church’s financial resources. The sponsorships also lend themselves to volunteer opportunities for church members.
With a distinctly local flavor, the Longboat Garden Club enjoyed an elegant night. SEE PAGE 1B Katie Johns
Cynthia Larson, Bettina Rosica, Jane Lewit and Carole Krieger attended The Longboat Key Garden Club’s Taste of the Keys and Fashion Show on Jan. 25.
A+E
Representing the local music scene.. INSIDE
Road plans slim down
File photo
Jane Boehme
Longboat bell ringers tops in the area again
Bret Hauff
FDOT has held public workshops to keep residents up to speed on the ideas generated by the Barrier Island Traffic Study.
Barrier island study winnows traffic-smoothing ideas, but are they bold enough to matter? SEE PAGE 10A
Longboat Key’s Kiwanis Club again collected more donations in its holiday-season kettle drive for the Salvation Army than any other civic group in the SarasotaManatee county area. The drive, which started the day after Thanksgiving and ran through the afternoon of Christmas Eve at the Bay Isles Publix, raised $15,291.63. In 2016, the club raised $14,037.43. Club members, members of other organizations, town officials and other volunteers filled a schedule that consisted of 217 shifts each spanning 75 minutes. Kiwanis member Reg Ware coordinated the drive.