LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 42, NO. 11
FREE
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Welcoming friends
PAGE 8B THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019
YOUR TOWN
COURTING DEMAND
Courtesy photo
Pat and Bob Gussin
Mystery on Siesta Key
Longboat leaders work to solve dilemma of how to expand pickleball on island.
Oceanview Publishing, which is owned by Longboaters Pat and Bob Gussin, has a new release that hits close to home. “The Last Breath” by Danny Lopez is the second installment in his Dexter Vega mystery series. Vega, an unemployed reporter on Siesta Key, is hired to investigate the drowning of a young, wealthy man — who was an experienced swimmer. Vega tries to put the pieces together, but nothing adds up. The book is available on Amazon for $18.74 in hardback and $16 in paperback.
PAGE 3A
Eric Garwood
Delores Diener returns a serve during a recent pickleball match with family at Bayfront Park.
Beach ballot plan on track Commissioners move ahead with bond request for March. PAGE 2A A+E Scary strolls. INSIDE
Small but mighty Businesses celebrate winning Chamber awards. SEE PAGE 1B
Nat Kaemmerer
Jill Stouffer, center, accepts third place for Rookie Business on behalf of Lael Hazan, between Tonya Atchison and Emily Walsh.
Eric Garwood
Ten mini reefs were installed at Mar Vista in June.
A summer of sea life They’ve been bobbing under the piers of Mar Vista Dockside for an entire summer. And, to hear Sandy Gilbert of Longboat Key’s Solutions to Avoid Red Tide tell it, 10 artificial reefs designed to attract sea life and improve water are doing their jobs. The $250 devices, installed in early June, have attracted a wide range of life, starting with so-called filter feeders, which latch on and filter and clarify water. From there, smaller fish and bigger species as well have shown up. Gilbert said tests to compare dissolved oxygen levels will be completed soon to compare to baseline levels.