LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 42, NO. 13
FREE
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Welcome, Father
PAGE 1B THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2019
YOUR TOWN
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
A 2017 study showed that, for households earning $39,330 or less per year, the SarasotaManatee region needed
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Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce President Gail Loefgren is helping organize new events.
Making holiday plans at home
11,607 affordable units to meet demand. The question remains: How do we address a regional shortage of affordable housing? PAGES 12-13A
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Happy birthday, Rabbi! Rabbi Stephen Sniderman celebrated his 74th birthday among friends at Temple Beth Israel, albeit a couple days late. “A little bird told me it’s our esteemed Rabbi’s birthday,” Sylvia Pastor said at Shabbat dinner Nov. 1. Sniderman, who has served as the rabbi for about three years, called out that the birthday had been missed by two days. However, the 100-plus people gathered at dinner still sang “Happy Birthday” before digging into a homecooked meal.
Tree lighting, concert series scheduled to make season grand on Town Center property. SEE PAGE 3A
A+E
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Top spots to dine on the water. INSIDE
Longboat author nabs sixth award
Eric Garwood
Beach borrowing gets specific Town Commission gives its initial OK for March’s ballot language. SEE PAGE 2A
Longboat Key author Michael Jordan has won his sixth literary award as he takes home a Silver Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association for his 2018 book, “The Company of Demons.” The thriller, based on a true story, also won the juried Florida Book Award for Popular Fiction in 2018. The book is based on the true story of the never-caught “Torso Murderer” in Cleveland but set in current times where a string of copycat murders bring back bad memories for the city.