LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
A legacy of love
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FREE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2019
VOLUME 42, NO. 20
YOUR TOWN
2019 YEAR IN PHOTOS
There was a lot of digging, demolishing, learning and celebrating on Longboat Key this year. Here’s a sample of the year’s best. PAGES 3-12
Nat Kaemmerer
Quick reads You can now get some bookborrowing errands done at Town Hall. A kiosk through the Sarasota County Library has been installed in the main entry. Simply find the e-book or audiobook you want, enter in your library card number and PIN, and get to reading. For now, only e-books work with the kiosk. To access your borrowed books, download the library’s e-reader app through YourCloudLibrary. com.
Carolers visit first responders
SEPT. 3 FEB. 23
A contingent from Christ Church of Longboat Key paid a special visit to the crew at Longboat Key Fire Department on Sunday night to deliver Christmas carols and about 20 smiling faces. The group was on its annual caroling tour around the island, and it made a point to stop at its badgewearing neighbors on Gulf of Mexico Drive.
OCT. 7
BLACK
TIE
JULY 4 Black tie’s best 2019 moments INSIDE
File photos
Clockwise from top: Sept. 3: Michele Morley was unfazed by the possibility of Hurricane Dorian ruining her visit to Longboat Key as she soaked up the ambiance of the beach the day before Labor Day. Oct. 7: Members of the Longboat Key Fire Department and the Sarasota County Emergency Operations got to know one another as part of a cross-training program. July 4: If you were in town on Independence Day, you were probably in Freedom Fest’s parade, like Irina LaRose and Steve Howard. Feb. 23: Once the old Amore Restaurant was cleared away, the site hosted a tree-lighting ceremony in December with several concerts planned for early 2020.