LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
Tri-ing their best.
PAGE 14A
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 42, NO. 17
FREE
DO THE
SANTA
•
THURSDAY, DEC. 5, 2019
YOUR TOWN
DANCE Eric Garwood
The town recently bought a radar trailer to help make drivers cognizant of their speed.
With the Jolly Old Elf leading the way, the town kicked off the holiday season in an illuminating way. COVERAGE, 2A AND 1B
Watch your speed Village residents appeal for traffic, parking solutions on Broadway. PAGE 3A
Eric Garwood
Sloane Hardy, 4, dances with Santa on Saturday night at the town’s tree-lighting event. Sloane, of Carlsbad, Calif., was visiting relatives over the Thanksgiving holiday.
A+E
Vote is set for beaches In step with the Funk INSIDE
Eric Garwood
The island’s northern beaches would be the first worked on under a five-year comprehensive beach program.
Commissioners set March ballot for request to borrow up to $34.5 million. PAGE 4A
Eric Garwood
Trimming cost of Lawn Party With only days before the annual Longboat Key Kiwanis Lawn Party, the event organizers announced a reduction in ticket prices. Thanks to an anonymous donor’s contribution Monday, all Lawn Party tickets will be $75 per person. Previously, tickets purchased at the gate at Saturday’s event were to be $90 a person. “That should eliminate any reason not to attend,” said Lynn Larson, president of the Longboat Key Kiwanis Club. “When you think about it, $75 for great food, wine and beer in a beautiful setting, and that money going to help needy kids in Sarasota and Manatee, that’s a great deal. Most events are $200 or more.” The Lawn Party will be from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday next to the Harbourside Ballroom at the Longboat Key Club, 3000 Bay Isles Road.
Longboat team finishes third in nationals After a semifinal loss in the USTA’s League Mixed 40 & Over National Championships near Orlando, the team representing the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center battled back and took third place in the event, held in mid-November. After dropping the semifinal to a team from New Jersey, the Longboat Key team defeated a team from suburban Washington, D.C. to finish third. The season roster comprised Janet Sperling (captain), Coquina Homer, Calvin Hac, Babette Paige, Jill Lyons, Margaret Wieczerzak, Jeffrey Stern, Eric Abbott, Dean Dancer, Rosa Rojas Weis, Sandra Poston, Nick Hardy, Jim Capazola, Ann Lammers and Jane Hancock.