LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
Wearing Sunday best.
PAGE 12
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 42, NO. 38
FREE
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THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020
A question of masks
YOUR TOWN New alert system The town is rolling out a new automated message delivery system called Alert Longboat Key to keep residents and business owners informed in the case of an emergency. Residents are urged to register to receive these alerts on their choice of text, email, cellphone or landline phone. A link to sign up for the service will be posted on the town’s website at www. LongboatKey.org. The service is free. In the past, the town has used a similar system to alert residents about road closures, water main breaks and other critical incidents. That system, Code Red, shuts down May 25.
Longboaters find differing opinions for face-covering. SEE PAGE 3
COURTING A RETURN Tennis center’s closing hits a social nerve. SEE PAGE 5
Courtesy photo
Charlene Donnelly helps transport the new batch of turtle nest stakes.
Fresh coat for the turtles Longboat Key Turtle Watch has spruced things up with a fresh coat of paint on its turtle-monitoring stakes. Instead of seeking out new stakes, volunteers Charlene Donnelly, Mike Herron and Lavette Mullinix spruced up the ones Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium had already provided for beach patrollers. Once the accredited volunteers spot a turtle nest in the sand, they use the (now) bright yellow stakes to mark the site and also signal beachgoers to stay clear. By the looks of things, the volunteers plan to stay pretty busy this season. The batch of stakes filled Donnelly’s familiar sea-scape decorated Jeep.
Mark Bergin
The Public Tennis Center closed March 22, though town officials say it might be one of the first things to reopen once that decision is made.
Schneier warms to office
Artwork stands up to the sea
New mayor’s first weeks focus on emergency actions. SEE PAGE 6
Dreyfus spends two months creating along the shore. SEE PAGE 13
Nat Kaemmerer
Bob Dreyfus says his work on the sand was Zen-like, but it must be dismantled this week for turtle-nesting season.