LONGBOAT
Observer Longboat Key’s weekly newspaper since 1978
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 42, NO. 6
FREE
YOUR TOWN
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Photos put emphasis on humanity. PAGE 12
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
Fidelity Bank closes After lease expires, town’s campaign to keep branch open fails. PAGE 2
Courtesy photo
Fire Marshal Jane Herrin and Publix event planner Gina Fabrizio with a cookie delivery.
Commissioners take swings at questions of costs, locations and timing of tennis and pickleball courts. SEE PAGE 3
Sweet tooths get rescued Thanks to Publix employees and customers, the sweet tooths of Longboat Key’s public safety employees were well taken care of. When the supermarket recently had a “buy one, get one free” deal on cookies, shoppers often only wanted one package. So employees Laurie Nugent and Vicki Workman came up with a plan: Collect the second packages, and donate them to the town’s public safety workers. “It’s one of those smiley things, you know,” Fire Rescue spokeswoman Tina Adams said.
Publishing pair deliver mystery Oceanview Publishing, run by Longboaters Bob and Pat Gussin, brings the Irish coast to readers on the Florida coast. “Treacherous Strand,” the second in Andrea Carter’s mystery series, was recently released. It follows amateur sleuth Ben O’Keefe as she tries to piece together a tragic death that the rest of the community wants to brush past. The book will be adapted into a TV series to be filmed next summer along with the rest of its series.
VOLLEYING IDEAS Sten Spinella
Tennis courts at Hideaway Bay were floated as an option for the town, but renovation or reconstruction would be required.
Historic home gets makeover
Turtle Tracks LONGBOAT Sept. 8-14 2019 2018 Nests 0 0 False Crawls 0 0 Total as of Sept. 14 2019 2018 Nests 1,342 993 False Crawls 1,518 1,003 Source: Mote Marine Laboratory
Sten Spinella
The building at 610 Broadway St. dates back to the 1940s, but previous buildings on the block go further back.
Longbeach Village property goes back decades but now has a new look. SEE PAGE 6
A+E Films focus in on LGBTQ community. INSIDE