SIESTA KEY
Observer
PAID RESIDENT
ENTRY PERMIT SK User fee coming to beach. PAGE 3A
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 49, NO. 37
FREE
YOUR TOWN
•
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2019
Natural notes Responding to concerns about lost green space, the Sarasota Orchestra could replicate key elements of Payne Park in its new home.
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Diet Coke secret to woman’s longevity One of the oldest women in Sarasota got a little older on March 27. Ida van Elder turned 123, but it isn’t a huge surprise to people who know her. She still swims the Intracoastal Waterway every morning — even during red tide outbreaks — and regularly visits the Siesta Key bar scene. “The secret to living as long as I have is to drink a Diet Coke every morning,” said van Elder, who concedes the beverage wasn’t invented until she was 87. “And to keep going to the doctor.”
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Beaches are now welcoming pets of all sorts.
DAVID CONWAY DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR
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High hopes for revolutionary book store It’s the newest trend sweeping the nation, and Sarasota is on the cutting edge. While the legality of CBD is still in question, that won’t stop owner Jerry High from opening up a book shop on Fruitville Road featuring the compound found in the cannabis plant. You might be wondering, how does it work with the books? High has it all figured out. “All you need to do is crack open a book. Every page is coated in CBD oil,” said High. The only caution he has is to warn people to read responsibly.
Performances in the park. Strings and swings. Telemann and tennis. The “Swan Lake” suite, coexisting with actual swans. That’s the vision behind the a revised plan for a new venue for the Sarasota Orchestra, crafted in response to initial criticism of a proposal to build a concert hall on a portion of Payne Park. Opponents of the plans objected to the idea of trading parkland for a new building. In a presenta-
Siesta sand becomes biggest dog park
tion outlining the latest concept for the concert hall, the orchestra is asking: Why don’t we have both? The new plans, crafted by design consultant GreenBoys, are a striking departure from the original proposal. In one rendering, moss lines the exterior of the structure, leading up to a lush, landscaped rooftop designed to replicate the green space currently in place at the park.
State law flips local rules banning pets of all sorts on public stretches of county shoreline.
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Courtesy rendering
A tennis court is envisioned atop the Sarasota Orchestra’s proposed concert hall in Payne Park.
BLACK
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‘We want it back’ Company says it intends to ‘reverse dredge’ Lido sand. PAGE 2A
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The dredging company says it’s owed about 10,000 cubic yards of high-value Lido Key sand.
Masks off! PAGE 4A