SIESTA KEY
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 48, NO. 52
FREE
Who pays for parking?
Exotic fish roundup ends with dinner. PAGE 16 •
THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2018
YOUR TOWN
Shane Donglasan
St. Armands seeks broader plan. SEE PAGE 3
K-9 Kindness
SIESTA FIESTA Stormy day gives way to fine skies for Siesta Key Fourth of July fun. SEE PAGE 18
Dogs with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office got a little safer, and cooler, recently thanks to a crowdfunding effort. Judy Braham of Venice launched the fundraising effort to buy five ballistic vests for the K-9 Unit’s four-legged deputies. The new vests are lightweight enough for the dogs to wear throughout a shift. The old vests caused the dogs to overheat.
Shane Donglasan
Ron Ciaravella (right) shows Qyasia Jackson and Alexandra Perez around.
Flying to the top
Shane Donglasan
Genna, Maddie and Ashlyn Peiedra watched the Fourth of July fireworks at Siesta Key Beach.
A+E
Ron Ciaravella, owner of Dolphin Aviation, has helped students with college scholarships for the past 17 years. On July 3, he presented six graduates from Booker, Sarasota and Venice high schools and Sarasota Military Academy each with a $1,000 scholarship. Ciaravella met with four of the winners and gave them a tour of Dolphin Aviation. “I didn’t have the money to go to college, so I want to provide opportunities for our youth,” Ciaravella said.
Turtle Tracks AS OF JULY 7
File photo
An artist’s calling. INSIDE
Local icon, national honor The Umbrella House goes down in history. SEE PAGE 6
TOTAL NESTS: 2018 Lido Beach 90 Siesta Key 260 Casey Key 854
2017 115 494 1,411
TOTAL FALSE CRAWLS: 2018 2017 Lido Beach 81 152 Siesta Key 227 537 Casey Key 1,045 1,709 Source: Mote Marine Laboratory