SARASOTA
YourObserver.com
2018
Holiday Gift Guide INSIDE for everyone find the perfect something / Holiday essentials to needs GIFT IDEAS / Page 4 longer for all your shopping 17 / Area malls stay open PERFECT TIMING / Page time your gift gets there in / Page 24 / Make sure SHIPPING DEADLINES this season chance to see St. Nick your miss Don’t / 30 SANTA STOPS / Page
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD. VOLUME 14, NO. 52
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YOUR TOWN
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2018
With flying colors The city embraces public art. SEE PAGE 3
Courtesy photo
Burt Herman, right, celebrates the 100th birthday of his hero, Guy Eby.
A hero celebrates 100 years Sarasota resident and author Burt Herman, along with 307 other passengers on two airliners, dodged a midair collision during a flight on Thanksgiving eve, 1975 thanks to the skills of pilot Guy Eby. Herman, who told the story of the experience in his book “Master of the Moment,” traveled to Ormond Beach recently to celebrate Eby’s 100th birthday along with 12 passengers and one flight attendant from American Airlines Flight 182. Herman said it was a surreal experience to see the passengers meet Eby for the first time on his 100th birthday, 43 years after the flight. The CBS Decades channel will air a special Nov. 26 telling the story of Eby’s heroism.
David Conway
Volunteers help paint a mural on the side of Uptown Eatery at Fifth Street and Central Avenue in the Rosemary District on Saturday.
IN FOCUS
Photo courtesy Allan Mestel Courtesy photo
Pine View School Principal Stephen Covert and Superintendent Todd Bowden
Pine View honors its history Pine View School dug deep into its 50-year history with a groundbreaking Nov. 19 for its legacy garden. The garden will honor the Pine View “giants” who have contributed to the school’s excellence in gifted education. The school is now raising money to complete the garden within a year. “Our history may only stretch back 50 years, but it is definitely an original, and many want to copy the magic that students and teachers create here every day,” said Principal Stephen Covert.
Courtesy rendering
The proposed mixed-use development would be built at Stickney Point Road and Tamiami Trail, near the south bridge to Siesta Key.
Planning Commission endorses Siesta Promenade proposal Despite public concerns about the scope of the project, the advisory board voted to OK it. DAVID CONWAY DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR
After hours of public testimony Nov. 15 opposing Benderson Development’s plans for a mixeduse project at Stickney Point Road and U.S. 41, the Sarasota County
Planning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend approval of key applications associated with the proposal. Residents argued the plans for Siesta Promenade were too intense and would negatively affect traffic in an already-congested area. But county staff, Benderson officials and the Planning Commission all said the project was in keeping with county regulations and the desired development of the 24-acre property. SEE SIESTA, PAGE 9
Photographer’s project shines spotlight on city’s homeless. SEE PAGE 17 A+E
Breaking down plastics. INSIDE