Siesta Key,  and Longboat Key

Hall of Fame 2006

Santa takes his reindeer out for for a trial spin in Sarasota prior to the big run on the 25th.

Bishop Dewane congratulates students on their Christmas pageant at Incarnation School. .

We caught these two men stealing a clown statue in downtown Sarasota:) Not, actually these men were moving the clown from Selby library to a new location.

Is it a alien matrix, no it's a maze created by Hunsader Farms for the Pumpkin Festival, how cool! They have a new one each year.

Up, up and away. These two teenagers were practicing on dry land at Siesta Key Beach with their new kite surfer. The winds were well over 25MPH.

 SARA EGGLEFIELD, a local jazz singer sings at Blase Cafe, on Siesta Key. Sara's CD is called The Lies Of Handsome Men 

All lined up and standing in the shade these white herons have made this residence their home in Sarasota.

Joe, the owner of the BP gas station on the South Trail in Sarasota says "it's all good, I just wanted to lower my gas prices below cost to thank my customers. Customers lined up six deep on Friday to take advantage of the prices that were around 25 cents below most other stations.

This homeowner's newspaper carrier's must have some arm to land the newspapers on the roof:)

Day lilies line the I-95 interstate. It would be nice to have more flowers along our local I-75

Mote  found a litter of 55 shark pups, the largest number ever found in a great hammerhead shark. A Sarasota fisherman caught the mother shark near Boca Grande.Since 52 of the pups were nearly full term, experts believe the animal was just days away from giving birth when it was caught.They say they previously believed great hammerhead litters were 20-40 pups, so the new information is valuable to scientists.

John MacDonald the author of "Condominium" and other books most famous quote about Sarasota. "I've never met so many people who have said they have done so many things" Key words are have said, lol.

It's 56 feet long and becomes the first on site 911 monument set in bronze in New York City.

Baseball bats act as pillars at a new sports bar in Sarasota.

A bunny rabbit looks for somewhere to hide during Alberto's storm effects on our area Sunday at Siesta Key Beach.

The City  of Sarasota issues a public statement that says no one has applied for a permit or talked to the city about re-erecting the "Unconditional Surrender" statue

Equi-Photo/Bill Denver
 Longboat Key residents enter horse, Keyed Entry, in Kentucky Derby. The horse took the lead for 3/4's of the race but was out paced in the last quarter by Barbaro.

 Over a thousand people gather for Sunrise Service on Siesta Key Beach Sunday morning.

A full spread peacock enjoys a sunny Braden River afternoon.

Old Florida still reins along the Braden River in Manatee County.

Spring training is in full swing you better come and get it while the teams are still in town.

* Manatee County to run out of water in 2014 or sooner? They think so and will look for new sources of water. They are bound to supply water to Sarasota County until 2025.

Photographer Steven Katzman has created “A Portrait of Newtown” in his series depicting various aspects of life in the Sarasota community.

 
When only signs will tell the story this one seems to hold a mouthful.

45 year old man is biking his way around the U.S. Seen above in Sarasota.

This  boatyard almost doubled their boat storage rates and now they are begging for new customers.

I do, I do takes place at Siesta Key Beach. You will usually find at least one wedding or more at the beach on the weekends.

If you haven't had a hot dog or hamburger at the Hob Nob then you better get going. The original Sarasota drive in restaurant won't be there forever.

White herons stock up on food before the cold night ahead.

Sarasota High School snubs Jerry Springer. The cheerleaders invited him to a Valentine's Dance and then the administration felt he may be a little bit too controversial. Photo Jerry Springer Radio.

If you are looking for a construction worker, electrician, painter, or other crafts person on a Friday look no further than Hooters at Gulf Gate Mall. Shown above are their work trucks.

If you missed the sunset at the beach this weekend you missed some awesome colors.

WEDU Public Broadcasting is set up on St. Armands Circle to record peoples stories about their life. It is all part of a government grant.

These wide open spaces are only 15 miles east of the Gulf of Mexico. Wide open spaces that some day will be new cities.

Cubans land on Longboat key, boat escapes, refugees are taken to Tampa after being fed.

 The largest contingent in the Veteran's Parade was the Sarasota Military Academy. They stretched a full block and we couldn't get all of them in our photo.

A young boy ogles at all the trucks, motorcycles and marching bands along Main Streets Veteran's Parade.

As the sun rose it shone through some fog the other day causing fog rays. Enjoy these cooler days and cool nights with lows in the lower 50's while you can.

The man was paid $158,000. Will the City of Sarasota see more than a few hundred dollars returned? The Van Wezel faces almost a one million dollar deficit. Some Van Wezel Board members viewed his offenses that bordered on theft 'minor'.

There is nothing quite like a Sunday drive in your shiny roadster along U.S. 41. 1006

A sunset at Siesta Key beach Friday night. 1006

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Mt. Rainer as seen from 12,000 feet on our OurTown 50 Tour. The haze is from numerous forest fires in the west.

The massive manatee looks at visitors at Mote Marine on the OurTown50 tour of Mote Marine Saturday. The mammal has its nose against the glass aquarium.

Kite surfers revel in the winds over the Columbia River on our Portland and Seattle Tour. 

On Monday these two men enjoyed lower temps as they try to get their message across on Main Street in Sarasota.

 It was like locusts had been released and swarmed over Siesta Key Beach Sunday evening for the drummers and dancers. The parking lot was full even though it was not peak season.

Sunny sun flowers come in all varieties, we tried to grow some to see how well they would grow in Sarasota.

Local flowers are only surviving due to watering almost every other day. Our water shortage this year is headed towards a 14 inch deficit.

This is one way to advertise your garage sale when you live in an apartment in Sarasota :)

Mallard ducks head to local swimming pools to bath as the drought dries up creeks and ponds. Scattered showers are predicted for Wednesday but don't get out your rain pots yet only a 20% chance is predicted.

A baby calf feeds along with its mother along Cattleman Road.

You can see the difference between the watered golf greens and the non-watered perimeter. While Sarasota airport which borders Bradenton has gotten over 7 inches of rain the remainder of Sarasota County has gotten little over an inch of rain so far this year.

Historic Belle Haven Hotel is now an office building in downtown Sarasota.

It's the Red Hat Ladies who gather over lunch to flaunt their red hats.

A full moon over Sarasota on March 13th.

An eagle glides over the clear skies looking for an area that hasn't been developed.

 Cloud cover blocked the final setting of the sun the other night. Before the sun set it was a bright orange ball. You can barely see the top of the sun as it sets.

It was so crowded at Siesta Key Beach over the weekend that these Mennonites sunned themselves across from the beach on the lawn of a condo.

Some people raise dogs others raise egrets. The woman who owns this house has a regular flock of birds on her lawn.

Welcome to the I-75 parking lot in Venice.

Local tennis star Bradenton resident Maria Sharapova will grace Sports Illustrated. Here she is shown at age 15. She is now 19 and earned over $5,000,000 on the court. Photo SI

Maxwell Zagorski, a Lakewood Ranch junior is new  Abercrombie & Fitch model.

Overnight Sarasota goes from small town to big city lights. These light poles popped up almost overnight on Sarasota's S. Trail. Crews had been working for months on laying the new electric for the poles. We had hoped it was some new high tech lines they were laying. Not.

How much would you pay for this view out your front door? It's free if you drive to the beach. Better yet take a bus :)

What does the Dewy Decimal system have in common with Florida? His house in Lake Placid, FL. A reader sent us this photo of his Florida home.