boardwalk beauty village pillage raises fear · friday, october 1, 2010 page 1 insidelook to lie or...
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www.lbknews.com Friday, October 1, 2010 Page 1
InsideLook
To lie or not to lie
...page 19
Off Longboat Key’sbeaten path ...page 16
FREEServing Longboat Key, St. Armands, Downtown Sarasota & Anna MariaOctober 1, 2010
Your Key Source for Island News & Culture
A season of color opens ...page 20
Coffee, teaor active rest
...page 17
STEVE REIDEditor & [email protected]
Boat theft, page 4
An international boat theft ring responsible for stealing mil-lions of dollars in luxury boats from West Florida has been bro-ken-up thanks to the assistance of Longboat Key and its Marine Patrol Division. On Sept. 22 a 10-count indictment was issued for 12 defendants, and two days later, 10 were detained at the
Federal Courthouse.The boat thefts have been
ongoing since mid 2007 accord-ing to a report from Longboat Key Police Chief Al Hogle. At least two boats with a combined value of more than $400,000 were stolen from Longboat Key and subsequently recovered. On June 16, 2009 a 30-foot Grady White center console was stolen from the 500 block of Gunwale Lane. That vessel had a value of
$150,000. Two months later, on Aug. 23, 2009, a 2008 33-foot
Grady White center console was
Ten are indicted in a multi-million dollar boat theft ring that has plagued Southwest Florida since 2007.
Turtle season compared to 2009
According to Turtle Watch vol-unteer Freda Perrotta there are only 12 sea turtle nests left to open with the next one occur-ring at 7 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 3 at 7085 Gulf of Mexico Drive.
Oct. 31 marks the end of turtle nesting season, and Mote Marine specialists have compiled data so far this season that indicates certain species of sea turtles
have decreased nesting numbers while other species have slightly increased nesting numbers.
“These data show that nest-ing by loggerhead turtles has declined in recent years, while green turtle nesting—although very low in numbers—has increased. Nest destruction by both natural and non-indigenous predators has also increased during the same time period,” said Tony Tucker, Turtle Program manager at Mote Marine, accord-
ing to Mote’s Web site.The most recent numbers for
the turtle nests laid through Sept. 4, according to Mote Marine, are:
Loggerhead Green
LBK Manatee 137 0LBK Sarasota 127 1Lido Beach 16 0Siesta Key 133 4Casey Key 589 5Venice 209 1Total 1,211 11
MELISSA REIDStaff [email protected]
For comparison, the follow-ing are the 2009 sea turtle nest totals through Sept. 4:
Loggerhead GreenLBK Manatee 102 0LBK Sarasota 105 0Lido Beach 16 0Siesta Key 127 1Casey Key 398 7Venice 162 0Total 910 8
Boardwalk beauty
LBK Special/Mary Lou Johnson
Villagepillageraises fearFour burglaries in 30 days leavesresidents on guard.STEVE REIDEditor & [email protected]
The Village on Longboat Key has been plagued by home bur-glaries with six in the last six months and four in the last 30 days. Longboat Key Police Chief Al Hogle, but he does believe the crimes are being committed by someone who either lives on the Key or is very familiar with the comings and goings of the residents.
The first five burglaries were committed when nobody was home, but in the most recent, on Sept. 29, a woman was awakened and a man fled the residence.
Hogle says the Department is increasing marked and unmarked patrols and actively investigating several leads including finger-
Burglaries, page 5
Longboat helps bust boat theft ring
A stolen 42-foot Searay Sundancer washed ashore in the 6000 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive in front of former Mayor Jeremy Whatmough’s house.
Data shows nesting by loggerhead turtles declined in recent years.
The serenity of Longboat Key’s Broadway Beach boardwalk captured Longboat resident photographer Mary Lou Johnson’s artistic eye.