Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/233139
I think it is safe to say most of us on staff figured this would be an issue pretty much devoid of news, preparing it, as we were, on an earlier holiday deadline. That is all the more reason I am pleased to point out we do indeed have some interesting news this week. First, a couple of developments have occurred relative to the Lido Beach Renourishment Project, one involving the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and one involving the only branded hotel that serves Siesta Key. Then Associate Editor Cooper Levey-Baker learned about an 88-year-old Sarasota resident who is challenging a guardianship ruling designating her as incapacitated. The fact that she is a Holocaust survivor makes this all the more heart-tugging. County Editor Roger Drouin went out late last week with the president and conservation chairman of Sarasota Audubon to learn the latest not only about the many species of birds that visit the Celery Fields but also about the nature center the Audubon chapter has planned. And, not to be outdone, City Editor Stan Zimmerman offers an analysis as only he can about the work of the committee charged with recommending whether the Downtown Sarasota Community Redevelopment Agency should be extended past 2016. Stan also put in quite a bit of time on stories about a vast array of "lighter" city happenings to cap off the year. And as we close out 2013, we want to wish all of you the very best for 2014. See you next year! Editor and Publisher