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Save Our Siesta Sand 2 reprises the name used by a Siesta organization decades ago to fight an earlier proposal to dredge Big Pass. The Facebook page announced on March 27 that the new group has just launched a website, soss2.com, "dedicated to saving the #1 beach on Siesta Key from ruin through the removal of sand from its protective shoal by the Army Corps of Engineers." The website points out that Save Our Siesta Sand 2 is a Florida not-for-profit corpora- tion formed to obtain donations to pay for a consulting firm to review the Army Corps' feasibility study after it is released. "It is our belief from documentation and previous stud- ies, and [professionals] with environmental and scientific backgrounds, that any removal of sand from Siesta Key's protective shoal in Big Pass will have long lasting deleterious effects on Siesta Key beaches; particularly the northern end of the island," the website adds. The SOSS2 team of business owners, resi- dents and property owners "is dedicated to making our opposition known in an effort to protect the crown jewel of the county, Siesta Key, its beaches and its residents," the site points out. One key initiative planned to help spread the word and gain donations is the creation of a video, Let It Be, about the preservation of Big Pass. Rich Schineller, the Siesta resident who has been the creative force behind that pro- duction, told the News Leader this week he was finalizing the edit of the video. In response to questions from the News Leader, Maria Bankemper, general manager and co-owner of the Best Western Plus-Siesta Key at 6600 S. Tamiami Trail, who is also one of the SOSS2 organizers, emphasized in an email this week that an independent peer review of the Army Corps materials about the dredging — whenever they become available — is critical. Moreover, she and her family members have retained legal counsel, she told the News Leader in December, to advise them as the Lido renourishment effort proceeds. Bankemper pointed out in her email that the Best Western Plus-Siesta Key is her liveli- hood; her family purchased it in 2007. "The hotel has invested in the community and sponsors many of the events that come to Siesta beaches every year," she added. "Siesta Key is vitally important to all of us who own and operate businesses on and off the island," she wrote in the email. Bankemper also is past chairwoman of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce. If the Army Corps is allowed to dredge Big Pass and damage occurs, she pointed out, "funds will not be able to replace or renour- ish [the pass]." People may donate contributions through a secure platform on the Facebook page or through the new website. Additionally, anyone may send a check made out to SOSS2 Inc. to the following address: SOSS2 Inc., 6600 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Florida 34231; Attn: Maria Bankemper. % Sarasota News Leader March 28, 2014 Page 39