What does tennis star like?
Want to know what tennis star Maria Sharapova’s favorite sweet? Her favorite cities?
You can find it on her Web site, www.mariasharapova.com, where the Manatee County resident has several Top 10 lists.
Her favorite sweet? Snickers. Her fourth favorite thing to do on an off Sunday? Sign fan mail. Number nine on her list of items she would bring to a deserted island? A good beach read.
But one list does raise an important question: Does Maria want to move?
Nowhere does Sharapova mention Longboat Key, Bradenton or Sarasota in her “top 10 favorite cities.”
New York occupies the top spot.
Illusionists have customs trouble
Quick-change illusionists, The Sudarchikovi, made it from Moscow to Florida in time for opening night at Circus Sarasota. Their costumes didn’t.
And without the costumes, there’s no act.
The crates got stuck for 10 days in Moscow, where customs officials didn’t believe the locked crates contained props. Circus Sarasota officials enlisted the Moscow State Circus to help get the crates moving.
Russian officials eventually released them. But when the costumes got to Orlando, customs workers there held them up again. They were marked “personal effects,” and those officials initially considered the costumes a commercial import subject to tariffs.
Circus officials finally convinced customs agents that they were props, and customs released the costumes to the circus.
The Sudarchikovi — with their costumes — performed for the first time Feb. 7.
A rocky road for spelling
EAST MANATEE — Road crews are often the bane of busy motorists. Construction projects are rarely finished on time, estimates sometimes run over budget, and traffic is often snarled during the busiest hours. Who knew, though, that misspellings might add to the aggravation?
An electronic traffic sign near Interstate 75 and State Road 64 in Manatee County last week warned drivers to “Use Coution.” The signal stayed that way for several hours, although it was fixed by rush hour.
From the archives
Fifth-graders at Fruitville Elementary School were asked to compose and graphically express their sentiments on what love is.
The papers were then compiled into a laminated booklet, titled “Love is …”
Staff writers Todd Ruger, Paul Quinlan, Anthony Cormier and Nancy Traylor contributed to this report.
