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VOL 23 No. 5
November 9, 2022
AMI salutes veterans ANNE YARBROUGH | SUN
Veterans Day will be observed on Friday, Nov. 11 along Pine Avenue in Anna Maria.
Anna Maria honoring vets Old Town Tram contract extended CRA and the Easy with parade and ceremony The Parking Group agreed to a six-month contract extension.
Anna Maria’s Veterans Day parade will take place along Pine Avenue on Friday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA – The Old Soldiers & Sailors Veterans Day parade is expected to be bigger than ever this year. The parade begins Friday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. at the Gulf Drive/Pine Avenue intersection and ends at City Pier Park, followed by a recognition ceremony for veterans and their spouses. The parade will feature five high school marching bands, Palmetto High School Air Force JROTC cadets, a Marine Corps color guard, military vehicles, floats, vehicles representing local businesses, former Tampa Bay
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
The Old Soldiers & Sailors Veterans Day parade will travel down Pine Avenue. Buccaneers cheerleaders, local civic organizations and more. Manatee County Sheriff’s Deputy and Iraq War veteran Patrick Manning and his wife, Corrie, will serve as this year’s grand marshals. Army veteran and Mayor Dan SEE PARADE, PAGE 31
a rainbow of pesto variations and make your own. 21 DISCOVER
Page 27 Anna Maria Island, Florida
BRADENTON BEACH – By a 3-2 vote, the Old Town Tram parking shuttle contract has been extended for six months. Initiated by the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) as a one-year pilot program in November 2020, the free tram service uses golf cart-like electric vehicles provided and operated by Joshua LaRose’s Sarasota-based Easy Parking Group. In 2021, the pilot program was extended for a second year and that one-year contract extension expired on Nov. 1. On Nov. 2, the CRA members and LaRose agreed to a sixmonth extension that expires on April
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
The Old Town Trams will continue to operate for at least another six months. 30. The CRA or LaRose can terminate the service at any time with 30 days’ notice. CRA members John Chappie, Ralph Cole and Ed Chiles supported the contract extension. Members David Bell and Jan Vosburgh opposed it. SEE TRAM, PAGE 31
CORTEZ STONE CRAB and
Music Festival this weekend. 11 ENJOY SIMON’S ”I Ought to be
in Pictures” at the Players. 15 The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper www.amisun.com