School starts aug. 13. 19
Breaking the record. 22
Causeway caution. 2 Astheworldterns struggle with red tide. 6
AUG. 8, 2018 FREE
VOLUME 26, NO. 41
FEMA visits AM to investigate alleged fraud. 5
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6
10-20 YEarS ago
From the archives. 7
Meetings
On the government calendar. 8 BB P&Z chair resigns. 8
Make plans, save a date. 10
Happenings
Community announcements. 11 KORN versus BB bound for court. 12 Army Corps approves City Pier plan. 13
Sunscreen on your shoulders. 15 As fresh as it gets ‌
Kathleen D
Portraits by the Sea
SCORE BIG!
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AUTHENTIC INDIAN CUISINE THE ISLAND SPICE
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The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
Toxic red tide arrives to ami beaches, bays
By Sandy ambrogi islander reporter the scenes are heartbreaking. a dead manatee being nuzzled by others. fish littering beaches and canals. Sea turtles grounded on shore, succumbed to neurotoxins. a deceased whale shark bobbing in the shallow surf. “it seems like the plot and imagery of an old 1950s horror movie, where mother nature goes completely out of control and wreaks havoc everywhere,� John capece said in an email aug. 2. But this is not a new release of “Swamp thing� or “the creature from the Black Lagoon.� It’s the summer of 2018 on Florida’s west coast and a harmful algal bloom is to blame. Those who live in Florida or visit frequently know the words Karenia brevis can bring a toxic stench and misery. red tide, an organism that can affect the nervous systems of fish, turtles and mammals, also can spell death for marine life. people may experience respiratory and eye irritation, coughing and difficulty breathing. the current red tide bloom off the west coast of florida began in november 2017 and likely will continue into 2019, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conserva-
Tom Stang Jr. and his father, Tom Sr., both from Ohio, fish at Longboat Pass at the south end of Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach. The Stangs said red tide and a shoreline littered with dead fish didn’t scare them. Their family has been vacationing in the Tampa Bay area for more than 10 years. “Mother Nature. Ain’t much we can do about it,� said Tom Stang Sr. Islander Photo: Jennifer Glenfield tion commission. at coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, the though areas south of anna maria water was clear until it wasn’t. Dead fish Island had reported heavy fish kills — Siesta started washing ashore there on aug. 4. pLeaSe See Red Tide page 4 Key was littered with dead fish Aug. 1 —
Cortez Bait & Seafood
Featuring
Where is Tuna Street? Islandwide map. 16-17 941.778.2711
Obituaries. 18 Streetlife. 20 Putting a chill on summer soccer. 24 Fishing red hot, so long as red tide remains south. 25
iSL BiZ
Business shuffle continues. 26 CLASSIFIEDS. 28
PropertyWatch. 30 NYT crossword. 31
www.islander.org
Top Notch Top Notch: Week 4, On a cloudy day
Penny Frick of Bradenton wins the fourth week of The Islander’s Top Notch photo contest with this image of an anhinga drying its wings near a small lake. Frick will receive an Islander “More than a mullet wrapper� T-shirt. She’s also a finalist in the contest, which offers a grand prize of $100 from The Islander and an assortment of gift certificates from participating advertisers.
Cortez ďŹ sher rescues man from Longboat Pass
By Kathy prucnell islander reporter a man swimming in Longboat pass aug. 2 was rescued by a Cortez commercial fisherman and the manatee county Sheriff’s Office. Brian galliher, 27 and homeless, was found floating unconscious in the water by fisher Harry Mofield, according to Bradenton Beach police and mcSo reports. Mofield jumped from his boat with a life ring, put it around galliher and was tying the life ring to his boat as mcSo Sgt. russ Schnering arrived on his vessel. Schnering heard the call come in at about 1 p.m. while on marine patrol near Jewfish Key, which is situated east of the Longboat pass Bridge on the intracoastal Waterway. He and his crew responded to Longboat pLeaSe See ResCUe page 2