celebrating July 4. 12
Tracking turtles. 22
AMITW June 30 report: 343 nests and 416 false crawls. Astheworldterns provide the questions. 6
Swimming in plastic. 23 JULY 3, 2019 FREE
VOLUME 27, NO. 36
BB moving to block pine tree removals. 4
Meetings
On the government calendar. 4 Hearings set in HB Bert Harris cases. 5
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader remarks. 6
10-20 YeaRS ago
From the archives. 7
Work continues on city pier, LBK-BB bridge. 8
The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
algae blooms plague waterways, inch toward amI
By Sandy Ambrogi Islander Reporter The mats of Lyngbya wollei, also known as brown “gumbo” algae, were so thick in the waters in Robinson Preserve June 27 that wading birds stood on them. That’s the report Michael Elswick, manager of the natural resources division of the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department, forwarded his boss, Charlie Hunsicker. Mats as thick as 12 inches and as large
Save a date. 10
as two-tenths of an acre clogged the waterways at the preserve, preventing kayakers from passing through and “stopping a jon boat cold,” Elswick wrote in the email. Lyngbya “gumbo” algae is a type of cyanobacteria or blue-green algae common in the spring-summer months around Anna Maria Island. It forms thick mats that resemble clumps of grass and sewage at the water surface, mostly in backwaters and bays. Land management rangers and supervisors from the county natural resources
Top Notch
Happenings
Community activities. 11 Ice cream shop stays red, white and cool. 13 Pallets of fireworks found in Cortez. 15
Streetlife. 15 Gathering. 18 Obituaries. 18 Local chef recalls giving aid at Chernobyl. 19 BB department heads share wish lists. 20 New shark fishing rules. 21
NestingNews: Go red this holiday. 22
Adults wrap up soccer season at center. 24 Fishing, temperatures sizzle on AMI. 25
ISl bIZ AM business gets green light. 26 CLASSIFIEDS. 28 NYT crossword. 31
www.islander.org
Trial postponed for last of shark-drag defendants
Week 2 winner: ‘Not the sunset’
Becky Tolerton of Holmes Beach wins the second week of The Islander’s Top Notch photo contest with an image she titled “Not the sunset.” About the photograph, taken Aug. 20, 2018, at White Avenue beach in her city, Tolerton writes, “Look what you miss when you are always facing a sunset!” She earns a prize of an Islander “More-than-amullet wrapper” T-shirt and entry into the finals, which offer one grand prize of $100 from The Islander and an assortment of gift certificates from participating advertisers. The next deadline is noon Friday, July 5. Rules and deadlines are posted at islander.org.
Infection from gulf wound caused death
By Sandy Ambrogi Islander Reporter An Ellenton woman’s family says a swim at her favorite beach on Anna Maria Island resulted in her death. Lynn Fleming’s family reported she died from a case of flesh-eating bacteria — necrotizing fasciitis. Fleming, 77, of Ellenton, was walking in shallow water at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach about two weeks ago when she fell into a depression in the sand, according to her son. The fall resulted in a small cut and a bump. The bleeding was difficult to stop,
department moved the brown algae, dragging large clumps to the mouth of the Manatee River and into its current. “They corralled the algae, moved it into the tidal channel and constructed a floating turbidity barrier to keep it from coming back in,” Hunsicker told The Islander June 27. The preserve clearing operation took about four hours. Elswick wrote in his email to Hunsicker that people were still enjoying the preserve, despite the odor associated with brown algae, which lingered in the mangrove roots. He also stated a caution: “I would speculate the decomposition of large volumes of algae outside Robinson waterways may act to lower dissolved oxygen further. We’re bracing for a fish kill and will act quickly to remove those as necessary.” Some dead fish were reported June 22-24, when blue-green algae appeared in the Manatee and Braden rivers. PLEASE SEE ALGAe, PAGE 2
according to her son, Wade Fleming. Several days later, while still nursing the cut, Fleming received a tetanus shot and an antibiotic from her doctor. The following day, friends found Fleming unconscious and she was taken to the hospital. She never left. She died June 26. The family said doctors told them Fleming had contracted a flesh-eating bacteria and, despite surgeries and treatment, she suffered two strokes and sepsis. Wade Fleming wants first responders to PLEASE SEE INFeCtION, PAGE 3
By Kathy Prucnell Islander Reporter The animal cruelty trial for Robert Lee Benac is now pushed to September. Previously set for June 24, the trial was rescheduled to Sept. 16 after 13th Judicial Circuit Judge Mark Wolfe granted a continuance requested by Tampa attorney Justin Petredis for Benac. Petredis requested the postponement due to the lack of availability of shark expert Stephen Kajiura, who, according to defense attorneys, testified in an October 2018 deposition the shark was dead before the dragging. In his motion, Petredis called Kajiura a necessary witness for a fair trial. Leading to charges against Benac and two other men, Michael Wenzel and Spencer Heintz, were several videos of a June 2017 fishing trip near Egmont Key. One video showing the men laughing as a shark was dragged off the back of their boat at high speed went viral. Other videos showed them spearing and shooting sharks. PLEASE SEE tRIAL, PAGE 3