More clams. 3
celebrating st. Pat’s day. 11
tour of homes ahead. 16 Astheworldterns put on their blarney. 6
MARCH 13, 2019 FREE
VOLUME 27, NO. 20
Record numbers soak up Florida sunshine. 2 Sunshine suit defendants counter. 4
Celebrating the Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
On the government calendar. 4
Judge rules for city in treehouse owners’ case
Meetings
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6
10-20 Years ago
From the archives. 7
BB’s dock parts arrive at storage yard. 8 Bat ‘escape’ routes installed on Longboat Pass Bridge. 8
Happenings
Community announcements, activities. 10-11 Make plans, save a date. 12-13 Community radio hopes to broadcast to Cortez area. 14 Island Players act out French farce. 15 Ousted AM code officer alleges toxic workplace. 17
Gathering. 20
Obituaries.
21
Celebrating Dr. Seuss, driving reading. 23
Streetlife. 25 Pocketful of good luck. 27
Youth football winds up. 28 Know weather conditions, best bait for catch. 29
isl BiZ
Real estate prices rise for 2018. 31
PropertyWatch. 32 CLASSIFIEDS. 32 NYT crossword. 35
By Kathy prucnell Islander Reporter it’s another victory for the city. the city of Holmes Beach took home a win the week of march 4 as a judge dismissed the owners’ petition to halt the destruction of their treehouse. twelfth circuit Judge charles Sniffen ruled the owners’ petition was deficient a day after the parties faced off in his manatee county courtroom. the judge granted the city’s dismissal motion, reasoning the temporary injunction petition filed by treehouse owners Lynn tran and richard Hazen was “deficient in several critical respects.” Sniffen cited the owners’ failure to allege a factual basis for their concern that imminent harm will befall the treehouse. His order also states the owners failed to request permanent relief and, to the extent the petition seeks to stop fines, he ruled the owners failed to allege an adequate remedy. Also, in his ruling, Sniffen allowed Tran
and Hazen 20 days to amend their pleadings. Tran, who represented herself and her husband, said march 8 she is considering filing an amendment to the pleading. “Because it’s one way to keep the treehouse, i won’t rule it out, tran said. “i’m just learning,” she added, saying she believes she needs to allege a cause of action for permanent relief. it was the first of two proceedings for attorney Jim dye of dye, Harrison, Kirkland, petruff, pratt & St. paul, representing Holmes Beach. a separate march 5 proceeding brought new hearing dates. tran argued against dye’s conclusion the owners’ petition was “rogue,” but dye said such an injunction must be based on an underlying dispute presented as a separate cause of action. Dye said Tran should be making her arguments in other ongoing court cases. the florida department of environmental protection, like the city, is a defendant in
rash of identity, credit thefts spur HBPd investigation, arrest
Fran and Wayne Derr of Key Royale in Holmes Beach check their mail March 7. The Derrs were victims of identity thieves who attempted to obtain credit cards using their names. Islander Photo: ChrisAnn Silver Esformes
By ChrisAnn Silver Esformes Islander Reporter In the digital age, personal information can be easy to access. Samuel casamayor abreu, 27, of Hialeah — linked to multiple identity thefts that occurred since february in Holmes Beach — was arrested march 1 on four counts of credit card fraud and four counts of criminal use of identification. a female suspect remains under investigaAbreu tion. all but one of the thefts, in which credit cards were ordered under a victim’s name then retrieved by the perpetrator upon delivery, occurred in the Key royale neighbor-
www.islander.org
The treehouse in January. Islander File Photo: Kathy Prucnell the injunction case. Kirk White, a dep attorney, appeared telephonically but did not add to the argument. However, White filed a motion to dismiss similar to the city’s motion. on march 5, a day after the arguments before Sniffen, david Levin of icard merrill of Sarasota took the lead for the owners before Judge edward nicholas in two pending treehouse cases — the 2013 owners’ constitutional case and the 2018 city code enforcement case. Levin and dye agreed to schedule hearings at 9 a.m. april 29 on the 2013 case; a 3:30 p.m. may 9 hearing to judicially notice PlEASE SEE treehOUse, PAGE 5
spring break brings biz to aMi
By Sandy Ambrogi Islander Reporter the digital sign near the Kingfish Boat Ramp on Manatee Avenue west of the Anna maria island Bridge flashes an alert: “no fires, dogs, camping or alcohol allowed on beach.” It’s time for spring break, and people hood, according to Holmes Beach police arriving to the island are ready to celebrate detective Sgt. Brian Hall. “it’s crazy. i’ve never had a cluster of with a few days of fun in the sun. “We’re just giving people a bit of edumultiple victims in one location before,” cation as they enter,” Holmes Beach police Hall said. “So this is very unique.” in some situations, the cards or related chief Bill tokajer told the islander march materials were mailed to the victims, prompt- 5. “it’s the same rules we always have.” “and,” he added. “pack your patience ing police inquiries. in other instances, a credit card was mailed to a different address and leave early.” officials at tampa international airport and then used by the perpetrator to purchase thousands of dollars worth of items from announced march 4 they expect 3.6 million Best Buy and other retail establishments in passengers to arrive at the airport in the next six weeks. the state. Spring break is typically the six-week Hall was contacted march 1 by Best Buy representatives who said abreu was identi- period spanning march and the first two fied in surveillance videos and currently was weeks of april, when some colleges and K-12 schools are on spring vacation. Some at a store at 4210 14th St. W., Bradenton. the manatee county Sheriff’s office schools break later in april, depending on PlEASE SEE ID theft, page 3 PlEASE SEE sPrING, page 2