Smiles at the library. 18
5-star school lunch. 14
Cajun cookin’ at center. 19
Happy Mother’s Day
VOLUME 25, NO. 28
MAY 10, 2017 FREE
The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992 AsTheWorldTerns cherish moms, too. 6
10-20 YEARS AGO
From the archives. 7
BB-Sarasota water taxi on track. 8
Meetings
On the government calendar. 8 Concerns surface about HB post office. 8
Make plans, save a date. 10
Happenings
Community events, announcements. 11
9 Bert Harris claims filed against HB. 12 Turtle watch welcomes season. 15 Bay studies. 16-17
Gathering. 18 Onstage in Anna Maria. 19
Streetlife. 21 Spring has sprung at Wildlife Inc. 22
Celebrating defiance on Mother’s Day. 23 Karate at center court. 24 May brings action on the water. 25 More than cheeseburgers in our paradise. 26
PropertyWatch. 27 Classifieds. 28
www.islander.org
AMI’s spring revelers better behaved than past years
By Sandy ambrogi islander reporter it sends locals off to hide their heads in the sand. it leaves bar and restaurant owners smiling, counting their money. it’s often downright loud and frisky. in the three cities of anna maria island, three different attitudes emerge when it comes to dealing with the yearly onslaught of college students and high-school beachgoers performing their annual rite-of-passage. Spring Break. While Holmes Beach police cruised manatee public Beach and surrounding sandy shores writing dozens of alcohol citations, parking violations and responding at night to noise complaints and pool parties, the officers in the cities to the north and south took a more laid-back approach. exact statistics for april are still being tallied, but Holmes Beach issued three times the alcohol citations during march alone — 30 in all — than the city of anna maria registered through the “spring break period” that traditionally ends on easter, for a total
of nine citations. However, HBpd chief Bill tokajer noted, “all in all, they were well-behaved,” when it came to the spring-breakers. though HBpd citations out-numbered the surrounding cities, tallies for this year were lower than in past years. “We had less alcohol on the beach violations, less parking tickets and we feel that is
By Kathy prucnell islander reporter Looking short-term and down the road, the florida department of transportation wants to fix the Cortez Road-119th Street West bottleneck. cortezians and other concerned residents are expected at a May 9 meeting at the cortez road Baptist church, 4411 100th Street W., Bradenton — held after press time for the islander. “We’re expecting a crowd,” said david gywnn, dot director of operations. the dot will host an open house beginning at 5 p.m., make a presentation about the options at about 6 p.m., and allow public comment. the dot will take written comments on its plans until Friday, May 19. The traffic problem lies at the doorstep of the village of Cortez — at 119th Street West, the eastern edge of the commercial fishing village that fronts Sarasota Bay on the south. it also impacts the north side of cortez road West, including Harbour Landings, Sunny Shores and Sagamore estates. Sunny Shores and Sagamore estates include about 250 homes with a single access
at 115th Street West. January-april, it is difficult — if not deadly — to turn east from 115th Street onto cortez road, according to david Brown, spokesman for the subdivisions’ homeowner association. Brown said his group has contacted DOT officials and Manatee County Commissioner Steve Jonsson about the problem and, while they’ve promised to look into it, Brown says there isn’t anything in the current plans to help 115th Street. Brown hopes for a traffic light and slower speed limits as well as “no-blocking” signs and better law enforcement. He predicts peninsula Bay, an approved development of 1,950 homes to be built over the next 12 years, “will really make the issues worse.” “this area has been a problem for years with multiple fatalities and accidents,” Brown wrote in a may 3 email to the islander, saying he wants an aggressive response by county and DOT officials. “they need a sense of urgency as folks are getting injured and killed,” he added. gywnn said there is no “direct” improvepLeaSe See BottleneCK page 2
Spring break is evidenced by crowds on the sand and a few folks in the Gulf of Mexico at the Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach. Islander Photo: ChrisAnn Silver Esformes
DOT takes comment on Cortez bottleneck
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in part because of the active and proactive education given to those who come to our beaches. they know we enforce the rules here,” tokajer said. By april 17, the island had noticeably cleared of the college emblem-clad co-eds and teenie bikinis. “i don’t think it was any worse than any pLeaSe See ReveleRs page 3
Bad news times 2 for Aqua developer — Feds turn down developer’s mitigation bank — again. — County board sends Aqua back to planners. See stories, page 4-5.
The developer’s ongoing site work at Aqua By The Bay includes a lagoon. The future plans include high-rise buildings, seawalls and docks. Islander Photo: Jack Elka
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