pto puts on ‘pop’ party. 24
tributes to moms. 12-13 Astheworldterns share memories of mom. 6
VOLUME 27, NO. 28
‘fore’ for moonracer. 26
Happy Mother’s Day
MAY 8, 2019 FREE
AM Historic Preservation Board meets for first time. 2 Motions denied in BB Beach Sunshine dispute. 4 Ex-county commissioner appeals Long Bar to high court. 5
The he Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
mayday, mayday.
Op-Ed
www.islander.org
39
YEARS AGO
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6
10-20 YearS ago
From the archives. 7
BB pier to get a coat of paint. 8
Meetings
On the government calendar. 8 Make plans, save a date. 10
Happenings
Community announcements. 11 Center in black as fiscal year winds down. 14 AM pier construction on pace. 15 HB prepares to update comp plan. 15
A tugboat pushes the Summit Venture from the wreckage after the May 9, 1980, crash into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge as a small boat in the center searches for survivors. More, pages 18-19. Islander Photo: Gene Page III
cheers, discontent accompany first loggerhead nest on AMI
HB charter reviewers push for finish line. 17
Gathering. 20
Obituaries.
20
AME readers compete, wildlife visits. 22
Streetlife. 24 Spring squall brings disaster. 27 Sports. 28 Fishing. 29 Tourism. 30 CLASSIFIEDS. 32 NYT crossword. 35
The first loggerhead nest of the 2019 sea turtle nesting season on Anna Maria Island was spotted and marked May 1 at the south end of the Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach. The large hole visible on the right was dug and left overnight by beachgoers. More, page 3. Islander Photo: ChrisAnn Silver Esformes
amorous bugs invade ami again
By Sandy Ambrogi Islander Reporter They are not loved much, despite their name. It’s spring and lovebugs are making an appearance. The March fly species first found in Florida in 1949, according to the University of Florida entomology department website, is doing what it does best — loving. Cars, brush, landscaping and roads on Anna Maria Island and the entire Gulf coast of Florida often are crowded with lovebugs when their season begins. The bugs emerge from a pupal stage in large quantities twice yearly — April-May and August-September. And the only thing on Plecia nearctica’s to-do list? Procreation. Evan Siemann, ecology and evolutionary biology professor at Rice University in Houston, said, “Lovebugs only live long enough to eat nectar, copulate, lay eggs and PLEASE SEE LoVEBugs, PAGE 2