Landmark anniversary. 17
Top Notch Honorable mentions. 13 Astheworldterns draw a line for red tide. 6
VOLUME 26, NO. 44
amE teaches STEm. 14
Have a safe and fun Labor Day
AUG. 29, 2018 FREE
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6
10-20 YEarS ago
Looking back. 7
Meetings
On the government calendar. 8 Bradenton Beach seeks FEMA, Swiftmud money. 9 Make plans, save a date. 10
Happenings
Community announcements, activities. 11 Bradenton Beach sends ballot questions to elections office. 12 Pine Avenue businesses maneuver slow season, red tide. 15 People who like to monkey around. 16
Obituaries. 18 Streetlife. 20
Wildlife challenges on shore. 22
The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
dolphin, sea turtles perish from red tide
By ChrisAnn Silver Esformes Islander Reporter Except for murky water in the Gulf of Mexico, Aug. 21 looked like a normal beach day on Anna Maria Island. Reports of respiratory irritation from humans had decreased from the week before and after the Manatee County beach tractor cleared the beach that morning, few dead fish washed ashore. However, l2 hours later, the wind started blowing from the west-southwest, bringing high levels of Karenia brevis — the harmful algae bloom known as red tide — to the waters surrounding the island, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission red tide report. The first bottlenose dolphin reported dead in Manatee County since red tide started drifting north toward the island the first week in August was found Aug. 21 on the beach near Sycamore Avenue in Anna Maria. As of Aug. 22, 17 dolphins had died in the waters surrounding Sarasota County, PLEASE SEE PERISH PAGE 2
Ashley Lysaught, left, and Jessica Blackburn, stranding technicians at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, retrieve a dead sub-adult Kemps ridley sea turtle Aug. 22 from the water near Sycamore Avenue in Anna Maria. It was one of 135 dead sea turtles reported as of Aug. 24 to Mote since the Sarasota-Manatee outbreak of red tide began July 20. Islander Photo: ChrisAnn Silver Esformes
By Sandy Ambrogi Islander Reporter The discussions centered on dollars and red tide. The Center of Anna Maria Island in
Anna Maria served for the first time Aug. 20 as the host site for a Manatee County Tourist Development Council meeting. The TDC makes recommendations to the Manatee County Board of Commission-
TdC honors service, struggles with red tide
Working wildlife. 23 Adults and kids on the pitch, plus pitching, putting, paddling. 24 Find clear water to catch the fish. 25
iSL BiZ Good business, good humor. 26 CLASSIFIEDS. 28
PropertyWatch. 28 NYT crossword. 31
www.islander.org
David Teitelbaum, center, smiles at the crowd gathered for the Manatee County Tourist Development Council meeting Aug. 20, as BACVB executive director Elliott Falcione, left, speaks of Teitelbaum’s long years of service to the TDC. County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, right, holds a bronze statue presented to Teitelbaum during the meeting, which was held at the Center of Anna Maria Island. Islander Photo: Sandy Ambrogi
ers on the use of tourist tax revenues. Eric Cairns, owner of Cedar Cove Resort and Cottages in Bradenton Beach, attended his first meeting as a member of the TDC, filling an owner/operator hotel/motel slot. He was introduced to the council by Elliott Falcione, executive direction of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. When asked about red tide and how the BACVB was coping, Falcione was stoic. “You have to know what you can control and what you can’t. My first week in this job, it was the middle of the BP oil spill. If I survived that, I can survive anything,” he said. Before business got underway, a special presentation was made to David Teitelbaum of Bradenton Beach, a longtime member who recently retired his seat on the TDC. Falcione praised Teitelbaum for his commitment to tourism, his years of public service and his support for historic preservation. As County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, who chairs the TDC, handed her longtime friend a bronze sculpture of a manatee, PLEASE SEE TDC PAGE 5