The Islander Newspaper E-Edition: Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023

Leading the way to peace Coquina trail pine trees getting axed

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

People who frequent a multiuse trail at Coquina Beach will experience less shade.

Manatee County is remodeling the path, beginning with the removal of 96 Australian pine trees.

Manatee County information outreach manager Bill Logan told The Islander a tree removal company working under Woodruff & Sons would be removing the trees in late September.

“A few weeks of work on that, then they will move to installing a root barrier along the path,” Logan said.

“That work should take them well into October. It sounds like paving would likely be completed after the holidays,” he continued.

In August, Manatee County commissioners approved the $1,305,432.93 project.

County strategic planning manager Ogden Clark told The Islander Sept. 21 that removing the trees is a necessary first step in remodeling the trail.

“The proposed work is the removal of the existing trail, repaving in the same location at the same width with root barriers, required tree trimming and removal and tree replacements as required — from Longboat Pass to Fifth Street South,” Clark said.

Root intrusion that created an undulation in the trail’s surface necessitated the remodel.

Clark said the county is only removing trees closest to the trail’s edge.

“Trees to be removed are within 3 1/2 feet of the existing trail,” Clark said. “A root barrier will also be installed where trees are within 10 feet of the sidewalk. Once this

Anna Maria, county (finally) reach ferry agreement

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

The Anna Maria City Pier is set to be the first island stop for Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry program.

City commissioners unanimously voted Sept. 21 to approve an interlocal agreement and improvement plan to allow the county’s ferry to use the city pier as a ferry station.

The county had already inked interlocal agreements with the cities of Bradenton and Bradenton Beach, so Anna Maria’s signoff wraps up about a year of negotiations.

Over that time, the two sides have whittled down terms and revisions for an agreement that Mayor Dan Murphy endorsed in August.

The endorsed agreement has six terms, which include:

• Requiring any water ferry route to include the city pier for both departure and arrival from downtown Bradenton. Eliminating that route would constitute grounds for terminating the agreement;

preparation work is completed, the trail will be rehabilitated.”

The county’s sports and leisure department is steering the project since it oversees the park.

He said another area of concern was the beach marketplace zone, as the market is due

• Requiring the county to ensure accessibility under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees access to public resources for disabled people, by paying for and constructing necessary improvements to the city pier dock;

Island, state reps to meet on consolidation

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

October’s Manatee County Legislative Delegation meeting could be a look into a crystal ball for Anna Maria Island. It could foretell a reshaping of the island, and the lines of communication between island and state representatives are opening as the meeting date approaches.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy told The Islander Sept. 22 that he’d spoken via phone the week before with state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, about a potential state study into consolidating the island municipalities.

The study by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, a research arm of the Legislature that provides data and analysis that assists budget and policy deliberations, was requested last January.

Robinson first proposed the study when he motioned the delegation to commission an OPPAGA study into the island’s governing structure.

titsworth

Murphy

tURN tO COQUINA TREES, PAGe 2

Holmes Beach Police Lt. Brian Hall and Officer Christine LaBranche, AMe’s resource officer, lead a procession of students Sept. 21 to AMe’s International Peace Day celebration. More, page 13. Islander Photo: Brook Morrison

A cyclist pedals Sept. 18 along a multipurpose path at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach. trail users will see less shade after the county removes 96 Australian pine trees along the trail before repaving it. Island Photo: Robert Anderson

In May 2007, county workers removed dozens of trees to improve the parking area at Coquina Beach in spite of protests.

From the archives

Over the past two decades, the island cities and Manatee County have dealt with the removal of Australian pines and other tree species from public areas.

In the 2000s, the planned removal of dozens of pine trees at Coquina Beach spurred protests.

In May 2007, for example, six protesters at Coquina lashed themselves to Australian pines hoping to prevent bulldozer operators from taking down trees to make way for a redesigned parking lot.

The county, at the time, also was working on designs for the multipurpose trail, which included a plan to demolish more than 60 Australian pine trees.

— Lisa Neff

Pine factoids: the Australian pine tree is a tall, nonnative tree found throughout Florida. It was introduced in the late 1800s as a salt-tolerant, giving shade and serving as a windbreak along coastal areas. It is widely cultivated for erosion control and to restore nitrogen to the soil. However, the trees can outcompete native vegetation by producing a dense straw-like litter beneath them.

COQUINA

to open Oct. 4. The market area is planned along the trail for access.

“We have a short window to clear necessary trees in the market area so that we can get the shops up and running again. We are focusing on that first,” Clark said.

The new path will follow the same route as the current path.

“I believe the plan is to start in the south and work north. This is subject to the market starting and input from the park’s folks,” Clark said.

And because Bradenton Beach has requirements for tree removal, the county will need to plant native species to mitigate the loss.

The Islander reached out to Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 but, as of Islander press time, there was no response.

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Pushing for finale in the preserve

An earth-moving and wetlands creation project continues Sept. 19 at the 95-acre Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage Preserve, 4404 116th St. W., Cortez. the Sarasota Bay estuary Program, which works to improve water quality and enhance the natural resources of the bay region, will next place native marsh plants at the site to enhance and stabilize the soil. the project, part four of a yearslong effort to revitalize the preserve, was funded with $800,000 from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. the SBeP and FISH will host a private ribbon-cutting 10 a.m.-noon Friday, Nov. 3, at the preserve to celebrate the project’s completion. Islander

TREES CONtINUeD FROM PAGe 1

Photo: Robert Anderson

File Photo

WATER FERRY CONtINUeD FROM PAGe 1

• Requiring the county to maintain legal liability of the ferry service, including in the case of negligence or intentional acts by its operator;

• Requiring the county to provide a detailed plan and cost subject to city commission approval for any required ADA-related improvements to the pier;

• Requiring the county to shoulder the cost of creating ADA-compliant dockage and subjecting the city to subsequent maintenance costs;

• Subjecting the annual budget for the ferry service to county commission approval and the annual budget for maintenance of ADA-related improvements to the city.

Despite Murphy’s endorsement of the agreement, city officials were not satisfied with the county’s original plans for improvements to accommodate the ferry service at the pier.

The county’s plans involved installing a floating dock perpendicular to the pier’s existing boat landing and a railing along the edge of the T-end closest to the dock.

The proposed floating dock would have been anchored with wooden piles and blocked off by a locked gate at the pier landing, and was estimated to cost $300,000.

Murphy met with county offi cials in August to provide feedback, calling for a new proposal.

After a month, the county provided new plans, which involve installing two composite pilings along the pier’s existing landing — not driven into the seabed — as bumpers for the ferry.

The plans also involve the use of a 7-foot-long gangway ramp to provide a walkway on and off the ferries.

The improvements are projected to cost about $10,000.

Murphy said the decreased cost was important since the city must pay for the improvements if it decides to terminate its agreement with the county. He called the previous plan’s $300,000 improvements a “ransom payment.”

He added that the installation of bumper pilings along the pier landing was a “pretty good idea for docking” and the use of composite pilings, which are stronger and more durable than wood, would keep maintenance costs low.

“It isn’t exactly what we want. Our discussions have been around a taxi that would bring workers across and relieve congestion and traffic. Is it that? No, it’s really not that. But is it a step in the right direction of us getting to that? Yes. And if they decide not to ever get to that, can we get out of this contract? Yes,” Murphy said.

“They need the city of Anna Maria far more than we need them.”

Commissioner Charlie Salem lauded Murphy for his work with the county to secure improvements at a lower cost but said the city should keep an eye on the ferry’s impact.

“Is this going to really deliver for the people who live here and work here?” Salem asked. “Three days a week service doesn’t get that done now but hope-

fully it will in the future. If it doesn’t — I’ll speak for myself — this isn’t the kind of thing I think we should be spending any money on.”

Commissioner Jonathan Crane said he’d like the city to have ongoing conversations with the county about increasing the days of service.

“We all believe that the water ferry would be a better vehicle for helping to ease congestion and getting workers out here if it ran seven days a week,” Crane said.

“We need to be steadfast on, ‘This is the long-term goal. We’ll accept this as an interim, short-term taxi, but long-term we want seven days a week. We want to focus on what’s going to help our residents and what’s going to help our workers.’ … That’s the problem I’m hoping this thing can solve,” Murphy agreed. “If they can’t solve it, let them go to Bradenton Beach.”

There was no public comment.

The commission will meet next at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.

Directions to attend via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.

Q&A 092723

The Islander poll

Last week’s question

By Lisa Neff

In the fall on AMI, instead of leaf-peeping, I

64%. Go to the beach

6%. Go fishing.

4%. Go birdwatching.

26%. Still need air conditioning.

This week’s question

My favorite time to fish is …

A. Fall

B. Winter

C. Summer

D. Spring

E. I don’t fish

To answer the poll, go online to islander.org.

A Gulf Islands Ferry, the Miss Anna Maria, performs a test landing Sept. 8 at the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach. Islander File

Photo: Courtesy Bradenton Beach

2 challengers qualify for District 3 county commission seat

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

The island’s county representative is facing competition in next year’s general election.

Democrat Diana Shoemaker and Republican Talha “Tal” Siddique qualifi ed the week of Sept. 18 with the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections office to challenge Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge for the District 3 seat.

District 3 covers the western side of the county, including all of Anna Maria Island and north Longboat Key to the county line.

All three candidates are Bradenton residents.

Shoemaker was the president and chief executive officer of Manatee Habitat for Humanity for 12 years before becoming executive director of the Elders Action Network, a nonprofit organization that works to improve social and environmental justice.

Siddique has worked for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. He also is the founder and president of an activist group, Speak Out Manatee.

Van Ostenbridge, a Republican, is a lifelong resident of Manatee County, real estate agent at Bradenton-based Boyd Realty, as well as founder of Be Easy

At issue in the county election for islanders is a county push for a three-story parking garage at the Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach, opposed by city officials but allowed by a 2023 state law.

Tours, a local excursion company.

Van Ostenbridge was elected in 2020 to a four-year term as the county’s District 3 commissioner.

Shortly after he joined the board, Van Ostenbridge sparked the county’s “war” against Holmes Beach over the city’s park-by-permit system, which he says restricts island parking for off-island residents and visitors.

City officials argue the park-by-permit system protects residential quality of life.

Following the passage of House Bill 947 — filed by Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton — earlier this year, the county is moving forward despite opposition from the city with an overriding plan to build a parking garage at the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive.

Both of Van Ostenbridge’s challengers have criticized the county’s pursuit of a parking garage without the city’s approval.

Siddique attended a protest outside the county administration building in June to speak out against HB 947 and a potential parking garage on the beach. His support for the city earned him recent endorse-

ments from Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth and Police Chief Bill Tokajer.

However, Siddique said he realized activism would only go so far, leading him to pursue a more involved role in the county.

“Eventually I realized it doesn’t even matter how many people you can bring together, you’ll still be ignored,” Siddique told The Islander Sept. 22. “People are simply not being heard. … I can’t even get a simple response.”

Siddique also criticized the county commission for being too “pro-developer” and said he’d like to improve quality of life and safety by bolstering the county’s existing infrastructure instead of building new.

“For me, ethics, transparency and prioritizing people over special interests and developers — that’s really the biggest contrast,” Siddique said. “I want to be that activist commissioner.… I’m proud of the fact that I’m just some guy that said, ‘Hey, I’m going to raise my hand and do the job.’”

Shoemaker’s Sept. 22 news release states that she “is running to restore the voice of District 3 voters whose concerns have been overlooked or simply ignored on huge issues such as wetlands protection or the proposed parking garage on Holmes Beach.”

“In recent years, leaders have pushed through policy decisions over — and sometimes in spite of — clear opposition from the public they represent,” Shoemaker stated in the release. “It’s time that we have leadership that understands their responsibility to listen to their voices.”

Van Ostenbridge expressed confidence in the results of his first term in a Sept. 21 email to The Islander.

“Conservatives in Manatee County know that in my first term I have led their county commission in delivering two tax cuts, record investments in traffic-relieving infrastructure, renewed our commitment to our sheriff’s office and its deputies, and kept the economic engine of our community open for business,” Van Ostenbridge wrote. “Conservatives know we’ve just gotten started, and we have more work to do.”

Islander Photo: Courtesy Manatee County Manatee Public Beach, looking north.

CONSOLIDATION CONtINUeD FROM PAGe 1

The delegation unanimously approved Robinson’s motion but legislators tabled the proposed study in February and requested the island mayors discuss and present their options for consolidation.

However, Boyd and Robinson grew impatient with the mayors’ lack of progress on the subject.

They wrote a letter in August asking the mayors to present their feedback ahead of the delegation meeting or “we will move forward with our request to OPPAGA.”

The mayors met and agreed to embrace the study, but that its scope should be limited to consolidation of services, not municipal governments.

Murphy said he’d conveyed that message to Boyd and Robinson during his phone calls with them and said they listened but did not provide feedback.

“They just listened to me,” he said. “Maybe it’s

the rantings of an old man. Maybe, I don’t know, but they were both very respectful.”

Titsworth wrote in a Sept. 22 text message to The Islander that she spoke with Robinson that day and “had a great talk” but declined to expand on their conversation.

Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie did not respond Sept. 22 to a call from The Islander.

Boyd did not respond to multiple calls from The Islander at both his Bradenton and Tallahassee offices Sept. 19 and Sept. 22.

Robinson did not respond to multiple calls from The Islander to his Bradenton and Tallahassee offices Sept. 19 and Sept. 22.

The delegation meeting will be 8:30 a.m.-noon Thursday, Oct. 5, at Bradenton City Hall, 101 Old Main St. W., Bradenton.

WE UNDERSTAND THE VALUE

The next general election will be Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.

Delegation to convene

The Manatee Legislative Delegation will hold its annual meeting and public hearing for the 2024 session at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 5.

The meeting will be at Bradenton City Hall, 101 Old Main St. W., Bradenton.

State Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, chairs the delegation.

The 2024 Legislative session will convene in Tallahassee Jan. 9 and there are a series of deadlines for lawmakers to meet before that date.

Nov. 14 is the deadline for appropriation project requests, as well as bill draft requests, including requests for companion bills.

The last day of the regular session will be March 8, 2024.

For more information, call Boyd’s office at 941-742-6445.

— Lisa Neff

Van Ostenbridge

Shoemaker Siddique

Meetings

By Lisa Neff

ANNA MARIA CITY

Sept. 27, 9 a.m., planning and zoning.

Oct. 19, 6 p.m., commission.

Anna Maria City Hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, 941-708-6130, cityofannamaria.com.

BRADENTON BEACH

Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m., CRA.

Oct. 4, 1 p.m., planning and zoning.

Oct. 5, 6 p.m., commission.

Oct. 18, 1 p.m., ScenicWAVES.

Oct. 19, noon, commission.

Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N., 941-778-1005, cityofbradentonbeach.com.

HOLMES BEACH

Oct. 4, 10 a.m., parks and beautification.

Oct. 4, 5 p.m., planning commission.

Oct. 10, 2 p.m., commission.

Oct. 11, 9 a.m., clean water.

Oct. 17, 10 a.m.-noon, city hall open house.

Oct. 24, 5 p.m., commission.

Oct. 26, 11:30 a.m., police pension.

Oct. 28, 9 a.m., Manatee Moves celebration, city field. Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive, 941-708-5800, holmesbeachfl.org.

WEST MANATEE FIRE RESCUE

Oct. 17, 6 p.m., commission.

WMFR administration building, 701 63rd St. W., Bradenton, 941-761-1555, wmfr.org.

MANATEE COUNTY

Oct. 2, 6 p.m., environmental lands management and acquisition committee.

Oct. 5, 9:30 a.m., commission (land use).

Oct. 6, 9 a.m., commission (land use continued).

Oct. 10, 9 a.m., commission.

Oct. 17, 9 a.m., commission (work session).

Oct. 16, 9 a.m., tourist development council.

Oct. 18, 6 p.m., Commissioner James Bearden town hall, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-7786341.

Oct. 24, 9 a.m., commission.

Oct. 26, 9 a.m., commission (land use).

Oct. 31, 1:30 p.m., commission (with Longboat Key). County administration building, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, 941-748-4501, mymanatee.org.

ALSO OF INTEREST

Oct. 5, 8:30 a.m.-noon, Manatee County Legislative Delegation annual meeting and hearing, Bradenton City Hall, 101 Old Main St. W., Bradenton.

Oct. 9, Columbus Day is a federal holiday. Please, send meeting notices to calendar@islander.org and news@islander.org.

County called out over dog attacks

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

Inquiries following two dog attacks in August revealed a history of attacks by the same animal without effective enforcement by Manatee County Animal Welfare Services.

Now the dog and its owner are on the run. Records show the following attacks involving Anthony Santamauro, formerly of Holmes Beach, and his mastiff:

• August 2023 at the Island Time Bar and Grill in Bradenton Beach;

August 2023 at Westbay Cove condominiums in Holmes Beach;

• 2021 in the 6000 block of Columbia Drive in Bradenton;

• 2020 in the 6000 block of Columbia Drive in Bradenton.

The review of reports for The Islander began in August, after Santamauro’s dog attacked Deanna Quinn-McCollian of Illinois and killed the maltipoo in her care.

On Aug. 9, Quinn-McCollian stopped with her sister’s 9-month-old maltipoo, Teddy, at the Island Time Bar and Grill in Bradenton Beach.

There, they were rushed and attacked by an unleashed 140-pound mastiff owned by Santamauro. According to a Bradenton Beach Police Department report, Quinn-McCollian sustained a bite to her calf and Teddy died from injuries. Santamauro also was injured.

Quinn-McCollian said she had concerns with information she received from animal welfare services.

“I was told by them that this is the third interaction they have had with him in two years,” she said, referring to Santamauro.

According to MCAWS reports, Santamauro had been served dog quarantine paperwork following the attack in Bradenton Beach. Santamauro, under Florida law, was required to quarantine the dog for at least 10 days.

Twelve days after the attack in Bradenton Beach, another attack occurred in Holmes Beach.

Evalena Leedy was walking her toy poodle, Alonso, outside her condo at Westbay Cove South Aug. 21 when the unleashed mastiff attacked them.

Leedy ran to a vehicle and threw her dog on the roof.

She said the mastiff lunged at her repeatedly and bit her arm.

Leedy, like Quinn-McCollian, was treated at HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton. Leedy suffered two lacerations on her right forearm requiring stitches and then underwent treatment from a neurologist for nerve damage.

“The wounds themselves have healed pretty well but I don’t have feeling in my arm,” Leedy said Sept. 20.

She told The Islander an animal services officer

said Santamauro was no longer at the Holmes Beach address given at the time of the attack and MCAWS was unable to locate him.

“Officer (Kevin) Mitchell (of MCAWS) told me that he does have the dangerous dog paperwork in hand along with the citation,” Leedy said. “My question is: How do you intend on giving it to him since you don’t know where he is?”

Under Florida law, if a dog is found to be dangerous due to attacks on humans or domestic animals, the owner is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor and the dog is confiscated by animal control and destroyed after 10 days. If a dog is deemed dangerous due to an attack causing serious injury or death to a human, the owner is guilty of a third-degree felony and the dog is destroyed after 10 days.

Leedy said she submitted public information requests through the county records department for any cases involving Santamauro and the mastiff.

She furnished copies of the reports to The Islander.

The reports show Leedy and Quinn-McCollian’s attacks and also an attack in 2020 and another attack in 2021.

In 2020, Elena Skeim of Bradenton was walking her leashed Sheltie, Toby, when the mastiff attacked. Skeim’s dog sustained several broken ribs and underwent emergency surgery.

In 2021, Alberto Seda of Bradenton was walking his leashed dog when the mastiff charged them. Seda’s animal was rushed to a vet for emergency care.

In the AWS report on the August attack in Bradenton Beach, Mitchell noted a conversation with a relative of Santamauro’s concerning Rudy, a male mastiff.

“I was advised that Rudy is highly aggressive and killed multiple puppies in the past. I was then advised that they attempted to take Rudy to a trainer and the trainer advised that the dog should not be in public unless it’s leashed and muzzled, or both,” the report read.

Leedy voiced frustration.

“They could have taken action years ago. I am not sure why they dragged their feet,” she said. “Clearly it’s the owner.”

“My wish is the county does take action and they do it as soon as possible to prevent someone else from getting hurt, a dog getting killed or, God forbid, a child,” Leedy said.

The Islander reached out to MCAWS officer Mitchell and Chief Sarah Brown Aug. 23 and Aug. 24 and again Sept. 20 by phone and email but there has been no response.

Manatee County public safety’s strategic affairs manager James Nicholson responded to The Islander Sept. 21 by email: “This is still an active case; we’ve attempted to contact the owner multiple times. He no longer lives at the residence when this incident occurred.”

Make the most of autumn

Is your business ready to make the most of the fall season? Improve your odds of success with The Islander readers looking to shop and dine, as well as seeking indoor and outdoor fun. For ad info, call or text 941778-7978.

About ‘forever chemicals’

We devote a lot of attention on Anna Maria Island to water — the Gulf of Mexico, the bay waters, the canals and waterways we traverse — and the threats posed to the health of the surrounding waters.

There’s an appointed group in the city of Holmes Beach — the Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee — that’s focused on the quality of local waters and they’ve succeeded in drawing our attention to the big issues associated with water quality.

As they do so, the committee is tapping into the question of how safe is the drinking water that’s supplied to us by Manatee County?

At a Sept. 13 meeting at Holmes Beach City Hall, the advisory committee discussed test results of tap water — your tap water — that showed the presence of PFAS.

The committee, which meets monthly, is expecting results soon on tests from public drinking fountains, including the one at Holmes Beach City Hall.

PFAS often are referred to as “forever chemicals.” They are made up of chains of carbon and fluorine linked together, a strong bond that does not easily break down in natural conditions.

PFAS have been used in all sorts of industrial and consumer processes in the quest to develop products that don’t stick or stain, that resist water and oil.

Studies are finding them in our air, water and land — and in our bodies.

PFAS are mobile in soil and water and they have been shown to bioaccumulate, or build up, in blood and organs over time, and may pose risks to human health.

We expect the Holmes Beach committee will stay on top of the concerns and continue to investigate our water quality, as well as propose solutions.

And they’d welcome your participation on the issue.

To connect, go to holmesbeachfl.org.

Meanwhile, we also can help by being better, wiser consumers:

• Limit use of products made to be oil, water and stain resistant;

• Use stainless steel or cast-iron cookware instead of nonstick;

• Use water filters designed to remove PFAS.

• And follow recommendations from organizations focused on the environment and health, such as the Environmental Working Group, which publishes a range of consumer guides at ewg.org, including one on PFAS.

— Lisa Neff, lisa@islander.org

Gems for the gem

In the spring, the Friends of the Island Library held its first ever jewelry sale.

It was beyond successful for us — and the community, as I am still getting comments on how much fun it was — so we are going to do it again in March 2024 and hopefully make this an annual event.

We will collect donations of jewelry items through January.

Skimming online

Website: islander.org

Facebook: islandernewspaper

Twitter: @ami_islander

Instagram: @theislanderami

Pinterest: @islandernewspaper

News alerts: Register at islander.org

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▼ Publisher, Co-editor Bonner Joy, news@islander.org

▼ Editorial editor Lisa Neff, lisa@islander.org

Robert Anderson, robert@islander.org

Joe Bird, editorial cartoonist

Kevin Cassidy, kevin@islander.org

Jack elka, jack@jackelka.com

Brook Morrison, brook@islander.org

Ryan Paice, ryan@islander.org

▼ Contributors

Karen Riley-Love

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Capt. Danny Stasny, fish@islander.org

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toni Lyon, toni@islander.org

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Urbane Bouchet Ross Roberts

Judy Loden Wasco

(All others: news@islander.org)

Additionally, we welcome help from anyone wanting to volunteer for this event or others that the Friends sponsor. If interested, please call the Island Library at 941-778-6341.

Libraries continue to be a vital resource to everyone in our community.

The Friends thank you for your continued support for our special gem of a library on the island.

Julie Perry, Friends of the Island Library jewelry sale chairperson

Letters to the editor We welcome opinion letters. Submit comments along with a name, city of residence and phone number for verification to news@islander.org.

Connections, AMI & beyond

Anna Maria: Mayor Dan Murphy, 941-708-6130, cityofannamaria.com, ammayor@cityofannamaria.com.

Bradenton Beach : Mayor John Chappie, 941778-1005, cityofbradentonbeach.org, mayor@cityofbradentonbeach.com.

Holmes Beach: Mayor Judy Titsworth, 941-7085800, holmesbeachfl.org, hbmayor@holmesbeachfl.org.

Manatee County : Republican Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, 941-745-3705, kevin.vanostenbridge@mymanatee.org.

Florida Governor : Republican Ron DeSantis, 850-717-9337 for staff, flgov.com for email, @GovRonDeSantis via Twitter.

Florida Senate: Republican Jim Boyd, 941-7426445, boyd.jim.web@flsenate.gov, flsenate.gov, @JimBoydFL via Twitter.

Florida House : Republican Rep. William Cloud “Will” Robinson Jr., 941-708-4968, will.robinson@myfloridahouse.gov, myfloridahouse. gov, @will_robinsonjr via Twitter.

Our theme, “We’re Glad You’re Here,” originated in the 1980s with a restaurant trade group. We hope everyone feels welcome on AMI. — the Islander

From on high

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10&20 years ago

From the Sept. 24, 2003, issue

• West Manatee Fire Rescue District commissioners approved a proposed referendum to allow the district to increase its annual assessment fees through a property tax assessment. The proposed maximum ad valorem rate was 3.75 mills.

• Lawyers for the planned Tidemark hotel, marina and condominium project in Holmes Beach adjacent to a Wachovia Bank rejected a $1.45 million foreclosure suit brought by Regions Bank and petitioned the court to dismiss the case. Tidemark managing director Nick Easterling said he had a new partner that would inject capital.

• Anna Maria commissioners continued to discuss a proposed parking plan by Commission Chair John Quam that would create 171 free and dedicated public parking spaces along beach access streets, denying parking precedence to residents. Commissioner Duke Miller, who advocated permit parking for residents, agreed the city had to provide parking for recreational visitors but not at the expense of residential parking.

From the Sept. 25, 2013, issue

• Holmes Beach police arrested a contractor for allegedly bilking the city out of money paid for a road project in 2012.

• According to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch executive director Suzi Fox, 368 loggerhead and green sea turtle nests were recorded in 2013, surpassing the 2012 record of 365.

• Two bids were submitted in response to Bradenton Beach’s request for proposals to operate a restaurant on the Historic Bridge Street Pier. One was from Starfish on the Bay and another from Fisherman Joe’s.

Beach Sounds Apparel

Name shown on card:

— Lisa Neff

From the

Motorists maneuver near the intersection of Gulf and Marina drives in Holmes Beach in 1981.

Anna Maria hikes taxes to meet $17.8 million budget

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

The city of Anna Maria’s spending plan for fiscal 2023-24 is in the books.

City commissioners unanimously voted Sept. 21 on motions to adopt resolutions and an ordinance setting a $17,891,406 budget and 2.05 millage rate for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Beforehand, commissioners also unanimously voted to allow Robert Kingan — who attended via speakerphone — to participate and vote remotely.

There was no public comment during the hearing, which lasted less than 20 minutes.

Mayor Dan Murphy said about $5 million of the 2023-24 budget, which is $4,223,226 larger than this year’s spending plan, would go to infrastructure, drainage and paving improvements.

Public works expenses will increase $995,200 over this year, totaling $4,426,789 for fiscal 2023-24.

Much of that cost — $3,349,634.46 — is attributed to the “reimagining” Pine Avenue project.

Spending includes $1,939,634.46 for a first phase of improvements, which will feature the installation of sidewalks, as well as crosswalk enhancements and street lighting.

The first phase will be largely funded with a $1,288,440 state appropriation granted to the city last year and $283,412.96 from the U.S. American Rescue Plan Act.

Pine Avenue funding also includes $1,410,000 for a second phase of improvements along the corridors of Magnolia and Spring avenues, which will be funded by a state appropriation.

Murphy said city staff was set to meet the following week with engineers from Bradenton-based George F. Young, who will provide recommendations for improvements along the corridors by the end of October.

He said their recommendations would be brought before commissioners and the public for discussion

and projected the city would have finalized plans by next spring, at which point it can move forward with a request for proposals.

The $1,741,534 stormwater budget will be spent on installing vertical infiltration trenches in the rights of way along the last of the city’s unimproved roadways and maintaining what the municipality has developed in recent years.

Since the stormwater trenches are set to cover 100% of the city’s roadways by the end of the year, the city will begin exploring the use of pump stations to drain water buildup in areas where the trenches have proven ineffective.

The stormwater budget may be bolstered by a $75,000 vulnerability assessment resiliency grant, which is being pursued.

Murphy said the grant will kick off the next stage of drainage improvements by identifying flooding hot spots and how they can be addressed.

The biggest increase over this year’s adopted budget is a $1,665,371 increase in capital outlay expenses, up to 2,678,603 in fiscal 2023-24.

That increase is driven by an extensive capital outlay plan, including:

• $500,000 to extend a multiuse path along Gulf Drive that currently spans from Willow Avenue to Archer Way and was originally intended to be extended to the city’s border with Holmes Beach;

• $500,000 to add an outdoor restroom at city hall, Island Players due to the amount of people parking in the IP parking lot;

• $275,000 to engineer and permit improvements to the Lake LaVista channel to reduce maintenance dredging and improve water quality;

• $200,000 to improve and consolidate city hall so the building department can move back in and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office substation can move to the city annex, 307 Pine Ave.

It also includes $306,058.24 for shade sails for the playground at City Pier Park and in the picnic area on

the T-end at the city pier.

“We’ve come so far, and we still have a long way to go, but the improvements that we’ve made by putting our money into the infrastructure of this city have been significant,” Murphy said.

Murphy also supported a $212,646 increase in cost for contracted law enforcement from the MCSO, which he said provided the city with the best public safety program on the island.

That increase is one of two factors fueling a rise in the city’s operating expenses for fiscal 2023-24.

The other is a 6% raise in salaries and wages across the board for employees, including a 3% base salary raise and a 3% lump sum payment to be provided Oct. 1, as well as an increase in the city’s coverage of employee healthcare costs, from 85% to 95%.

Millage rate

The budget will be supported by a $627,072 increase in ad valorem revenue over this year by adopting the 2.05 millage rate — a tax hike for property owners.

The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of property value used to calculate property taxes. The owner of a property appraised at $500,000 with a 2.05 millage rate will pay $1,025 in property taxes.

Maintaining the rate will result in an increase in ad valorem revenue due to a $317,769,722 spike in total taxable property value, up to $2,050,108,891 in 2023-24, according to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office.

To avoid a tax increase, the city would have had to adopt a 1.7574 rollback rate, which would have resulted in the same revenue as this year.

Under the rollback rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 would have paid $878.70 in property taxes.

The commission will meet next at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.

Directions to attend via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.

AM hones in on process to fill 2 commission vacancies

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

The city of Anna Maria is short one commissioner and, by December, another vacancy will occur.

In the meantime, city officials need to determine how those seats will be filled.

Commissioners reached consensuses Sept. 21 to move forward with the groundwork for an appointment process to select successors for Commissioners Robert Kingan and Deanie Sebring.

Kingan decided against running to retain his seat in the November election and no one stepped up to run in his place. So the post will become vacant when his term expires Dec. 7.

Sebring announced earlier that she is moving to Biron in southwest France by Oct. 7 and the Sept. 21 meeting was her last. She left the meeting early and was not in attendance for the discussion.

It’s likely her seat will remain vacant for the rest of the year.

Mayor Dan Murphy recommended opening applications for candidates in November and filling both vacancies by a vote of the three remaining commissioners at a meeting in January 2024.

Commissioners reached consensus to move forward with Murphy’s suggestion but had a harder time determining how to fill the uneven vacant terms.

Sebring’s term runs through December 2024. So her successor will have about a year to serve in the role following their appointment.

Since Kingan’s term will expire in December, his successor will enter a full two-year term on the board.

So, who gets what?

Murphy recommended giving the two-year term to the applicant with the most votes and the one-year term to the applicant with the second-most votes.

Commissioner Charlie Salem said they could vote to fill the two-year term first, then vote again to fill the one-year term.

During public comment, former Commissioner Doug Copeland said the city should accept separate applications for the two seats since some people might only be interested in serving for one year.

City attorney Becky Vose recommended they allow the candidate with the most votes to choose between the two terms, leaving the other term to the candidate with the second-most votes.

Commissioners agreed to move forward with Vose’s solution.

Murphy said the city will open applications for both vacancies Wednesday, Nov. 1, and close submissions by mid-December.

He said the city will hold a special meeting in early January 2024 for candidates to introduce themselves and answer questions gathered from the public, the

same process used this January when commissioners appointed Salem to a vacancy.

Salem called for the city to allow live questioning from the public during the special meeting to encourage public input.

Commissioners will meet Thursday, Jan. 11, to vote on appointments.

To qualify for a commission seat, people must have maintained a residency within the city for at least

Pickleball for all

Au revoir

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, right, presents Commissioner Deanie Sebring, left, with a key to the city Sept. 21 at her final commission meeting before moving to France. Sebring was appointed to the commission in November 2020 and reelected without opposition last year but will move Oct. 7 to Biron. City officials are discussing how to appoint her successor, as well as a candidate to fill Commissioner Robert Kingan’s seat. Kingan opted out of his seat.

two years, be a qualified voter of the city, and cannot be employed by the city or hold any other municipal office.

City commissioners receive a $4,800 annual salary.

The commission will meet next at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.

Directions to attend via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.

Bradenton Beach approved adding two pickleball courts at Herb Dolan Park on Avenue A at a cost of $32,000 — to be paid for with sales tax revenues. the courts also will be discussed at the next city meeting at 6 p.m. thursday, Oct. 6, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N. Islander

Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Kingan

Photo: Robert Anderson

Compiled by Lisa Neff, calendar@islander.org

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT OFF AMI

Friday, Sept. 29

4-7 p.m. — Art in the Park open house, Palma Sola Botanical Park, 9800 17th Ave. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-761-2866.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Throughout September, Island Gallery and Studios “Expressions of Anna Maria Island Sunsets: A Retrospective,” 456 Old Main St., Bradenton. Information: 941-778-6648.

Through Oct. 15, “Lorna Bieber: Natural World,” the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-360-7390, ringling.org.

Through June 23, 2024, “Mountains of the Mind: Scholars’ Rocks from China and Beyond,” the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-360-7390, ringling.org.

“Caught in the Storm: 100 Years of Florida Hurricanes” exhibit, Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez. Information: floridamaritimemuseum. org.

First Fridays, 6-9:30 p.m., Village of the Arts First Fridays Artwalk, 12th Street West and 12th Avenue West, Bradenton. Information: villageofthearts.com.

Second and fourth Saturdays, 2-4 p.m., Music on the Porch jam session, presented by the Florida Maritime Museum and Cortez Cultural Center, outdoors, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez. Information: floridamaritimemuseum. org, fmminfo@manateeclerk.com.

SAVE THE DATE

Oct. 11, Island Library’s Time Book Club discusses Glennon Doyle’s “Untamed,” Holmes Beach.

Oct. 14, Mote Marine’s Sharktoberfest, Sarasota.

Nov. 2-12, Island Players’ “Later Life,” Anna Maria.

Nov. 3-4, Village of the Arts’ Dia de los Muertos, Bradenton.

Nov. 4, Bash at the Bishop: A Celestial Affair, Bradenton.

Nov. 8, Island Library’s Island Time Book Club discusses Curtis Sittenfeld’s “Romantic Comedy,” Holmes Beach.

Nov. 11-12, Cortez Stone Crab and Music Festival, Cortez.

Nov. 11, Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce Symphony on the Sand at Coquina Beach, Bradenton Beach.

Nov. 18-April 28, 2024, the Dali Museum’s “Dali & the Impressionists: Monet, Degas, Renoir and More,” St. Petersburg.

Save the date for a daytrip

Salvador Dalí’s “Cadaques,” an oil on canvas from 1923 will be featured in “Dali & the Impressionists: Monet, Degas, Renoir & More,” opening Nov. 18 and continuing through April 28, 2024, at the Dalí Museum. Paintings from the St. Pete museum will be paired with Impressionist works from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, including landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and portraits by Dalí, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, edouard Manet, edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Paul Signac, Alfred Sisley, Maxime Maufra, Johan Barthold Jongkind, Armand Guillaumin, JeanFrançois Raffaëlli, Jean-François Millet, Camille Corot, Édouard Vuillard, Henri Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck and Georges Rouault. For more information, go online to thedali.org. Islander Photo: Courtesy Collection of the Dalí Museum/Gift of A. Reynolds & eleanor Morse

Dec. 1-2, Bradenton Blues Festival, Bradenton.

Dec. 9, Jan. 14, Jan. 26, April 6, Center of Anna Maria Island/ Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau concert, Anna Maria.

MARKETS & SALES

SAVE THE DATE

Oct. 3-May 7, Anna Maria Farmers Market, Anna Maria. Oct. 4, Coquina Beach Market opens, Bradenton Beach.

Oct. 7-May 25, Bradenton Market, Bradenton.

Oct. 7, Florida Maritime Museum Cortez Nautical Flea Market, Cortez.

Oct. 7, Master Gardener Volunteer Plant Sale, Palmetto.

Oct. 22, Palma Sola Botanical Park’s Fall Plants and More Sale, Bradenton.

KIDS & FAMILY ON AMI

Friday, Sept. 29 10 a.m. — Forty Carrots program, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341. Tuesday, Oct. 3 10 a.m. — Family storytime, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

ONGOING ON AMI

Select Thursdays — Sept. 28, Oct. 26, Nov. 16, Dec. 14 — Shark Pups and Grownups preschool program, Mote Marine Science Education and Outreach Center on Anna Maria City Pier, Pine Avenue and Bay Boulevard, Anna Maria. Information: mote.org.

ONGOING OFF AMI

First Wednesdays, “SOAR in 4” family night, the Bishop Museum, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131, bishopscience. org.

Third Fridays, Teen Nights, the Bishop Museum, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.

Seasonal call for listings

Get listed early and reach The Islander’s audience weekly.

Please, send notices for the 2023-24 seasonal calendar to Lisa Neff at calendar@islander.org. Be sure to include a contact name, as well as a phone number for publication in the calendar and announcements.

Second Saturdays, Quest for kids, the Bishop Museum, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.

SAVE THE DATE

Oct. 13, Manatee County’s Goblin Gathering, Bradenton.

Oct. 21, Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Bayfest, Anna Maria.

Dec. 2, Center of Anna Maria Island Lester Family Fun Day, Anna Maria.

Dec. 9, Winter Wonderland Celebration, Bradenton.

CLUBS & COMMUNITY ON AMI

Thursday, Sept. 28

10 a.m. — Seaside Quilters, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

1 p.m. — Sunshine Stitchers knit and crochet, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

Friday, Sept. 29

5:30 p.m. —Hoop for Hope hula-hooping, drumming, yoga and more, part of a Suicide Prevention Month observance, Magnolia Avenue beach access, Anna Maria. Information: 480-215-6460, islandyogaspace.com.

Saturday, Sept. 30

9:30 a.m. — Keep Manatee Beautiful Coquina South Boat Ramp cleanup, 1465 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. Information: manateebeautiful.com, 941-795-8272.

10 a.m.-1 p.m. — Annie Silver Community Center book sale and potluck lunch, 103 23rd St. N., Bradenton Beach. Information: 724-787-1418.

ONGOING ON AMI

Saturdays, 8:30 a.m., Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-7781383.

Tuesdays, noon, Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bridge Street Bistro, 111 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-718-5583.

SAVE THE DATE

Oct. 28, Annie Silver Community Center Book Sale and Potluck Lunch, Bradenton Beach.

Nov. 3, FISH Preserve ribbon-cutting ceremony, Cortez.

LESSONS & LEARNING

ON AMI

Wednesday, Sept. 27

11 a.m. — Desoto National Memorial program, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

SAVE THE DATE

Oct. 20, Nov. 15, Island Library/Jewish Federation of SarasotaManatee Holocaust Speaker Series, Holmes Beach.

need a good laugh? visit the NEW emerson quillin signature store. humor, art, gifts NEW LOCATION: HB Post Office, 5354 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach • emersonshumor.com

Island happenings

Psyched up

Sarasota-based artist tim Jaeger — whose work has been featured in many galleries, including at the Studio at Gulf and Pine in Anna Maria in the 2018 exhibition “Wild, the extraordinary wildlife of Florida” — created the design for the 2023 Bradenton Blues Festival set for Dec. 1-2 at the Riverwalk Pavilion downtown. tickets are on sale now. Jaeger said he took inspiration from rock concert posters dating to the 1960s and 1970s and local imagery to create an “ultra-coastal psychedelic blues festival poster.” For more, go to bradentonbluesfestival.org. Islander Courtesy Photo

SPORTS & FITNESS

ONGOING ON AMI

Most Wednesdays, 1 p.m., mahjong club beginners, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-7786341.

Most Fridays, 11:30 a.m., mahjong club experienced players, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941778-6341.

Mondays, 10 a.m., morning yoga, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

SAVE THE DATE

Dec. 1, Manatee Chamber of Commerce golf tournament, Sarasota.

Dec. 9, DeSoto Cornhole Tournament, Bradenton.

Feb. 24, 2024, Pittsburgh Pirates spring training opens, Bradenton.

OUTDOORS

& NATURE

ON AMI

Palma Sola park hosts artist

The Palma Sola Botanical Park will hold an open house Friday, Sept. 29, for its new Art in the Park installation, featuring work by Wendell Graham.

The open house will be 4-7 p.m. at the park, 9800 17th Ave. NW, Bradenton.

Graham is a mixed-media artist who also shows work at the Artists’ Guild Gallery in Holmes Beach.

The event will feature tastings from the Tea Tree Cafe in the park.

For more information, call the park at 941-7612866.

Market to open on Old Main

The Bradenton Market will resume its weekly schedule on Old Main Street in October.

The market will run Saturdays 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 7-May 25 with a variety of vendors selling clothing, household goods and food items and musicians providing entertainment.

Realize Bradenton coordinates the market.

For more, call the nonprofit at 941-301-8445.

Wednesday, Sept. 27

Annie Silver hosts sale, lunch

The Annie Silver Community Center will host a potluck lunch and book sale Saturday, Sept. 30.

The activities will be 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the neighborhood center, 103 23rd St. N., Bradenton Beach.

For more, call Dianne Coates at 724-787-1418.

Anna Maria market to resume

Anna Maria will bring back its outdoor market Tuesday, Oct. 10.

The market season will be 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays through May 7, 2024, at City Pier Park, near the intersection of Bay Boulevard and Pine Avenue.

The market is coordinated by the city through the clerk’s office and features community groups, specialty foods, produce and other vendors.

For more, call the city at 941-708-6130.

‘Symphony on the Sand’ set

The Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra is bound for the beach.

After a long intermission due in part to the coronavirus pandemic and then stormy weather, AMICCO is again tuning up for the “Symphony on the Sand.”

The concert will begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach.

OFF AMI

10 a.m. — Explore Nature: Tower Talk, Robinson Preserve, 1704 99th St. NW, Bradenton. Robinson Preserve, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923, mymanatee.org.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Saturdays, 9 a.m., Mornings at the NEST, Robinson Preserve, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923, mymanatee.org.

CALENDAR NOTES

KEEP THE DATES

Through Oct. 31, sea turtle nesting season. Lights out. Oct. 31, Halloween.

Nov. 5, daylight saving time ends.

Nov. 7, Election Day.

The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, a sponsor of the event, announced at its website: “Join us for an unforgettable evening of culinary delights, world-class music, a range of ticket options, a captivating Gulf Coast sunset and a heartfelt Veterans Day salute.”

Tickets are priced at different levels, from $30-$250.

Tickets are being sold on EventBrite. Go to annamariaislandchamber.org/symphony-on-the-sand/ for the link.

For more, call the chamber at 941-778-1541.

Friday, Sept. 29

9 a.m. — Coquina Beach Seashell Shore Walk, Longboat Pass Bridge, Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-742-5923.

Massage Therapy | Acupuncture | Yoga 2219 Gulf Drive N | Bradenton Beach 941.778.8400 | www.alunawellness.com

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AmE NEWS

A sunny day for AME International Peace Day

Anna Maria Elementary students, parents and community members gathered Sept. 21 to celebrate International Peace Day at the Holmes Beach school, 4700 Gulf Drive.

The 2023-24 theme encouraged peace and kindness at school and at home.

The Manatee High School Drumline opened the event with a marching performance that was followed by a procession of AME students carrying international flags in an expression of world peace.

AME principal Mike Masiello addressed attendees, promoting the importance of a global way to celebrate peace and reminding them of common bonds.

Prekindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade students sang the first song of the celebration, which was about loving one another.

Parents and community members swayed to the music and enjoyed the performances organized by art and drama teacher Beth McIntosh.

Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island president Kathy Rylander was in attendance to support the school ceremony and gave a speech about staying strong and choosing peace.

— Brook Morrison

AME readies for virtual reality

Anna Maria Elementary students — outfitted with special goggles — soon will experience the realm of virtual reality.

“The virtual reality goggles will give students immersive and engaging lessons in a safe and controlled VR environment,” principal Mike Masiello wrote in an email to The Islander.

Watch this space for details when the goggles are unveiled later in the school year.

Meanwhile, students K-5 are focusing on the science of living things in a first-quarter unit of the Guy Harvey Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Students are learning physical characteristics, behavior and survival tactics specific to different species.

Students also are learning how to identify traits passed from the parents to young animals.

Also in the academy’s first unit, students take a virtual field trip to Raja Ampat, Indonesia, to explore and investigate tropical biodiversity to better understand how marine animals survive.

— Brook Morrison

AME Calendar

• Thursday, Sept. 28, 3:45 p.m. SAC meeting.

• Oct. 2-5, Fire Safety Week.

• Monday, Oct. 9, 3:45 p.m., PTO board meeting.

• Thursday, Oct. 12, end of first quarter.

• Friday, Oct. 13, record day, no school.

• Saturday, Oct. 28, Fall Festival, Center of Anna Maria Island, Anna Maria.

• Sunday, Nov. 12, 3-5 p.m., PTO Family Social book swap, city field, Holmes Beach.

• Thursday, Nov. 16, 5 p.m., PTO dinner in the cafeteria, 6:30 p.m., fourth-grade play in the auditorium.

• Nov. 20-24, Thanksgiving break, no school.

• Thursday, Nov. 30, 3:45 p.m., SAC meeting.

• Dec. 4-7, scholastic book fair.

• Wednesday, Dec. 6, 5-7 p.m., STEM night.

• Sunday, Dec. 10, 3-5 p.m., PTO Family Social, gingerbread house-making, Center of Anna Maria Island, Anna Maria.

Anna Maria Elementary is at 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.

For more information, call the school at 941-708-5525.

AMe fourthgraders zoom with a class in California. Both classes compared and discussed plastics they found during beach cleanups.

Kids count in cleanup campaign

Joanna Hendrickson

Sept. 14 collects litter on the shore in Holmes Beach with her daughter, Anna Maria elementary fourth-grader Zofia, and AMe student Aria thomas during an International Coastal Cleanup involving two nonprofits — the Guy Harvey Foundation and Brightmark — and a California school. Islander Photos: Courtesy AMe

AMe fourthgraders gather for a photo with teacher Nicole O’Neill, Sept. 14, during the International Coastal Cleanup day on Holmes Beach.

Students from Healdsburg elementary celebrate Sept. 14 cleaning up Paradise Beach Park in California. the work was part of “Changing the tide,” an exercise to educate students about the impact of plastic pollution in their communities.

Islander Photo: Courtesy Brightmark

Students at Healdsburg elementary in California participate in a cleanup Sept. 14 at Paradise Beach Park. the school collaborated on a cleanup effort with Anna Maria elementary, the Florida-based Guy Harvey Foundation and the California-based Brightmark. Islander Photo: Courtesy Brightmark

AME’s peaceful path

the Manatee High School Drumline marches Sept. 21 to celebrate International Peace Day at AMe.

AMe’s Littles, the first prekindergarten class at the school, line up Sept. 21 for a walk to the playground, where they joined the student body and the community for an International Peace Day celebration.

LeFt: AMe fifth-grader Avaya Kohlmeyer carries an Afghan flag Sept. 21 during International Peace Day at the school.

Islander Photos: Brook Morrison

Anna Maria elementary School fifth-graders celebrate International Peace Day, observed Sept. 21 at the “little school by the bay.”

Islander

Photo: Courtesy Danielle Sebring

Gathering

By Lisa Neff

Gloria Dei collects for pantry

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is collecting donations to help stock local food pantries.

The church, 6608 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, will be packing up goods for delivery in early October.

Until then, donations can be dropped off at the church Monday-Thursday and after worship Sunday.

“Nonperishable items of any type or quantity are welcome,” a church bulletin read.

For more information, call the church at 941-7781813 or email office@gloriadeilutheran.com.

Roser stages fundraiser

Roser Memorial Community Church is raising money to raise an outdoor stage.

The church, as of Sept. 19, was seeking about $11,400 after receiving $28,607 and reporting another $10,000 in pledges.

The church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, has hosted worship services, concerts and other events the past couple of years “in our beautiful backyard beside the canal,” a church notice read. “The outdoor venue makes it easy to invite family members, friends and island visitors who might be less inclined to enter a church building. By building a permanent structure, we can both improve the experience and reduce recurring expenses for these outdoor events.”

The stage proposed would incorporate easy-tomaintain materials that can be power-washed rather than painted, wind-resistant panels, a solid roof, a raised platform to allow easier viewing from the ground and stairs and railings.

The $50,000 budget estimate includes $37,400 for the stage kit, plans and shipping; $1,600 for engineering drawings; $6,000 for concrete work; and $1,150 for city permitting and fees.

The church wants to build the stage by the Christmas holidays.

“We have city approval and are praying and planning for the outdoor stage to be ready to host Christmas Services in 2023,” the notice read.

For more information, go online to roserchurch. com.

You can read it all online at islander.org

SUNDAY

Singers sought for Christmas cantata at Roser Church

Roser Memorial Community Church is seeking singers to join its cantata choir, which is going into rehearsals for Christmastime performances.

Rehearsals are Thursdays at 6:45-8 p.m. in the sanctuary, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, with Craig

Tidings

Compiled

CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-0719, crosspointefellowship.church.

Worship: Sundays, 9 a.m., followed by life group.

Ongoing: Wednesdays, 7 a.m., men’s Bible meeting; Wednesdays, 6 p.m., Wednesday Night Blast supper and 6:30 p.m., Wednesday Night Blast; Fridays, 10 a.m. women’s Bible meeting.

Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, 4408 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-1638, amiannunciation.org.

Worship: Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.; Sundays, 9:15 a.m.

Ongoing: Most Wednesdays, 8 a.m., men’s breakfast.

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 6608 Marina Drive. Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-1813, gloriadeilutheran.com.

Worship: Sundays, 9:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship.

Ongoing: First Sundays, food bank collections; Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m., women’s social gathering.

Harvey Memorial Community Church, 300 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-779-1912.

Worship: Sundays, 9:15 a.m.

Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. Information: 941-778-0414, roserchurch.com.

Worship: Sundays, 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m.

Ongoing: Tuesdays, Thursdays, 9:30 a.m., RoserRobics.

St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-4769, stbernardcc.org, office@stbernardcc. org.

Worship: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.; Saturdays, 4 p.m.; Sundays, 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.

Ongoing: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m., rosary; Wednesdays, 7:30

17 8:30 & 10:00 AM

Featuring the Roser Cantata Choir & Chamber Orchestra

Sing Christmas Sing Christmas

OPEN CALL TO ALL SINGERS! We are extending an open invitation to the community to join us. Sing Christmas Cantata Choir rehearsals are on Thursdays from 6:45 - 8:00 PM in the Roser Sanctuary. Each singer will be given a musical score and recording so that they may rehearse individually.

Please send an email to Craig Ramberger, Director of Music Ministries: craig@roserchurch.com or call the office 941-778-0414 if you are interested in joining us. READ MORE: RoserChurch.com/Christmas-Cantata

941-778-0414 • 512 Pine Ave, Anna Maria

Ramberger, director of music ministries. The holiday performances, “Sing Joy! Sing Noel! Sing Gloria! Sing Christmas!” will be at 8:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. services Sunday, Dec. 17.

For more information, call the church at 941-7780414 or email info@roserchurch.com.

a.m.; Rosary on the Beach at Manatee Public Beach; Saturdays, 3 p.m., confession.

OFF AMI

Christ Church of Longboat Key Presbyterian USA, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. Info: 941-900-4903, christchurchoflbk.org.

Worship: Sundays, 10 a.m.

Ongoing: Wednesdays, 10 a.m., Women’s Bible Study; Mondays, 9 a.m., Men’s Bible Study.

Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. Info: 941-383-6491, longboatislandchapel.org.

Worship: Sundays, 10 a.m.

Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Info: 941-383-3428.

Worship: Fridays, Shabbat, 5:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.

GET LISTED, CHANGE LISTINGS

Seasons change and so do schedules.

Please, send listings and/or changes in worship calendars and other events to calendar@islander.org.

At your service

Obituaries are offered as a free community service to residents and families of residents, both past and present, as well as to people with ties to the island.

Please, submit notices to news@islander. org.

Paid obituaries can be discussed with ad consultant Toni Lyon at 941-778-7978.

SUNDAY WORSHIP

8:30 AM in the Chapel 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary Nursery • Children’s Church

ONLINE � Watch LIVE or LATER RoserChurch.com

Sign up to receive the eBulletin at RoserChurch.com/contact-us

The CHAPEL is open during office hours for prayer and meditation

Anna Maria • FOLLOW us on Facebook @RoserChurch

Worship With Us At Our Church

Sunday Ser vice 10:00 AM

The Rev. Dr. Nor man Pritchard

Men’s Bible Study: Monday @ 9:00

Women’s Bible Study: Wednesday @ 10:00

Visitors & Residents Welcome Watch Our 10: 00 AM Ser vice Live: www bit ly/cclbksermons or www christchurchof lbk org (follow YouTube link)

by Lisa Neff ON AMI

CHRISTMAS CHORAL EXPERIENCE

Joel Raney & Mary McDonald

beautiful place to explore your faith...”

Roser Memorial Community Church’s cantata choir and orchestra performs in the sanctuary in December 2022. Islander Courtesy Photo

Gathering is the religion page for The Islander. Please, send notices to calendar@ islander.org.

GoodDeeds

Assistance sought on AMI

• The Anna Maria Island Art League seeks volunteers to help organize the Springfest Fine Arts Festival March 16-17 in Holmes Beach. Info: 419-450-4824.

• The Anna Maria Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization seeks sponsors for the 2023-24 academic year. Info: amepto@gmail.com, 941-708-5525, amepto.org/ame-sponsor.

• The Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island welcomes members to support the gallery, 5414 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, and the nonprofi t’s educational mission. Info: amiartistsguildgallery.com, 941-778-6694.

• The Island Players, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, seeks volunteers — onstage and off — for the 75th season of shows. Info: theislandplayers.org, 941941 778-5755.

• The Anna Maria Island Historical Society, 402 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, seeks volunteers to become docents and, beginning this fall, bake bread. Info: 941778-0492, amihs.org.

• The Friends of the Island Library welcomes members to support the Holmes Beach branch, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-7786341, friendsoftheislandlibrary.org.

• Wildlife Inc. rescue and rehabilitation in Bradenton Beach seeks help tending to injured animals. Info: 941-778-6342.

• Roser Food Bank seeks donations. Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, administers the pantry, supported by All Island Denominations. Info: 941-778-0414.

Assistance offered on AMI

• Roser Food Bank welcomes applicants who live and/or work on Anna Maria Island for food assistance, Roser Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. Info: 941778-0414.

• AID offers financial help to those who live on the island, go to church on the island, attend school on the island and work on the island. Info: 941-725-2433.

— Lisa Neff

GoodDeeds notices: To list an organization’s aid services on AMI or a call for help, email lisa@islander. org with details.

Hoop for Hope raises awareness in Suicide Prevention Month

Island Yoga Space invites people to the beach Friday, Sept. 29, for Hoop for Hope to raise awareness and mark the end to Suicide Prevention Month.

The goal of the month is to raise awareness to suicide and prevention efforts and to discuss a highly stigmatized topic.

A goal of the event is to provide resources and foster “positivity and hope through joyful activities such as hula-hooping, drumming and yoga while building community,” according to organizer Paige

Phelps.

The event will be 5:30-7:15 p.m. near the Magnolia Avenue beach access.

For more information about the event, call 941224-0292 or go online to islandyogaspace.com.

For more information about suicide prevention and awareness, go to the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition’s website at floridasuicideprevention.org.

Also, help is available 24 hours a day by calling the 988 lifeline in the United States.

Stuff the Bus 2023 rolls up to Publix stores Oct. 1

The annual Stuff the Bus to benefit anti-hunger efforts takes place 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, at all Manatee County Publix supermarkets, including the store at 3900 E. Bay Drive, Holmes Beach.

The campaign goal is to collect 150,000 pounds of nonperishable food items in one day, which will be placed on buses and taken to the Food Bank of Mana-

Jewelry sale to benefit library

The Friends of the Island Library will celebrate a gem — the island library — with a jewelry sale in March 2024.

The support group at the Holmes Beach library until this year helped to raise money with a used book sale but, due to the lack of storage space for books, the group redirected its efforts and held a jewelry sale in March.

The jewelry sale will return next year — March 14-16 — and donations are being collected now.

People can drop off earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches and more at the library, 5701 Marina Drive.

Donations should be in sealed plastic bags. For more, call the library at 941-778-6341.

tee in Bradenton.

The campaign is coordinated by Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee County, which is seeking volunteers to help stuff school buses with donated food items.

For more information, go online to mealsonwheelsplus.org or call 941-747-4655.

King Middle School students team up with Publix, United Way and the Manatee County School District to sort, pack and load a school bus in October 2017, with donations from customers at the island Publix Super Market, 3900 e. Bay Drive, Holmes Beach. the goods went to the Food Bank of Manatee County for distribution.

Milestones

The Islander welcomes news about islanders and island life, as well as photographs and notices of the milestones in readers’ lives. Email news@islander.org.

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PARADISE BAGELS CAFE & CATERING 3220 E. Bay Drive, Anna Maria Centre Shops 941-779-1212

Island Rotary promotes youth swimming safety with summer lessons

With their summer learn-to-swim sessions ended, the Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island is looking to prepare for a 2024 class of kids.

The club for years has offered learn-to-swim lessons with nonprofit partners, seeking to promote safety and recreation in local pools and on island beaches.

The program dates to 2016, when club member Susan Dutcher had an idea to teach swimming to kids in need.

The club’s president at the time, Judy Rup, worked with Dutcher, along with another Rotarian who was a vice president of the Manatee County Boys and Girls Clubs.

They came up with a goal to provide swimming lessons at the Bradenton YMCA to kids in the Boys and Girls Club who had little to no water safety skills.

Now, in the summers, children from four Boys and Girls Club locations in Manatee County go to the Bradenton Y for eight one-hour lessons.

There are four groups of students — two in June and two in July.

“It can get complicated since both the YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs offer summer camps simultaneously but we work together. Three nonprofits coming together, with a goal of teaching water safety to children who would otherwise never learn to swim, makes for a very powerful impact,” Rup said in a news release.

The program ran 2016-19, went on hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and resumed in 2022.

Over the years, the program has served 544 kids.

Kathy Rylander, president of the island Rotary Club, said in a news release, “We are working hard to change the statistics. Serving over 500 local children in six years is a huge accomplishment for our club and we hope to serve hundreds more in the future.”

Students participate in the Rotary

The program this year received a $4,000 grant from the Bishop Parker Foundation Fund of the Manatee Community Foundation but Rotarians always are looking at additional funding sources and grant programs.

Find more information about the Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island, go to Facebook — the page is RotaryofAMI — or contact Kathy Rylander at kathy@ kathyrylander.com or 941-718-5583.

HB mayor organizes Islanders 4 Clean Water calendar for fall release

By Ryan Paice

Islander Reporter

The Islanders 4 Clean Water campaign is trying a new method of spreading awareness about water stewardship: educational calendars.

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth told The Islander Sept. 19 that clean water promotion calendars — which will feature educational tips about water stewardship and paintings from an area artist — were almost ready to go to print.

The Islanders 4 Clean Water campaign is a combined effort between the three island municipalities to improve local water quality and promote water stewardship.

The campaign includes a 10-point “challenge,” consisting of ways people can better protect and improve local water quality, such as reducing and/or eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and single-

use plastics.

It also asks people to further awareness by challenging others to complete the checklist and posting videos on social media of themselves plunging into local waters.

The new calendars will feature educational tips each month to remind people how they can improve local water quality as they go about their daily lives.

And the calendars will feature reprints from “Water,” a series of oil paintings by artist Jean Blackburn, who grew up on Anna Maria Island.

Blackburn’s work features depictions of water and began with a focus on the Myakka River, before branching out to other waterways across the state, Canada and the Caribbean.

Titsworth, a Holmes Beach native, said she knew Blackburn from their shared time on the island and thought the “Water” series was the perfect fit for such

a calendar.

“I mean, who can paint water?” she said.

So Titsworth reached out to Blackburn, who agreed to donate her artwork for use in the calendar at no cost to the campaign, according to Titsworth.

“She’s so excited about the campaign,” Titsworth said. “The calendar is going to be absolutely gorgeous.”

Between the donated art and a handful of sponsors to fund an initial 2,000-print run, the calendars will be produced at no cost and all proceeds will benefit the campaign.

Titsworth did not provide a price or other information for consumers to buy the calendars, but said they would be available soon.

People can learn more about the Islanders 4 Clean Water campaign and available merchandise by visiting its website, islanders4cleanwater.com.

HBPD hopes to add repurposed military vehicles to fleet

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Hurricane Idalia inspired a couple of additions to the Holmes Beach Police Department’s wishlist.

Police Chief Bill Tokajer told The Islander Sept. 19 that he hopes to add another two Humvees — also known as a HMMWV or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle — to HBPD’s fleet due to the vehicle’s effectiveness following the storm.

Tokajer said the HBPD’s Humvee, nicknamed “Stormtrooper,” was the only vehicle in their fl eet that was able to traverse the island’s fl ooded roads after Idalia passed through the Gulf of Mexico Aug. 29-30.

The rest of the department’s vehicles could not be used on roads until the flooding receded the following day, according to Tokajer.

The HBPD purchased its 1999 Humvee in April 2021 for $500 through Florida’s 1033 program, a law enforcement support program that facilitates the transfer of surplus U.S. Department of Defense property to police agencies.

However, the $500 cost was dropped because the vehicle arrived needing about $2,000 in additional work, such as the installation of lights and new parts, as well as a paint job.

So the only initial costs were the restoration work, which finished in August 2021, and the price of towing it to Holmes Beach.

The vehicle has a raised intake snorkel and exhaust pipe, allowing it to operate while almost entirely submerged in water, as well as a rooftop hatch, allowing the HBPD to patrol the city for looters, respond to

Resources for storm season

Twitter

• National Hurricane Center: @NWSNHC, @NHC_Atlantic.

• National Weather Service: @NWS, @NWStampaBay

On the web • Manatee County: mymanatee.org.

• State: floridadisaster.org.

• Federal: fema.gov., nhc.noaa.gov

News

• The Islander: islander.org

• Bradenton Herald: bradenton.com

• Herald-Tribune: heraldtribune.com

emergencies and conduct rescues during storms despite potential flooding.

Tokajer said he hoped to add two Humvees to the HBPD fleet to improve its ability to address emergencies during severe storms.

He added that he also wants to get an M35 series 2.5-ton 6-by-6 cargo truck, also known as a “Deuce and a Half,” to handle multiple rescues during dire situations.

“If an event like this was to have happened and it came closer to shore and we did get the 7 feet of water, I would imagine we would have had people calling us saying they were on their roofs and need rescue,” Tokajer said.

While the 1033 program now requires a $1,000 annual subscription cost, military equipment obtained through it is at no cost.

It may be some time before the HBPD receives its desired vehicles. The program transfers military equipment to law enforcement agencies as it becomes available, so there is no timeline for delivery.

Additionally, it’s unclear where such vehicles would be stored. The HBPD’s garage currently contains the Humvee, a few police cruisers and all-terrain vehicles, with little room for more.

Tokajer said the city might consider parking them near its public works building or finding a property to store them while they are not in use.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill tokajer, left, and pastor Robert Shepitka, right, stand Sept. 19 next to the HBPD’s repurposed Humvee, which was the department’s only vehicle able to traverse the street flooding caused by Hurricane Idalia. Shepitka, a chaplain with a New York police department who routinely stops by the HBPD when on AMI, happened by and hopped in for the photo op. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Flooding on Marina Drive Aug. 30 following the passage of Hurricane Idalia through the Gulf of Mexico is seen from the rooftop of the HBPD’s repurposed Humvee. Islander Photo: Courtesy Holmes Beach Police Department

Streetlife

By Robert Anderson and Ryan Paice

Island police reports

Anna Maria

Sept. 15, 700 block of Jacaranda Road, burglary. A Manatee County sheriff’s deputy responded to a complainant who said cleaning crews sent to a rental that should have been empty found a person inside, using the microwave. When confronted, the person left. The deputy assigned a case number and filed a report.

Sept. 18, 9000 block of Gulf Drive, larceny. A deputy responded to a complainant who said someone took lumber from their garage. The deputy assigned a case number and filed a report.

The MCSO polices Anna Maria.

Bradenton Beach

Sept. 13, 111 Gulf Drive S., Island Time Bar and Grill, larceny. An MCSO deputy responded to a complainant who said a party left without paying a $150 tab. An incident report was filed.

Sept. 17, 103 Gulf Drive S., Circle K, trespassing. A deputy was dispatched to trespass a man from the premises. An incident report was filed.

The BBPD polices Bradenton Beach.

Cortez

No new reports.

The MCSO polices the village.

Holmes Beach

Sept. 14, 5400 block of Gulf Drive, downed power lines. An officer from the Holmes Beach Police

Island

watch

In an emergency, call 911.

To report information, call the MCSO Anna Maria substation, 941-7088899; Bradenton Beach police, 941-778-6311; or Holmes Beach police, 941-708-5804.

Department responded to reports of downed power lines. The officer found a man who said he backed into the lines while pulling out of his driveway, resulting in a downed utility pole with lines connected. HBPD contacted Florida Power & Light, which sent a crew to shut down power and commence repair work.

Sept. 19, Anchor Inn, 3007 Gulf Drive, larceny. An offi cer responded to reports of a man who left without paying a $170 tab. A bartender told the officer the man arrived with two women and said he’d pay the tab for the three of them. The bartender said the women left after the tab reached $170 and the man left after he was presented with the bill. The bartender and a customer approached the man outside and told him they’d call the police and the man reportedly replied, “Send them my way.” The bartender told police he wished to press charges against the man, whom he’d identified by his driver’s license and provided a sworn statement. HBPD contacted the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to go to the man’s listed address but MCSO deputies reported the property “appeared abandoned.” The HBPD submitted a capias request to the State Attorney’s Offi ce for a larceny charge.

Sexual battery reported in Holmes Beach

An officer from the Holmes Beach Police Department responded Sept. 18 to a report of sexual battery at a property in the 500 block of 72nd Street.

The officer found the complainant, a woman who said her friend had been sexually assaulted by an unnamed man in his 30s who had driven them home from a bar in a red Mustang.

The woman told the officer the man assaulted her in the property’s laundry room before leaving the area.

However, she told police she was a visitor with plans to leave the following day and did not want them to investigate.

The officer left the property and ended his investigation.

Sexual battery is a first-degree felony under Florida law, punishable with up to 30 years in prison, 30 years of probation and a fine of up to $10,000.

— Ryan Paice

HBPD polices Holmes Beach.

Streetlife is based on incident reports and narratives from the BBPD, HBPD and MCSO.

There’s a new lieutenant in town Manatee County Sheriff’s Lt. John Belt, right, introduces himself Sept. 21 at an Anna Maria commission meeting as the successor to Capt. Louis Licata, left, at the MCSO-Anna Maria substation. Licata recently was promoted and will leave the city to become commander of District 2, which includes the western side of the county.

Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Bradenton Beach committee cycles into 2023-24 workplan

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

The Bradenton Beach ScenicWAVES Committee defined key components in its 2023-24 work plan Sept. 20, during a meeting at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N. ScenicWAVES is an advisory board to the city commission that issues an annual workplan for projects associated with the Gulf Drive scenic highway corridor, as well as works on other issues.

Committee members recommended the following for the work plan:

• Enhancement of the intersection at Gulf Drive and Cortez Road, with Florida Department of Transportation funds to be determined;

• Landscape improvements related to the Cortez Bridge on State Road 684/Cortez Road, with DOT funds to be determined;

• Wildlife educational signage at the Historic Bridge Street Pier and John Chappie and Katie Pierola Sunset parks, with $16,003.60 in city/private funds;

• Tree City USA Arbor Day observances and proclamations, with funds to be determined;

• Crosswalks for State Road 789/Gulf Drive near the Bradenton Beach/Homes Beach border, with $1.6 million in DOT funds;

Cleanup set for Coquina

Keep Manatee Beautiful will bring volunteers to Coquina Beach Saturday, Sept. 30, for a coastal cleanup.

Volunteers can check in for the event at 9:30 a.m. at the Coquina South Boat Ramp, 1465 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach.

And the trash collectors are invited to stay for lunch at about 11 a.m.

For more information, contact KMB at 941795-8272 or go online to manateebeautiful.com.

Also, people can register to serve as KMB volunteers on the website.

• Landscape work associated with the Barrier Island Complete Streets, with $1.2 million in DOT funds;

• Community redevelopment agency hardscaping, including signage on Bay Drive South, Bridge Street and Gulf Drive, with CRA funding to be determined;

• Street locator, emergency signs Gulfside from Katie Pierola Sunset Park, 2212 Gulf Drive N., to Fifth Street South, with city funding to be determined;

• Implement Stash Your Trash on the trolleys, with funding to be determined from Keep Manatee Beautiful and the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce;

• Scenic bicycle route street markings and signage, as well as brochure, with funds to be determined;

• Landscaping of rights of way and medians on Gulf Drive South at Coquina Beach, with funding to be determined from Manatee County;

• Coordinate a regional scenic highway meeting in November at the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization office in Sarasota.

While reviewing the plan, chair Ingrid McClel-

Bradenton Beach ScenicWAVeS members and liaisons listen Sept. 20 as their chair, Ingrid McClellan, lower left, reviews a first draft of a bicycle route map during a meeting at city hall.

Islander Photo: Robert Anderson

lan presented a draft of a map intended to encourage northbound bicyclists to follow a route by turning east from Gulf Drive to Fifth Street South and proceeding north along Bay Drive South.

Bicyclists on the route return to Gulf Drive after passing under the Cortez Bridge.

ScenicWAVES members also added the Holmes Beach-administered Islanders 4 Clean Water campaign to the workplan.

The campaign brings attention to the quality of local waters, deals with sustainable topics such as conserving fresh water, reducing single-use plastics, using Florida-friendly landscaping, controlling stormwater and wastewater runoff and responsible waterway recreation practices.

In other matters, ScenicWAVES member Jennifer Hoffman, executive director of Keep Manatee Beautiful, said the next Love It Like a Local cleanup will be May 4, 2024, at Coquina Beach South.

Hoffman said the event would play on the “May the Fourth be with you,” theme and participants will be encouraged to attend in “Star Wars” attire.

The next committee meeting will be at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 18, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.

McClellan

Crashes, casualties, safety concerns stir MPO conversations

By Lisa Neff Islander editor

Crashes and casualties dominated discussion Sept. 19 during a meeting of a regional governing board that guides transportation planning.

The Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization governing board gathered in Sarasota, with members and staff focused more on getting people to destinations safely rather than quickly.

Near the start of the meeting, the board — with a show of hands — backed a pedestrian safety project for area drawbridges, including the Anna Maria Island, Cortez and Longboat Pass bridges.

The project involves installing pedestrian light detection and ranging — LiDAR — sensors on bridges in District One of the Florida Department of Transportation, including three bridges in Manatee County, eight in Sarasota County and one in Glades, Lee and Okeechobee counties, according to Pamela Barr of the DOT.

The sensors — four on each bridge — could alert a bridgetender to pedestrians on the structure.

The DOT, in proposing the LiDAR installations, cited two pedestrian deaths in the state in the past two years on movable bridges.

The District One project, with an estimated construction cost of $1,140,916, would be funded for

About the MPO

The Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization is the regional transportation planning entity for Sarasota and Manatee counties.

MPOs are established by state and federal laws and through interlocal agreement to provide a process for local governments within the region to coordinate with the Florida Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration.

The Sarasota/Manatee MPO, chaired by Sarasota County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger, is governed by a 17-member apportioned board comprised of elected officials representing both counties, nine cities and a representative of the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority.

The island cities are represented on the board by the chair of the Island Transportation Planning Organization, currently Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy.

For more information, go online to mympo. org.

fiscal 2023-24 with federal dollars and managed by the DOT.

If a drawbridge is replaced with a fixed-span structure, which is the plan for the Cortez and Anna Maria Island bridges, the sensors can be removed and used elsewhere.

The board also received presentations on the MPO’s Destination Zero project, which involves creating strategies to reduce to zero the number of people killed or seriously injured in traffic-related crashes, as well as a DOT vision plan for the Cortez Road corridor.

• About Destination Zero: The MPO board adopted a Destination Zero action plan in February 2022 that involves working on six fronts to increase safety and reduce fatalities: engineering, education, engagement, equity, enforcement and emergency response.

The MPO staff has been at work on education strategies.

“Education is the leading front of causing change,” said Chris Keller of the Benesch planning firm, who led the board into a conversation about crash types and risky behaviors, including failing to use crosswalks, failing to obey traffic signals, distracted driving, disregarding seat belt laws and speeding.

“If you want to reduce severe injury and fatal crashes, you got to control speed, right? That’s the fi rst thing you want to do,” said DOT District One

Secretary L.K. Nandam. “And then create the right traffic control measures.”

• About the DOT’s Cortez Road Corridor Vision and Action Plan: The study involves looking at transportation, land use, environmental issues and other factors in the Cortez Road corridor.

The first phase involves writing a vision plan and the second phase will involve writing an action plan.

Since 2015, there have been more than 5,100 crashes in the corridor, including 415 that involved fatalities or severe injuries.

One of the most dangerous segments of Cortez Road is from Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach to 115th Street West at the edge of Cortez.

“Safety is our first priority and then how we can get there,” DOT project manager Tanya Merkle told the board. “It’s not always necessarily if we want to move faster, it’s how can we do it in the safest way.”

In other matters, the board received a draft of MPO policy priorities for 2024, which include supporting barrier island mobility improvements, gaining funding to deal with critical infrastructure such as the three island bridges and incorporating safety and resiliency in project considerations.

The MPO will meet next at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Nov. 21, at the Holiday Inn-Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, 8009 15th St. E., Sarasota.

Shoes are left May 12 near a crosswalk at the intersection of Gulf and Marina drives, where Miriam trotter, 86, of Maryland, visiting her daughter in Holmes Beach, suffered fatal injuries. She died May 17 at a hospital in Bradenton. the intersection had been reconfigured as part of a remodel for the roadways in the city center. Islander File Photo

“There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” — G.B. Shaw

Adults, kids lead off soccer competition at center pitch

By Kevin P. Cassidy Islander Reporter

It’s only two weeks into the youth soccer league at the Center of Anna Maria Island but there’s only one team with a chance at perfection.

which also received seven saves from Santiago Cantero to preserve the tie.

The last 8-10 division match of the evening saw Solid Rock earn a 3-0 shutout victory over Am I Coconuts behind two goals from Matthew Darak and a goal from Sam Raulerson. Carson Long helped preserve the shutout with five saves in goal.

Lindsey Styka notched the lone goal for Slim’s, which also received six saves from Steve Oelfke in the loss.

Cassidy

Moss Builders is 1-0 in the seventeam 8-10 soccer division, just behind Adrian Griffin Interiors, which is in first place with a 1-0-1 record. Solid Rock Construction holds down third place at 1-1, while Isola Bella Italian Eatery is in fourth at 0-0-2. Am I Coconuts and Le Creperie follow at 0-1-1, while the Porch restaurant completes the standings at 0-0-1.

Cheesecake Cutie leads the smaller 11-14 division on a tight 1-0-1 record, just ahead of Solid Rock Construction and the Gitt Team at 1-1, while HSH Designs completes the standings at 0-1-1.

Action for the 11-14s got started Sept. 18 with Gitt Team outscoring Solid Rock 5-3 behind a hat trick from Ryk Kesten and a goal each from Renan Kesten and Callin Westfall. Austin Guess helped preserve the victory with four saves in goal.

Luke Dellinger scored two goals and Jesse Zaccagnino added a goal to lead Solid Rock, which also received seven saves from Jack Zaccagnino in the loss.

The last 11-14 division game of the evening saw Cheesecake Cutie and HSH Designs battle to a 2-2 tie. Josiah MacDonald and Kegan McGlade each scored goals and Thomas Holly made three saves between the pipes.

Sterling Holiday and Cecelia Kroth each scored a goal to lead HSH Designs, which also received seven saves from Cyrus Ryan in the draw.

Action in the 8-10s then kicked off Sept. 19 with Adrian Griffin Interiors playing La Creperie to a 0-0 tie. Andre Harwood had eight saves in goal for Griffin Interiors, while his counterpart on La Creperie, Sawyer Leibfried, made seven saves in the tie.

The second match of the night saw Isola Bella battle to a 1-1 tie with the Porch. Ruby Kesten notched the goal for Isola Bella, while Trinity Miller finished with a save in goal.

Luke Willing scored the tying goal for the Porch,

Goalie Kason Price led the Coconuts with seven saves in the loss.

Adult soccer continues on center pitch

Moss Builders and Sato Real Estate are tied atop the standings in the adult soccer league at the center with matching 3-0 records.

Ross Built is holding down second place with a 2-1 record, followed by Gulf Drive Cafe at 1-1-1. Gulf View Window & Doors is in fifth place at 1-2-0, just ahead of Pool America, Sandbar Restaurant and Slim’s Place, all with 0-2-1 records.

Action Sept. 21 kicked off with Sato holding on for a 5-4 victory over Pool America thanks to a hat trick from Amy Ivin. Jamal Duzgun added a goal and an assist for Sato, which also received a goal from James Troxler and nine saves from Benjamin Sato in the victory.

Luca Vecchio scored three goals and Sam Parker added a goal for Pool America, which also received 10 saves from Chris Klotz in the loss.

Daniel Hampton scored a hat trick to lead Ross Built to a 4-3 victory over Sandbar Restaurant in the second game of the night. Selena Gonzalez-Salinas added a goal, while Max Gazzo helped preserve the victory with nine saves.

Matthew Staggs had a goal and an assist for Sandbar, which also received a goal each from Jake Czajkowski and Alex Villanueva. Robb Marshall helped keep Sandbar in the match with 10 saves in the loss.

Gulf Drive Cafe cruised to a 7-1 victory over Slim’s Place behind three goals from Helio Gomez and two goals and an assist from Kevin Roman. Alejandro Aviles added a goal and Javier Rivera each scored a goal for the cafe, which also received a pair of assists from Eliza Faillace and 11 saves from Tuna McCracken in the victory.

Gerardo Urbiola Bolanos had three goals and an assist and Dean Hinterstoisser added two goals and an assist to lead Moss Builders to a 7-2 victory over Gulf View Windows & Doors in the final match of the night. Kari Stephens and James Lynch scored and Erica Nielsen had an assist for Moss, which also received nine saves from Ryan Moss in the win.

Keith Mahoney and Eric Pullen scored a goal each to lead Gulf View, which also received two assists from Leo Gonzalez and a combined six saves from Mahoney and Raul Loera in the loss.

KRC tees off with a full week of golf

Golf action at the Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach got started Sept. 18 with the weekly men’s modified-Stableford system match.

The day saw Tom Nelson on top of the leader board with a plus-2 to earn clubhouse bragging rights for the day. The trio of Ed Harrell, Blake Ress and Bill Shuman tied for second place at plus-1.

Jenny Huibers rode a chipin on the second hole to a 2-under-par 30 and a first-place finish in the women’s individual low-net match Sept. 19. Jana Samuels was one stroke back in second place with a 1-under-par 31, while Helen Pollack was alone in third place at evenpar 32.

Club members teed off Sept. 21 in a three-person scramble that ended up in a three-way tie. The team of Don Grau, Jenny and Rob Huibers matched the score carded by the team of Rod Hammond, Warren Stevens and Ken Kari, who matched the score of Jana Samuels, Mike Cusato and Kurt Snouffer for a crowded firstplace award celebration.

Horseshoe news from the AM pits

Two teams emerged from pool play during Sept. 20 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall pits and settled things in a championship match. Bob Heiger and Tom Farrington combined on a 21-15 victory over Tim Sofran to win the day’s bragging rights.

The Sept. 23 games saw Sofran rebound with a come-from-behind 22-19 victory over Farrington and Dom Livedotti.

Play gets underway at 9 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Anna Maria pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by random team selection.

There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.

Look to the sky — for a ruckus of shorebirds — to find the fish

By Capt. Danny Stasny Islander Reporter

With large amounts of bait fish gathering in Tampa Bay and along the Gulf beaches, Anna Maria Island fishers are seeing an influx of migratory species.

Ladyfish and jack crevalle are more prevalent as they follow the bait schools to gorge in preparation for the fall.

Spanish mackerel and bonito also can be found, especially around the artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. These fish are following the bait to fill their bellies on a daily basis as they move south down the coast.

Finding the fish can be accomplished by watching for the ruckus of shorebirds, such as seagulls and terns, which are a dead giveaway to the presence of bait schools. Large numbers of birds hovering and diving into the water are easy to spot on the horizon and, during September, are worth investigating. As you get closer, you may see numerous splashes as hungry fish slash through the dense bait schools gathered on the surface.

Casting live baits or lures — spoons and jigs — can result quickly in a hookup from whatever is on the feed. Typically, once discovered, you’ll find the schools of bait hold many feeding fi sh, which can result in quick action, as well as numerous hookups.

Although most of the migratory fish — ladyfish, bonito and jack crevalle — have little food value to the angler, they sure are entertaining, as all three species are quite strong when hooked on medium spinning gear.

As for the Spanish mackerel, some anglers consider them good tablefare as long as they are quickly filleted and eaten the same day they’re caught. If targeted as a catch-and-release species, they are capable of being quite an adversary on light spinning gear.

With all of the commotion going on, you can bet a few sharks will be attracted to your target area. The most common encounters include blacktip and spinner sharks, as well as some sandbar sharks. If prevalent in the area, the sharks can be caught by casting a fresh-cut chunk of mackerel or bonito into the water. Be ready for a battle, as the sharks can range 3-7 feet in length.

Stout gear with a wire leader is in your best interest for this hunt.

So if you’re looking for some fast action on the water, get out there and find the birds. They’ll lead you to the bait, which will result in you finding the fish.

Capt. David White is working inshore for a variety of species for his clients. Snook fishing is starting to pick up as the water temperatures are dropping. White is finding fish along the passes as well as on the flats, where freelined live shiners work best as bait.

Spotted seatrout are being caught while inshore, especially over the deeper grass flats. Mixed in with this bite for White’s anglers are jack crevalle and ladyfish.

Moving into the nearshore waters of the Gulf, White is putting clients on action on the migratory fish, such as bonito and Spanish mackerel. Both species are attracted to the bait when chumming heavily with live shiners. And with the commotion of the macks and bonito, sharks are attracted and ready to take a bait.

White is cutting and casting fresh-cut chunks of bonito to catch blacktips and spinner sharks.

Jim Malfese at the northernmost fishing station on Anna Maria Island, the Rod & Reel Pier, says he’s seeing some snook being caught, although most catches are just under the minimum size limit of 28 inches. The snook are being caught on a variety of baits, including live shrimp, pinfish and live shiners.

Redfish ranging 15-25 inches also are being caught at the pier and live shrimp as bait is working best on the fish. Stout gear may be required to land larger reds, as they are quite skilled in running under the pier when hooked and, if not controlled, they will run your line against the barnacle encrusted pilings, which immediately results in a cut line and a lost fish.

Lastly, schools of jack crevalle are frequenting the pier as they move in and out of the southern range of Tampa Bay. These fish are on the move so being in the right place at the right time is key to getting a bite. Small jigs or silver spoons work best as bait, although live shrimp will work, too, according to Malfese.

Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.

Tracking Suzi the sea turtle

A map shows where Suzi, a loggerhead outfitted June 27 in Bradenton Beach with a tracking device, traveled through Sept. 23. Suzi is the island’s entry in the Sea turtle Conservancy’s tour de turtles hard-shell marathon, which began Aug. 1 and involves tracking 12 sea turtles using satellite telemetry to boost science, research and education. Suzi’s distance as of Sept. 23 was 749 miles. Suzi’s ranking in the swim “marathon” was seventh. People can follow Suzi’s journey at tourdeturtles.org. Islander Screenshot

Stasny

Chelsea Aguirre, visiting Anna Maria Island from Corvina, California, shows off a giant mangrove snapper she caught Sept. 23 on an offshore trip with Capt. Johnny Mattay of Anna Maria Charters. the fish ate a chunk of sardine in 120 feet of water.

Will flamingos call this Gulf Coast home?

Editor’s note: The following includes excerpts from a Sept. 11 Audubon Florida post by staff. For more about the birds, go to fl.audubon.org.

Is pink in our future?

In late August, Hurricane Idalia’s Category 3 landfall brought rain, wind and flamingos to Florida.

While many fl amingos were reported on Florida’s Gulf coast after the storm, including in Manatee County, one bird was rescued and rehabilitated by the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary in Pinellas County.

Prior to its release in Pinellas Sept. 9, Audubon Florida research staff tagged the bird with a geolocator that could provide them with clues about the movements and fates of the storm-blown birds.

The rehabilitated flamingo, known as “Peaches,” was rescued Sept. 1 in the Gulf of Mexiconear St. Pete Beach by boaters.

Hospital staff at Seaside Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores determined the bird was in good condition but visibly exhausted.

After a day of rest and supportive care, the bird began self-feeding and, by week’s end, “Peaches” became much more active and vocal.

Audubon Florida’s director of research, Jerry Lorenz, recognized that Peaches represented a golden opportunity to learn more about flamingos and their movements in Florida.

The USGS Bird Banding Laboratory agreed and rushed approval to band and tag Peaches with a satellite transmitter before a return to the wild.

Peaches is now part of a unique study of flamingo

A view of Peaches in tampa Bay Sept. 13 with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for a backdrop. Islander Photos: Angie Blunt

movements between breeding grounds and Florida. With the new tracking device, “Peaches” will add critical data to the research initiative.

Will the flamingos brought on the wind to area shores remain and breed here

If they return to the Yucatan and Cuba, will they visit in subsequent years?

Florida once had breeding flamingos yearround.

Might we again, with the protection and restoration of key habitat, including coastal wetlands, the Everglades and Florida Bay?

“We want these flamingos to stay and raise their families here,” Lorenz said. “If we give them their space, restore their habitat and keep their water clean, we can hope for a pink future in Florida.”

The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary team released “Peaches” Sept. 9 at Fort DeSoto Park, where other flamingos have been seen since Idalia.

The public is asked to give the flamingos space to rest and feed undisturbed. Photographers and other enthusiasts approaching too closely present a threat to their survival.

A view by Angie Blunt of Peaches taking flight Sept. 13, showing plumage and the band and satellite tag that will help scientists collect data on the flamingos brought to the coast by Idalia.

Environmentalists issue call to attend county meeting

The organizers of a “Save our Wetlands” campaign are encouraging people to pack a Manatee County commission meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at the administration building, 1112 Manatee Ave., Bradenton.

The commission is expected again to take up a plan to dramatically reduce buffers for wetlands.

In August, the commissioners voted 6-1 in favor of changing the county comp plan and land development

Nesting notes

By Lisa Neff

Counting down the days

Goodbye Gulfside activity.

The Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring team Sept. 19 closed out their last sea turtle nest on the Gulfside of the island.

But it’s not yet time to say so long to the nestinghatching season for AMITW.

“We continue to check three remaining nests on the bayside and still are hoping to see a hatch,” AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella told The Islander.

The Islander checked in Sept. 20 with Mazzarella about the final weeks of nesting season.

The Islander: It’s just over a month to the official end of nesting season. Do you expect any additional sea turtle activity?

Kristen Mazzarella: We do not expect to see any new crawls. This is usually the time of year where we just see hatching. We will continue to monitor the marked nests until they hatch or reach 70 days and we are hopeful that some of them will hatch.

The Islander: You’ll close the books Oct. 31?

KM: We close the books when the last nest has hatched or reached 70 days — overdue date.

This year that will be by Oct. 31 but in some years, it may stretch on into November.

The Islander: Do the hours ease up for AMITW or has the crew shifted into other types of work?

KM: AMITW does work year-round.

As the turtle nesting season winds down, we shift to other types of work.

Some things we are currently working on include double-checking and compiling our data, writing reports, cleaning and painting nest stakes, conducting monthly shorebird surveys, working with local municipalities on lighting issues, responding to turtle strandings, making plans and preparing for next year and conducting outreach programs, including our weekly booth at the Anna Maria Farmer’s Market.

The Islander: Does it feel a bit like senioritis, where you are counting down to the end of the nestinghatching season?

KM: This time of year, is always bittersweet.

Turtle patrol slows down as we check only a few nests a day and we get out of the sun before it gets hot, which is nice after a busy summer. However, none of us really want our beach work to end.

The Islander: Do you still get a lot of questions on the beach or, minus the markings for turtle nests, do people seem unaware of the season?

code to roll back the size of wetland buffers and allowing developers to build closer to protected zones.

The Suncoast Waterkeeper and the League of Women Voters of Manatee County issued action alerts to members, encouraging people to “keep up the pressure” by attending the Oct. 5 meeting, as well as signing and circulating the Save our Wetlands petition. For the petition and more information, go online to suncoastwaterkeeper.org.

KM: We still get questions from the public when we are on the beach, especially about where all the nests have gone.

It’s nice to keep up the awareness up year-round, as we are educating different groups of people and the more that are educated, the better they will protect sea turtles.

For more about AMITW, call 941-301-8434, email info@islandturtlewatch.com or go to islandturtlewatch.com.

ITEMS FOR SALE

COMPLete ABOVe-GROUND pool, pump, motor, deck included. $90. 941-778-5542.

PANINNI MAKeR: CUISINARt, stainlesssteel, like new, $45. 941-920-2494.

SPICe RACK, tHRee-tier clear plastic, $20, side tables, brown with glass top, 2/$20. 941-920-2494. 941-920-2494.

ANtIQUe PARtNeR DeSK: All wood, $500. Inquire at the Islander office, 315 58th St. Suite J, Holmes Beach. 941-778-7978.

FREEBIE ITEMS FOR SALE

Individuals may place one free ad with up to three items, each priced $100 or less, 15 words or less. FRee, one week, must be submitted online. email classifieds@islander. org, fax toll-free 1-866-362-9821. (limited time offer)

AdoptA-Pet

Oh, those eyes!

Bella is an 8-year-old mixed-breed lovebug! She’s neutered and has all vaccinations — ready to meet her new family! Call Lisa Williams at 941-3452441 or visit The Islander office in Holmes Beach. And for more about pet adoption, visit moonraceranimalrescue.com.

SPONSOReD BY

27 PUZZLE

GARAGE SALES

MOVING/eVICtION SALe: All week. 6406 Holmes Blvd., Holmes Beach. 941-7783046.

LOST & FOUND

FOUND BIKe IN Holmes Beach. Call 214769-9483 with description.

PETS

HeLP ReSCUeD PetS! Volunteer, foster, computer help needed! Moonracer Animal Rescue. email: moonraceranimalrescue@ gmail.com.

TRANSPORTATION

GOLF CARt ReNtALS: Fun for residents and tourists! www.GolfCartRentalAMI.com.

BOATS & BOATING

HAVe A BOAt and wanna catch more fish, better bait or learn the water? 50-year local fisherman, your boat, my knowledge. Captain Chris, 941-896-2915.

SUNCOASt BOttOM PAINtING: Professional bottom painting. Mobile. Call 941704-9382.

FISHING

FUN AND FISH: Skiff rental. 24-foot Carolina skiff. Live bait and fi shing equipment included upon request. Call 941-704-9382.

HELP WANTED

HeLP WANteD: eXPeRIeNCeD hair stylist, full or part-time. A Hair Day salon. 9516 Cortez Road, W., #7, Bradenton. 941795-5227.

SeeKING CANDIDAte INteReSteD in sales of health and wellness, high-technology equipment. excellent commission, training. Residual income potential. Full- or part-time. Retirees welcomed to respond. Call or text. 724-290-9800.

NOW HIRING HANDYMAN: Full-time professional services. $18 an hour and up, based on experience. Call JayPros, 941962-2874.

RePORteR WANteD: Full- to part-time. Print media, newspaper experience required. Apply via email with letter of interest to news@islander.org.

KIDS FOR HIRE

NeeD AN ADULt night out? Call Maty’s Babysitting Services. I’m 16, love kids and have lots of experience. References upon request. 618-977-9630.

KIDS FOR HIRe ads are FRee for up to three weeks for Island youths under 16 looking for work. Ads must be placed in person at the Islander office, 315 58th St. Suite J, Holmes Beach.

LOOKING FOR AN eARLY BIRD? You can read Wednesday’s classifieds on tuesday at islander.org. And it’s FRee!

SERVICES

IS YOUR HOMe or office in need of some cleaning? Well, I’m your girl! Local, reliable, professional! Please, give me a call or text, 941-773 -0461.

CLeANING: VACAtION, CONStRUCtION, residential, commercial and windows. Licensed and insured. 941-756-4570.

PReSSURe WASHING, PAVeR sealing, driveway, roof, fence, pool area. Also, window cleaning. Licensed and insured. 941-5653931.

BICYCLe RePAIRS: Just4Fun at 5358 Gulf Drive can do most any bicycle repair at a reasonable cost. Pick-up and delivery available. 941-896-7884.

COMPANION/HOMeMAKeR: Honest and reliable offering help with running errands, grocery shopping, house sitting, pet and plant care, light cooking/cleaning, transportation. References available and licensed. Call Sherri, 941-592-4969.

API’S DRYWALL RePAIR: I look forward to servicing your drywall repair needs. Call 941524-8067 to schedule an appointment.

AIRPORt RIDeS: SARASOtA, St. Pete, tampa. Call/text, Vita, 941-376-7555.

RIDeS NeAR AND Far, car transport. Based in Palmetto. 715-292-8692.

CLeAN teCH MOBILe Detailing. At your location. Cars, boats, RVs. Call or text Billie for an appointment. 941-592-3482.

RIDeeASY247: a local ride service providing a professional car service to all local airports and venues. References on request. eamonn Fortune, 941-447-7737.

GORILLA DRYWALL RePAIR LLC: 15-plus years’ experience. Let’s solve your drywall problems together. 941-286-0607.

PRIVAte eXPeRIeNCeD CAReGIVeR looking to provide personal care to you or your loved one. For safe, secure, compassionate care, please, contact me. References/ licensed/insured. Christina Hall, 941-2903739.

BUSINeSS-tO-BUSINeSS JD’s Window Cleaning looking for storefront jobs in Holmes Beach. I make dirty windows sparkling clean. 941-920-3840.

BeACH SeRVICe air conditioning, heat, refrigeration. Commercial and residential service, repair and/or replacement. Serving Manatee County and the Island since 1987. For dependable, honest and personalized service, call Bill eller, 941-720-7411. CAC184228.

LAWN & GARDEN

CONNIe’S LANDSCAPING INC. Residential and commercial. Full-service lawn maintenance, landscaping, cleanups, hauling and more! Insured. 941-778-5294.

LAWN & GARDEN Continued

COLLINS LANDSCAPe LIGHtING: Outdoor lighting, landscaping, irrigation services and maintenance. 941-279-9947. MJC24373@ gmail.com.

SHeLL DeLIVeReD AND spread. Hauling all kinds of gravel, mulch, topsoil with free estimates. Call Larry at 941-795-7775, “shell phone” 941-720-0770.

MP LAWN MAINteNANCe now accepting new clients. Call Dante, 941-730-9199. mp@ mplawnmaintenance.com.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

VAN-GO PAINtING residential/commercial, interior/exterior, pressure cleaning, wallpaper. Island references. Bill, 941-795-5100. www.vangopainting.net.

tILe -tILe -tILe. All variations of ceramic tile supplied and installed. Quality workmanship, prompt, reliable, many Island references. Call Neil, 941-726-3077.

GRIFFIN’S HOMe IMPROVeMeNtS Inc. Handyman, fine woodwork, countertops, cabinets and wood flooring. Insured and licensed. 941-722-8792.

ISLAND HANDYMAN: I live here, work here, value your referral. Refinish, paint. Just ask. JayPros. Licensed/insured. References. Call Jay, 941-962-2874.

HANDYMAN AND PAINtING. No job too small. Most jobs just right. Call Richard Kloss. 941-204-1162.

SCReeNING SeRVICeS: Replace your old or ripped window, door or porch screens. Many screen types available. Retired veteran here to serve our community! Free estimates, call Lane, 941-705-5293.

LOOKING FOR ANY home improvement?

JRCC Home Improvement, handyman service can get the job done. Please, contact us at 413-246-2410. We would love to help.

CALL HYDRO CLeAN. Full-service pressure washing, sealing. Pavers, travertine and natural stone. Window washing too, up to three stories. Call Jacob, 941-920-2094.

RENTALS

ANNA MARIA GULF beachfront vacation rentals. One- two- and three-bedroom units, all beachfront. www.amiparadise.com. 941778-3143.

BeAUtIFULLY FURNISHeD, ANNUAL rental in Beach Harbor Club, Longboat

Key. 2BR/2BA with views of the bay, laundry and condo amenities include pool, grill, with both bay and beach access. $200 application required. $3,800 month plus fi rst and last month’s rent and $1,000 deposit. Call Mike Norman Realty, 941-778-6696. 3101 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, FL 34217.

RENTALS Continued

PeRICO ISLAND PAtIO home for rent. 3BR/2BA, 30-day minimum. Privacy fence/ gate, two miles to AMI. January, 2024 available. Call or text, 859-771-6423.

2BR/2BA LONGBOAt KeY annual rental. Penthouse with jaw-dropping view of the bay. Completely upgraded and elegantly decorated. Fully equipped and all amenities are included. $5,500/month plus tax, fi rst and last month’s rent and $1,000 deposit. Available now. 407-451-7179. Luznava@ bellsouth.net

WINteR SeASON ReNtAL: Available December-May. 2BR/1.5BA elevated townhouse, sleeps four. Located in Holmes Beach, only two blocks to the beach. No pets. $5,000/month plus tax and fees. Call Anna Maria Realty, 941-778-2259. Dina@ annamariareal.com

LOVeLY SeCOND-FLOOR duplex for rent: 3BR/2BA partially furnished, can accommodate your needs. Washer/dryer. Five minutes to AMI, quiet, safe. Rent includes all utilities except electric. Annual $2,800/month. Will consider three-month, six-month. No smoking, Call Kelly, 941-301-9938.

BeAUtIFULLY ReFURBISHeD

1BR/1BA coastal vintage-style vacation rental less than three-minute walk to the beach. One week minimum. Available Aug. 16. Late summer/fall special rates. Available January, February, March 2024. 941-8071405 or carlesvacationrentals@gmail.com.

ANNUAL ReNtAL: LOVeLY Hidden Lake Condo. Furnished, 3BR/2BA, one-car garage. Clubhouse, pool, gym. Minutes to the beach. First, last and security. Rent $3,500/month. Wagner Realty, 941-778-2246.

LUXURIOUS WAteRFRONt WINteR rental: 2BR/2BA waterfront condo available for January, February, March 2024. One month minimum. Contact Anthony, 917-816-8298 for pricing. email reelblessingami@gmail. co m . to see pictures and full description visit website: sites.google.com/view/reelblessing-ami.

SeASONAL ReNtAL: 1BR/1BA elegantly furnished condo. West Bradenton. All-inclusive pricing. Contact cpr.suz@gmail.com or text 941-962-0971.

VACAtION ReNtALS: CALL for price and times. Real estate Mart, 941-356-1456.

MORe ADS = more readers in the Islander.

“Anna Maria Island,” a signed pictorial history book of the island by Bonner Joy, is available for $20 at the Islander office, 315 58th St., Holmes Beach, or by mail. Visit islander.org or call 941-778-7978. $20 plus postage, if mail order.

RENTALS Continued

HOLMeS BeACH: MONtHLY/seasonal 2BR/2BA, second-floor condo available through May 2024. Updated/furnished, pool, tennis, bikes, beach gear, much more. Call Jack, 312-835-2323, for pictures, details and rates.

REAL ESTATE

WINNIe MCHALe, ReALtOR, 941-5046146. Rosebay International Realty Inc. You need an aggressive and experienced Realtor in today’s market! Selling island homes, Sarasota and Bradenton areas. Multi-milliondollar producer! “Selling Homes - Making Dreams Come true.”

WAteRFRONt tOWNHOUSe: UPGRADeD 2BR suites with full baths plus a half bath. Pool and boat dock. Minutes to Anna Maria beach. $439,000. Weekly rentals OK. Real estate Mart, 941-356-1456 or 941-7207519.

MORe BANG FOR YOUR BUCK? It’s an old saying, but it’s still true when it comes to the Islander. Look for more online at islander. org.

Prime Vacations has remodeled a former Wells Fargo bank office on Ninth Street West in downtown Bradenton to house operations and staff.

Win-win deal

Prime Vacations, a vacation property management company, announced a merger of its real estate division, Locals Realty, with Re/Max Alliance Group.

Re/Max Alliance Group has 12 offices from Hernando to Charlotte counties on the Gulf Coast, including Sarasota and Bradenton, with 350-plus sales associates and staff.

Island resident Ron Travis, broker/owner of the Alliance Group, said they were approached by Shawn Kaleta, a principal with Prime, about taking over his real estate sales office.

Kaleta recognized that our group excelled in real estate sales and we felt Prime could better manage our vacation rentals.

So a deal was struck.

“It was a win, win for both of us,” Travis said.

A spokesperson for Re/Max said the name “Locals Realty” would be phased out and the office at 317 Pine Ave. is now a Re/Max office.

A Facebook announcement this summer stated the change in the real estate sales business would not affect Prime’s property management: AMI Locals, Anna Maria Island Accommodations and Anna Maria Vacations remain in the Prime Vacations network.

The Prime brands include Prime Vacations Homes, Prime Vacations Hotels, Prime Vacations Restaurants

Mike Norman Realty

and Prime Vacations Watersports and Marinas.

The network, according to Prime’s website, primevacations.com, also includes Beach Bistro, Bali Hai Resort, Bradenton Beach Marina and more properties.

Prime is in the final stages of remodeling a former Wells Fargo office to house operations in Bradenton on Ninth Street West, behind the main downtown post office.

The website states Prime Vacations was founded in 2017 by Anna Maria Island residents, when an original staff of five managed a handful of beach houses and personally assisted guests with their stay.

Today, the website states, the Prime team boasts 450-plus people, managing homes and guest experiences at seven boutique hotels, two restaurants, two marinas and 1,400-plus rental properties.

Awards anticipation

Who will take home the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s annual business awards?

Find out at the chamber’s annual member gala, set for 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17, at the Bradenton Country Club, 4646 Ninth Ave. W., Bradenton.

The chamber is selling tickets — $65 per person —and booking table sponsorships — $570 for eight seats — online at annamariaislandchamber.org.

For more information, call the chamber at 941778-1541.

Intelligence briefing

The Manatee Chamber of Commerce will offer a Zoom-based meeting on applying artificial intelligence tools to market small businesses.

New AI options are being integrated into your everyday software and can save you time while improving your communications,” a chamber announcement read. “Join us in learning more about this exciting tech-

Once Upon A Beach

nology and get a jump start on your competition.”

The call-in event, sponsored by LaPensee Plumbing, Pools and Air and Veritas Pest Management, is set for 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19.

Registration is online at manateechamber.com.

For more information, call the chamber at 941748-3411.

Shotgun start set

The Manatee chamber also is taking registrations and signing sponsors for its annual golf tournament, set for 9 a.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at the Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota.

For more information, call the chamber at 941748-3411.

BizCal

By Lisa Neff

THIS WEEK

Thursday, Sept. 28

5-7 p.m. — Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce business-card exchange, Slicker’s Eatery, 12012 Cortez Road, Cortez. Fee applies. Information: 941-778-1541.

ONGOING

Through Oct. 15, Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce membership drive. Info: 941-778-1541, annamariaislandchamber. org.

Through Nov. 1, AMI chamber seeks premier sponsors for 2024, Info: 941-778-1541, annamariaislandchamber.org.

SAVE THE DATE

Oct. 5, 7:30 a.m., AMI chamber breakfast meeting, Wicked Cantina, Bradenton Beach.

Oct. 12, 11:30 a.m., AMI chamber luncheon, Lazy Lobster of Longboat, Longboat Key.

Oct. 21, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., AMI chamber Bayfest, Anna Maria.

Nov. 7, 6 p.m., AMI chamber member gala, Bradenton Country Club, Bradenton.

Nov. 9, 4-7:30 p.m., Manatee Chamber of Commerce Expo, LECOM Park, Bradenton.

Dec. 1, 9 a.m., Manatee chamber golf tournament, Palma Aire Country Club, Sarasota.

Send calendar listings to calendar@islander.org.

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Photo: Bonner Joy