happy Easter
VOLUME 30, NO. 25
APRIL 13, 2022 FRee
The Best News on Anna Maria island Since 1992 astheworldterns. 6 HB speed restrictions off to good start. 2
Q&A 041322
3
Pine Ave. gains historic designation. 4
Meetings 4 contractors settle in workplace death. 5
Opinions 6
10-20 YeArs Ago
looking back. 7
BB crA addresses mixed bag of issues. 8 BB names charter review committee. 9
Save the date. 10-11
Happenings community events. 10-11
AMe calendar. 13
Gathering. 14
HB man makes, gives skateboards. 15
GoodDeeds 15 Obituaries 15 Bridge St. clock tower needs repair. 18
Streetlife 20
Cops & Courts 20-21 Storm season outlook. 23 Sports roundup. 24 Windy angling. 25 Swinging for par. 26 community center finances slide. 27
cLASSIFIEDS. 28-29
PropertyWatch. 30
NYT puzzle. 31
find The islander dating to November 1992 online at the uoff Digital Newspaper collection at ufdc.ufl.edu.
islander.org
they hunt easter eggs island style colored eggs dotting the sand on the beachfront at the Moose lodge No. 2188 in Bradenton Beach are the target of children in an April 9 easter egg hunt. Mia Taake, 6, leads the pack of kids, resplendent in rabbit ears and a white easter dress and equipped with a bunny bucket. islander Photo: robert Anderson
Easter
For information about local worship services, including the annual Kiwanis Club Easter sunrise service on the beach, see page 14.
Vacation scam hits island rental By Kane Kaiman islander reporter
There’s never a good time for a fakeation. On Valentine’s Day, Delaware resident Rob Sweeney surprised his wife with an April trip to Holmes Beach. But they were both in for a surprise April 2 as they pulled up to their Bamboo Apartments unit. “Somebody pulled in right behind our car. And I got out and he goes, ‘Oh, this is our unit,’” Sweeney said April 8. Sweeny promptly called property manager Alice Sutton, who said the Sweeneys didn’t have a reservation. “And then I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, we got frauded,’” Sweeney said. He paid for the weeklong April stay in A sign posted at Bamboo Apartments in Holmes Beach April 8. An internet scammer created a phony rental agreement for a Bamboo unit and used it to defraud a Delaware couple. islander Photo: Kane Kaiman
January after communicating with “Damian Janssen,” who reached out via email as Sweeney browsed a HomeAway/Vrbo website. Janssen sent him a four-page rental agreement that included a property ID number and listed Doug Stewart and Sutton as property owners. The agreement contained credit card payment instructions. Sweeney was directed to a URL with the phrase “send-money-toireland” where he input Stewart’s information, including a residence in Dublin, Ireland. “I got caught up in everything, you know, thinking, ‘Oh, I got a nice property.’ And the price was pretty reasonable and, obviously, it wasn’t real,” Sweeney said.
court date looms for 18Yo at-large battery suspect By ryan Paice islander reporter
Court proceedings on an unrelated misdemeanor charge for one of the suspects in a Holmes Beach aggravated battery case may add a wrinkle to the case. Cameron Evans, 18, remains at large in connection with the alleged battery of a Holmes Beach resident. The Sarasota resident evans is one of three teenagers the Holmes Beach Police Department identified as assailants in an alleged March 23 aggravated battery at about 9 p.m. outside Anna Maria Elementary TurN To scam, PAge 3 School, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, that sent Evan Purcell, 41, of Holmes Beach, to the hospital. The HBPD also sought Ellenton resident John Bartholow, 17, and an unnamed juvenile as suspects in connection with the incident. Police found and arrested Bartholow and the third juvenile surrendered and was released to his parents’ custody. Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer told The Islander April 6 that police had received several tips about Evans’ location but none proved productive. “But we want people to keep calling, we want to get the tips,” Tokajer said. “We’d like to get him off the streets for the safety
TurN To suspect, PAge 3