Astheworldterns 6
Q&A 091323 3
tourist tax tumbles. 3
Beach cautions lifted. 3 BB shuttle gets shortterm funding. 4
Meetings 5
treehouse hearing set. 5
Opinions 6
10-20 YEARS AGO
Looking back. 7
Budget hearings held. 8-9
Save the date. 10
AMI Happenings
What’s up on AMI? 11 100 and counting. 12
GoodDeeds 12
AMe news. 13
Gathering. 14
Looking back: the 1921 hurricane. 15
Where’s Tuna Street? 16-17
Storm Idalia updates. 18, 21, 22
Photographers flock to Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County
Sept. 4, just some of the many shooters following reports that wild pink flamingos were in the preserve, possibly due to displacement during Hurricane Idalia. Islander Photos: Jacob Merrifield
A 9-year-old girl nearly drowned Sept. 2 while playing in the Gulf of Mexico at Cortez Beach in Bradenton Beach.
The child was swimming with her brother, when the two became caught in a rip current, according to rescuer Will Parard.
Parard, chef for the Anna Maria Oyster Bar family of restaurants, was fishing that day from a jetty at Cortez Beach.
What started as a quiet afternoon of fishing turned into a rescue.
“It was pretty slow, no bites, there wasn’t anybody really swimming in the water between tower 2 and tower 3. I was there for maybe 15-20 minutes,” he said.
“I was in a daydream and heard somebody screaming. I looked up and saw the mom, who was out waist-deep in the water, screaming, ‘My son needs help!’” he recalled.
Closure was a long time coming for a Cortez man.
A jury found David Nichols guilty Sept. 7 of two felonies in a 2019 hit-and-run that left a Cortez man critically injured.
Nichols, 60, of Bradenton, was convicted of battery with a weapon and leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury. Both crimes are felonies.
Get in the game. 19
Cops & Courts 20-21
Anna Maria holds up ferry launch. 22
Coast Guard investigates oil spill. 23
RoadWatch 23
Sparing cash for a cause. 24
Snook season! 25
NYT puzzle 26
NESTING NOTES 26
Idalia’s impact.
King of the beach. 27
CLASSIFIEDS. 28-29
Isl Biz: 30
Big Phoebe’s big prize
Phoebe, tampa International Airport’s 21-foot-tall pink flamingo created by Matthew Mazzotta, is the winner of an international art honor, the CODAWorx Award for art and design in the travel category, as well as the winner of a “People’s Choice” Award. One of the 18 judges who reviewed 411 entries from 24 countries said the installation in the terminal is “an excellent example of a public art project, combining joy, deep thought and site-specific approach.” Islander Courtesy Photo
The new owner of the Pines Trailer Park has spoken.
Louis Najmy of the Najmy Thompson lawfirm released a statement Sept 8. on behalf of island developer and businessman Shawn Kaleta regarding the purchase of the mobile home park at 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach.
The announcement was much-awaited — and the owner highly-speculated — since the sale announcement in January.
The statement read: “Prime Vacations, founded, built, and run by local entrepreneur, Shawn Kaleta, is proud to announce it has orchestrated the purchase of Pines
Trailer Park, one of the most unique island waterfront parks in Florida and on Anna Maria Island.
The jury deliberated for 75 minutes before delivering its verdict, said prosecutor assistant State Attorney Garrett Franzen.
Jurors in a December 2022 trial were deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial.
The second trial for Nichols began Sept. 5 and concluded Sept. 7.
In the second trial, Manatee County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Ricci testified that in November 2019 Nichols dragged Gilliland under his vehicle for more than 271 feet on 101st Street West.
Gilliland, known around Cortez as “Fat Freddy,” sustained life-threatening injuries, including loss of his right arm and spleen, a lacerated liver, rib fractures, a collapsed lung and facial and skin lacerations.
Kaleta
“The new trailer park operation company intends to keep the property as a trailer park to provide the community with a broad spectrum of island living options and with mutual benefits with Prime’s other operations that have helped the local island communities grow and succeed in positive ways around our natural resources that are enjoyed by the public and our community at large.”
Najmy was unable to say if residents of
tURN tO PINES SOLD, PAGe 2
He works part-time at a fish market in Cortez where he remains upbeat among his many friends in the commercial fishing community. He was many months in recovery and rehab before being able to work.
Twelfth Circuit Judge Fredrick Mercurio presided over the trial and Nichols was represented by chief assistant public defender Jennifer Joynt-Sanchez.
Nichol’s sentencing will be Friday, Oct. 13, at the judicial center in Bradenton.
“His maximum exposure will be 30 years,” Franzen said. “The felony battery with a weapon is a second-degree felony and
David Lynn Nichols is handcuffed and shackled Sept. 6 in a courtroom at the Manatee County Judicial Center, where he was found guilty in a trial by jury.
the 87 park units would see any change in park rents or fees.
Mobile homeowners in the park had received a notice May 8 regarding an offer from an unknown entity seeking to purchase the park land and amenities.
The owner, the Jackson Partnership, with Richard and William Jackson as officers, had listed the park land for sale Jan. 25 for $16 million.
leaving scene of a crash with serious bodily injuries is a second-degree felony. Both are punishable by 15 years and, if the judge chose to, he could run them consecutive for a total of 30 years.”
Nichols has been in custody at the Manatee County jail since Oct. 25, 2022, after being denied reinstatement of $150,000 bond stemming from an October 2022 citation for allegedly driving with a suspended license. The citation was a violation of the conditions of his pretrial release.
“We are pleased with the jury’s verdict and their attention during the trial and very thankful to the work of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and helping us get the evidence we needed to successfully prosecute this case,” Franzen said.
Deb Light, Gilliland’s friend and caregiver, said Gilliland did not want to speak y to the press but was grateful to Art Brown and Franzen of the state attorney’s office for their hard work.
“He’s grateful that justice has been served,” Light said. “We’ve been waiting four years for justice. I’ve been with Fred since the day he went to the ICU Burn Unit for two months, then to Casa Mora for six months for rehab. We have been friends a very long time. I’ve seen him go through hell. … You could not meet a nicer guy. The spirit this man has is unbelievable, considering what he’s been through.”
The notice, prepared by attorney David A. Luczak on behalf of the partnership, said they were considering an offer that included a price of $16,250,000 for park-owned land, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, equipment, materials, vehicles and buildings.
The offer, according to the May notice, included an initial nonrefundable deposit of $1 million from the buyer within three days of execution of a purchase agreement and allowed a 45-day period of due diligence before a contract would be finalized.
At the end of due diligence, the buyer would
deposit another $1 million.
As required by state law, the park owners fi rst offered the property to the homeowners for purchase.
But negotiations failed after the homeowner’s association was unable to fund the purchase.
The park is one of two on the island. The other, the Sandpiper Mobile Resort Co-op, 2610 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach, is owned by its shareholders.
Historical references date the 2.785-acre Pines park, which abuts Sarasota Bay and the Historic Bridge Street Pier at the base of Bridge Street, to 1935, when it also served as campground to winter families and transients.
Kaleta, with associates, owns and operates multiple businesses, including a real estate brokerage, vacation rentals, motels, restaurants and management companies on AMI.
His plans in Bradenton Beach include a partnership in a resort proposed for the southeast corner of the Bridge Street-Gulf Drive roundabout, just a short walk from the bayfront trailer park.
Looking west from Sarasota Bay in May, the Pines trailer Park, 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach, has a new owner as of Sept. 8 — developer Shawn Kaleta. Islander
Did the Fourth fizzle?
Tourist development tax collections in Manatee County dropped off in July compared with July 2022.
The county tax collector’s office reported earlier this month that the tax revenues — the 5% tax levied on rentals of six months or less — for July were $2,697,210.13. That’s a drop of 3.71% from July 2022, when the county gleaned $2,800,988.
July was the only month in the fiscal year in which tax dollars dropped compared with the year prior.
With two months remaining in fiscal 2022-23 — spanning October 2022 to September 2023 — the county has earned $27,733,808 in tourist tax revenue and is still on track to top a total of $30 million.
Holmes Beach accommodations in July produced $865,409 in tourist development tax dollars or 32.08% of the county’s total earnings.
Only unincorporated Manatee County accommodations yielded more than Holmes Beach, with $915,513 in collections or 33.94% of the revenue pie.
Anna Maria produced $310,656 or 11.52% and Bradenton Beach brought in $136,513 or 5.06%, while Longboat Key garnered $247,492 or 9.18%.
Bradenton earned $217,796 or 8.07% and Palmetto netted $3,928 or 0.15%.
After a 3% administrative fee, the county’s net tourist tax revenue for July was $2,616,293.
According to state law, resort tax earnings must be spent on tourism-bolstering initiatives.
The Manatee County Tourist Development Council advises the county commission on resort tax spend-
July tourist tax collections:
July 2019: $1,398,555
July 2020: $1,620,700
July 2021: $2,764,559
July 2022: $2,800,988
July 2023: $2,697,210
Source: Manatee County tax Collector
ing and, in years past, earnings from the levy have financed beach renourishment projects and the construction of two new city piers, in Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach.
Other entities that have received tourist tax dollars include the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Bradenton Area Convention Center; Realize Bradenton and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
August resort tax revenue data will be released in early October.
The next TDC meeting will be at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 16, at the Manatee County Administrative Building, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
The Manatee County Tourist Development Council recommends to county commissioners how to spend the tourist development tax — the 5% tax collected on overnight rentals of six months or less.
TDT spending must boost and develop tourism.
TDC members include County Commissioner James Satcher as chair, Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown, Palmetto Mayor Shirley Bryant, hoteliers Jiten Patel, Ed Chiles, Eric Cairns and Rahul Patel and interested citizens Dave Wick and Norma Kennedy.
The Florida Department of Health in Manatee County lifted a swim advisory Sept. 3 for public beaches following Hurricane Idalia.
The department issued the advisory Sept. 1 and said it would not be lifted prior to Sept. 5, when testing would resume after the Labor Day holiday.
But the caution was lifted Sept 3.
The advisory was issued due to concerns about water quality related to the storm.
The department Sept. 5 also issued a no-swim advisory for the south beach along the Palma Sola Causeway on State Road 64/Manatee Avenue.
A no-swim advisory is issued when enterococci bacteria levels exceed federal guidelines for safe swimming. It is thought that contact with the water at the site could make beachgoers sick.
The advisory for Palma Sola — lifted when water meets U.S. Environmental Protection Agency safety guidelines — was lifted Sept. 7. For more, go online to floridahealth.gov.
Last week’s question
Ready for some football?
32%. Already watching
By Lisa Neff23%. Looking forward to the season.
11%. Watch occasionally.
8%. I’ll tune in to the Super Bowl.
26%. Meh.
This week’s question
How many times have you evacuated for a hurricane?
A. More than I can count.
B. More than five.
C. Fewer than five.
D. Never.
To answer the poll, go online to islander.org.
Anna Maria is losing two commissioners and it’s unclear how their seats will be filled.
City officials began Sept. 7 discussing options for an appointment process to select successors for Commissioners Robert Kingan and Deanie Sebring.
Kingan did not run for reelection and no candidate emerged to run in his place, leaving the post vacant after his term expires Dec. 7.
Meanwhile, Sebring will leave the commission after its Sept. 21. She told The Islander she will make her move to France by Oct. 7.
Resident Barbara Murphy, the mayor’s wife, spoke during public comment to thank Kingan and Sebring for their efforts serving the city.
Commissioner Jonathan Crane said he has enjoyed his time serving with the pair and would miss them.
In the meantime, city commissioners must agree on an appointment process to determine successors.
The commission last appointed a member in January, when Commissioner Charlie Salem was chosen to
fill the remainder of Carol Carter’s term.
That process involved collecting questions from the public, then holding a workshop for the candidates to introduce themselves and answer the questions and, lastly, a commission meeting to vote on a winner.
The city’s previous process involved allowing applicants to introduce themselves at a commission meeting with three-minute speeches, then voting to appoint a new commissioner at the same meeting.
City attorney Becky Vose sent a memo Sept. 5 providing advice on qualifications and appointments.
To qualify for a commission seat, people must have maintained a residency within the city for at least two years, be a qualified voter in the city and not be employed by the city or hold any other municipal office, according to Vose.
Vose recommended the city use its previous appointment process, which she said has resulted in “quality” candidates.
Mayor Dan Murphy said he believed the process used to select Salem was “healthier,” since it resulted in greater public involvement.
Commission Chair Mark Short said he also preferred the city’s most recent appointment process.
Murphy added that the two available terms would be uneven — Kingan’s successor would receive a full two-year term while Sebring’s will complete her remaining year.
He said commissioners should consider whether to determine their successors separately or at once, as well as ask applicants to specify which term they’d prefer.
Crane said he was concerned about finding and recruiting potential candidates.
City commissioners receive a $4,800 annual salary.
The commission meets next at 5:01 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
The meeting will begin with a public hearing to discuss the municipal budget for fiscal 2023-24, which will be followed by a regular meeting.
Directions to attend the meeting via Zoom can be found the on the city’s website, cityofannamaria. com.
The Old Town Tram might be left in park in the new year.
The Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Sept. 6 determined the publicly funded service will receive limited funding for the remainder of the calendar year.
CRA members reallocated $10,000 from a cultural events budget to subsidize the service until the end of 2023.
The tram began operation in 2020 to transport people between parking lots at Coquina and Cortez beaches and the CRA district, where parking is limited. The district, bordered by Cortez Road, Sarasota Bay, Fifth Street South and the Gulf of Mexico, was deemed blighted in 1992, allowing for incremental tax revenue to promote restoration and growth, including tourism.
The CRA is governed by a board that includes the mayor, commissioners and two appointed members, David Bell and Ed Chiles.
In August, during a budget workshop for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the board decided to apply $52,000 from the tram subsidy to other uses within the district.
Then the city received calls from Bridge Street
business owners voicing concern over ending the service, which operates on CRA funding and income from advertising on the shuttle vehicles.
The CRA’s long-term goal was to generate enough advertising for the tram to pay for its operation. However, the revenue fell short. The Easy Parking Group invoice for August was $9,345. According to the invoice, advertising on the two trams generated revenue of $4,875, which left a $4,470 balance to be paid by the CRA.
Mayor John Chappie voiced frustration over the lack of business committment.
“We have a lot of small businesses on Bridge Street that do benefit from the service to some degree and they are not advertising,” he said. “They are always packed and they always have people, but they are not participating. They are also the ones who complain about the lack of parking a lot.”
At the meeting, both Bridge Street business owner Angela Rodocker and shuttle operator Justin LaRose of EZ Parking Group suggested changes to the tram service.
LaRose, for example, said shuttle hours could be reduced.
Commissioner Jake Spooner, a Bridge Street business owner, said he’d hate to see the tram go and Commissioner Ralph Cole, who chairs the CRA, expressed
a need for compromise.
“I think this will get it out in the open — that we are deciding not to fund it — and people who think that it’s beneficial should get in here when we are having a meeting and say what they think,” Cole said. “I say we make a motion that we fund it through the end of the year.”
Bell motioned to fund the service until the end of December and was seconded by Spooner. The motion passed by a vote of 6-0.
Chiles attended and voted by phone and CRA member/Commissioner Marilyn Maro was absent with excuse.
Chappie motioned to reallocate $10,000 from the cultural arts budget to fund the tram until the end of the year and to allow Cole to work with LaRose to adjust the service to fit the budget.
Spooner seconded the motion which was unanimously approved 6-0.
“I saw a boy with a pool float caught in a riptide near the end of jetty. He had almost made it out past the end of the jetty,” Parard said. “The swell was heavy; the current was ripping.”
He and another man, Ray Arica, jumped off the jetty to help the boy.
Parard said the Arica reached the boy first.
As they began to swim the boy to shore, the child asked his rescuers about his sister.
There was no girl on the surface nearby.
The men started looking underwater and Arica noticed a child’s foot sinking out of view in the water. He pulled the unconscious a girl from under the surface and gave her to Parard.
While Arica set out swimming with the boy to shore, Parard said he began swimming against the current to get the girl to medical attention.
“I didn’t even think about the riptide and I just started swimming as hard as I could towards shore, straight in.”
Parard said as soon as he got close to shore people came running.
“I just started screaming for help and the two guys who ran down the beach just happened to be doctors,” Parard said.
“They grabbed her from me, flipped her upside down and she immediately started dumping sand and water out of her mouth and nose,” he said.
“The ambulance showed up very quickly and in a matter of minutes and I could hear them talking to her.”
Manatee County’s beach patrol and emergency medical services teams responded, along with the Bradenton Beach Police Department.
The girl regained consciousness but only partially.
Paramedics determined she required transport by trauma helicopter to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. She was taken by EMS to the Coquina North Boat Ramp to meet the medical helicopter.
The police report stated the girl was in critical condition upon her arrival at All Children’s but Bradenton Beach Police Lt. Lenard Diaz told The Islander Sept. 7 that the child was stable and expected to fully recover.
“I am just so thankful that I was there in that moment,” Parard said. He told The Islander Sept. 10 he felt as though people involved in the rescue were in the right place at the right time.
“From him pulling her up, to me being able to swim through the riptide, to there being two doctors on the beach to take her out of my arms, to the ambulance being so fast. It was an amazing set of circumstances that allowed her to survive,” he said.
Asked how he felt to have saved a life, Parard responded: “It’s all still setting in. It was a life changing experience and I look at the world a lot brighter now.”
After years of stagnation, dominos are starting to fall in the Holmes Beach treehouse litigation.
A final hearing for one of two remaining lawsuits surrounding the unauthorized structure is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
Richard and Lynn Tran-Hazen reside at 2818 Ave. E., Holmes Beach, where they also operate four vacation rental units as the Angelinos Sea Lodge. They built a multistory treehouse around an Australian pine tree on their beachfront.
The structure has been the center of litigation since it came to the city’s attention in 2011.
However, a January ruling by 12th Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas may have spurred on the final phase of litigation for at least one of two remaining cases.
In January, Nicholas issued a final order in favor of the city on all counts in a 2013 lawsuit brought by the Hazens, challenging the constitutionality of the city’s setback restrictions, which prohibit the treehouse.
Nicholas’ ruling did not include an order to remove the treehouse, leaving that decision to be determined by the remaining cases:
• The city of Holmes Beach v. property owners
ANNA MARIA CITY
Sept. 21, 5 p.m., commission (budget and regular). Anna Maria City Hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, 941-708-6130, cityofannamaria.com.
Sept. 14, 5:05 p.m., CRA (budget).
Sept. 14, 5:30 p.m., commission (budget).
Sept. 20, 1 p.m., ScenicWAVES.
Sept. 21, noon, commission.
Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N., 941-778-1005, cityofbradentonbeach.com.
Sept. 13, 9 a.m., clean water ad hoc committee.
Sept. 14, 5 p.m., commission (budget). Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive, 941-708-5800, holmesbeachfl.org.
Sept. 19, 9 a.m., commission (work session).
Sept. 19, 6 p.m., commission (budget). County administration building, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, 941-748-4501, mymanatee.org.
Sept. 18, 9:30 a.m., Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization meeting, Holiday Inn Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, 8009 15th St. E., Sarasota. Send meeting notices to news@islander.org
fi led in 2018, asking the court to enforce the code board’s order to remove the treehouse and pay the assessed fines;
• Property owners v. the Florida Department of Environmental Protection fi led in 2018, asking the court to temporarily prevent the treehouse’s removal and stop the assessment of “excessive” daily fines.
A temporary stay imposed in March 2022 on the city v. property owners case was lifted within 10 days of Nicholas’ ruling, allowing the case to continue.
The court then scheduled an Aug. 10 final hearing for the case but the parties filed a joint motion to continue the hearing to a later date.
Nicholas rescheduled the final hearing in August for December at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
In the property owners v. DEP case, there is no end in sight, as no hearings were scheduled as of Sept. 8, according to the Manatee County Clerk of Court.
The city’s attorney, Jay Daigneault of the Clearwater-based Trask Daigneault law firm, told The Islander Sept. 6 that he had no updates on the treehouse case.
Tran-Hazen wrote in a Sept. 7 email to The Islander that she and Hazen were just happy the treehouse got through Hurricane Idalia.
“The treehouse still stands tall and strong after Idalia … It’s like the superhero of all treehouses, the Tony Stark of timber, the Bruce Wayne of branches!” she wrote.
It’s unclear if the treehouse can avoid a legal buzzsaw, but Tran said she is communicating “in good faith” with the city and DEP to seek a resolution.
“Seriously, we still haven’t quite figured out what’s next with the legal actions since we are still working on having an amicable resolution,” Tran wrote. “It’s important to us that all parties involved find a fair and mutually beneficial solution.”
“Anything can happen in the future. So I embrace the present and let go of the past.”
Come
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In the language of boating and mariners that some of us catch onto after moving to Florida, and in the aftermath of a storm like Idalia, there is a need to know about flotsam and jetsam.
According to our standard dictionary, MerriamWebster, English speakers started referring to flotsam, jetsam and lagan in legal applications in the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest evidence of flotsam dates from around the early 1600s.
They were terms used to establish legal claims of ownership to seaborne, vessel-originated goods — back when shipwrecks were common.
Flotsam is anything from a shipwreck — from old French floter, meaning “to float.” Jetsam and lagan relate to items thrown overboard to lighten a ship, and lagan is distinguished from jetsam by a buoy attached so the goods can be found if they sink.
That makes it pretty clear that the far-flung flamingos that blew up to the Gulf Coast with the winds generated by Hurricane Idalia are neither flotsam nor jetsam. As a group, they are a flamboyance.
Flamingos are not known to habitate the Gulf shores, so the arrival of flocks came as a surprise and a delight to bird lovers and photographers.
Flamingos, with their coat-hanger neck and long legs, by the way, come by their pink color by consuming a diet of carotenoid-rich algae and brine shrimp.
The adult flamingo is hot pink, but first-year birds are brown and white overall, attaining their adult colors in two-three years.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission considers flamingos native although they disappeared from the state around the turn of the 20th century. After about 1925, flamingos were limited to captive colonies in South Florida, including a breeding colony at Hialeah Park Race Track in the 1930s.
Zoologists say flamingos stand on one leg to avoid fatigue. They eat with their heads upside down and sleep with their heads on their backs.
And, most fun of all the flamingo facts, baby flamingos are called flaminglets.
And they are not roseate spoonbills, which are more sparce than years past, but commonly roost, raise their young and forage along our shore.
There’s banding data to suggest that some of our visiting flamingos originated from colonies in the Yucatan Peninsula.
So if you see flamingos here, be sure to report .... shoot photos and share the fun with our readers.
— Bonner Joy, news@islander.org
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Surge swept grasses
eleven years after their planting, grasses and sea oats on the shore near the 30th Street beach access in Holmes Beach are swept by surge and wind associated with Hurricane Idalia, which passed about 100 miles west in the Gulf Aug. 29-30. Holmes Beach resident Kathy Caserta, who evacuated ahead of the storm, writes, “this is what the beach grasses and sea oats look like after protecting our home! thought you might like to see how they work! … Another hurricane and we are still protected. All the best from the beach.” Islander Courtesy Photos
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“A traffic jam on Anna Maria Island near the Cortez Bridge toll booth after Hurricane Betsy” is the caption associated with this photo from the Manatee County Public Library System archives. Betsy struck in September 1965 as an intense and destructive tropical cyclone that brought widespread damage to areas of Florida and the central U.S. Gulf Coast. the hurricane made landfall at New Orleans Sept. 9, 1965.
Some years ago, The Islander was invited to take part in a pilot project with the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. We donated the collection of newspapers beginning with the first edition in 1992. It took some time but it’s all maintained on the library site. Look for The Islander in the UofF Florida digital newspaper collection at ufdc.ufl.edu.
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We bring you all the news about three city governments, community happenings, people features and special events … even real estate transactions … everything you need if your “heart is on Anna Maria Island.”
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Betsy’s big blow the airport in Holmes Beach is flooded following a passing blow from Hurricane Betsy in September 1965. the Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and continues through Nov. 30. Be prepared. Islander
Photos: Manatee County Public Library System
• The Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office reported the number of registered voters in each island city declined 2000-03. Bradenton Beach registered voters dropped from 1,136 to 947 and Holmes Beach registered voters dropped from 3,928 to 3,396. Anna Maria’s registered voter total fell from 1,615 to 1,451.
• Local churches were organizing services to honor those who died in the terrorist attacks against the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
• More than 40 people at the Moose Lodge No. 2188, 110 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach, were involved in a confrontation over the state’s no-smoking law, which was enacted July 1. Several members staged a “smoke-in” and were confronted in the lodge by nonsmokers. The altercation then moved outside.
From the Sept. 11, 2013, issue
• As Holmes Beach officials looked at ways to gain Manatee County Tourist Development Council funding, they began considering adding shelters at beach accesses.
• An alleged car thief was arrested at the Manatee Public Beach after illegally parking a stolen vehicle and then falling asleep in the backseat.
• Municipal election races began in all three island cities as candidates and voters looked to polling on Nov. 5, 2013. This year, there are no contests in any of the cities and Anna Maria will have two vacancies in November.
• Renovation of the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach was due to be completed by the end of August but the project was months behind schedule.
— Lisa Neff
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
Anna Maria’s budget for fi scal 2023-24 is one hearing away from adoption.
City commissioners unanimously voted Sept. 7 on motions to adopt a $17,891,406 budget and 2.05 millage rate during a first public hearing ahead of Oct. 1, when the upcoming fiscal year will begin.
The proposed budget is $4,223,226 more than the adopted budget for the current fiscal year, largely due to an increase in capital expenditures.
The most significant change over this year’s budget is a $1,665,371 increase in capital outlay expenses.
The increase is driven by an extensive capital outlay plan, which will include $500,000 for public restroom facilities, $500,000 to extend a multiuse path, $275,000 to fund a study to determine a permanent solution to dredging at the Lake La Vista inlet and $200,000 for city hall and annex improvements.
The budget also includes $306,058.24 for shade sails: $156,486.24 for shade sails at the City Pier Park playground; $79,660 to expand existing shade sails at the park; and $69,912 to cover the picnic area at the T-end of the city pier.
Another part of the budget’s growth is a $995,200 increase in proposed public works expenses, totaling $4,426,789 for fiscal 2023-24.
Much of that cost — $3,349,634.46 — is attributed to funding for the city’s “reimagining” Pine Avenue project.
The funding includes $1,939,634.46 for a fi rst phase of improvements, which will feature the installation of meandering paver sidewalks, as well as addition and enhancement of crosswalks 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
Anna Maria commissioners review a tentative budget for fiscal 2023-24 Sept. 7 during the first public hearing for the budget ordinance. the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Magnolia and Spring avenues, which will be funded by a state appropriation approved this year for the same amount.
The city will put $367,781.50 into the project using ad valorem tax revenue and impact fees, as well as carryover funds.
The remaining $325,000 of the proposed public works expense come from road paving.
The budget will be supported by an increase of $627,072 in ad valorem revenue over this year from a tax increase that results from a 2.05 millage rate.
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.
The rate would 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 need to adopt a 1.7574 rollback rate, which would result in the same ad valorem income as this year.
Under the rollback rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 would pay $878.70 in property taxes.
There was no public comment during the hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes.
The second and final public hearing for the budget will be at 5:01 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
The hearing will precede a regular meeting, which will begin immediately after the budget hearing concludes.
Directions to attend via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.
In other matters…
City commissioners also:
• Unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance reducing the number of members on the city’s historic preservation board from five to three and a quorum from three to two members;
• Unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance, with revisions, that changes city code regarding shoreline stabilization, marinas and docks.
— Ryan PaiceBradenton Beach commissioners voted Sept. 7 to approve on first reading the 2023-24 fiscal year budget ordinance, following a public hearing at city hall.
Commissioners also voted to set a millage rate of 2.3329, the same tax rate as the current year, but a tax increase for property owners due to increases in property values.
A millage rate is one-tenth of a percent, which equates to $1 in tax for every $1,000 in home value.
To avoid a tax increase, the commission needs to enact a rollback rate of 2.0402 mills, resulting in the same revenue as the current year.
The tax on a property valued at $600,000 using the 2.3329 rate would be $1,340. At the rollback rate, it would be $1,213.
Based on assessed property value of $994,970,431, the city is due to receive $2,262,022 in ad valorem revenue for the budget year that begins Oct. 1.
On the expense side in the new budget, the city will put $100,000 into reserves, replacing funds spent during a 2017 Sunshine Law litigation.
City treasurer Shayne Thompson has said the reserves can be used to return operations back to normal after a disaster, such as a hurricane.
Personnel is one of the largest line items in the municipal budget with 2023-24 regular salaries and wages seeing an 8% cost-of-living increase across
Holmes Beach commissioners will hold a public hearing and a first vote on a fiscal 2023-24 budget Thursday, Sept. 14.
The hearing is set to begin at 5:01 p.m. in the commission chambers at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive, with a vote to follow, and then a regular commission meeting.
The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
In July, commissioners adopted a 2.15 maximum millage rate for property taxes, a rate they knew could go down but couldn’t go up.
A millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of property value used to calculate property taxes.
The current millage rate is 2.07.
In July, city treasurer Cindy Dunham-Tozer said a goal for fi scal 2023-24 was to lower the millage rate to 2.0677 but the draft budget and proposed budget ordinance show an even lower proposed rate — 2.0500 mills.
Still to avoid a tax increase, the city would need to adopt a rollback rate of 1.8273.
A second reading and final public hearing on the budget will be at 5:01 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at city hall.
We have been a new and used GEM dealer for 20 years. We welcome our long-time friends and encourage new patrons from Anna Maria Island to shop here!
A livestream of the meetings can be found on the city’s website, holmesbeachfl.org.
— Lisa Neff
departments, totaling $1,753,300 of the city’s $4,369,387 expense budget.
The city also is seeing increases in employee insurance, with spending rising from $509,672 in this year to $585,418 in the 2023-24 budget for an increase of $75,746.
Mayor John Chappie and Commissioners Jake Spooner, Ralph Cole and Jan Vosburgh voted 4-0 to adopt the 2023-24 budget. Marilyn Maro was absent with excuse, but she has not attended a city meeting since January and the city has provided no reason for her absence.
The second and final budget hearing and a vote on the budget ordinance is set for 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 14 at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.
The Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency Sept. 7 voted to approve a tax increase with its 2023-24 fiscal year budget.
The max millage rate mirrors the city’s rate of 2.3329 mills in the general budget, which is a tax increase for property owners.
Avoiding a tax increase would require adoption of a rollback rate of 2.0402 mills.
A millage rate is one-tenth of a percent, or $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in home value.
One of the largest costs in the CRA budget is the undergrounding of utilities, a project ongoing in the district since 2018.
But the new fiscal year might present an opportunity to gain state funding, as city attorney Ricinda Perry and Mayor John Chappie have been in discussion with state Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, regarding $5 million for the project.
Based on projections from Hau Tran, of Florida Power and Light, the total cost to complete under-
grounding in the city is about $4,725,777.
But for now, the future budget for the CRA contains $300,000 for undergrounding.
The budget also contains $300,000 in parking improvements, with an emphasis on the possible relocation of the Tingley Memorial Library to create more parking.
Also in the budget:
• $106,690 for a conceptual project to connect the pier, 200 Bridge St., to dinghy docks adjacent to the Bridgetender Inn & Dockside Bar, 135 Bridge St, and creation of a pocket park.
• $40,000 for an annual Christmas on Bridge Street festival that includes a 40-foot Christmas tree, a lighted boat parade and a block party.
• Partial funding for the Old Town Tram through 2023, with a $10,000 reallocation of cultural arts
funds.
• Shoreline monitoring, $38,550;
• Fencing at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar on the pier, $25,000;
• Furthering the Bay Drive South resiliency project, $75,000;
• Sidewalk improvements, $30,000;
• District improvements, $50,000;
• Signage, $50,000;
• Pier improvements, $10,000.
The CRA is budgeting a total of $887,883 in revenue for the new year with $635,677 in redevelopment shared revenue, $106,690 coming from its interlocal agreement with Manatee County and $3,000 in interest and investments.
The CRA also will incorporate $142,516 in ad valorem revenue from the city’s general funds.
The budget also anticipates $635,677 in shared revenue from Manatee County.
The CRA board consists of the mayor and city commissioners, as well as two appointed members — David Bell and Ed Chiles.
The first vote for the budget, which followed a public hearing, was 6-0, with Chiles attending and voting by phone.
CRA member/Commissioner Marilyn Maro was absent with excuse.
The final CRA budget hearing and a vote are set for 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 14 at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.
About the CRA
The CRA funds capital improvement projects to promote restoration, growth and tourism for the district, which is bordered by Cortez Road, Sarasota Bay, Fifth Street South and the Gulf of Mexico.
The CRA funds the projects with incremental tax revenue collected by Manatee County since 1992, when the area was declared blighted.
The district comprises an area from Cortez Road West to Fifth Street South and is bordered by Guld Drive to the west and Sarasota Bay to the east.
Wednesday, Sept. 13
6:30 p.m. — Island Time Book Club, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-7786341.
Sunday, Sept. 17
7:30 p.m. — Island Players “Later Life” auditions, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Fee applies. Information: 941-778-5755.
Sept. 14-24, Island Players’ “Farce of Nature,” 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Fee applies. Information: 941-778-5755.
Throughout September, Island Gallery and Studios “Expressions of Anna Maria Island Sunsets: A Retrospective,” 456 Old Main St., Bradenton. Information: 941-778-6648.
Through Sept. 17, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ “John Pirman: Diving into Nature” exhibit, 1534 Mound St., Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-366-5731.
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
Sept. 25, Paradise Center of Longboat Key movie matinee
features “Secondhand Lions,” Longboat Key.
Oct. 11, Island Library’s Time Book Club discusses Glennon Doyle’s “Untamed,” Holmes Beach.
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.
Dec. 1-2, Bradenton Blues Festival, Bradenton.
SAVE THE DATE
Oct. 3-May 7, Anna Maria Farmers Market, Anna Maria.
Oct. 4, Coquina Beach Market opens, Bradenton Beach.
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.
Friday, Sept. 14
10 a.m. — Forty Carrots program, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.
Tuesday, Sept. 19
10 a.m. — Animal encounter with a gopher tortoise, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-7786341.
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.
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.
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. 21, Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Bayfest, Anna Maria.
Thursday, Sept. 14
1 p.m. — Sunshine Stitchers Knit and Crochet, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.
Monday, Sept. 18
11:30 a.m. — Anna Maria Island and West Manatee Democratic Club kickoff meeting, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: bbeckwith02@gmail.com.
Wednesday, Sept. 20
11 a.m. — Boating safety class, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.
Tuesdays, noon, Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bridge Street Bistro, 111 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. Informa-
tion: 941-718-5583.
SAVE THE DATE
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.
Sept. 30, Annie Silver Community Center Book Sale and Potluck Lunch, Bradenton Beach.
Oct. 28, Annie Silver Community Center Book Sale and Potluck Lunch, Bradenton Beach.
Nov. 3, FISH Preserve ribbon-cutting ceremony, Cortez.
&
ONGOING ON AMI
AMI Dragon Boat Team-Paddlers from Paradise practices and meetups, various times and locations. Information: 941-462-2626, mrbradway@gmail.com.
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. 9, DeSoto Cornhole Tournament, Bradenton.
Feb. 24, 2024, Pittsburgh Pirates spring training opens, Bradenton.
SAVE THE DATE
Sept. 22, Oct. 20, Nov. 15, Island Library/Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Holocaust Speaker Series, Holmes Beach.
OFF AMI
Friday, Sept. 15
9 a.m. — Oyster shell drilling, Robinson Preserve North, 1704 99th St. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923.
Wednesday, Sept. 20 9 a.m. — Explore Nature: Manatees, Portosueno Park, 1206 Alcazar Drive, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923.
ONGOING OFF AMI
Saturdays, 9 a.m., Mornings at the NEST, Robinson Preserve, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923, mymanatee.org.
SAVE THE DATE
Sept. 30, Keep Manatee Beautiful Coquina South Boat Ramp cleanup, Bradenton Beach.
KEEP THE DATES
Sept. 23, fall equinox.
Oct. 9, Columbus Day.
Through Oct. 31, sea turtle nesting season. Lights out.
Oct. 31, Halloween.
Nov. 5, daylight saving time ends.
Nov. 7, Election Day.
Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
Nov. 23, Thanksgiving.
Through Nov. 30, Atlantic hurricane season. Be prepared. Get listed! Send listings to calendar@islander.org.
Organizers are seeking to net more vendors and donations for the Cortez Nautical Flea Market in October.
The market will be 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, Oct. 7, in the fishing village.
Cohosts Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., and the Cortez Village Historical Society at the Cortez Cultural Center, 11655 Cortez Road W., are organizing to offer sales of marine gear, nautical arts and crafts and more.
Donations of “nautical knick-knacks” are being collected at the museum during business hours, as well as at A.P. Bell Fish Co., 4600 124th St. W., Cortez.
As for vendors, to register as a marine flea market vendor with FMM, go to floridamaritimemuseum. org and to register as an arts and crafts vendor, email cvhs2016@aol.com.
For general information about the event, go online to floridamaritimemuseum.org or call FMM at 941708-6120.
the Island Players crew and cast — including Sharon Bartley, Michael Sacco and Joseph Mammina — rehearse a scene from “Face of Nature,” the opening production in the theater group’s 75th season at the Anna Maria theater at 10009 Gulf Drive. the cast also includes Janet Salem, Rick Kopp, Jennifer Kwiatkowski, Laura Morales, Jacquelyn Whitesel and Jeffrey Steiger. the show, written by Jones, Hope and Wooten and directed by Mike Lusk, will open thursday, Sept. 14. Performances will continue through Sunday, Sept. 24, with the cast taking the stage at 7:30 p.m. tuesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. For more information about tickets, call the box office at 941-778-5755. Islander Courtesy Photo
The Anna Maria Island and West Manatee Democratic Club will meet this month to kick off a new season of activities.
The meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 18, at the Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. For more information, email membership chair Barbara Beckwith at bbeckwith02@gmail.com.
Holmes Beach city clerk Stacy Johnston catches up on the Islander news during a two-week visit to Branson, Missouri. Johnston was at Silver Dollar City on Labor Day — also her birthday — in the Ozark town considered a country-music mecca.
Auditions for The Island Players’ presentation of “Later Life” will be 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at the theater, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria.
Preston Boyd will direct the show, with a run set for Oct. 23-Nov. 11.
The Island Players’ announcement for auditions reads, “No preparation is necessary, the director will have those auditioning read scenes from the play. …If you have never auditioned for us before, or it’s been a while, please arrive a little early to fill out an audition form and have a file photo taken. Newcomers are very welcome!”
For more information, call the box office at 941778-5755.
The Center of Anna Maria Island hasn’t named the headliners but the nonprofit set dates for the winter concert series staged at the center in collaboration with the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Manatee County Tourist Council.
Concerts will be Dec. 9, as well as Jan. 14, Jan. 26 and April 6 in 2024.
Other highlights on the calendar for the center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria include:
• Dec. 2, Lester Family Fun Day;
• Jan. 12, Feb. 9, March 8, 2024, bingo;
• Feb. 2, 2024, wellness fair;
• March 1-2, 2024, murder-mystery dinner theater;
• March 17, 2024, St. Patrick’s Day Parade;
• March 23, 2024; wine tasting;
• May 4, crawfish boil.
For more information, go online to centerami.org, email info@centerami.org or call 941-778-1908.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy welcomes an audience Sept. 10 to a celebration marking 100 years since the city incorporated. the centennial party took place 3:30-6:30 p.m. in City Pier Park at Pine Avenue and Bay Boulevard, featuring remarks, food and beverage sales and nonprofit volunteers making their introductions. Islander
• 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 also the nonprofit’s educational mission. Info: amiartistsguildgallery.com, 941778-6694.
• 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.
Members of the Anna Maria Island Garden Club talk Sept. 10 about their mission and social opportunities to guests at Anna Maria’s Centennial Celebration. Offerings of food, music, fun and fellowship brought people to City Pier Park for the observance. Anna Maria incorporated in 1923, followed by Holmes Beach in 1950 and Bradenton Beach in 1952.
• 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: 941-778-6341, 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.
Centennial attendees chat with Barbara Murphy of the Anna Maria Island Historical Society.
• 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, email lisa@islander.org with details.
• Thursday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m., Peace Day celebration, playground.
• Friday, Sept. 22, 6-8 p.m., PTO family social, Holmes Beach skate park, 5800 block of Marina Drive.
• Thursday, Sept. 28, 3:45 p.m., SAC meeting, Guy Harvey classroom.
• Oct. 2-5, Fire Safety Week.
• Monday, Oct. 9, 3:45 p.m., PTO board meeting, Guy Harvey classroom.
• Thursday, Oct. 12, end of first quarter.
• Friday, Oct. 13, record day, no school.
• Saturday, Oct. 28, Fall Festival.
Anna Maria elementary celebrates International Peace Day in September 2022. this year’s celebration on the campus in Holmes Beach will begin at 10 a.m. thursday, Sept. 21. Plans include performances by the Manatee High School Marching Band Drum Line and other bandmembers, as well as an opening ceremony, students singing select songs and remarks Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island president Kathy Rylander. the event is open to the public. Islander File Photo
The Anna Maria Elementary PTO is seeking volunteers for a fall festival committee.
The commitment is about 8-10 hours in September and October.
The festival will be Saturday, Oct. 28.
Also, the PTO seeks a volunteer co-coordinator for a family social in November.
The commitment is about 1-2 hours.
For more information, email amepto@gmail.com or call PTO president Jen Serra at 614-937-2689.
Achievements The Islander newspaper welcomes announcements of scholastic achievements and celebrations. Share honors, stories and photographs by emailing news@islander.org. Please, include a contact name, number and email.
The next AME-PTO family social will be 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, at the Holmes Beach Skate Park in city field in the 5800 block of Marina Drive. The event will include pizza, skateboarding and “a few surprises,” according to a notice.
AMe is at 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. For more information, call the school at 941-708-5525.
AME’s fourth-graders will take head to the beach Thursday, Sept. 14, to participate in a cleanup effort, part of the International Coastal Cleanup presented by Keep America Beautiful and its local Keep Manatee Beautiful chapter.
The AME campaign is being facilitated by the Guy Harvey Foundation and will coincide with a California school’s cleanup. The school classes will compare notes — and stats — on the collection results.
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After a summer break, RoserRobics offers a return to “faith, fitness, fun.”
The exercise class will resume at Roser Memorial Community Church beginning Tuesday, Sept. 19.
Classes will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the church fellowship hall, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria.
Attendees can expect exercise routines to improve balance and flexibility but lessen the impact on joints.
For more, call the church at 941-778-0414.
Roser Memorial Community Church is inviting kids ages 7-13 years old to audition for a musical set for the stage in November.
Auditions will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at the church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria.
After casting the musical, a telling of the biblical story about Noah and a flood adapted to the 1950s, children will rehearse for about seven weeks.
For more, go online to roserchurch.com/musical,
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church’s fall book discussion — via Zoom — will explore Eckhart Tolle’s “A New Earth,” a book about “how to come to conscious awareness of our true spiritual self and thereby overcome the domination of our egoic self.”
The group will convene at 10:30 a.m. Mondays beginning Sept. 18.
For more information, contact the church at 941778-1813 or office@gloriadeilutheran.com.
The Longboat Island Chapel is sponsoring “Sunday Undies” in September to collect new underwear for adults and children in need.
Items can be brought to Snook Fellowship Hall, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key.
For more, call the chapel at 941-383-6491.
The Women’s Guild at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach, will hold an informal social at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 14.
Attendees can bring a sack lunch and beverage and join the group for “camaraderie and fellowship,” according to a notice in the church bulletin.
For more, call the church at 941-778-4769.
Roser Memorial Community Church director of music ministries, Craig Ramberger, directs a cast of children in “Martin and the Doors” in May.
Compiled
ON AMI
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.
St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-4769, stbernardcc.org, office@stbernardcc. org.
All kids, ages 7-13 are invited to be in the musical!
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 a.m., Rosary on the Beach at Manatee Public Beach; Saturdays, 3 p.m., confession.
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.
Sept. 15, Rosh Hashanah.
Sept. 24, Yom Kippur.
Seasons change and so do schedules. Please, send listings and/or changes in worship calendars and other events to calendar@ islander.org.
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The Rev. Dr. Nor man Pritchard
Men’s Bible Study: Monday @ 9:00
Women’s Bible Study: Wednesday @ 10:00
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An informational meeting/1st auditions for kids (and parents) will be held on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 AT 5:30 PM in the Roser Church Sanctuary. There will be 7 weeks of rehearsals. The musical will be presented early in November!
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editor’s note: the following is part five of a six-part series about the 1921 hurricane. the report, by June Alder, first appeared in print in 1993. It has been edited for content and style.
From the Islander archives
The people of Cortez were seafaring folk, used to the ways of storms.
But the hurricane of October 1921 caught them by surprise.
On Oct. 23, 1921, the men of the village gathered as usual around the barber shop and post office on the Albion Inn dock to swap stories and play checkers.
The weather was blustery, the seas were high and heavy.
They knew they were in for a storm.
But no one expected a hurricane.
It was too late in the year for that.
Then the telegraph clicked out a message — get your boats out of the water, get ready for one heck of a blow.
But the warning was too late.
Some of the fishermen went out in the driving rain and managed to pole their craft to the lee of a nearby mangrove island, but there was no time to do much else.
They hurried to their homes — most of them twostory clapboard houses on 2-foot pilings — and, as the water rose higher and higher, got their families to the upper floors.
From their homes, the residents could watch bits
On Oct. 25, 1921, the Tampa Bay area suffered the most destructive hurricane to hit the region since 1848.
A storm surge of up to 11 feet damaged and destroyed a significant amount of the structures along coastal locations from Pasco County south through southwest Florida. The highest surge inundated areas in downtown Tampa and Tarpon Springs.
In Manatee County, the fishing village of Cortez was hardest hit.
The storm smashed boats into docks and seawalls, waves and wind battered buildings and washed away structures. Power poles and trees fell. Windows were blown out.
— Lisa Neffand pieces of the village pass swiftly by their windows.
They saw Brown’s grocery store topple over and, swept along like a matchbox by the rushing waters, hit the new bridge to Anna Maria broadside with a mighty crash.
The brick schoolhouse had been erected on the highest spot in the village. It was there that most of the refugees spent the night.
After the worst of the storm was over, a cavalcade of rowboats headed up flooded Cortez Road towards dry land — to about where 75th Street is today. Rescuers were waiting there to take them in.
The next day, when the Cortezians returned to the village, they were stunned at the chaos.
The waterfront had been obliterated. All that was left were stubs of pilings. Behind the
• 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
the National Weather Service’s simulation — created in 2021 on the 100th anniversary of the 1921 tarpon Springs/tampa Bay Hurricane — shows wind speeds. the National Weather Service in Ruskin used contemporary tools to create the simulation. the model was allowed to run forward in time over a domain covering much of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, continental United States and Western Atlantic Ocean for 120 hours. the simulation of a weather pattern from 100 years ago using modern technology produced a hurricane that moved along a generally similar path out of the northwest Caribbean Sea and made landfall on the correct date at the correct location — Oct. 21 near tarpon Springs. the model also showed the large areal size of the cyclone and a large swath of preceding rainfall to the northeast of the storm that soaked much of the Florida peninsula as much as 24 hours ahead of the main cyclone impacts. Islander Courtesy Photo broken pilings were boats and nets and fishing gear, all in a jumble.
Houses teetered crazily on their blocks. Many were missing roofs and porches. Others were leveled to the ground, and splintered wood was thick in the muddy streets.
For the close-knit little community, all dependent on the sea and one another for their livelihood, the 1921 hurricane was a terrible disaster.
But as often happens in times of great trial, the survival spirit triumphed. Jack Leffingwell, the bridgebuilder who survived the storm, marveled at how quickly the fishing community recovered.
He wrote: “The Bradenton lumberyards donated lumber. Carpenters gave their time. Hardware stores gave their goods. The banks gave money. The Tampa fish companies donated food, as did the Bradentown grocers. They also advanced (and donated) new fishing equipment.
“Within two months Cortez, a town three-fourths wrecked, was back on its feet and going strong. I am told that all monies advanced to assist the good people of Cortez in their hour of need was repaid in full within one year. Truly, you cannot keep a good man down.”
Next: In the Sept. 20 issue, “Finally, a bridge.”
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Hurricane Idalia resulted in some unexpected damages for one Holmes Beach gas station and about a dozen gas customers.
Anna Maria resident Cheryl Perez’s son and Holmes Beach resident Ryan Quigley were two customers who purchased water-contaminated gasoline Aug. 31 at Shell, 5424 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.
Perez told The Islander Sept. 8 that her son, Michael, fueled up her family’s pickup truck that day and was driving off of the island when the truck stalled on the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue.
The truck was towed to Grooms Motors & Automotive, 5608 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, where four-five other vehicles already were awaiting service that morning due to fueling issues at Shell.
At the repair shop, Perez said it became clear the gas station had a contaminated supply and she went to Shell to report the issue.
The trouble didn’t stop there.
Quigley told The Islander Sept. 7, he was on the island Aug. 31, tending to his home following Idalia. He said he stopped to fuel up at Shell and stopped again about a half mile north of the station when his vehicle stalled.
Quigley’s vehicle was towed to Grooms, where he said about a dozen vehicles awaited service due to the contaminated gas at Shell.
Holmes Beach code enforcement and police departments received a handful of calls Aug. 31 regarding the bad gas, according to Police Chief Bill Tokajer.
Tokajer told The Islander Sept. 7 that by the time he arrived at the station, the pumps were shut down and a manager was looking for a solution.
Perez said she called ATCO Inc., the Sarasotabased Shell owner, multiple times Sept. 1 to seek reimbursement, but she failed to reach anyone and her voicemails went unreturned.
She then turned to WFLA News TV-8 with her story and, while meeting Sept. 5 with a reporter, ATCO president Alan Elwell called and promised reimbursement for those impacted by the bad gas.
Elwell told The Islander Sept. 7 that the station’s underground tanks took on about a foot of water during the storm due to a failed riser cap, contaminating about 200 gallons of gasoline.
When enough water contaminates gasoline, phase separation occurs — the ethanol attaches to water mol-
ecules, leaving a gasoline-only layer at the top and an ethanol/water combination at the bottom.
In the short-term, fueling a vehicle with phaseseparated gas can cause it to fail to start or to stall shortly after starting.
If water-contaminated gas remains in a vehicle for too long, however, it can cause internal corrosion and rusting, along with other issues.
Elwell said sensors within a station’s fuel tanks will detect water contamination but the sensors failed due to the phase separation, and the station reopened Aug. 31 unaware of the problem.
Elwell said the station shut down its regular pumps — its premium supply was uncontaminated — after learning of the problem and awaited a contractor to clean out the tanks.
Shell reopened Sept. 5 but again shut down the same day based on new reports of bad gas.
Shell’s pumps were reactivated Sept. 7 after a contractor confirmed the contaminated fuel had been flushed from the system.
Elwell said ATCO will reimburse all purchases of contaminated gas and any repairs that resulted.
“It’s not a fun process to go through and we apologize,” he said. “It’s just very unfortunate. … We thought maybe this could be an issue, but our tank gauging system didn’t detect it and we manually couldn’t detect it at the time.”
Perez and Quigley said ATCO’s response has so far been satisfactory but will depend on whether the company follows through on its reimbursement prom-
ises.
tankers deliver fuel Sept. 7 at the Shell gas station, 5424 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, after the business reopened following Hurricane Idalia’s passage through the Gulf of Mexico.
Perez said her repairs at Grooms cost about $1,600 and an insurance adjuster representing ATCO had promised her the work would be reimbursed.
She said the problem could have been addressed earlier if the pumps had been shut down after she reported issues with the station’s fuel.
“Things could have been avoided had they been a little bit more on the ball,” Perez said. “I just want my truck fixed and for everybody to be taken care of with (ATCO) owning up to the responsibility.”
Quigley said Grooms had yet to clear his vehicle following the incident, but he expected the repair to run about $1,000.
He said he believed ATCO was doing its best.
“They’re getting to it as fast as they can and as best they can,” Quigley said. “I believe other people had trouble getting ahold of them, which caused a bit of a panic, but I think it was just bad timing with the Labor Day weekend.”
“I’m happy with their response so far, but we’re also not out of the clear yet,” he added. “But so far, so good.”
People seeking reimbursement for the purchase of water-contaminated gas, or any repairs necessitated by the bad gas, can obtain a customer incident reporting form from Shell.
After completing the form, claimants can call ATCO at 941-355-7619, ext. 314, or deliver the form to its corporate office, 10 Sarasota Center Blvd., Sarasota.
Bradenton Beach commissioners Sept. 7 approved spending $42,225 to repair pier damages stemming from Hurricane Idalia.
The city experienced limited flooding Aug. 29-30, as Idalia passed to the north from about 100 miles west in the Gulf of Mexico, but the Historic Bridge Street Pier, 200 Bridge St., was battered by boats from the area adjacent to the pier that broke anchor.
City attorney Ricinda Perry showed photos of the damages to commissioners during their Sept. 7 meeting.
Repairs are needed to the main structure, the floating dock, finger docks and the ramp leading from the floating dock to the deck.
Repair work by Duncan Seawall could begin by Sept. 11, after The Islander went to press, with a projected completion date of Sept. 16.
“It’s going to be about five days of labor. They are going to bring a barge and crane in to do the repairs,” Perry said.
Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby said the boats involved in the damage were removed as of Sept. 7.
Commissioners discussed possible legal recourse against the boat owners, as well as what course of action the city might take to prevent pier damage in future storms.
“I am very disappointed the vessels caused this damage.” She said the boats that caused the damage were not properly anchored. “We would not have been facing this if not for the boats.”
“They do have the right to take safe harbor in this kind of a storm,” Perry added. “But nonetheless, that doesn’t mean the city isn’t going to step up and do what it can do legally to hold people responsible for this kind of damage.”
Perry said police officers and public works personnel worked during and after the storm to secure the vessels to minimize damage.
Mayor John Chappie noted that some boats were stopped by dolphins added to the pier in 2022. The pier dolphins are a group of pilings arranged to serve as a fender.
He suggested the city add more dolphins.
“The fenders that were put up are what really protected the main structure,” the mayor said. “We are
Caution tape Sept. 6 cordons off the finger docks at the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach. the docks were damaged during Hurricane Idalia.
looking at how we can further protect that whole area as best we can because we know that when we get those winds coming in it can be disastrous.”
The pier has been repaired and renovated numerous times.
The structure underwent a $2.2 million rebuild in 2004 and then was repaired in 2014 to correct damages suffered during the 2010 hurricane season.
The CRA also funded multiple additions to the pier, including a $191,524 floating dock in 2019 and an expansion to the finger docks in June.
The finger docks were added to serve as a landing site for Manatee County’s water taxi program, which is expected to launch this year and operate between Bradenton and Anna Maria Island.
The assault case against Ellenton resident John Bartholow, 18, is in its final stretch.
But unexpected illness will stretch a bit longer.
A Sept. 7 sentencing hearing was canceled following Bradenton-based attorney Jon Weiffenbach’s Sept. 6 motion notifying the court that his client, Bartholow, was admitted that day to Manatee Memorial Hospital in Bradenton for “suspected appendicitis” and was set for surgery.
Weiffenbach’s motion stated that following the surgery Bartholow would be transported back to the Manatee County jail, where he is incarcerated.
Judge Stephen Whyte of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court canceled the hearing for Sept. 7.
Bartholow is one of the young men involved in a March 23, 2022, assault outside Anna Maria Elementary, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, that sent resident Evan Purcell, 41, to the hospital with serious injuries.
The Holmes Beach Police Department identified Bartholow and arrested him, along with two others, within a month.
Bartholow was placed in custody at the jail under $50,000 bond and charged with a second-degree felony for battery resulting in great bodily harm. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
He posted $50,000 bond April 21, 2022, and was released into the county probation department’s pretrial services program.
Bartholow has been in and out of the county jail system since.
He was arrested again in May on a third-degree
felony charge for alleged criminal mischief.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released after he posted a $1,500 bond in the same month.
Bartholow was arrested a third time in September 2022 for contempt of court by resisting/obstructing a law enforcement officer without violence, but was released after he posted another $50,000 bond in October 2022.
He was arrested a fourth time in December 2022 on nine third-degree felony charges — three for burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and six for attempted burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.
He pleaded not guilty to the burglary charges but dropped his initial not guilty pleas for the aggravated assault and criminal mischief cases.
Bartholow instead pleaded no contest to the charges — allowing both cases to move forward to sentencing.
Sentencing was to be determined at the Sept. 7 hearing, which was canceled.
A sentencing hearing for the aggravated assault case was rescheduled to 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
A sentencing hearing for the criminal mischief case had not been rescheduled as of Sept. 7. A jury trial was not set for the burglary case as of Sept. 7. Punishment for a second-degree felony includes up to 15 years in prison, 15 years of probation and a $10,000 fine.
Punishment for third-degree felony includes up to five years in prison, five years of probation and a fine of up to $5,000.
By Robert Anderson and Ryan Paice
Anna Maria
Sept. 3, 200 block of Sycamore Avenue, 2:29 a.m., noise. A Manatee County sheriff’s deputy responded to a complaint alleging people in a residence were playing loud music. The deputy attempted to contact people at the rental house but were unsuccessful. The deputy then contacted the rental management company, which asked the renters to leave the house. A case number and incident report were filed.
Sept. 4, 100 block of Oak Avenue, 2:46 a.m., noise. A deputy responded to a noise complaint about a party
Holmes Beach police arrested William Jeffries, 65, of Grand Island, Nebraska, Sept. 3 on a first-degree misdemeanor for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol for a third time.
Two officers responded in the 200 block of 57th Street around 11 p.m. to reports of a man stumbling around outside a vehicle at a stop sign.
They found the man and crashed vehicle, as well as three witnesses, one of whom said the man, later identified as Jeffries, had been in the driver’s seat.
The officers spoke to Jeffries, who could not recall where he was coming from and had “watery and glassy” eyes, as well as a “strong odor” of an alcoholic beverage from his breath, according to a report.
Jeffries failed field sobriety exercises. He was arrested and transported to the Holmes Beach Police Department, where he registered breath samples with results of 0.272 and 0.270 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
The state’s legal blood alcohol level limit for driving under the influence is 0.08.
Jeffries was taken to the Manatee County jail, where he was released Sept. 4 after posting $500 bond.
If convicted, punishment for a first-degree misdemeanor includes up to one year in jail, one year of probation and a fine of up to $1,000.
An arraignment will be at 8:55 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
voluntary assessment, stabilization and treatment of a person allegedly abusing alcohol or drugs.
in a neighboring home. Deputies responded and issued a citation for a violation of the noise ordinance. The MCSO polices Anna Maria. Bradenton Beach
Sept. 3, 300 block of Highland Avenue, Marchman Act. A Bradenton Beach police officer responded to a call concerning a man lying on the ground. The man told the officer that men with guns had chased him. The man also attempted to enter the officer’s patrol car. The man was handcuffed and transported to a behavioral health center in Bradenton under the Marchman Act, a Florida law that provides a means of involuntary and
Sept. 6, 1407 Gulf Drive S., Coquina Moorings condos, burglary. A BBPD officer responded to a call concerning a burglary. A foreperson for a company working at the site said someone broke into a work trailer and took power tools. The officer filed an incident report and issued a victim’s rights card.
The BBPD polices Bradenton Beach.
Cortez
No new reports.
The MCSO polices Cortez.
Holmes Beach
Aug. 29, Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, trespassing. An officer from the Holmes Beach Police
PLeASe, See STREETLIFE, NeXt PAGe
The moving parts in a bridge safety project may come together this fiscal year.
Before regional transportation planners is a proposed pedestrian safety project for area bridges, including the Anna Maria Island, Cortez and Longboat Pass bascule bridges.
The project would involve installing pedestrian light detection and ranging — LiDAR — sensors on bridges in the Florida Department of Transportation District 1, including three bridges in Manatee County, eight in Sarasota County and one in Glades, Lee and Okeechobee counties.
The project, with an estimated construction cost of $1,140,916, could be funded for fi scal 2023-24 with federal dollars and would be managed by the DOT, according to materials provided to members of a technical advisory committee to the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The committee, chaired by Holmes Beach city engineer Sage Kamiya, was to meet Sept. 11 in Sarasota and expected to review the project proposal.
The committee’s agenda also included:
• Discussion on priorities to present to meetings of Manatee and Sarasota legislative delegations;
• Presentations on a Cortez Road vision and action plan and a call for project proposals.
— Lisa NeffDepartment saw people trespassing at the beach around 8 p.m. They had left their truck illegally parked in the 100 block of 39th Street and walked into the park, which was closed due to Hurricane Idalia. The officer found a woman with two children on the shore and a man swimming in the water, while double red flags were posted at the lifeguard tower. The officer trespassed the group, but the man refused to leave other than by swimming away. He was arrested and transported to the Manatee County jail.
Sept. 1, LaPensee Plumbing, 401 Manatee Ave., fraud. An officer responded to reports of check fraud of more than $60,000 and spoke with a secretary and accountant. They said they mailed checks that had not being altered, according to their bank. The employees provided statements and documents.
Sept. 1, Kingfish Boat Ramp, 817 Manatee Ave., arrest warrant. An HBPD officer saw two men sleeping on a table at the boat ramp and advised doing so was against city code. The officer found one man had an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court. The man
Hurricane Idalia might not be too costly for the city of Holmes Beach.
Mayor Judy Titsworth wrote in a Sept. 8 email to The Islander that city staff had yet to determine how much storm cleanup efforts had cost the municipality but that cost would not include debris removal expenses.
The city’s waste removal contract with Longwoodbased Waste Pro USA covers debris removal as yard waste up to a certain weight threshold, at which point the municipality would hire a contractor to complete those services.
Following Hurricane Ian last year, the city hired Sarasota-based Ceres Environmental Services to collect, break down and remove a small mountain of debris that was gathered on city field.
While Idalia resulted in extensive flooding across the island, debris created by the storm did not stack up to that created by Ian or exceed Waste Pro’s weight yard waste threshold.
Waste Pro began debris removal Sept. 1 and was set to finish the job by Sept. 9, according to a Sept. 8 post on the city’s Facebook page.
Otherwise, Titsworth wrote that the city suffered no major damage due to the storm. She added that she didn’t believe Manatee County would qualify for
was arrested and transported to jail.
Sept. 2, Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, recovered stolen property. An officer saw an unsecured electric bicycle at the north end of the park. Based on a serial number, the officer determined the e-bike was reported stolen in Bradenton. The officer searched for possible suspects to no avail, then transported the bike to the HBPD.
HBPD polices Holmes Beach.
Streetlife is based on incident reports and narratives from the BBPD, HBPD and MCSO.
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.
Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement.
Code compliance supervisor JT Thomas told The Islander Sept. 7 that city staff assessed damage throughout the city Aug. 30, the day the storm made landfall in the Big Bend area, and found six properties that had taken on water.
Manatee County Sheriff’s Lt. Louis Licata speaks Sept. 7 on being congratulated by Mayor Dan Murphy for his promotion to captain. Licata, who serves at the Anna Maria substation, said he was set to step into the new role Sept. 10 and become commander of District 2, which covers the west side of the county. Licata added that he was unsure who would succeed him in the city, but he would still come around to visit from time to time. Islander
Photo: Ryan Paice
However, Thomas said residents and property owners were still returning to the city and still could find flooding in their homes, noting that the city had received about three calls that day regarding newly discovered flooding. Visit
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
Labor Day has passed and Manatee County’s Gulf Island Ferry has yet to launch.
The holdup? The county still must secure an interlocal agreement with the city of Anna Maria to use its city pier as a ferry stop.
Mayor Dan Murphy told city commissioners Sept. 7 the county had not yet submitted the city’s requested changes to a plan that would allow the ferry service to use the pier dock as a stop.
The city and county have been negotiating for about a year over an interlocal agreement that would allow the ferry service to use the pier as a stop.
Despite reservations with previous versions of the county’s proposed agreement, Murphy has endorsed a revised version in recent months.
The county’s initial proposal included plans to install a floating dock perpendicular to the pier’s existing boat landing, with a railing on the T-end closest to the dock.
The proposed floating dock would be anchored with wooden piles and access would be gated.
Murphy called the plans “unacceptable” and requested the county return to the city with a new proposal.
However, a new proposal has yet to materialize.
Murphy said he was at the pier as one of the ferries visited earlier that day during a test run that also
RIGHt: the Miss Anna Maria, one of two 50-foot catamarans deployed in Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry fleet, performs a test landing Sept. 8 at the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach.
Islander Photo: Courtesy Bradenton Beach
took the vessel to the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach.
He said county staff asked him to observe and provide feedback on a dry run of the vessel pulling into the city pier’s existing dock.
The county proposed either driving 1-2 pilings or installing an “arm” along the dock to stabilize a ferry on its approach, according to Murphy.
Murphy said he asked county staff to submit two proposals, one for each option, for commissioners to consider alongside a revised interlocal agreement.
Commissioner Jonathan Crane asked if the county would hold the city responsible for maintenance costs involving the proposed improvements.
Murphy said the city would shoulder the cost of maintenance, so he wanted to keep it as low as possible and ensure any pilings would be concrete or composite instead of wood.
Murphy said he hoped have an official proposal for commissioners to consider, but added that the county provided him “no indication” of its timeline for their plans.
“I don’t have a piece of paper for you,” he said.
The commission meets next at 5:01 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
The meeting will begin with a public hearing on the municipal budget ordinance for fiscal 2023-24, which will be followed by a regular meeting.
Directions to attend via Zoom can be found the on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.
Hurricane Idalia did a number on the city of Anna Maria’s stormwater infrastructure.
Mayor Dan Murphy said Sept. 7 that flooding from the storm resulted in extensive damage to the city’s stormwater infiltration trenches, especially along the roadways on the northern side of the municipality.
The vertical infiltration trenches are dug alongside city roadways and filled with granite rocks and filtration mesh and topped with limestone.
The trenches are designed to reduce standing water by improving drainage and filtering nutrients and pollutants from rainwater before it reaches local waterways.
Murphy said stretches of the city’s stormwater trenches were clogged with debris, mulch and sand due to flooding during Idalia’s passage through the Gulf of Mexico.
“It took a beating and it’s not going to rebound quickly,” he said.
Murphy said some ditches would need to be
dug up and replaced, while others would need to be reassessed. He estimated the work would cost about $250,000 to complete.
The city will submit reimbursement requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for that funding when the time comes, according to Murphy.
He added that, moving forward, the city must explore the addition of automatic drainage pumps in areas where flooding has persisted.
Otherwise, Murphy said the storm cost the city about $30,000 in employee overtime and debris removal after the storm passed.
The city hired Wellington-based Jet Hauling Inc. for debris removal. The contractor began work Sept. 5 and was expected to finish the job by Sept. 9.
City staff also searched the city to provide a ballpark estimate of how many properties within the municipality took on water and found 38 homes where “some degree of water” made its way inside.
On the bright side, city officials praised the implementation of a roadblock to prevent people who were not residents or business owners from entering the city
in the storm’s aftermath.
Murphy said he’d received numerous compliments about the roadblock, which he said was implemented due to concerns about looters entering the then-empty city before residents and business owners could return.
He thanked Manatee County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brett Getman and Capt. Louis Licata for their efforts. Commission Chair Mark Short also praised the roadblock and said he had friends who lived in Holmes Beach who were upset their city hadn’t implemented something similar.
addresses commissioners Sept. 7 on the lingering effects of Hurricane Idalia, including an estimated $250,000 in damages to the city’s vertical infiltration trenches.
Islander
“But I will.”Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy Photo: Ryan Paice
The U.S. Coast continued the week ending Sept. 10 to investigate an oil spill at SeaPort Manatee on Tampa Bay
Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders Sept. 1 received a report crude oil spilled at the port, a deepwater seaport owned by Manatee County and one of the largest such ports in the state.
The source of the oil was not known and remained under investigation as first responders placed about 1,400 feet of boom in an effort to contain the crude.
Cleanup also began.
Overnight Sept. 1-2, about 4,500 gallons of an oil-water mixture was removed, according to the federal agency’s 7th District headquarters based in Miami.
Another 3,000 gallons was removed Sept. 2 and 7,200 gallons removed Sept. 3, including “a large amount of oily debris,” the Coast Guard said.
“Clean-up operations will continue until we are sure the oil is removed,” the Coast Guard said at the time.
• Anna Maria Island Bridge on State Road 64/Manatee Avenue: Single-lane closures — which were suspended for Hurricane Idalia — again can be expected 7 p.m.-6 a.m. through December. Meanwhile, work on a water line on the bridge was pushed back to late September or early October. For more, go to www. swflroads.com.
• City center in Holmes Beach: Work on the city’s project near the intersection of Gulf and Marina drives is not concluded. Traffic patterns can change. For the latest, check the city’s page on Facebook.
Manatee County’s work on a force main project is not concluded and traffic patterns can change. For the latest, go to amiprojects.io.
• Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach : Manatee County is relocating and replacing sewer lines along Gulf Drive South and 12th Street South remains closed to traffic. For the latest, go to amiprojects.io.
For area road watch information, go online to swflroads.com or dial 511
— Lisa Neff
On Sept. 4, the Coast Guard estimated about 6.4 tons of contaminated debris and absorbent materials were being disposed of in connection with the spill.
That day, the Coast Guard sent oil samples to be type-tested to assist in the investigation to the source of the spill and “responsible party.”
By Sept. 6, with about 95% of the surface oil removed, the Coast Guard was estimating that more than 19,000 gallons of oil and contaminated water had been cleaned up.
As of The Islander’s press time Sept. 11, the Coast Guard had not announced the results of its investigation.
— Lisa Neff
RIGHt: the U.S. Coast Guard addresses an oil spill Sept. 4 at SeaPort Manatee on tampa Bay. Manatee County owns and operates the deepwater port, where a spill was reported Sept. 1. Islander Photo: Courtesy @USCGSoutheast via X
By Kevin P. Cassidy Islander Reporter
With all of the locals at the Greg LaPensee Bowling Tournament Sept. 9 at Bowlero in Bradenton, the local restaurants and bars must have had a slow night.
There was no word on how much the Center of Anna Maria Island benefited from the event but it’s safe to say they scored some bucks.
Bowling, libations, snacks, raffles and a costume contest helped keep the crowd motivated to donate and also entertained.
Cassidy
As for the bowling, Cale Rudacille captured the top youth score with a 132, while reluctant participant Mikie Pletcher won the top female bowler — again — on a score of 150.
Hunter Parrish won top male bowler with an impressive score of 234, while the Anna Maria Dolphin Tours team of Ian Wenzel, Ben Webb Jr., Hunter Parrish and Jamal Williams took the prize in the team competition with a combined score of 974.
The costumes were a highlight of the night and this year’s contest entries were challenging, but Beach House Real Estate AKA the Jamaican Bobsled Team, came out on top, just ahead of Average Joes and the Cowboys from LaPensee Plumbing.
As for this writer, I realized early on why I don’t bowl more often … but a good time was had by all.
Key Royale news
The Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach held its annual Labor Day Tournament Sept. 4, with 40 golfers teeing up for the event.
Playing a combination scramble/shamble with a course set up to a par 46, the team of Robert Kingan, Don Tilden, Deb and Dave Richardson captured first place with a 2-under-par 44. The team of Mike Cusato, Ken Nagengast, Jana Samuels and Quentin Talbert
were a stroke back in second place.
Joe Coyne won the day’s putting contest, while Don Tilden sank the longest putt — 24 feet, 2 inches — on the second hole. Deb Richardson won closestto-the-pin among the women, while Fred Miller won for the guys. Margrit Layh had the longest drive for the women. Charlie Porter won longest drive among the men from the gold tees and Rich Visnow won for the men from the blues.
The golfers then enjoyed lunch on the patio. Horseshoe news
Two teams advanced to the knockout stage after
Anna Maria Dolphin tours, including Hunter Parrish, Benjamin Webb Jr., Jamal Williams and Ian Wentzel, are top bowlers on a combined score of 974 in the Sept. 9 Greg LaPensee-community center team bowling competition. Islander
posting 3-0 pool-play records during the Sept. 6 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall pits.
Tim Sofran earned the day’s bragging rights after cruising past Bob Baker and Tom Farrington 22-11.
Action Sept. 9 saw Baker and Farrington teamed up again. They cruised to a 25-7 victory over Billy Silver to win the day’s proceedings.
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.
ABOVe: Kim Bowersox, Karen Place, Diane Rossi, Nadine MacDermott, Mari ellen Kiefer and Renni Drigan show off their Barbiestyle at the Sept. 9 tournament.
Kevin P. Cassidy
RIGHt: Beach House
Real estate AKA the Jamaican Bobsled team, is the winner in the community center bowling tournament costume contest. Members are Don Purvis, Brian Johnson, Gavin Lee, Laura Johnson, Leah Purvis and Amy Lee. Islander
ABOVe: Prime Vacations bowlers and “Land Sharks” Andrea Powell, Chelsea Brown, Lisa Coba, Oskan Coba, Jackie Logard, Jamie Overmiller, Kelly Mantin, Ryan Cofrancesco, Amy Reid, Gunner Reid, Shannon Bigford and Cordel Cerer are ready to take a bite out of the lanes Sept. 9 at Bowlero. Islander Photo: Kevin P. Cassidy
Snook are back in season Sept. 1-Nov. 31.
So if you’re lucky enough to catch one in the slot of 28-33 inches, you can enjoy a snook dinner.
I’ve never considered September a great month to snook fish, but that doesn’t mean they’re not around.
With air temperatures still in the 90s and water temps following suit, you’re going to want to fish when the water is slightly cooler to increase your chances of motivating a monster linesider to take a bait.
Night fishing for snook is a great option, especially when looking for big fish. Dock fishing around lights or fishing the passes around the bridges is a good bet. When fishing the bridges, use larger baits, such as jumbo shrimp or pinfish or even a large shiner. If you’re dock fishing, normal size bait should get the job done.
If you stay off the snook for a while longer, you may want to get out on the water during the day to look for schooling redfish.
As September ushers in the peak of our rainy season, we should see an influx of redfish in Tampa Bay and to the south, as the Manatee River drains copious amounts of freshwater from its source, Lake Manatee.
Large amounts of freshwater pushes the reds that inhabit the river into the bay, causing concentrations to gather in staging areas throughout the flats. This, combined with the breeder schools of reds that come out of the Gulf of Mexico, can trigger quite a response for many of the flats anglers.
M advice: Get out early and locate the fish because I guarantee the crowds will be coming.
Nowadays with a new “look-at-me” mentality on social media, you can bet someone will post pictures and videos all over the Internet that evening. So, if you
Briana and Ashley Gagnier of Anna Maria show off a swordfish, caught Sept. 18 in the Florida Keys on a guided fishing trip with Capt. trae Sorensen of top Knotch Fishing Charters. the fish was caught on an electric reel versus the conventional rod and reel off of Marathon in the Atlantic in about 1,600 feet of water.
find the fish, enjoy it while you can and consider keeping it a secret because most likely the next time you go to fish the school, every Tom, Dick and Harriette will be there.
Capt. David White is happy to see an increase in the number of redfish that his clients are catching on inshore trips. Whether fishing mangrove edges, oyster bars or even along the beaches and passes, White is finding redfish for his anglers. Casting live shiners is working well to lure the reds to the hook, although crustaceans — crab and shrimp — are working, too. Snook are another target on White’s guided fishing trips, with live shiners as bait producing the best action. Snook are following suit with the redfish as to where to be caught. The beaches and passes are holding fish, as well as the mangrove shorelines on the flats. Lastly, mangrove snapper are being caught, although
Jennifer Laskey of tampa shows off a beautiful redfish caught on Labor Day on a guided fishing trip with Capt. David White of Anna Maria Charters. Laskey went home with directions on cooking her filets and the fish became dinner.
after the passing of Hurricane Idalia in the Gulf, they became tougher to locate.
Capt. Warren Girle is catching a variety of species while fishing the waters of Sarasota Bay. He reports that fishing deeper areas, such as channel edges and grass flats in 6-8 feet of water, is yielding some spotted seatrout as well as mangrove snapper. Both are being caught side by side by Girle’s clients while casting small live shiners as bait.
Occasionally, a rouge school of jacks or ladyfish is moving by, adding chaos to the bite but also variety and entertainment for Girle’s clients.
Fishing shallower flats in the 2- to 4-foot range is yielding action. Redfish and snook are the primary targets in these waters. Again, live shiners are working great as bait. Girle also adds that casting a topwater plug can be advantageous in these depths. Both snook and redfish will attack a plug twitching along the surface of the water which can result in some memorable strikes and great battles.
Jim Malfese at the northernmost fishing pier on Anna Maria Island, the Rod & Reel Pier, says he’s seeing some redfish being caught, often by anglers who come to the pier undergunned and with little experience, although they’re still managing to land a few.
Anglers using live shrimp as bait, usually on a weighted rig and cast under the pier are having success with the reds. Sizes are varying from 16 inches to up to 25 inches, so it’s best to use heavier gear as you don’t know what you’re going to hook into down there. There also are snook in Tampa Bay, hanging around the pier, with some exceeding the slot of 28-33 inches. So it’s best to go prepared.
With the water around the pier becoming tannincolored as an abundance of freshwater is flowing into the bay, the mangrove snapper bite has diminished slightly. Still, Malfese says determined anglers are managing to pull a few to the deck.
Lastly, migratory species such as jack crevalle and ladyfi sh are being caught as their schools pass through lower Tampa Bay by the pier. The fish will take a shrimp, although casting jigs or spoons at them is more effective.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.
Yellow stakes and pink ribbon marked 76 sea turtle nests Aug. 29 on Anna Maria Island beaches.
When Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring surveyed the beach Aug. 31, the morning after Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend area, stakes remained at just 12 nests.
AMITW estimated that about 16% of the nests for the season — 405 nests — were lost due to the storm.
“We lost 84% — 64 out of 76 —of the nests remaining on the beach when Hurricane Idalia came through but only 16% of all nests laid this year,” said AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella.
A week after the storm passed, The Islander checked in with Mazzarella for a status update.
The Islander: Did nests higher up in the dunes fare better than other nests during Idalia?
Kristen Mazzarella: Yes, the nests laid higher up in the dunes were the ones that remained after the storm.
Sea turtles lay multiple nests in a season and place them in different areas of the beach such that some portions of their nests are successful — with hatchlings reaching the ocean.
In the dunes, nests are more susceptible to predators and root invasion but they are protected from the tidal conditions and hatchlings have further to go to reach the water while mid-beach nests have more likelihood of getting overwashed by high tides and surf conditions but fewer are impacted by predators or roots and hatchlings have a shorter distance to reach the water.
The Islander: Are there any nests remaining in Bradenton Beach or on the Gulf shore in Anna Maria?
KM: After the storm we had four nests remaining on the Gulf side – all four were in Holmes Beach.
We also had eight nests remaining on the bayside in Anna Maria.
No nests were left in Bradenton Beach.
The Islander: In the data collection and reporting, does AMITW record and report details of a storm like Idalia?
KM: Yes, AMITW patrollers check every nest every day and record anything that happens to them, be it overwash by surf, predation by a raccoon, hatch or washout by a storm like Idalia.
Such data are important to understanding what happened to each nest.
At the end each season, all data are double checked, compiled and reported to Manatee County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The Islander: The season officially continues through October? How will AMITW continue through these final two months?
KM: AMITW will continue to monitor the nests that are on the beach until they have hatched or reach 70 days — the overdue date — and are excavated.
For some of the nests we will be checking them through October, while others will be done sooner.
We hope to see hatches from some of the remaining nests and possibly some unmarked hatches from nests that lost their stakes in the storm but were still viable.
The Islander: Do you have a take on how much erosion took place on the beaches during Idalia?
KM: Erosion is not something that AMITW measures across the entire beach.
We mark our nest stakes to determine if erosion or
WANNA BE STARTIN’ SOMETHIN’
BY RICH KATZ/ EDITED
BY WILL SHORTZ
Monitoring volunteers excavate a sea turtle nest Aug. 30 near the 30th Street beach access in Holmes Beach. the nest was one of 12 still marked with stakes following the passage Aug. 29-30 of Hurricane Idalia in the Gulf of Mexico. Islander
As of Sept. 9, AMItW had identified 404 nests, 438 false crawls, 295 hatched nests and about 22,995 hatchlings to the Gulf of Mexico. they also reported 85 disorientation incidents.
accretion or added sand happened over the nest sites. Accretion was documented on a few of the remaining nests and we definitely saw erosion in places where nests and their stakes were totally washed out. However, we cannot calculate the extent of the erosion or accretion from these data.
Stakes used to mark nests are left on Pine Avenue in Anna Maria following passage of Idalia.
No. 0903
“Once upon a blue moon” is how we can begin our Hurricane Idalia stories.
The moon rose Aug. 30 and it wasn’t just any full moon, it was a supermoon and a blue moon.
The tides rose Aug. 30 and they weren’t just any high tides, they were king tides.
At the same time, there was Idalia. The storm passed Anna Maria Island about 100 miles west in the Gulf of Mexico Aug. 29-30 and sent rain, wind and surge, flattening sea oats, scrubbing the shore of shells and sand, flooding residential neighborhoods and business districts.
Hours after Idalia made landfall 200-plus miles to the north at Keaton Beach, fl oodwater remained in parts of Anna Maria Island, delaying the return of AMI’s evacuees.
“Once upon a blue moon,” our Idalia story can begin.
But to tell the tale properly, we need to be able to talk about king tides, also known as perigean spring tides, which occur 6-8 times a year.
For a lesson on tides, a good place to start is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
What are the perigean spring tides or king tides?
The moon is the primary source of the gravitational forces that create tides, but the sun’s gravitational force also plays a role.
Twice a month, the Earth, the moon and the sun are aligned and create the new moon — when the moon is between the Earth and sun — and the full moon — when the Earth is between the moon and the sun.
During the new moon and the full moon, the combined gravitational force creates a larger than average range of tides, in other words, the high tides are higher and the low tides are lower.
The Sea Turtle Conservancy’s Tour de Turtles hard-shell marathon began Aug. 1 with 12 sea turtles being tracked using satellite telemetry to boost science, research and education.
Anna Maria Island’s entry, Suzi, is a loggerhead tagged and released June 27 at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach.
Suzi’s distance as of Sept. 8 in the Tour de Turtles: 687 miles.
Suzi’s ranking in the Tour de Turtles: Sixth. People can follow Suzi’s journey at tourdeturtles. org.
— Lisa NeffA map shows where Suzi, a loggerhead outfitted June 27 in Bradenton Beach with a tracking device, traveled through Sept. 8. Islander Screenshot
Such tides are called “spring tides.”
The proximity of the moon to the Earth also has an effect on tides.
Once during each of the moon’s 28-day elliptical orbits, the moon is at its closest point of approach to the Earth — the moon is at “perigee” and the range of tides is a larger than average.
As many as eight times a year, the spring tides associated with the new and full moons coincide with the moon being at perigee to create “perigean spring tides.”
Along the East and Gulf coasts, the largest king tides will be in the late summer and early fall.
On AMI, king tides usually spill over from the canals into yards or streets, especially along Marina Drive in Holmes Beach, and the tide pushes water up on the bayfront in Anna Maria.
But “once upon a blue moon,” the king tides coincided with a hurricane’s passage.
Additional high water events this year will be Sept. 26-27, with the highest predicted tide of 2.55 feet Sept. 27; Oct. 30-Nov. 1, with the highest predicted tide of 2.59 feet Oct. 31; and Nov. 14-17, with the highest predicted tide of 2.56 feet Nov. 16.
As many as eight times a year, a new or full moon coincides closely in time with the perigee of the moon — the point when the moon is closest to the earth. Such occurrences are called “perigean spring tides” or “king tides.” the high tides during perigean spring tides can be significantly higher than during other times of the year. Islander Image: Courtesy NOAA
Because environmental groups have been urging people in coastal communities to take notice of king tides for years, as the high-water events can demonstrate the impacts of sea level rise.
“King tides give us a preview of how and where sea level rise might affect local landscapes, which is important for anticipating and addressing hot spots for flooding and saltwater inundation,” says the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.
Some organizations, including the SBEP, conduct awareness and citizen science campaigns around king tides, inviting people to collect measurements for databases and also photograph locations at high, low and king tides.
There can be prizes involved in the photo contests.
So stay tuned.
YAMAHA eLeCtRIC KeYBOARD, including sustain pedal, stand and travel/storage container. $650. 239-691-5475.
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.
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)
More ads = more readers in the Islander.
Paradise Improvements
941.792.5600
RDI CONSTRUCTION INC.
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.
GOLF CARt ReNtALS: Fun for residents and tourists! www.GolfCartRentalAMI.com.
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 and nail technician, full or part-time. A Hair Day salon. 9516 Cortez Road, W., #7, Bradenton. 941-795-5227.
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.
more about pet adoption, visit moonraceranimalrescue.com.
SPONSOReD BY
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
SARASOtA INteRIOR PAINtING: We specialize in high-end properties. We love to paint! Owner operated. Fully insured/ licensed. Call or text Don, 941-900-9398. Instagram: SarasotaInteriorPainting.
ANNA MARIA GULF beachfront vacation rentals. One- two- and three-bedroom units, all beachfront. www.amiparadise.com. 941778-3143.
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.
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.
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: HOLMeS BeACH elevated 2BR/2BA. Lanai, garage, nice quiet area. $2,200month. Call 970-331-1042 for rental application.
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
VACAtION ReNtALS. WILDWOOD Springs. 2BR/2BA upgraded condo with heated pool and spa, available now through Dec. 15 at $2,000 per month. Perico Bay deluxe villa, 2BR/2BA and garage. Available November and December 2023. $4,000 monthly. January 2024 at $5,500 for the month. Real estate Mart, 941-356-1456.
“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.
WINNIe MCHALe, ReALtOR, 941-504-6146. 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.”
LOOKING FOR AN eARLY BIRD? You can read Wednesday’s classifieds on tuesday at islander.org. And it’s FRee!
Manatees are here. Boat with care.
The Islander joins the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce in welcoming new members to the chamber roster in September, including:
Accommodations: The Cottages on the Key, Matthew Farhat Jr., 941-400-2761.
Moving/Storage: Pampered Movers, John Renkawitz, Sarasota, 941-343-9443.
Recreational Rentals: Beach Guy Rentals and Better On Bikes, Kris Castagna, Bradenton Beach, 877-426-4386.
Restaurants/Bars/Delis/Markets: gRUB Tropical BBQ, Anna Maria, 941-900-2874.
Spas/Salons/Skincare: SpaPartyCentral.com, Tammy Regis, 941-216-5604.
The chamber’s membership drive continues through Oct. 15.
The nonprofit’s members can win an entry into a drawing for a free 2024 membership. as well as entry into other prize drawings.
Also, members who bring in new recruits gain marketing perks with the chamber.
For more, call the chamber at 941-778-1541 or go online to annamariaislandchamber.org.
Holmes Beach is among the top trending travel destinations this fall, according to a new report from TripAdvisor.
The platform released its fall travel index Sept. 9, detailing preferences for travel and trending vacation spots as the summer vacation season came to a close.
TripAdvisor highlighted Holmes Beach’s stunning beaches and opportunities for boating and fishing.
Little Torch Key, located west of Big Pine Key in the lower Florida Keys, topped the TripAdvisor list. It had earned recognition as “a hidden gem and one of the region’s best kept secrets” by Southern Living.
Indian Rocks Beach also made the list, with credit to a nearby nature preserve and plenty of bars and relaxing resorts.
For more good news, among travelers surveyed by TripAdvisor, 74% said they are planning a fall vacation and among their other choices are:
Miami Springs and Cape Canaveral in Florida, as wll as Hawley, Pennsylvania; Carefree, Arizona; Reno, Nevada; and Rutherford and Indio, California. TripAdvisor also found that international travel is increasing, exceeding prepandemic levels.
Cove boutique is bringing two more artists into its retail store, 104 Bridge St., Bradenton Beach.
Cove, a boutique selling “local art and inspired gifts for the ocean-minded spirit,” is bringing Mary Lant, a fabric artist and potter Justin Mastrangelo into
Thursday, Sept. 14
Lisa NeffTHIS WEEK
11:30 a.m.. — Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce lunch meeting, Freckled Fin, 5337 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Fee applies. Reservations required. Info: 941-778-1541, annamariaislandchamber.org.
Wednesday, Sept. 20
11:30 a.m. — Manatee Chamber of Commerce Power Connection luncheon, Seafood Shack, 4110 127th St. W., Cortez. Fee applies. Reservations required. Info: 941-748-3411.
SAVE THE DATE
Sept. 26, 8 a.m., Manatee chamber member orientation, Bradenton.
Sept. 28, 11:30 a.m., AMI chamber business card exchange, Slicker’s Eatery, Cortez.
Oct. 21, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., AMI chamber Bayfest, Anna Maria.
Anna Maria Island Privateers president MaryAnn “Maz” Zyla, left, ed “SeaDaddy”
its collective of artists.
To celebrate, the store will host a reception for the artists 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, offering, giveaways and grab bags for the first 20 visitors.
Store hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, contact the store at findyourcove@gmail.com or 941-780-5793.
The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce will bring a lunch crowd to the Freckled Fin at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 14.
The Fin, 5337 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, is hosting the chamber’s monthly luncheon 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Also in September, the chamber will hold its monthly business-card exchange at Slicker’s Eatery, 12012 Cortez Road W., Cortez.
The event will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Reservations are required and fees apply.
For more information, contact the chamber at 941778-1541 or go online to annamariaislandchamber. org.
