VOLUME 28, NO. 26
Celebrate safe-at-home on Earth Day
the Best news on Anna maria island since 1992
APRIL 22, 2020 free
islander.org
astheworldterns want the pier to open. 6 county extends curfews, travel limits. 2 coVid-19 cases in manatee by city, ZiP. 3 longevity, grit keep local businesses in the game. 4
Meetings. 4 Election 2020. 4 ‘essential’ workers report for duty. 5
Opinions. 6
And applause
10-20 Years ago
looking back. 7
island houses of worship flourish despite coVid-19. 8
Obituaries. 8-10 county clamors for coVid0-19 testing. 10 groups face challenges, seek ‘giving’ boost. 11
save a date. 11
GoodDeeds.
11
salute the frontline. 12 schools stay closed. 12
RoadWatch. 12 Streetlife. 13 Anna maria city Pier on cusp of completion. 14
NESTING NOTES. 16
earth day in every home. 17 ‘litter gitters’ clean up shores, roadsides. 18 April brings good inshore, offshore action. 19
PropertyWatch. 20
isl BiZ
CLASSIFIEDS. 20
open for takeout. 22
NYT puzzle.
23
#AMItogether
ABoVe: Blake medical center workers gather April 17 outside the hospital entry to cheer as first responders turn on their lights and sirens for a 30-second salute to the frontline defenders in the coVid-19 pandemic. see more, 12. islander Photo: chris-Ann Allen
Air kisses, food handout Anna maria elementary cafeteria manager “miss Annie” mousseau blows a kiss to a carload of students she knows from school, while assisting with drive-thru meal distribution April 17 at seabreeze elementary, 3601 71st st. W., Bradenton. rigHt: cynareata martin of seabreeze elementary and mousseau hand student meals to a driver April 17. islander Photos: Karen riley-love
island cities enforce rental restrictions, beach limits By ryan Paice islander reporter
Island enforcement teams were checking out neighborhood rentals for illegal checkins Easter weekend and the days following. One tool ordered by the state to curb the spread of the new coronavirus is a restriction on short-term vacation rentals. Gov. Ron DeSantis extended an executive order through April 30 that prohibits new rental reservations of less than 30 days and new check-ins for short-term rentals. The executive order, supported with directives from the island cities, does not prohibit stays at hotels and motels. Bradenton Beach Police Lt. John Cosby told The Islander April 16 that officers found violations over the holiday weekend among about 50 vacation rental properties in Bradenton Beach. No citations were issued by his department, he said. But the city’s list of violators was submitted to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. “The governor’s order charged them with enforcing it,” Cosby said of the state department. “Our only obligation was to report and we reported around 50.” Cosby said some people asked law enforcement to remove renters, but he lacked that authority. Holmes Beach, where an emergency order allowed for enforcement, reported April 17 that the police department checked 23 properties and identified one violation of the vacation rental ban Easter weekend, bringing the total to three for properties found in violation of the city/state order. Renters and property owners were issued notices to appear in court for violating the order and $250 citations for violating Mayor Judy Titsworth’s April 10 order against new
check-ins. Her order allowed HBPD to issue citations, with fines of $15-$5,000. Information also was submitted to the DBPR. Titsworth said HBPD also issued 69 parking tickets and towed seven vehicles over the holiday weekend. To enforce the Manatee County closure of public beaches to the gencosby eral public, Holmes Beach eliminated right-of-way parking near the beaches. However, Titsworth said to receive federal funding for beach renourishment, the city reopened titsworth
beach access parking the week of April 14. She said the city had more than 2,000 available parking spaces and could maintain federal funding for beach renourishment by opening less than 25% of them. “This will allow us a controlled reopening of the beaches once the beach closure mandates are lifted by the county,” Titsworth wrote in a newsletter. Cosby said illegal parking was not an issue for Bradenton Beach over Easter weekend — not one parking ticket was issued despite concerns for an influx of people driving to the beaches. Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy did not respond to an April 17 email from The Islander.
Ramping up one boat puts in at Kingfish Boat ramp in Holmes Beach while another hauls out mid-afternoon April 18. the ramp saw heavy usage in spite of storms earlier in the day. islander Photo: Bonner Joy
no hiccups opening boat ramps, ‘true test’ on horizon
The virus is known to spread by close contact and county concerns rose when large The floodgates were opened for Manatee numbers of boaters congregated at Passage County boaters, but waters remained calm. Key and Beer Can Island. The county closed public boat ramps However, several citizens spoke in oppoMarch 26 as it ramped up restrictions to curb sition to the restriction at county commission the spread of the novel coronavirus and halt meetings that followed. new cases of COVID-19. PleAse, see ramps, PAge 2
By ryan Paice islander reporter