The Islander Newspaper E-Edition: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Week 3: Sky sky blue
Amber Barth of Perico Island wins the third week of the Top Notch contest with this image, taken June 26 in Holmes Beach. “The most amazing sunset I’ve seen,” she wrote. The photographer will be entered into the finals, which offers a grand prize of $100 from The Islander and gift certificates from Islander advertisers. See page 2 and islander.org for contest details. Send entries to topnotch@islander.org. Islander Contest Photo
To enter the Top Notch contest, email photos to topnotch@ islander.org. But first, go online to islander.org and read the contest rules.
Top Notch
Island officials discuss regulating beach rental cabanas
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
Difficult discussions about commercialization of Anna Maria Island’s beaches are popping up across the island.
City officials in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach discussed advertising on beach cabanas during separate city commission meetings over the week of July 21. Bradenton Beach officials previously broke the ice and discussed the matter at commission meetings July 10 and July 17.
Over the course of those meetings, city officials agreed that unregulated commercial beach setups, such as rented beach cabanas, are problematic due to environmental and public safety
Anna Maria
Mayor Mark Short opened up discussion on the matter during a July 24 meeting.
Short said the entirety of the city’s beaches are zoned for coastal conservation or recreation and neither zoning district allows for commercial activity — including cabana services.
City attorney Becky Vose added that only monopole equipment, like umbrellas, are permitted for use in the coastal conservation zone.
However, Vose said the city is not enforcing either prohibition.
She said the city’s ability to regulate commercial activity on the beach
is “pretty wide open.”
Commission Chair Charlie Salem said city officials could discuss the matter at future meetings and a potential workshop.
In the meantime, he said, they would work with staff to come up with ideas for how to address the issue.
Salem added that he hoped the city could implement regulations consistent with the other two island cities, since they also are discussing the matter.
Short said cabana rental services would be allowed to continue operating until the commission comes to a decision.
Short stressed that the issue is not limited to regulating beach cabanas, but
New shopkeepers fill post-storm void in Holmes Beach
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
The devastation caused by last year’s storm season uprooted some Holmes Beach businesses.
But several new shops are now growing in their place.
According to city records, 62 business tax accounts were closed following hurricanes Helene and Milton, while 14 new tax receipts were issued after the 2024 storms.
Silena Hammond, owner of Distractions on the Island, 5306 Holmes Blvd., Suite 800, told The Islander July 18 about her paint-your-own-pottery art studio’s start in the city.
It is Hammond’s second studio, with the fi rst located in High Point, North Carolina.
HB man arrested for attempting wife’s murder
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
Holmes Beach police and Manatee County sheriff’s deputies arrested resident Douglas Naeher, 60, July 21 for allegedly attempting to murder his wife, a first-degree felony.
Naeher also faces a first-degree misdemeanor charge for domestic battery.
According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, Naeher and his wife set out on their boat around 7 a.m. July 20 on a fishing trip. While fishing about 33 miles off Bean Point in Anna Maria, Naeher became irritated and his wife went swimming.
Naeher allegedly began to drive off without her, but he returned when another vessel came into view.
The affi davit states that when the wife climbed back into the boat, Naeher started punching and stomping her head, at which point she played dead so he would stop hitting her.
Naeher then allegedly dragged his wife by her hair into the water and attempted to “strangle and drown her.”
As the other vessel approached, Naeher allegedly let her go and began to drive away, leaving his wife in the water. However, she held onto the vessel and climbed back aboard when Naeher stopped the boat.
He then allegedly struck her “several more times” before shoving her
Last December, she moved Distractions into a “perfect” spot between the Freckled Fin Irish Pub and The Doctor’s Office, a restaurant and craft bar.
Hammond said business started slow, as the island was recovering from the storms, but gained steam.
“I don’t really know what our first year will be like in the sense that it’s not what you would call a typical or normal year,” Hammond said. “So this is definitely a good year as a new business to be like, ‘OK, we’re going to learn and grow as we go here and see what next year holds for us.’”
However, she said the fact that the space flooded during last year’s storms
Hammond grew up in Bradenton and spent many days running around the island as a kid. After several years away, she returned in 2020 and began looking for a studio location.
had her holding her breath heading into the thick of this year’s hurricane season.
“We hope for the best and deal with what comes,” Hammond added.
The nearby Love That Permanent Jewelry, 5306 Holmes Blvd., Unit #720, also is new in town.
The business opened in May and offers “permanent” jewelry created with chains and charms custom-fitted for customers and welded without clasps.
Owner Paige Cogar missed spring break but said the business was off to a “great” start.
for business July
Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
TURN TO AMI CABANAS, PAGE 15
Madelyn Altenbernd of Distractions On The Island opens
17 in Holmes Beach. Islander Photo: Robert Anderson
Municipal matters
Here we go
Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short told The Islander in a July 25 email that the city, at its July 24 meeting, issued a proclamation honoring Sheila Brunger, who served as the city’s postmaster for 12 years and retired that day after a long career with the postal service.
“Sheila will be missed by the residents of the city and we thanked her for her years of service to the city,” Short said.
Also at the city meeting, Waste Management presented an update to its request to amend the waste removal schedule and offer side-door service citywide without an extra charge. (See story, p. 5.)
The commission is expected to discuss the waste removal proposal at the next meeting.
Commissioners also discussed commercial activity on the beaches. Short said beaches in the city are zoned either coastal conservation or recreation, and a significant portion of the beaches are private property to the mean high-tide mark.
He said the commission discussed commercial activities on the beach and heard feedback from property owners, cabana rental companies and the city attorney. (See story, p. 1.)
Short said “no actions were taken and this matter will be discussed further at the next city meeting.”
Short also noted that the commission approved a maximum millage rate of 1.65 mills.
Commissioners will set the final millage in September, according to Short. (Story, page 3.)
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said she appreciates “the great discussion” with the commissioners July 25 on millage and stormwater fees.
At their direction, “We will hold off on some stormwater improvements, while moving forward on our $1M DEP Resiliency Project,” she said. The grant is already committed, adding, “We’re nearly ready to break ground.
“Carol Whitmore asked to push this to future years but that is not an option due to grant deadlines. This important improvement will address fl ooding concerns on Gulf Drive and will add infrastructure to allow drainage to the east-side outfalls, relieving some flooding along Holmes Boulevard.”
City engineer Sage Kamiya will develop a city-
1949-built motel demolished
Employees from Sarasota-based KADD Demolition use excavators July 22 to demolish and remove the Anna Maria Motel and Resort Apartments, 808 N. Bay Blvd., Anna Maria, built in 1949 by Carlos and Irene Wells. The property, owned by Illinois residents Daniel and Christine Horvat, sustained damage during hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. Daniel Horvat, who also owns the Illinois-based Horvat Design group, did not respond to a July 23 call from The Islander. Islander Photo: Bonner Joy
wide stormwater plan.
“With 50- to 75-year old infrastructure throughout the city, I had hoped to replace, upsize and add storm drains and inlets for some critical complaint-driven areas, but we will accomplish as much as we are able at the current funding.”
Another hot topic was a request by Whitmore to consider revising the sign code to allow commercial signage on the beach.
Titsworth’s response to Whitmore and the other commissioners is, “I stand strong in my belief that opening the shoreline to signage would destroy the ambiance of our beaches and commercialization would be unenforceable.”
— Bonner Joy
Anna Maria P&Z discusses proposed lot division
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
The division of one Anna Maria property is a city commission vote and owner decision away from becoming reality.
Planning and zoning board members unanimously voted July 16 to recommend city commission approval of a proposed subdivision of a parcel at 102 Tuna St. into two platted lots, 102 Tuna and 104 Tuna St.
The P&Z is an advisory board that reviews proposed ordinances, variances, special exception requests and more for compliance with municipal code.
Charles Webster Jr. purchased the property at 102 Tuna St. in January 2021 and the neighboring property at 105 Tuna St. in March 2022. Webster then unified the adjacent unplatted lots into one lot in November 2022.
The proposed subdivision would return the land to its previous configuration as two smaller lots. However, the existing homes would not meet setback and minimum yard requirements, so Webster must demolish them or obtain a variance before the subdivision can be recorded with Manatee County.
Monica Simpson, an agent for the applicant, attended the meeting and said Webster was at a “crossroads” — uncertain if he wanted to put the property on the market as teardown lots or to market it as two rentable houses.
The proposal also would change the address of the second lot at 105 Tuna St. to 104 Tuna St., since it is located on the side of the roadway with even-numbered addresses, which has resulted in confusion.
City planner Ashley Austin said staff recommended approval of the proposed subdivision.
P&Z members Jeff Rodencal and David Johnson expressed a lack of comfort with recommending the subdivision’s approval without also having the potential variance to maintain the two existing homes on the property.
City attorney Becky Vose said a variance would require a separate process.
P&Z member Christine Aaron moved to recommend city commission approval and Johnson seconded the motion, which passed.
The proposed subdivision is now set to go before the city commission for consideration at a future meeting.
The commission will meet next at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
HB commissioners adopt seawall ordinance
The city of Holmes Beach has some new rules for seawalls within the municipality.
City commissioners unanimously voted July 25 to adopt an ordinance that provides regulations for shoreline stabilization and construction, like seawalls.
The ordinance adds several definitions, sets a maximum elevation of 6 feet above the North American
Election 2025
Qualifying ahead for AM, HB
Qualifying to run for elected offices on Anna Maria Island opens in August.
Qualifying in Anna Maria will be noon Aug. 18-noon Aug. 29.
Qualifying in Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach will be noon Aug. 25-noon Aug. 29.
The offices up for election in Anna Maria include three commission seats for two-year terms. The seats currently are held by John Lynch, Charles Salem and also Kathleen Morgan, who is listed as an active candidate on the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website.
Holmes Beach’s election will include three twoyear commission seats. Steven Oelfke, Terry W. Schaefer and Carol Soustek hold the seats.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
For more information, go to votemanatee.gov or 941-741-3823.
— lisa Neff
BB mayor to seek reelection, 1 commissioner won’t run
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie announced July 25 that he will seek reelection Nov. 4.
Commissioner Jan Vosburgh, whose present twoyear term is up, said she will not run again. She has served 11 years as commissioner since moving to the city in 2003.
Chappie, a nearly 50-year resident of the city, has served more than 12 years as mayor in two separate sixyear stints, as well as six years as a commissioner. He cited continuing recovery from the 2024 hurricanes as a reason to seek another two years at the helm. “We have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.
Vice Mayor Debbie Scaccianoce confirmed July 26 that she will seek election this year. She was appointed in December 2023 to fill the seat vacated by Jake Spooner.
Commissioner Ralph Cole is up for a one-year term due to a change in ward numbering and boundaries. Cole had not responded to Islander inquiries as of July 28.
The candidate qualifying period is noon Aug. 25-noon Aug. 29.
— Robert Anderson
Top Notch
Photo contest continues
The Islander’s Top Notch contest is underway.
The contest celebrates what still is known as the “Kodak moment” despite Kodak’s downfall in the shift from film to digital technology.
The Kodak moment celebrates “on the spot” photography — unplanned and unstaged — but capturing a memorable moment.
Look to Friday, Aug. 1, for the next deadline.
One weekly shot will take the grand prize in the contest, earning the photographer a $100 prize from The Islander and certificates from local merchants.
There also is a pet photo contest for weekly submissions and a winner announced in the final week of the contest.
Look online for rules. All rules at islander.org must be observed.
Vertical Datum of 1988 for seawalls.
It also requires an applicant to submit a drainage plan from a licensed engineer for seawall height increases that propose to modify the preconstruction grade landward of the seawall in excess of 6 inches.
The city’s planning commission unanimously voted July 9 to find the ordinance consistent with the municipality’s comprehensive plan.
There was no public comment or commission discussion on the item during the July 25 meeting.
City Commissioner Carol Soustek moved to adopt the ordinance. Commissioner Carol Whitmore seconded the motion, which passed.
— Ryan Paice
Short Titsworth
AM sets maximum millage, explores stormwater tax increase
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
The city of Anna Maria’s budgeting process for fiscal 2025-26 has begun.
Mayor Mark Short presented $27,238,000 in projected revenues for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, during a July 24 city commission meeting.
That preliminary figure represents a nearly $10 million increase over this year’s revenue of $17,805,840.
The increase can be attributed to a spike in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency — from $2,217,300 to a projected $8,647,500 next year.
Short said the FEMA funding included reimbursement for money spent in fiscal 2024-25, anticipated assistance with rebuilding the Anna Maria City Pier’s walkway, as well as anticipated reimbursement for emergency stormwater work.
Another reason behind the inflated revenues for fiscal 2025-26 is $4,075,000 in debt the city plans to accrue before it receives reimbursement funding.
One thing that will not inflate next year: the millage rate.
Short proposed setting the current rate of 1.65 mills as the tentative millage rate for fiscal 2025-26. The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of property value used to calculate ad valorem property taxes.
Under the current 1.65 millage rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 pays $825 in property taxes.
While that rate would not change, the city’s total taxable value increased by 6.48% — from $2,328,488,174 to $2,479,351,952 — so the municipality will net $104,362 more than it earned this year in ad valorem taxes.
Anna Maria was the only city on the island
increase in stormwater assessment fees.
The current fee is $2 per 100 square feet of property, resulting in a $100 annual stormwater fee for a 5,000-square-foot property.
Short said city staff identified more than $15 million in stormwater projects that need to be completed. He proposed increasing the city fee to $4 per 100 square feet.
Short said about $300,000 worth of stormwater improvements would need to be deferred if the city did not increase its fee.
Commission Chair Charlie Salem said he was reluctant to increase them and argued that money could be taken from elsewhere to fund improvements.
He suggested holding off on the recommended increase.
“We will have additional money next year to look at this and other priorities at a time when people are maybe a little better on their feet,” Salem said.
On the other hand, Commissioner Gary McMullen supported the proposed increase, which he called “reasonable.”
to record an increase in total taxable property value, according to the Manatee County Property Appraiser.
Commissioner Gary McMullen moved to approve Short’s recommended 1.65 tentative millage rate for fiscal 2025-26. Commissioner Kathleen Morgan-Johnson seconded the motion, which passed with a 4-0 vote.
Commissioner Christopher Arendt was absent with excuse.
Now that a tentative millage rate has been set, the city can only adopt a millage rate of 1.65 mills or less for the upcoming fiscal year. Meanwhile, the city will explore a potential
“These things have got to be done. There’s just no way around it,” McMullen said.
City clerk Amber LaRowe said no immediate action could be taken, since the municipality would need to send mailers to property owners by Aug. 8 to notify them of the intent to explore a fee increase.
Commissioners reached a consensus to move forward with notifying property owners.
The commission will meet next at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Click! The Islander welcomes news of the milestones in readers’ lives … including celebrations for weddings, anniversaries, births and birthdays. Submit your notices and photos to news@islander.org.
▼ Modern Chop Happy Hour Light Bite Specials 4-6, lounge only.
▲ Martini Monday: Signature Martinis, $7, plus 1/2 price lite bites -- lounge only.
▼ Tuesday: $3 Tacos and Margaritas 4-9, lounge only.
▲ Wine Down Wednesday, 5O% OFF Wines by the Glass
▼ Live Maine Lobster Thursdays, plus Happy Hour in the lounge all nite.
The city of Anna Maria awaits a request for proposals to construct an 800-foot-plus walkway for access to the city pier as budgeting talks begin.
Islander Photo: Capt. Scott Moore
McMullen
laRowe
HB sets millage, scraps stormwater hike
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
A ceiling for the city of Holmes Beach’s millage rate for fiscal 2025-26 has been set.
City commissioners voted 3-2 July 25 to set the 2.1812 rollback rate as the municipality’s maximum millage for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Commissioners Dan Diggins and Carol Whitmore voted “no.”
The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of property value used to calculate property taxes.
At the current 1.99 millage rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 pays $995 in property taxes.
The 2.1812 rollback rate would raise $6,725,765 in fiscal 2025-26, the same amount of revenue that the municipality collected this year.
While the city would collect the same amount in property taxes, the rollback rate for next year represents a 9.6% increase over the current millage due to an 8.15% decrease in total taxable property value.
Under the 2.1812 rollback rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 would pay $1,090.60 in property taxes.
Several attendees spoke during public comment and asked the city to consider maintaining or decreasing the current 1.99 millage rate despite the decrease in total taxable property value.
Resident Renee Ferguson said many residents dipped into pensions and savings to pay for repairs and restoration insurance did not cover following hurricanes Helene and Milton last year.
“Asking the people right now to tighten their belts just seems unfair,” Ferguson said. “I think the city really has to think about tightening theirs.”
The city’s budget and millage rate do not have to be finalized until September, but the municipality must set a maximum millage rate heading into budgeting season.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said the draft budget was prepared with the 2.1812 rollback rate as the millage, but recommended setting the maximum millage to 2.25 mills to provide a buffer as budget figures are determined.
Whitmore said she would not support the rollback
“Anna Maria Island” a signed pictorial history book of the island by Bonner Joy, is available for $20 at Island Mail & Print, 3230 East Bay Drive, Holmes Beach, or by mail. Visit islander.org or call 941778-7978. $20 plus postage, if mail order.
rate as the maximum millage for fiscal 2025-26 since it represented a tax hike. She suggested the city maintain its current 1.99 millage rate, even if it would result in a decrease in ad valorem tax revenue.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer moved to use the 2.1812 rollback rate as the maximum millage for the upcoming fiscal year. Commissioner Carol Soustek seconded the motion, which passed.
Stormwater assessment fees
Commissioners also voted 3-2 to shoot down Schaefer’s motion to increase the municipality’s stormwater assessment fees to $4.95 per 100 square feet of property.
Commissioners Steve Oelfke, Soustek and Whitmore voted in opposition to the motion. Schaefer and Diggins voted in favor.
The current fee is $2.95 per 100 square feet of property, resulting in a $147.5 annual stormwater fee for a 5,000-square-foot property.
Discussion of a potential increase in stormwater assessment fees began at a July 15 meeting, when city engineer Sage Kamiya floated the idea of raising the rate to pay for a $21.9 million slate of stormwater improvement projects over the next five years.
Talks of such an increase ended at the July 25 meeting.
Schaefer moved to increase stormwater assessment fees to $4.95 per 100 square feet of property. He said city officials should not ignore recommendations from its experts.
Diggins said stormwater improvements were one of the most critical aspects of the city, so he supported Schaefer’s proposed increase to $4.95.
However, Soustek argued that she, like many other residents, was still recovering financially from last year’s storms and could not support increasing the fee.
“This year is different. To me, this year is a year to say, ‘Let’s just try to get our feet back underneath us,’” she said. “I cannot ask the residents for more money.”
Oelfke and Whitmore agreed.
No other motion was made to increase the stormwater assessment fee after Schaefer’s failed.
The city will hold a first public hearing for a final budget and millage rate at 5:01 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
A second and potentially final public hearing for the budget will be at 5:01 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, also at city hall.
Beach day birthday
Angelina Kolokythas, 7, celebrates her birthday July 22 with mom Jenny Zheng of Maryland during a beach day near a seashell-covered driftwood tree on Beer Can Island on north longboat Key. Islander Photo: Robert Anderson
Hb MURDER CONTINuED FROM PAgE 1
overboard. She once again held onto the vessel and reboarded it.
Naeher allegedly continued battering her along the voyage home, until he had to actively pilot the vessel through a canal to their residential dock.
When he slowed down to dock the vessel, she jumped onto the dock and ran to the Holmes Beach Police Department to report the incident.
She was transported to the HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton to be treated for a concussion and multiple contusions.
Naeher fled the island but was arrested upon his return to their residence the next day.
He was transported to the Manatee County jail, where he remained in custody under a $30,000 bond as of July 27.
Naeher filed a not guilty plea July 23 and moved to reduce his bond at a July 25 court hearing. His motion was denied at the same hearing by Judge Teresa Kaklis Dees of the 12th Circuit Court.
If convicted, punishment for a first-degree felony includes life imprisonment without parole or death.
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 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
WMFR discusses growth, changes
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
The state’s fire rescue landscape is changing. And the West Manatee Fire Rescue District is planning its course through that shifting landscape ahead of time.
Deputy Chief Jay Johnson presented the WMFR board of commissioners July 15 a “comprehensive strategic vision” for the district, which has three fire stations and three shifts, each staffed with a battalion chief or shift commander, a shift captain, two lieutenants and 10 firefighters.
However, passage of House Bill 929 into law during the 2025 legislative session will result in changes for districts like WMFR. The bill mandates new rules, such as work schedules that do not exceed 42 hours per week.
Johnson said the culmination of the legislative change alongside increasing service demands, personnel needs and aging infrastructure, had the district at the precipice of significant change.
“Not to overdramatize the situation, but to be candid and direct with you, we are at a pivotal moment in our organization’s evolution,” he said.
Johnson said the transition to a 42-hour week while maintaining the district’s current staffing levels would result in staff loss, increased burnout and turnover, increased liability and delayed response times.
He said the district would need a fourth shift of 14 new personnel, as well as a new fire inspector, to maintain operational status quo.
At an average estimated total cost of about $200,000 per employee, Johnson said it would cost the district about $3 million over two years to achieve that level of staffing.
However, Chief Ben Rigney’s vision is for WMFR to exceed the status quo, according to Johnson.
That vision includes establishing an incident management team and implementing in-house advanced life-support transports.
Johnson provided plans and cost estimates for “good,” “better” and “best” scenarios.
The “good” scenario would involve increasing the district’s operational personnel to 64 people at $5.4 million over a minimum of three years.
The “better” scenario would involve increasing operational personnel to 76 people and the addition of two island ALS transport units at $8.4 million over a minimum of four years.
The “best” scenario would make the district into a full-service department with 92 operational personnel at a cost of $12 million over six years.
Commissioner Derrick Warner said he was “excited” to see such a plan.
Johnson said he would work with Rigney to provide commissioners with a better idea of capital layout for the chief’s vision.
Plan now for summer!
Is your business ready to make the most of summer and Labor Day? Improve your odds of success with Islander newspaper readers looking to shop and dine, seeking indoor and outdoor fun, and a place to stay for their next visit. Call or text 941-778-7978.
AM waste contractor offers added service
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
Consistency of coverage might help with Waste Management’s consistency of service in Anna Maria.
WM government affairs manager Brenna Haggar announced at a July 24 city commission meeting that the company is implementing citywide side-door service.
WM is contracted through June 28, 2026, to provide waste removal services, including yard waste, recycling and solid waste on Mondays, as well as a second pickup of solid waste on Thursdays.
However, city officials have called for improvements in service quality, especially with the side-door trash and recycling service, which has employees retrieving, dumping and returning waste bins to the side of residential customers homes for an extra cost.
All non-homesteaded residential properties within the city, including vacation rentals, are required to subscribe to the service.
Haggar said about 80% of properties within the municipality use WM’s side-door service, and keeping track complicates the route.
However, she said the company wanted to explore
“I love doing it,” Cogar said. “I still kind of pinch myself that I have a little beach boutique. It’s always been the dream.”
Janalee Gallagher, owner of AMI Beach & Dog Supply Co. in the Island Shopping Center at 5402 Marina Drive, told The Islander July 25 that her business also was doing well since moving from Pine Avenue in Anna Maria for more foot traffic.
The pet store reopened on Pine last November despite sustaining damage and losing merchandise to the 2024 hurricanes. While Gallagher’s store had a successful holiday season, other nearby businesses — and the usual foot traffic — had not returned by early 2025.
“We thought that we probably needed to make a drastic move to make sure that we were going to be successful this year,” she said.
When Gallagher found space at the Island Shopping Center, she jumped at the opportunity.
AMI Beach & Dog Supply Co. opened its Holmes Beach location in May, around the same time as several other center businesses reopened, including True Value Hardware, the Sun & Surf Beach Shop and the Feast Restaurant.
“We all got here and opened around the same time, and it was perfect,” Gallagher said. “It was all we needed to kind of kick things off down here.”
The store’s new location also comes with other benefits, according to Gallagher.
She said its proximity to other businesses that operate into the evening allowed her store to stay open until 8 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Commissioner Christopher Arendt’s recommendation from a previous meeting: implementing side-door service for all properties.
Haggar said WM leadership thought it was a great idea and would explore citywide side-door service through the remainder of the current contract term.
She said homesteaded residential properties would not be charged for the extra service, while those that do will no longer be charged starting in October.
“We do think that this is the best way to improve service on the island,” Haggar said.
That change will become part of a proposed contract amendment that includes a shift in service days.
Under the proposal, yard waste removal will remain on Mondays, but recycling and solid waste collection will be changed to Tuesdays and Fridays. Recycling will be completed in two parts, with WM collecting recycling at half of the properties on Tuesdays and the other half on Fridays.
Short said the proposed contract amendment would go before city commissioners for consideration at a future meeting.
The city commission will meet next at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
“Since (Small Town Creamery) is open and the Feast is right here and the Doctor’s Offi ce is right across the street, we do a decent nighttime business now, which we did not have before,” Gallagher said.
Nevertheless, she added that she — like Hammond — was “anxious” to make it through hurricane season.
“We’re anxious to get through this season and see what fall and winter bring for this new location,” Gallagher said.
Hb sHOPs CONTINuED FROM PAgE 1
Christina Santellana of Indianapolis, right, paints a watermelon bowl, while her daughter, Mackenzie, 9, paints a turtle July 17 at Distractions On The Island, 5306 Holmes Blvd., Suite 800, Holmes Beach. Islander Photo: Robert Anderson
On your mark
The players are starting to line up at the starting gate for island elections.
If there’s any planning time to go into a run for public office, now is that time.
Qualifying in Anna Maria kicks off Aug. 18. Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach will follow starting Aug. 25 with a deadline of Aug. 29 for all.
During that window, the candidates must open a bank account, name a campaign treasurer and deposit a minimum of funds to pay the election supervisor’s fee. No payments for election costs can be made from their personal bank accounts — only the election account.
They also have to collect a number of qualified voter signatures, file a financial disclosure and they have either 11 or five days to do so, depending on the city where they live.
They have to sign an affidavit attesting to residency in the city — but we learned in recent election years that has no teeth to it. If they don’t really live in the city, the supervisor has no authority to challenge the document.
That really needs to be addressed in our election laws because truth and honesty should also be required of any potential public officeholder.
There’s a lot to learn and a lot of rules to abide in the “candidate’s handbook” that is provided by the supervisor of elections.
Meanwhile, the mayors and commissioners currently serving our three cities are deep into budgeting — it’s tax-and-spend season on Anna Maria Island and pretty much everywhere as the fiscal year for most government entities wraps up Sept. 30.
You can be thankful that, at least for now, there’s plenty more time to talk over the budgets and keep in mind that many of the taxpayers in all three cities are struggling to recover from last year’s hurricanes.
They are — mind you, not all, but most — aware that a tax increase on people who don’t have a home to live in is not a good idea.
Neither an ad valorem increase nor a stormwater assessment hike is welcome by people still trying to recover from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
We’d like for people to have a roof to live under before government raises their taxes.
And considering the number of senior homeowners on fixed incomes, trying to live within their means, rising taxes could bring another hardship to their door.
We hope our public officials will think with their hearts this year and minimize their urge to tax and spend.
— Bonner Joy, news@islander.org
Murphy
Uncle George’s zipper parade
When my wife and I started the island’s St Patrick’s Day Parade over 25 years ago, we did not know we had a parade heritage.
My great-great-uncle,
Father Malcom, founded the original St Patrick’s Day Parade in Cork in the 1830s. The Murphy family owned breweries and distilleries and Father’s parade was in support of temperance. Sounds like one of those Catholic guilt things.
My favorite parade was what we called “Uncle George’s Zipper Parade.”
George called Cousin Mike — an emergency room doctor at the hospital.
Cousin Mike immediately appreciated the gravity of George’s dilemma. He called about a dozen cousins over to the house to evaluate George’s condition and consult on a course of action. Doctor Mike administered healthy doses of Nova Scotian black rum to moderate the cousins’ stress levels.
After some considerable rum-medicating and giggling, the boys resolved to transport Uncle George to the emergency room by ambulance.
Because of the urgency of the situation, Cousin Tommy, a police sergeant, called in a couple of squad cars to act as escort.
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My Uncle George loved putting rum in his cooking. His beans were particularly lethal.
George got the beans, pork and brown sugar going in a huge iron crock on the stove. Then he turned it down low and loaded in the rum. He next built a hardwood fi re in a hole in the backyard. When the fi re turned to coals, he took the cast iron pot from the stove, put it in the hole and covered it with gravel and sand. The pot would bake all day and then cool through the night.
It was the original Nova Scotian slow cooker.
Losing the rum’s alcohol in the cooking drove George crazy. It seemed a terrible waste.
He tried to seal in the alcohol by wrapping the crock in a space-age aluminum blanket he bought to keep warm at hockey games.
He sealed the whole thing up with duct tape and put the crock in the hole with the red-hot coals.
George washed down all that cooking and digging with a couple of beers. The beers necessitated taking relief through the back fence into McGillicuddy’s yard. Uncle George and McGillicuddy had been bickering all their lives. He and McGillicuddy were forever peeing back and forth through that fence.
Cousin Glenn the fire inspector got a pumper.
Uncle George and his zippered appliance moved off in a parade of sirens and flashing lights and hornhooting cousins.
When George finally got to the hospital, Cousin Mike had arranged for the entire emergency room staff to meet him out front.
Uncle Tommy, a press photographer, was there so the town’s citizenry could be kept abreast of developments. Photographs of our first responders and Uncle George as a tragic victim were preserved for posterity in the family’s Christmas gift calendar.
Uncle George was safely extracted from the zipper and the celebration of this medical miracle went on into the wee hours.
Uncle George has gone to his reward, but memories of his parade live on.
— Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy is proprietor of the Doctor’s Office and the Doctor’s garden, a craft cocktail bar with fine dining in an intimate setting in Holmes Beach.
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When the beans blew, the blast scared the bejeezuz out of George. He zipped up real fast and caught a bit of his equipment in the zipper. No amount of cussing or jiggling or dancing around could get him uncaught.
Please, submit opinions with name, address and phone number to news@islander.org. Only the name and city are published.
Your opinion
Unsafe for swimming
Thank you for your recent report (The Islander, July 16) about how bacteria is contaminating the places we love to go swimming.
Beach pollution is more common than most people think. As noted in your article, a new report by Environment Florida Research & Policy Center shows that 58% of Florida beaches tested last year were unsafe for swimming on at least one day due to fecal bacteria, with Palma Sola’s south beach in Manatee County potentially unsafe on 20 days tested.
Swimming in water with unsafe bacteria levels can cause gastrointestinal illness, respiratory disease, ear and eye infection and skin rash.
Here in 21st century Florida, we shouldn’t tolerate such threats to our health and enjoyment of the waters. Instead, we should fix our wastewater infrastructure to stop the sewage and runoff pollution that so often
Sinking off the coast of Bradenton Beach
The Regina, a 300-foot barge — a converted tanker — carrying 350,000 gallons of molasses sinks March 8, 1940, offshore of Bradenton Beach. People gathered on the beach to watch the Regina go down. The barge had been caught in stormy seas. Seven in the crew were rescued but a cook, Severino Canisares, and the ship’s mascot, a german shepherd dog, died trying to swim to shore. Islander
Photo: Courtesy Manatee County Public library System
brings nasty bacteria to our beaches.
Families looking for the latest health advisories and information from their favorite local beaches can find our report at environmentamerica.org/florida/ center/resources/safe-for-swimming/.
Devon Bell, summer associate, Environment Florida Research & Policy Center
Q&A The Islander poll
10-20-30 years ago
From the July 27, 1995, issue
• A report presented to the Holmes Beach Planning Commission estimated daily traffic to the island would increase by more than 2,000 vehicles by 2010.
• The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce raised $4,100 with the raffle of a Dodge Caravan. The chamber sold 772 tickets at $25 per ticket.
From the July 27, 2005, issue
• Anna Maria Mayor SueLynn presented draft language for a voter referendum to study the feasibility of consolidating island governments or government services.
• Authorities closed Coquina Beach to swimmers for two days after water tests showed high levels of harmful bacteria. Health advisories also were issued for other island beaches.
• The Regina, a shipwreck off the coast in Bradenton Beach, was nominated for listing on the National Historic Registry. A year earlier, the Regina was designated as a Florida Underwater Aquatic preserve.
From the July 29, 2015, issue
• Bradenton Beach commissioners selected Anna Maria Oyster Bar as the next concessionaire on the Historic Bridge Street Pier from a group of five bidders.
A dining must when vacationing:
A. No. 1 rated restaurant
B. Diner or dive
C. Trendy spot
D. Room service
E. “Famous for” menu item
To answer the poll and see poll results, go to islander.org.
You can help preserve your community news by investing in the future. The Islander print and E-edition is free for now and we need your help to ensure it stays that way, but
• The city of Anna Maria wanted a change in judges in the lawsuit filed over its vacation rental ordinance because the presiding judge and his wife had worked for one of the plaintiffs.
• Manatee County officials were trying to decide how to spend $1.4 million from a BP oil spill settlement.
— lisa Neff
Compiled by lisa Neff, calendar@islander.org
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
ONGOING ON AMI
• Throughout August, Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island exhibit, Artists’ Guild Gallery, 5414 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941778-6694, www.amiartistsguildgallery.com.
• Most third Mondays, 1 p.m., Center of Anna Maria Island Book Club, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria. Info: 941-778-1908, centerami.org.
ONGOING OFF AMI
• Through July 30, “Art from the Heart: Connectivity,” The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Info: 941-359-5700, www. ringling.org.
• Throughout August, Island Gallery and Studios exhibit, 456 Old Main St., Bradenton. Info: 941-778-6648.
• Through Aug. 3, “Robert Rauschenberg: A Centennial Celebration,” The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies except Mondays. Info: 941-359-5700.
• Through Aug. 9, “Circus Spectacular 2025,” The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies except Mondays. Info: 941-359-5700.
• Thursday-Saturday, through Aug. 30, the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature Laser Light Nights, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Info: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.
• Through Aug. 31, “Life on the Edge” exhibit, the Bishop Museum of Science, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Info: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.
• Through Jan. 11, Yoshida Hiroshi: Journeys through Light,” The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies except Mondays. Info: 941-359-5700.
• First Fridays, 6-9:30 p.m., Village of the Arts First Fridays Artwalk, 12th Street West and 12th Avenue West, Bradenton. Info: villageofthearts.com.
• Second and fourth Saturdays, 2-4 p.m., Florida Maritime Museum’s Music on the Porch, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez. Info: 941-708-6120, www.floridamaritimemuseum.org.
SAVE THE DATES
• Sept. 18-28, Island Players’ “Janus,” Anna Maria.
• Oct. 18, Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Bayfest, Anna Maria.
• Nov. 8, Nov. 10, Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota Rhinestone Cowboys and National Heroes concert, Bradenton.
• Nov. 13-23, Island Players’ “Doublewide, Texas Christmas,” Anna Maria.
• Nov. 16, Island Players’ “Murder by Misadventure” auditions,
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Island happenings
Marauders host Back-to-School Bash
The Bradenton Marauders and the School District of Manatee County teamed up for a Backto-School Bash.
The event will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, when Minor League Baseball’s Marauders play the Clearwater Threshers at LECOM Park, 1611 Ninth St. W., Bradenton.
The first 500 kids 12 and under who enter the park will receive a free backpack. Gates will open at 5 p.m.
For more details, including tickets, go to milb. com/bradenton or call 941-747-3031.
Anna Maria.
• Dec. 13, Dec. 15, Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota
A Christmas Carol Concert, Bradenton.
• Dec. 31, Bradenton Alive New Year’s Eve Celebration, Bradenton.
KIDS & FAMILY ON AMI
Saturday, Aug. 2
Noon — Family movie matinee, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-6341, mymanatee.org.
ONGOING ON AMI
• Most Fridays, 10 a.m., Forty Carrots, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-6341, mymanatee. org.
• Most Tuesdays, 10 a.m., Family Storytime, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-6341.
SAVE THE DATES
• Aug. 1, Manatee County Sports and Leisure Services’ Family Fun Night, Bradenton.
Noon — Crisis Ready: Protecting Your Business Before Disaster Strikes, Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria. Info: 941-778-1908.
Center to close Aug. 4-9
The Center of Anna Maria Island will close for maintenance Aug. 4-9.
The center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, will reopen at 7 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11.
For more information, call 941-778-1908.
ONGOING ON AMI
• Most Fridays, 11:30 a.m., mahjong, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-6341.
• Most Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m., mahjong, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-6341.
SAVE THE DATES
• Aug. 9, Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bradenton Beach.
• Sept. 6, Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bradenton Beach.
• Nov. 1, League of Women Voters of Manatee County Unite and Rise for Democracy, Bradenton.
• Nov. 8, Friends of Manatee County Animal Welfare Friendsgiving, Palmetto.
LESSONS & LEARNING
ONGOING ON AMI
• Mondays through August, Sea Turtle Tracks and Shorebird Facts with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, 10 a.m., Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive. Info: 941-301-8434, islandturtlewatch. com.
SPORTS & FITNESS
ONGOING OFF AMI
• Through Sept. 7, various dates, Bradenton Marauders baseball, LECOM Park, 1611 Ninth St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Info: 941-747-3031, www.milb.com/bradenton.
SAVE THE DATES
• Sept. 6, Bradenton Marauders Fan Appreciation Night, Bradenton.
• Sept. 6, Center of Anna Maria Island LaPensee Bowling Tournament, Bradenton.
OUTDOORS & NATURE
ONGOING OFF AMI
• Saturdays, 9 a.m., Manatee County Natural Resources Department’s Saturday Mornings at the NEST, 840 99th St. NW, Bradenton. Info: 941-748-4501, mymanatee.org.
CALENDAR NOTES
KEEP THE DATES
• Through Oct. 31, nesting season continues. Lights out. •Through Nov. 30, Atlantic hurricane season continues. Be prepared.
• Aug. 8, International Cat Day.
• Aug. 11, back to school.
• Aug. 26, International Dog Day.
• Aug. 30, Jimmy Buffett Day.
• Sept. 1, Labor Day.
• Oct. 13, Columbus Day.
• Oct. 13, Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
• Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
• Nov. 27, Thanksgiving.
www.allin1home.com
• Dec. 25, Christmas. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Send listings to calendar@islander.org.
Event coordinators, please send 2025-26 season calendars and announcements to calendar@islander.org.
Submit your social news, weddings, anniversaries, births, travel photos, fishing, sports and event news and photos to news@islander.org. SHARE THE FUN.
Open house: Aug. 7
Anna Maria Elementary, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, will host an open house for the 2025-26 year on Thursday, Aug. 7.
A 4:30-5:15 p.m. session will be held for kindergarten through second-grade students, as well as voluntary prekindergarten students with last names from A-M.
A 5:15-6 p.m. session will be held for VPK students with last names N-Z, as well as students in grades third- through fifth-grade.
During the open house, AME families can drop off school supplies, meet staff, visit classrooms and see changes made on the campus during the summer.
For more information, call AME at 941-708-5525 or go to manateeschools.net/o/annamaria.
Supply lists available
Supply lists are available to outfi t Anna Maria Elementary students headed to the classrooms next month.
The grade-appropriate lists are posted on the school’s website at manateeschools.net/o/annamaria/.
1st bell: Aug. 11
School District of Manatee County classes in the 2025-26 academic year will begin Monday, Aug. 11.
The school year begins earlier for teachers and staff, with teacher workdays Aug. 4 and Aug. 6-7 and in-service days Aug. 5 and Aug. 8.
The first break will be Monday, Sept. 1, for Labor Day.
— lisa Neff
AME principal earns district leadership award
Dr. Katie Fradley has received the Rookie of the Year Leadership Award after serving her first year as a principal in Manatee County schools during the 20242025 academic year.
Fradley, principal at Anna Maria Elementary in Holmes Beach, was recognized July 17 during the Superintendent’s Leadership Conference at Palmetto High School.
Executive director of secondary schools
Sharon Scarbrough, left, deputy superintendent of instruction
Derek Jensen, principal Katie Fradley, executive director of elementary schools
Annette Codelia, interim Superintendent Kevin Chapman and deputy superintendent of operations Joe Ranaldi celebrate July 17 at the Superintendent’s leadership Conference. Islander Photo: Courtesy Jamie Carson
School District of Manatee leaders selected Fradley and other award winners based on “their exceptional service and they received their awards in front of all of their peers,” said district communications specialist Melissa Parker. “It was a proud moment for our school community and we congratulate principal Fradley on her remarkable achievement.”
— lisa Neff
By Lisa Neff
Paradise returns home
The Longboat Island Chapel plans to welcome back the Longboat Key Paradise Center for Healthy Living to its facilities.
“I’m honored to be the first one to welcome a new addition to our family,” the Rev. Brock Patterson said in a recent message to the chapel’s membership.
The nonprofit center, 546 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, which offers a range of social, fitness and wellness programs, began as a chapel outreach effort in 2008. On Aug. 22, the center will relocate to offices on the second floor of the chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, and offer classes and other activities in the Shook Fellowship Hall.
Patterson said the chapel has “plenty of unused space during the week” while the center needed to find a new location. “This is an easy logistical situation to make it work for both organizations,” he said.
The center, meanwhile, issued a notice to its members under the headline, “We are moving.”
“It’s true! The Paradise Center is moving 5 miles north to Longboat Island Chapel, the very place that first gave us life,” executive director Amy Steinhauser wrote in a “Big News” email July 20. “When rising rent left us with no affordable options, we faced the possibility of closing our doors (gasp!). The Chapel’s generosity has given us a new home and a new beginning, and we are deeply grateful.”
For now, Steinhauser said people should continue to attend programs but observe changes in hours due to preparations for the move.
The center also posted a wish list for necessities at theparadisecenter.org, as well as launched a fundraising drive.
For more information, call the chapel at 941-3836491 or the center at 941-383-6493.
Church to host benefit for Texas flood relief
Christ Church of Longboat Key will hold a Texas Flood Relief Luncheon and Fundraiser at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 3, following 10 a.m. worship.
The church will host a free “Texas Treats Buffet” and collect contributions for the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.
On and around July 4, a series of catastrophic flash floods struck the Texas Hill Country, with Kerr County being particularly hard-hit.
Obituaries
James ‘Jim’ Robert Riley Jr.
James “Jim” Robert Riley Jr. of Anna Maria died July 13.
He was born in 1954 at the Norfolk Naval Hospital in Virginia and was raised in Tampa. He resided in Anna Maria for 26 years.
He attended Brandon High School in Brandon and further pursued the art of commerce at Hillsborough Community College. He was a valiant salesman and a sagacious business owner within the industrial water and wastewater treatment equipment industry. His counsel and camaraderie were sought by many, and his presence within his profession was marked by integrity and wit.
He was known affectionately to family and friends as a man of great spirit and was a cherished husband to his beloved wife of 37 years, Janet Green Riley.
A memorial service and celebration of life will be held Saturday, July 26. Please, contact his family for further information.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, Bradenton, is in charge of arrangements.
He is survived by wife Janet; brother Keith Cannon and wife Susan; sister Kimberly Cannon Moore and husband Rick; niece Ashley, husband Jaren Patamasank and sons Connor and Austin; nephew Tyler; cousins Clint Baker and wife Cathy and Sheila and husband Andy Hamilton; and his wife’s extended family; including Sherri Green Peterson and her daughters Christina and Kimberly; sister-in-law Shirl Green; and brother-in-law Steven Green.
At your service
Obituaries are offered as a service to residents and families of residents, both past and present, as well as to those people with ties to the island. Submit to news@ islander.org. Obituaries are provided free — a service of your community newspaper.
“These monies will highlight our entire community’s concern for their sad and tragic events,” a church notice read.
Lunch reservations are not needed.
The church, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, also is collecting contributions from people who cannot attend the event.
For more information, call 941-383-8833 or go online to christchurchoflbk.org.
Gathering
Gathering
Lori ‘Loretta’ Sefcik
Lori “Loretta” Sefcik, 90, of Bradenton and formerly of Holmes Beach and Cortez, died July 7.
She was born June 13, 1935, in Lima, Ohio, to the late Lori William and Eleanor Ortman of South Bend, Indiana.
Lori and her late husband, coach George Sefcik, retired to Holmes Beach in 2001.
Mr. Sefcik was a National Football League offensive coach for 29 years and appeared in two Super Bowls.
The family thanks Dr. Scott Kosfeld of Island Family Physicians in Holmes Beach for his kindness, compassion and care for 24 years and the caregivers at Villas of Holly Brook Surrey Place and Tidewell Hospice.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Mrs. Sefcik is survived by her son, Martin Annis of Holmes Beach; and daughter Tracy of Strongsvillle, Ohio.
Nancy Vakos
Nancy Vakos, 82, formerly of Anna Maria Island, died July 15.
She was born Nov. 23, 1942, in San Francisco to the late John F. Schmidt and Adele H. Schmidt.
She graduated from Hanover Park High School in Hanover, New Jersey, in 1960. She then got a legal secretarial degree from the renowned Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, New Jersey. She was the secretary for the chief of police on Anna Maria Island for 10 years.
She loved traveling, boating and dancing, and was happiest with her beloved husband.
Memorial donations may be made to the Virginia Beach SPCA or the Surfrider Foundation.
Arrangements were by H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, 2002 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Mrs. Vakos is survived by sister Janice Martini; daughter Kimberly A.; stepsons George W., Charles J., Andrew W. and Dwight Penny; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
caring. Christ Church of Longboat Key invites you to a FREE Texas Treats Bu et luncheon at 11:00 AM, immediately following our Sunday Service at 10:00 AM. At this time we would also welcome your generous contributions to the KERR COUNTY FLOOD RELIEF FUND. These monies will highlight our entire community’s concern for their sad and tragic events. Through God’s grace we will help those in need. LUNCHEON IS FREE - RESERVATIONS ARE NOT REQUIRED
Vakos
Riley Jr.
No contest plea entered in fatal shooting in Bradenton
A 19-year-old arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a Bradenton teen who worked and played sports on Anna Maria Island has pleaded no contest to manslaughter with a firearm.
Carter Thomas Layne of Parrish is now set for a sentencing hearing at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
Layne pleaded no contest July 18 to manslaughter in the death of J.M. Feeney, 17, of Bradenton, on March 8, 2024, in a residential backyard in the 5900 block of Eighth Avenue Drive West in Bradenton.
Feeney worked at the Beach House Restaurant in Bradenton Beach and played sports at the Center of Anna Maria Island in Anna Maria, where the field was named J.M. Feeney Sports Park earlier this year.
A July 23 vigil for J.M. Feeney, scheduled prior to Layne’s plea when a trial was on the docket, was postponed due to inclement weather and tentatively rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. July 30 outside the judicial center.
Streetlife
Island police reports
Anna Maria No new reports.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office polices the city.
Bradenton Beach No new reports.
The Bradenton Beach Police Department polices the city.
Cortez No new reports.
The MCSO polices Cortez.
Holmes Beach
July 17, 600 block of Key Royale Drive, grand theft. A Holmes Beach police offi cer responded to reports of stolen boat parts. A complainant said the lower unit of a boat motor, as well as a boat engine cover, had been stolen. The complainant provided a video of a person in a skiff pulling up to a dock, where they stayed for about an hour early July 15.
July 17, Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, tampering with electronic device. An officer from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice entered the Holmes Beach Police Department to report finding an electronic monitoring device that had been cut off and buried in sand. A juvenile had been ordered by the court to wear the electronic monitor. The officer completed and signed an affidavit.
July 17, 7000 block of Marina Drive, warrant arrest. An officer saw a woman riding a bicycle around 9:42 p.m. without a rear bike light, so he conducted a traffic stop. The officer identified the woman and found there was an active warrant for her arrest. She was arrested and transported to the Manatee County jail.
July 20, Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, battery. An officer responded to call regarding a past battery and met with the victim, who told police she was in the water when an unknown man approached her and asked her to hold his sunglasses while he swam. She agreed, but said the man lingered around her and eventually touched her inappropriately. She said she then exited the water and called the police. A relative provided a photo of the man to police.
The HBPD polices the city.
Streetlife is based on incident reports and narratives from the BBPD, HBPD and MCSO.
A probable cause affidavit from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office states that witnesses observed Layne, under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, waving a revolver that he said was not loaded.
to the ground,” the MCSO report states.
Layne was 17 when arrested but charged as an adult with the first-degree felony.
“The victim … in joking manner said the gun was not loaded. Carter Layne pointed the gun at the victim’s chest and pulled the trigger. … The victim fell
After entering his no contest plea, his bond was revoked. He was being held at the Manatee County jail in Palmetto as of Islander press time.
— lisa Neff
Beached on Beer Can Beachgoers on July 23 walk past Double Trouble, a vessel that grounded July 15 on Beer Can Island on north longboat Key. A longboat Key Police Department report said the boat was observed during inclement weather July 14 when it became stuck against the longboat Pass Bridge, then drifted to Beer Can. Police secured the boat to shore, determining it to be derelict and were working with Manatee County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on its removal. Islander
Photo: Robert Anderson
Planning organization seeks input for island traffic fixes
The Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization is conducting a survey to help prioritize improvements on the barrier islands.
The MPO, a regional transportation group, is working on the Barrier Island Implementation Plan to identify short-term “practical and implementable solutions,” including but not limited to turn lanes, pedestrian facilities, parking access, roundabouts, trail development and micromobility.
HB man arrested for habitual traffic offenses
Holmes Beach police arrested Jacob HuehnBrown, 31, of Holmes Beach, July 18 on a third-degree felony charge for allegedly driving with a suspended license as a habitual traffic offender.
An HBPD officer responded around 9:24 p.m. to assist the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in a criminal investigation involving three stolen electric bicycles in the 200 block of 66th Street in Holmes Beach.
The officer noted a motorist in the area behaving strangely, so he notified an MCSO deputy.
Law enforcement spoke with the motorist, HuehnBrown, who had a suspended driver’s license.
Huehn-Brown was arrested and faces the thirddegree felony charge.
Huehn-Brown was taken to the Manatee County jail, where he was released July 19 after posting $2,500 bond.
If convicted, punishment for a third-degree felony charge includes up to five years in prison, five years of probation and a fine of up to $5,000.
An arraignment will be at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton.
— Ryan Paice
Island watch In an emergency, call 911. To report information, call the MCSO Anna Maria substation, 941-708-8899; Bradenton Beach police, 941-778-6311; or Holmes Beach police, 941-708-5804.
The plan will incorporate the fi ndings of other reviews, including the Barrier Island Complete Streets Improvement Study Update, the Florida Department of Transportation Barrier Islands Traffic Study and the Congestion Management Process Study.
The MPO also wants people to take a survey — go to mympo.org/barrier-island-implementation-plan and click the survey button — to help prioritize improvements.
The study area spans from Anna Maria Island’s north end to Manasota Beach in Sarasota County and planners will use the results to identify potential project impacts, costs and timelines.
— lisa Neff
Roadwatch
By lisa Neff
Eyes on the road
Bradenton Beach street, beach access repairs: Through Oct. 31, Bradenton Beach is making hurricane-related improvements and repairs. Info: BBPD’s Facebook page.
Cortez Bridge utility relocation project: Pipe installation and related activities are ongoing in preparation for the construction of the new Cortez Bridge, scheduled to begin in 2026. De-watering pipes and hoses are being installed along the south side of Cortez. People should expect the presence of work crews and 24-hour pump operation until pipe installation is complete. Construction is expected to continue through spring 2026. Regular construction activities are Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Info: 941-306-4660, info@amiprojects.io, amiprojects.io.
75th Street West at Manatee Avenue West : Manatee County is working on its 75th Street West Improvements Project from 19th Avenue West to Second Avenue West, including at the Manatee Avenue intersection. Motorists can expect delays during roadwork. Info: mymanatee.org/75th.
Cold case: The Kingfish Boat Ramp killings of Aug. 1, 1980
By June Alder
From The Islander archives
As I recall, I was the only reporter in The Islander office Aug. 1, 1980, when someone yelled at me to pick up my phone.
My mother was calling.
Her voice was odd, whispery and urgent.
“I’m down here at Foodway. There’s been an accident or something — a man’s been hurt.”
I grabbed my camera and jumped in my car. It took me less than five minutes to round the bend at the Manatee Public Beach. That’s when I saw people milling around near Kingfish Boat Ramp.
I saw a car and boat trailer jackknifed near a pole. I parked and raced over to a scene of chaos.
Sheets were draped over two figures being lifted onto stretchers. They appeared to be children.
A few feet away from the car, medics bent over a man stretched out on the ground.
Close by lay a deeply tanned man in red-and-white striped trunks. He was barely breathing. I could tell by the look on the face of a woman in a nurse’s uniform holding his head that he was close to death.
I moved in closer with my camera. Through the viewfinder, I could see a small hole — about the size of a dime — in the man’s forehead.
Across the street at the Foodway, an ambulance was pulling out. A man had been shot.
I was beginning to realize the enormity of the crime that had shattered the pleasant afternoon.
On Aug. 1, 1980, Juan Dumois, a Tampa physician, his sons Eric, 13, and Mark, 9, and their uncle, Raymond Barrows of Miami, had left the boat ramp for a fishing trip.
Returning about 5 p.m., they loaded their boat onto a trailer hitched to their station wagon. Dumois and Barrows got into the front seat and the boys took seats in the back. Just as Dumois was about to drive off, a man approached, according to Barrows’ account. He said he sprained his ankle and asked for a lift.
The man and Dumois hoisted his bike into the boat and the stranger got into the back seat with the boys before Dumois pulled away. The station wagon had gone only a few yards when the man shot Barrows, Dumois and his sons and left.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Matzke, working in the yard at his Westbay Cove North condo, observed the man leaving.
A Fiat driven by Robert Matzke hit into another vehicle at the Foodway grocery store on East Bay Drive. Some people at the store thought a routine crash had occurred but Matzke, a retired Air Force colonel, had followed a man who fled from a crash on Manatee Avenue to the Foodway. There, in an encounter, the man shot Matzke. Islander File
Emergency personnel and bystanders respond Aug. 1, 1980, to the Kingfish Boat Ramp in Holmes Beach, where three people were fatally shot and one person was injured. A fourth person was fatally shot at the nearby Foodway on East Bay Drive. The case, the Kingfish murders, remains unsolved. Islander reporter June Alder is pictured top left.
Matzke pursued him to the Foodway in his sports car. He encountered the man there. A shot rang out and Matzke became the hitchhiker’s fifth victim.
Most shoppers were unaware as the gunman got into a car that disappeared into traffic.
Barrows survived the shooting but died of a heart attack in May 1982.
The investigation dragged on, artists’ conceptions of the killer were circulated, a reward was offered and
more than 100 suspects were questioned but no arrest was made.
Investigators over the years have said the only chance for a solution is that someone will talk.
Will we ever know the killer’s identity or the reason for the massacre on that bloody Friday?
Editor’s note: This story first published in 1999, when June Alder was an editor for the old Islander. She also wrote and edited for the current Islander.
Photos
crash
State closes investigation of alleged nest tampering on AMI
By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter
A state investigation into the alleged tampering of a sea turtle nest in Bradenton Beach has been closed, according to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch Shorebird Monitoring Group executive director Kristen Mazzarella.
“I’ve heard from the FWC biologists that they have located the offending party,” Mazzarella said in a July 16 interview. “I am unaware of what they (FWC) did or if they’re still in contact with them. But the case, as far as I know, is closed.”
The Islander reached out to FWC public information officer Ashley Sklute about the incident but, as of Islander press time July 28, there was no response.
The incident occurred the night of July 9. Witnesses reported to authorities that people were digging
Nurses and others tend to a man shot Aug. 1, 1980, in Holmes Beach. Five people were shot that day — four of them died. The case remains unsolved.
into a marked sea turtle nest, removing hatchlings and carrying them toward the Gulf.
AMITW volunteers later inspected the nest and found evidence of human disturbance. “There was digging in the nest cavity,” Mazzarella said.
She added, “Later, on that night, there was a disorientation of a bunch of remaining hatchlings that had come out after everybody had left.”
However, a nest inventory performed by AMITW 72 hours later revealed that most hatchlings — 131 — appeared to have reached the water.
Mazzarella encouraged beachgoers to respect marked nests, avoid shining lights on turtles and report suspicious activity to AMITW at 941-301-8434.
Tampering with a sea turtle nest is a violation of state and federal law, with potential fines and jail time.
People with lights lean into a protected sea turtle nest July 9 in Bradenton Beach. Islander File Photo: Courtesy lisa Harrison
Scammers spoof BB police number in fraud scheme
By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter
The Bradenton Beach Police Department is warning people about a phone scam in which a caller impersonates a detective and uses the department’s non-emergency number, 941-778-6311, as the caller ID.
The scam surfaced July 23 when multiple people called the station to report receiving calls from someone claiming to be a detective. The caller told victims they had missed a court date and needed to pay a bond to avoid arrest.
At least one person was defrauded of $4,000 after being instructed to wire funds from a Bradenton bank, according to BBPD.
“She said they told her you need to pay a security bond before you get to the courthouse because if you show up without paying that, you’ll be arrested,” said BBPD Detective Lt. Lenard Diaz.
Diaz emphasized that BBPD would never make such calls.
“We don’t do that. That would be the courthouse or
AMI cAbAnAs CONTINuED FROM PAgE 1 about setting parameters for all commercial activity on the beaches.
“I’ll go on record for saying: I don’t want our beaches to turn into the Manatee Avenue causeway,” he said.
The city commission will meet next at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Holmes Beach
City Commissioner Carol Whitmore opened the city of Holmes Beach’s discussion on the matter during a July 25 meeting.
She said she received correspondence from state Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, and state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, asking her to bring up the subject.
Whitmore questioned the city’s enforcement of its sign ordinance, which prohibits advertising on the beach, including branded beach cabanas.
That prohibition has forced cabana rental services to deploy blank tents, free of branding or signage on beaches.
Whitmore suggested revisiting the sign ordinance to see if potential changes could be made.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said the city had no problem with cabana services, but it had to be careful with allowing advertising and signage on the beach.
She said the city can not legally regulate the content of signage, so permitting it on the beach could result in the allowance of business and political signs along the municipality’s shorelines.
Titsworth said preventing advertising on the
civil department calling to let them know they missed a court date,” he said.
Within a few hours of identifying the scam, BBPD issued a news release to alert the public.
Phone number spoofing is a type of fraud in which scammers use software to falsify the number that appears on a recipient’s caller ID, tricking people into answering and providing personal information or money.
Such scams often employ high-pressure tactics, including threats of legal action or arrest.
To avoid becoming a victim, experts recommend never sharing financial or personal information over the phone, especially when the caller initiates contact.
When in doubt, hang up and call the organization directly using a verified phone number.
In this case, the caller spoofed BBPD’s official number using an app designed to mask phone numbers.
People receiving such a call should hang up and report the incident to BBPD at 941-778-6311.
Sunny work
Cheryl Huntsinger. center, president of Suncoast Aqua Venutres, a nonprofit dedicated to coastal cleanups, took the lead for a July 19 cleanup on the waterfront at Sunny Shores in Cortez. Volunteers Tommy Bragg, left, Robbie Woloszyn, Huntsinger, Ansley Mora, Martha Costa and Jim Costa, with help from sponsors SeaMonkey Apparel, Florida Blue Kayaks and Chuck-it Dumpsters, scoured the shore for trash and debris. The team of 32 volunteers collected 3,500 pounds of debris during the one-day event. The next cleanup will be Oct. 25-26 at Terra Ceia. For more info, contact Huntsinger at 941-962-1488 or suncoastaquaventures@gmail. com. Islander Photo: Courtesy Kathryn Hennessey
beach helps maintain the beach ambiance and urged cabana rental companies to eliminate their marketing efforts.
“Let’s try not to graffiti the beaches,” Titsworth said. “I guarantee you: Will Robinson and Sen. Boyd do not want this beach to be the causeway.”
“What we have to do is look at the big picture and ask what are we willing to turn this beach into?” she added.
While multiple commissioners expressed hesitation to revisit the sign ordinance, they agreed to explore regulations for commercial activity. They reached a consensus to hold a workshop on the matter but they did not set a date certain.
The city commission will meet next at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
