The Islander Newspaper E-Edition: Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Page 1

Saluting veterans. 11 Astheworldterns await election returns. 6

On the trail to treats. 16

AMI sea turtle finale. 26 NOV. 7, 2018 FREE

VOLUME 27, NO. 2

Red tide returns to high levels. 3

Meetings

On the government calendar. 4

Op-Ed

The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6

10-20 YEARS AGO

From the archives. 7

HB considers aircraft, golf cart restrictions. 8

Happenings

Community announcements, activities. 10-11 Make plans, save a date. 12-13 Holmes Beach opens ballfield to pets, tots. 14 Bradenton Beach suspends website. 15

Gathering. 18

Obituaries. 18

Get in the game. 19

Streetlife. 20 AME named School of Excellence. 22

Into the blue bins. 23 Soccer, golf, horseshoes dominate sports. 24

The snook bite? Exceptional. 25

ISL BIZ Business news. 27 CLASSIFIEDS. 28 NYT Sunday Magazine Crossword. 31

Celebrating the Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992

www.islander.org

Inflatable swan swoops mom, son 1 mile offshore

By Kathy Prucnell Islander Reporter “I want people to know it’s not a beach float.” Tara Myers of Bradenton had a few words of wisdom for anyone considering taking floatation devices meant for use in shallow water and swimming pools into the Gulf of Mexico. Her plea comes after she and her son, Brennan Saletta, 7, were lounging and paddling along the shoreline in the Gulf of Mexico on an inflatable Mega Swan Oct. 21 when they were pulled a mile offshore by strong currents. Rogue currents that flow seaward near the shore in breaking waves can pull swimmers — or people on flotation devices — out to sea. While the story of Myers and her son ended happily, with her boyfriend and others

calling for help and a rescue by a West Manatee Fire Rescue crew aboard a boat, it was traumatic. Myers went to the beach at noon that Sunday, set up her chairs and umbrella “like I usually do,” blew up the float, deciding to trust what she thought were calm waters — and, with her son, began paddling out. “Thank God I told my boyfriend what we were doing,” Myers said Nov. 1. “Then it happened so quickly. The wind, the currents took us straight out from the Sandbar (Restaurant).” They drifted for at least an hour, she said, “We were drifting — drifting to Mexico.” Myers tried to get other boats to notice their plight, to no avail. Nonetheless, she kept reassuring her son they’d be rescued. And once they saw the emergency lights flashing on the WMFR boat, relief and tears overcame the mother and son.

Brennan Saletta, left, 7, and mom Tara Myers take a photo on their swan raft while in the Gulf waters near Spring Avenue in Anna Maria, before they floated a mile from shore. Islander Courtesy Photo “I thank God people saw us from the beach,” she said. PLEASE SEE OFFshOre, PAGE 2

Holmes Beach prevails in ‘test’ of Bert Harris cases

By Kathy Prucnell Islander Reporter The first Bert Harris case has ended with a win for Holmes Beach. Except for an anticipated appeal and ripples in the community, the case of Robert and Ellen McCaffrey came to a close Nov. 2 with a 12th Circuit Court decision. In his 23-page judgment, Judge Lon Arend ruled against the McCaffreys on two counts under the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act, as well as a public records count. The judgment follows Arend’s Aug. 16 decision dismissing a fourth count under the Government-in-theSunshine Law. Framing the decision, Arend described how the McCaffreys sought to redevelop their parcel into a “monster” vacation rental duplex to sell it and move off Anna Maria Island. The McCaffreys assembled a team, submitted a building permit in January 2015 for redevelopment “in order to cash in on their retirement savings,” Arend wrote, recounting the testimony. To prevail under the Harris Act, the judgment states, the McCaffreys were required to prove that “a specific action” of the city “inordinately burdened” an existing use of real property — and they fell short on all counts. “Importantly, the final judgment is broadly constructed in the city’s favor,” said

Holmes Beach Commission Chair Judy Titsworth, left, watches the proceedings Aug. 16 as attorneys Randy Mora and Jay Daigneault of Trask Daigneault defend the city. Islander File Photo: Kathy Prucnell

Clearwater attorney Jay Daigneault of the law firm Trask Daigneault, in an email to Mayor Bob Johnson, city clerk Stacey Johnston, insurance representatives and others. Daigneault, chosen by the city’s Florida League of Cities insurer, Florida Insurance Municipal Trust, represented the city throughout the litigation, including the threeday trial in August. The McCaffreys were represented by Fred Moore and Scott Rudacille of Blalock Walters P.A. of Bradenton. In Daigneault’s email, distributed by the city clerk, he said the judge’s decision “determined that the pre-suit appraisals and procedures on both claims were invalid and the claims failed on their substantive merits

as well.” The McCaffreys alleged the city effectively denied their bid to redevelop their single-family home at 7003 Holmes Blvd. into two units of three to five bedrooms each, after considerable back-and-forth with the PLEASE SEE bert harris, PAGE 4

Election 11-06-18 The Nov. 6 island election results will be available at www.islander.org.


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