VOLUME
Happy Holidays
NO. 7
DEC. 9, 2020 FREE
The Best news on Anna Maria Island Since 1992
islander.org
Astheworldterns. 6 BB mulls final lawsuit settlement. 2 coronavirus cases rise, vaccine plan detailed. 3 Renourishment finale. 4
Meetings. 4 Opinions. 6
10-20 YEARS AGO
from the archives. 7
RoadWatch. 8 fire district breaks ground on new HQ. 9
New commissioner appointed to serve in Anna Maria
Holiday celebration
news @ AMe. 11
Anna Maria city clerk Leanne Addy, right, administers the oath of office to new commissioner Doris “Deanie” Sebring Dec. 3 — carrying her diabetic alert dog Humphrey — into a two-year term. The board voted earlier to appoint Sebring to succeed Amy Tripp, who resigned in August. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice
Danae Tran performs Dec. 4 at a holiday open house at the original Sand Dollar gift Shop in Holmes Beach. More holiday news, page 13. Islander Photo: Amy Moriarty
AMI TOURISM: Endless Summer
Anna Maria names new commissioner
Save a date. 10
By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
Manatee tourist taxes rise. 12
ISL BIZ 1 business closes, 1 expands. 12
PropertyWatch. 13 Gathering.
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Obituaries. 16 Deadline looms for stilthouse in cortez. 17
Streetlife. 18
HB committee plots community garden. 20
Starry starry night. 21 2 champs crowned in center sports. 11 Weather requires changing fishing tactics. 23
NYT puzzle. 28
She also wrote a children’s book, “Skip and Deanie’s Flying Bike Trip,” which is based on the imaginary adventures of herself and her real-life diabetic alert dog. Sebring said Skip, her dog when she wrote the book, had died, and she was carrying a new diabetic alert dog, Humphrey, in a sling across her chest. She said her priorities as commissioner would be to maintain the city’s home rule in regulating short-term vacation rentals and improving pedestrian and traffic safety. TuRn To COMMISSIONER, PAge 3
BB marina resident apparently drowned By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter
Jerald Oliver, 60, was declared dead at 3:05 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Bradenton Beach Marina after employee Andy Tolar found the liveaboard boater floating in the water. Tolar dropped his keys into the water and — when he went to retrieve them — saw Oliver’s body beneath a dock, according to a Bradenton Beach police report. Tolar tried but failed to reach Oliver and called for help. Two marina employees, Cory Stickler and Joshua Wilson, responded and retrieved Oliver. They brought him aboard a nearby vessel and began CPR. BBPD Officer Matthew Lincoln arrived as Wilson was administering CPR and noted that Oliver had bled from his left temple and suffered abrasions on his lower legs.
Holiday lighting
get in the game. 19
CLASSIFIEDS. 24
An empty seat on the Anna Maria City Commission was filled after a three-month vacancy. Commissioners voted Dec. 3 to appoint Doris “Deanie” Sebring to a two-year term. She took the seat vacated in August by Commissioner Amy Tripp. Commissioners Jonathan Crane, Joe Muscatello and Mark Short ranked Sebring as the top candidate over Sharon Wisniewski, the other candidate for the seat. Commission Chair Carol Carter ranked Wisniewski over Sebring. Tripp qualified to run for reelection without opposition earlier this year, but shortly after she announced she was moving
to North Carolina and in August resigned from the commission. Commissioners agreed to leave Tripp’s seat open until her term expired in November, allowing them to appoint a two-year successor. Both applicants for the seat, Sebring and Wisniewski, attended the meeting and were given five minutes to address the commission before voting began. Mayor Dan Murphy drew a name from a bowl to determine who would speak first, and Sebring won the draw. A Louisiana native, Sebring told commissioners of her experience in the business world as general manager of an auto dealership and creator of a product to help reunite people with their lost keys.
People gather for the lighting of the christmas tree at the Anna Maria Island chamber of commerce office in Holmes Beach. The chamber held its annual Holiday open House and Tree Lighting Dec. 4, and despite the pandemic and also rain for much of the evening, about 100 people gathered to spread cheer. Islander Photo: Amy V.T. Moriarty
TuRn To DROWNED, PAge 3
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