Merry Christmas
VOLUME 30, NO. 9
DEC. 22, 2021 Free
the Best news on anna maria island Since 1992 astheworldterns. 6
Q&A 122221.
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islander.org
HO-HO-HO! Santa arrives in a ‘classic’ ride
High hopes for holidays.
Bridge suit enters final phase By Kane Kaiman islander reporter
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They’re still playing for a draw. Four complainants challenging in federal court the DOT’s decision to replace the 17-foot-clearance Cortez drawbridge with a 65-foot-clearance fixed-span bridge in 2026-27 filed a motion for summary judgment Dec. 1, ushering in the final phase of a lawsuit that began in March 2020.
christmas brings closings. 3 Probable cause found in ‘vaccinegate.’ 4 county seeks workshop with Holmes Beach. 5
Opinions. 6
a holiday jingle.
Bridge Battle
10-20 YEARS AGO
Looking back. 7
tDc wades into ami waters.9
Save a date. 10
Happenings announcements. 10-11
get in the game. 12
Gathering. 14
christmas services.
Obituaries. 14 HB honors 2021’s best.
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Where’s Tuna Street.
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ame celebrates before break. 19
Cops & Courts. 20-21
HB commission squabbles. 22
Warming up to 12 days of christmas. 23 Sato blows out opponent for soccer title. 24 fish on move in warm December. 25
Isl Biz: Hot eats,
new pour, big travel. 26
CLASSIFIEDS. 28-29
PropertyWatch. 30
NYT puzzle. 31
Santa’s elf, at the wheel of 1930 ford replica loaded with Santa and precious cargo, steers to the Sandbar restaurant in anna maria Dec. 15 for the 26th Lawton chiles christmas for Kids Party, “a candyland christmas.” the guests, some 60 kids from the rcma child Development center in Palmetto and Bradenton’s branch of the Head Start early rise and Shine program, cheered Santa’s arrival and enjoyed lunch, games and activities, as well as visits with Santa and plenty of gifts. and a merry time was had by all. more, page 13. islander Photo: Dara townsend caudill/islandphotography.org
Bay dolphins birth a record in 2021 Oh baby! The Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program documented 22 dolphin births in 2021 to the long-term resident bottlenose dolphin community of Sarasota Bay. The number breaks the record of 21 set in 2017, according to a news release. The newest calf was first observed Dec. 2 with its mother, known to the research community as Squarenotch. Forty-four-year-old Squarenotch has been observed since 1980 and this is her sixth documented calf. “It’s great to see the continuing productivity of the bay’s dolphins and really interesting that it was one of our older females that put us over the top,” Randy Wells said in the news release. He’s the vice president of marine mammal conservation for the Chicago Zoological Society and director of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program based at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota. Squarenotch was one of 466 dolphins that Wells documented as part of his Ph.D. dissertation, which he completed in 1986. As part of that work, Wells examined the population structure and social units of dolphins in Southwest Florida. His studies further expanded knowledge
fb87, also known as Squarenotch, was born in 1977 and has been observed since 1980. Her sixth documented calf was first seen Dec. 2. Squarenotch is one of the 466 dolphins identified by randy Wells, director of the Sarasota Dolphin research Program, in his Ph.D. research. islander courtesy Photo
of the Sarasota Bay dolphin community, building on research that began in 1970 with the seminal finding that the bay’s dolphins were long-term residents across decades and generations. Today, the bay’s dolphins are the focus of the world’s longest-running study of a
turn to dOlPHinS, Page 5
The complainants — former County Commissioner Joe McClash and Cortez resident Jane von Hahmann, also a former county commissioner, and Cortez residents Linda Molto and Joe Kane — maintain the retaining walls that carry the tall bridge onto Cortez Road — 20-feet tall at their peak — would destroy the character of Cortez, a histurn to bridge, Page 2
Bradenton man drowns in ICW
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Law Enforcement Division is investigating a Dec. 13 boat accident that led to the death of Bradenton resident Scott Harris, 57, in the Intracoastal Waterway near Key Royale in Holmes Beach. Harris and another Bradenton resident, Andrew Wilcznski, 60, were boating around 4:50 p.m. in a small boat when “waves came over the bow and capsized the vessel, causing both subjects to enter the water,” according to an FWC report. A friend of Harris said Wilcznski wore a life vest but Harris did not. “Harris was found floating face down in the water before being pulled out by good Samaritans,” the report states. Manatee County emergency medical services responded and transported both Harris and Wilcznski to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton. Harris died the next day. Wilcznski was discharged from the hospital the same day after receiving medical attention. FWC operations and management consultant Hollie Weathersby wrote in a Dec. 17 email to The Islander that an investigation into the accident could take “a few months.” — ryan Paice
