Shamrock and roll

When you’re Irish at heart, St. Paddy’s Day is celebrated all week, and Anna Maria Island began wearing the green on Sunday with the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Not to be deterred by ongoing road construction, the parade route shifted north to miss the mess, starting in Holmes Beach and spreading the luck of the Irish to the city of Anna Maria, where the “green village” takes on a new meaning for the holiday. Above, the Anna Maria Island Privateers ship Skullywag was shipshape for the parade. More photos on Page 8.

Multiple departments fight Bradenton Beach fire

Firefighters from West Manatee Fire Rescue, Longboat

Key and the City of Bradenton extinguished a structure fire in Bradenton Beach.

BY JASON SCHAFFER SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH - Black smoke could be seen rising high into the air after a fire started on March 8 at 403 Gulf Drive S., Unit D in a four-unit condo building known as Birds Nest. Bradenton Beach Police Officer Steve Masi and Lt. Lenard Diaz were the first to arrive on the scene after getting through the long line of spring break traffic.

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“Since it was unknown whether the building’s units were occupied, as soon as I arrived, I exited my vehicle and ran towards it,” Masi said in a police report.

SEE FIRE, PAGE 9

Spring break in full swing on AMI

Week two of the busy spring break season is underway, and while traffic, parking and wait times have increased, police report no serious issues.

BY JASON SCHAFFER SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA ISLAND -

Thousands of students, many with their families, have flocked to AMI to escape the still freezing temperatures farther north, trading quizzes and tests for beach volleyball and fun in the sun.

Due to different regions of the country having spring break on different weeks, the season here on the Island runs from the first week of March through the first week of April, making spring break more than a month long. Traffic will be heavy, parking will be limited, beaches will be busier than any other time of the year and wait times at restaurants will be longer, but there’s plenty of fun to be had if these things are factored in when making plans for a day on AMI. “There is parking, even this time of year,” Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said. “Saturday, March 11, the Manatee Beach lot was full by 11:15 a.m., but at 3 p.m. there were still 52 clearly marked parking spots that were open. On Sunday, March 12, the

SEE SPRING BREAK, PAGE 12

WAITING FOR THE WATER

TAXI to materialize on AMI. 3

CREWS WORK to keep beaches clean during red tide. 4