Anna Maria Island Sun May 09, 2018

- Named Best Florida Newspaper In Its Class -

VOL 18 No. 30

May 9, 2018

Wing child abuse charge dropped Deb Wing hopes her experience doesn’t deter others from trying to keep their children safe.

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN

FDOT has decided to replace the Cortez Bridge drawbridge with a taller fixed span bridge.

City officials blast tall bridge decision Bradenton Beach officials are not happy with the bridge decision, but they don’t think there’s much they can do.

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners oppose the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) recent decision to replace the Cortez Bridge drawbridge with a 65-foot tall fixed-span bridge.

Mayor John Chappie, a former county commissioner, placed the bridge

discussion on the agenda for the Thursday, May 3, meeting so commissioners could share their thoughts in a public setting.

“When I was with the county, Commissioner (Carol) Whitmore and myself were the only two elected officials at the county level that flat-out said no, we did not want a high bridge. We wanted the low one of the three options they had,” Chappie said.

“I was disappointed. The Island has its character, and it’s definitely not high structures. As we used to say years ago, ‘The trees are taller than the buildings.’

I know change is going to happen, but sometimes it’s just tough to take, this

INSIDE NEWS 4 OPINION 6 SUN SURVEY 7 SEAN MURPHY 17 FOOD COLUMN 21 TURTLES 25 REAL ESTATE 28-33 CLASSIFIEDS 37-39

SEE WING, PAGE 32

chipping away at the way things were,” Chappie said.

“I really don’t know if there’s anything we can do about it,” he added, noting that FDOT held several public meetings and gathered public input before making its decision.

Commissioner Jake Spooner suggested sending a letter to FDOT officials. Chappie agreed that it would be a good idea to at least officially voice the commission’s disappointment.

Spooner guessed it would be about 10 years before the funding was available to replace the existing drawbridge.

SEE BRIDGE, PAGE 32

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN

Former Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce President Deb Wing has been cleared of a child abuse charge.

CHARGES dismissed against one

NONPROFITS

bank on generosity of donors in the 2018 Giving Challenge. 3

Anna Maria Island, Florida

HOLMES BEACH – The child abuse charge levied against former Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce President Deb Wing has been dropped.

The charge stemmed from an April 4 arrest by the Holmes Beach Police Department. The arrest occurred after officers responded to a call from Wing, who was concerned that her teenage daughter left during a family disagreement and had not returned. In their police reports, the arresting officers alleged Wing repeatedly slapped her daughter on the arm and leg.

The dismissed charge was formalized during a Friday, May 4, hearing at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton.

Later that day, Wing’s attorney, Brett McIntosh, said, “The notice of case action has been filed, which means the charges are formally dropped. Or to be more accurate, the prosecutor has completed his review of the case and declined to file any charges. It is over; it’s done. I think it was unfortunate that she was ever arrested. I don’t think she should have been arrested, but I’m glad that it’s over and the correct decision was ultimately made.”

Wing did not appear at Friday’s hearing, but she discussed the matter when contacted Saturday.

“I saw someone from DCF (Florida Department of Children and Families) who was visiting on another case, not mine. While he was there, he heard my case and said in

shark-dragging defendant. 4 BEACH ownership rights debate

continues in Anna Maria. 9

The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper www.amisun.com

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MAY 9, 2018

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MAY 9, 2018

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Local non-profits bank on generosity

BY TOM VAUGHT

Organization

Donors

Donations Match Total

SUN STAFF WRITER | tvaught@amisun.com

The groups that help dogs, cats, horses and other animals attracted most of the donations among the 400plus not-for-profits registered with the 2018 Giving Challenge on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Two of the top three agencies that brought in more than $100,000, Honor Sanctuary Inc. and Cat Depot, were animal-based.

The same was true for the 12 barrier island groups.

Mote Marine Laboratory got $49,308 from 430 donors and also made $28,096 in matching funds for a total of $77,404.

Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc. of Bradenton Beach made $14,780 from 198 donors and $12,955 from matching grants for a total of $27,735.

Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage in Cortez attracted 178 donors for $14,860 and matching grants of $13,710 for a total of $28,570.

Gail and Ed Straight, of Wildlife Inc., need money to treat and house injured animals from all over the county, and when Hurricane Irma came through, they suffered damage to cages.

CINDY LANE | SUN

A fox squirrel enjoys a pet from Ed Straight of Wildlife Inc. Education and Rehabilitation in Bradenton Beach.

“This will come in handy," Ed Straight said. "In addition to filling a void left when the Island Blood Drive ended, the hurricane made our situation urgent.”

The Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum collected $6,025 from 90 donors and $5,475 from the match for a total of $11,500. Museum Director Kristin Sweeting said they have plans for that money.

“We’re looking to build three traveling exhibits about the village and the role of fishing in Florida,” she said. “We also applied for a grant, and if we get that, we’ll spend some money for education projects, so the money will come in handy.”

Another Cortez group, Cortez Village

Mote Marine Laboratory Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Save Our Seabirds The Center of Anna Maria Island AMICCO Friends of Manatee Co. Animal Services Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum Cortez Village Historical Society Longboat Key Center for Healthy Living Anna Maria Island Historical Society Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island Historical Society, made $3,735 from 65 donors and a match of $3,735 for a total of $7,470.

The Center of Anna Maria Island collected $10,925 from 109 donors plus a $7,825 match for a total of $18,750.

Center Interim Director Chris Culhane said that was a little less than last year, but last year was a triple match instead of a double match this year.

“We need a new van for the children, and we applied to the county for some money,” he said. “If we don’t get money from the county, we’ll spend some of it on that, and if the county comes through, we’ll spend it somewhere

430 178 198 159 109 93 130 90 65 39 40 13

$49,308 $28,096 $77,404 $14,860 $13,710 $28,570 $14,780 $12,955 $27,735 $11,975 $10,925 $22,900 $10,925 $7,825 $18,750 $7,505 $6,705 $14,210 $6,675 $6,575 $13,250 $6,025 $5,475 $11,500 $3,735 $3,735 $7,470 $3,700 $3,000 $6,700 $2,800 $2,650 $5,450 $800 $700 $1,500

else.”

A total of $11,733,241 was raised in the challenge from 74,684 donations this year. In 2017, $13.4 million was raised, but the match was higher that year.

The Giving Challenge is sponsored by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County with additional support by The Patterson Foundation, as well as support from Manatee Community Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, William G. and Marie Selby Foundation and the HeraldTribune Media Group.

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ISLAND NEWS

Visit our website, www.amisun.com.

Scan this code with your smartphone to go there.

MAY 9, 2018

IN BRIEF

HBPD | SUBMITTED

Patrol Sgt. Joel Pierce is sworn in by Chief Bill Tokajer May 5 at Holmes Beach City Hall.

HBPD promotes from within Holmes Beach Police Officer Joel Pierce is now known as Patrol Sergeant Pierce since his promotion took effect May 5.

Chief Bill Tokajer made the announcement April 24 during a commission meeting. He said out of the three candidates who stepped forward for the position, Pierce had the highest test scores, winning the officer the promotion.

Pierce has been with the HBPD since March 2006 and was named Officer of the Year in both 2009 and 2018. He also recently earned a master’s degree in American legal studies from Liberty University.

Volunteer needed Manatee County has one opening for a citizens advisory committee that makes recommendations on regional transportation issues.

The Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) assists the Metropolitan Planning Organization by providing input to the transportation planning process that reflects citizens’ views and attitudes. CAC members represent a general cross section of the citizens of Sarasota and Manatee counties including the cities within the counties. CAC representatives are recommended for appointment by their respective units of local government and are appointed by the MPO Board. There is one vacancy for an at-large representative from Manatee County.

Applications are taken through a rolling application process, and may be found online at www.mymanatee. org/advisory_boards. Applications for this vacancy are due May 25.

The group meets at 5 p.m. on the second Monday of months in which an MPO meeting is scheduled. The committee meets in the main conference room at the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization Office at 7632 15thSt E, Sarasota FL 34243. For more information, call Rachel McClain (941) 359-5772 or email her at rachel@mympo.org.

Correction Dr. Jose Erbella’s last name was spelled incorrectly in last week’s story about the customary use of private beaches.

SUBMITTED

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the removal of Raymond Guthrie Jr.’s structure, far right, in Sarasota Bay off Cortez. The smaller structure on the water is a net camp built by the Cortez not-for-profit Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) as a historic artifact.

Guthrie denies DEP allegations

BY CINDY LANE SUN STAFF WRITER | clane@amisun.com

CORTEZ – Raymond Guthrie Jr. denies all but one of the 21 allegations in the state’s order to tear down the net camp he built in Sarasota Bay off the fishing village of Cortez last summer.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) filed a complaint in Manatee County 12th Circuit Court on Feb. 6 to have Guthrie remove the 1200-squarefoot structure, claiming he built it without permission on sovereign state submerged lands in an Outstanding Florida Waterbody.

Other claims include that he may have polluted the water and failed to take proper measures to protect manatees during construction.

Representing himself without an attorney, Guthrie admits in his response to the order only that the property is in Manatee County.

In his response, filed April 27 with the court, he denies all other allegations of the order, including nine responses that he “is without knowledge as to the truth or falsity of the allegations of this paragraph, and therefore denies same,” repeating five times that he “denies the allegations of this paragraph,” and repeating twice that he “is without knowledge as to the nature of FDEP’s action, and therefore denies same.”

The DEP Office of General Counsel is reviewing Guthrie’s response to determine its next steps, according to DEP spokeswoman Shannon Herbon.

Guthrie claims he built the structure on submerged land where his family once had a net camp, said his representative, Joanne Semmer, president of Fort Myers-based Ostego Bay Environmental Inc. Net camps are wooden structures built on pilings in the water where cotton nets – now obsolete – were stored.

He claims that he owns the submerged land under the 1921 Butler Act, which awarded title of submerged lands to adjacent waterfront property owners who made permanent improvements on the submerged lands, she said. The law was repealed in 1957 but continues to affect title to submerged lands improved prior to its repeal.

DEP concedes that historic aerial images show a smaller structure where Guthrie built his structure, but the smaller structure became dilapidated, negating a Butler Act claim, according to Herbon.

COMMISSION, VILLAGE SUPPORT

The Manatee County Commission voted in March to support Guthrie.

“Given historic photos documenting the presence of multiple net

camp structures, the reconstruction of this single structure to recapture the essence of the historic Cortez fishing community should be supported with the appropriate state permits,” the commission wrote to DEP. Cortezians Karen Bell, of A.P. Bell Fish Co. – which overlooks Guthrie’s structure – and Capt.

Kathe Fannon, who operates a tour boat business at Bell’s Star Fish Co., also support Guthrie.

Fannon calls net camps a “birthright,” recalling numerous net camps in the waters off the fishing village, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The net camp could be protected by that designation and by the Manatee County Cortez Village Historical and Archeological Overlay District. The Cortez Village Community Vision Plan of 2000, included in the district’s design guidelines, supports “maintaining the historic fishing culture of Cortez.”

The net camp also could be protected within the Florida Working Waterfront program; Cortez is one of 24 Designated Waterfronts Florida Partnership Communities, a program created in 1997 to address “the physical and economic decline of traditional working waterfront areas,” according to a DEP publication.

MAY 9, 2018

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Charges dropped against one shark dragging defendant Felony charges are still pending against Robert “Bo” Benac and Michael Wenzel.

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

TAMPA – Prosecutors have dropped felony animal cruelty charges against one of three men accused of dragging a live shark behind a speeding boat.

Spencer Heintz, 23, of Palmetto, is no longer facing the two third-degree felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty for his alleged role in the incident that occurred on June 26, 2017.

During a brief court hearing in Tampa on Tuesday, May 1, the charges against Heintz were dropped.

Heintz was represented at the hearing by Tampa attorney Paul Sisco.

Heintz did not appear before Judge Mark Wolfe on Tuesday morning, nor did Robert “Bo” Benac, 29, or Michael Wenzel, 21 – the other two men still facing charges in this case. A fourth person on the boat that day, Nick Easterling, was not charged.

According to Mike Moore, public information officer for the 13th Judicial Circuit, all three defendants waived their

appearances and did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.

Regarding Heintz, Moore said, “He may at some point be called to be a witness – that’s what his attorney was saying after- Heintz wards.”

Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren issued a statement that said, “Any person who has viewed the video from this incident should be outraged, but as prosecutors we must evaluate the evidence and law without emotion or prejudice. After additional analysis, we decided to drop the charges against Mr. Heintz, who was largely a spectator, and move forward with the more culpable defendants for their senseless animal cruelty.”

On Wednesday, Maya Brown, Warren’s executive assistant, said, “They determined after reviewing the evidence that Mr. Heintz was more as a spectator than actually participating in the criminal activity,” Brown said.

Brown said Heintz could still be deposed under oath and/or called as a witness in the cases against Wenzel and Benac.

“They’re planning to have him coop-

FACEBOOK | SUBMITTED

Michael Wenzel and Robert “Bo” Benac are still facing charges in the shark dragging case. erate, but to what extent I’m not sure,” she said.

Brown said nothing significant happened at Tuesday’s hearing regarding the charges still pending against Benac and Wenzel.

“Most of the hearing was dedicated to Mr. Heintz,” Brown said.

Brown said a status conference for Wenzel and Benac has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 13. A trial date has not been set, and it’s possible the defendants could enter into a plea deal

that alleviates the need for a jury trial.

In separate legal action, Easterling was deposed under oath at the State Attorney’s Office Tuesday afternoon.

Also deposed were Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research Director Robert Hueter, from Sarasota, and two more shark experts from Port Charlotte and Boca Raton.

During the investigation, the shark experts were shown video of the shark being dragged and asked if they thought the shark had been dragged alive. The scientists believed the shark was likely alive and died as a result of the injuries then sustained.

VIRAL VIDEO

In July, video of the shark dragging incident taken by the young men themselves was shared on social media and soon went viral worldwide.

This attracted the attention of media outlets nationwide and beyond and soon prompted an investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The ensuing investigation resulted in the Hillsborough County State AttorSEE SHARK, PAGE 12

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OPINION

The Anna Maria Island Sun newspaper Island Sun Plaza, 9801 Gulf Drive P.O. Box 1189 Anna Maria, FL 34216-1189 Phone: (941) 778-3986 e-mail: news@amisun.com | ads@amisun.com | classifieds@amisun.com

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MAY 9, 2018

Meeting the Challenge

T

he kindness of strangers was on full view last week in the 2018 Giving Challenge.

The philanthropic fundraiser generated a little more than $11.7 million in donations and dollar-for-dollar matches for local nonprofit organizations.

Interestingly, most of the gifts were of the grassroots variety, averaging less than $100 throughout the four-county region of Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

A few notable among the local recipients were the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH), which recieved more than $28,500 from 178 donors.

Almost half of that dollar amount came from the dollar-for-dollar match.

Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc. of Bradenton Beach made $14,780 from 198 donors and $12,955 from matching grants for a total of $27,735.

Other local nonprofit recipients included Mote Marine, The Center of Anna Maria Island and the Anna Maria Island Historical Society. A more complete list is included in our Page 3 story in today's edition.

Congratulations to the nonprofits, which will greatly benefit from these cash infusions. And a big thank you to all those who donated, illustrating once again the generosity of the people of Anna Maria Island and the entire region.

Tell us what you think Got an opinion, a complaint or a compliment?

Is there something you need to get off your chest?

Send us a letter to the editor and have your say.

There are a couple of ways to do it. The easiest and most direct is to e-mail The Sun at news@ amisun.com. Remember to put Letter to the Editor in the subject field. Or you can snail-mail a letter to us at The Anna Maria Island Sun, Island Sun Plaza, P.O. Box 1189, Anna Maria, FL 34216. Or you can hand-deliver a letter to our office in Island Sun Plaza, 9801 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria. Letters should be kept to 300 words or less and must contain your name and the city in which you reside.

Personal attacks and obscene language will not be printed. The Sun reserves the right to edit letters for length or content.

Take The Sun Survey on Page 7.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Yea! A bait-cleaning station!

FDOT’s mega bridge dissecting Cortez Village will destroy the historic community; will do little to minimize traffic delays; will probably increase traffic by enticing even more folks with the tease of saved time; threatens the safety of travelers during high wind events and hurricane evacuation; will be a physically-challenging deterrent to bikers, walkers and end cast-netting; will damage ecological systems during construction and, most tragically, will alter forever the aesthetic character and the quality of life of Anna Maria Island and Cortez Village. Thankfully, we get a fish-cleaning station.

Consider the proposed touchdown point on the Island. It appears to be beyond the current point, which means the turn lanes will be shortened, which means traffic will back up even more.

Except, your car will be stranded 72 feet, not 35, above the water (65 feet plus at least 7 feet of road bed). An FDOT-created chart shows an average of 3 minutes saved in travel time on both mega bridges.

Mega bridges. FDEP allowing massive destruction of the environment by developers, but, attacking a tiny structure offshore of Cortez Village impacting nothing. Surprises - a 100-room hotel added to One Particular Harbor, 300 apartments at already-beyond-congested Route 41 and Manatee Avenue.

Do you vote for or support sincere community builders, or those Robert F. Kennedy characterized as conquistadors – people who “regard the land

as the source of private wealth, a place where you can get rich quick - the sort of game where whoever dies with the biggest pile wins?”

Nancy Deal Holmes Beach

Consider a third bridge The FDOT has declared that they will build a fixed span bridge in Cortez while ignoring the damage it will cause to that quaint fishing village.

Just replacing the current bridge won’t address one of the biggest traffics issue facing our Island, which is getting cars on and off Longboat Key without having them travel through Bradenton Beach and up Gulf Drive to the current bridge. The idea of a third bridge has never caught on with the LBK folk, but why is FDOT not looking for other options to keep traffic flowing freely?

Scott Ricci Holmes Beach

You get what you pay for Have lived in different parts of the world, often under dictatorships, benevolent and otherwise, many of which evolved into democracies. In every case, after the celebrations were over and people settled in to the new reality, the truth came out, which is this; In a democracy, you get exactly what you deserve. No excuses. After 240 years, the world’s oldest democracy has to go back and re-learn that lesson. At every level.

Yesterday morning I headed for the

Island and one of those tucked away parking spots that locals covet, at the west end of Spring Avenue, only to find that those two spots have been eliminated. For no apparent reason. Who does this stuff? Just one more cut in the death from a thousand. Add that to all the other parking that has been closed off, the fact that sections of the beach are being closed off as private property, the endless oversized rental properties (hotels, really) pushing people out, the well-publicized day tripper malevolence of a couple of years ago, well you get the picture. AMI has sold its soul.

Some decades ago, Coca Cola came to Anna Maria and offered the city a six figure payment (a fortune back then) to let them film commercials on the beach, and put the Island on the map.

The mayor and city fathers all met at the IGA store and talked it over. They said no. Coke was shocked. What ever happened to those kind of folks that would not sell their soul, or yours?

Look at the Island today - what a difference.

So who is to blame? The elected officials who have sold your soul, your Island paradise, aided and abetted by the likes of the tourist board that is selling you out as well, in exchange for personal gain. Yes, you are getting exactly what you deserve, citizen.

You put them in office. Ironically, the reckoning will come, although we will not see it. Someday, the Island will be a submerged reef, parking not a problem.

Bring your snorkel.

Phil Moore Bradenton

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MAY 9, 2018

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THE SUN SURVEY

ON THE AGENDA

PREVIOUS QUESTION: Would you be in favor of building parking garages on

ANNA MARIA

HOLMES BEACH

May 10, 6 p.m. – City Commission special meeting May 24, 6 p.m. – City Commission regular meeting For information, call 7086130

May 22, 6 p.m. – City Commission meeting with work session to follow May 23, 10 a.m. – Public Works community forum For information, call 7085800

Anna Maria Island?

11%

Yes. One or more are desperately needed.

10005 GULF DRIVE

BRADENTON BEACH 107 GULF DRIVE N.

May 10, 1 p.m. – Department Head meeting May 14, 10 a.m. – Special Master variance meeting May 17, noon – City Commission meeting May 22, 1 p.m. – City Commission workshop For information, call 7781005

5801 MARINA DRIVE

ISLAND-WIDE

May 15, 6 p.m. – West Manatee Fire Rescue board meeting, administration building, 6417 Third Ave. W., Bradenton.

May 16, 1 p.m. – Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Officials meeting, Holmes Beach City Hall.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOTE: EVENTS ARE FREE UNLESS INDICATED.

89%

No. They are an eyesore and would be out of place.

WEDNESDAY MAY 9

THE SUN SURVEY IS NOT A SCIENTIFIC POLL AND IS USED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

THIS WEEK’S SURVEY

• Yes if they can prove ownership.

Should beachfront property own-

• No. The beaches always should be

ers be allowed to fence off any of

accessible to everyone.

the beach in front of their land?

To vote, go to www.amisun.com or scan this code to vote by smartphone.

LIKE us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AnnaMariaIslandSun View The Sun’s online edition at www.issuu.com/AnnaMariaIslandSun The Anna Maria Island Sun staff Publishers Mike Field Maggie Field Editor/CEO Mike Field Layout Ricardo Fonseca Reporters Cindy Lane Tom Vaught Joe Hendricks

Kristin Swain Columnists Louise Bolger Outdoors editor Rusty Chinnis Ad director Chantelle Lewin Ad assistants Chris Boniberger Dianne Martin

Classified ads Bob Alexander Graphics Elaine Stroili Ricardo Fonseca Digital/Social Media Editor Cindy Lane Accounting John Reitz

Distribution Bob Alexander Tony McNulty Connor Field Contributors Pat Copeland Steve Borggren Sean Murphy Monica Simpson

Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce Sunrise Breakfast, Cortez Café, 12108 Cortez Road, Cortez, 7:45 a.m., $8 per member or $16 per prospective member.

Reserve to 941-778-1541 or info@amichamber.org.

Roser-Robics chair-based exercise class, Roser Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, 9:30 a.m.

Beach Market, Coquina Beach, 2650 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For information call 941-518-4431.

Coloring Club, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, noon.

Gentle chair yoga, Anna Maria Island Art League, 5312 Holmes Blvd., Holmes Beach, noon.

Service and Science book club, Robinson Preserve NEST, 1704 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 5:30 p.m.

Reserve to michelle.leahy@ mymanatee.org.

THURSDAY MAY 10

Veteran Services Information, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 9 a.m.

Tree tots: Nature Noises, Robinson Preserve NEST, 1704 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 10 a.m. Reserve to 941-742-5757, ext. 4 or coral. bass@mymanatee.org.

Zumba and mat pilates

for seniors, The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, second floor, 10 a.m., $10 per class.

Reserve to maryannbrady@ theparadisecenter.org or 941-383-6493.

Hurricane Preparedness Seminar, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2 p.m.

Jam in the Sand, Anna Maria Island Beach Café, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, 5 to 8 p.m.

FRIDAY MAY 11

NEST Nature Days, Robinson Preserve, 1704 99th St. NW, Bradenton, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.

Roser-Robics chair-based exercise class, Roser Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, 9:30 a.m.

Forty Carrots, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.

Intermediate bridge session, The Paradise Center, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, 2nd Floor, Longboat Key, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., $10, includes coffee and cookies.

Reserve to maryannbrady@ theparadisecenter.org or 941-383-6493.

Mahjong, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11:30 a.m.

Alzheimer’s caregiver support group, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2 p.m.

Sunset drum circle, Manatee Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, 5 to 8 p.m.

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MAY 9, 2018

All Moms receive..

Carnation and a Mimosa C OR cup of soup

Raffle prize is $150 AMOB gift card with an AMOB swag pack basket

LANDSIDE

6906 14th Street West 941.758.7880

CORTEZ

6696 Cortez Road 941.792.0077

ELLENTON

1525 51st Avenue East 941.721.7773

*BRIDGE STREE PIER Bradenton Beach 941.778.AMOB (2662)

*PRIME RIB NOT VALID AT PIER LOCATION

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MAY 9, 2018

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9

Mean high-water line surveyed It is not yet known what, if any, impact the recent surveying will have on people walking the residential beaches along South Bay Boulevard.

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA – The lines in the sand have been drawn – aka surveyed and staked – in two beachfront locations along South Bay Boulevard.

On Wednesday, May 2, surveyors placed three wooden stakes along the mean high-water line that establishes the private property line in front of a beachfront home along the 500 block of South Bay Boulevard. As a second point of reference, Mayor Dan Murphy also asked the surveyors to stake the mean high-water line near the public access path on the 600 block of South Bay Boulevard.

The handwritten phrase “Apparent MHW” appears on each of the survey stakes. The city also has been provided the GPS coordinates of the survey points should the stakes be removed by nature or humans. Murphy said the survey work cost approximately $900.

Murphy requested the surveying at the city’s expense because the beach area between the water and a bayfront home on South Bay Boulevard has been discussed at recent City Commission meetings as a source of confrontation between the property owners and people walking the residential beach along the Tampa Bay shoreline.

Last summer, the property owners placed two signs between their home

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN

The wooden stakes on the right mark the location of the mean high-water line along the 500 block of South Bay Boulevard. and the water that say “No trespassing.

This beach is private property.”

A visit to the newly-staked areas at 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, May 3, revealed the incoming tidal waters of Tampa Bay had already risen above the mean high-water line in both locations – and high tide wasn’t expected that day until 2:20 p.m.

According to the survey stakes, people walking landward of the mean high-water line are walking on private property, and the property owners have the right to ask them to leave. For much of last week, anyone walking that section of beach would have had to walk in the water to avoid walking on private property.

Private property owners have no such rights when it comes to people walking seaward of the mean high-water line. All land seaward of the mean high-water line (or the erosion control

line where beach renourishment has occurred) is state-owned public land.

The mean high-water line is established using a 19-year average based on local tidal data established by tidal observations made at specific tide stations.

When asked how the city plans to deal with future conflicts that may arise between private property owners and people walking along that stretch of residential beach, Murphy said, “My advice is that we all respect each other and are tolerant with each other.”

When interviewed on April 12, the property owner in question correctly estimated where his property line was.

He said he was considering installing rope and bollard fencing to delineate his property line and discourage foot traffic.

Installation of beachfront fence will require a permit from the city, but a re-

cent federal lawsuit supports property owners right to install fences.

In March 2017, Walton County commissioners adopted a customary use ordinance in response to beachfront property owners erecting fences.

“No individual, group or entity shall impede or interfere with the right of the public to utilize the dry sand areas of the beach that are owned by private entities,” the ordinance said.

In November 2017, a federal court ruled the Walton County ordinance language prohibiting fencing was unconstitutional and violated property owners’ First Amendment rights. The federal court viewed fences as an expression of free speech that conveyed a message to others to stay off their property.

During the City Commission’s April 26 meeting, property owners Pat Olesen, Dr. David Bulley and Dean Foster were among those who expressed concerns about people walking and congregating on the private beaches in front of their bayfront homes. Their public testimony contributed to the City Commission’s decision to discontinue the pursuit of a customary use ordinance as a potential means of protecting the historic and customary public use of privately-owned beach lands.

A new state law that takes effect July will require a court order before local governments can adopt or maintain an ordinance based upon the public’s customary use of any portion of beach above the mean high-water line. The new law does not apply to ordinances adopted and enacted before Jan. 1, 2016.

10

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MAY 9, 2018

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11

Center hires new executive director The Center of Anna Maria Island has a new permanent executive director and the board chose to hire from within the nonprofit’s existing staff.

BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA – At the end of a two month search for a new executive director, The Center of Anna Maria Island’s board of directors are choosing from their own ranks.

In a May 4 press release, Center board members announced the promotion of Chris Culhane to executive director.

To fill the executive director void more than 170 applicants were screened and interviewed by human resources consultant Margaret Beck before finalists were interviewed by the Center’s hiring committee.

Committee members included board members Karen Harllee, David Zaccagnino and John Munn, County Commissioner Steve Jonsson and local business owner Barbara Sato.

Culhane will take over Center leadership from interim Executive Director Carl Weeks.

“After an extensive search and many months of committee work, Chris Culhane came out as our top choice,” Zaccagnino said in the press release. “He has proven himself over the years and has earned the opportu-

SUBMITTED | CENTER

Left New Center Executive Director Chris Culhane takes to the field with his family. Above, A young Chris Culhane was part of the Center’s wrestling team. nity of executive director. During the past couple months Chris has been working closely with interim Executive Director Carl Weeks, the finance committee, the board of directors and several grant and fundraising committees. He is a natural and has stepped into the leadership position with purpose. We are pleased to have Chris as our new executive director.”

Culhane began his career at the Center as a coach and volunteer before taking an administrative position three years ago. Prior to working at the Center, he attended the Center

and participated in sports as a child and teenager. Now his three children attend the Center.

“It is with great pleasure that I have accepted the offer which has been bestowed upon me by The Center’s board of directors and the hiring committee to become The Center of Anna Maria Island’s next executive director.

I am humbled and ultimately grateful for the opportunity and I would like to thank the board, The committee, local business owners that participated in the search, the dedicated staff, and the AMI community as a whole,” Cul-

hane said in the press release.

“I love this community, and I love The Center. With the goals set high, we will be working with our integral community leaders, th board, and The Center team to review the strategic plan in order to build a sustainable model that drives The Center to success and truly leaves a legacy – a legacy that will hopefully inspire executive directors all the way down the line.”

The Center is at 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

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SHARK: Charges against one defendant dropped

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ney’s Office filing animal cruelty charges against Heintz, Benac and Wenzel in December 2017.

Benac, of Sarasota, is still facing two third-degree felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and one seconddegree misdemeanor count of illegal method of taking a shark. His mother, Betsy Benac, is a Manatee County commissioner.

Wenzel, of Palmetto, also faces two third-degree felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and one seconddegree misdemeanor count of illegal method of taking a shark. His father, Robert Wenzel, is planning section manager for Manatee County.

Additional video obtained by investigators shows Benac using a speargun to shoot a different shark that was caught earlier that day. Another video shows Wenzel using a .38-caliber handgun to shoot the shark that was later

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The incident occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, near Egmont Key, a few miles northwest of Anna Maria Island.

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In their last meeting of the season, members of the Parks and Beautification Committee finalized their recommendations for improvements to the dog park with some help from the public.

BY KRISTIN SWAIN

SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

HOLMES BEACH – The plans have been several months in the making, but now members of the Parks and Beautification Committee have a date to propose their recommended improvements to the city’s dog park to commissioners.

That date is May 8, during the City Commission workshop immediately following the 6 p.m. regular meeting, after press time for The Sun. Committee member Joshua Linney said he hopes everyone who has been a vocal member of the public during the planning process will be at the commission workshop to offer public comment.

Committee members met May 2 for their last meeting of the season.

They used the time to go over their final recommendations before presenting to commissioners and taking public input on the proposed park improvements.

Priorities for the dog park project include adding infiltration trenches, resurfacing the area, adding trees for shade and benches for seating with pavers underneath to prevent digging and changing out the current fencing for a vinyl coated one that is more resistant to rust. Adding water filling stations for water bottles and dog bowls, along with an additional access gate for maintenance and push but-

KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN

Resident Karen Zimmerman offers her thoughts on the proposed improvements to the dog park to members of the Holmes Beach Parks and Beautification Committee. ton gates for public access, also are suggestions favored by committee members. Committee members estimate their recommended improvements will cost $44,930, a little less than the $50,000 commissioners budgeted for park renovations.

“I think you guys have done an amazing job,” resident Renae Ferguson said to committee members.

While some ideas, such as slightly expanding the park and adding a security system to limit use of the park to dog owners who register their pets with the city, are still on the table, members of the public came up with their own list of park improvements they’d like to see.

Several people spoke up about the need for a splash pad for pets playing in the park during the hot summer months.

“The splash pad makes perfect sense,” park user Mary Miller said.

“We live in Florida; it’s hot.”

Other recommendations from

the public include elimination of planned shrubs on the outside of the fence to block sound because the plants could block sight lines for park users and a net-like shield to block balls from entering the park from the adjacent baseball diamond. Users agreed they’d also like to see the large signs with park rules removed from inside wooden shelters where they say the signs block much-needed airflow.

Dog park user Don Anthony said if more funds were needed to make all the park improvements, he feels that dog park users will be willing to donate toward the project.

“The effort is there, and the money is there if we can be sure it goes to the dog park,” he said.

Closing the meeting, Linney thanked everyone for their comments and continued input throughout the planning process. “I hope you’ll all be there on Tuesday,” he said.

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15

Protecting Holmes Beach from rising tides Rising tides pose a threat to Holmes Beach property owners, but City Engineer Lynn Burnett has a plan to keep the high waters in the bay.

BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

HOLMES BEACH – Stories of climate change and sea level rise may soon be more than just cautionary tales for Island property owners, but City Engineer Lynn Burnett has a plan to keep those stories from becoming nightmares.

“Our ultimate goal is net zero loss of properties that are buildable today,” Burnett said, opening a discussion with planning commissioners concerning the steps needed to take to keep rising tides out of local businesses and residences.

Burnett’s plan is to begin slowly raising city streets, seawalls and private properties, along with adding more stormwater drainage to lots, to help keep the water out over the next 20-40 years as sea levels continue to rise.

With Anna Maria Island elevated so close to existing sea level, if the Island cities and property owners do nothing, Burnett said in Holmes Beach 20-30 percent of currently

KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN

City Engineer Lynn Burnett discusses her plan to help keep rising tide waters out of Holmes Beach through the year 2060 with planning commissioners. buildable lots could be underwater by 2060 with no hope of reclaiming them.

Because of the way the Island is graded, with the higher side bordering the Gulf of Mexico, the loss of land would be concentrated on the opposite side bordering Tampa Bay, Anna Maria Sound, and Palma Sola Bay. The flooding that islanders see during king tides, Burnett said, would become the norm.

“The do-nothing option does not exist,” she said.

To prevent property loss, Burnett wants to begin working with each Island city and private property owners to inspect individual properties and determine what can be done to keep the water out.

“It’s not a one size fits all solution,” she said. “We’re not going to be able to prevent 100 percent of flooding on this Island. That’s not an achievable goal. It’s better to have the water recede in hours rather than days.”

“We all know it’s coming,” Planning Com-

missioner Chuck Stealey said. His primary concern with the plan was how the proposed improvements will be funded. For people living on a fixed income or those who recently completed repairs to their seawalls expected to last for 20 years, he said the cost could be too much to bear. He also worried that if some property owners can’t foot the bill for the improvements, it will endanger surrounding properties when the flood waters come.

Burnett said determining the cost and figuring out how to pay for it would be one of the things discussed with each individual property owner as the program progresses.

If the property owner can’t afford the repairs or improvements, she said some grant funds or other monies may be available to help lessen the financial burden. She said savings to property owners also will be present in the lessening of flood insurance payments, which would help cover the initial cost of improvements in savings spread out over several years of property ownership.

Planning Commissioner Scott Boyd said he feels the project will just raise the cost of homeownership on the Island and push out more permanent residents.

City Planner Bill Brisson said for new Island homeowners seeking to rebuild or reSEE TIDES, PAGE 25

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17

The start of my restaurant career – part 2

BY SEAN MUPHY SPECIAL TO THE SUN

I

started my restaurant career in a stadium.

At 17, I was hired by Chef Gunther to organize the vending of souvenir key chains and hot dogs at the grand opening of the Canada Summer Games.

The only business experience I had at that time was a paper route.

My only experience in stadium vending was watching the hot dog guys at hockey games.

I hired a crew of 60 guys and three girls and organized a supply system around three field kitchens. The fastest guys were running through the stands selling.

The three girls were hired to count the money because they were smarter.

There was a big push to sell the key chains because my dad had sold them to Chef Gunther, and they were a high profit item.

I decided that the best way to sell the key chains was to hang them from hockey sticks.

I did not have high ambitions for the

chains. I failed to see their utility.

We did not own a car, and even if we got one, my dad was never going to let me drive it.

During the first half hour everything worked well.

Then our grand opening turned into a grand bust when a political hack at the school board sent a thousand kids in school buses to see the ceremonies.

They seated the kids on the steps in the stands, and my sales guys could not get up the steps to the crowd. Sales ground to a halt.

Kipling wrote that you’re a man if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you. My German chef boss and everyone else was losing their heads and blaming it on me.

In the deep darkness of that chaos there emerged a bright star – Louis LeBlanc.

Louie was the best pitcher in little league.

As our distribution system shut down Louie innovated.

He had the people in his section passing money down to the front, and he was chucking hot dogs up into the stands.

I was immediately taken with the cleverness of his plan.

I was also impressed by his accuracy.

That boy could chuck a hot dog.

It took me a little while to get all the best chuckers in the right places, but we got a system in place for selling the dogs.

The day was not saved, but disaster was marginally averted.

Chef and I did not make nearly as much money as we had hoped, but Louie made out like a bandit.

Louie often made out like a bandit because Louie was a thief.

It was an economic imperative.

Louie was a French Canadian kid who was tougher and faster than everyone because he had to be. He was born dirt poor.

The dirt poor in our town lived in the cellars near the docks. The floors in the cellars were dirt floors. The rats who lived there were not crazy about the accommodations either.

Louie was determined not to stay poor, and stealing his way out was not the only way, but it was a way.

Louie was an unabashed thief all of his life.

As he matured he got better at it and stole better stuff.

It has been my experience that people who have nothing have more motivation

to steal.

The obvious exception is very rich people who have banks and hedge funds and insurance companies.

Louie had helped me recruit our staff.

I did not know, but he was getting 20 percent from everyone he hired.

Louie was also pocketing a cut of the cash boxes because the girls I had put in charge of the cash all had a crush on Louie.

In the confusion, his brother was stealing the key chains.

As the crowd departed, I sat in the bleachers with Chef Gunther. He commended me on my hot dog chuckers, but he was clearly heartbroken at the disappointing sales day.

None of us saw the schoolbuses coming.

As he sat, dejected, mumbling in German, he fiddled with one of his key chains.

Louie and his brother were outside the stadium selling the rest of them.

They moved better than I thought they would.

That day should have taught me to stay out of the restaurant business.

It didn’t.

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19

Stewart and Macey Moon Stewart and Macey Moon were married April 28 in Bradenton and will honeymoon in St. Lucia. Stewart Moon is the son of Trudy and Stewart Moon Sr., and the vice president of Air and Energy Air, Plumbing and Electrical. Macey is a legislative aide to Florida State Senator Bill Galvano. The couple will live in Bradenton.

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FOOD & WINE

THE SUN

21

Put some 'pink gold' in your shrimp pot Karen Bell

G

Peel N Eat Shrimp

STAR FISH COMPANY

aydon’s shrimp! Ask people who live in Cortez what that means, and you’re sure to get a smile and a bunch of adjectives describing what may be one of life’s simplest pleasures – Gulf pink shrimp!

The little pink beauties are harvested right off our beaches in the Gulf of Mexico and south to the Tortugas. Referred to also as “pink gold,” pink shrimp have a delicate white meat that is slightly sweet in flavor with a natural saltiness that makes for a delicious blend of flavors.

In the 70s my dad, Walter Bell, began having offshore boats built. One of the first was a wooden 72-foot shrimp boat named Deanna Belle.

The boat was a partnership between A.P. Bell Fish Company and Gaydon Jones. Gaydon was co-owner and captain.

His wife’s name was Deanna.

In 1978 a second shrimp boat was built, but this time out of fiberglass by a gentleman in Tampa named Astor Bodden. When it came time to name her, I can remember my dad telling me that he chose Thunder Belle. I asked where he got that, to which he laughed and said it was after my mother. My mother’s

Ingredients: serves 4

• 1 lb. Gulf pink shrimp (26-30 ct.)

• ¼ c. Old Bay seasoning • Lemon wedge

Procedure:

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add Old Bay seasoning and shrimp. Return water to a boil and shut off heat. Remove shrimp and place in an ice water bath to cool. Drain and enjoy.

SUBMITTED

Pink shrimp have a delicate white meat that is slightly sweet in flavor with a natural saltiness that makes for a delicious blend of flavors. name was Sandy, but her original namesake, the Sandy Belle, had sunk in the 1960s during a hurricane. My dad thought that Thunder was an appropriate replacement name as he said “Sandy could roar like thunder!”

Both boats worked the Gulf of Mexico dragging for shrimp until Deanna was finally retired in the early 2000s. At that point, Gaydon moved over to captain Thunder Belle.

The term “Gaydon’s shrimp”

came out of the fact that people would call the fish house and ask if Gaydon had made it back from shrimping. Everyone knew that the shrimp he and his crewman (Robin Kight) produced were better than almost any shrimp around. People would try to figure out what made them better and the theories were many. Gaydon and Robin would only stay for about a week and both Deanna and Thunder were ice boats. Pos-

sibly the superior taste and quality were due to not freezing the shrimp onboard.

There also was the thought that local waters were of such high quality that the shrimp stocks were healthy and fresh resulting in a premium product. Maybe it’s as simple as knowing and understanding where your food comes from.

This past weekend I boiled up some fresh-caught Gulf pinks for myself. They were small as I like to save the

bigger ones to sell. It was simple enough – bring salted water to a full boil, drop in the shrimp and once the water begins to boil, pour the shrimp into a colander with ice. Done.

The key, as usual with seafood, is to not overcook it.

Seriously, take it off the heat before you think it’s done.

The shrimp were perfect.

They had almost a buttery flavor and were delicious!

If you want to boil up some shrimp yourself, stop by A.P. Bell or Star Fish Company and ask for some pinks. And a big thanks to Gaydon and the other Cortez captains and fishermen. They’re hard work lets us enjoy what our local waters provide.

22

THE SUN

OUTDOORS

MAY 9, 2018

Tarpon fishing takes off CAPTAIN DAVE WHITE

Things are looking good around our little island. The water temperatures are just right to bring a variety of species into our wheelhouse.

Starting with the flats, the snook and trout remain fired up. Although the bigger snook are sliding over the beaches to spawn, you can still catch big guys on the flats. Redfish are hit or miss. But that seems to be the case most of the time around here.

Spanish mackerel and kingfish are loaded up on the beaches. Over any nearshore wrecks and reefs as well. Permit are another pelagic species that are hovering over the wrecks in water up to 100 feet.

We at Anna Maria Charters are focused on the big mangrove snapper that have

moved in for the summer.

These tasty critters can be caught a variety of ways, but I prefer cut shiners drifted down over the structure.

Offshore, tuna are out and in pretty good numbers. Red grouper are always biting. It’s not too hard to fill a cooler with these guys.

Good luck out there and tight lines.

CAPTAIN RICK GRASSETT

Tarpon fishing will take off during May as migratory fish arrive along our beaches.

Also look for Spanish mackerel, tripletail, cobia and false albacore (little tunny) in the coastal Gulf. Snook will move into passes and the surf and reds and trout should feed heavily on shallow flats as baitfish become more plentiful.

Trout, blues, Spanish mack-

erel and more should be good options on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Resident tarpon are usually the first to show up as they make their way out of rivers and creeks. As migratory tarpon start to arrive this month, we should have schools of tarpon moving both north and south along our beaches. Early arriving tarpon may be more aggressive due to less fishing pressure early in the season.

Set up in their line of travel and wait for tarpon schools to move past and cast a DOA Baitbuster, a 4-inch CAL Shad, a live crab or pinfish to them.

Once you’ve seen the first school of fish, you can concentrate your efforts in that lane since other schools should be following the same route.

When they aren’t showing

CAPTAIN DAVE WHITE | SUBMITTED

A smiling Jerry Johnson, of Kansas City, shows off a 31-inch fly caught snook. This fish was caught on an Epoxy Minnow tied by Captain David White, of Anna Maria Charters. well on the surface, a live bait under a float in their travel lane may score. I’ve also done well blind casting a DOA Baitbuster or Swimming Mullet when there wasn’t much showing on the surface. Be quiet

and using your electric trolling motor sparingly. Even though your 4-stroke outboard sounds quiet, it is no substitute for an electric trolling motor.

SEE CAPTAINS, PAGE 23

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MAY 9, 2018

THE SUN

23

CAPTAINS: Look for reds in shallow water FROM PAGE 1

Fly anglers should do well with a variety of baitfish or crab fly patterns fished on floating or intermediate sink tip fly lines. Staking out or anchoring in shallow water on their travel route should result in some shots at fish.

The best angle is a head on shot, followed by a quartering shot. A perpendicular shot may work if it’s timed perfectly, although casting too far beyond their line of travel will usually spook them. I use a push pole with an occasional assist from a trolling motor if I need to adjust my position to make a cast.

Snook season is closed on the west coast of Florida this month. Since they will be spawning, use tackle heavy enough to catch and release them in a timely manner and handle them gently. Larger snook will mostly be females and should always be supported horizontally rather than hung vertically by the jaw.

You’ll find them in passes and in the surf. They will also stage around docks and bridges close to passes.

Casting CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms or DOA shrimp around docks and bridges close to passes should be effective. Small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, work well at night. One of the most fun

CAPTAIN RICK GRASSETT | SUBMITTED

May should be a good month for tarpon in Sarasota. Capt. Rick Grassett handles one at boatside in a previous May. ways to target snook is to walk the beach and cast CAL jigs, DOA shrimp or flies to them in the surf.

Higher tides this month will mean that reds will spend more time feeding on shallow flats. Look for them along mangrove shorelines and around oyster bars when the tide is high and in potholes or along sandbars when the tide is low.

When fishing shallow water for reds, be as quiet as possible. I prefer to use a push pole or wade. Reds are one of the most chal-

lenging species to catch on a fly. Since they can be very spooky, I often wade for them when fly fishing to keep a lower profile. You’ll also find big trout in many of the same shallow areas that you find reds. The Terra Ceia Bay area and Gasparilla Sound are all good areas for reds this month.

Trout will be plentiful on deep grass flats. I prefer to cast CAL jigs and flies on sink tip fly lines for trout.

A DOA Deadly Combo also works very well. Drifting and casting ahead of the drift is

usually the most productive method. Look for flats that have a good mix of grass and sand and good tidal flow.

You may find pompano, bluefish and Spanish mackerel on the same deep grass flats where trout are plentiful. They can be targeted in the same way as trout, but you may need to use wire or heavy fluorocarbon leader when toothy fish are around.

You may also find Spanish and king mackerel, little tunny, cobia and tripletail in the coastal Gulf. Keep your eyes open for surface

activity such as diving birds, breaking fish or baitfish being forced out of the water which could indicate the presence of mackerel, blues or little tunny.

Medium spinning tackle and 8 or 9-weight fly tackle should be heavy enough, although your tarpon spinning and fly tackle is not too heavy for cobia. Look for cobia either swimming on the surface or around navigational markers or buoys. I have also found cobia swimming with schools of tarpon before.

Tripletail may be found around crab trap floats or buoys, where they can be targeted with a DOA shrimp or CAL jig on spinning tackle. When fly fishing for tripletail, a floating line on an 8 or 9-weight fly rod with a shrimp or baitfish fly pattern, like my Grassett Flats Minnow, should get the job done.

This is one of my favorite months of the year. If battling a big tarpon isn’t for you, you should have plenty to do on both shallow and deep grass flats or in the coastal Gulf. I’ll be spending my time targeting tarpon in the coastal Gulf unless conditions won’t allow it. There is something about casting a fly to a giant fish in shallow water. Whatever you choose to do, please limit your kill; don’t kill your limit.

Sales Brokerage Service Rentals

6040 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key | 941-383-1311 |

cannons.com

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MAY 9, 2018

Flood insurance increase anticipated Policy holders in Anna Maria will likely see their flood insurance discounts reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent.

BY JOE HENDRICKS

SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA – Beginning Oct. 1, flood insurance premiums for policy holders in Anna Maria will likely increase by 10 percent due to past reporting failures by former Building Official Jimmy Strickland, which

led to his firing in December.

On March 14, Community Rating System (CRS) reviewer Craig Carpenter sent notice to City Engineer Lynn Burnett.

“Enclosed are the preliminary results regarding credits for the city of Anna Maria Community Rating System verification. I have verified 1,954 credit points for the city.

This results in a recommendation that the community retro-grade from a CRS Class 5 to a CRS Class 7. The information provided is subject to acceptance by DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and FEMA (Federal

Emergency Management Agency). The results of this verification will become effective Oct. 1, 2018,” Carpenter wrote.

If DHS and FEMA verify Carpenter’s recommendation, policy holders in Anna Maria will see their CRS discount reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent.

According to Mayor Dan Murphy, Burnett mistakenly forwarded Carpenter’s notification to an email address associated with former Mayor Mike Selby. Murphy did not receive it until last week.

In October, Carpenter contacted Strickland

Mayor provides pier update On Friday, April 27, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy provided city commissioners, county officials and city staff with an update on the replacement of the Anna Maria City Pier. His update read as follows: • Engineering and design: On track for the new city pier platform as well as the exterior of new restaurant and bait shop; • Sea grass study: Commences May 3. Completion expected by May 7, weather permitting;

• Plank removal: Commences early June with distribution by mid-late June, weather permitting; • Demolition request for proposal: Issued and the pre-bid conference with interested bidders held April 27. Seven local bidders attended. Demolition contractor to be selected by May 15. Demolition to start late June, with completion date no later than August 18; • Construction request for proposal: To be issued in early June, based on USACE construction permit estimate.

Contractor selection by July 3. Construction to begin late August, weather permitting; • Tenant discussion: Continue with current tenant. Fact finding includes: interior design and finishing, level of financial participation in new pier rebuild and term of lease extension. Lease expires December 2020; • Pier completion date: On track and anticipated by December 2019.

about his failure to produce the documents requested during the CRS compliance review initiated in December 2016. At that time, Carpenter was recommending the city be retrograded from a Class 5 community to a Class 10, which would receive no discount. City staff was given additional time to provide the requested documents and those efforts helped salvage the remaining 15 percent discount Carpenter now recommends.

After Strickland was fired, David Greenbaum was hired to serve as the city’s building official and FEMA/CRS coordinator.

www.amisun.com

MAY 9, 2018

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25

Manatee numbers down from 2017

BY CINDY LANE SUN STAFF WRITER | clane@amisun.com

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) counted 6,131 manatees in Florida waters in surveys this winter, down 489 from the 6,620 manatees counted last year, the highest since the program began in 1991.

Observers counted 3,731 manatees on the east coast and 2,400 on the west coast from the air.

From January to April this year, 307

manatees died in state waters, including seven in Manatee County, according to the FWC. In 2017, 538 manatees died in Florida, 20 of them in Manatee County.

The one-day surveys that began in 1991 have expanded in recent years to three or four days and are conducted annually in cold weather when manatees are clustered in warm-water sites, making them easier to find, according to the FWC. The surveys cover all the known wintering habitats of manatees in Florida and provide researchers with

Live like a local Respect Wildlife

Black skimmer We’re here to rest and nest. Please don’t chase us!

Anna Maria Island Sun ~~~~~~~~~ Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring

MANATEE SURVEYS

2018 6,131 2017 6,620 2016 6,250 2015 6,063 Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission a count of manatees visible in Florida waters during the several days of the survey.

Manatees were downlisted in 2017

TURTLE TIPS During sea turtle season, May 1 – Oct. 31, please follow these tips: • Turn off lights visible from the beach and close blinds from sundown to sunrise; lights confuse nesting sea turtles and may cause them to go back to sea and drop their eggs in the water, where they won’t hatch. Light can also attract hatchlings away from the water.

• Don’t use flashlights, lanterns or camera flashes on the beach at night.

• Remove all objects from the sand from sundown to sunrise; they can deter sea turtles from nesting and disorient hatchlings.

• Fill in the holes you dig in the sand before leaving the beach; they can trap nesting and hatching sea turtles, which cannot live long out of the water.

• Don’t use wish lanterns

from endangered to the less serious threatened status by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

You can show your support for manatees by purchasing a manatee Florida license plate at www.BuyaPlate.com or a manatee decal at MyFWC.com/ ManateeSeaTurtleDecals. Funds from the license plates and decals support manatee research and conservation.

To report a dead or distressed manatee, call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

or fireworks; they litter the beach and Gulf.

• Do not trim trees and plants that shield the beach from lights.

• Never touch a sea turtle; it’s the law. If you see people disturbing turtles, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888404-FWCC (3922).

BIRD TIPS During bird nesting season, March through August, please follow these tips: • Never touch a shorebird chick, even if it’s wandering outside a staked nesting area.

• Teach kids not to chase birds – bird parents may abandon nests if they’re disturbed.

• Don’t feed birds – it encourages them to fly at people aggressively and is not good for their health.

• If birds are screeching and

flying at you, you’re too close.

• Avoid posted bird nesting areas and use designated walkways to the beach.

• Keep pets away from bird nesting areas.

• Keep the beach clean; food scraps attract predators such as raccoons and crows to the beach, and litter can entangle birds and other wildlife.

• If you see people disturbing nesting birds, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888404-FWCC (3922).

FLIPPERS AND FEATHERS Turtles dig the dark! If you’re visiting Anna Maria Island in a beachfront rental, you can help sea turtle hatchlings get to the Gulf of Mexico safely by turning off balcony lights and closing drapes and blinds on windows that face the Gulf or Bay.

TIDES: Protecting Holmes Beach FROM PAGE 15

model a home, several of the proposed improvements are already enforced during the site plan approval stage in the building department. Already property owners are required to raise new structures and those receiving more than a 50 percent remodel above the current flood level as determined by FEMA. New site plans and remodels also require stormwater drainage facilities to be placed on the property able to hold all the property’s stormwater runoff.

“The alternative is you won’t have a place to live,” Brisson said.

“Nobody’s going to buy our property if

it’s underwater,” Planning Commissioner Barbara Hines said.

Burnett said the things city leaders are doing to keep the rising tides out are “nothing new,” but aren’t outlined specifically in the city’s comprehensive plan. City initiatives include the installation of WaStop valves at outflow pipes to prevent tidal water from backing up the city’s stormwater drainage system, repairing and slip-lining damaged pipes, incrementally raising roads as they’re resurfaced and putting a 12-inch cap on city-owned seawalls as they’re repaired or replaced. To keep the water from flooding bayside properties, adequate stormwater infiltration and retention fa-

cilities must be installed upland on both public and private property.

“We don’t have a choice,” Hines said.

“We are going to lose this Island if we do not take action now. I don’t know about you, but I can’t afford not to do it.”

Burnett said if the proposed ordinance outlining the plan is approved by city commissioners, private property owners could see implementation plans for their residences as soon as 2020. Before the ordinance goes to city commissioners for approval, planning commissioners are holding a public hearing to determine if it’s consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan at their June 6 meeting.

We don't have a choice.

We are going to lose this Island if we do not take action now."

Barbara Hines HB planning commissioner

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MAY 9, 2018

ENTERTAINMENT

MAY 9, 2018

ART Summer camp offered

Local artist Cory Wright will lead a summer art camp on watercolors for kids seven to 11 years old at the Studio at Gulf and Pine, 10101 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria, from Monday, June 25, to Thursday, June 28, from 9 to 11 a.m. This is an opportunity to explore fun, new techniques for drawing and mixing colors that will tap into and enhance kids’ natural creativity. Projects include fun and engaging ways to paint landscapes, self-portraits, still-lifes and animals.

Space is limited to 10 kids so sign up now to reserve your space. The camp is $175 and includes the art supplies. Call Cory at 813-758-7057 or email her at cmurals@ verizon.net for more information.

Young artist’s work displayed This month the Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island at 5414 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach is displaying a pen and ink original by Ryley Ober entitled “Deity of the Deep.” Ryley’s work depicts the divine goddess swimming in the celestial sea, and Ryley herself has earned several swimming awards and has been accepted to Indiana University on a swimming scholarship. She is a student at Bayshore High School and is in Claire Hickman’s art class. The Artists’

Ryley Ober’s pen and ink original titled “Deity of the Deep” is on display at the Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island.

Guild Gallery is open from10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Monday through Saturday.

Students show environmental art The Studio at Gulf and Pine, 10101 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria, will hold an artist’s reception on Thursday, May 17, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to celebrate environmental artwork from Anna Maria Elementary (AME) School during the school year.

Over the past eight years, AME students, grades 3 to 5, have been creating watercolors of local wildlife. Painting watercolors alongside local artists is part of AME’s

multi-faceted, hands-on, environmental education program that engages students with their surroundings. Throughout the year, AME students can also be seen, bird watching, growing herbs and vegetables, composting, butterfly gardening and learning about butterflies, turtles and shorebirds.

Staff, volunteers and many community partners make this possible.

The ultimate mission of this program is to develop environmental stewards and community leaders who understand that a healthy environment is an essential component to healthy thriving communities.

This is the first year these paintings will be on display for the public to enjoy. In addition to more than 100 of the students’ watercolors, the work of the artists who inspired and instructed the children will be on display: the photography of Dr. Lou Newman, the watercolor journaling of Lucinda Hathaway, and paintings by Marie Garafano.

The reception is a zero-waste event featuring light refreshments. It’s an opportunity to take part in one of a series of learning activities including drawing a dune scene to help support Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch’s effort to protect the dunes.

Purchase a set of one-of-a-kind note cards bearing images from the exhibit because 100 percent of the proceeds benefit AME’s environmental programs. There will also be a prize drawing for a basket of art supplies from Keeton’s Office and Art Supply, a sponsor of Sharing Our Shores.

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Call 941-778-1906 or visit www.studioatgulfandpine.com for more information about all the upcoming artist workshops, exhibits and other cultural events.

FAMILY FUN At the library The Island Branch Library, at 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, has a number of activities for young and old. This week’s listings include: • Wednesday, May 9, the Coloring Club at noon.

• Thursday, May 10, a veteran services professional will be available to help those with problems, 9 to 11 a.m.; a Red Cross representative will address evacuation before and volunteering after a storm from 2 to 3 p.m.

• Friday, May 11, Forty Carrots, Partners in Learning, 10 to 11 a.m.; mah jongg 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.; the Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group meets from 2 to 3 p.m.

• Saturday, May 12, origami from 10 a.m. to noon; Legos Day, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

• Tuesday, May 15, preschool story time, “Birds,” 10 to 11 a.m.; mah jongg, 11:30 to 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 16, Customer Appreciation Day, all day.

Call the library at 941-778-6341 for information.

Island Players deliver on play with moral message “An Inspector Calls” was first performed in 1949 and has retained its popularity since then.

BY TOM VAUGHT SUN STAFF WRITER | tvaught@amsun.com

ANNA MARIA – “An Inspector Calls,”

by J. B Priestley, set in the early 1900s before World War I, was written shortly after World War II and carries a “do unto others” message with a touch of science fiction at the end.

The play is complicated, but the Island Players performed it with perfection.

The Birling family is celebrating their daughter’s engagement. The daughter, Sheila, is played by Silvia Marnie, while her fiance, Gerald Croft, is played by Colin Brady, an English businessman.

Father of the bride Arthur Birling, played by Daniel Coppinger, is also

a businessman and the two men get along well, discussing the perfect balance of charging enough for their products while keeping personnel costs low for a more-than-tidy profit.

Birling’s wife, Sybil, played by Caroline Cox, is the perfect wife who helps raise money for the poor, some of whom work for her husband.

As they make plans to celebrate the engagement, they get call from police Inspector Goole, who wants to question them about a suicide.

Goole, played by director Heiko Knipfelberg, starts questioning them about their knowledge of the suicide victim, Eva Smith. As the questions continue, the inspector starts making moral judgements about the family members. Smith worked at Birling’s company but was fired after she joined other workers in asking for a raise and going on strike.

As the questions continue, they learn that Croft had an affair with her and he

“An Inspector Calls will run through May 13 at The Island Players. Call 941-778-5755 for ticket information.

paid for her expenses for a short time.

Smith also had an affair with the son, Eric Birling, played by Lucas Piety, and was pregnant with his baby when she died.

With that for a plot, the people get very vocal and their moods go from guilt to sorrow. Finally, Arthur Birling makes a call to the police chief, who disavows knowledge of any Inspector Goole and confirms there was no suicide and in their relief, they drop the

sorrow and guilt. What happens next puts this play in line to be an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” But you’ll have to see it to find out why.

Each cast member gave excellent performances, including Diane Phinney, who played Edna, the maid. It’s well worth the price of admission, “An Inspector Calls” runs through May 13 and demand has been high for tickets. Call 941-778-5755 for information and to purchase tickets.

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THE SUN

REAL ESTATE

here is a word that no one who follows an active real estate market wants to hear, and that word is plateauing.

What does that mean in real estate lingo?

It means leveling out rather than breaking through, and it’s a word that more than one economist has recently used. Before you start looking up to the sky waiting for it fall, its not all bad, and some of it may be good.

According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales nationally in March declined 1.2 percent from last year This translates to the national single-family home median selling price being $250,400 in March, which was 5.8 percent higher than March of last year. The March results were largely in line with economists’ expectations for the housing market this year – not a great performance. As we already know, a limited supply of homes has driven up prices and curtailed sales volume.

The March sales statists from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee’s website are also looking a little off in both

MAY 9, 2018

Reaching a plateau Castles in the Sand LOUISE BOLGER

selling price and sales volume for singlefamily homes: The number of closed sales in March of this year was 580 for singlefamily homes. Last year it was 581, no real change, but there has been a change in median sale price, half sales above and half below. After three months of median sales price being at or above $300,000, in March of this year it was $285,000, a decline of 1.7 percent from last year.

The average sale price for single-family homes in March was $367,268, up 8.4 percent from last year. In addition, the median time to contract was 47 days, a very good number, and we still have only four months of properties available for sale, a very bad

number. By comparison, the state of Florida’s median single-family home sale price during March of this year was $250,800, an increase of 8.2 percent from last year.

Condo sales numbers were all around better. The median sale price for this year was $201,500, up 15.1 percent, and the average sale price was $245,563, up 15.7 percent from last March. This March we closed 284 condos compared to last year, where we closed 259. The median time to contract was 46 days, a good number, and we are holding at four-and-a-half month’s supply of available properties, a bad number.

It’s pretty much the same old story – too little inventory is pushing prices up overall and keeping properties off the market. The low number of days for both single family and condos on the market before going to contract proves this. With interest rates starting to go up keeping fewer buyers in the market, something will have to give, which is why we may be seeing a leveling off.

But there is good news too. It appears that Florida is one of a handful of states in the country that are importing vast numbers of residents from other states. Since 2007, Florida has gained 850,000 residents.

Texas, another state without income tax, has gained 1.4 million. Combined, Florida and Texas have gained a net of $50 billon in income and purchasing power from other states. Compare this to California and New York, which have give up a combined net of $23 billion, and this does not include other states like Connecticut, New Jersey and Minnesota, which have consistently lost residents. Economists predict this exodus will only continue when the tax cut bill fully takes effect capping state income tax at $10,000.

Will the influx of residents from out of state keep our real estate market from plateauing or are we going to start feeling a little pain? Like everything in real estate, stay tuned.

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MAY 9, 2018

OBITUARIES David G. Davis David G. Davis, 81, went home to be with his Lord and Saviour the morning of April 26, 2018. He is survived by his dearly loved wife, Margaret J. (Downie) Davis. David was the son of the late Millard H. and Ruth D. (Carter) Davis, of Sherborn, Mass. He was born on July 6, 1936, and lived in Sherborn until retiring to Florida in 1995. He is lovingly survived by his sister, Sandra A. (Davis) Eberle and husband, Martin, of Spokane, Wash.; predeceased by his brother, Carter Davis; survived by his son, David W. Davis, of Henderson, Nev., Scot Halbach, of Manassas, Va., Dean Halbach, of Leesburg, Va., David Robertson, of Plainville, Mass., Rebecca Kovaly, of Dighton, Mass., and Jonathan Robertson, of Milford, Mass.; his 18 grandchildren; four great grandchildren; and a number of close relatives and dear friends. David “The Duke” served his country proudly as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne U.S. Army. After moving to Florida, he worked as a bridge tender on the Manatee Bridge for 10 years. He en-

joyed fishing, outdoor activities, and beautiful sunsets. He welcomed each day cheerfully and was thankful for every moment that he was able to spend with those that God put in his life. Most importantly, David loved Jesus and received his free gift of eternal life.

Per David’s wishes, there will be no memorial or funeral service. Remembrances may be made in David’s memory to the West Bradenton Baptist Church, 1305 43rd St. West, Bradenton, FL 34209.

Joyce M. Spring Joyce Marilynn Maes Spring, 91, of Port Huron, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, April 20, 2018.

She was born May 4,1926, in Carsonville, Mich., to the late John and Mary Maes.

Joyce met her sweetheart Eldon on Pearl Harbor Day, Dec. 7, 1941. They wed on May 6, 1944, and were married for almost 74 years. Joyce and Eldon’s love for each other was apparent to all. Their love wasn’t just long-lasting; it grew deeper each day. Eldon and Joyce lived in Port Huron, Mich., until 1981, and retired to Anna Maria Island where they spent 30 years walking on the beach and enjoying time together.

In 2011, they returned to Port Huron to

live closer to family.

Joyce had a deep faith and a close relationship with God. Joyce is survived by her husband, Eldon; her children, Pastor Jerry (Bonnie) Spring, of Clarksville, Tenn., Judith (Larry “Bud”) Grinder, of Port Huron, Mich., and Deborah (David) Ingalls, of Stanley, N.C.; beloved grandchildren, David (Kristy) Spring, Jeremy (Heather) Spring, Andrea (Andrew) Paul, Karen (Dr. Beau) Dowden and David and Sarah Ingalls; adored great-grandchildren, Tyler, Gabriel, Jacob, and Isaac Spring, Casie and Camden Paul, Brynn, Mallory, and Grant Dowden; precious newborn great-great granddaughter, Adelina Spring; a brother, Dr. Wayne (Jolene) Maes, of Coralea, N. M.; and many special nieces and nephews.

Joyce was preceded in death by her parents and a brother and sister-in-law, Dr. John and Mary Maes.

Memorials may be made to the First Church of the Nazarene, 1616 59th St W, Bradenton, FL 34209, designated for missions, or to Colonial Woods Missionary Church, 3240 Pine Grove Ave, Port Huron, MI 48060, designated for the library.

Arrangements are by Pollock-Randall Funeral Home. To send condolences, visit www.pollockrandall.com.

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BEACH BEAT ANNA MARIA

4/16, lost trash can, 233 Gladiolus St. The can was full when it disappeared.4/22, suspicious vehicle, North Shore Drive and Spring Avenue. The officer found a car parked with its rear door open and two purses inside. He tried to contact the owners, who lived in Tampa. They finally responded and came back to get their purses.

BRADENTON BEACH

4/14, driving with a suspended license with knowledge, second offense, possession of a controlled substance. 4900 block of Gulf Drive. The officer noticed the truck in front of him failed to stop at a stop sign and followed the driver as he ran two more stop signs before he stopped. When he asked for a license and registration, the driver said nothing was valid. A computer check showed the plate was not registered to the truck. When he searched the driver, he found a baggie containing white powder. The driver said he did not know what the powder was. The officer tested it and the test showed it was cocaine. He arrested the driver.

SEE BEACH BEAT PAGE 30

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THE SUN

BEACH BEAT FROM PAGE 29 5/3, grand theft auto, 2800 block. Of Gulf Drive. The officer made a computer check on the vehicle, and it turned out to be stolen. He stopped the driver, who said he noticed the car parked with the keys in it and he stole it. A computer check on the suspect showed his license was suspended, and he had three driving with a suspended license arrests. He was arrested.

CORTEZ

4/24, burglary, Cortez Bait an Seafood, 4528 119 St. W. A burglar broke into one of the fishing boats and took wire and an LED light.

HOLMES BEACH

4/9, disorderly intoxication, Anchor inn, 3015 Gulf Drive.

The bartender called police due to a male making a disturbance because he could not get served due to his actions. The bartender told the officer the suspect rode in on a bike and left before the officer arrived.

They went out to the parking lot as the suspect came back on a bicycle. The suspect tried to leave on the bike, but he crashed onto the asphalt. He resisted arrest, but was finally taken into custody.

4/21, larceny/theft, beach at 49th Street. Two cameras, a bag, charger and memory sticks were stolen.

4/22, criminal mischief, 63rd Street Boat Ramp, 6300 Marina Way, The officer closed and secured the boat

WWW.AMISUN.COM - CELEBRATING 15 YEARS

ramp with a chain and lock. He also observed an unlicensed boat trailer and a red Ram pickup parked in the fire department spot. He ticketed both vehicles and locked the gate. When he returned later, the lock was cut off and the ramp was unsecured. The vehicles were gone.

4/23, possession of less than 5 grams of marijuana, 4100 block of Gulf Drive. The officer stopped the suspect’s vehicle for having a cracked windshield. He smelled marijuana. The driver gave him a pipe with burnt marijuana in it. The officer gave him a citation.

4/28, suspicious circumstance. Citgo, 3015 Gulf Drive. An officer was called to the Citgo because a gas pump looked like it had been tampered with. The officer got some fingerprints but found no skimmer inside.

4/29, battery, 100 block of 51st Street. A female and

MAY 9, 2018

male got into an argument and the female suffered a sore nose and caused multiple injuries to the male and damage to the residence. The female was arrested.

4/29, possession of drugs and paraphernalia with intent to sell, warrant arrest, resisting the law enforcement officer, 8500 Gulf Drive. The officer ran a computer check on the suspect’s license tag and found he was wanted in Manatee County for selling drugs. The officer stopped the vehicle, and the driver jumped out of the vehicle when it stopped and ran toward the city of Anna Maria. Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisting in finding the suspect. They found drugs and paraphernalia in the vehicle and arrested the suspect.

www.amisun.com

MAY 9, 2018

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31

Top real estate producers for April 2018 A PARADISE

EDGEWATER REAL ESTATE

Mary Burke - Listing Cindy Grazar - Selling

Lynn Zemmer - Listing & selling

AN ISLAND PLACE REALTY

Stephanie Bell - Listing Brianna Shaughnessy - Selling

Sue Carlson - Listing & selling

COLDWELL BANKER

Buky Team - Listing & selling

FRAN MAXON REAL ESTATE

SATO REAL ESTATE

Barbara Sato - Listing Jason Sato - Selling

ISLAND REAL ESTATE

WAGNER REAL ESTATE

Alan Galletto - Listing & selling

DUNCAN REAL ESTATE

Christine Kourik - Listing Darcie Duncan - Selling

MIKE NORMAN

Marianne Norman-Ellis - Listing Carla Beddow - Selling

MICHAEL SAUNDERS ANNA MARIA ISLAND

Carmen Pedota & Lori Guerin - Listing Carolyn Codella - Selling

Ken Kavanaugh & Margo Love Story Listing Toni Lyon - Selling

LO C A L LY K N OW N . G LO B A L LY C O N N E C T E D.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 108 Elm Avenue A Joe Foster 941-812-7634 A4206507 $3,895,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 528 72nd Street Mark Boehmig 941-807-6936 A4204971 $2,995,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 3708 Gulf Drive 1 Hannah Hillyard 941-744-7358 A4209523 $1,250,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 200 S Harbor Drive 1 Ken Kavanaugh & Margo Love Story 941-799-1943 A4215175 $1,250,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 2500 Gulf Drive N Laurie M Mock 941-232-3665 A4201859 $3,145,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 2509 Avenue C A Laurie M Mock 941-232-3665 A4208163 $595,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 2509 Avenue C B Laurie M Mock 941-232-3665 A4208192 $585,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 600 Manatee Avenue 224 Susan Nemitz 941-237-0045 A4204610 $349,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 1710 Gulf Drive N E Hannah Hillyard 941-744-7358 A4215055 $1,975,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 110 7th Street S Judy LaValliere 941-504-3792 A4210751 $1,800,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 511 70th Street Kathy Marshall 941-900-9777 A4208261 $699,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND 216 83rd Street Laurie M Mock 941-232-3665 A4203519 $689,000

NEW CONSTRUCTION

MSC MORTGAGE | MSC TITLE | MS&C COMMERCIAL NEW HOMES & CONDOMINIUMS | RENTAL

BR ADENTON 3435 57th Avenue Drive W Deborah Capobianco 941-704-2394 A4204261 $189,999

8 8 8 . 552 . 52 2 8

BR ADENTON 3412 79th Street Circle W 103 Rich Sporl 941-737-1754 A4211026 $425,000

RENTAL ANNA MARIA ISLAND 309 65th Street A 3 Bed 2 Bath 3132 SqFt $2,600 Maria Kagin 941-779-4150 A4201388

michaelsaunders.com L I C E N S E D R E A L E S TAT E B R O K E R

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MAY 9, 2018

WING: Child abuse charge dismissed FROM PAGE 1

his 12 years he’d never heard of an arrest being made for something like that. He said it should have never happened. When DCF came to interview me, the woman who had nine years’ experience said this would never happen in Bradenton when a parent calls to protect a child. There are no physical marks on the child, and it is not illegal if you did slap her more than once – and I’m not saying that I did,” Wing said.

“My daughter got up before the judge, and he asked what she thought was going on and whether she was worried about it.

My daughter said, ‘I love my mom, I’m not afraid of my mom, and this should have

never happened,’” Wing said.

“This has caused a horrible mess for her amongst her peers and for me amongst my peers,” she added. “It changes lives. I knew this was going to go away. I was told from the beginning nothing illegal had been done. It was a night of a mother and a daughter going through something very trying – a daughter wanting to leave the house and a mother not wanting her to leave under those circumstances and trying to keep her safe. She left anyway, and after 40 minutes, when my boyfriend couldn’t find her, I called the police and said please find her.”

“My daughter had already called my

BRIDGE: City blasts tall bridge decision FROM PAGE 1

The bridge was built in 1956. Chappie guessed it might be 5 to 10 years, depending on what the federal government does in terms of passing legislation for infrastructure funding.

“None of us want this thing, but what can we do?” Commissioner Randy White said.

White said he spoke with a resident of the Bridgeport condominiums who’s concerned the bridge will butt up against her home.

“Obviously not happy about this,” White said.

“I don’t know anybody who is,” Chappie replied.

White said a large bridge, similar to the Ringling Bridge in Sarasota, doesn’t make sense for a barrier island.

“I feel really bad for the people in Cortez,” he added.

Chappie said FDOT will want members of the Cortez and Bradenton Beach communities to serve on its yet-to-be formed bridge aesthetics committee. He thinks it’s important for the City Commission and the Scenic WAVES Committee to be represented on that committee.

“Several members of our community should be on that.

It’s the entrance to our city, and it’s part of the CRA district,” Chappie said.

Commissioner Marilyn Maro said the people she’s talked to are not happy with the decision. She also mentioned the individual meetings city commissioners previously had with FDOT officials.

“They didn’t seem like they were going in that direction. I guess things must’ve changed since they talked to us,” Maro said.

Maro also expressed concerns about bridge users being exposed to higher winds, especially during storms.

“I thought they were leaning more toward the 35-foot midrise, with the drawbridge,” Commissioner Ralph Cole said.

“That one was $20-$30 million more. They’re trying to cut costs. They’re going with the cheap bridge,” White replied.

“Obviously they’re going for the maintenance end of it, and they don’t have to maintain that span,” Cole added.

White said the fixed span bridge would also eliminate the salaries paid to bridge tenders.

According to the April 23 press release issued by FDOT, “A fixed bridge is resoundingly the best financial investment for taxpayers. The initial construction cost, including design and construction, saves approximately $23.9 million compared to a new mid-level drawbridge. Over the 75-year life of the bridge, the fixed bridge also saves approximately $11.2 million in operating and maintenance costs compared to the drawbridge.”

boyfriend and said please bring me home,” Wing said. “She wasn’t afraid to come home. For whatever reason, I believe those officers were determined to make an arrest.

They never read me my Miranda rights.

They never told me why I was being arrested. They didn’t tell me while I sat in the car, and they didn’t tell me while I sat at the police station. I had to ask three times. The D.A. (district attorney) doesn’t think an arrest should have been made. Nobody thinks an arrest should have been made.”

“I think there’s an issue going on there, and I feel bad about the message this sends out to other people who might want to protect a family member,” Wing said. “It’s a

shame. I can tell you I won’t call them again if my daughter’s missing for an hour, or if someone else calls me about their kid missing. I’m in a very close group of mothers, and anyone who knows me knows I have never hit anything or anyone in my life.”

“Kids do have problems. This was not drug-related or anything, and they do feel the need sometimes to run out the door to express their feelings, and it can be very scary. I hope this case doesn’t deter someone from keeping their children safe,” Wing said.

Wing resigned as Chamber president in December.

MAY 9, 2018

www.amisun.com

THE SUN

33

MANATEE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR | SUBMITTED

Tourism record set in March For the first time, the Manatee County Tax Collector's Tourist Tax Team – from left, Kris Reeves, Jen Francis and Jennie Johnson – collected more than $2 million in March, the height of Anna Maria Island’s tourist season. The total, $2.29 million, was up 16.57 percent over March 2017.

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THE SUN

SPORTS

MAY 9, 2018

Team Planet Stone gains solid victory

BY MONICA SIMPSON SPECIAL TO THE SUN

In their third matchup of the season Team Salty Printing and Team Planet Stone took the field last Tuesday night with plenty of spectators on hand to cheer them on in a strongly competitive game.

With two age groups combined to make a league, older more seasoned players teamed up with younger ballers, who proved themselves on the field by stepping up their game.

Goalkeepers Evan Talucci, for Planet Stone, and Salty Printing’s Fiona McCarthy protected their team’s goal with agility, quick reflexes and leadership.

Talucci started the game, setting the defensive tone with great saves.

McCarthy worked her position with confidence, but could not stop a solid shot by Planet Stone’s Aiden Templeton that went off her hand and into the net.

Down by one point, Jack Mattick quickly showed why he is a force on the field with a shot on goal that was saved by Talucci.

Salty Printing proved its own defensive strength with confident play

by Madeline Lessig and Cale Rudacille. Lessig’s tenacity stopped Templeton’s forward offensive progress, preventing the shot.

Given another chance on offense, Templeton took the soccer ball down the field in front of the net only to be met by Michael Coleman. Coleman stopped Templeton giving Salty Printing another chance on offense.

Mattick dribbled the ball down the field and found Frankie Coleman in scoring position. Talucci used his body in a nerves of steel move to make the save on the ground.

Caden Quinby put is first goal into the net with eight minutes left in the half to tie the ball game, giving Salty Printing the mental boost it needed.

Two minutes later, Planet Stone’s Nick Yatros put the ball between the posts past the goalie to move his team ahead again.

A slide tackle call was made against Salty Printing with four minutes on the scoreboard, giving Templeton the free kick that went just wide of the left post.

As the time ticked off the game clock, Rudacille provided critical defensive pressure, stopping the scor-

MONICA SIMPSON | SUN

Planet Stone’s goalkeeper Evan Talucci readies himself for the shot by Salty Printing’s Frankie Coleman. ing push by Planet Stone. Despite the strong offensive push, the Salty Printing defensive was able to hold off its opponent to end the half.

Krosby Lamison started the second half of play in the key defensive position as the keeper, giving Talucci time on the field.

Templeton stopped the strong push toward the goal by M. Coleman and Jack McCarthy. Planet Stone’s Evie Baugher played phenomenally fearless defense against Jack Mattick, stopping his scoring opportunities.

Stealing the ball from Salty Printing, with 16 minutes left in the game, Templeton dribbled to midfield and found Yatros open. Unselfish, Yatros made a long pass to Talucci. Sprinting Talucci got his foot on the soccer ball with a solid pass to Yatros in front of the goal for his second score.

With a point deficit, Salty Printing continued to fight hard on the pitch.

Off a throw in by M. Coleman, Mattick scored his team’s second goal of the game, moving the score to 3-2.

In less than a minute, Mattick got another shot off and hit the net.

Team Plant Stone put Talucci back in the goal keep position to guide his team for the remaining eight minutes of the game.

After K. Lamison took a hard hit by the ball in the stomach, Templeton found his next opportunity to shoot.

F. McCarthy just could not stop the rocket shot.

With the lead, Planet Stone continued to put the pressure on the Salty

MONICA SIMPSON | SUN

Above, strong defensive attacks by Planet Stone’s Evie Baugher against Salty Printing’s Jack Mattick kept her team in the lead. Right, Krosby Lamison kept pace with Salty Printing’s Jack Mattick helping to keep his team’s scoring advantage.

Printing team on both sides of the field with the help of Natalie Talucci, Malia Keith, Julia Baugher and Kasey Lamison.

F. McCarthy made a great stop in goal with less than four minutes left in the game, giving her team time to possibly tie the game. F. Coleman’s shot a couple of minutes later went just right of the post.

M. Coleman had a scoring chance with a beautiful pass by brother F. Coleman. The unlucky touch on the ball by M. Coleman gave Planet Stone one last offensive chance.

Templeton’s last second shot was stopped by F. Coleman right in front of the goal to end the game with Team Planet Stone the victors.

SUN SCOREBOARD TUESDAY, MAY 1 - YOUTH SOCCER Salty Printing Planet Stone

3 4

Bins Be Clean Progressive Cabinetry

1 1

THURSDAY, MAY 3 - ADULT CO-ED SOCCER Acqua Aveda Lancaster Design 4

2

Mar/Kis Insurance Legler Flynn Law

1 4

Sato Real Estate Slim’s Place

1 4

Ross Built Moss Builders

7 0

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MAY 9, 2018

THE SUN

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Commission wants full transparency in Sunshine lawsuit A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, May 9.

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH – Four-fifths of the City Commission wants discovery and deposition processes to be open to the public in a Sunshine Law lawsuit involving six former city board members.

On May 3, the commission majority adopted a city resolution conveying this position to Circuit Court Judge Lon Arend. Commissioners Marilyn Maro, Ralph Cole and Jake Spooner supported Mayor John Chappie’s request for the adoption of the resolution. Commissioner Randy White opposed the measure.

The resolution is in response to attorney Tom Shults’ request to sequester the depositions of non-party witnesses. Shults represents former Planning and Zoning Board member John Metz.

Arend was scheduled to rule on the sequestration request on Wednesday, May 9.

Depositions are part of the pre-trial discovery process in which defendants, plaintiffs and witnesses give testimony under oath in the presence of a court reporter in a location other than a courtroom.

Depositions can be used during the trial to support or contradict witness testimony, and can be read into the record if a witness is unavailable.

The defendants include Reed Mapes, Tjet Martin, Patty Shay, Bill Vincent and Rose Vincent. The plaintiffs are the city of Bradenton Beach and city resident Jack Clarke. Non-party witnesses would be people with knowledge of the case who are not directly involved in the lawsuit.

Filed last summer, the suit alleges city board and committee members held substantial discussions on past and potential future board and committee matters during a Concerned Neighbors of Bradenton Beach meeting at the Annie Silver Community Center on July 25, 2017.

That meeting was not publicly noticed as a city meeting and it included discussion on prohibiting parking garages. The updated Community Redevelopment Agency plan was also discussed. Both matters had been

discussed previously by the planning board and could conceivably come before the planning board or the Scenic WAVES Committee again. Some defendants also discussed these matters via email.

RESOLUTION REQUEST

My question to Metz really is what is it you’re trying to hide

from the public?”

When presenting his request, Chappie said it bothered him when City John Chappie, Attorney Ricinda Perry Bradenton Beach Mayor reported at the previous meeting that Metz’s attorney was requesting the discovery process not be made public.

“What nerve to even request a sequestering of the nonparty witness during the depositions. This whole thing that we’re forced to go through is about openness; it’s about accountability; it’s about transparency and government in the Sunshine, which is the core of what local government is about. My question to Metz really is what is it you’re trying to hide from the public?” Chappie said.

White said he didn’t understand why the city wanted the deposition process to be open to the public when the city is allowed to have shade meetings that allow for private conversations between the commissioners and the city’s legal team.

After being elected, White participated in the Feb. 7 shade meeting. He did not participate in the first shade meeting on Sept. 6.

“This is not a client-attorney privilege. It’s two different things. It’s apples and oranges. It’s appealing to the judge to deny the motion that they want to sequester the depositions. I would think anybody involved in government would want it out in the open. I think it’s unfortunate that you’re having this conflict,” Chappie said.

“My hope is the commission will adopt this resolution and that Judge Arend will consider our request to deny the request from Mr. Metz and do the depositions in the Sunshine where it should be,” Chappie said.

The city is represented by attorney Robert Watrous, with additional legal assistance provided by paralegal Michael Barfield. When contacted, Barfield said they were still trying to figure out why Shults wants to sequester non-party witnesses. Barfield said he did not know if the depositions of the defendants and plaintiffs would occur in a public setting. Shults did not respond to The Sun’s email inquiry.

In a 2015 lawsuit filed against the city regarding the lease of the city-owned restaurant space, depositions were taken privately, but the transcripts were later posted at the Clerk of the Circuit Court website while the case was still pending.

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THE SUN

FUN IN THE SUN

Across 1 Distribute, with "out" 5 Jets and Nets 10 Kenan's comedy cohort 13 Like crazy 14 Street thief 15 Bullring "Bravo!"

16 Tennessee River city 18 Luxury hotel facility 19 Places 20 Migratory herring 21 Uni- + bi22 H.S. exam for college credit 24 Longtime Bob Keeshan kids' character 30 Anatomical canals 31 On the ship 32 Mediterranean peak 33 Parts 35 Actress Headey of "Game of Thrones" 38 Home of college sports' Green Wave 40 Certain tanker 41 Philatelist's pride 45 Mass communication?

46 Final: Abbr.

47 Sounds of disgust 48 Calming agents 53 "The Producers" screenwriter Brooks 54 "Shut your trap!" ... and, graphically, what the circled letters do 57 Old __ 58 Becomes used (to) 59 Sinewy 60 Common ID 61 Enclosed for security, in a way

62 Choice word Down 1 Computers that may run Virtual PC 2 K-12 3 Precisely 4 Famous final question 5 Pay attention 6 Film directors' challenges 7 Earlier 8 "A Wrinkle in Time" girl 9 Mme., in Madrid 10 Where to get gefilte fish 11 Sun Bowl city 12 Bring about 14 Motherly start 17 Cheerios 20 Twinkly, skywise 22 Muchos meses 23 Links letters 24 Fr. company 25 Court fig.

26 Modern Olympic event one shoots for?

27 Emotional wounds 28 Krypton escapee Answers to 05-02-18 Crossword Puzzle.

29 Presidential nickname 33 Somewhat blue 34 Artist whose apartment overlooks Strawberry Fields 36 Prefix for movement revivals 37 Prince Valiant's son 39 ICU staffer 40 Group of eight 41 Competitive dry spells 42 Auburn or Princeton athletes 43 Soothed 44 New York Harbor's __ Island 48 Bern's river 49 Auld lang syne 50 Carbon compound 51 Tears 52 Eye malady 54 Boar, e.g.

55 Spanish article 56 Tsk relative

MAY 9, 2018

MAY 9, 2018

CLASSIFIED

ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMERCIAL SALES

HAULING

THE BEST VOLUNTEER position on the island. The AMI Historical Museum needs docents and bread makers. Call Lynn at 813758-3234 or lbrennan47@ gmail.com

RESORTS: Bradenton Beach 13 units $4,999,000. WAREHOUSE 9300 Sq. Ft. Machine Shop with heavy duty elect or Car Storage, So Many Possibilities. Near SRQ Airport $595,000 Island Real Estate Ask Alan Galletto 941-232-2216

SITE CLEAN-UP to trash outs we can handle it all.

Call us for your dumpsters/ trash needs today 941-7538772

ROSER FOOD BANK needs donations of cash and non-perishable food. Donations boxes are located at the Church, Moose Club, and Walgreen’s.

BABY SITTER RED CROSS CERTIFIED baby sitter. Honor student.

Call or text Isabel 941-5457995

BOATS: SALES & RENTALS BOATS ARE SELLING Very Well. Islandboatsales.net We Buy and Sell Boats. “Business On A Hand Shake” Islands-BradentonSarasota Dave- Owner 941-228-3489

CARPET CLEANING QUALITY COUNTS. CARPET cleaning. Upholstery cleaning. Tile & grout cleaning. Island's favorite cleaner. Manatee Chamber Member. Great price/free estimates. Call 941-7561082

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Professional and Reliable. Call 941-756-4570 THOMPSON CLEANING SERVICE CommercialResidential-Marine.

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Call us today! 941-778-3986

COMPUTER SERVICES EMPIRE COMPUTER SERVICE Computer problems fixed in your home or office. The fastest friendliest service around. Serving the Island since 2004. Call 941-739-6424

EMPLOYMENT

HELP WANTED 3 POSITIONS AVAILABLE. Full time night cashier, part time nightcashier/cashier assistant. Part time Deli position. Please apply in person at Jessie's Island Store 5424 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. See Jimmy or April for more details.

DRIVERS WANTED ALL SHIFTS 21 and over a plus.

Apply at www.islandeats. net/driverapp or call 941201-8184 EMMANUEL UNITED METHODIST Church, 5115 Cortez Road West, is looking for a mature, self-starting person for a part-time custodial and light maintenance position. This position will work up to 30 hours per week and the daily time schedule may vary. A detailed job description may be obtained at the church office or an electronic copy is available from secretary.eumc@ gmail.com.

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GARAGE, MOVING, RUMMAGE & YARD SALES ROSER THRIFT SHOP Open 9:30am-2pm, Tuesday, Thursday. 10am-1pm Saturday Donations preferred 9am-11am Wednesdays.

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Phone 941-779-2733

THE SUN

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BATH ROOM REMODELING. Anna Maria Home Accents. 25 years experience. Call 786-318-8585

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Also Handyman/Painting work to home or office.

Call RICHARD Bespoke Service 941-448-3571 Island Resident.

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BATH ROOM REMODELING. Anna Maria Home Accents. 25 years experience. Call 786-318-8585

KITCHEN CABINET REFACING, Cabinet installation, Custom cabinets, Built-ins, Trim & Crown – AMI local over 20 years experience. Call josh at 941-713-0661

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R. GAROFALO’S Interlocking brick pavers, driveways, patios, pool decks. Free estimates. Licensed & Insured.

Call Rafael 941-778-4823 or Veronik 941-526-7941 SHELL DELIVERED AND spread $55/yd. Hauling all kinds of gravel, mulch, top soil with free estimates. Call Larry at 941-795-7775, "shell phone" 941-720-0770 STRAIGHT SHOT LANDSCAPE. Specializing in Old Florida Seashell driveways and scapes. Also Rock, Mulch, & Soil. Free estimates. Call Shark Mark 941-301-6067

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE: NORMS TOWING gives Notice of Foreclosure of Lien and intent to sell these vehicles on 05/23/2018, 09:00 am at 1855 63RD AVENUE E. BRADENTON, FL 34203, pursuant to subsection 713.78 of the Florida Statutes. NORMS TOWING reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all bids.

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MOVING & STORAGE MARTIN’S MOVING YOUR Island movers! Offering dependable, competitive rates. No hidden costs. 941-809-5777.

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BAYSIDE COMMERCIAL PAINTING. David Padyani Call 941-565-9446 or Larry Zimmer 941-2248123 Licensed & Insured

37

PETS ARE YOU WANTING to vacation and not worry if your pet is lonely. I will overnight in your home, so your animal can stay in his own environment. Home Sitting is also available.

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38

THE SUN

CLASSIFIED

REAL ESTATE HOMES & CONDOS FOR SALE INCREDIBLE NEW CONSTRUCTION Home on Pine Ave! Prime location to shops, restaurants, bay and beach! $1,995,000 Call Charles Buky Coldwell Banker 941-228-6086 CANAL FRONT HOMES Holmes Beach - Key Royale GULF FRONT CONDOS Gulf Place, L’Plage, Vista Grande & MORE. Island Real Estate ASK Alan Galletto 941-232-2216 INVESTOR'S DREAM and only 4 houses from the beach, adorable 2BR/2BA beach cottage in the North End for $629,000. Call Kathleen White Island Real Estate at 941-773-0165. AnnaMariaSales.com

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RENTALS: ANNUAL 3BR/2.5BA TOWNHOUSE CONDO, 1450 s/f on 2 floors. 2 pools, private beach access. Furnished or unfurnished. Washer / Dryer. Screened lanai & 1 car garage. Water, sewer, trash, basic cable, pest control included.

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MAY 9, 2018

SEASONAL RENTALS AVAILABLE: Spring, Summer and Fall. CITY OF ANNA MARIA 2BR/2BA Bay Front.

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Call 863-640-1864

RENTAL WANTED SEEKING FEBRUARY 2019 or partial month rental.

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TRANSPORTATION AMI TAXI metered-on-callcards accepted. Airport: Tampa $95, Sarasota $40, Clearwater $85, Orlando $165. Call 800-301-4816. amitaxi4u@gmail.com, www.amitaxi.com

ANYTIME TRANSPORTATION to all airports, appointments, casino, cruises, etc. Tampa $65. Sarasota $30. Pets welcome. Very dependable. Reasonable rates. Contact Jeanne.

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MAY 9, 2018

BUSINESS & SERVICE DIRECTORY COMPUTER SERVICE

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Call today to place your ad: 941-778-3986 MOVERS

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MAY 9, 2018