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VOL 16 No. 52
October 12, 2016
Matthew stays away, evacuees flood Island Florida’s northeast coast hit hard by hurricane. BY TOM VAUGHT SUN STAFF WRITER | tvaught@amisun.com
Very little damage but a flood of evacuees. That pretty much sums up the extent of Hurricane Matthew’s impact on Anna Maria Island and Manatee County last week. While the gigantic, Category 4 hurricane wreaked death and destruction on Haiti before pounding northeast Florida, AMI and the state’s west coast escaped virtually untouched. Except for the resort industry, which saw an influx of evacuees leave their vacation lodgings in the east, while others redirected their initial travel plans and booked rooms here on AMI. “We got a lot of phone calls from people inquiring about accommodations Wednesday and Thursday,” said Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce President Deb Wing. “We put out a blast e-mail to our member resorts, and they responded. They supplied a lot of rooms for the visitors.” Wing said she had no exact figures yet on how many of the evacuees got rooms on the Island, but she said it was a welcome relief during what has traditionally been the slowest part of the year. “Between Hurricane Hermine and red tide, our
eagle eye CAPT. KIM IBASFALEAN | SUBMITTED
Captain Kim Ibasfalean took this photo of an eagle in a tree across the street from the Tortuga Inn in Bradenton Beach.
Tide turns but it’s still red Red tide continues to barrage the Island, improving and worsening with the winds. BY CINDY LANE SUN STAFF WRITER | clane@amisun.com
Northeast winds forecasted to continue through Friday should blow the red tide bloom that began last month away from the beach and out into the Gulf of Mexico, but could push more dead fish into the canals on the bayside of Anna Maria Island. The NOAA weather forecast is good news for beachside residents and visi-
INSIDE NEWS OPINION Sun survey outdoors football fever obituraries REAL ESTATE crossword
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tors who have been coughing from the red tide and smelling dead fish, but not so good for residents and visitors on the bayside. On Monday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported red tide in medium concentrations in Anna Maria, medium in Holmes Beach, very low in Bradenton Beach, medium at the Longboat Pass boat ramp and high in Longboat Key. Red tide is a high concentration of single-celled organisms that produce toxins that can kill fish, birds, marine see red tide, page 14
creating a craft
bar at the Waterfront Restaurant. 22
Anna Maria Island, Florida
see matthew, page 11
Royal flush: Moose Queen revealed The drawing begun earlier this year produced $350,000 in prize money and more than $90,000 for charities. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – The Moose Lodge’s Queen of Hearts is hiding no more. Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge #2188 member Matt Miller has won the $82,594 jackpot that netted him nearly $62,000 after 25 percent of his winnings are withheld for taxes.
Miller was not on hand at for the Wednesday, Oct. 5, drawing that saw lodge administrator Ernie Casali open envelope #54, one of the less than 10 envelopes that remained from the 54 filled with a full deck of playing cards, plus two jokers, before the drawing began in January. Since then, one envelope has been opened each week, and the crowds have grown in proportion to the rising jackpot. In an effort to bring the drawing to a close before season starts, it was announced at the previous week’s see queen, page 8
take a peek at whats coming up at this year’s Bayfest. 3
A new West Manatee fire station is dedicated. 5
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