Sewage discharge continues
On Aug. 27, the city of Bradenton reported the active and ongoing discharge of partially treated wastewater into the Manatee River.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
BRADENTON – The Suncoast Waterkeeper organization continues to monitor ongoing sewage discharges and spills that have taken place in Bradenton since Tropical Storm Debby passed through the area in early August.
13-year treehouse saga ends
During and after the storm, the city of Bradenton’s water reclamation facility (WRF) discharged an estimated 25 million gallons of raw and partially treated sewage into the Manatee River. During that same period, the city of Sarasota discharged nearly 18 million gallons of raw and partially treated sewage into Sarasota Bay.
On Aug. 27, the city of Bradenton reported
SEWAGE, PAGE 26
Teen shot, killed near causeway Saturday
Bradenton police are investigating the shooting death of a teen and ask the public for information.
BY LESLIE LAKE
SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON – The Bradenton Police Department (BPD) and the Manatee County Homicide Task Force are investigating the shooting death of a teenager near the Palma Sola Causeway early Saturday morning. According to a press release from BPD, shortly after 1 a.m. on Aug. 31, a Bradenton Police Department officer responded to a report of gunshots in the 8600 block of Manatee Avenue West. The officer located the body of 16-yearold Martavious Carter.
Detectives believe Carter was picked up at another Manatee County location and driven to a secluded area of the causeway where the crime occurred.
During the police investigation, the causeway and Manatee Bridge were closed until 5:30 a.m. Detectives say this was an isolated incident.
The investigation is ongoing and police are asking anyone with information to contact Det. Brian Sands at brian. sands@bradentonpd.com or 941-9329300. Callers may remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward by contacting Manatee Crime Stoppers at 866-634-8477 (TIPS) or online at ManateeCrimeStoppers.com.
County halts beach parking garage plans
The parking garage would have required the demolition of the historic beach concession stand building.
BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY – Commissioner George Kruse received unanimous support from his fellow commissioners on Aug. 27 to cease spending funding on pursuing three parking garages, including one planned for Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach.
Previously, the county initiative, led by Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, sought the approval of state legislators on a bill to allow a threestory parking garage to be constructed on the site despite the city’s regulations against multi-level parking structures
and the Holmes Beach land development code’s prohibition of multi-story parking garages.
County commissioners had dedicated more than $1 million for design services for the Manatee Beach garage earlier in the year. After the Aug. 20 primary election, which saw Van Ostenbridge, the largest supporter of the garage, being defeated by Kruse for an at-large seat on the dais, Kruse said he thought it was time to revisit the issue and placed it on the Aug. 27 commission agenda, saying that his motivation was to save taxpayer money.
Van Ostenbridge made the motion to indefinitely table the parking garage conversation with no further money to be spent at this time on garage plans in Holmes Beach, Bradenton and Palmetto. The motion received full support from the board of commissioners.
SUBMITTED
Bradenton police investigated the Saturday morning shooting death of a teen near the Palma Sola Causeway.
KRISTIN SWAN | SUN FILE PHOTO
The treehouse in Holmes Beach has been demolished under a court order. Photos, Page 21.
Families flock to AMI for holiday weekend
Homeowners’ property erroneously named in Kaleta lawsuit
A lawsuit filed by Sarasota attorney Bailey Lowther on behalf of Easy Parking Group lists an incorrect address, property owners say.
SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH –
Two city homeowners were surprised to see their property erroneously identified in a July lawsuit filed by Easy Parking Group (EPG) against developer Shawn Kaleta.
“I’ve never had any dealings with Shawn Kaleta or the parking company,” Mark Dexter, owner of 206 Church St., told The Sun on Aug. 30.
The Sun published a story on July 29 about the lawsuit complaint, which listed Dexter’s address as the location of a parking lot. The suit was filed in the 12th Judicial
Circuit Court on July 18 and claimed fraudulent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and breach of agreement by Kaleta and his Beach to Bay Investments Inc.
Easy Parking Group is represented in the lawsuit by Sarasota-based attorney Bailey Lowther.
“This may well be a mistake on my part,” Lowther told The Sun on Aug. 30. “I haven’t amended the complaint to verify the correct addresses.”
The suit followed the termination of Josh LaRose’s EPG parking management contract by Kaleta. LaRose is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
The lawsuit alleges that Kaleta falsely represented that he, or Beach to Bay, owned or controlled the various properties in which EPG provided parking management and operation services. In that complaint, eight properties are
listed, including the Church Avenue property owned by Dexter and Maria Trim.
It's unclear what property Lowther intended to include in the lawsuit.
“EPG does not know if the actual legal property owners are even aware that their properties were used as private parking lots or if they received any portion of the resulting revenues,” according to the lawsuit.
EPG asked the court to order Kaleta to immediately identify the actual owners of each of the properties where EPG provided or agreed to provide parking management and operation services, identify the revenues, if any, received by each property owner from the operation as parking lots, and indemnify EPG from any actions brought by or damages owed to the actual owners of the subject properties.
JASON SCHAFFER | SUN
From left, Sheik Insanally, Kaveena Insanally, Sheik Insanally Sr., Bibi Insanally, Bibi Aly and Nafisah Insanally stop for a photo op as they arrive on Anna Maria Island on Aug. 31 for a family gathering on Labor Day weekend, one of hundreds of families enjoying a beach holiday.
ISLAND NEWS
IN BRIEF
Sun hosting Anna Maria mayor’s forum
Scan this code with your smartphone to go there.
Mayoral candidates outline differing views
Anna Maria mayoral candidates Brian Seymour and Mark Short will participate in a candidates’ forum at Anna Maria City Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. Short and Seymour seek to succeed Mayor Dan Murphy, who is stepping down after 10 years in office. Seymour is a former Anna Maria commissioner and operates the Anna Maria General Store and the City Pier Grill & Bait Shop. Short retired from Ernst & Young as a partner in its Transaction Advisory Services practice in 2017 and currently chairs the Anna Maria City Commission. The forum is being hosted by The Anna Maria Island Sun, with Sun reporter Joe Hendricks serving as forum moderator. The two candidates will spend 60-90 minutes answering questions posed by the moderator, including questions submitted by the public in advance.
Alleged workplace misconduct findings to be released this week
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy expects to have the written findings of an independent workplace investigation in hand and available to the public by Thursday, Sept. 5. The investigation pertains to recent complaints alleging workplace hostility and racially discriminatory remarks by city officials holding supervisory roles. When contacted by The Sun on Aug. 29, Murphy said he and City Commission Chair Mark Short met with Tampa-based labor attorney Matt Stefany the previous day to discuss the preliminary findings of Stefany’s independent investigation of allegations made by former Public Works Department employee Benzard Holland, former Public Works Department Manager Roosevelt Jones and other city employees. Murphy did not reveal the findings to be detailed in Stefany’s written report, but said that those findings will either substantiate or not substantiate the allegations.
Planning board member sought
The Anna Maria Planning and Zoning Board seeks a new volunteer member. Serving as an advisory board and recommending body to the city commission, the commission-appointed board meets one Wednesday morning per month to discuss and review matters pertaining to land use, building, development, construction, permitting and more. To obtain an application, visit www.cityofannamaria.com/residents and click on “forms & permits,” email amclerk@cityofannamaria.com or call 941-708-6130.
The two mayoral candidates stepped up to the dais to answer some of the voters’ burning questions during The Sun’s Aug. 28 forum.
BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – This November will see incumbent Mayor Judy Titsworth facing off with political newcomer Mike Roth to see who voters decide to have represent them for the next two years. Before the ballots went out, both candidates stepped up at The Anna Maria Island Sun’s candidate forum to answer questions from the community. Questions for the forum ranged from what each candidate thought about a city manager to the Holmes Beach budget, infrastructure and stormwater issues, and what makes them the best person to be the city’s mayor.
On the subject of a city manager, Titsworth said she feels that the
Holmes Beach charter is strong with the support of strong department heads and employees. And while she doesn’t think there’s a need for a city manager right now, she said it wouldn’t be up to her to decide if it went to the voters or not. Roth said that he thinks a single manager across the entire Island could be beneficial to unite the cities in a long-term solution to
handle some problems, including infrastructure and environmental efforts.
Both candidates agreed that the relationship between the city and Manatee County and Florida state leaders has changed in dynamic after the Aug. 20 primary election. Going forward,
Holmes Beach commission candidates debate issues
The four commission candidates came together to answer the community’s questions on Aug. 28 at The Sun’s candidate forum.
BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – Rainy weather and a hole in the Anna Maria Island Bridge couldn’t stop the four city commission candidates from coming out to The Sun’s candidate forum or the public from coming to hear their answers to questions.
More than 40 people gathered at Holmes Beach City Hall on Aug. 28 to hear what candidates Dan Diggins, Steve Oelfke, Bill Romberger and Carol Whitmore had to say. Candidates answered questions from the community ranging from what they think about the city’s budget and millage rate to consolidation, parking garages and Manatee County tourist tax funding.
All four of the candidates agreed that the results of the Aug. 20 primary election changed the dynamic of the city’s relationship with county and state elected officials.
Both Oelfke and Whitmore said that a strength they bring to the table is being able to foster good relationships among people at all levels. Romberger said he feels the best thing to do is “to stand
strong and foster some kind of mutual respect.”
Incumbent Commissioner Dan Diggins said he felt that a lot of the issues between the city and the county had to do with a single commissioner who lost in the primary race, which he said should help the relationship. One thing Diggins thinks would
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Mark Short, left, or Brian Seymour will serve as Anna Maria's mayor.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, left, and challenger Mike Roth debate their stances on the issues during The Sun’s Aug. 28 candidate forum.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
From left, Holmes Beach Commission candidates Dan Diggins, Carol Whitmore, Bill Romberger and Steve Oelfke answer questions from the public during The Anna Maria Island Sun’s Aug. 28 candidate forum at city hall.
Hole in Manatee Avenue bridge repaired
Traffic was diverted and the Manatee Avenue bridge was temporarily closed after a large hole appeared on Aug. 28.
BY JASON SCHAFFER SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH - Drivers were forced to divert to the Cortez Bridge or Longboat Key Bridge if they wanted to get off Anna Maria Island on Aug. 28 after a large hole appeared in the eastbound lane of the Manatee Bridge.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the hole was likely caused by excessive rain after multiple days of heavy thunderstorms.
FDOT closed the bridge to eastbound traffic and Bradenton police suggested using the Cortez Bridge as an alternate route. Funneling traffic to one lane caused delays that left many motorists frustrated.
“We are staying here at Compass Margaritaville, and have no idea where this alternate bridge even is,” Andrew Graziano said. “It seems a little dangerous, and
SUBMITTED
Above, a street level view of a hole that appeared in the Manatee Avenue bridge on Aug. 28. Right, a look at the hole in the Manatee Avenue bridge from the underside.
Commissioners to discuss tentative millage, CRA budget
makes you wonder what chunk of this bridge will fall off next.
Definitely an inconvenience.”
FDOT completed emergency repairs overnight and had both lanes of the bridge opened for both eastbound and westbound traffic by Aug. 29 at 4:30 a.m.
“With repairs complete and a bridge inspection conducted, the bridge is safe for use and will continue to be regularly moni-
tored,” according to an FDOT press release. “Additional maintenance work may be necessary. Should work be needed, impacts to traffic will be scheduled strategically during off-peak traffic hours. FDOT encourages all drivers to download the FL511 app or visit FL511.com for real time traffic information.”
The bridge was built in 1957 and plans are in the works for its replacement.
Bradenton Beach commissioners will hold a public hearing on the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) budget on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 5:05 p.m., followed by a public hearing on the city’s tentative millage rate and budget at 5:30 p.m. Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the percentage (if any) increase in the proposed millage over the rolledback rate, take public comment and discuss the adoption of a joint tentative millage rate and a joint tentative budget resolution. They also will hold a first reading of a public hearing on adopting a budget for fiscal year 2024-25, discuss the receipt and collection of ad valorem taxes and make an announcement of the final millage and budget hearing date of Thursday, Sept. 12 at 5:30 p.m.
At 6 p.m., commissioners will discuss modifications to temporary use permits at 206 Bay Drive N. and 102 Third St. N. A second reading and public hearing of Ordinance 24-557 pertaining to food trucks will be conducted. Also on the agenda is a review of the Vulnerability Assessment Report. Two proclamations will be read for Kaye Bell Day and Tribute to Heroes Day. The commission will discuss CRA board vacancies, floating dock and finger dock repairs, a resiliency grant application $507,332 and the replacement of City Hall carpet. The meetings will be held in the Katie Pierola Commission Chambers, 107 Gulf Drive N.
OPINION
The Anna Maria Island Sun Staff
Owner/CEO
Mike Field
Editor
Cindy Lane
General Manager
Bob Alexander
Reporters/Photographers
Joe Hendricks
Leslie Lake
Jason Schaffer
Kristin Swain
Columnists
Louise Bolger
Rusty Chinnis
Contributors
Steve Borggren
Capt. Rick Grassett
Monica Simpson
Layout
Ricardo Fonseca
Digital Editor
Kristin Swain
Advertising Director
Shona Otto
Advertising Assistant
Pamela Lee
Classifieds
Bob Alexander
Graphics
Elaine Stroili
Ricardo Fonseca
Distribution
Bob Alexander
Connor Field
Tony McNulty
Brian Smith
Accounting
Leslie Ketchum
Co-founding publishers
Mike Field
Maggie McGinley Field
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Flooding solution needed
Holmes Beach flooding has become a major problem. The causes appear to be two areas of road construction - the Manatee County Force Main Project and the Holmes Beach City Center project.
First, the county work on Holmes Boulevard has now caused flooding on just about every street that runs off it.
We know that some drains were buried, but questions remain. Were the drains replaced? If so, what were they connected to? Did our tenuous liaison with the
county affect the ability to oversee the construction? Were there leadership issues?
Second, the City Center project caused some areas to be elevated more than a foot. This is evident from the engineer drawings. This has caused major flooding on Marina from 56th Street and further down, and also down 56th Street and other side streets as well.
Heading north on Marina from the light at Gulf, if you have a straight line of sight, as I did late one evening when there was not much traffic, you can see the difference in elevation. It appears to act like a dam backing the water up to the north.
The changes have been dramatic. There has been damage to residents’ properties. The auto shop on the corner of Gulf and Marina had to raise their floor. It even caused closure of the library, which we have never known to occur before.
We are left wondering why was it elevated? Who was in charge? Who did the planning? Who did the engineering? Where was the leadership? And most importantly at this point, how is the city going to correct the problem?
Richard Motzer
Holmes Beach
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 4
Weekly oyster drilling, Robinson Preserve Valentine House, 1704 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 8 a.m. to noon
Preschool yoga, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.
Tortoise Talk, Robinson Preserve Mosaic Nest, 840 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 10 a.m.
Mah-jongg for beginners, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 1 p.m.
One-on-one tech help, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2-4 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 5
AMI Chamber of Commerce sunrise breakfast, Ginny and Jane E’s, 9807 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, 8 a.m., $15 for members or $25 for prospective members
Sunshine Stitchers Knit and Crochet, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 1 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 6
Forty Carrots infant and toddler playtime, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.
Mah-jongg for experienced players, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11:30 a.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 7
Manatee Sail and Power Squadron boat-
ing safety course, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 9 a.m.
Mornings at the NEST, Robinson Preserve Mosaic Nest, 840 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 9 a.m. to noon
Starry night astronomy, Robinson
Preserve expansion parking lot, 840 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 8-10 p.m.
MONDAY, SEPT. 9
Gentle yoga, Island Branch Library, 5701
Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.
Sunset Tai Chi, Robinson Preserve Mosaic Nest, 840 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 6:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 10
Tram tour, Robinson Preserve, 1704 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Family story time, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.
Mah-jongg for experienced players, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11:30 a.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 11
Weekly oyster drilling, Robinson Preserve Valentine House, 1704 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 8 a.m. to noon
Line dancing for beginners, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.
Tortoise Talk, Robinson Preserve Mosaic Nest, 840 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 10 a.m.
Advanced line dancing, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11 a.m.
One-on-one tech help, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2-4 p.m.
Introduction to sewing for teens, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 5 p.m.
Island Time Book Club, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 6:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 12
Toddler play dough fun, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.
Tree Tots: Light and Dark, Robinson Preserve Mosaic Nest, 840 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 10 a.m.
AMI Chamber members luncheon, Freckled Fin Irish Pub, 5337 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, 11:30 a.m., $22 for members or $30 for prospective members
Fall writing workshop, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 1 p.m.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 13
Forty Carrots toddler playtime, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m.
Mah-jongg for experienced players, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11:30 a.m.
ON THE AGENDA
ANNA MARIA
10005 GULF DRIVE
FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-708-6130
Please visit www.cityofannamaria.com or contact city hall for more information.
Sept. 11, 5:01 p.m. – City Commission meeting
Sept. 19, 9 a.m. – Planning and Zoning board meeting
BRADENTON BEACH
107 GULF DRIVE N.
FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-778-1005
Please visit www.cityofbradentonbeach.com or contact city hall for more information.
Sept. 4, 9:30 a.m. – Community Redevelopment Agency meeting
Sept. 4, 1 p.m. – Planning and Zoning board meeting
Sept. 5, 5:05 p.m. – Community Redevelopment Agency budget meeting
Sept. 5, 5:35 p.m. – City Commission budget meeting
Sept. 5, 6 p.m. – City Commission meeting
Sept. 18, 1 p.m. – Scenic WAVES meeting
HOLMES BEACH
5801 MARINA DRIVE
FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-708-5800
Please visit www.holmesbeachfl. org or contact city hall for more information.
Sept. 5, 9 a.m. – Stormwater workshop
Sept. 11, 9 a.m. – Clean Water Ad-hoc Committee meeting
Sept. 11, 5 p.m. – City Commission budget meeting
Sept. 11, 5 p.m. – City Commission meeting following budget meeting
Sept. 18, 10 a.m. – Code Compliance special magistrate hearing
Sept. 18, 5 p.m. – Planning Commission meeting
ISLAND-WIDE
Sept. 9, 2 p.m. – Island Transportation Planning Organization meeting, Anna Maria City Hall
Sept. 10, 6 p.m. – West Manatee Fire Rescue board meeting, tax appeals hearing and budget adoption, administration building, 701 63rd St. W., Bradenton Sept. 12, 9:30 a.m. – ManaSota League of Cities meeting, Town of Longboat Key commission chambers, 501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key
Commission vote allows clerk to again oversee historical resources
Commissioners said citizen opposition to the proposed change influenced their votes.
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY - Based on what some Manatee County commissioners said was citizen opposition to a 2023 commission vote to shift oversight of historical resources from the Manatee County Clerk’s Office to the County Sports and Leisure Services Department, commissioners unanimously reversed that decision at an Aug. 27 meeting.
The topic was brought up by Commissioner George Kruse, who was the lone dissenter in the 6-1 Sept. 12, 2023 commission vote to approve the change.
“This was something that had gotten started previously and I know most of the public and myself didn’t agree with it and
The Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez is one of the historical resources under the oversight of the Manatee County Clerk's Office.
I’ve talked at length to people on our staff, people on the non-profit boards people in the clerk’s office, I’ve talked to everyone about it and we still don’t really have a clear path on what we’re doing with it, and where the money’s going to come from and how we’re going to handle it,” Kruse said. “We’re now in crunch time because Oct. 1 was the date this was supposed to transfer over.”
Properties affected by the change in management include the Florida Maritime Museum (FMM) in Cortez, the Manatee Village Historical Park, the Manatee County Historical Records Library, the Manatee County Agricultural Museum and Palmetto Historical Park.
Cortez Cultural Center resumes regular hours
After being open by appointment only for the summer, the Cortez Cultural Center will be open during its regular hours on Fridays and Saturdays beginning on Friday, Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Operated by the Cortez Village Historical Society, the center is at 11655 Cortez Road.
Police department offering sandbags
As a result of the storms that Manatee County has experienced recently, the ground is saturated and rainfall has been well above what local stormwater infrastructure was designed to accommodate. As more rain is predicted, the Holmes Beach Police Department recommends getting sandbags now. Residents can stop by the police department on Marina Drive for sandbags; sand is available next to the pickleball courts.
LESLIE LAKE | SUN
SEE HISTORICAL, PAGE 26
Despite tropical storm, Turtle Watch reports successful year
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Despite the loss of 200 loggerhead sea turtle nests due to flooding caused by Debby, which passed by Anna Maria Island as a tropical storm on Aug. 4-5, it has been a successful nesting year so far with numbers surpassing those of 2023, and, in some cases, record high numbers.
“It's been a busy week with a lot of nest excavations - where we count the eggs in the nest to see how well the nest did after it hatched or is overdue,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in an Aug. 30 email. “We've had a few hatches this week and we excavate hatched nests three days after the hatch is observed - to allow all the hatchlings to emerge from the nest on their own. However, due to the Tropical Storm Debby, most of our excavations continue to be 70-day (overdue nest) excavations.”
Mazzarella wrote that 135 nests are still incubating on Island beaches.
With a total nest count of 685, there were 200 complete washouts of nests this year, compared to 82 washouts in 2023, when 404 nests were produced.
A new loggerhead nest was found on the Island last week, and volunteers continue to look for new nests and false crawls as well as checking the remaining nests until they hatch and are excavated.
LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS
Florida Power & Light (FPL) has started installing shields on several streetlights along Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach. The streetlights could be seen from the beach, and may have led to the death of an adult female sea turtle that nested nearby, wandered into the road and was struck by a car in June.
“These shields will direct the light onto the road and make the lights less visible from the beach, creating a more turtle-friendly environment and helping save sea turtle hatchlings,”
Mazzarella wrote. “We thank FPL, City of Bradenton Beach, Manatee County and FWC for their help in making this possible.”
Save the date
The Turtle Watch annual fundraiser, Suzi Fox Turtle Watch Wednesday, will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 4-6 p.m. at Hurricane Hanks in Holmes Beach.
TURTLE
TIPS
During sea turtle season, May 1 – Oct. 31, follow these tips to help turtles:
• 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 beach chairs and other 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. You might also accidentally dig into an unmarked nest. To report large holes or other turtle obstacles, call:
• City of Anna Maria code enforcement — 941-708-6130, ext. 111.
• City of Bradenton Beach code
enforcement — 941-778-1005, ext. 227.
• City of Holmes Beach code enforcement — 941-778-0331, ext. 260.
• Level sandcastles before leaving the beach; they can block hatchlings from the water.
• Don’t use balloons, wish lanterns or fireworks; they litter the beach and Gulf, and turtles can ingest the debris.
• 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 888-404FWCC (3922).
Source: Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring
NESTING NEWS
Turtle nests laid: 685 (Previous record: 543 in 2019) False crawls: 835 (Previous record: 831 in 2010) Nests hatched: 286 (Record: 453 in 2022) Hatchlings produced: 20,119 (Record: 35,850 in 2022) Hatchling disorientations: 55 Adult disorientations: 36
Source: Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring
JEFF RICHMOND | SUBMITTED
These turtle hatchlings emerged during the daytime on Anna Maria Island, an unusual occurrance.
LaPensee Bowling Tournament coming Sept. 14
Sign up now for the 2024 Greg LaPensee Bowling Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Bowlero Bradenton, 4208 Cortez Road. Lane prices start at $350, and in addition to the tournament, there will be a team costume contest with a chance to win great prizes. For sponsorship and ticket info, visit CenterAMI.org/ events. Check-in is at 5:30 p.m. with bowling from 6-8 p.m. and an awards ceremony at 8 p.m.
Primary victories celebrated
On Aug. 29, Manatee County commission candidates George Kruse, left, and Tal Siddique, right, celebrated their recent Republican primary victories at Slicker’s Eatery in Cortez, joined by owner Bob Slicker, center. Supervisor of Elections primary winner Scott Farrington, not pictured, also attended the celebration, as did many of the candidates’ supporters.
Where’s Henrietta?
Henrietta, a female loggerhead sea turtle, is apparently in no big hurry as she remains in last place in a field of 10 in the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s Tour de Turtles Race, which began on Aug. 1. She has traveled 90 miles since her release on June 24 from Coquina Beach after nesting and being tagged with a satellite transmitter. Henrietta is swimming in the race to draw attention to the cause of light pollution and how lighting near shore can negatively impact nesting turtles and their hatchlings. Her participation in the 2024 Tour de Turtles is sponsored by Hurricane Hanks and Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring. Visit The Sun’s Facebook page for weekly updates in “Where’s Henrietta?” and visit amisun.com for weekly updates on turtles nesting activity in “Nesting News.”
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Primary results certified, Satcher remains contentious
Canvassing
board chair Melissa Gould declined James Satcher’s request that she step down.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY
–
The 2024 primary election cycle is complete and the primary elections results are official. Now it’s on to the general election that concludes in November.
Supervisor of Elections Office Chief of Staff
David Ballard issued this informal declaration on Aug. 29 at the conclusion of the lengthy and at times contentious canvassing board meeting that coincided with the post-election certification audit of the ballots cast in two Manatee County precincts.
The three-member canvassing board certified the Aug. 20 primary election results on Aug. 22, but the results are not considered to be official until the post-election certification audit is completed.
The uneventful audit process took approximately two
hours and consisted of sealed ballots from two randomly-selected voting precincts being removed from their sealed containers and hand tabulated by elections office staff in a public setting inside the elections office in Bradenton. Precinct 209 in Palmetto and Precinct 323 in west Bradenton were the two precincts subjected to the audit, in which the handtabulated results matched the previous ballot scanning results with no discrepancies or rejected ballots identified.
CONTENTIOUS DISCUSSION
County Judge Melissa Gould chairs the canvassing board that also includes Bradenton City Councilwoman Lisa Gonzalez Moore
and Manatee County Sheriff 's Office General Counsel Eric Werbeck, with County Judge Renee Inman and former County Commissioner Reggie Bellamy serving as alternates.
During the Aug. 29 meeting, Supervisor of Elections appointee and defeated primary election candidate James Satcher objected to the approval of recent canvassing board meeting minutes prepared by Gould. Presented in summary form as required by state law, Satcher said the minutes did not accurately reflect the long, detailed and nuanced discussions that took place at the canvassing board meetings. At Satcher and
SEE CANVASSING, PAGE 28
Pedicini clients fare poorly in primary election
Six SIMWINS candidates suffered defeat in the Manatee County primary election.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY – Seven Manatee County candidates paid political consultant Anthony Pedicini’s Tampa-based Strategic Image Management (SIMWINS) political consulting firm a total of $526,508 in the recent primary election, according to the candidates’ campaign treasure reports.
Six of those seven Pedicini clients lost their Republican primary races and their election bids are over. District 3 school board candidate Jonathan Lynch is the only one of the seven to advance to the general election.
DISTRICT 7
District 7 at-large primary candidate Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s campaign paid SIMWINS $193,455 leading up to the Aug. 20 primary election. Van Ostenbridge’s campaign raised $239,344 and spent $203,517 on his unsuccessful bid to unseat incumbent District 7 commissioner George Kruse. Van Ostenbridge’s current term as the District 3 county commissioner will end in November. Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed Van Ostenbridge’s unsuccessful District 7 bid. To date, Kruse’s campaign has raised $67,591 and spent $63,004. Kruse now faces Democrat Sari Lindroos-Valimaki in the general election. Valimaki’s campaign has raised $10,828 and spent the same amount.
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Supervisor of Elections Republican primary candidate James Satcher’s campaign paid SIMWINS $101,379. Satcher’s campaign raised $122,121 and spent $119,804 in an unsuccessful bid to serve as Manatee County’s next elected Supervisor of Elections. That seat will go to former elections office chief of staff, Scott Farrington, whose campaign raised $78,724 and spent $75,966. In April, DeSantis appointed Satcher to fill the remaining months of former Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett’s four-year term, after Bennett retired in March.
DISTRICT 3
District 3 Manatee County Commission candidate April Culbreath’s campaign paid SIMWINS $90,895 in her unsuccessful bid to defeat Tal Siddique in the District 3 primary race.
FACEBOOK | SUBMITTED Anthony Pedicini saw six of his Manatee County clients defeated in the primary election.
SEE PEDICINI, PAGE 28
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
From left, David Ballard, Eric Werbeck, Melissa Gould, Lisa Gonzalez Moore and James Satcher participated in the Aug. 29 canvassing board meeting.
Heavy rains take down another palm on Bridge Street
A coconut palm on the south side of Bridge Street fell during heavy rains and winds on Aug. 28. The tree was re-staked on Thursday morning. The palm was one of 60 planted on and around Bridge Street the week of April 24. The $50,000 coconut palm project is a public-private partnership between the city and developer Shawn Kaleta’s Beach to Bay Investments LLC. The maintenance and liability for the trees was assumed by Kaleta’s LLC according to a contract signed by Mayor John Chappie on May 28. Five other coconut palms on Bridge Street toppled over in August during Tropical Storm Debby and were removed by the city.
A coconut palm on Bridge Street toppled over during heavy rain and winds on Aug. 28.
Stalled
A heavy rain on Aug. 29 resulted in flash flooding on Anna Maria Island. This car stalled at Gulf Drive and 31st Street in Holmes Beach.
STEVE LAPARL | SUBMITTED Kayak trail
Holmes Beach resident Steve LaParl snapped this photo on Aug. 29 while kayaking down flooded Sixth Avenue off Gulf Drive.
AMY CUNNINGHAM | SUBMITTED
CINDY LANE | SUN
Island Players tickets on sale
The Island Players’ 76th season kicks off at the Island Playhouse, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria on Thursday, Sept. 19 with their production of “Crimes of the Heart,” directed by Players veteran Mike Lusk. The show runs through Sunday, Sept. 29, and season tickets are now on sale. For more information on this show, and all of this season’s upcoming plays, as well as how to purchase individual tickets or season tickets, visit www. theislandplayers.org.
Support mustaches for cancer research
The firefighters at West Manatee Fire Rescue are growing mustaches for a good cause. The best mustaches will be featured in the 2025 WMFR Mustache Calendar with sales helping to raise funds for prostate cancer research. The fire district is looking for sponsors for the calendar. For a $250 donation, sponsors will have their business logo featured in the calendar and will receive a photo with one of the calendar’s models. All funds go to help support local scholarships, prostate cancer research and the local fire community. For more information, contact Kaitlyn Wright at wrightk@ wmfr.org or call 941-761-1555. The deadline to become a calendar sponsor is Sunday, Sept. 15.
Pinky having fun with AME kindergartners
Pinky the flamingo has been hanging out at the playground with Mrs. Van Wormer’s and Mrs. Flynn’s kindergarten classes at Anna Maria Elementary.
AME | SUBMITTED
City readies for cottage move
Commissioners agreed to allow Mayor Judy Titsworth to enter into an agreement to relocate the historic cottage to Grassy Point.
BY KRISTIN SWAIN
SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – City leaders inherited a cottage, but they have to move quickly if they want to keep it. During an Aug. 27 meeting, City Planner Chad Minor gave commissioners a report on the Dupps cottage, a home built in 1935 that was donated to the city by the Dupps family. Though the home has been in the family since it was built, Minor said they’ve outgrown it and want to build a bigger home on the property. Now that their building permits for the new structure have been approved, the clock is ticking for the city to have the cottage moved to its new home near
the entrance to Grassy Point Preserve on Avenue C.
City commissioners voted unanimously in favor of allowing Mayor Judy Titsworth to enter into an agreement with Johnson Housemovers for an amount not to exceed $85,000 to complete the move. Minor said the house is expected to be moved in late September or early October. Once relocated, Minor said the cottage would be placed on a temporary foundation while work on a new permanent foundation is built.
The cottage is being looked at as a potential space for an annex of the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, the location of a native garden installation or a place to host community activities.
While the city is moving the primary structure, Minor said the accessory structures are set for demolition by the property owners before new construction begins on the site.
KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN
The Dupps cottage will soon be relocated from a lot on 48th Street to its new home at Grassy Point Preserve.
DARRIN WASH | SUBMITTED
The Doctor seeks garden expansion
The Doctor’s Office owner Sean Murphy is hoping to expand his outdoor seating.
BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – The city’s “doctor” Sean Murphy is hoping to expand his practice. Murphy appeared before commissioners during an Aug. 27 work session to present a proposal for expanding seating at The Doctor’s Office and The Doctor’s Garden, his combined bar and restaurant at 5312 Holmes Blvd. If approved, the restaurant and bar would expand from 50 indoor seats and 16 outdoor seats to 50 indoor seats and 70 outdoor seats during business hours. The Doctor’s Office is open after 5 p.m. on weekdays, after noon on Saturdays and all day on Sundays.
City Planner Chad Minor said the additional seating would bring the restaurant from 66 to
120 seats, requiring 40 onsite parking spaces.
Currently, Murphy has agreements with adjacent property owners to use their parking spaces after they close for the day at 5 p.m. along with 11 onsite parking spaces. For the seating expansion, he proposes to use 17 offsite parking spaces at the nearby Holmes Beach Business Center, 5343 Gulf Drive.
By making the seating change, Murphy said it would allow him to repay some of the deficit incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he doesn’t believe that the increase in seating would greatly increase the impact on nearby residential properties.
In fact, he said by moving parking to the Holmes Beach Business Center, it would move more parking away from the residential areas.
Resident Nancy Deal said she has concerns about the increase in vehicular traffic.
She also read a statement by resident Margie Motzer also speaking against the increase in seating. In her statement, Motzer said the increase in seating, which requires a change to the special exception governing seating and parking at the restaurant, would be a large increase for seating at a restaurant in a residential zone. She said the increase in intensity of use could cause more strain on the city’s already failing infrastructure.
To approve the site plan change request, commissioners are required to deliberate the matter in a public hearing before casting their votes. City Attorney Erica Augello said the workshop appearance for a site plan change is required by the city's land development code and no action could be taken during the August meeting. A public hearing and vote on the site plan is expected during a September regular commission meeting.
based their first, second and third place awards on the contestants’ showmanship, crowd interaction, entertainment value and more.
Sporting an old-fashioned swimsuit, Sandy Ziros claimed the $500 first place prize for the Drift In’s inaugural swimsuit contest held on Aug. 31. The contest featured six additional contestants who wore more modern swimsuits. Judges
Voters speak out for water
knew that the citizens of Manatee County cared about water quality and preserving the coastal ecosystem. That was apparent when they voted to tax themselves for the Vote Water and Land Referendum in 2020. The measure passed by over 70% despite the fact that one political party opposed the initiative. As the Bradenton Herald reported at the time, “The measure will have a positive impact on generations of Manatee County families, allowing them to enjoy some of Florida’s most precious landscapes and resources.”
That was cause for celebration, but in the ensuing four years, a political shift caused me to question what I knew to be true. When voters in 2020 elected
a slate of commissioners completely aligned with the development community, Manatee County’s path seemed dire in the eyes of this angler.
As I’ve mentioned in prior columns, at a time when we all need to be concerned about water quality and protecting the
environment that provides us solace and is the basis of the local community, the government was taking us backward. This was a time when the county commission disregarded the will of the people and their own planning commission and labeled those who cared enough to show
up and fight these draconian measures as Communists or radical climate organizers.
During the most recent election cycle, when those politicians backed by massive war chests from special interests looked to solidify their hold on the Manatee County Commission, I admit I was concerned. I worried that those who weren’t paying attention might vote for politicians with the largest and most political posters. That didn’t happen as every current commissioner save one lost to challengers who made water quality and environment a part of their platform. The lone commissioner who kept his seat was challenged by a current commissioner whose popularity was so low he changed districts to try and defeat the only voice of reason on the current board.
Now that we will have a majority on the commission who understands the value of water and natural resources come Jan. 1, maybe there’s an opening. Perhaps there’s the possibility of getting the development community on board to help address this elephant in the room.
RUSTY CHINNIS | SUN
An aerial view of the Gulf of Mexico at Manatee Beach after Hurricane Debby passed by as a tropical storm and millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into local waters.
RUSTY CHINNIS
September a favorite fly fishing time
CAPT. RICK GRASSETT
September is one of my favorite months. Reds should be schooling on shallow grass flats and you also might find big trout there at first light. Baitfish along beaches will attract Spanish mackerel, false albacore (little tunny), sharks, tarpon and more. You should find snook around docks and bridges in the ICW. There should also be tarpon around bridges at night and in areas of Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. Juvenile tarpon from 10-30 pounds should be a good option in creeks and canals. Given all the rain we had in August, fish may not be in their normal areas.
Tarpon should still be a good option this month. Many have moved to inside waters, so you’ll find them around bridges, over deep grass flats or deeper areas. When tarpon move into these areas, they are in a feeding mode. After a long migration and with their spawning duties completed, they need to rest and eat to restore themselves. Ladyfish will feed in glass minnow schools and tarpon will gorge themselves on ladyfish. I have also seen tarpon “ball” glass minnows into tight schools, and eat them by the bucketful. Fly anglers should score with wide profile patterns, such as Lefty’s Deceiver or EP flies. Small flies, like my
Grassett Snook Minnow, tied on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook, are a good choice for tarpon that are feeding on glass minnows. You should find snook this month around docks and bridges close to passes. They will also start making their move towards shallow flats where you might find them staging along sandbars or in potholes. Fly poppers or Gurglers may draw some big strikes in shallow water at night or early in the day. I often fish lighted docks and bridges for snook before dawn before moving to the flats after daylight. My Grassett Snook Minnow fly is my “go to” fly pattern for snook at night. Reds are usually in large schools in September. You may find them in shallow water when the tide is high or along the edges of flats when the tide is low. Look for wakes, some as big as boat wakes, or “pushes,” to locate them. If it is calm, a school of reds may look like a nervous patch of water or if there’s a ripple on the surface, the school may appear as a slick patch of water. Once you’ve located them, try to get in front of them and work around the edges of the school to avoid spooking the whole school. Fly anglers should score with fly poppers, Gurglers and wide profile baitfish fly patterns. I
CAPT. RICK GRASSETT | SUBMITTED
There may be some action in the coastal Gulf with little tunny (false albacore) in September. Rusty Chinnis, of Longboat Key, caught and released this one on a fly in a previous September.
like to be as quiet as possible in shallow water, using a push pole to move my boat. It is great to find a big school of reds, but remember, if you spook one fish you may spook the whole school. Running an outboard may make fish show themselves, but in the long run it will make them harder to catch. I sometimes also find big jacks and blues mixed with schools of big reds in shallow water. Not a bad problem! Spotted trout fishing should also be good this month. In my opinion, it’s important
to release over-slot trout, which are usually female breeders. Full regulations and details on trout and other species can be viewed at https://myfwc.com/. Look for big trout in skinny water in many of the same places that you find reds this month. They will be most active in low light, either first thing in the morning or at dusk, particularly if we’ve had an afternoon shower. Cloud cover in the afternoon will also reduce heating of shallow flats, which usually makes fish more active. The same flies that you use for reds will work well for big trout in shallow water.
There are lots of options this month, but the key is usually to fish early for the best chance at success. An early start for snook or tarpon around lighted docks or bridges and then on to the flats for reds, trout and more is a good plan. There should also be good action in the coastal Gulf for a variety of species. I usually tarpon fish as long as I can, wherever I find them!
Our natural resources are under constant pressure from red tides fueled by residential, agricultural and industrial runoff, toxic spills and discharges, freezes, increasing fishing pressure and habitat loss and degradation. Please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit!
Lifeguards expand patrol area, add warning flags
Two new initiatives by Manatee County lifeguards are aimed at making Anna Maria Island’s beaches safer for everyone, whether they’re near a lifeguard stand or not.
BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND –Lifeguard services are expanding to include all of Anna Maria Island, not just the public beach areas at Coquina, Cortez and Manatee beaches.
Answering concerns about the safety of people swimming in areas without a lifeguard or with no information as to current beach conditions, new information boxes are being installed at 20 beach access points all the way from Bean Point in Anna Maria south to First Street North in Bradenton Beach, where the new program meets up with existing lifeguard stands in that city.
The boxes will be maintained by lifeguards who will travel the beach to put out beach condition flags at each location to alert visitors of current water
conditions. The boxes also have signage explaining what each flag means along with additional safety information and a warning that no lifeguards are on duty at that location.
Chet Brown with Manatee Beach Patrol and Water Safety attended an Aug. 27 Holmes Beach commission meeting to discuss the boxes
and the 10 planned locations in the city. Commissioners unanimously approved the locations. Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said he’d seen the box locations and they wouldn’t impede access to the beach or impact nesting sea turtles.
Brown added that there will be a QR code on the boxes that beachgoers can scan to see the beach conditions at their location along with others on the Island.
The first of the boxes was installed at Gladiolus Street in Anna Maria. The boxes are anticipated to be installed in groups of five with a full roll out of the program in October.
In another new initiative that begins in October, Tokajer said two roaming lifeguard patrols will travel up and down the Island’s beaches to keep watch on the people who are swimming in areas without lifeguard towers.
He said he plans for the beach patrol lifeguards to also monitor for dogs on the beach and for them to be able to educate the public as well as watch for people experiencing an emergency.
KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN
The first of 20 boxes was installed at the Gladiolus Street beach access in Anna Maria, designed to help encourage beachgoer safety. They will each hold the same type of marine warning flags flown at Manatee County lifeguard towers to alert visitors of current beach conditions.
Treehouse topples
After 13 years, the treehouse at Angelinos Sea Lodge in Holmes Beach is no more.
CINDY LANE | SUN
Owner Lynn Tran said this was the first photo of the treehouse to make it into local news. Appearing in the July 27, 2011 edition of The Anna Maria Island Sun, the photo shows the artificial supports, resembling tree trunks, that hold the treehouse, constructed around an Australian pine tree on the beach side of Angelinos Sea Lodge in Holmes Beach.
FILE PHOTO | SUN
Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, owners of Angelinos Sea Lodge, said they spent about $20,000 to construct the two-story treehouse as a personal retreat with a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico. Throughout all of the court cases and special magistrate hearings that would follow construction of the treehouse, the two maintained that they consulted the city’s building department before building, asking if they needed a permit for a treehouse, and were told no by a building department employee.
At the end of 2023, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas ruled in the city’s favor, granting the municipality an injunction allowing for the demolition of the treehouse. In February 2024, Nicholas ordered the owners to remove the treehouse, or the city would be allowed to do so at the owners’ expense with 72 hours’ notice.
Demolition on the treehouse began early on the morning of Aug. 25, 2024, above. It took a four-man team three days to painstakingly remove the structure by hand without damaging the Australian pine it was constructed around. By midday on Aug. 27, left, all that remained of the treehouse at Angelinos Sea Lodge were the supports first photographed by The Sun when construction on the structure began.
KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN
CINDY LANE | SUN
REAL ESTATE
Will declining mortgage rates fix the market?
It may take more than the Federal Reserve throwing us a lower inter est rate bone this month to make everyone happy. Nevertheless, when it comes to lower rates, we’ll take what we can get, but will it solve the real market problem?
Even though mortgage rates in the country are at the lowest level in more than a year (6.5% on average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage), it may not make much of a difference for homebuyers. With record housing prices and limited inventory, a one quarter lower blip in rates for most buyers can’t make up for the higher prices and lack of inventory.
Castles in the Sand
LOUISE BOLGER
continues to be locked up with prices still pushing up for those properties that come on the market, and there aren’t too many of them.
However, there are still benefits to lower rates, especially for a firsttime borrower.
Based on the July sales statistics in Mantee County, there are 10% more single-family properties available than July of last year but only 0.4% more condos on the market. Since condos are more of a seasonal sale, it’s not surprising to have fewer available properties than single-family.
particularly in Congress, on business and the stock market.
Nevertheless, a healthy real estate market generally is good for all of the market. There is a trickle-up effect of a robust lower-end market positively impacting all price points in the marketplace.
There are homeowners with low-rate mortgages who are still reluctant to sell and move on as much as they may want to. A quarter point or even a half point is just not enough encouragement for them to give up a once-in-alifetime 3% mortgage. So, the market
For a $500,000 mortgage, the difference between a 6.5% rate and an 8% rate is $509 a month, enough to qualify many buyers at the lower rate to be approved for financing. There is speculation that the movement for a lower rate has already been figured in and another rate cut this month may not have a big impact.
Here on Anna Maria Island and all of the other coastal communities in the area, including our neighbor, Cortez, buyers in these areas are less affected by mortgage rates. Therefore, the market for high-end properties will be less influenced by mortgage rates than by the overall economy.
Many if not most high-end buyers are all cash and even if they decide on a mortgage to free up more cash, they will likely not decide on buying because of a quarter or even a half point reduction. They’re eyeing the health of the general economy and the position of the lawmakers,
Finally, last week we talked about the revision of broker compensations. There are any number of ways for real estate professionals to adapt to the National Association of Realtors’ new ruling and if you’re buying or selling a property, you will be exposed to a variety of opinions and operating guidelines. As always, choose a real estate company and individual you trust and are comfortable with and roll with it; eventually it will become clearer.
Will the Federal Reserve move the needle on rates or will it just be more of the same old, same old? Stay tuned.
OBITUARIES
Clarice Marie Claps Wiedorn
In the afternoon of Aug. 13, 2024, Clarice Marie Claps Wiedorn passed away peacefully at her home on Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach, with her daughter, Cathy Camille, by her side. She was 98½ years old.
Italian relatives in Avigliano and Ruoti and spent Christmas with them.
Known by most everyone who knew her as Clare, she was born on Jan. 24, 1926 at the family home in New Rochelle, New York. She was the third child, and second surviving child of Camille Colangelo Claps and George Anthony Claps.
At around age 5, the family moved to Waterbury, Connecticut, where her mother had grown up. She was valedictorian of her class at Bucks Hill Grammar School and graduated from Crosby High in 1943. In 1947, she graduated from the University of Connecticut with a major in mathematics. Her college yearbook describes her as being a music lover, having dreamy brown eyes and being “Einstein’s Successor.”
In 1951, Clare went off on a five-month adventure, traveling on her own throughout Europe. While there, she visited her
Shortly after returning from her trip, she attended a party in Storrs, Connecticut, where she was introduced to her future husband, Albert Wiedorn. Her friend, Grace, thought they would hit it off as they both shared a love of travel. Coincidentally, they had both attended Crosby High in Waterbury, graduating in the same class. Together they hatched a plan to become teachers so they could get jobs at American schools overseas and travel in the summers. Clare and Al married on July 11, 1953. In 1955, with their 5-week-old firstborn, Paul, in tow, they moved to Quito, Ecuador. After that they lived in Santo Domingo (then known as Ciudad de Trujillo), Dominican Republic; East Granby, Connecticut; Brasilia, Brazil; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Riverview, Florida; and finally, Holmes Beach. After returning from Brazil in 1970, Clarice worked briefly as a clerk at Heublein liquor company. Then in 1972, she completed her training as a computer programmer and worked at the Hartford Insurance Group until 1977 when she joined her husband in Honduras. Imagine, at the time, computers used punch cards, there was no internet and software programs were written by hand!
In 1978, Clare and Al moved to Florida to become managers of the Alafia River Campers Resort they co-owned with
their siblings Fred and Gladys Wiedorn, and Elmer and Ingrid Claps. After selling the ARC in 1987 they purchased their home in Holmes Beach, rented it out and continued their traveling adventures. In the end, they visited over 100 countries.
After Al passed away in 2010, Clare enticed other family members to travel with her. Her last trip was to Jordan, accompanied by her niece, Judy Drake. They returned to the U.S. just in time as the world was shutting down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In her time in Holmes Beach, Clare enjoyed early morning walks on the beach and swimming in the Gulf. A lifetime swimmer, described in her high school yearbook as a mermaid, she could be seen swimming in the Gulf well into her 90s. She also developed a lovely group of friends who met on the beach in the late afternoon to enjoy a cocktail and critique the sunset.
On her 90th birthday, Clare threw herself a party. At the toast she declared to her friends and family that she had had a wonderful life, and indeed she had!
She is survived by her son, Paul (Macushia) Wiedorn; grandchildren, Ian, Arras and Patrick (Krista Mangiardi); daughter, Cathy Camille (John) Mazurek; and a large extended family. She is predeceased by her husband, Albert Wiedorn; and siblings, Gladys, Elmer and Donald.
A memorial service was held on Aug. 29.
Brian Blaine
Brian Blaine’s life was celebrated in Bradenton Beach on Sept. 1 at his favorite bar, the Drift In. The longtime patron passed away on Aug. 4 at the age of 51. During Sunday’s memorial celebration, Blaine’s life partner, Jill Anderson, said, “The outpouring of support is overwhelming. It’s unbelievable the love everybody has for Brian.” Steve Paradis provided the live music, joined by special guests that included Trevor Peres, Mikey Silbaugh, Dawn Marie and the singer known as “Buzz.” Many attendees brought covered dishes and other food to share during the celebration.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Jill Anderson appreciates the support provided by the Island community.
celebrated
BEACH BEAT
BRADENTON BEACH
8/26, 6:18 a.m., trespassing, 2502 Gulf Drive. The officer responded to the Dream Inn resort in reference to a trespassing complaint. The officer met with the resort’s maintenance and security officer, who said there was a man staying in unit 108 who was not authorized to be there. The officer entered the unit and met with the suspect, who was known to the officer as a local homeless man. The suspect said he was authorized to be there, but after speaking to the property manager, the officer confirmed this was not true. The suspect said he got the keys from unknown subjects who gave him permission to use the unit, but the keys he had were not the same as those issued to guests. The suspect was arrested for trespassing in a structure and transferred to Manatee County Jail.
8/24, 6:11 p.m., domestic disturbance, 135 Bridge St. The officer was dispatched in reference to a domestic disturbance between a father and juvenile daughter. Upon arrival, the officer was met by several witnesses, as well as the father and 12-year-old daughter allegedly involved in the disturbance. One of the witnesses said the father got into an argument with another male that got loud and out of control. The daughter allegedly tried to get them to stop, at which time the father got angry and began to yell at her
and threatened others standing nearby. The daughter told the officer that this caused her to be in fear of her father at the time. The officer confirmed that nothing physical had happened, and separated the father and daughter for the night to “cool off,” and the girl’s mother came from St. Petersburg to take her home. No charges were filed.
HOLMES BEACH
8/20, 6 p.m., petty theft, 5602 Marina Drive. The officer was dispatched to Gypsy Tides Boutique for a theft. The officer met with the owner of the store who advised that a female subject was observed on security cameras stealing a pearl necklace from the store. The female subject paid for other items, but was seen putting the necklace in her purse without paying for it. Security footage was sent to HBPD as evidence, but police have not yet located the shoplifting suspect.
Horseshoe standings
Last week's action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits was short and sweet. On Aug. 28, Bob Heiger and Bob Hawks teamed up to win the day's competition after posting the only 3-0 record during pool play. On Aug. 31, Tom Farrington and Steve Augustine ended up in the winner's circle after they were the only team to go 3-0.
SEWAGE: Discharge continues into Manatee River
FROM PAGE 1
the ongoing discharge of partially treated wastewater into the Manatee River at the water reclamation facility outfall.
On Aug. 30, Suncoast Waterkeeper posted on Facebook a Manatee River advisory that says, “The city of Bradenton Water Reclamation Facility has reported an ongoing bypass of sewage into the Manatee River. At this time, the city has not disclosed the total estimated amount of discharge.
On Aug. 29, Suncoast Waterkeeper posted on Facebook its latest water quality test report that identified 11 “Don’t Swim” zones in Manatee and Sarasota counties, including the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach, the Longboat Key boat ramp and Robinson Preserve in west Bradenton. According to that Facebook post, “On August 28th, the enterococci (fecal bacteria) survey was conducted during an outgoing tide. The sample at Palma Sola was taken shortly before the horses rode by. The city of Bradenton continues to discharge sewage into the Manatee River, which was occurring while the samples were collected. There was a considerable level of decomposing seagrass at the Longboat Key Boat Ramp.”
That post also included a link to informa-
“Suncoast Waterkeeper is issuing a No Swim advisory until further notice. The discharge of sewage can cause health risks due to high bacteria counts and potential pathogens. We will be adding DeSoto Memorial Park, located on the Manatee River, to its weekly water quality testing sites. Please stay out of the waters and stay tuned for updates as we continue to monitor this situation,” the advisory says. The advisory includes a link to the city of Bradenton’s reportable events webpage that as of Aug. 31 included a dozen sewagerelated incidents between Aug. 4-27. See the reports at https://cityofbradenton. com/reportableevents.
CITY OF BRADENTON
| SUBMITTED
The city of Bradenton’s water reclamation facility was overwhelmed by the rain and impacts of Tropical Storm Debby.
tion posted at the Suncoast Waterkeeper website regarding a 2022 lawsuit in which the organization prevailed over the city of Bradenton in a water quality case.
Regarding problems addressed by the 2022 lawsuit, the website says, “For the past five years, the city of Bradenton had
illegally bypassed at least 160 million gallons of wastewater away from full treatment before discharging it into the Manatee River. Also, during that timeframe, the city discharged millions more gallons of reclaimed and raw sewage from its aging sewage system, which is plagued by structural deficiencies. The historic lack of investment in our infrastructure harms the health of our communities and waterways.”
Regarding the “win” that resulted from the lawsuit, the Suncoast Waterkeeper website says, “The city of Bradenton has committed to performing $220,000 in oyster restoration in the Manatee River as part of its Supplemental Environmental Project, along with making much-needed upgrades to its wastewater and sewage treatment system. The settlement includes firm deadlines for improvements to the sewage treatment plant, addressing issues in the collection system, an update to capacity management programs and a website providing public information on water quality.”
SEWAGE, PAGE 27
HISTORICAL: Commission vote allows clerk to again oversee historical resources
FROM PAGE 8
Kruse noted that nothing has been finalized; there are no written agreements with the non-profits.
“I think we need to unwind that back to where it was and I talked to the county CFO; none of the money’s been spent, we can bring it back at the first budget meeting in September and just revert the funds back to the clerk,” Kruse said. “I am requesting a motion to rescind the decision to transfer the historical sites to the county and leave them with the clerk where they’ve been for the past four decades.”
Commissioner Amanda Ballard said she had done research and found that no other counties in the state have their historical resources managed by the clerk, and also opined that the clerk’s office may not have the resources to maintain the properties. She said she has received multiple emails from constituents opposing the change.
“I did all that research and I read lots and lots and lots of citizen emails and they all said the same thing, the citizens don’t care whether I think it’s within the purview of the clerk of court to do this, the citizens don’t care that I don’t believe that the clerk has facilities management staff to keep up the facilities,” Ballard said. “Ultimately what the citizens think matters and even though I don’t think it typically falls within the purview of the clerk of the court, they’ve been doing it for 40 years, the citizens are very happy with the service as it stands, and that is
why I will be voting to revert historical resources back to the clerk.”
Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge made the motion to revert the management back to the county clerk’s office, saying, “I made the motion, I think commissioner Ballard and everybody is right to some extent, there’s a reason Florida statute doesn’t have clerks running these museums and this is an example - our clerk is doing a really bad job of it and we’ve uncovered that slowly as we’ve been digging into the transition,” he said.
“But again, the people have spoken. I made the motion so we should revert the museums back to the clerk.”
He recommended the board consider an audit of the historical properties.
Commission Chairman Mike Rahn expressed concerns about county funds being used on historical properties that are not owned by the county.
“The Manatee Village Historical Park is a 99-year land lease. The Friends of the Manatee Village own the buildings. We fork out about $447,000 a year on property the citizens of Manatee County do not own. We have all the liability, the risk, the cost,” Rahn said.
Phaedra Dolan, director of historical resources for the Manatee County Clerk’s Office, addressed Rahn’s concerns about liability.
“We do maintain liability insurance on the sites that are owned by non-profits through our lease agreements with them and you all maintain the liability on the properties that you own,” she said.
“Getting back to the Palmetto Historical Park and the Manatee Cultural Museums, the citizens pay out about $468,000 a year on property we don’t own,” Rahn said. “That’s a bad business plan.”
The Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez is, however, owned by the county.
“The Maritime Museum is ours, we work on that, we get grants, we put $1 million into the building a year or so ago to make it operational and we could do the same with these, but we need to get to a point where I don’t want to pay money on something I don’t own,” Rahn said. “I think we need to look at the numbers again, and figure out a way to get these properties under our control as far as the county owns them. And then we can move forward in getting the services back over, but this concerns me greatly.”
“I think we should incorporate these with other discussions and come January maybe have a work session,” Kruse said. “I still think this is the right decision, because when someone does something for 40 years and nobody’s complained about it, then why rock a boat?”
“I just want to rescind the previous motion by this board to take over the historical sites from the clerk of the court and revert the operations and management and oversight of the historical sites back to the clerk along with the budgetary funds during the budget period,” Kruse said.
Ballard seconded Van Ostenbridge’s motion, which passed unanimously.
2023 OPPOSITION
More than a dozen speakers who were not in favor of the change spoke at the September 2023 commission meeting, including Cindy Rodgers and Karen Bell, representing two Cortezbased non-profits.
“The (Cortez Village) Historical Society was founded in 1984 to document the history of Cortez, educate the public on the living history of our working fishing village, and protect the important historic resources of our National Historic District. Due to the community’s historic preservation efforts, Cortez is a popular tourist destination,” Cortez Village Historical Society (CVHS) president Cindy Rodgers said.
She asked for commissioners to defer action until there was a full public accounting of the costs and benefits of such a change.
Karen Bell, a board member of the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH), also spoke in support of the Florida Maritime Museum and recounted some of its history.
Bell told the commissioners the importance of sharing that story.
“That’s our museum,” she said. “That’s our history. We have our families’ artifacts in there. So, for this to be brought upon us with no notice, nobody even shared with us that this was a consideration. It’s hard for me to understand how that can be when we have a partnership with the county. So please, take time before you do something drastic. It works well.”
SEE
MAYOR: Candidates outline differing views
Titsworth said she expects the relationship to be much better among elected officials and she wants to work to make those relationships better. Roth said he also would want to work to help improve relationships among elected officials, but he doesn’t think that the results of the primary election halted the efforts of state and county officials to control Anna Maria Island. His concern, he said, is that he’s afraid the Island cities and residents will become
complacent and think the threat has passed. While the results of the primary election are viewed by many as a win for Holmes Beach, Roth said he doesn’t think the attention on the city is gone.
On the topic of the budget, Titsworth said she still thinks there’s room to decrease the budget, but she doesn’t want to lower taxes too much and risk not being able to fund necessary infrastructure improvements. Without proper funding, she said infrastructure improvements could fall by the wayside, which could make flooding
COMMISSION: Candidates debate issues
help remedy some of the relationship issues would be for some of the tourist development tax funds, also known as bed tax funds, to come back to the Anna Maria Island communities. City officials have long said that Holmes Beach is one of the largest contributors to the tax funds but sees the least amount in return. Whitmore noted that according to state law, the tax funds can only be used to fund something concerning tourism, such as improvements or advertising directly related to tourism.
Another thing they all agreed on is that none of them are in favor of a proposed parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach or the consolidation of the three Island cities. While Romberger said he’d be willing to look at consolidation of services if it would be beneficial to residents in all three cities, Diggins questioned at what cost consolidation of services would come to taxpayers. He also questioned whether the three Island mayors would be willing to give up any of their city’s services in order to consolidate services. He suggested having interlocal agreements for shared equipment or services. Oelfke said he agreed with Diggins that some items could be shared and that he would be open to looking outside the box to find different solutions to save taxpayers money.
Concerns among residents about stormwater were also addressed by the commission candidates. Romberger said he sees the city trying to help with stormwater accumulation and flooding, but there’s only so much that can be done. Whitmore agreed that she would be in favor of raising elevation when building new homes or building higher sea wall caps to try and help keep water from flooding residences and businesses. Diggins said that he also believes in climate change but thinks a lot of the flooding on the Island is caused by too much impervious surface and the Island being very close to sea level. The combination of heavy rains and high tides causes a difficult problem to battle for the city and its residents. Oelfke said he’s very encouraged hearing the work that the city is doing to fix ailing infrastructure, but he said that rain on an ordinary day should never cause houses to flood. That is, he said, a priority issue to be addressed by city leaders, to make sure that the storm drains are working properly.
Visit The Sun’s Facebook page to watch the forum in its entirety.
and other issues worse and negatively affect property values, which would in turn reduce the tax base for the city in the future. Titsworth said she doesn’t think it’s logical to try and save taxpayers a few hundred dollars now at the risk of costing them much more in the future. Costs aren’t going down, she said, but as a city taxpayer herself, she sees that it’s important to keep the budget as low as possible.
Roth said he feels that the city may not be approaching creating the budget in the best way. He said he
doesn’t feel that the city is improving infrastructure to the point that residents feel it and he thinks there could be better ways of doing things that may not cost or inconvenience the taxpayers as much. Roth said some easy ways of improving infrastructure, such as more sidewalk improvements, could visibly help improve quality of life for residents.
To hear what each candidate had to say about these and other issues, visit The Sun’s Facebook page to watch the forum video in its entirety.
SEWAGE: Discharge continues into Manatee River
REPORTABLE EVENTS
In addition to the initial 25 million gallon wastewater discharge, the city of Bradenton’s reportable events include four more sewage-related events dated Aug. 5 and attributed to Hurricane Debby’s impact and heavy rains.
• A hydraulic overload of Lift Station #6 which exceeded the lift station capacity. The manhole at 414 29th St. N.W. overflowed.
• A hydraulic overload of Lift Station #11 that exceeded the lift station capacity. The manhole at 620 11th Ave. E. overflowed.
• A hydraulic overload of Lift Station #21 exceeded the lift station capacity and the manholes at 2709 22nd Ave. W. overflowed.
• A hydraulic overload of Lift Station #18 overrunning the lift station capacity. The manhole at 23rd Street/ Eighth Avenue East overflowed until the pumps were able to manage the flows.
The Aug. 14 reportable event references a force main break at Second Avenue and 24th Street East during which more than 1,000 gallons of wastewater and raw sewage spilled onto the roadway, sidewalk and storm drain in that residential area.
The Aug. 23 reportable event pertains to an estimated discharge of more than 1,000 gallons at Lift Station #14, at 1901 17th Ave. W. The report attributes the discharge to a malfunction and power failure.
“The Vac (vacuum) truck was used to wash down and sanitize the area. None of the discharge was recovered into the Vac truck,” according to the Aug. 23 report that also mentions sewage “released into Wares Creek.”
The Aug. 26 reported incident notes that the city of Bradenton’s water reclamation facility violated the state’s allowed discharge limits between Aug. 4-12.
“During the hurricane, the aerators were shut off to try to not overflow the clarifiers. The WRF is still in recovery,” that report says. “This hurricane was a 100-year storm event. An estimated 2.5 billion gallons of rain fell across the city sewer system. An estimated 1.2 billion gallons entered the WRF. The facility is rated to process 9 million gallons/day.”
Regarding preventative action being taken, the report says, “New clarifier currently being built to help process additional volume; however, this would not have helped in this extreme event.”
FDOH TESTING
According to the Florida Department of Health, water quality samples collected on Aug. 26 were listed as “good” at Bayfront Park in Anna Maria, Manatee Beach
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This graphic indicates 11 “don’t swim” areas in Manatee and Sarasota.
in Holmes Beach, Coquina Beach and Cortez Beach in Bradenton Beach, the Broadway Beach Access in Longboat Key and the Palma Sola South causeway in west Bradenton.
FROM PAGE 26
SUNCOAST WATERKEEPER | SUBMITTED Suncoast Waterkeeper issued this no swim advisory on Aug. 29.
SUNCOAST WATERKEEPER
SUBMITTED
CANVASSING: Primary results certified, Satcher remains contentious
Ballard’s request, the audio recordings of those past meetings will be attached to the meeting minutes and detailed transcriptions of those audio recordings will be prepared.
Satcher also objected to the canvassing board retaining the legal services of the Bentley Goodrich Kison law firm. On Aug. 29, Gould noted that Morgan Bentley’s law firm currently represents the Sarasota County canvassing board and that Bentley has vast election law experience.
When voicing his objection to the board retaining Bentley’s law firm, Satcher noted that Bentley previously represented the elections office when Mike Bennett served as supervisor. He also noted that Bennett supported Scott Farrington in the recent Supervisor of Elections primary race in which Farrington defeated Satcher.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
County Judge Melissa Gould rejected James Satcher’s request that she remove herself from the canvassing board.
On or around Aug. 16, the canvassing board authorized Gould to secure legal representation should it be needed in the future. This occurred after Gould told Satcher, who was still a candidate at the time, that he was not allowed to participate in canvassing board meetings.
In response, Satcher obtained written guidance from Florida Department of State General Counsel Brad McVay.
In his Aug. 16 email response to Satcher, McVay cited Florida Statute 102.141, which notes the canvassing board shall include the supervisor of elections.
“The supervisor, however, shall act in an advisory capacity to the canvassing board,” according to the statute cited in McVay’s email.
In his own words, McVay’s email stated, “The law is clear you ‘shall act in an advisory capacity to the canvassing board.’ Therefore, it is your determination to make as to what is necessary to best act in your advisory capacity as the supervisor of elections, including but not limited to
your presence within the canvassing board room. With that being said, given that you are required to serve in an advisory capacity to the canvassing board and you are also an active candidate on the primary election ballot, you will want to do your best to avoid intermingling your official duties as supervisor with that of an incumbent candidate. Consideration should be given to ways that allow you to fulfill your required duty but also ensure confidence, integrity and transparency in the process.”
When contacted on Sept. 1, Bennett told The Sun he did not participate in canvassing board meetings during election cycles in which he himself was a candidate.
On Aug. 29, Satcher said the meeting minutes did not accurately reflect the board’s request that he be removed from the canvassing board meeting room on Aug. 16.
He also asked Gould to step down from the canvassing board because he feels she has not conducted herself in an impartial manner.
“It’s sad that we’ve run so far afield from that,” Satcher said when airing his many grievances.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Interim Supervisor of Elections James Satcher aired many grievances during the Aug. 29 canvassing board meeting.
When declining Satcher’s request to step down, Gould said, “Mr. Satcher, one of the things that falls within the purview of the canvassing board is election integrity and everything that I do is an attempt to preserve that. That is one of the board goals and that is how I conducted myself.”
In addition to The Sun, three members of the public attended the Aug. 29 canvassing board meeting: League of Women Voters of Manatee County members Merrie Lynn Parker and Ruth Harenchar and techHouse founder and CEO Kathy Dupree. Attendees were allowed to give public input, which was done that day via handwritten comment cards.
Read aloud by Gould with no names given, one public comment card expressed appreciation for the professionalism displayed by Gould, Moore and Werbeck.
Another comment card addressed the conduct of Satcher and his staff and said, “Staff is observed to be capable and diligent. Mr. Ballard’s guidance is seen as helpful. Mr. Satcher’s behavior has been observed to be obstructive, petulant and petty.”
PEDICINI: Clients fare poorly in primary election
Culbreath’s campaign raised $100,393 and spent $99,088. Siddique’s campaign raised $65,668 and spent $58,901. Siddique now faces Democrat Diana Shoemaker in the general election. Shoemaker’s campaign has raised $40,526 and spent $15,515.
DISTRICT 5
Appointed District 5 County Commissioner Ray Turner’s campaign paid SIMWINS $66,072. Turner’s campaign raised $89,220 and spent $71,218. Turner, who was appointed by DeSan-
tis, lost his election bid to Republican primary challenger Bob McCann. To date, McCann’s campaign has raised $41,431 and spent $38,675. McCann now faces non-party-affiliated candidate Joseph Di Bartolomeo in the general election. Di Bartolomeo’s campaign has raised $9,278 and spent $2,320.
DISTRICT 1
Seeking to fill the District 1 County Commission seat that Satcher vacated in April, Republican primary candidate Steve Metallo’s campaign paid SIMWINS $63,045. Metallo’s campaign raised $101,155 and spent
Mr. Satcher, one of the things that falls within the purview of the canvassing board is election integrity and everything that I do is an attempt to preserve that.”
Melissa Gould, canvassing board chair and county judge
CLEAR BALLOT PENDING
The tension between Satcher and the canvassing board dates back to Aug. 6, when Gould, Moore and Werbeck unanimously ruled that Satcher could not use the Clear Ballot auditing system he purchased in late July for approximately $200,000. Satcher’s intent was to audit every ballot cast in the primary and general elections, but the canvassing board ruled the Clear Ballot system could not be used for the primary because the required pre-election testing of the system was not mentioned in the public notice for the Aug. 6 canvassing board meeting. The lack of proper notice for the Clear Ballot system was pointed out that day by Farrington, who later defeated Satcher by 7,276 votes in the primary election. In anticipation of using the Clear Ballot system to audit the general election ballots, the system is scheduled to be tested at the canvassing board’s Oct. 16 meeting. Despite his primary defeat, Satcher will remain in office until Farrington’s elected four-year term begins on Jan. 7.
$73,191. Metallo lost his primary race to fellow Republican Carol Ann Felts, who raised $17,011 and spent $12,925. Felts now faces Democrat Glenn Pearson and non-party-affiliated candidate Jennifer Hamey in the general election. Pearson’s campaign has raised $10,539 and spent $9,986. Hamey’s campaign has raised $16,912 and spent $5,408.
SCHOOL BOARD
District 3 Manatee County School Board candidate Jonathan Lynch’s campaign paid SIMWINS $4,850. To date, Lynch’s campaign has raised
$39,450 and spent $7,834. As the second leading vote-getter in the primary race, Lynch now faces leading vote-getter Charlie Kennedy in the general election. Kennedy’s campaign has raised $13,532 and spent $10,969. District 1 school board candidate Alex Garner’s campaign paid SIMWINS $6,552 and his third-place finish ended his election bid. Top vote-getter Heather Felton’s campaign has raised $10,276 and spent $8,613. Second place finisher Mark Stanoch’s campaign has raised $34,457 and spent $30,966. Felton and Stanoch now face each other in the general election.
FUN IN THE SUN
CLASSIFIEDS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
THRIVE BEACH YOGA: All Levels Welcome! 100 Pine Ave on AMI. 8:30am every Saturday & Sunday, Wednesdays (Oct-May). $15 Pre-Registration required at ThriveYogaFit.com
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
TINGLEY LIBRARY in Bradenton Beach is looking for volunteers. Fun and friendly atmosphere. Morning and afternoon shifts. If interested, please contact Library Clerk, Eveann Adams, @ 941779-1208.
THE BEST VOLUNTEER position on the island. The AMI Historical Museum needs docents and bread makers. Call Kathy Primeau at 989-560-6381.
ROSER FOOD BANK needs donations of cash and non-perishable food, PAPER & PERSONAL HYGIENE PRODUCTS. Donations boxes are located at the Church, Moose Club, and Walgreen’s.
HOSPITAL VOLUNTEERS
WANTED to assist at our information desk, especially weekends. Great for teens needing volunteer hours (16yrs+). Other assignments available. Please call the Blake Volunteer Office at 941-798-6151.
BOATS
BOATS ARE SELLING VERY WELL. “Business On A Handshake” Your Local Trusted Boat Dealer For 24 Years. I also buy boats. Dave Struber 941-228-3489. Islandboatsales.net
CARE GIVER
ELDER CARE by Longtime resident. Many References. Part time to help with shopping, companionship, cooking etc. Call Cheryl 941-685-0045
COMMERCIAL SALES, RENT & LEASE
HAVE YOU BEEN thinking of selling? We NEED properties to List for SALE!!! Duplexes, multi family, small resorts? Call BIG Alan Galletto of Island Real Estate to get it SOLD 941-232-2216
CLEANING SERVICE
TOTAL HOME SERVICES CLEANING: Residential, Commercial, Rentals, VRBO. Professional and Reliable. Call 941-756-4570 or 941-565-3931
EMPLOYMENT
JOIN DUNCAN REAL ESTATE! Open positions: Bookkeeper, Administrative Assistant, Housekeeping Liaison Apply: Send resume to sybille@teamduncan.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND SUN, is looking for a freelance reporter/ photographer to cover events on this tourismdriven island. The ideal candidate will have reporting and photography experience at a daily or community newspaper and have some experience writing for a news website. Local residents or those with previous local knowledge and willing to relocate here a plus. Resumes and cover letters may be mailed to The Anna Maria Island Sun, P.O Box 1189, Anna Maria, FL 34216, Attention: Cindy Lane, editor.
HOME IMPROVEMENTS
RENOVATION SPECALIST ALL carpentry repairs, Wash Family Construction, locally owned and operated CBC 1258250 Call 941-725-0073.
KERN & GILDER CONSTRUCTION, INC New Homes & Remodel. Design/Build. Since 1968. License # CBC 1261150. Call the Office. 941-7781115
JSAN CORPORATION
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GORILLA DRYWALL REPAIR, LLC. 15+ years of experience. Free Estimates. Let’s solve your Drywall problems together. Call 941-286-0607.
BMF INTERIORS Home repairs and more, No job too small. Please call 786318-8585
A.R.E. Renovation’s WHOLESALE KITCHEN CABINETS DIRECT., Remodeling, Bathrooms. Trim Flooring and Decks Tile and more Free quote, references available. Lic. # CRC.1334176 941-4653045.
LANDSCAPING & LAWN CARE
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 DRIVEWAYS & LANDSCAPE. Specializing in Old Florida Seashell and Lime rock driveways and scapes. Also River Rock, Sand, Mulch, & Soil. Call Shark Mark 941-301-6067
ISLAND RESIDENT. TREE/ BUSH Trimming, removal. Sweeping, blowing, and weeding. Weekly, bi-monthly or monthly schedule. Pressure washing. Call Bill Witaszek 941307-9315
MOVING & STORAGE
MARTIN’S MOVING YOUR Island movers! Offering dependable, competitive rates. No hidden costs. 941-8095777.
PAINTING & WALLCOVERING
PAINT! PAINT! AND MORE 28 years of experienced interior/exterior custom painting. Pressure cleaning, drywall repairs and texture finishes. Many Island references. Please call Neil for free estimates. 941-812-0507
“WIZARD OF WALLS” Established 1980 Prompt quality service. Wallpaper installation/ removal. Mary Bell Winegarden 941-794-0455
DONALD PERKINS ABRACADABRA PAINTING LLC fully insured. 30 years experience. Many Island references. Call 941705-7096
PROFESSIONAL PAINTING SERVICES. Prompt & Reliable. Island Resident. Quality Workmanship. Interior/ Exterior. Minor repairs & carpentry. Free estimates. Bill Witaszek 941-307-9315
POOL SERVICES
FOUR SEASONS POOL SERVICE AND CHEMICAL SERVICES. Certified Pool Operator. 18 + Years Experience. Residential/commercial. Chemical Service Licensed & Insured. Call Dennis Clark 941-7375657
COLE'S TROPICAL POOL SERVICE Call Cole Bowers for all your pool maintenance needs! Affordable and Dependable!! 941-7131893
PRESSURE
WASHING & WINDOWS
TOTAL HOME SERVICES CLEANING: Residential, Commercial, Construction, Vacation, VRBO Rentals . Also available Pressure Washing, Roof Cleaning, Paver Sealing and Windows. Call 941-5653931.
REAL ESTATE HOMES & CONDOS FOR SALE
Have you been thinking of selling? We NEED properties to List for SALE!!! GULF FRONT, CANAL FRONT, BAY FRONT CONDOS or HOMES ASK for BIG Alan Galletto of Island Real Estate to get it SOLD 941-232-2216
LOOKING FOR A highly motivated real estate broker to buy or sell your next home? Darcie Duncan, Broker Duncan Real Estate a lifelong island resident bringing success to her customers for 30 years. Proven track record brings you results! 941-725-1589
BRADENTON CONDO FOR SALE end unit 55+ community. Pet friendly. Split 2BR/2BA. Walk in shower in Master, newer paint, laminate flooring, white travertine tile, new blinds, bonus room, W/D, central air with heat, carport, patio. Close to heated pool & community building. 8 miles from AMI. Available now, immediate possession. $179,900. Call 616648-1648
RENTALS: ANNUAL
ANNUAL RENTALS WANTED! We have well qualified tenants for beach and mainland annual rentals, Full management or Finders fee. Call today for details. Ask for Paige DUNCAN REAL ESTATE 513-382-1992.
ANNUAL: 3BR/2.5BA UPSCALE CONDO, direct intercoastal at Mariner's Cove $6500.00 monthly Call 941-807-2554
ANNUAL LISTINGS AVAILABLE! Available ASAP: 208 Magnolia A, Anna Maria, Fl 34216, front unit 2BD/2BA $2800 / 208 Magnolia B, Anna Maria, Fl 34216, back unit $2900 / 407 76th St. A Holmes Beach, Fl 34217 3BD/2BA with dock slip available $5000. Contact Sato Real Estate for more information 941-778-7200.
RENTALS: SEASONAL & VACATION
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TRANSPORTATION
ANYTIME TRANSPORTATION to all Airports, Casino, etc. Tampa/St. Pete $85. Sarasota $40. Pets welcome. Very dependable. Reasonable rates. Contact Jeanne. 941-7795095
Jessica Pierce Sales Associate