Top Notch time. 13 Celebrating freedom. 13
Tracking Eliza Ann. 24 JUNE 28, 2017 FREE
VOLUME 25, NO. 35
The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992 AsTheWorldTerns test deck chairs July 4. 6 Top priority: IslandKey traffic study. 3 Community center losses add up. 4
www.islander.org
2nd swimmer in 3 weeks dies in Gulf of Mexico
Op-Ed
The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6
10-20 YEARS AGO
From the archives. 7
Island police ready to roll for holiday. 8
Meetings
On the government calendar. 8
The Longboat Key Fire-Rescue boat joins in a June 25 search at about 7:20 p.m. at the beach in the area of 47th Street in Holmes Beach for a swimmer who disappeared from a sandbar. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted Michael Angelo Rosario Alvarez, 29, of Haines City, in the Gulf of Mexico shortly after 8:30 p.m. and a marine rescue PWC brought the body to shore. See story, page 2. Islander Photos: Sandy Ambrogi
A woman makes frantic calls shortly after 7 p.m. June 25 from the beach as Holmes Beach police officers stand near where Michael Angelo Rosario Alvarez drowned in the surf near the 47th Street. Alvarez was brought ashore by marine rescue after a search lasting almost two hours.
Happenings
Community events, announcements. 10-11 DOT, county agree to realign 119th Street in Cortez. 14
Obituaries. 21
Gathering. 21
Streetlife. 22 Anna Maria bans boats from Bayfront Park. 23
PropertyWatch. 26 Land of the free and green. 27 Sports roundup. 28 Storms put damper on island fishing. 29 Lobstah’s closes, Zota opens. 30 Classifieds. 32
No vacancy? Not really Crowds gather at the beach nightly, weather permitting, when the heat eases up as the sun melts on the horizon. But are there available accommodations for the holiday? Some local lodging establishments display signs letting travelers know when their rooms are full. Islander Photo: Sandy Ambrogi By Sandy Ambrogi Islander Reporter It’s summertime, summertime and the family vacation season is in full swing. So where are the visitors? Some Anna Maria Island lodgings report a full house for the upcoming Fourth of July week. Others are lamenting an upcoming holiday with fewer bookings than normal by Islander press time June 26. Anna May Dehaven of Bluewater Beach
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Club, 6306 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, says the old Florida-style beachfront motor inn has only a smattering of rooms still available for the holiday. “Only one room is open now for the whole week from July 1-6, but we do have a couple of rooms open after the holiday on July 5-6,” Dehaven said in a phone interview. “We are lucky because we have a return clientele. They book a year in advance for
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the next visit when they check out,” Dehaven said. Mark Davis, of the Harrington House Beachfront Bed & Breakfast Inn, 5626 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach said the inn and bungalows are fully booked for the holiday week, as it is most of the rest of the time. Davis reported that after 28 years in business, Harrington House has a large base of repeat guests and that he forecasts a “normal PLEASE SEE NO VACANCY PAGE 3
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