The Islander Newspaper E-Edition: Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Top Notch

Sharks swarm at north end of AMI

Islander drone photographer Jacob Merrifield photographs a large school of blacktip sharks July 13 off the north end of Anna Maria Island. Merrifield, who shoots video and photos for the newspaper, says, “They were getting fired up about something. Either the drone or the rain that was about to hit. … Sharks seem to be the only ones that know when I’m hovering over them” with a drone. “Some sharks come up to take a look at it and seem curious of it.” For more about sharks — Shark Week, after all, begins July 23 — turn to page 27.

Ferries

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

arrive, Anna Maria balks on agreement

Manatee County’s proposed Gulf Islands Ferry service might lose a key player before the boats go in the water.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy hinted July 13 at potentially walking away from an interlocal agreement that would allow the county-subsidized service to use the city pier as a water taxi stop.

Where’s Tuna Street? 16-17

The county has been working on a water taxi service for years in an attempt to increase multimodal access to the island, which struggles with roadway traffic.

The service will include two 50-foot catamarans operated by Clearwater-based Gulf Coast Water Taxi, which will staff each of the 49-passenger vessels with two crew members.

The ferries comply with the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act, which ensures accessibility to public accommodations for people with disabilities. Each vessel has a

Top Notch

Week 2: Showing the colors

restroom and will provide wireless internet access.

Passengers will be allowed to bring beach gear on the ferries, as well as service animals and “leashed, well-behaved pets … as long as they do not bother other guests,” according to a Gulf Islands Ferry fact sheet.

The county plans for the service to initially operate 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. FridaySunday, ferrying passengers between downtown Bradenton and the Anna Maria City Pier.

Stops are planned in Bradenton Beach, at Coquina Beach and the Historic Bridge Street Pier.

The initial trip — between Anna Maria and Bradenton — is estimated to take 35 minutes.

A one-way trip will cost $5 for children ages 4-12 and $6 for seniors aged 55 and up. Everyone else will pay $8 for a one-way ticket.

The service can accommodate groups, as long as arrangements are made at least two weeks ahead by emailing kristi@gulfcoastwatertaxi.com.

The ferry service is “anticipated to launch later this summer,” according to a July 13 county news release.

Tavares-based Trident Pontoons built and delivered the catamarans, named Miss Anna Maria and Downtown Duchess, to Cortez.

Next a U.S. Coast Guard trial for the service was set to take up to six weeks to complete, after which fi nal run times and ports will be determined.

In the meantime, the county has secured interlocal agreements with the cities of Bradenton and Bradenton Beach but not Anna Maria.

The two sides have been negotiating an agreement for almost a year but may have reached an impasse.

,

Message stirs memories, feelings

A message in a bottle found in the sand by two young anglers in Bradenton Beach helped connect the finder with the family of a man who died in 2021 after battling cancer. More, page 15. Islander Courtesy

The Islander archive, dating to november 1992, is at the university of Florida Digital newspaper Collection: ufdc.ufl.edu.

photographer wins an Islander “More-than-a-mullet wrapper” T-shirt and entry into the finals, which offers a grand prize of $100 from The Islander and gift certificates from Islander advertisers. Contest details, page 3.

Beach May 26 — looking

TuRn To FERRIEs

PAgE 4

Terry Martsolf of seminole wins the second week of The Islander’s 2023 Top notch photo contest with a rainbow background for a patriotic view — taken bayside in Holmes

toward Cortez and the Cortez Bridge. The

Photo

The Best news on Anna Maria Island since 1992 islander.org

Cue the “Jaws” theme song: duunnn dunnn… duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn.

Looking back

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Capt. David White wrangles a bull shark to the boat in 2020 to remove the hook and release the fish. He noted that a filter was used to enhance the color, creating a striking image.

Shark week begins on TV July 23. But for AMI-area anglers, the thrills can be daily! Go to Facebook/The Islander and search “shark video” for a great view of blacktips on the shore — shot by Holmes Beach Police Sgt. Tom Fraser.

Caught on the coast

Edgar J. green caught this shark in 1937 in the gulf of Mexico about 6 miles west of Longboat Pass and brought it ashore. The shark measured 20 feet long, 8 feet in girth and weighed 2,536 pounds. “The liver filled three no. 3 washtubs” and, after it was cooked, the liver oil filled a 50-gallon drum. green was fishing alone, using the flipper from a 30-pound skate for bait. Islander Photo: Manatee County Public Library system archives

Jacob Merrifield captured this loner bull shark cruising July 13 over the sandbar at Bean Point at the north end of Anna Maria.

Homes go on the market at Pines park

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

The “For Sale” sign is a sign of the times at the Pines Trailer Park in Bradenton Beach.

Some owners are putting their homes up for sale after the ownership of the park, 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach, delivered notice May 8 of an offer from an unknown entity to purchase the park land.

The notice, prepared by attorney David A. Luczak, representing park owners, stated the Jackson Partnership was considering an offer outlining a purchase price of $16,250,000 for all park-owned land, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, equipment, materials, vehicles and buildings.

The notice said closing would come 45 days from the successful completion of due diligence, placing the closing some time in mid- to late-June but residents say they haven’t received any updates on the pending sale and they’ve not heard from the owners as to whether their homes will be allowed to remain on the property

A home in the Pines Trailer Park, 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach, is one of six residences known in the park to go on the market since the park ownership announced May 8 it was considering an offer to purchase the park land.

Anderson

after the transition.

This has left residents living in uncertainty in one of two mobile home parks in Bradenton Beach, the only such parks on AMI.

Some residents have decided not to wait for word from the park owners.

Six trailers have gone on the market since the May 8 notice, with prices ranging up to $189,500.

The partnership, with Richard and William Jackson as officers, originally listed the park land for sale Jan. 25 for $16 million.

As required by state law, they fi rst offered the park to the homeowner’s association members for purchase.

Negotiations failed after the HOA and their representatives were unable to obtain funding to purchase the park land.

The Islander reached out to members of the Jackson Partnership July 12 and July 14 but, as of press time, July 17, there was no response.

Top Notch

Enter photo, win contest

Look to July 21 for the third in a series of weekly deadlines for The Islander’s Top Notch contest.

Each will claim a front-page position, an Islander “More than a mullet wrapper” T-shirt and each will be entered in the competition for the grand prize.

One weekly winner will take the grand prize in the contest, earning the photographer a $100 prize from The Islander and certificates from partner merchants.

There also is a pet photo contest with a prize-winner announced in the final week and we’ll shout out the honorable mentions as well.

Look online for rules and details.

Note, each JPG must be included in a single email with the name of the photographer, date the photo was taken, location and description, names of recognizable people and the address/ phone number of the photographer.

Entries should be sent to topnotch@islander.org.

— Bonner Joy

Q&A 071923

The Islander poll

Last week’s question

CRUISES

By Lisa neff

There will be two supermoons in August. Do you look up?

61%. Always.

16%. If I’m out.

19%. Usually forget.

4%. Not interested. This week’s question

Interested in AMI city elections? Qualifying begins in August.

A. I just might run.

B. Hope there’s a contest.

C. Status quo is good.

To answer the poll, go online to islander.org.

Islander Photo: Robert

Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, tasked by the county to lead the ferry service efforts, initially told Anna Maria officials that the fare for island workers would be free.

That item became a central part of city officials’ support for the venture, since they hoped the service would provide a cost-effective alternative for island workers to reach their destinations from the mainland.

When city officials first proposed their terms for an interlocal agreement with the county last September, the terms included a requirement for all fares between Anna Maria and Bradenton to be subject to city commission approval.

Other terms included a requirement for the county to shoulder legal liability for the ferry operation and the cost of any improvements needed at the city pier to accommodate the service, as well as the cost of maintenance for those improvements.

After some back-and-forth, the county revised the proposed agreement and rejected many of the city’s proposed changes, including the provision subjecting fares between Anna Maria and Bradenton to city approval.

In March, the city revised its terms and changed the provision so that only island workers’ fares between Anna Maria and Bradenton would be subject to city approval.

Many of the city’s other terms, such as requiring the county to pay the cost of necessary improvements and maintenance, remained in its revised proposal.

In June, after receiving the county’s response, Murphy said the proposed agreement did not “bear any resemblance to what we sent out.”

Murphy said July 13 that earlier that week the county had sent a newly revised proposal and a pro-

County IDs market vendor

Manatee County commissioners will end their summer break with a meeting Tuesday, July 25, and the agenda includes a vote on a proposed agreement for an operator of a vendor market at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach.

The deal is with Dottie Deerwester and Ready Set Go to operate the “Market at the Park,” creating vendor opportunities for area businesses.

Under the proposal, the Bradenton-based Ready Set Go will pay the county a license fee — $300 per market day Oct. 1-March 31, 2024, to start and then $500 per market day.

Markets will be Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays except for holidays.

Deerwester inked the agreement in June.

The county issued a request for proposals for a market in February and received three bids — from Ready Set Go, Florida Marketplace LLC and Your Tampa Markets LLC.

The county meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the administration building in Bradenton.

— Lisa neff

2023 elections

AMI qualifying ahead

Qualifying for elected office in Anna Maria Island’s cities will take place in August.

As of July 12, only Anna Maria Commissioner Charles Salem was listed as an active candidate on the supervisor of elections website.

This year’s elections include:

• Anna Maria: Three city commission seats, which are two-year terms. Incumbents include Salem, Jonathan B. Crane and Robert Kingan.

• Bradenton Beach: Mayor and two commission seats — Ward 1 and Ward 3, all two-year terms. The current mayor is John Chappie. Current commissioners are Jacob “Jake” Spooner in Ward 1 and Jan Vosburgh in Ward 3.

• Holmes Beach: Three commission seats, all twoyear terms. Pat Morton, Terry W. Schaefer and Carol Soustek currently hold the seats.

posed landing spot on the pier.

However, he said the proposal was lacking and the county had yet to provide designs or projected costs for improvements needed to accommodate the ferry service.

“There are still some gaps missing,” Murphy said.

City attorney Becky Vose said she had “lengthy discussions” with Falcione and county attorneys about the agreement but was unable to make much head-

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy speaks July 13 about Manatee County’s proposed interlocal agreement to use the Anna Maria City Pier as a landing site for a ferry service. Islander

Photo: Ryan Paice

Qualifying will be noon Aug. 14-noon Aug. 25 in Anna Maria; and noon Aug. 28-noon Sept. 1 in Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

For more information, go to votemanatee.gov.

Financing 2024 run

Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, an active candidate for reelection in November 2024, reported $170,000 in campaign contributions to date.

The Republican represents District 3, which includes much of west Bradenton, Cortez and Anna Maria Island.

There are no AMI-based contributors in Van Ostenbridge’s report.

Contributors mostly consist of businesses, including Neal Land, Lakota Partners real estate, Woolridge Investments, Manatee Memorial Hospital, Lakewood Ranch Golf Co., Blackhawk Capital, LWR Communities, SMR Northwest, Ripa & Assoc., Circle N. Bar Ranch, West Coast Tomato, Arvida Corp., Medallion Homes, Woodruff & Sons and more.

— Lisa neff

Send announcements and listings to calendar@ islander.org.

way.

“They unfortunately did not take my requested changes. I won’t say that they didn’t take them seriously, but they didn’t implement my requested changes,” Vose said.

Vose said the city could drop some of its proposed terms but added that she was preparing a “short list” the city should not budge on, including legal liability for the ferry operation.

Murphy said he would bring a “last, best and final proposal” for an interlocal agreement, as well as his recommendation on how to proceed, to the commission’s next meeting. However, he didn’t sound optimistic.

“I have to say, quite frankly, I’m not real satisfied with the terms and conditions,” Murphy said. “I’m hoping that we can successfully do this but, if we can’t, we can’t. There’s some things you need to just walk away from and hope things get better later.”

“There are legal aspects of this contract that, to me and to Becky as well, seem serious and not something that seems to be in the best interest of the city, so those all have to be ironed out,” he added. “But I think we need to get this off the table one way or the other.”

Falcione told The Islander July 14 that he would not address “hypotheticals” such as the city of Anna Maria potentially declining an interlocal agreement with the county.

He also declined to address whether the county would give the city concessions not granted to Bradenton or Bradenton Beach.

“I’m not going to get in the mud with what they want or what we want,” Falcione said. “We’ll get there. … I’m not worried about it.”

The city commission will meet next at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, for a third budget meeting followed by a regular meeting.

Meetings

ANNA MARIA CITY

July 27, 6 p.m., commission. CANCELED

By Lisa neff

Anna Maria City Hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, 941-708-6130, cityofannamaria.com.

BRADENTON BEACH

July 19, 1 p.m., ScenicWAVES.

July 20, noon, commission.

Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N., 941-778-1005, cityofbradentonbeach.com.

HOLMES BEACH

July 19, 5 p.m., planning.

July 25, 10 a.m., code enforcement.

July 27, 11:30 a.m., police pension. CANCELED

Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive, 941-708-5800, holmesbeachfl.org.

MANATEE COUNTY

July 24, 9 a.m., commission (workshop).

July 25, 9 a.m., commission.

July 27, 9 a.m., commission (budget).

July 31, 1:30 p.m., commission (with school board).

Aug. 21, 9:30 a.m., tourist development council, Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

County administration building, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, 941-748-4501, mymanatee.org.

ALSO OF INTEREST

Aug. 1, 4 p.m., Manatee County Council of Governments, Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

Aug. 9, 3:30 p.m., Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity meeting, Bradenton Public Works, 1411 Ninth St. W., Bradenton.

Please, send meeting notices to calendar@islander.org and news@islander.org.

FERRIEs ConTInuED FRoM PAgE 4

A Tavares-based Trident Pontoons truck arrives July 13 in Cortez, towing Miss Anna Maria, one of two 50-foot catamarans that will service Manatee County’s gulf Islands Ferry. Islander Photo: Courtesy BACVB

DeSantis approves 2 bills with island impacts

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

A potential parking garage in the city of Holmes Beach could make a splash but there are other new laws that will cause ripples across Anna Maria Island.

Gov. Ron DeSantis the week of June 28 signed Senate Bill 170 and Senate Bill 250, both measures that will impact the island.

Sen. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, filed SB 170, a successful rehash of SB 620 and House Bill 569, which failed in last year’s legislative session.

The measure will go into effect Oct. 1 and requires county and municipal governments to create and publicly post business impact estimates before enacting an ordinance.

SB 170 also will allow business owners to sue such governments for up to $50,000 in damages caused by “arbitrary or unreasonable” ordinances.

The measure also forces municipalities to suspend enforcement of an ordinance challenged under the new law until a legal dispute can be resolved.

To expedite the process, the law includes a provision requiring courts to prioritize such challenges.

“The court shall give cases in which the enforcement of an ordinance is suspended under this section priority over other pending cases and shall render a preliminary or final decision on the validity of the ordinance as expeditiously as possible,” the law states.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy has said SB 170 would cost municipal governments additional time, money and effort to complete their usual functions.

The other measure, SB 250, might prevent — or at

least delay — island municipalities from accomplishing some things.

Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed the bill, which includes $61 million in state appropriations for natural emergency assistance programs.

The measure went into effect July 1.

While the law primarily focuses on numerous aspects of natural emergency management, a provision 15 pages into the 18-page bill puts new regulations on any “county or municipality located entirely or partially within 100 miles of where either Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole made landfall.”

The regulations include:

• Prohibiting the proposal or adoption of any moratorium on construction, reconstruction or redevelopment of any property damaged by the hurricanes;

• Prohibiting the proposal or adoption of “more restrictive or burdensome” comprehensive plan amendments, land development regulations, as well as site plan and development permit/order procedures;

• Voiding ab initio — from the start — “any such moratorium or restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendment, land development regulation, or procedure” retroactively through Sept. 28, 2022.

Sept. 28, 2022, was the date of Hurricane Ian’s landfall near Cayo Costa in southwestern Florida.

Ian, a category 5 hurricane, was the third-costliest weather disaster on record in the United States and the deadliest hurricane to strike Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

All three of the island’s cities are located within 100 miles of where Ian made landfall though damage

CSU researchers escalate prediction to above-average hurricane season

Tropical trouble ahead?

Colorado State University hurricane researchers in July increased their forecast for 2023 to predict an above-average Atlantic hurricane season.

In June, CSU predicted a near-average storm season.

The increase, the researchers said, was due to record warm sea surface temperatures in most of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic.

Researchers, with the release of the revised forecast, cautioned that there is more uncertainty than normal with the outlook because of conflicting signals between much warmer than normal Atlantic waters and an expected robust El Nino for the peak of the hurricane season.

El Nino increases vertical wind shear in the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic, which can tear apart storms as they form.

However, the extreme anomalous warmth in the Atlantic may counteract some of the typical El Ninodriven wind shear.

The CSU team predicts 18 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes — those with a

Saffir/Simpson category of 3-5 and sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or greater.

The updated forecast is an increase from the 15 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes predicted June 1.

Long-term seasonal averages are 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

CSU researchers estimate the probability of a major hurricane making landfall in the United States to be above the long-term average.

Another forecast is expected Aug. 3. August also will bring updated forecasts from other researchers, including at the National Hurricane Center.

The Atlantic season generally runs June 1-Nov. 30.

Three named storms — Arlene, Bret and Cindy — formed in June.

Subtropical storm Don formed July 14. Also, an unnamed subtropical storm formed in January.

— Lisa neff

was not intense on AMI.

The new law requires a city to conduct a review of its adopted comprehensive plan amendments or land development regulations since Sept. 28, 2022, to determine if they are “more restrictive or burdensome.”

Anna Maria city attorney Becky Vose wrote in a July 7 analysis of the impacting provision — section 14 — that it could be interpreted in two different ways.

One interpretation is that the section only prohibits moratoriums and “more restrictive or burdensome provisions” that apply to properties damaged by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole.

That interpretation allows an impacted municipality to continue regulating land development issues but makes more restrictive or burdensome regulations inapplicable to property damaged by the storms.

However, the other interpretation is that only the section’s prohibition of moratoriums applies to damaged properties.

That means its prohibition of more restrictive or burdensome regulations would apply to all properties, regardless of storm damages.

Vose wrote the second interpretation would mean “the city would be dramatically restricted in its land development related changes.”

Vose said July 13 that until case law determined an interpretation or section 14 expires on Oct. 1, 2024, she recommended city commissioners pursue only “extremely” important or time-sensitive land development regulations that could be considered “more restrictive or burdensome.”

She said there were legal arguments the city could use to try and uphold such regulations, but asked commissioners to weigh the importance of a regulation with the potential cost of litigation to defend it.

Vose recommended the city postpone consideration of non-time-sensitive land development regulations until section 14 expires next year.

Is your business making the most of the summer season?

Improve your odds of success with The Islander readers looking to shop and dine, as well as seeking indoor and outdoor fun. For ad info, call or text 941-778-7978.

A mobile home with a damaged roof is covered with a tarp oct. 3, 2022, awaiting repair in the Pines Trailer Park in Bradenton Beach. Islander Photo: Robert Anderson

Gangsters … in the water?

We’re on the cusp of shark week on TV and in our backyard.

It seems sharks are more prolific in Tampa Bay than I had imagined, but then, I’m not on the water much anymore. I’m land-locked on Flamingo Cay.

But Jacob Merrifield, the newspaper’s drone photographer, is often hunting for the wild side of wildlife in our waters.

He just returned from a family trip to Colorado — where he hunted moose, deer, elk, bear, foxes, coyotes and more — with his camera.

Merrifi eld gets up early most days and spends time at Bean Point looking for marine life before he starts his workday — he owns and operates a pressurewashing business.

But he’s got a keen camera eye and we appreciate his zeal for the capture.

Back in April, we posted a Merrifi eld video of mostly blacktip sharks with a few bull sharks in the mix at the north end of Anna Maria — so many sharks you couldn’t count them.

He also shot a huge fever of cownose rays moving through the bay.

Many years ago, Eugenie Clark, who would later come to be known as the “Shark Lady,” wrote a book, “Lady with a Spear,” about her time spent diving in the Red Sea and the strange creatures she encountered.

The book inspired a pair of philanthropists to fund a small laboratory in 1955 in Florida, where Clark, who had become an ichthyologist and a pioneer in scuba diving for research, began to study sharks.

That small facility in Cape Haze moved to Sarasota and now is known as Mote Marine Laboratory.

Over the years, Clark dedicated her time to teaching people about sharks — and she tried to clear them of their bad reputation.

She encouraged conservation, for people to tag and release sharks and save depleting populations of some species.

She spent a great deal of time underwater, faceto-face with the “gangsters of the deep,” as she called them.

She didn’t slow down either, completing her last dive at age 92 in 2014, the year before she died.

She was much admired by those who knew her, including our late editor, Paul Roat, who shared her conservation values.

So ... watch out for gangsters. Always check out the waters before you swim.

And just for fun — it’s so campy — catch a rerun of “Jaws.” It’s still scary as heck!

— Bonner Joy, news@islander.org

Dang hot

Please, let me take this opportunity to thank and praise our wonderful fi rst responders in Bradenton Beach for their professionalism during a heat episode with my 91-year-old mother-in-law July 4.

She wanted to spend her birthday with her kids in paradise and was having a great time until it just got too dang hot.

She was overcome with heat exposure under her tent and the response of these incredible people made a lasting impression on us all.

Skimming online

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Connections on, off AMI

▼ Publisher, Co-editor Bonner Joy, news@islander.org

▼ Editorial Editor Lisa neff, lisa@islander.org

Robert Anderson, robert@islander.org

Joe Bird, editorial cartoonist

Kevin Cassidy, kevin@islander.org

Jack Elka, jack@jackelka.com

Brook Morrison, brook@islander.org

Ryan Paice, ryan@islander.org

▼ Contributors

Karen Riley-Love

Jacob Merrifield

Capt. Danny stasny, fish@islander.org

nicole Quigley

▼ Advertising Director

Toni Lyon, toni@islander.org

▼ Webmaster Wayne Ansell

▼ Office Manager, Lisa Williams info@, accounting@, classifieds@, subscriptions@islander.org

▼ Distribution

urbane Bouchet

Ross Roberts

Judy Loden Wasco

(All others: news@islander.org)

We began the icing process before they arrived and when they got there in a matter of minutes, they surrounded her and took control of the situation.

I also would like to acknowledge the folks who were on the beach with us for the love and attention they offered in our moment of crisis. There are a lot of very good people in this world and we were fortunate enough to have them right next to us.

I’m very happy to report she is doing fine and back to normal.

Larry Knowles, Bradenton Beach

Darn drunks

As always, I looked forward to the Anna Maria Island Privateers Fourth of July Parade.

And my grandnieces were so excited to be in their first parade. We took our antique van and loaded up beads and lollipops.

It was all fun and games until drunken adults with water hoses started shooting the kids in the face full blast while they were seated inside the van.

I had even told one man, please, do not hose down the kids as they’re scared and crying, but he laughed and blasted them in the face. So we left the parade. Most people with water guns when I asked them

Anna Maria : Mayor Dan Murphy, 941-7086130, cityofannamaria.com, ammayor@cityofannamaria.com.

Bradenton Beach: Mayor John Chappie, 941778-1005, cityofbradentonbeach.org, mayor@cityofbradentonbeach.com.

Holmes Beach: Mayor Judy Titsworth, 941708-5800, holmesbeachfl.org, hbmayor@holmesbeachfl.org.

Manatee County: Republican Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, 941-745-3705, kevin. vanostenbridge@mymanatee.org.

not to shoot the children did not but the drunken adults with the garden hoses on their lawn were the worst.

I have lived on Anna Maria Island for 40 years, including 24 years in Holmes Beach. I’ve always looked forward to the parades.

But what a horrifying experience for these girls. Heartbreaking. Never ever again. I guess we will have to go somewhere else next Fourth of July.

Lynne Orlando, Holmes Beach

A transport vehicle’s door is open for Dr. Carl Coppolino, who in 1967 was being transferred to Florida state Prison near Raiford after being convicted of murder in the death of his wife at their home on Longboat Key. Coppolino was found not guilty of killing an ex-lover’s husband in a 1966 trial in new Jersey. Coppolino in 1980 wrote “The Crime that never Was,” a book asserting his innocence, but John D. MacDonald wrote a more widely read non-fiction book about the cases, 1968’s “no Deadly Drug.”

Looking back

Escort to prison

Dr. Carl Coppolino, center, dark suit, is escorted from the Manatee County jailcourthouse in 1967 to be transferred to a state prison near Raiford after being convicted of second-degree murder in the 1965 death of his wife, Dr. Carmela Coppolino, at their home on Longboat Key. Islander Photo: Manatee County Public Library system

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10&20 years ago

From the July 16, 2003, issue

• Parents of children attending Anna Maria Elementary met with school board members to discuss their displeasure with designs for a new school. Parents were upset that 17 100-year-oldplus live oak trees were removed.

• Commissioners discussed changing the city of Anna Maria to the village of Anna Maria after business owners suggested the change would set the locale apart. Commissioners agreed there was no need to change but suggested a petition for a referendum that would allow the electorate to decide the issue.

• Holmes Beach commissioners unanimously rejected a proposal from Mayor Carol Whitmore that the city combine building departments with Anna Maria to save money. Commission Chair Rich Bohnenberger said there was no benefit to Holmes Beach taxpayers.

From the July 17, 2013, issue

• Resurrecting an idea discussed many times over the years, Anna Maria Commissioner Gene Aubry called for a discussion on consolidating law enforcement services with Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach.

• Manatee County natural resources director Charlie Hunsicker held a public meeting to discuss a proposed $8 million expansion of Robinson Preserve in northwest Bradenton.

• The South Florida Museum in Bradenton was inviting islanders to celebrate Snooty the Manatee’s 65th birthday with a bash. Snooty was the world’s oldest known captive manatee and the first manatee born in an aquarium.

— Lisa neff

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The cover of John D. MacDonald’s “no Deadly Drug.” summer reading?

AM budget talks BB budget talks

AM officials talk millage rate, 2023-24 revenues

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

The city of Anna Maria is a step closer to creating a budget for fiscal 2023-24.

City commissioners reached consensus July 13 to direct staff to move forward with a budget using the current 2.0500 millage rate for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

The consensus did not set the city’s maximum millage, which must be approved by Aug. 4.

The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of property value used to calculate property taxes. The owner of a property appraised at $500,000 with a 2.05 millage rate would pay $1,025 in city taxes.

While the rate has remained the same over recent years, maintaining it would result in a $627,072 increase in ad valorem revenue, from $3,575,651 this year to $4,202,723 in 2023-24.

That increase is due to a $317,769,722 spike in total taxable property value, up to $2,050,108,891, according to the Manatee County property appraiser.

To avoid a tax increase, the city would need to adopt a 1.7441 rollback rate.

Under the 1.7441 rollback rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 would pay $872.05 in property taxes.

Mayor Dan Murphy said keeping the current millage rate would result in a “giant increase” in ad valorem income and he recommended keeping the city’s current 2.05 millage rate due to concerns with inflation and a desire to increase reserve funds.

“I don’t know what the future is and neither do you,” Murphy said.

Several other revenues are projected to increase next year.

The city projects to make $317,975.50 more in stormwater revenues, a combination of funds from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as stormwater fees and carryover.

Interest revenue is projected to increase from $66,979.58 this year to $236,979.58 in 2023-24 due to changes in the city’s investment plan.

License and permit fees revenue is expected to

BB submits tentative millage, increasing taxes

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

Bradenton Beach set the maximum millage rate for the new fiscal year and, if adopted, it will amount to a tax for property owners.

Commissioners voted July 11 to set a max millage rate of 2.3329 for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

It’s the same millage as levied by Bradenton Beach for 2022-23, but to avoid a tax increase, the commission would need to adopt a rollback rate of 2.0402.

The rollback rate results in the same amount of tax collected as the prior year.

Property taxes in Florida are collected using millage rates. A millage rate is one-tenth of a percent, which equates to $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in home value. A number of different authorities, including counties, municipalities, school boards and special districts, levy property taxes or ad valorem taxes.

Under the Florida law, if a local government adopts a rollback rate, that government is not increasing taxes, even if the rate itself increases.

That’s because the rollback rate calculates taxable property values in relation to the total revenue they generate for a government. If the tax rate generates the same total revenue one year as it did in the previous year, then the rolled-back rate has been applied.

Using the max millage, Bradenton Beach would receive $2,262,022 in ad valorem property tax revenues for the 2023-24 fiscal year.

“As we discussed at the last meeting, the proposed budget was built keeping the millage the same and puts roughly about $100,000 into reserves,” city treasurer Shayne Thompson said July 11, during the commission meeting at city hall.

Thompson said a $100,000 reserve would allow the city to replace reserves lost during a 2017 litigation on the Sunshine Law. He said the city spent close to $300,000 on the litigation and was not reimbursed.

The recommended reserves for a coastal city are roughly 30%-35% due to the need to help self-insure against natural disasters, according to Thompson.

“We’ve brought a lot of amenities online in the

TuRn To BB BudgEt, nExT PAgE

HB budget talks

HB officials discuss 2023-24 budget, millage reduction

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

It’s budget season for Florida tax authorities.

And the city of Holmes Beach is diving in.

City commissioners met July 11 to discuss a $25,378,247 proposed budget and a potential millage rate decrease from the current 2.07 rate to 2.0677 in fiscal 2023-24, which begins Oct. 1.

The owner of a property appraised at $500,000 with a 2.0677 millage rate would pay $1,033.85 in property taxes.

The city’s ad valorem revenue is projected to increase by $716,549, from 5,448,568 to $6,165,117 in 2023-24 despite budgeting for a lower millage rate. That is due to a $398,848,826 increase in total taxable property value over this year.

If the city adopted its current 2.07 rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 would pay $1,035 in ad valorem taxes.

To avoid a tax increase, the commission would need to adopt the rollback rate, which would raise the same revenue as this year.

Mayor Judy Titsworth said she “really hopes” the city will reduce the millage, as it did for 2022-23.

The mayor’s budget, as presented by treasurer Cindy Dunham-Tozer, is projected to be $963,563 less than this year’s $26,341,810 spending planvdue to similar or slightly lower figures across the board.

Some decreases include a projected drop of $200,000 in building permit revenue due to a “softening market,” according to Dunham-Tozer, a $35,970 drop in vacation rental certification revenue and a $100,000 decrease in county concessions funding.

The largest decrease in the proposal is a $2,128,977 drop in capital outlay expenses, which were inflated for 2022-23 due to the city center project.

The largest capital outlay project proposed is a state-funded $1,064,900 mitigation project to improve stormwater drainage along Gulf Drive.

Other proposed capital outlay includes $925,000 for stormwater drainage, $195,000 for a street sweeper, $100,000 for an algae skimmer and $60,000 for a public works truck.

The city also plans to spend $577,456 less next

Millage matters

How does millage affect a property owner’s tax bill?

Owners can use this equation to determine their tax amount in a jurisdiction: Taxable value ÷ 1,000 × millage rate = property tax owed.

Multiple authorities tax island properties, including Manatee County, the School District of Manatee and the municipality.

Property owners will find a guide on millage at the Florida Department of Revenue’s website, floridarevenue.com.

The simplest way to find “A Florida Homeowner’s Guide: Millage” is to enter the title in a search engine.

— Lisa neff

TuRn To am BudgEt, nExT PAgE TuRn To HB BudgEt, nExT PAgE

increase by $288,080.89 next year to $1,439,025.

Murphy said the city has not increased the cost of its license or permit fees, which are based on the cost of improvements, but the projected increase was due to increasing property values and activity, as well as inflation.

Miscellaneous revenues and carryover show the biggest projected increase over this year’s end of year estimate.

The city projects a $4,142,998.69 increase in such revenue, despite budgeting for $157,838.14 less in American Rescue Plan Act funding and $44,683.12 less in lump sum carryover and gas tax revenue.

The increase is primarily due to $2,698,440 in state appropriations for the city’s “Reimagining Pine Avenue” project.

Other reasons for the increase in miscellaneous revenues and carryover include a $152,732.50 resiliency grant, a $518,954 hazard mitigation grant and $275,000 for Lake LaVista improvements to reduce maintenance dredging.

The city will meet for a third budget meeting in August.

A finalized budget will go before city commissioners for a first public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at city hall.

Commissioners will also set a final millage rate for fiscal 2023-24 at the public hearing.

A second and final public hearing to discuss the budget will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at city hall.

The city commission will meet next at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, for a third budget meeting that will be immediately followed by a regular meeting.

Directions to attend via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.

last couple of years for the public,” he said. “The floating dock, now we bring online the finger docks. Those are largely uninsurable. Where 25%-30% may work for other cities, we have to self-insure in the event something happens. So that’s why we traditionally try to stay on the higher side of reserves.”

Tracey West, director of appraisals for the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Offi ce, said the market value of homes in Bradenton Beach increased just over 29.4% in the past year and taxable value increased 16.63%.

Taxable value is the assessed value minus exemptions and is the value the tax collector uses to calculate property taxes.

Thompson said the max millage number was submitted to the property appraiser’s office July 11.

Although tentatively approved, the city budget will not be adopted until after two public hearings, which will be held Thursday, Sept. 7, and Thursday, Sept. 14, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.

During the process, the city commission can lower the millage rate for 2023-24 but it cannot raise the rate beyond 2.3329 mills.

Without adjusting for exemptions, the ad valorem tax in Bradenton Beach for a property with a taxable value of $500,000 at the max millage of 2.3339 would be $1,166.95.

At the rollback rate of 2.0402, the ad valorem tax in Bradenton Beach would be $1,020.10.

The new fiscal year will begin Oct. 1.

year on the police department.

While HBPD’s personnel expenses include a small uptick, capital outlay is projected to take a sharp dip.

This year, the HBPD’s capital outlay was inflated by $464,000 for two vehicles and $268,905 for new radios funded by a grant. It also was boosted by $221,437 for a $290,000 police boat funded by the West Coast Inland Navigational District.

Next year, the city projects spending $68,563 for engines and a trailer for the vessel, as well as $71,000 for tasers and IT hardware.

The HBPD’s projected $139,563 capital outlay expenses for 2023-24 are $955,437 less than this year’s and more than outweigh the increases in personnel and operating costs.

Elsewhere in the proposed budget, the city projects to collect $232,000 more in interest revenue over last year due to changes in investment plans.

The city also budgeted $25,000 to help fund the Islanders 4 Clean Water campaign.

Commission Chair Carol Soustek said she felt good about moving forward with the proposed budget.

A finalized budget will go before commissioners for a public hearing at 5:01 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.

A final public hearing will be Sept. 26.

The city commission was set to meet next at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at city hall for a special meeting to establish a maximum millage rate for fiscal 2023-24.

HB BudgEt ConTInuED FRoM PAgE

by Lisa neff, calendar@islander.org.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Wednesday, July 19

ON AMI

11 a.m. — Lecture on “eco engineers,” Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

ONGOING ON AMI

Throughout July, Artists’ Guild Gallery allAmerican exhibit, 5414 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6694.

OFF AMI

First Fridays, 6-9:30 p.m., Village of the Arts First Fridays Artwalk, 12th Street West and 12th Avenue West, Bradenton. Information: villageofthearts.com.

Second and fourth Saturdays, 2-4 p.m., Music on the Porch jam session, presented by the Florida Maritime Museum and Cortez Cultural Center, outdoors, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez. Information: floridamaritimemuseum.org, fmminfo@manateeclerk.com.

SAVE THE DATE

Sept. 14-24, Island Players’ “Farce of Nature,” Anna Maria.

Oct. 3-May 7, Anna Maria Farmers Market, Anna Maria.

Oct. 7, Florida Maritime Museum Cortez Nautical Flea Market, Cortez.

Nov. 4, the Bash at the Bishop: A Celestial Affair, Bradenton.

Nov. 2-12, Island Players’ “Later Life,” Anna Maria.

KIDS & FAMILY

Thursday, July 20

Monday, July 24

1 p.m. — “The Fabelmans” movie screening, the Paradise Center, 546 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Fee applies. Information: 941-383-6493.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Throughout July, Island Gallery and Studios “New Kids on the Block” exhibit, 456 Old Main St., Bradenton. Information: 941-7786648, islandgalleryandstudios.org.

Last Saturdays through Aug. 26, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Downtown Bradenton Public Market, Old Main Street. Information: 941-3018445.

July 22-Sept. 17, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ “John Pirman: Diving into Nature” exhibit, 1534 Mound St., Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-366-5731.

Through Sept. 2, Thursday-Saturday, Laser Light Nights musical shows, the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131.

Through Sept. 3, “Eco Engineers” exhibit, the Bishop Museum, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.

Through Sept. 4, “Reclaiming Home: Contemporary Seminole Art,” the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-360-7390, ringling. org.

Through Oct. 15, “Lorna Bieber: Natural World,” the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-360-7390, ringling.org.

“Caught in the Storm: 100 Years of Florida Hurricanes” exhibit, Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez. Information: floridamaritimemuseum.org.

Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-778-1383.

OFF AMI

Wednesday, July 26 4:30-6:30 p.m. — Suncoast Waterkeeper World Mangrove Day celebration and happy hour, Floridays Woodfire Grill and Bar, 12332 Manatee Ave. W., Perico Island. Information: 239-222-2243.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m., Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island lunch meeting, Slicker’s Eatery, 12012 Cortez Road W., Cortez. Information: 512-944-4177, amirotary.org.

SAVE THE DATE

July 26, Suncoast Waterkeeper’s World Mangrove Day Celebration and Happy Hour, Perico Island.

SPORTS & GAMES

ONGOING ON AMI

ON AMI

10 a.m. — “Oceana crafts” special program, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941778-6341.

Friday, July 21

10 a.m. — Forty Carrots, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

Saturday, July 22

1 p.m. — Teen art club, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

Tuesday, July 25

10 a.m. — Family story time, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

ONGOING OFF AMI

First Wednesdays, “SOAR in 4” family night, the Bishop Museum, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.

Third Fridays, Teen Nights, the Bishop Museum, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.

Second Saturdays, Quest for kids, the Bishop Museum, 201 10th St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-746-4131, bishopscience.org.

SAVE THE DATE

Oct. 21, Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Bayfest, Anna Maria.

LESSONS & LEARNING

Wednesday, July 26

ON AMI

2 p.m. — Journal writing, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

CLUBS & COMMUNITY

Thursday, July 20

ON AMI

1 p.m. — Sunshine Stitchers Knit and Crochet, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

Saturday, July 22 6-10 p.m. — Anna Maria Island Privateers Christmas in July party, Drift In, 120 Bridge St., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941778-8565.

ONGOING ON AMI

Saturday — July 29, Aug. 26 in the summer — 8:30 a.m., Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bradenton Beach City

AMI Dragon Boat Team-Paddlers from Paradise practices and meetups, various times and locations. Information: 941-462-2626, mrbradway@gmail.com.

Most Wednesdays, 1 p.m., mahjong club beginners, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-7786341.

Most Fridays, 11:30 a.m., mahjong club experienced players, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941778-6341.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Through Sept. 3, Bradenton Marauders baseball, LECOM Park, 1611 Ninth St. W., Bradenton. Fee applies. Information: 941-7473031.

Saturdays, 7 a.m., Robinson Runners run, walk stroll, Robinson Preserve NEST, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW., Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923, crystal.scherer@ mymanatee.org, mymanatee.org.

OUTDOORS & NATURE

ONGOING ON AMI

Fourth Wednesdays through August, 7 a.m., Manatee Audubon Society “Birds and Breakfast,” at various locations. Information: 941592-7622.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Saturdays, 9 a.m., Mornings at the NEST, Robinson Preserve, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923, mymanatee.org.

GOOD TO KNOW

KEEP THE DATES

Aug. 26, Women’s Equality Day.

Sept. 4, Labor Day.

Sept. 10, Grandparents Day.

Sept. 11, Patriot Day.

Through Oct. 31, sea turtle nesting season. Lights out. Through Nov. 30, Atlantic hurricane season. Be prepared.

GET LISTED

SEND LISTINGS

Please email calendar listings and community announcements to calendar@islander.org. Remember to include a phone number for publication.

Compiled

Island happenings

Privateers celebrate Christmas in July

Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer, now Skullywag?

The Anna Maria Island Privateers will cruise to Bradenton Beach’s Drift In Saturday, July 22, to celebrate Christmas in July with Santa.

The nonprofit dedicated to “kids and community” will host its annual midsummer celebration beginning at 6 p.m. at the bar, 120 Bridge St.

Plans include a raffle for a $300 liquor basket, a lotto and a “sampler buffet” supper and visits with Santa.

The cost per person for supper will be $10.

For more information, call the bar at 941-7789088.

‘Full Moon Yoga’ to benefit cancer battle

Reach for the stars.

Seeing the bigger picture

An underwater scene now enhances the west wall of the Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. The mural only lacks a clear coat as of July 11 after Palmetto-based artist Matt McAllister finished detailing his work the day before. Island Library supervisor Aileen Valdes wrote in a July 12 email to The Islander that McAllister would return in a week or two to apply the clear coat to protect the mural. The mural cost $8,000-$10,000 and was funded by the Friends of the Island Library. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Season theater tickets on sale

The Island Players theater group is selling tickets to its 75th season of plays through Sept. 1.

Season ticketholders can attend five productions for $125.

Individual ticket sales — $28-$30 — will begin Sept. 5.

The first production of the season — the comedy “Farce of Nature” directed by Mike Lusk — will run Sept. 14-24.

Summer matinee: ‘Lyle, Lyle Crocodile’

The Island Library’s summer celebration concludes in July with several family-focused programs, including a screening of the movie “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile” at 10 a.m. saturday, July 29. other programs — sponsored by the Friends of the Island Library — include oceania crafts at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 20, and pottery painting at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 27. The library is at 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. For more information, call the library at 941778-6341. Islander Photo: Courtesy sony Pictures

Entertainment

‘The Fabelmans’ on LBK

The Paradise Center for Healthy Living will screen Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” at 1 p.m. Monday, July 24.

Admission is free for members and $15 for guests.

The center, 546 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key, also offers a host of social, cultural and wellness programs.

For more information the center, call 941-3836493.

For more information about tickets or to download the application, go online to www.theislandplayers. org.

The box office is at 941-778-5755.

Odd Duck Designs Shop

Salute the moon Tuesday, Aug. 1., when the Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, hosts its “Full Moon Yoga” fundraiser.

The event will be 8:30-9:30 p.m., beginning with sunset and finishing under the sturgeon moon.

The goal is to raise funding for the care of Luna Brauner, a local child battling B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia since August 2022, according to a news release from the center.

The session on the center field will be led by Devinne Whittaker and a yogi friend.

Registration is not required but participants must check in at the front desk upon arrival.

While there is no fee to participate, a $10 donation is recommended.

For more information, contact the center at culture@centerami.org or 941-778-1908.

Drums, sunset draw people to Manatee beach

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

The drums call people to the beach.

People who visit the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, might see and hear drumming as a group of sunset celebrants known as the AMI Drum Circle play most Sundays.

Paul and Laurie Weremecki of Bradenton coordinate the gatherings.

“I’m a drum facilitator,” Laurie Weremecki told The Islander July 13. “I’ve been one for a good 15 years. I learned in Africa, in Uganda, and I have used it countless places.”

“My husband and I are resurrecting my company again, 5drums.com, after COVID, and we thought it would be an awesome thing since we don’t have a circle on the island,” she added.

Drum circles involve group drumming led by a facilitator guiding players to achieve a rhythm.

The Weremeckis bring five jembe — rope-tuned, skin covered, goblet shaped drums — to the circle but people are encouraged to bring their own instruments to play along.

Attendees of an AMI Drum Circle gather June 12 and dance to the beat as others drum at the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Islander Photos: Courtesy AMI Drum Circle

Drum circle attendees welcome the sunset June 12 with music and dancing at the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.

“We want to build community relationships,” Paul Weremecki said. “One of the things we like to do, to do it at sunset to celebrate the ending to a good day.”

The Weremeckis said the circle comes together about 7 p.m. Sundays and they play through sunset, unless the weather is uncooperative.

The circle is gaining a following, with 30-50 people attending on average.

The AMI Drum Circle page on Facebook also is taking off, with more than 310 followers as of July 15.

Laurie Weremecki said she would like to grow into a foundation to introduce kids to drumming.

“My whole life mission was to create something within 5drums that inspired people, that brought out their passions, that brought out their mental wellness. That’s what I’ve been working on for years,” she said.

“The drumming circle is always free,” she added. “We do have a donation box if people want to donate so we can buy more drums for the circle.”

For more information on the AMI Drum Circle, go online to Facebook.

To reach Weremecki, call 727-674-5368.

Milestones

Cortez man graduates UW

Cline Burgess of Cortez earned a degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at spring commencement, held May 13.

More than 1,500 students crossed the stage to receive their degrees at the ceremony, held at Kachel Fieldhouse in the Williams Center.

Burgess graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

AME PTO readies welcome, seeks sponsors

AmE NEWS

By Lisa neff

The Anna Maria Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization is prepping for a new academic year and a new social calendar.

The PTO also is seeking sponsors for the school year, which begins Aug. 10 for students.

This month, the PTO launched a campaign to sign up sponsors — from $500-$5,000-plus — so the group can focus during the school year on programs, projects and events rather than fundraising.

“The response has been slow to start,” PTO president Jen Serra told The Islander July 13. “We realize many people are still on vacation and haven’t turned their attention to the upcoming school year yet.”

She added, “Any new program also takes a while to get off the ground. We are emphasizing to our usual sponsors that this ‘summer ask’ will be in place of multiple asks throughout the school year. We hope that as the calendar turns toward August the campaign will gain momentum.”

The PTO hopes to use sponsor dollars to cover

Back-to-school nights set

Anna Maria Elementary will host two grade-specific back-to-school open houses Tuesday, Aug. 8, with opportunities for students, families and caregivers to meet with staff and visit classrooms.

The first session Aug. 8 will be 4:30-5:15 p.m. for families with kids enrolled in VPK through secondgrade.

The second session will be 5:15-6 p.m. and will be for families with kids enrolled in third- to fifthgrade.

AME families can learn classroom teacher assignments before the open house. The assignments will be available from the school office staff — 941-708-5525 — July 27 or after.

yearly contributions to AME for reading and math programs, field trip transportation, teacher stipends, supplemental funding for arts and music, water, student planners, fish tank maintenance and more.

The past few years, the PTO’s budget has been $60,000-$70,000.

“This has covered the PTO costs to provide AME resources they request, as well as fund our student and family events,” Serra said. “We appreciate every dollar given and strive to be good stewards of donations, making the largest impact we can for our students at AME.”

The organization also seeks in-kind contributions, especially to help with the annual fall festival, teacher appreciation week and a breakfast welcoming new families at the school.

“The PTO and school are hosting a new family coffee hour for families new to AME after drop-off on the first day, Serra said.

For more information, contact the PTO at amepto@ gmail.com or 941-708-5525.

To become a sponsor, go online to amepto.org/ ame-sponsor.

School registration continues

Registration opportunities remain open for the 2023-24 public school year in Manatee County, which for AME kids begins Thursday, Aug. 10.

Current AME students automatically are reenrolled for the next school year but new students, including kindergarten students, must register through the School District of Manatee County.

Details are online at manateeschools.net.

Students eligible to ride school buses — bus transportation generally is not an option for school choice students — must register online at manateeschools. net.

For more information, call the district’s transportation department at 941-782-1BUS.

AME Calendar

Throughout July, PTO sponsorship fundraiser.

Aug. 2-9, teacher workdays.

Aug. 8, 4:30-5:15 p.m., back-to-school night, VPK-second-grade.

Aug. 8, 5:15-6 p.m., back-to-school night, third- to fifthgrade.

Aug. 10, first day of class.

Aug. 10, parents’ “welcome” coffee.

Sept. 4, Labor Day, no school.

Oct. 12, end of quarter.

Oct. 13, record day, no school.

Oct. 28, Fall Festival.

AME is at 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. For more, call the school office at 941-708-5525 or go online to www.manateeschools.net/annamaria. For PTO info, go to amepto.org.

Achievements We welcome announcements of scholastic achievements and celebrations. Share honors by emailing news@islander.org.

Supply lists issued, tax holiday ahead

Got wooden pencils, glue sticks, erasers, crayons and composition books?

The supply lists for students attending AME in the 2023-24 school year are available at www.manateeschools.net/annamaria.

But families might prefer to delay shopping until the state’s back-to-school sales tax holiday begins Monday, July 24.

July 24-Aug. 6, consumers can purchase qualifying back-to-school supplies and avoid paying the state sales tax.

A second exemption period will be Jan. 1, 2024Jan. 14, 2024.

For a list of items, go to floridarevenue.com.

Gathering

By Lisa neff

Call for cans, crackers

Island churches encourage people to help stock the Roser Food Pantry shelves this summer.

Notices in church bulletins said the following goods are needed: Canned meats, such as beef stew and hash, as well as ham, Vienna sausage and chicken; canned pears, peaches, mixed fruit, oranges and pineapple; condiments such as mustard and mayonnaise; jarred sauces, especially for spaghetti; jellies and jams; crackers; and also packaged fruit drinks.

The pantry is across the street from Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria.

All the island churches will accept donations.

Gathering is the religion page for The Islander. Send notices to calendar@islander.org. Please, include a phone number for publication.

Obituary

Robert Joseph Schindler

Robert Joseph Schindler, 79, of Perico Island, died July 8 after a battle with myelofibrosis and heart disease.

He was born Dec. 11, 1943, to Herman Joseph and Barbara Claire in Springfield, Massachusetts, and grew up in Parma, Ohio.

Tidings

Compiled by Lisa neff

ON AMI

CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-0719, crosspointefellowship.church.

Worship: Sundays, 9 a.m., followed by life group.

Ongoing: Wednesdays, 7 a.m., men’s Bible meeting; Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m., Youth Summer activities; Fridays, 10 a.m. women’s Bible meeting.

Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, 4408 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-1638, amiannunciation.org.

Worship: Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.; Sundays, 9:15 a.m.

Ongoing: Most Wednesdays, 8 a.m., men’s breakfast.

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 6608 Marina Drive. Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-1813, gloriadeilutheran.com.

Worship: Sundays, 9:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship.

Ongoing: First Sundays, food bank collections; Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m., women’s social gathering.

Harvey Memorial Community Church, 300 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-779-1912.

Worship: Sundays, 9:15 a.m.

Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. Information: 941-778-0414, roserchurch.com.

Worship: Sundays, 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m.

Ongoing: Wednesdays, 2:45 p.m., July 21, Aug. 9, Golfing for God, Bradenton; Wednesdays through Aug. 30, 1 p.m., GriefShare; Tuesdays, 2 p.m., women’s book study.

St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-4769, stbernardcc.org, office@stbernardcc. org.

Worship: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.; Saturdays, 4 p.m.; Sundays, 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.

Ongoing: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m., rosary; Wednesdays, 7:30 a.m., Rosary on the Beach at Manatee Public Beach; Saturdays, 3 p.m., confession.

OFF AMI

Christ Church of Longboat Key Presbyterian USA, 6400 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. Info: 941-900-4903, christchurchoflbk.org.

Worship: Sundays, 10 a.m.

Ongoing: Wednesdays, 10 a.m., Women’s Bible Study; Mondays, 9 a.m., Men’s Bible Study.

Longboat Island Chapel, 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. Info: 941-383-6491, longboatislandchapel.org.

Worship: Sundays, 10 a.m.

Temple Beth Israel, 567 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Info: 941-383-3428.

Worship: Fridays, Shabbat, 5:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m.

GET LISTED, CHANGE LISTINGS

Send listings and/or changes in worship calendars and other events to calendar@islander.org.

GoodDeeds

schindler

He graduated from St. Ignatius Catholic High School in Cleveland and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in business from Kent State University, as well as an MBA from the University of Indianapolis.

Mr. Schindler was at his first job as an international banker when he met his beloved wife, Hildegard Muehlbach. They married in 1968 and Indianapolis was home for a number of years before moving to Germany.

He presided over the 135-branch U.S. Military banking system in (then West) Germany, Holland and Greece during the tumultuous years surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Schindler family shared wonderful memories of traveling throughout Europe before deciding to relocate to central Florida in 1992, where Mr. Schindler transitioned from his 25-year career in banking to enter the world of traffic control products.

He was the president of a national highway safety company in Lakeland and then Ruskin and held several patents for roadway safety devices.

He somewhat retired in 2022, though he still worked alongside his son, who took over the family businesses.

At your service

Obituaries are offered as a free community service to residents and families of residents, both past and present, as well as to people with ties to the island. Submit to news@islander.org. Paid obituaries can be discussed with ad consultant Toni Lyon at 941-778-7978.

He published an action adventure/historical fiction Montooth book series under the pen name Robert Jay in 2009. It was based on a bedtime story written for his daughter in 1991.

He earned multiple literary awards for his series.

Other interests included running, dancing to classic 1950s hits and baseball. A skilled player himself, he was a devoted fan of the Cleveland Indians.

He enjoyed traveling, including trips with his wife to all 50 states, camping and whitewater rafting adventures with his children.

Mr. Schindler was Catholic. He was known by family and friends for his kindness, generosity, infectious laugh and fantastic sense of humor.

He and his wife loved living on Anna Maria Island

SUNDAY WORSHIP 8:30 AM in the Chapel 10:00 AM in the Sanctuary Nursery • Children’s Church ONLINE � Watch LIVE or LATER RoserChurch.com

Sign up to receive the eBulletin at RoserChurch.com/contact-us

The CHAPEL is open during office hours for prayer and meditation 941-778-0414 • 512 Pine Ave, Anna Maria • FOLLOW us on Facebook @RoserChurch

Black velvet, please Roseanne Veit of sunny shores in Cortez meets up with volunteers for the Island Players at the home of Jeanne Walther in Flamingo Cay with a costume donation for the theater. Walther, left, stage manager for the first production of the 75th season, “Farce of nature,” shows off a white nightgown with delicate petit point stitching, while Denise Handley, production stage manager, Veit and Pricilla Boyd, also a stage manager, ogle the soft black velvet, satin and lace of Veit’s boudoir robe. Donations are encouraged, according to the trio of theater volunteers but more volunteers is a top need at the playhouse — now entering its 75th season. Islander Photo: Bonner Joy

and Perico Island the past 23 years.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 15, at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Holmes Beach, with interment to follow at Skyway Memorial Cemetery in Palmetto. Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Flowers or donations may be made to St. Bernard Catholic Church. Online condolences may be made to brownandsonsfuneral. com

Mr. Schindler is survived by his wife, Hildegard; son Matthew and wife Michelle; daughter Meghan and husband James T. Christian; grandchildren Lauren, James. R., Cameron, Joseph, Jordan, Joanna, Juliana and a baby on the way.

Worship With Us At Our Church

Sunday Ser vice 10:00 AM

The Rev. Dr. Nor man Pritchard

Men’s Bible Study: Monday @ 9:00

Women’s Bible Study: Wednesday @ 10:00

Visitors & Residents Welcome Watch Our 10: 00 AM Ser vice Live: www bit ly/cclbksermons or www christchurchof lbk org (follow YouTube link)

Young anglers find message in a bottle, stir memories

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

A mission to go fishing on AMI can sometimes end in a surprise catch.

But for Lane McCall and Garrison Coleman, who struck out looking for a good spot to fish on the shore in Bradenton Beach over the Fourth of July holiday, it resulted in a treasure find — a message in a bottle, half-buried in the sand.

The boys — Lane, 12, and Garrison, 13 — were visiting the island with family from Hazlehurst, Georgia.

They told The Islander July 13 about their find.

“We were just walking on the shoreline, scouting for a fishing spot,” Garrison said. “We stumbled upon the bottle. It was partially showing in the sand. We picked it up and saw that it had a picture and a note.”

Recognizing the bottle might have sentimental value to someone, Garrison called his father and told him what they’d found.

Later, the vacationers opened the bottle to find a handwritten letter, a photograph of a man and woman arm-in-arm, an ornamental fishhook and a piece of cloth with a zipper pull.

The paper had suffered some water damage and only half the letter was legible.

GoodDeeds

Call goes out for child advocates

Manatee County seeks volunteers for seats on its children’s services advisory board, which makes recommendations to the board of commissioners on priorities, including spending.

The volunteers would serve three-year terms beginning Oct. 1.

The county seeks two child advocates, as well as a school board representative and an NAACP representative.

The deadline is 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11.

For more, contact Kristi Hagen at 941-748-4501, ext. 3485, or kristi.hagen@mymanatee.org.

Assistance offered on AMI

• Roser Food Bank welcomes applicants who live and/or work on Anna Maria Island for food assistance, Roser Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. Info: 941778-0414.

• AID offers financial help to those who live on the island, go to church on the island, attend school on the island and work on the island. Info: 941-725-2433.

— Lisa neff

A bottle containing a message was uncovered in the sand over the Fourth of July holiday week by two boys looking for a fishing spot along the shore in Bradenton Beach.

Islander Courtesy Photos

What they could read said, “My name is Howard Brown. My dream was to live out my life in Florida with my beautiful wife of 57 years. Cancer had other plans. I am now gone.”

Garrison’s father, Brent, posted on social media, seeking to learn about Howard Brown and the message in the bottle.

On Facebook, he asked for help connecting with the Brown family and posted photos of the bottle’s contents.

The wait wasn’t long — just 15 minutes for the first response.

Tessa Wilson, a photographer in Sarasota, saw the post and tracked down Brown’s family online.

“I’m the type of person who likes to help others,” Wilson told The Islander July 14. “My initial instinct was to just do some Google searching — see what I could find. With obituaries being online now days, I was able to find one that looked like the gentleman in the photo and another person commented on the same link I found.”

The obituary led Wilson to contact Stephanie Davis, the daughter of Howard Brown.

Davis told The Islander July 14 about Wilson reaching out.

“She was grabbing at straws, trying to find a member of the family,” Davis said. “She went on to tell me that the bottle was found and later that day put me in touch with Brent, whose family actually found the bottle.”

Davis said the bottle was left there by her family in

2021, after her father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.

She said the contents had meaning to her family:

• The photograph was of Brown and his wife, Ruby;

• The piece of cloth with the zipper was a piece of his swim trunks;

• The fishhook had been a gift from Davis to her father, which he had worn on the bill of his favorite fishing hat;

The items were things a person might take with them to an island.

Davis said she and her sister were together when Wilson texted her.

“We just had tears of joy,” Davis said. “We both cried and we both couldn’t wait to get home and tell mom and share it with the rest of the family. It’s just been so amazing.”

She said the Colemans mailed the contents of the bottle to her in Radcliff, Kentucky.

Now she’s purchased a new bottle for her father’s keepsakes and she’s planning a trip to return her father to the island he loved so much.

“We’ve got to continue dad’s adventure,” Davis said. “We’ll get him back out there on a Florida beach.”

“The first time I was able to come to Anna Maria Island, I thought to myself, ‘I can’t get any closer to heaven than this, without actually being in heaven,’” Davis said.

The feeling must run in the family.

A message found inside a bottle inspired people on social media to connect the finder with the family of a man who died in 2021 after battling cancer.

CUSTOM C AKES DELI C IOUS DESSERTS 10-5, Mon-Sat @ 2 locations … 507B Pine Ave, Anna Maria 941.896.3167 Facebook.com/hometowndesserts

WE ARE SO MUCH MORE WE ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN DELICIOUS THAN DELICIOUS CHEESECAKE! CHEESECAKE!

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We speak bagel, egg-el, breakfast muffins, lunch salads, platters, sandwiches... and more!

PARADISE BAGELS CAFE & CATERING 3220 E. Bay Drive, Anna Maria Centre Shops 941-779-1212

Beach joyrider drives over turtle nests, fuels investigation

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

A joyrider on the beach July 10 disturbed four sea turtle nests in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach.

Local authorities responded that night to reports of a golf cart or low-speed vehicle being driven over marked nests but arrived to find the damage done and the perpetrator gone.

Florida’s shores are home to annual nesting sites for three species of sea turtles — loggerheads, green turtles and leatherbacks, all of which are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act due to declining global populations.

Sea turtle nesting season runs May-October.

Nests started hatching in late June-early July.

During the season, AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella and a team of volunteers comb the island’s shores to mark nests and monitor and record nesting activity.

The nonprofit collects data and under a contract that funds AMITW, sends it to Manatee County — required by a beach renourishment program — and the state — for tracking population, behavior trends and the impacts of beach renourishment.

Mazzarella told The Islander July 13 that AMITW received a call the night of July 10 about a golf cart or LSV driver running over marked, staked turtle nests. They contacted the Holmes Beach Police Department and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office about the

FWC: No evidence in ‘dug-up’ case

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found there to be no evidence to support a July 4 report about a “dug-up” nest on the island’s shores.

Public information officer Forest Rothchild told The Islander July 14 that the only reported disturbance from Manatee County, other than the more recent golf cart incident, involved reports of beach furniture left on top of a nest.

However, when an MCso deputy responded to the scene, they found no nest was disturbed and no furniture left behind on the beach.

“We don’t have anything solid,” Rothchild said.

The FWC closed the July 4 case.

— Ryan Paice

incident.

Responding, HBPD found tire tracks running through four nests beginning near 65th Street in Holmes Beach and ending near Maple Avenue in Anna Maria.

The tracks ended where the vehicle left the beach and drove onto Palm Avenue in Anna Maria, according to an MCSO report.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer told The Islander July 13 that responding officers recovered video of the incident from a witness and police were working to identify the motorist and their vehicle.

“As long as the video is clear enough, we should be able to get some identifiers,” the chief said. “We take this very seriously.”

Tokajer also called for residents and property owners in the area to provide any information they have about the incident to the HBPD by calling 941708-5804.

MCSO public information officer Randy Warren told The Islander July 14 that the case was referred to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The FWC was investigating the matter as of July 14, according to public information officer Forest Rothchild, but there was no comment as to the ongoing investigation.

Tire tracks remain July 11 over a moweddown turtle nest that was found by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and shorebird Monitoring volunteers. The nest was one of four damaged by a motorist driving on the beach in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach.

AMITW volunteers reposted the nests’ marker stakes the morning of July 11 but Mazzarella said they wouldn’t know the extent of damage caused until the nests hatch.

“We can’t really determine whether or not they damaged the nests because the nests are still incubating and to go into them could damage the nests further, so we’re going to see what happens when they hatch,” she said.

Mazzarella said the incident was “very frustrating.”

“It’s a lot of work to put those up and we’re trying to protect turtle nests,” she said. “I don’t know why they did it or anything like that but it’s difficult to see that kind of thing when we’re doing so much work to try to help (sea turtles.)”

Mazzarella asked people to give marked nests a wide berth, turn off lights visible from the beach at night, fi ll in holes on the beach before leaving and remove beach furniture.

She added that people should report incidents to law enforcement so authorities can respond quickly and have a chance to catch perpetrators in the act.

Sea turtles are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act and the Marina Turtle Protection Act.

Answers: page 28

Islander Photo: Courtesy Amy Waterbury

PLEAsE, sEE tuRtLE NEsts, nExT PAgE

Tour guides: Illegal harvesting of shellfish may be epidemic

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

Local tour boat captains say the problem of shellfish poaching in the region won’t stop with a day of citations.

“There’s a few groups that I see consistently,” Capt. Katie Tupin of Captain Katie Scarlett Boat Tours out of Cortez told The Islander July 12.

On July 1, Tupin made a call to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission after she witnessed people taking mass quantities of sea life from a grass flat near Jewfish Key.

Tupin said part of the reason the poachers were caught is because FWC boats were on the other side of Jewfish Key when she called.

But she and other tour boat captains told The Islander they have been reporting groups of poachers in the bay for almost a year with little results.

Disturbing or destroying a sea turtle nest is a thirddegree felony, punishable upon conviction with up to five years in prison, five years of probation and a fine of up to $5,000.

People who see others tampering with nests can call local police to report the incident.

The MCSO polices Anna Maria and can be reached at 941-747-3011.

HBPD polices Holmes Beach and people can call the department’s dispatch at 941-778-5804.

The Bradenton Beach Police Department polices Bradenton Beach and can be reached at 941-7786311.

People also can report such incidents to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline by calling 888-404-3922.

People who find nesting turtles or hatchlings in distress can call AMITW at 941-301-8434.

Do’s and don’ts for sea turtle nesting season

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recommends people follow these guidelines for sea turtle safety:

• DO turn off or adjust lighting along the beachfront to prevent nesting sea turtles from becoming disoriented and moving toward the glow of light on land, instead of natural light reflecting on the surface of the water.

Indoor lights should be turned off, with curtains closed after dark, and outdoor lighting should be turtle-friendly bulbs.

use fixtures low to the ground and shielded from view at the shoreline.

• DON’T use flashlights or camera flashes on the beach at night.

such lights can distract nesting sea turtles and cause them to return to the water.

• DO clear the way at the end of the day.

nesting female sea turtles can become trapped, confused or impeded by gear left on the beach at night.

Remove items such as boats, tents, rafts and beach furniture and fill in holes or level sand castles before dusk. Holes trap turtles and can injure people.

Call code enforcement to report unattended property or large holes on the beach.

City of Anna Maria code enforcement — 941-708-6130, ext. 139 or ext. 129.

City of Bradenton Beach code enforcement — 941-778-1005, ext. 280.

City of Holmes Beach code enforcement — 941-778-0331, ext. 260.

Report sick, injured, entangled or dead sea turtles to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline, at 1-888-404-3922, #FWC or *FWC on a cellphone or text Tip@MyFWC.com.

For more information about the island turtle watch team, call the nonprofit at 941-301-3484, email info@islandturtlewatch.com or go online to islandturtlewatch.com.

“The three men that got caught with the urchins, I have seen them at least three or four other times,” Tupin said.

The captain said she’s seen several groups of up to 60 people poaching sea life from the sandbars and grass flats of Sarasota Bay.

She said the poachers are decimating shellfish populations in portions of the bay.

“At Sister Keys, the pen shells are completely wiped out,” Tupin said, referring to a string of four islands totaling 74 acres in the bay waters of north Longboat Key. “Almost 100% of pen shells at Sister Keys are gone. A little over a year ago, there were literally thousands of them. We were there a few days ago. I couldn’t find one.”

She said she has seen poachers everywhere in the area.

“I’ve seen them in Palma Sola Bay, south of Perico in the grass flats there. I’ve seen them in front of the North Coquina Boat Ramp north of there, closer to Bridge Street. I’ve seen them at the South Coquina Ramp,” she said.

Tupin said the poachers are brazen and don’t seem deterred by the presence of law enforcement. She recalled seeing a group poaching shellfish under the Manatee County Marine Rescue dock in Bradenton Beach.

Capt. Joey Sweet, owner and operator of Sweet Sunsets and Dolphin Tours that operates out of Anna Maria, told The Islander July 13 that he’s noticed piles of empty shells on sandbars and grass flats in the past year.

“We reached out to FWC right away and told them what we were finding,” Sweet said. “I started

Three people, two with nets containing shellfish, scan the grass flats of Jewfish Key July 1 prior to being cited for poaching by officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Islander Photo: Courtesy Katie Tupin

‘ We started to see the sandbars becoming more barren, the sea urchins, the fighting conch, pen shells, banded tulips, all that stuff was disappearing.

seeing, later, on my afternoon trips, these pontoon rental boats loaded with people that were going out at the mouth of Palma Sola Bay doing it and other places. As the year progressed, we began seeing them even more.”

Sweet said when he first reached out to the FWC, he did not receive much in the way of a response.

“We started to see the sandbars becoming more barren, the sea urchins, the fighting conch, pen shells, banded tulips, all that stuff was disappearing,” he said.

After months of complaints, things came to a head July 1, when Tupin saw people with nets and their pockets full of sea life.

She called the FWC hotline and made a report.

FWC officers were patrolling the nearby waters at Jewfish Key for the holiday weekend and responded before people could leave with their catches.

Sweet said after the citations were issued, he and other captains were inundated with calls from reporters and the media attention gained the attention of law enforcement.

“Today, I actually got a phone call today from FWC, finally, today. They reached out to me.”

He said the officer thanked him for his efforts and let him know they would be working on the poaching issue.

Sweet said the health of the bay is dependent on the protection of the shellfish.

Poaching removes species from the food chain and creates an imbalance in water quality, removing filter feeders and algae eaters.

“There’s a responsible way to harvest seafood and this is not responsible,” Sweet said.

To report a violation, call the wildlife alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC.

tuRtLE NEsts FRoM PAgE 18

— Capt. Joey Sweet on poachers in Sarasota Bay

Cops & Courts

St. Louis resident arrested for DUI by HBPD

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Holmes Beach police arrested Kasey Knight, 32, of St. Louis, July 9 on a second-degree misdemeanor for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.

An officer saw a motorist around 3 a.m. in the 4300 block of Gulf Drive travel for a prolonged period with an active turn signal without turning, weave in a lane and disregard roadway markings and signage.

The officer followed the motorist and saw them pull into a parking spot off of Gulf Drive.

The officer spoke to the driver, Knight, who had “glassy” eyes and whose breath smelled of alcohol, according to a report.

Knight told the officer he’d had multiple drinks at two local bars before driving.

The officer asked Knight to perform field sobriety

Streetlife

exercises, which he failed.

The officer arrested Knight and transported him to the Holmes Beach Police Department for processing. There, Knight registered two breathalyzer samples of 0.195 and 0.191 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.

The state’s legal blood alcohol level limit for driving under the influence is 0.08.

An officer transported Knight to the Manatee County jail, where he was released the same day after posting $120 bond.

If convicted, punishment for a second-degree misdemeanor charge includes up to 60 days in jail, six months of probation and a fine of up to $500.

An arraignment will be at 8:55 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

By Robert Anderson and Ryan Paice

Island police reports

Anna Maria

July 5, 100 block of Mangrove Avenue, unexploded ordinance. A Manatee County sheriff’s deputy responded to a call concerning a bag of ammunition left on a kitchen counter in a vacation rental. The deputy collected the ammunition for disposal. A case number and incident report were filed.

July 7, 100 block of Oak Avenue, animal attack. An MCSO deputy and the Manatee County Emergency Medical Services responded to a call concerning a man struck by a stingray while wading in the Gulf of Mexico. EMS transported the man to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton.

July 11, beach near the 100 block of Park Avenue, reckless driving. An MCSO deputy responded to a call concerning reckless driving that impacted protected sea turtle nests near Park and Maple avenues. Complainants said the driver of a golf cart ran through protective barriers and over marked sea turtle nests. Deputies followed tire tracks to the exit point on Palm Avenue. A case number was assigned and an incident report filed.

The MCSO polices Anna Maria.

Bradenton Beach

No new reports

The Bradenton Beach Police Department polices

Bradenton Beach.

Cortez

No new reports.

The MCSO polices Cortez. Holmes Beach

July 5, Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, suspicious circumstance. An officer from the Holmes

RoadWatch

Eyes on the road

• City center in Holmes Beach: Work on the city’s project near the intersection of Gulf and Marina drives is not concluded. Traffic patterns can change. For the latest, check the city’s page on Facebook.

• 64th Street at Marina Drive in Holmes Beach: A road closure for work on stormwater drainage was planned to begin July 18.

• Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach : Manatee County is moving sewer lines along Gulf Drive from Sixth Street South to 11th Street South and on side streets. For the latest, go to amiprojects.io.

• AMI Bridge on Manatee Avenue/State Road 64: Repair and rehab work will begin on the bridge Monday, July 24, with temporary overnight single lane closures 7 p.m.-6 a.m.

Beach Police Department saw the front gate to the public beach open around 1 a.m. after having seen it closed 30 minutes earlier. The officer examined the gate, which was broken at the welds. He searched the parking lot for possible witnesses or evidence of a vehicle crashing through the gate, but found nothing. The officer reported the damage to the Manatee County Parks and Recreation Department.

July 8, intersection of Gulf Drive and 37th Street, motor vehicle accident. An officer responded to reports of a vehicular crash and found a motorist had veered off the road, drove through roadway signs and crashed into a palm tree. The officer found a man passed out behind the driver’s seat with lacerations on his head and called Manatee County Emergency Medical Services. The man told police a woman had been driving the vehicle but left after the crash. Witnesses told police they saw the man walking around the car and enter the driver’s seat after the crash but didn’t see anyone else. An officer had the man complete field sobriety exercises, which he failed. However, he was transported to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton after complaining about chest pains. The man was not charged with driving under the influence for the incident, according to the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court.

July 8, 200 block of 65th Street, grand theft. An officer responded to reports of a stolen necklace worth $5,000 and spoke with the complainant, who said the jewelry went missing during her stay at a rental unit. She said the only people to enter the unit were herself, her fiance and someone sent by the management company to replace an air filter. She said she wanted to press charges and provided a sworn statement for police.

A fact sheet from the Florida Department of Transportation said improvements include coating steel members, restoring section loss on corroded steel members, repairing, adjusting and testing the mechanical system that raises and lowers the bridge’s bascule segments, performing crack injections and cleaning corrosion and painting of the structure.

The cost is estimated at $1.1 million.

In addition to lane closures, people should expect noise from construction equipment.

The estimated completion is winter.

For area road watch information, go online to swflroads.com or dial 511

— Lisa neff

July 8, 300 block of Clark Drive, stolen vehicle. An officer responded to reports of a stolen vehicle and spoke to the owner of Toy Barn Rentals. He said went to the location to retrieve a rental golf cart and found it missing. He said he contacted the renter, who left the golf cart key in a lockbox attached to the vehicle. The Toy Barn owner wanted to press charges and provided a written statement. The golf cart was found later that day at the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria.

July 9, Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, resisting law enforcement without violence. An officer saw a man stumble across Gulf Drive in traffic. The officer approached the man, who was “very intoxicated” and unable to tell the officer his address. The officer called for backup and the man became belligerent and started threatening police at the scene. The man aggressively approached one officer and refused to comply with commands to back away, so the officers arrested him and transported him to the Manatee County jail.

The HBPD polices Holmes Beach.

Streetlife is based on incident reports and narratives from the BBPD, HBPD and MCSO.

County prepares to move mains at Cortez Bridge

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

Manatee County Public Works is preparing for this fall’s relocation of the Cortez Road water and force mains at their Intracoastal Waterway crossing.

The project is a precursor to the construction of a new bridge on Cortez Road/State Road 684 linking Bradenton Beach and the village of Cortez.

The Florida Department of Transportation plans to begin construction of a new fixed-span high-clearance bridge from Cortez to Bradenton Beach by the end of 2025. The new bridge is estimated to cost $76,998,790

Before the DOT builds the megabridge to replace the drawbridge, the county needs to deal with a force main, a pipeline that conveys wastewater under pressure from the discharge side of a pump to a discharge point, and the water main, which carries potable, drinking water.

County public works engineer Scott May told The Islander July 14 the mains currently run along the north side of the bridge in the ICW.

RIgHT: A diagram shows Manatee County’s relocation plan for water and sewer lines to cross the Intracoastal Waterway at the Cortez Bridge. Islander screenshot

Relocation is expected to cost about $7.5 million, to be paid with county utility funds.

County public information officer Bill Logan told The Islander July 12 by email that “the mains will be under the bay bottom. The 24-inch water main and the 20-inch force main will be relocated using a horizontal directional drill, preventing any invasive intracoastal construction.”

Logan said relocation of the pipes and the work would not impede traffic flow to the island.

And the county plans only a minor disruption in service from the Cortez lines.

“They will install everything and have it in place. There will be a small shut down, usually late at night to make the final tie-over connections, to tie into the existing on each side,” May said.

The county project has been in the design phase since 2021 and work is expected to begin this fall, with completion in summer 2024.

Failed water main at AMI Bridge set for removal

The next step toward completing repairs to the collapsed water main on the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue is underway.

Manatee County information outreach manager Bill Logan wrote in a July 12 email to The Islander that Bradenton-based Woodruff & Sons was set to begin removing the fallen pipeline from Anna Maria Sound the week beginning July 17.

About 1,000 feet of the 16-inch water main — which was installed in 1982 — fell from its position on the underside of the bridge June 19 after hangers holding it along the east end of the bridge failed.

Woodruff & Sons began repair work June 26 and finished installing a new — albeit temporary — pipeline across the AMI Bridge by June 30.

Another phase of work will involve securing new hangers along the bridge to hold the new main, which will need to be permanently repositioned from the sidewalk to the underside of the bridge as repairs proceed.

Logan estimated that work, which will again require lane closures along the bridge, might not begin for “about a month” due to material availability.

The removal of the old water pipe from Anna Maria Sound is not expected to interfere with traffic on the bridge, according to Logan.

— Ryan Paice

Waterkeeper toasts trees

Suncoast Waterkeeper will toast the benefits of mangroves during a happy hour near the shore of Anna Maria Sound.

The nonprofit will celebrate World Mangrove Day 4:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 26, at Floridays Woodfire Grill and Bar, 12332 Manatee Ave. W., Perico Island.

The event will include remarks about training, Suncoast Waterkeeper’s mission to monitor and promote water quality, music and raffles.

For reservations, email executivedirector@ suncoastwaterkeeper.org.

Looking back

Recalling that day in 1980

“I saw a car and boat trailer jackknifed near a power pole,” Islander reporter June Alder wrote about her arrival to the scene of a quadruple murder Aug. 1, 1980, on Manatee Avenue near East Bay Drive in Holmes Beach. The vehicle and boat belonged to Dr. Juan Dumois, 47, of Tampa. He and his sons — Eric, 13, and Mark, 9 — were killed that day, as was a presumed witness, islander Robert Matzke, 60. Do you recall that day? Please, email the newspaper at news@islander.org. Islander Photo: Manatee County Public Library system

For more information about the organization, go online to suncoastwaterkeeper.org or call 239222-2243.

’Round the table

Kudos go to the folks at Hurricane Hanks for making it to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s list of top burgers.

The chief best-of various things writer at the SH-T acknowledged three other burger joints in Holmes Beach and wondered how a small island city could boast four burger joints deserving of his recognition.

He names Hurricane Hanks burger among his four “bests” and we don’t disagree.

He also acknowledged Hanks’ “great grouper sandwich” and he’s right there, too. Hanks puts out some good grub in a friendly family atmosphere.

But when it comes to burgers, there’s plenty more to top a list across Anna Maria Island.

We say ... the challenge is on.

There are plenty of “best burgers” on AMI, including across the road from Hanks at the Feast Restaurant, where the half-pound Australian Wagyu burger goes to the top of our list.

Chef-owner Christopher Dale puts down a mean burger — and, since they quit lunch service during the pandemic, people will find this big bad-boy burger on the dinner menu.

And maybe you overlooked the burger at Ginny’s and Jane E’s Cafe and Gift Shop in Anna Maria in favor of the gigantic cinnamon bun? Sorry for you!

Or it may be time to discover the “Signature” burger of 8-ounces of Angus beef, pimento cheese, bacon jam, house pickles on a brioche bun that comes with a view at the Waterfront Restaurant in Anna Maria.

If you’re aiming to visit the south end of the island, you’ll find a great burger, killer nachos and a seat on Sarasota Bay at the Bridge Tender Inn and Dockside Bar in Bradenton Beach.

They’ve even got a “Doggie Burger” on the menu for their canine friends — a burger patty stuffed with yellow rice and grilled medium. My cairn terrier is begging, please! Better still, a portion of the burger price is donated to help vintagepaws.org.

What’s up on top?

There’s news from the top of Bridge Street — the top floor of the building in the middle of the block where the Daiquiri Deck quenches thirsts and offers good vibes and premium sunset views.

‘Slim’ up on a whopper burger

A gaggle of regulars and staff join the owners of slim’s Place, the smargisso family, to celebrate 10 years at the “Cheers-like” bar and restaurant in Anna Maria. slim’s is the place for sports and good food, including a giant double burger — two 8-ounce burger patties piled high with cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion! Bacon, mushrooms, a fried egg or grilled onions are some of the options to add even more to the slim burger. And that’s just the beginning. The family brought their favorite Philly cheesesteak recipe from home and the Tater Tots with cheese dip is a real treat. Congrats to slim’s on 10 years behind the grill and at the tap in Anna Maria. Islander Courtesy Photo

Pop-up juice

Devinne Whittaker, left, serves fresh-pressed juice to Rhonda Frewin at a pop-up stand inside the salon salon of AMI, 3612 E. Bay Drive, Holmes Beach. Whittaker’s business, DevsBevs, is based at the Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria. People can hit her up for juice anytime at devsbevs@gmail.com or 941-713-4375.

They’re offering a free daiquiri on National Daiquiri Day — Wednesday, July 19 — at their five locations, including Bridge Street, but there’s more.

By Lisa neff

941-7781541, info@amichamber.org.

with Your CBD Store, Holmes Beach.

PLEAsE, sEE WHat’s up, nExT PAgE

WHat’s up FRoM PAgE 22

There will be plenty of specials and multiple giveaways — gift cards, tumblers, T-shirts and a chance for five patrons to win free daiquiris for a year.

For the free 10-ounce daiquiri or virgin daiquiri, a purchase is required.

Live entertainment will take place 4-8 p.m.

Sweet sketch

Cheesecake Cutie & Cafe owner Jennifer Geils got a sweet surprise July 10 when Mathew Williamson and his wife dined at her cafe.

Geils reported in a Facebook post, “Today, Mathew arrived for lunch with his wife, Jennifer. They sat in the corner for awhile, and when they were leaving, he showed me this.”

She was referring to a page in his sketchbook.

Geils said she was “overwhelmed with excitement.”

When The Islander reached out to Geils about the sketch, she found the artist’s name on a receipt.

She posted a thank you to Williamson, hoping he might see it and know she’s grateful.

Apparently Williamson makes a habit of sketching places he visits.

So, thank you, Mathew Williamson. We hope you get in touch.

— Bonner Joy

Get ‘Mello’

Check into Sol Mate.

Or book a vaca at Hip Nautic.

Both are offered at Mello on the Beach, 105 39th St., Holmes Beach, which boasts 11 updated, upscale accommodations designed to exude a funky retro vibe.

Mainsail Lodging and Development announced the “mod” beachfront retreat was to open July 18, after The Islander went to press.

Mainsail Vacation Rentals is managing the venture, which is owned by Tampa-based Dahl Investments.

“Our vision was to design something that perfectly fits the island but is unlike anything else in the market,” Bryan Zinober of Dahl said in a July 11 news release.

Amenities include a pool, grills, fire pit, a lounge, bike rentals and beach access.

The resort also is pet-friendly.

For more, go to staymelloami.com or contact Mello at reservations@staymelloami.com or 833-2198623.

Here and there

The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, or

SRQ, saw 309,127 passengers pass through its gates in June, a 7% increase over June 2022.

January-June, the airport tracked 4.1 million passengers, a 9% increase for the same period in 2022.

The airport “continues to trend in exponential growth,” said CEO Rick Piccolo in a July 12 news release.

For details about SRQ, go to flysrq.com.

Ra, ra, Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays will host Chamber Night at Tropicana Field Thursday, July 20.

Local chambers of commerce — including Anna Maria Island’s organization — are selling discounted tickets and planning to gather at a private hospitality area in the ballpark, 1 Tropicana Drive, St. Petersburg.

Tickets cost $23 and include the game, food, beverages, raffles and networking opportunities.

The Rays will play the Baltimore Orioles, with the opening pitch at 6:40 p.m.

For more information, contact the Anna Maria Island Chamber at 941-778-1541, info@amichamber. org.

— Lisa neff

LEFT: A vacation rental at Mello on the Beach. RIgHT: The Mello pool. Islander Courtesy Photos

Soccer standings at midway point, Junior Leaguers take prize

By Kevin P. Cassidy Islander Reporter

The standings in the 11-14 division of the youth indoor soccer league at the Center of Anna Maria Island are tight at the midway point of the season.

Coastline West and Solid Rock Construction are tied atop the standings with matching 2-1-1 records, just ahead of second-place Moss Builders, which is 2-2. Island Vacation Properties completes the standings and they are only four points back. So it’s anyone’s game at the moment.

Solid Rock Construction holds a commanding six-point lead in the 8-10 division with a 4-0 record. Progressive Cabinetry holds down second place at 2-2, followed by AMI Dolphin Tours at 1-2-1 and Intentional Resilient Intuitive at 0-3-1.

Action for the 8-10s kicked off July 11 with Solid Rock taking on Progressive Cabinetry. Solid Rock showed why they’re in first place, outscoring Progressive Cabinetry 6-4 behind three goals and an assist from Matthew Darak. Turner Worth added a pair of goals and an assist, while Elijah Roadman stepped up with a goal. Isaac Roadman and Darak combined to make nine saves to help preserve the victory.

Kason Price had a big game for Progressive Cabinetry, finishing with three goals on offense and seven saves between the pipes. Rafa Price added a goal and an assist, while Vincent Gollamudi finished with seven saves in the loss.

The second game of the evening saw AMI Dolphin Tours cruise to an 8-0 victory over Intentional Resilient Intuitive behind a balanced scoring attack that saw five players score goals. Gunnar Maize notched three and Parker Svoboda added two goals to lead Dolphin Tours, which also received single goals from Louis Bacon, Kazimir Funtal and Charlee Maize. Miles Moss and Gunnar Maize came through with eight combined saves in the shutout victory.

Paul ten Haaf and Camden Rudacille combined on 23 saves for IRI in the loss.

Action in the 11-14 division July 10 got off to a rocky start with Solid Rock Construction earning a forfeit victory over Coastline West, which lacked players and couldn’t field a team.

The second game of the night saw Moss Builders outscore Island Vacation Properties 5-2 behind three goals and an assist from Callin Westfall. Mason Moss and Jackson Wyatt each added a goal, while Magness

Rollins helped preserve the victory with 10 saves in goal.

Alonso Valle scored and made 10 saves for Vacation Properties, which also received a goal from Tucker McRae and eight saves from Chandler McRae.

Manatee West Junior League team wins regionals

The Manatee West Junior League baseball team won two games July 8 to take the Section 4 Championship and advance to the state tournament July 14-16 in Tallahassee. The team, based at G.T. Bray Park in Bradenton, defeated Land O Lakes 6-4 in its first game and then romped to a 22-7 victory over Pinellas Park in its second game of the day.

They are the first junior league team from Manatee West Little League to advance to states in 10 years.

Members of the Manatee West Junior League AllStars, which is coached by Andy Secret, are Brandon

Coach Andy secret, left, poses with the Manatee West Junior League Allstars, winners of the July 8 section 4 championship to advance to the state tournament July 14-16 in Tallahassee. Team members include gabe Bragg, Bradon Davis, Joe Fonseca, nick McLuch, Chase Mundy, Cameron Rayburn, Charlie Rogers, Delane secret, Ethan skinner and AJ Jastrzebski. not Pictured: Tristan Linder, Austin McKee and Avery Waite. Islander

Davis, Joe Fonseca, Tristan Linder, Austin McKee, Nick McLuch, Chase Mundy, Cameron Rayburn, Delane Secret, Ethan Skinner, Avery Waite, Grayson Randlett, AJ Jastrzebski, former islander Charlie Rogers and Perico Island resident Gabe Bragg.

Congratulations and good luck to the young men from The Islander!

Adult flag football action continues Luxury Services continues to lead the way in the adult flag football league at the center with a perfect 5-0 record. Moss Builders is close behind with a 4-1 record, just ahead of third place Sandbar Restaurant at 3-2. Cortez Deep Sea Fishing, Salty Printing and Solid Rock Construction follow at 2-3, while Gulf Drive Cafe and Banks Home Lending complete the standings at 1-4.

Action July 13 kicked off with Sandbar outscoring Salty Printing 45-32 behind five TD passes from Zachary Routh and a TD pass and a pair of TD catches from Jonathan Soultatos. Soultatos also added a pick-six on defense for Sandbar, which also received two TDs each from Wes Coleman and Jasmine Maldoune, while Brad Coleman added a sack for a safety on defense.

Zaon Williams threw four TD passes, caught a TD pass and added a sack for a safety on defense to lead Salty Printing. Bobby McMillen added a TD pass and reception for Salty Printing, which also received two TD grabs from Brandon Rolland and a TD reception from Dina DeJesus in the loss.

The second game of the evening saw Tuna McCracken throw six TD passes, including three to Tyler Brewer to lead Solid Rock to a 47-24 victory over Gulf Drive Cafe. Evelyn Long and Zachary Long both added two TD catches in the victory.

Dominick Otteni threw for two scores and a rushing TD to lead Gulf Drive, which also received rushing and receiving TDs from Steven Pavina in the loss.

Chaes Richardson threw seven touchdown passes, including two each to Tim Holly, Alonzo Lemus and Jasmine Muldoon to lead Luxury Services to a 47-20 victory over Cortez Deep Sea Fishing. Brad Lowry

PLEAsE, sEE spoRts, nExT PAgE

Cassidy

Photo: Courtesy Abigail Bragg

Progressive Cabinetry’s Wesley Bekkerus sprints toward the goal as solid Rock’s Campbell Collins gives chase during July 11 8-10 soccer action in the center gym. Islander Photo: Kevin P. Cassidy

With July temps consistent in the 90s, fishing remains hot

By Capt. Danny stasny Islander Reporter

One thing I can say with certainty about fishing around Anna Maria Island in July: It’s hot out there. With air temps in the 90s and water temps in the upper 80s, you’d better be prepared to deal with the heat.

mangrove snapper, porgies, Key West grunts, triggerfish and plenty of juvenile red grouper — and good results for the cooler.

stasny

If you have access to shade, you’ll want to utilize that as much as possible. If not, make sure you cover up by wearing long sleeves, a hat and polarized sunglasses.

Some potent sunscreen isn’t a bad idea, either. And don’t forget to carry along plenty of liquid to rehydrate. This is important. Drink frequently. And no, alcohol doesn’t count.

Lastly, when fishing in scorching temperatures, don’t forget to pack some patience — especially if fishing the flats.

Water temperatures are reaching 90 degrees and up on the flats and you can believe the fish are feeling the heat. You might find species such as snook, reds and trout not as motivated to take bait in the heat of the day. Your best bet is to fish low light conditions. Early morning tides can be productive, as well as night fishing.

As far as productivity goes, catch-and-release snook are being caught — if the snook are in the mood — around the beaches and passes and they will take an artificial.

Redfish are targetable, with most being found where oyster bars exist around mangrove shorelines. Casting live baits such as shiners or pinfish works well, although don’t rule out casting a piece of chunk-bait in the mix. A fresh-cut chunk of fish will have the added scent to entice a redfish when they snub their noses at a live bait.

Lastly, spotted seatrout can be had on the deeper grass flats of Tampa Bay. Grassy areas in 8-10 feet of water are a good place to look. Free-lined live shiners with the addition of a split shot to the rig will aid in getting the bait down in the strike zone.

spoRts

FRoM PAgE 24

completed the scoring with a TD reception.

Matt Manger threw a pair of TD passes to Cole Carter for Cortez Deep Sea Fishing, which also received a rushing TD and a pair of 2-point conversions from Anthony Mannino in the loss.

The last game of the evening saw Moss Builders demolish Banks Home Lending 45-6 behind six TD passes and a rushing TD from Ryan Moss. Peggy Smith was his top target, finishing with nine catches, including three for TDs. Gregg Moss added two TD grabs and James Roadman finished with one to complete the scoring in the victory.

Joseph Vigil threw a TD pass to Cruz Rodriguez for Banks in the loss.

Key Royale golf news

Golf action at the Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach kicked off July 10 with the men’s modified-Stableford system match. Chuck Patrick carded a plus-5 to take first place by one point over second-place finisher Don Grau. Ken Kari, Art McMillan and Kurt Snouffer were in a three-way tie for third place at plus-3.

Sue Wheeler fired a 3-under-par 29 to run away

While targeting trout on the deeper flats, you can encounter Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and even some mangrove snapper.

On my Just Reel charters, I’m seeing catch-andrelease snook along the mangrove shorelines and beaches. Free-lined live shiners are working best as bait during moving tides. I’m also catching reds along the mangroves.

Spotted seatrout are being caught on deeper flats with a mix of mackerel, jacks and ladyfish.

On days with slower tides, I’m working in the Gulf around reefs and ledges. In these areas, I’m seeing

with first place during the women’s nine-hole individual-low-net match July 11. Helen Pollock was alone in second place at 5-over-par 37, while Peggy Cummings, who had a chipin on the first hole came in third.

Members played a nine-hole shamble, with the two best scores from each foursome counted, during golf action July 13. The team of Mike Clements, Don Grau, Jim Hill and Quentin Talbert combined on a 1-over-par 65 to earn the day’s bragging rights.

Horseshoe news

Tim Sofran dominated the pits during the week’s horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall park.

On July 12, he teamed up with Bob Hawks to defeat Bob Heiger and Bob Baker in the championship match by a 21-8 score. Sofran followed that up by walking his way to the lone 3-0 pool play record with a barrage of double ringers.

Play gets underway at 9 a.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Anna Maria pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by random team selection.

There is no charge to play and everyone is welcome.

Capt. David White is finding good action while working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Using live pinfish or shiners as bait, White is leading clients to a variety of catches, including red grouper and American red snapper. These species are being caught around depths of 100 feet or more. Offerings of frozen baits such as sardines or threadfin herring are working to lure the fish to the hook.

In slightly shallower depths of 75-80 feet, White is catching mangrove and yellowtail snapper. These tasty fish are readily taking small live shiners as bait. Moving inshore, catch-and-release snook are being caught around the mangrove shorelines.

White reports fi nding some juvenile tarpon on slightly deeper flats.

Lastly, targeting sharks along the beaches is adding a thrill for clients looking to hook into a big fish.

Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier says he’s seeing mangrove snapper being caught by anglers using live shrimp as bait. Light leaders and small hooks combined with a split shot and a live shrimp are resulting in near limits of the popular snappers.

While targeting snapper with live shrimp, anglers are hooking into an occasional redfish, as well as some catch-and-release snook.

With the abundance of hatch bait around the pier, migratory species such as jack crevalle and Spanish mackerel are stopping in for a quick bite. To catch these fish, try using artificials such as a silver spoon or a speck rig. A quick retrieval of either lure is a great way to get hooked up.

Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.

Capt. David White of Anna Maria Charters, left, and returning client, Terence Burns, visiting from Virginia, show off their July 12 haul of red grouper and red snapper. The fish were caught offshore in the gulf of Mexico in about 130 feet of water.

Layla Jane White, 7, shows off a live sand dollar she found and released last week in Tampa Bay near the pilot dock on Egmont Key. she is a budding environmentalist who “loves the ocean,” according to dad, Capt. David White. Layla celebrated her seventh birthday July 15 and will enter first-grade at Anna Maria Elementary in August.

Nesting notes

By Lisa Neff

Tracking Suzi

Suzi is doing warmups in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Sea Turtle Conservancy’s Tour de Turtles doesn’t begin until Aug. 1 but tracking is ongoing for Anna Maria Island’s entry in the “marathon” intended to educate the public about loggerhead turtles and help scientists learn about a sea turtle’s movement in the water and nesting on land.

Since Suzi was tagged and released June 27 at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, the turtle has spent time in the Gulf off the coast at Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key, as well as in the bay south of Perico Island.

People can follow Suzi’s journey and sign up for sea turtle updates at tourdeturtles.com.

Excavation time

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers are digging a change in the nesting season routine.

With sea turtle hatchlings emerging from the earliest laid nests on AMI, AMITW’s duties now include excavating the hatched nests.

But they don’t rush in.

The Islander checked in July 14 with AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella about the process.

The Islander: How does turtle watch know a nest has hatched? Do you see tracks? Dip in the nest?

KM: We check each nest every day for any sign of disturbance or hatch.

Just like we see adult tracks coming from the ocean when a turtle lays a nest, we find hatchling

Fat Cat

A map shows where suzi, a loggerhead outfitted June 27 in Bradenton Beach with a tracking device, traveled through July 14. suzi is AMI’s entry in the annual Tour de Turtles, an educational-scientific marathon that begins Aug. 1. Islander screenshot

tracks coming from the posted nest area when a nest hatches.

Usually the hatchling tracks come from a depression in the sand where the hatchlings emerged.

The Islander: You wait before you excavate the nest. Why?

KM: To give all the hatchlings time to emerge naturally.

The Islander: When you do excavate, what kind of information do you collect?

KM: Excavations are a way to determine the nest’s

About AMITW

AMITW is a nonprofit focused on collecting data on threatened or endangered sea turtles. The organization also collects data on shorebirds. The nesting data is required to meet beach renourishment contracts and AMITW is compensated by the county for its service.

success.

We determine how many hatchlings hatched inside the nest and how many emerged from the nest. This gives us an idea of how many hatchlings are potentially getting to the ocean.

The Islander: All the bio-material goes back in the nest?

KM: Yes, we replace everything back in the nest chamber when we are done and cover it up. This way we are leaving the natural material where it belongs. When the eggs decompose, they nourish the sand and provide important nutrients that help plants, fungi and animals in the sand

The Islander: Have you found any live hatchlings in a nest this season?

KM: Yes, occasionally we find live hatchlings inside the nests when we excavate.

The Islander: What can cause a hatchling to be left in a nest?

KM: Any number of things can cause hatchlings to remain in the nest. Some possibilities are that they were caught on something — for example, roots or egg shells — or stuck in a pocket in the nest or they may not be strong enough to leave the nest on their own.

The Islander: Twenty years ago, turtle watch was using clipboards and pencils for its data collection at the nests. You use tablets now?

KM: We use our smartphones or tablets to enter the data and enter a lot of the data directly online. We also use clipboards and pencils for some of the data.

For more information about AMITW, call the nonprofit at 941-301-3484, email info@islandturtlewatch. com or go online to islandturtlewatch.com.

Mazzarella

By Lisa Neff

Shark bites

On a mid-May day, diver Michael Nastasio went into the Gulf of Mexico looking for shark teeth. He says he was diving near Venice for about 30 minutes and hadn’t found anything thrilling. But he kicked.

And kicked again.

That’s when Nastasio saw the megalodon tooth that measured about 6 inches in length. Later that day, he found another.

“What an epic day,” he told Facebook followers.

Such finds are rare, even in the Shark Tooth Capitol of the World.

And such finds can be useful to scientists around the globe who use fossil finds to learn more about the massive prehistoric shark that went extinct 3.6 billion years ago.

They were here, the megalodons, the largest sharks ever, about as heavy as a railroad car and longer than a school bus. Scientists have identifi ed megalodon nursery habitats in Florida, as well as in Maryland, the Canary Islands and Panama.

New research published this month and last uses sharks teeth to offer insights into how the Meg lived.

A peer-reviewed study was published in June and accompanied with a news release from the University of California-Los Angeles under the headline, “Megalodon was no cold-blooded killer.”

The research sheds light on the shark’s ability to regulate its body temperature and might help to explain why the megalodon went extinct.

After analyzing isotopes in tooth enamel, the scientists concluded the megalodon could maintain a body temperature that was about 13 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the surrounding water.

The temperature difference is greater than for other sharks that lived alongside the megalodon and is large enough to categorize megalodons as warm-blooded.

The research also suggests that the amount of energy the megalodon used to stay warm contributed to its extinction.

The megalodon lived during the Pliocene Epoch, which began 5.33 million years ago and ended 2.58 million years ago, and global cooling during that period caused sea level and ecological changes that the megalodon did not survive.

“Maintaining an energy level that would allow for megalodon’s elevated body temperature would require a voracious appetite that may not have been sustainable in a time of changing marine ecosystem balances when it may have even had to compete against newcomers such as the great white shark,” said Randy Flores, a UCLA doctoral student who worked on the study.

Another study released July 11 takes on conventional wisdom about the swimming speed of the shark.

DePaul University paleobiology professor Kenshu

A map of Florida uses colors to indicate the numbers of unprovoked shark attacks since 1882. Volusia County had the highest number, 343, while Walton, Charlotte and santa Rosa each had one. Manatee County had five. Islander Image: International shark File

Shimada and other scientists say the shark was a rather slow cruiser that used warm-bloodedness to facilitate digestion and absorption of nutrients.

The study is based on the discovery of tiny scales found within rock pieces surrounding a tooth set from Japan.

“Our big scientific findings come from ‘tiny evidence’ as small as grains of sand,” Shimada said in a news release.

Megalodons were thought to be an active, fastswimming shark but the study shows the tiny scales are not equipped with the narrowly-spaced ridges or “keels” characteristic of fast-swimming sharks.

“This led my research team to consider O. megalodon to be an average swimmer with occasional bursts of faster swimming for prey capture,” Shimada said.

Other bites

The number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide decreased in 2022 — the most current year numbers are available.

According to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File, there were 57 unprovoked bites in 2022, most of which occurred in the United States and Australia.

Of the 57, five attacks were fatal, down from nine deaths in 2021 and 10 deaths in 2020.

Since 2013, there have been an average of 74 unprovoked bites per year.

The overall reduction in the number of bites in 2022 might reflect the documented global decline of shark populations, according to researchers.

Great watch

Megalodon sharks, which went extinct 3.6 million years ago, grew to lengths of 50 feet.

In mid-May, a diver near Venice found two Meg teeth.

Islander Image: Courtesy Alex Boersma/PnAs

“Shark Week” on cable television’s Discovery and Discovery+ services will begin its 35th year Sunday, July 23.

Actor and conservationist Jason Momoa will host the week of 20 new hours of programming about apex predators, including:

• “Belly of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy,” a close-up look at a great white shark feast;

• “Cocaine Sharks,” which explores what happens to sharks that possibly feed on cocaine and other drugs dumped in Florida waters;

• “Jaws vs the Meg,” about the megalodon and whether its cousin, the great white shark, may have caused its extinction;

• “Raiders of the Lost Shark,” about the quest to locate a colossal shark named Dutchess that years ago vanished near Gansbaai, South Africa;

• “Florida Shark: Blood in the Water,” about “diving into the Shark Attack Capital of the World” to look for methods to mitigate human risks. For more, go to discovery.com.

The International Shark Attack File places an emphasis on unprovoked bites in its annual report and does not highlight attacks prompted by mitigating circumstances, such as fishing lines cast in the vicinity of an incident or the presence of chum in the water. There were 32 additional bites in 2022 that fit the ISAF’s criteria for having been intentionally or unintentionally provoked.

As in previous years, the United States had the highest number of bites and Florida had more reported bites than anywhere else on Earth.

None of Florida’s 16 unprovoked bites were fatal but two — likely from bull sharks — required medical treatment resulting in amputations.

New York had a record eight bites in 2022.

Of course, the chances of being bitten by a shark remain incredibly low. People have much more to fear from riptides than sharks.

But the International Shark Attack File offers recommendations to reduce risks, including removing reflective jewelry before entering the water and avoiding areas where people are fishing.

For more about the shark attack file, go online to www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks.

For more research, go eurekalert.org.

neff

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FLY FIsHIng RoD, st. Croix Reign, R909.4. nine-foot, nine-weight, with tube. $90. Call 941-761-1393. no text.

PAnInnI MAKER: CuIsInART, stainlesssteel, like new, $45. 941-920-2494.

CHAIR: BLACK, soFT cushion $15/ each and office chair, white, $10. spice rack, three-tier clear plastic, $20. 941-920-2494. More ads = more readers in The Islander.

Sandy’s

Paradise Improvements 941.792.5600

RDI

AdoptA-Pet

Oh, those eyes!

Bella is an 8-year-old mixed-breed lovebug!

She’s neutered and has all vaccinations — ready to meet her new family! Call Lisa Williams at 941-3452441 or visit The Islander office in Holmes Beach. And for more about pet adoption, visit moonraceranimalrescue.com.

sPonsoRED BY

ANSWERS TO JULY 19 PUZZLE

ITEMS FOR SALE Continued

VInTAgE WEDDIng DREss and veil for $99. Ivory, size 3. Text, 816-721-5524.

AnTIQuE PARTnER DEsK: All wood, $500. Inquire at The Islander office, 315 58th st. suite J, Holmes Beach. 941-778-7978.

FREEBIE ITEMS FOR SALE

Individuals may place one free ad with up to three items, each priced $100 or less, 15 words or less. FREE, one week, must be submitted online. Email classifieds@islander. org, fax toll-free 1-866-362-9821. (limited time offer)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

sPECIALIZIng In BACHELoRETTE parties. Call Michael sue scott. Intuitive reader. 941726-1234. www.michaelsuescott.com.

In MEMoRIAL: HAMs, Ronald Alfred. Treasured memories of my dear husband Ronald, who passed away on July 22, 2022. so sadly missed. I hold you close within my heart and there you will remain to be with me, to talk to me, until we meet again. Loved and cherished always, Yvonne.

PETS

HELP REsCuED PETs! Volunteer, foster, computer help needed! Moonracer Animal Rescue. Email: moonraceranimalrescue@ gmail.com.

TRANSPORTATION

goLF CART REnTALs: Fun for residents and tourists! www.golfCartRentalAMI.com.

BOATS & BOATING

HAVE A BoAT and wanna catch more fish, better bait or learn the water? 50-year local fisherman, your boat, my knowledge. Captain Chris, 941-896-2915.

sunCoAsT BoTToM PAInTIng: Professional bottom painting. Mobile. Call 941704-9382.

FISHING

Fun AnD FIsH: skiff rental. 24-foot Carolina skiff. Live bait and fi shing equipment included upon request. Call 941-704-9382.

HELP WANTED

sEEKIng “1” PRoFEssIonAL line chef to leave the heat and travel to the Adirondacks on Lake george, nY. More details about rooming, travel and compensation, text 518-796-0902, leave contact information.

oLIVE oIL ouTPosT on Pine Avenue. Part-time position. great pay, store discount. kkary@oliveoiloutpost.com. 941-5445400.

noW HIRIng HAnDYMAn: Full-time professional services. $18 an hour and up, based on experience. Call JayPros, 941962-2874.

REPoRTER WAnTED: Full- to part-time. Print media, newspaper experience required. Apply via email with letter of interest to news@islander.org.

LooKIng FoR An EARLY BIRD? You can read Wednesday’s classifieds on Tuesday at islander.org. And it’s FREE!

KIDS FOR HIRE

nEED An ADuLT night out? Call Maty’s Babysitting services. I’m 16, love kids and have lots of experience. References upon request. 618-977-9630.

KIDs FoR HIRE ads are FREE for up to three weeks for Island youths under 16 looking for work. Ads must be placed in person at The Islander office, 315 58th st. suite J, Holmes Beach.

SERVICES

Is YouR HoME or office in need of some cleaning? Well, I’m your girl! Local, reliable, professional! Please, give me a call or text, 941-773 -0461.

CLEAnIng: VACATIon, ConsTRuCTIon, residential, commercial and windows. Licensed and insured. 941-756-4570.

PREssuRE WAsHIng, PAVER sealing, driveway, roof, fence, pool area. Also, window cleaning. Licensed and insured. 941-5653931.

BICYCLE REPAIRs: Just4Fun at 5358 gulf Drive can do most any bicycle repair at a reasonable cost. Pick-up and delivery available. 941-896-7884.

CoMPAnIon/HoMEMAKER: Honest and reliable offering help with running errands, grocery shopping, house sitting, pet and plant care, light cooking/cleaning, transportation. References available and licensed. Call sherri, 941-592-4969.

API’s DRYWALL REPAIR: I look forward to servicing your drywall repair needs. Call 941524-8067 to schedule an appointment.

PRoFEssIonAL WInDoW CLEAnIng: Residential, commercial, free estimates. “We want to earn your business!” 207-8526163.

AIRPoRT RIDEs: sARAsoTA, st. Pete, Tampa. Call/text, Vita, 941-376-7555.

ExTRA HELP AT home or on vacation. organization, cleaning, sitting, errands. very competent. gemma, 805-570-1415.

RAInY DAY AT the beach? sunburned? Have fun inside. Tarot card reading for individuals or groups. Phone or video by st. Louis’ top psychic, CBs radio’s #1 fortune teller. As seen on MTV and nickelodeon. $50 for 15 minutes. Call or text, Julia gordonBramer, 314-517-0158.

PRIoRITY guEsT HosTIng By Bettina. Excellent five-star ratings for over five years. Vacation rental hosting. Call me, 240-4645898.

RIDEs nEAR AnD Far, car transport. Based in Palmetto. 715-292-8692.

CLEAn TECH MoBILE Detailing. At your location. Cars, boats, RVs. Call or text Billie for an appointment. 941-592-3482.

SERVICES Continued

BusInEss-To-BusInEss JD’s Window Cleaning looking for storefront jobs in Holmes Beach. I make dirty windows sparkling clean. 941-920-3840.

BEACH sERVICE air conditioning, heat, refrigeration. Commercial and residential service, repair and/or replacement. serving Manatee County and the Island since 1987. For dependable, honest and personalized service, call Bill Eller, 941-720-7411. CAC184228.

LAWN & GARDEN

ConnIE’s LAnDsCAPIng InC. Residential and commercial. Full-service lawn maintenance, landscaping, cleanups, hauling and more! Insured. 941-778-5294.

BARnEs LAWn AnD Landscape LLC. Design and installation, lawn and landscape services, tree trimming, mulch, rock and shell. 941-705-1444. Jr98@barneslawnandlandscape.com.

CoLLIns LAnDsCAPE LIgHTIng: outdoor lighting, landscaping, irrigation services and maintenance. 941-279-9947. MJC24373@ gmail.com.

sHELL DELIVERED AnD spread. Hauling all kinds of gravel, mulch, topsoil with free estimates. Call Larry at 941-795-7775, “shell phone” 941-720-0770.

MP LAWn MAInTEnAnCE now accepting new clients. Call Dante, 941-730-9199. mp@ mplawnmaintenance.com

HOME IMPROVEMENT

VAn-go PAInTIng residential/commercial, interior/exterior, pressure cleaning, wallpaper. Island references. Bill, 941-795-5100. www.vangopainting.net.

TILE -TILE -TILE. All variations of ceramic tile supplied and installed. Quality workmanship, prompt, reliable, many Island references. Call neil, 941-726-3077.

gRIFFIn’s HoME IMPRoVEMEnTs Inc. Handyman, fine woodwork, countertops, cabinets and wood flooring. Insured and licensed. 941-722-8792.

IsLAnD HAnDYMAn: I live here, work here, value your referral. Refinish, paint. Just ask. JayPros. Licensed/insured. References. Call Jay, 941-962-2874.

HAnDYMAn AnD PAInTIng. no job too small. Most jobs just right. Call Richard Kloss. 941-204-1162.

sCREEnIng sERVICEs: Replace your old or ripped window, door or porch screens. Many screen types available. Retired veteran here to serve our community! Free estimates, call Lane, 941-705-5293.

CALL HYDRo CLEAn. Full-service pressure washing, sealing. Pavers, travertine and natural stone. Window washing too, up to three stories. Call Jacob, 941-920-2094.

sARAsoTA InTERIoR PAInTIng: We specialize in high-end properties. We love to paint! owner operated. Fully insured/ licensed. Call or text Don, 941-900-9398. Instagram: sarasotaInteriorPainting.

RENTALS

AnnA MARIA guLF beachfront vacation rentals. one- two- and three-bedroom units, all beachfront. www.amiparadise.com. 941778-3143.

PERICo IsLAnD PATIo home for rent. 3BR/2BA, 30-day minimum. Privacy fence/ gate, two miles to AMI. Call or text, 859771-6423.

BEAuTIFuLLY FuRnIsHED, AnnuAL rental in Beach Harbor Club, Longboat Key. 2BR/2BA with views of the bay, laundry and condo amenities include pool, grill, with both bay and beach access. $200 application required. $3,800 month plus fi rst and last month’s rent and $1,000 deposit. Call Mike norman Realty, 941-778-6696. 3101 gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, FL 34217.

sEAsonAL REnTAL: HoLMEs Beach. one room studio. Large bathroom, kitchen, bed alcove. Private patio and parking. Dec. 15-April 15. no pets, no smoking. Total, $8,400. 908-914-1182.

WEsTBAY PoInT: sEConD floor 2BR/2BA furnished condo. Full bay views. no pets, no smoking. $3,200/month, six-month minimum. 847-530-8833.

LoVELY, sEConD FLooR duplex for rent: 3BR/2BA partially furnished, can accommodate your needs. Washer/dryer. Five minutes to AMI, quiet, safe. Rent includes all utilities except electric. Annual, $2,800/month. Will consider three-month, six-month. no smoking, Call Kelly, 941-301-9938.

BEACH LIFE! 55-plus park: 1BR/1BA. Beach just across the street! Furnished, pool, parking, six-month or annual rental. $1,499 month. Vetted by office. no pets. 831-2122606.

PALMA soLA PARK fully furnished rental. 1BR/1BA very private guest house. utilities included. $3,400 monthly, no smoking, no pets. Call nancy, 407-803-2864.

sARAsoTA sTuDIo ConDo-hotel. Live the resort life. Fully furnished, everything included. $2,000/month and deposit, 30 days no pets, heated pool, Tiki bar, dock, boats, canal, and other amenities.941-9215131.

Long TERM REnTAL: Holmes Beach, waterfront. 2BR/1BA furnished. $3,800/ month. 201-988-6625.

WInTER sEAson REnTAL: no pets. Threemonth minimum. Available: December-May. Elevated 2BR/1.5BA townhouse in Holmes Beach. Two blocks to beach. sleeps four. $5,000/month plus tax and fees. Call Anna Maria Realty, 941-778-2259.

MoRE BAng FoR YouR BuCK? It’s an old saying, but it’s still true when it comes to The Islander. Look for more online at islander. org.

“Anna

WInnIE MCHALE, REALToR, 941-5046146. Rosebay International Realty Inc. You need an aggressive and experienced Realtor in today’s market! selling island homes, sarasota and Bradenton areas. Multi-milliondollar producer! “selling Homes - Making Dreams Come True.”

The Islander offers the best results for your classified advertising dollar. We really work for you! submit your ad no later than noon Monday on the website, islander.org. For Monday holidays, the deadline is Friday.

PLACE CLASSIFIED ADS ONLINE AT ISLANDER.ORG

Maria Island,” a signed pictorial history book of the island by Bonner Joy, is available for $20 at The Islander office, 315 58th st., Holmes Beach, or by mail. Visit islander.org or call 941-778-7978. $20 plus postage, if mail order.

Developer-marina navigate legal feud over docks in Cortez

By Robert Anderson Islander Reporter

And the dispute goes on.

The MHC Cortez Village Marina June 22 appealed a Southwest Florida Water Management District permit that allows Cortez Road Investments and Finance to construct 49 residential boat slips at the Hunters Point Resort & Marina in Cortez.

MHC Cortez Village, 12160 Cortez Road W., owned by Chicago billionaire Sam Zell’s Equity Lifestyle Properties, filed the challenge with the Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal in Tampa.

The appeal seeks to overturn a final order from Swiftmud to issue the developers of Hunters Point —

a venture with 86 zero-energy homes — a permit to install 32 new boat slips and replace 17 existing slips along the privately owned canal that surrounds the Hunters Point property on three sides.

The dock dispute dates to 2021, when MHC Cortez Village petitioned the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings asking for revocation of a permit.

The petition alleged the docks would:

• Increase canal traffic;

• Impair traffic by narrowing navigable portions of the canal;

• Negatively affect marina safety;

• Limit the size of the vessels that can use the canal;

• Negatively impact the profitability of the Cortez Village Marina.

But administrative Judge J. Bruce Culpepper struck down March 7 all the points raised by MHC and recommended Swiftmud issue the permit.

Swiftmud voted to do so and MHC Cortez Village appealed that decision in state court.

Marshall Gobuty, president of Hunters Point devel-

PropertyWatch

By Carol Bernard

Island real estate sales

6006 Gulf Drive, #115, Holmes Beach, a 1,356 sq ft 2BR/3BA Playa Encantada condo built in 1980 sold 5/2/2023 by Wilkins to Patz for $920,000, list price $989,000.

220 85th St., Holmes Beach, a 1,577 sq ft 2BR/2BA home on a 9,000 sq ft lot built in 1971 sold 6/14/2023 by Bowman to Meitz for $1,225,000, list price $1,275,000.

Once Upon A Beach

opment corporation, Cortez Road Investments and Finance, told The Islander July 13 the appeal process will keep the development from moving forward.

“I expected the appeal,” Gobuty said. “I don’t expect to lose the appeal but I can’t take the risk of building the docks. The appeal continues to negatively impact the development as we are not able to start building any more canal-side homes on the west and northwest sides of the community. Construction will continue on the east side and interior home sites.”

“They are single-handedly stopping our construction, which is causing delays and we have no end in sight to complete the homes,” Gobuty said.

The dispute between the companies has caused a delay of more than two years in the construction of homes along the canal.

Gobuty said he did not expect an appeals hearing for at least six months.

The Islander reached out by phone to MHC Cortez Village July 13 for comment but, as of Islander press time July 17, there was no response.

218 82nd St., Holmes Beach, a 1,802 sq ft

3R/2BA pool home on a 8,102 sq ft lot built in 1955 sold 6/21/2023 by Niehus to 218 82nd St LLC for $1,450,000, list price $1,595,000.

521 74th St., Holmes Beach, a 1,814 a 3BR/3BA pool home on a 10,999 sq ft lot built in 1960 sold 6/15/2023 by Cloyd to Jeffers Living Trust for $1,700,00, list price $1,875,000.

520 58th St., Holmes Beach, a 3,414 sq ft 5BR/5BA pool home on a 14,593 sq ft lot built in 1957 sold 6/12/2023 by Spitzer to Floridays 520 LLC for $2,650,000, list price $2,995,000.

621 N. Point Drive, Holmes Beach a 3,865 sq ft 4BR/5BA pool home on a 10,341 sq ft lot built in 2020 sold 4/28/2023 by Riley to Donnar for $6,000,000, list price $6,800,000.

Compiled by Island Real Estate staff. Island Real Estate can be reached at 941-778-6066, islandreal. com.

An August 2022 view of a canal that runs along Hunters Point development. Islander File Photo