The Islander Newspaper E-Edition: Wednesday, May. 08, 2024

Ticktock: Clock ticking on 2 teardowns Hearing set to oversee treehouse demo

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

A Holmes Beach treehouse remains standing almost two months after a judge called for its demolition.

Now, the court is calling for a status check.

Judge Edward Nicholas of the 12th Circuit Court issued an April 11 notice of hearing for an 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 26, compliance status conference over Zoom.

Nicholas ruled Feb. 28 that the unpermitted treehouse at the Angelinos Sea Lodge,

2818 Ave. E, must be removed within 90 days of his order.

That leaves property owners Richard Hazen and his wife, Lynn Tran-Hazen, until July 3 to demolish the structure.

If they fail to remove the treehouse by then, the city can remove it at the expense of the owners after providing at least 72 hours notice.

Nothing has changed since Nicholas’ ruling.

The city had not received a permit

Court orders Cortez house built over water removed

A structure built on pilings over the water near the Cortez coastline must come down within 120 days of a May 1 order from 12th Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas. The dispute involves the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Raymond Guthrie Jr. of Cortez. Read the story on page 5.

Documenting disaster

Barbara Ehren, president of the anna Maria Island and West Manatee Democratic Club, speaks May 4 to a crowd at Holmes Beach city field, adjacent to city hall at 5801 Marina Drive, during a rally to protest the potential consolidation or dissolution of the three island municipalities and the creation of a county parking garage in Holmes Beach. Ehren called for rallygoers to send their objections to state representatives and unseat Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, R-District 3, in the 2024 election. For more, see page 5. Islander

LEFT: a poster promotes “a true story” of “The Skyway Bridge Disaster” by filmmakers Frankie VanDeBoe and Steve yerrid. aBOVE: The freighter Summit Venture is moved by a tug boat from the wreckage of the bridge. a diver at the scene May 9, 1980, will introduce the 69-minute documentary film May 8 at Holmes Beach City Hall. The event is hosted by The Islander. For more on the disaster and The Islander event, see page 8. Islander Photo: Gene Page III

Photo: Ryan Paice

Tourist tax bump needs general election vote

By Lisa Neff Islander Editor

To raise the county tourist development tax a penny, Manatee would need the approval of voters in a general election.

The Manatee County Tourist Development Council unanimously agreed in a voice vote April 15 to recommend the county commission add a sixth cent to the bed tax and the commission was expected to consider the recommendation at an April 23 meeting.

However, the agenda item was removed based on a notice from the Florida Department of Revenue that a 2023 law changed the process for raising the tax — from commission approval to voter authorization.

The tourist development tax — also known as the resort tax or the bed tax — is collected on overnight accommodations of six months or less, including vacation rentals and hotel rooms.

Manatee County first enacted the tax in 1980 and has raised the collection figure over the years, with the last bump in 2009.

Based on the county’s 2023 tourist tax revenues, Manatee meets criteria to be a high tourism-impact

county eligible for an additional 1% tourist tax.

Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties levy 6%.

Florida counties can collect a sixth cent of tourist tax — the maximum possible — once they pass the threshold of $30 million a year in such taxes.

Manatee collected $30,090,618 in tourist tax revenues in the calendar year of 2023. Also, according to the BACVB, the county generated $625,890,749 in taxable rental revenues.

A penny increase in the tax would generate another $6 million a year.

Tourist tax revenues must be used for tourist-related programs and projects.

Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, pitched the penny increase to the TDC, highlighting capital improvements and projects that benefit visitors but also residents, including beach renourishment, pier reconstruction, airport expansion, preserve and park enhancements and the ferry service operating between Anna Maria Island and Bradenton.

Expanding the ferry service — adding a third boat

▼ Modern Chop Happy Hour 11:30-6 Light Bite Specials 4-6, lounge only.

▲ Martini Monday: Signature Martinis, $7, plus 1/2 price lite bites -- lounge only.

▼ Prime Rib Tuesdays, plus $3 Tacos and Margaritas -- 4-9, lounge only.

▲ Wine Down Wednesday, 5O% OFF Wines by the Glass

▼ Live Maine Lobster Thursdays, plus Happy Hour all nite in the lounge.

Election 2024

Registration ongoing

Voter registration is open for the August primary election in Manatee County. The deadline to register ahead of the primary is Monday, July 22.

For more, go to votemanatee.com.

On the calendar

• June 3-14, qualifying in Anna Maria.

• June 10-14, qualifying in Bradenton Beach.

• June 10-14, qualifying in Holmes Beach.

• Tuesday, Aug. 20, primary election.

• Tuesday, Nov. 5, general election.

as well as increasing operational days and adding stops at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, on Longboat Key and in Palmetto — is a BACVB goal.

Falcione said the county attorney was reviewing the 2023 legislation that changed the process for raising the tourist tax. Then the commission would need to decide whether to ask voters to increase the tax.

In addition to the bed tax, there is a 7% sales tax on short-term accommodations.

TREEHOUSE CONTINUED FROM PaGE 1 application for the treehouse’s demolition as of May 1, according to Holmes Beach planning and zoning administrator Chad Minor.

The property owners wrote in a May 1 email to The Islander that they had “retained a contractor to work on the demolition permits.”

“We’ll carefully remove each part of the tree by hand,” the Hazens wrote.

They also noted that they had fi led a notice of appeal.

However, their only active appeal as of May 2 regards a different treehouse case and was filed Feb. 16, before Nicholas’ ruling on demolition, according to the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court’s website, manateeclerk.com.

a drone photo from March captures the treehouse and the beachfront at 28th Street in Holmes Beach.

Islander Photo: Jacob Merrifield

March tourist tax collection tops $5 million

By Lisa Neff Islander Editor

Tourism roared through March, generating more than $5 million in tourist development tax revenue in Manatee County.

The county collected $5,303,173 in bed tax revenue for the month, compared to $4,647,968 in March 2023 and 4,282,499 in March 2022, according to a May 1 report from the county tax collector’s office.

The increase in March 2024 over March 2023 was 14.10%, the first double-digit percentage increase in the 2023-24 fiscal year that began in October.

The tax is a 5% levy collected on overnight accommodations of six months or less. The Manatee County Tourist Development Council in April recommended raising the tax to 6%.

Halfway through the 2023-24 fiscal year, the county has collected $16.7 million in tourist tax revenue.

On the island, Holmes Beach’s March tourist development tax earnings reached $1,503,746 — 28.31% of the total for the county.

In Bradenton Beach, the revenue was $285,478 or 5.38% of the total.

In Anna Maria, the revenue was $725,360 or

The Downtown Duchess launches with full seats May 1 from the anna Maria City Pier on its way to the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach. The boat is one of two in Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry program, which connects downtown Bradenton and the island cities. The county recently expanded the service to five days a week, Wednesday-Sunday.

Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

By Lisa Neff

The Islander poll

Last week’s question

AMI TOURISM:

Island officials might take a greater role in protecting mangroves. What do you think?

Endless Season

March tourist tax collections

March 2020: $1,782,570

March 2021: $3,169,991

March 2022: $4,282,499

March 2023: $4,647,968

March 2024: $5,303,173

Source: Manatee County Tax Collector

13.66% of the total.

Some other stats:

• Unincorporated Manatee County generated $1,915,579 or 36.07%,

• Longboat Key generated $442,627 or 8.33%;

• Bradenton generated $427,183 or 8.04%;

• Palmetto generated $11,056 or 0.21%.

The tax collector retains a 3% administrative fee, leaving the county’s net bed tax revenue for March at $5.16 million.

65%. Yes, do it.

15%. The state protection is sufficient. 11%. Why just mangroves?

8%. Property owners should decide mangroves’ fate.

This week’s question

Happy Mother’s Day. a favorite TV mom is …

A. Carol Brady.

B. Clair Huxtable.

C. Lorelai Gilmore.

D. June Cleaver.

E. Gloria Maria Ramirez-Pritchett.

F. Other.

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

The Manatee County Tourist Development Council is the advisory board that recommends how to spend resort tax revenue.

The county commission budgets the expenditures.

Revenue must be used to bolster tourism, according to state law.

Tourism-related institutions that receive resort tax funding include the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Bradenton Area Convention Center, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Realize Bradenton, a nonprofit dedicated to developing downtown Bradenton.

Tourism-related projects that have been funded by the tax include island beach renourishment, construction of the new Anna Maria City Pier and the launch of the Gulf Islands Ferry service between Bradenton and the island.

April bed tax revenue data will be released in early June.

Meeting set to discuss Palma Sola medians

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Manatee County’s plans to “improve” a pair of medians on the Palma Sola Causeway were dropped last year after proving to be controversial.

Less than a year later, the county is once more pushing to install new landscaping in the medians.

The Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity will hold a special meeting to discuss the matter at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, at the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization office, 8100 15th St. E., Sarasota, according to vice chair Ingrid McClellan.

The CME is part of the Florida Scenic Highway program and serves as caretaker for the 4.6-mile stretch of Manatee Avenue, from its intersection with 75th Street West in Bradenton to the intersection with Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach.

The scenic highway also runs south along East Bay Drive to 27th Street in Bradenton Beach, where the Bradenton Beach Scenic Highway begins.

The county applied last May for a Florida Department of Transportation permit to improve a pair of Manatee Avenue medians on Perico Island by removing six oak trees and nine sabal palms, as well as ground cover, and then planting Alexander palm and royal palm trees, a sod border and new irrigation.

The CME voiced opposition to the county plans to remove live oak trees and sabal palms, which were planted in 2008 with funding from a DOT joint agreement project with the city of Bradenton and the county.

CME members argued that removing the existing trees would be a waste of money and regular maintenance could better improve the medians.

The county dropped its proposal last June but has since reached an interlocal agreement with the city of Bradenton making it responsible for the causeway’s landscaping and maintenance.

The county applied April 18 with the DOT to make

Motorists drive May 1 past a Manatee avenue median on Perico Island, where Manatee County wants to replace the existing landscaping. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

the same changes it proposed last year. It requested the CME hold the June 12 special meeting for feedback on the matter.

McClellan told The Islander May 1 that she could not speak for other CME members, but believed they would reach the same conclusion reached last year.

“It’s most likely going to be a repeat,” McClellan said.

She added that representatives from the Bradenton Tree & Land Preservation Board, Florida Forest Service and Manatee County Environmental Lands Management and Acquisition Committee planned to attend the meeting.

While the county now controls the landscaping and maintenance, the CME might still have a say in the situation.

Such changes would require permitting from the DOT, which could consider the CME’s feedback.

The June 12 special meeting will be open to the public.

By Lisa Neff

ANNA MARIA CITY

May 9, 2 p.m., commission.

May 23, 6 p.m., commission.

City hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, 941-708-6130, cityofannamaria. com.

BRADENTON BEACH

May 15, 1 p.m., ScenicWAVES.

May 16, noon, commission.

City hall, 107 Gulf Drive N., 941-778-1005, cityofbradentonbeach.com.

HOLMES BEACH

May 8, 9 a.m., clean water committee.

May 14, 2 p.m., commission.

May 17, 11:30 a.m., police pension.

May 22, 5 p.m., planning.

May 28, 2 p.m., commission.

City hall, 5801 Marina Drive, 941-708-5800, holmesbeachfl. org.

WEST MANATEE FIRE RESCUE

May 21, 6 p.m., commission.

Administration building, 701 63rd St. W., Bradenton, 941-7611555, wmfr.org.

MANATEE COUNTY

May 14, 9 a.m., commission.

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

ALSO OF INTEREST

May 13, 2 p.m., Island Transportation Planning Organization, Anna Maria City Hall.

May 20, 9 a.m., Sarasota/Manatee MPO, Doubletree by Hilton, 8009 15th St. E., Sarasota.

May 27, Memorial Day, most government offices will be closed, as will The Islander.

Send notices to calendar@islander.org.

Coquina Beach Market

Wednesday, May 8th

Friday, May 10th (10 AM - 4 PM) CLOSED SUNDAY May 12 Mother’s Day

NEW LOCATION: The Coquina Beach Market is located on the very South end of Anna Maria Island. If driving, take the South entrance to the park before the Longboat Pass bridge. If taking the trolley, walk South from the Café to the end of the island.

Judge orders demo of Cortez stilt house

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

A structure built on pilings over the water off the Cortez coastline must come down within 120 days.

Twelfth Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas said May 1 that the man who built up the structure, Raymond Guthrie Jr., must remove it within 120 days, according to Karen Bell, a Cortez business owner who’s supported Guthrie in his legal tangle to protect the structure. Bell attended a Zoom hearing in the court case involving Guthrie, the defendant, and, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the plaintiff.

The DEP has been seeking enforcement of a 2019 ruling, also by Nicholas, against Guthrie with the aim of demolishing the structure.

The DEP said Guthrie built the stilt house without permission on sovereign state submerged lands.

Guthrie maintains it is an old net camp.

The legal battle dates to 2018.

A judgment Feb. 25, 2019, went in the DEP’s favor and instructed Guthrie to dismantle the structure.

However, from Feb. 21, 2021, to Aug. 2, 2023, the DEP failed to prosecute, according to court records.

On May 4, 2023, Nicholas granted a defense motion and dismissed the case, citing the DEP’s failure to prosecute.

But the DEP continued pursuing Nicholas’ order to remove the stilt house, and, in November 2023, the case was reopened based on the DEP’s claim it did not receive proper notification of court deadlines.

Bell has worked with Guthrie to prevent the removal of the structure, which she and others in the Cortez community have said is historic and worth preservation.

Net camps were used to clean, dry and store cotton nets but their usage declined with the availability of synthetic net materials that are more resistant to rot.

The Islander reached out to the DEP by email April 23 and April 25 but the DEP did not fulfill The Islander’s information request.

The Islander reached out to Guthrie, who declined comment April 25.

FISH to hold general membership meeting

The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage will hold a general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 13, at Fishermen’s Hall, 4511 124th St. W., Cortez.

The nonprofit is not holding elections this year.

A notice for the meeting read, “You will hear about the many things that happened over the last 12 months! There is much to report, and we have great things coming in 2024-25!”

For more, call FISH at 941-301-4000.

Plan now for the next holiday!

Is your business ready to make the most of 2024? Improve your odds of success with Islander newspaper readers looking to shop and dine, seeking indoor and outdoor fun, and a place to stay for their next visit. For ad info, call or text 941778-7978.

a rallygoer dressed May 4 as Kevin-Kyle Kaczynski-Von Oswald, a youTube persona, holds a “Home Rule” QR code directing people to a series of animated videos criticizing Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge and other officials.

Volunteers guide rallygoers May 4 in signing prewritten letters of opposition against the potential consolidation of the island municipalities to state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and Rep. Will Robinson, R-Bradenton. Islander

Photos: Ryan Paice

Islanders gather in protest

Diana Shoemaker, a Democratic candidate for Manatee County’s District 3 commission seat currently held by Kevin Van Ostenbridge, voices support May 4 for municipal home rule and calls for rallygoers’ votes to unseat the incumbent in November’s election. Shoemaker accused Van Ostenbridge of spurring on the state’s consolidation study and the county’s pursuit of a parking garage in Holmes Beach.

LEFT: Holmes Beach City Commissioner Dan Diggins voices his opposition May 4 to the potential consolidation of the three island municipalities.

Now offeri Ng Perma NeNt Jewelry !

Bring your memories…

My first trip to the West Coast of Florida was in September 1972.

The trip south was on a Piper Cherokee, 9252P, and we landed at Lakeland Linder Airport, where I had arranged for my brother, Bill Eller, to pick me up.

The airstrip was surrounded by cattle — brahma bulls — and love bugs, both of which I’d never encountered.

I can’t recall when I fi rst crossed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, but I immediately found it every bit as thrilling as a roller coaster.

After I moved to AMI in 1975, a friend and myself took off one day to visit the Clearwater Aquarium.

On our way across the down slope on the northbound span of the Skyway, I tapped the brakes to watch a dolphin leaping in Tampa Bay.

Soon I would be crossing the bridge in my open Jeep CJ7, leaning out the door to look down through the bridge grading, which made it ever so thrilling.

By 1980, I was renting a small house with a view of the bridge across the street from the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria and, after a quick squall, I headed to the breakfast spot now known as Minnie’s, following my partner, reporter/photographer Paul Roat.

As I approached the city pier, I saw three people tugging at a pair of binoculars while looking toward the Skyway Bridge.

I was curious, so I flicked my radio on, and immediately heard the announcer shouting — “Skyway disaster, Skyway disaster!”

I went into panic mode, frantically honking my horn at Paul in his VW bus just ahead of me.

“Turn on the radio!,” I yelled to him when he stopped. And he did not hesitate.

“Call Don, call everyone. Tell them I took all the film from the (Islander) office,” and he was off, racing his bus up Pine Avenue to the old Islander office and the disaster.

He was on the northbound span shooting nearly all day. And Gene Page III, who lived on Key Royale and was a “frequent shooter” for the newspaper, left by boat to cover the scene from the water.

The Islander — then owned by Don Moore — was just a little weekly, but they put out a special section with those photos and won awards at state competitions. And I wish I could get my hands on a copy.

I can’t imagine anyone living on Anna Maria Island who didn’t feel a strong connection to that bridge — so close, so vivid and so spectacular on a clear day.

I hope you bring your memories to view the documentary May 8 at city hall.

— Bonner Joy, news@islander.org

Your

Opinion

Hello turtles!

Readers on The Islander’s Facebook page cheered the first sea turtle nest of the 2024 season on AMI, thanked Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring and encouraged beachgoers to respect the turtles and nests.

“Hope the young kids that come down there nowadays respect those areas.”

— Tom Rozek

Skimming online

Website: islander.org

Facebook: islandernewspaper

Instagram: @theislanderami

Pinterest: @islandernewspaper

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Connections, AMI & beyond

▼ 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

Masha Dolgoff, masha@islander.org

Jack Elka, jack@jackelka.com

Robyn Murrell, robyn@islander.org

Ryan Paice, ryan@islander.org

▼ Contributors

Karen Riley-Love

Jacob Merrifield

Capt. Danny Stasny, fish@islander.org

▼ 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

“Now let’s stop the tourists from picking up the turtles to take a picture.”

— Joseph Becht

Judy Loden Wasco

All others: news@islander.org

“Thank you all for all you do!”

— Lori Harben

“My favorite time of year! Lights out for the mommas and the hatchlings.”

— Natalie Ring

“Hoping the nests stay high and dry and we see hatchlings in July.”

— Mickey Arnold

Sending letters

We welcome letters to the editor. Submit your comments — 250 words or less to news@islander. org. Letters must include a name and a phone number for verification and a city of residency for publication.

Longer letters will be edited for space limitations.

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

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

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

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

Florida Senate: Republican Jim Boyd, 941742-6445, boyd.jim.web@flsenate.gov.

Florida House : Republican William Cloud “Will” Robinson Jr., 941-708-4968, will.robinson@myfloridahouse.gov.

Florida Governor : Republican Ron DeSantis, 850-717-9337, flgov.com.

U.S. House: Republican Vern Buchanan, 941951-6643, rep.vern.buchanan@mail.house.gov.

U.S. Senate : Republican Marco Rubio, 305-596-4224; Republican Rick Scott, 786-5017141.

President : Democrat Joe Biden, 202-4561111, whitehouse.gov/contact.

Construction is underway on a second span on the former Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1968. Islander Photos: Courtesy Manatee County Public Library Services

Engineering the skyway a team with Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Hall and MacDonald Engineers poses in the early 1950s. The firm worked on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay, as well as the Sunshine State Parkway between Fort Pierce and Hollywood and the John E. Matthews Bridge in Jacksonville.

a.W “Bud” Brown, seated by a post and wearing a plaid shirt, served as foreperson and lived on anna Maria Island.

a military honor guard stands on the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge near a toll booth for opening ceremonies in 1954.

Check the archives Some years ago, The Islander was invited to take part in a project with the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. We donated our newspapers, beginning with the first issue in 1992. Look for The Islander in the UofF Florida collection at ufdc.ufl.edu.

We’d love to mail you the news!

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We bring you all the news about three city governments, community happenings, people features and special events … even real estate transactions … everything you need if your “heart is on Anna Maria Island.”

If you don’t live here year-round, use this form to subscribe by snail mail for yourself or someone else. Sorry, we do not suspend mail subscriptions — you get The Islander free while you’re here!

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10, 20, 30 years ago

From the May 5, 1994, issue

• The last four of five undeveloped lots at Anna Maria’s Bean Point, seven acres at the northern tip of the island, were sold at a public auction, each for $200,000 or less. Buyers also had to pay back taxes.

• A staff attorney with the Save the Manatee Club informed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection of opposition to proposed construction of a new Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue.

From the May 5, 2004, issue

• A $4,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in connection to an arson at the Waterfront Restaurant in Anna Maria. The Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention, Manatee County Crimestoppers and island businessman Ed Chiles pledged money.

• An island 5K run raised money for the Children’s Academy of Southwest Florida Inc.

• Peter Barreda resigned his Ward 3 seat on the Bradenton Beach commission citing increased workloads from serving as an elected official and owning the Cortez Kitchen in Cortez.

From the May 7, 2014, issue

• The National Weather Service in Ruskin reported that by noon May 3, 2014, 7.01 inches of rain had soaked Anna Maria Island in less than 24 hours. More rain was expected, prompting the cancellation of Food and Wine on Pine in Anna Maria.

• Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring marked its first bird nest of the 2014 season, staking an area on the Gulf shore in Holmes Beach to protect nesting least terns. — Lisa Neff

DOT diver recounts Skyway disaster

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

A diver who recovered bodies 44 years ago this week after a section of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapsed into Tampa Bay is diving into his recollections of that day.

Robert R. Raiola, a diver and former Florida Department of Transportation senior underwater bridge inspector, will moderate at an island screening of a documentary on the disaster.

Filmmakers Frankie VanDeBoe and Steve Yerrid created the 2019 film, “The Skyway Bridge Disaster,” which will screen at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 8, at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

The documentary offers a retelling of the events of the disaster May 9, 1980, through firsthand accounts and archival footage, gaining insight into the experiences of those involved.

Raiola spoke with The Islander May 1 about the documentary and his role in the recovery of the bodies from the waters under the bridge.

On the morning of May 9, 1980, Raiola and his dive partner, former Navy diver Mike Betz, stopped to get coffee on their way to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge for what should have been another day of bridge inspections.

Raiola said Tampa Bay was shrouded in dense fog and the weather service was calling for conditions that would reduce visibility to a few yards.

At the same time, Capt. John Lerro, a harbor pilot, accompanied by Bruce Atkins, a co-pilot trainee, were enroute to Tampa on a 20,000-ton freighter, the MV Summit Venture. Their mission was to guide the vessel to the Port of Tampa, where it would be loaded with 28,000 tons of phosphate destined for Asia.

As the freighter approached the bridge, a squall descended, further diminishing visibility and producing wind gusts exceeding 50 mph. As the ship was piloted toward the narrow opening of the bridge, Lerro took command from Atkins.

As the storm intensified, the vessel moved laterally in the wind and Lerro ordered the anchor dropped and the engines reversed.

But inertia carried the vessel into the pilings of the southbound span, causing almost a quarter mile of the roadbed to collapse into the water.

Cars, trucks and a Greyhound bus hurtled into the gap of the bridge, plunging 150 feet into the water.

Thirty-five people, all of them in vehicles that had been crossing the bridge, died.

‘The Skyway Bridge Disaster: A True Story’ premieres in HB May 8

Raiola, retired DOT diver, and his partner Mike

pose at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge memorial, located along the edge of the bridge near the southern end of the rest area. The memorial includes the names of the 35 people who died in the 1980 tragedy when a freighter lost its way in a storm and hit the bridge. Islander Photo: Courtesy Robert Raiola

There was but one survivor in the water, Wesley MacIntire, who emerged from the wreckage of his truck after a section of the roadway fell onto the deck of the Summit Venture and then rolled off into the bay. MacIntire had to wait for his truck to hit bottom before he could get free and ascend to the surface, where he clung to bridge wreckage until he was rescued by crewmembers aboard the Summit Venture.

Raiola and Betts, in a bid to wait out the weather, had stopped in a cafe near the bridge. When they heard about the collapse from an emergency news broadcast on the cafe TV, they took off for what would be anything other than another day at work.

They headed for a boat ramp near the bridge and were waved through by law enforcement. They loaded up and headed into the fog.

Raiola said the fog was so dense, he and Betz had to rely on their boat’s compass to reach the bridge.

When they arrived, student crews from Eckerd

The Islander will host the premiere Wednesday, May 8, of a 69-minute documentary, “The Skyway Bridge Disaster: A True Story.”

The doors at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive, will open at 6:30 p.m. Moderator Robert Raiola, a diver who helped recover bodies from the bay, will open the program at 7 p.m.

The documentary tells the story of how, in a squall, the Summit Venture collided with a bridge support column, sending more than 1,200 feet of the bridge into the bay.

The Islander also will raffle archival photographs taken at the scene of the bridge collapse by the late editor/photographer for many years at The Islander, Paul Roat.

Any seats not reserved in advance will be open seating the night of the event.

Proceeds will benefit the local U.S. Coast Guard Flotilla 81’s nonprofit Safe Seas of Florida.

For tickets or more information, call The Islander at 941-778-7978 or email news@islander. org.

— Lisa Neff

College Search and Rescue were in the water.

Raiola identified himself and Betz as DOT inspectors and coordinated victim recovery with the Eckerd volunteers.

“We had a 16-foot boat and they had a 24- and a 26-footer and eight people,” he said.

With a likelihood of debris falling from above, he pressed the issue of safety with the Eckerd team.

“I was a professional diver, that’s what I did. I swam 4.1 miles of that bridge on several occasions,” Raiola said. “I knew what I was getting into when I signed up and I knew what I was getting into as soon as I saw that bridge down.”

Raiola fashioned a plan. He and Betz would dive into the current under the bridge to recover victims and hand them to the Eckerd team to be transported to Fort DeSoto Park.

“When we were 4-5 feet below the surface, the first thing I saw was Mike Curtain,” he said, referring to the driver of a Greyhound bus carrying 23 passengers.

Raiola said the entire time he and Betz worked to locate and recover people, they were on alert for falling debris or signs the bus might shift or roll in the current.

The bus had settled upside down on top of some of the fallen bridge girders with the back wheels protruding out of the water.

“I could hear the bridge creaking. I could hear the bridge still settling,” he said.

Despite the dangers, he and Betz continued their efforts, making repeated dives into the bus.

Raiola, a retired U.S. Marine who saw combat in the Vietnam War, became emotional as he recounted the sight of the bodies on the bus and the effort to retrieve Curtain and others.

He and Betz worked for 40 minutes, recovering eight bus passengers, until being told to stop by the U.S. Coast Guard.

“They shut down everybody,” he said. “All the divers, everybody was out of the water by 10 a.m.”

In the years since, he’s learned the names of the people whose bodies he recovered — and about their families, where they were from and what they did.

Raiola emphasized the importance of remembering the victims and the importance of the documentary as a way for the public, 44 years later, to learn what transpired.

The Summit Venture was repaired and returned to service but sank off the coast of Vietnam in 2010.

Lerro, whose attorney was filmmaker Steve Yerrid, was later cleared of wrongdoing by a state grand jury and an investigation that concluded the freighter was hit by a microburst containing torrential rains and high winds, reducing visibility to near zero and rendering the ship’s radar useless.

“There was a lot obviously rushed to print, misinformation, etc.,” Raiola said.

He said VanDeBoe and Yerrid felt it was important to set the record straight on what happened on that May day in 1980.

Robert

Betz,

an Eckerd College marine rescue team was on the scene at the Skyway Bridge disaster and lending a hand to the FDOT dive team recovery operations amid the wreckage.

Islander File

Photo: Paul Roat

a Florida Highway Patrol officer helps secure a Buick stopped at the edge of the mangled Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Driver Richard Hornbuckle of St. Petersburg stopped just shy of disaster that day, having walked back from the brink with his three passengers.

Islander File

Photo: Paul Roat

May Day, May Day

“The bridge is down. Call all emergency equipment onto the Skyway Bridge. The Skyway Bridge is down. This is a major emergency situation. Stop the traffic on that Skyway Bridge.”

— Capt. John Lerro, Summit Venture pilot, distress call, May 9, 1980. Islander File Photo: Paul Roat

From the record

At 7:34 a.m. May 9, 1980, the Liberian bulk carrier Summit Venture rammed a support pier of the western span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

About 1,297 feet of bridge deck and superstructure fell 150 feet into Tampa Bay, according to the investigation report released by the National Transportation Safety Board in March 1981.

The NTSB determined the probable cause of the accident to be the Summit Venture’s unexpected encounter with severe weather, the failure of the National Weather Service to issue a severe weather warning for mariners and the failure of the Summit Venture to abandon transit after losing visual and radar navigational references in the rain.

The NTSB conducted a 10-day hearing where 28 people testified.

These are the words of a few witnesses, according to the report.

• “I started reviewing my options immediately … The rains came but the wind has to be 30 to 10, 20, 30 seconds later. I don’t know how long,” the Summit Venture pilot-trainee said about the intense weather that obliterated the radar screen.

“Make the anchors ready for dropping,” the Summit Venture pilot said he told the ship’s master as he saw the rain fill the radar screen and tried, unsuccessfully, to sight a buoy using binoculars.

“Buoy starboard bow,” the pilot trainee said he reported when he could see buoys again.

“Where captain, where on the starboard bow? I have to know,” the pilot said he replied, and then he ordered the pilot-trainee to “change to the next course.”

• “Lighter than usual,” two tollbooth operators testified, describing traffic on the bridge that morning.

• “I could see the red airplane warning lights atop the bridge structure on the west side of the bridge. Suddenly those red lights fell from their original position to a point out of my view below the roadway ahead,” testifi ed a motorist at the wheel of a slow-moving Chevy on the bridge who stopped safely.

“It seemed to wave and roll as it was falling,” the driver testified, adding that he backed up. “After I stopped, I remembered about three cars and then a bus passed traveling southbound.”

• “The pickup started to bob up and down. … But then I, like, started to drop over a high part, and at this point I looked and there I seen the ship. I was looking down at the ship. And I knew, you know, what had happened,” testified another driver. He was at the wheel of a pickup that went off the bridge.

He was the only survivor of the 36 who went off the bridge in the collapse.

— Lisa Neff

Do you remember the day the bridge collapsed? Share your recollections online at islander.org or email news@islander.org.

Nov. 14-24, Island Players’ “A Doublewide, Texas Christmas,” Anna Maria.

MARKETS & SALES

ONGOING ON AMI

Compiled by Lisa Neff, calendar@islander.org

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ONGOING ON AMI

Through May 12, Island Players’ “The Woman in Black,” 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Fee applies. Information: 941-778-5755, theislandplayers.org.

OFF AMI

Wednesday, May 8

1 p.m. — Screening “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” the Longboat Key Paradise Center for Healthy Living, 546 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Information: 941-383-6493.

Wednesday, May 15

1 p.m. — Screening “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” the Longboat Key Paradise Center for Healthy Living, 546 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key. Information: 941-383-6493.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Through May, “Harmony: Lines, Shapes and Color” photography exhibit by David Tejada, Island Gallery and Studios, 456 Old Main St., Bradenton. Information: 941-778-6648, islandgalleryandstudios.com.

Through June 23, “Mountains of the Mind: Scholars’ Rocks from China and Beyond” exhibit, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-360-7390.

Through June 30, “Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe,” Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 1534 Mound St., Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-366-5731.

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.

Saturdays, 10:30 a.m., art demos, Island Gallery and Studios, 456 Old Main St., Bradenton. Information: 941-778-6648, islandgalleryandstudios.org.

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

SAVE THE DATES

Most Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Coquina Beach Market, Coquina Beach, Bradenton Beach. Information: 941840-0789, coquinabeachmarket.org.

KIDS & FAMILY ON AMI

Friday, May 10

10 a.m. — 40 Carrots, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

2:30 p.m. — Under the Sea Tea Party, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341. Tuesday, May 14

10 a.m. — Family storytime, 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: 941-7464131.

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

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

SAVE THE DATES

May 18, Bradentown’s Birthday Bash at the Market, Bradenton.

June 3-Aug. 2, Center of Anna Maria Island Summer Camps, Anna Maria.

CLUBS & COMMUNITY ON AMI

Thursday, May 9

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

ONGOING ON AMI

Most Saturdays, 8:30 a.m., Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-778-1383.

Second Mondays, 2 p.m., Center of Anna Maria Island Adult Book Club, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria. Information: 941-7781908.

ing, Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive. Information: 941778-7978.

Wednesday, May 15

10 a.m. — Kickstart Creative Writing, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341. 2 p.m. — Intro to Butterfly Gardening, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

ONGOING ON AMI

Tuesdays through August, 10 a.m., Anna Maria Island and Shorebird Monitoring Turtle Talks, Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: islandturtlewatch.com, info@islandturtlewatch.com, 941-301-8434.

SPORTS & GAMES

ONGOING ON AMI

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

Fridays, noon, bridge, Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. Information: 314-324-5921. Most Fridays, 11:30 a.m., mahjong club experienced players, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941778-6341.

Mondays, 10 a.m., morning yoga, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Through Sept. 1, Bradenton Marauders home games, LECOM Park, 1611 Ninth St. W., Bradenton. Fee apples. Information: 941-7473031.

OUTDOORS & NATURE

Tuesday, May 14

8 a.m. — Wild FL 101: Bird Songs, Leffis Key, 2351 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-748-4501. OFF AMI

Friday, May 10

8 a.m. — Oyster shell gardening, Robinson Preserve, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923, mymanatee. org.

Monday, May 13

May 16, Manatee Music Series concert with Paul Fournier, Bradenton.

May 23-Aug. 31, the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature Laser Light Nights, Bradenton.

Sept. 19-29, Island Players’ “Crimes of the Heart,” Anna Maria.

Most Tuesdays, noon, Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Bridge Street Bistro, 111 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. Information: 941-718-5583.

SAVE THE DATES

May 18, “Hoop for Hope” beach event, Holmes Beach. May 28, Keep Manatee Beautiful/Holmes Beach Beach Cleanup, Holmes Beach.

June 4, Keep Manatee Beautiful Palma Sola Causeway Park Cleanup, Bradenton.

LESSONS & LEARNING

Wednesday, May 8

10 a.m. — Kickstart Creative Writing, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341. 6:30 p.m. — Islander Sunshine Skyway documentary screen-

6:30 p.m. — Sunset Tai Chi at the NEST, Robinson Preserve, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923, mymanatee.org.

ONGOING OFF AMI

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

CALENDAR NOTES

KEEP THE DATES

Through Oct. 31, sea turtle nesting season. Lights out! May 12, Mother’s Day.

May 27, Memorial Day.

June 1-Nov. 30, Atlantic hurricane season. Be prepared!

June 14, Flag Day.

June 16, Father’s Day.

June 19, Juneteenth.

June 20, summer solstice.

Chilling closer concludes 75th season

By Robyn Murrell Islander Reviewer

The Island Players concludes its 2023-24 season with the production of “The Woman in Black” by Susan Hill and Stephen Mallatratt, directed by Kelly Wynn Woodland and co-produced by Bortell’s Lounge of Anna Maria.

Opening night May 2 at the theater, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, had audience members looking over their shoulders.

“The Woman in Black” is a ghost story that follows Arthur Kipps, a lawyer haunted by a terrifying encounter at Eel Marsh House, a secluded estate in the English countryside.

As Kipps narrated his experiences, the audience was taken on a journey through the ominous Vale of Death surrounding the property.

The play-within-a-play format added layers of tension and complexity as the actors brought their unique styles to the production.

As the play progressed, the distinction between reality and fiction became unclear, intensifying the suspense for the characters and their audience.

Audience members were captivated, with only two of three cast members taking the stage, drawing their focus to the narrative.

Of course, chilling appearances from the Woman in Black herself added to the intrigue.

Tom Horton, originally from England and based out of Sarasota, portrays Arthur Kipps during the play’s run.

Mark Lennon, left, Tahila Chainault and Tom Horton take a bow May 2 on the Island Players stage following the opening night performance of “The Woman in Black” at the theater, 10009 Gulf Drive, anna Maria.

Kipps, as the protagonist and narrator, guided the audience through his terrifying encounters at Eel Marsh House.

Mark Lennon portrayed The Actor on opening night, skillfully taking on various roles. From villagers to spectral figures, Lennon embodied each character from Kipps’s past, bringing them to life with depth and complexity.

Mark Woodland was listed as The Actor in the playbill but he did not take the stage opening night.

Tahila Chainault portrays the Woman in Black during the run.

Through her performance, Chainault captured a chilling atmosphere, adding to the horror of the play.

Pamela Hopkins, the costume designer, excelled in capturing the essence of the character through her design and makeup — on par with movie transformations like those seen in “The Fly” or “Beetlejuice,” showcasing Hopkin’s talent and attention to detail.

“The Woman in Black” continues through Sunday, May 12, at the theater, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria.

Tickets are $28 for adults and $18 for students with ID at theislandplayers.org.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sunday. The theater is dark Monday.

For more information, contact the Island Players box office at 941-778-5755 or go online at theislandplayers.org.

The Island Players are selling subscriptions for the

Subscription sales will close Sept. 1, when the theater group will begin regular ticket sales for the season. The season will open at the Anna Maria playhouse, 10009 Gulf Drive, with “Crimes of the Heart,” Sept. 19-29.

Other shows in the lineup include “A Doublewide, Texas Christmas” Nov. 14-24, “Birthday Suite” Jan. 9-26, 2025; “Death by Design” March 13-30, 2025; and “Grace and Glorie” May 8-18, 2025. For more, call the box office at 941-778-5755.

Hands on at Mote center Caden Dyer, 10, of Concord, Massachusetts, reaches april 23 into a touch tank at the Mote Marine Laboratory & aquarium’s Marine Science Education and Outreach Center on the anna Maria City Pier, in anna Maria. Mote’s hours are 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Islander Photo: Robyn Murrell

Picture a time in the village: Children’s book celebrates Cortez

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

Here’s one for story hour.

“A Fisherman and His Boat” was written by Louise Lee and Richard Floethe, a couple from Sarasota, who in the 1950s and ’60s visited Cortez and created a children’s book about the fishing village.

During a Suncoast Remake Learning Day event April 20 in the village, Cortez Village Historical Society president Cindy Rodgers displayed the book from the collection of Cortez business owner Karen Bell.

The book, released in 1961 by Scribner’s Publishing, follows a fisherman living in a small Florida village as he sets his nets, fishes and cares for his boat.

Ronald Floethe, the authors’ son, spoke at the event about his parents and their depiction of the village, as many Cortez homes and buildings inspired Richard’s illustrations.

“My mother and father collaborated on many children’s picture books,” Ronald Floethe said. “I remember coming here and you can see pictures that look like buildings that still exist today. So it makes for a great book.”

Louise and Richard Floethe married in 1937 and built a family and a partnership in the world of children’s literature. Their interest in storytelling and illustration blossomed amid the backdrop of Sarasota Bay.

Richard would sketch or film scenes while Louise documented their observations in writing.

“I just remember going up and my father would have his sketch pad,” Ronald recalled of outings to Cortez.

Both Richard and Louise died in 1988 and while their book is no longer in print, used copies can be found online.

And Richard Floethe’s artwork is shown in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art and the Delaware Art Museum.

The couple also nurtured a new generation of storytellers.

Ronald Floethe established a film production company specializing in children’s educational films.

Another son, Stephen, a veteran of TV news, also got into producing.

And, together with their mother, they produced a myriad collection of children’s films.

LBK center screens ‘Live to 100’ series

The Longboat Key Paradise Center for Healthy Living is screening “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” and hosting watch parties at 1 p.m. Mondays in May.

In the early 2000s, best-selling author Dan Buettner collaborated with National Geographic to reverse-engineer a formula for longevity. Buettner scoured the globe in pursuit of places where people live much longer than average — Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California — and the

concept of “Blue Zones” came to fruition.

“Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” takes viewers around the world to investigate the diet, behavior and lifestyles of those living the longest, most vibrant lives.

The center also offers a variety of meetings and classes, especially fitness classes.

The center is at 546 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key.

For more information, call 941-383-6493.

Cortez Village Historical Society president Cynthia Rodgers, right, holds a copy of “a Fisherman and His Boat” while Ronald Floethe, the son of authors Louise and Richard Floethe, speaks at an april 20 event. Islander Photo: Robert anderson

LEFT: Children’s book authors Louise Lee, right, and Richard Floethe pose in 1969. Islander Courtesy Photo

The cover to the 1961 “a Fisherman and His Boat.” Islander Courtesy Photo

The Longboat Key Paradise Center for Healthy Living is hosting a series of “watch parties” for “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” which also is showing on Netflix. Islander Courtesy Photo: Netflix

Glittery gala

aME Parent-Teacher

Organization Spring Gala

attendees Eric and Susan Siragusa, left, Melissa and Kirk Reed, Marisa and Lucas Cusimano and Michelle and Gerado Urbiola show their Seventies flare. about 140 people attended the gala april 27 at the Center of anna Maria Island in anna Maria. PTO vice president Caroline Leibfried emailed The Islander april 29, “It was a wonderful evening! ... Our community came together to support our school.” Islander Photo: Courtesy aME PTO

Registration opens for summer camp

The Center of Anna Maria Island is registering kids for summer camps that begin June 3. The center, 407 Magnolia Ave., plans three categories of camps: Summer My Way Camp, Adventure Time Teen Camp and Specialty Camps.

• Summer My Way will be for kids as young as kindergarten up to fifth-grade, with enrollment in a sports-themed or discovery program.

• The teen camp will be for young people grades sixth-ninth and feature “center fun” and Tuesday and Thursday trips.

• The all-ages specialty camps will focus on babysitting, tennis, tumbling, soccer, photography, Lego building, archery, lacrosse, baking, fishing and crafts such as tie-dye and sun printing. For more information, contact the center at 941778-1908 or youthprograms@centerami.org.

— Lisa Neff

Adding up honors

aME fifth-graders asher Patel, left, and Cooper Pitkin, along with teacher Stephanie Davis, pose for a photo following the School District of Manatee County Math Superstars april 27 at Manatee Technical College in Bradenton. asher and Cooper placed third, competing against teams from 32 elementary schools. Both aME students received a certificate, $20 cash and more. Islander Courtesy Photo

WE TWEET TOO

•

•

•

Aug. 12, first day of 2024-25 for students. AME is at 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. For more, call the school at 941-708-5525.

SARASOTA GEM

years. We welcome our long-time friends and encourage new patrons from Anna Maria Island to shop here!

4 AND 6

By Lisa Neff

Gloria Dei team taking stock

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church formed a transition team that includes council members of the Holmes Beach church, as well as newer members.

One of the team’s goals was to conduct a site profile and, according to a notice in the church bulletin, the team identified the following:

• Anna Maria Island is transitioning from a residential island to a transient destination. “It used to be 70% residential and 30% vacation rentals. Today it is just the opposite.”

• Most members who had been island residents relocated to northwest Bradenton.

• 12 of the team’s member families live on the island full-time or part-time.

• Donations declined 7% in 2023 and membership also has declined.

“As the demographics of the island are changing, so is Gloria Dei,” read the transition team notice, which added that it’s work will continue over the next several months.

Roser readies kids’ musical

Roser Memorial Community Church will present a kids cast in Noah’s Rockin’ Ark Adventure Musical at 7 p.m. Friday, May 10.

The Roser Youth Performing Arts will present the musical written by Ken Medema and Mark Cabaniss and arranged by Ruth Elaine Schram.

The evening will include a presentation of flowers to women in the audience, as well as a reception to greet the cast with treats following from Holy Cow Ice Cream in Holmes Beach.

Roser is at 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria.

For more information call the church at 941-7780414, email info@roserchurch.com or go to roserchurch.com.

Chapel to host blood drive

The Longboat Island Chapel will host a blood drive in its parking lot 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 18.

The chapel is at 6200 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key.

For more information, call the office at 941-3836491.

Tidings

Wednesday, May 8

Seed to feed

Volunteers in 2022 pack seeds at Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine ave., anna Maria, supporting the global Hope Seeds missionary project. Volunteers continue to gather at the church to support the mission. The next seed-packing will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 8, in the church fellowship hall. For more information, call the church at 941-778-0414. Islander File Photo

Compiled by Lisa

Neff

9 a.m.-noon — Roser Memorial Community Church Hope Seeds packing, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. Info: 941-778-0414. Friday, May 10

7 p.m. — Roser Church “Noah’s Rockin’ Ark Adventure” musical, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria. Info: 941-778-0414.

Saturday, May 11

2 p.m. — The Episcopal Church of the Annunciation hosts author Diana Ward discussing the stigma of mental health and addiction, 4408 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-1638.

Sunday, May 12

10:30 a.m. — St. Bernard Catholic Church crowning of the Marian statue, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-7784769.

SAVE THE DATES

May 18, Longboat Island Chapel blood drive, Longboat Key. May 28, Longboat Island Chapel BBQ Demo Party, Longboat Key.

June 3-7, Roser Church vacation Bible school, Anna Maria. June 17-21, CrossPointe Fellowship vacation Bible school, Holmes Beach.

GET LISTED, CHANGE LISTINGS

Send listings to calendar@islander.org.

BBPD sets sights on sights

Police Chief John Cosby accepts a $4,500 donation May 2 from Dave Shevchik, vice president of the anna Maria Island Moose Lodge, during a Bradenton Beach City Commission meeting at city hall. The funds are to buy green dot optic sights — a type of firearm sight that uses a green LED to project a dot onto a lens in front of the shooter’s eye. Islander Photo: Robert anderson

Craig Ramberger constructs props for “Noah’s Rockin’ ark adventure,” which he’s directing Friday, May 10, at Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine ave., anna Maria. Islander Courtesy Photo

Nancy Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Killen Green

Nancy Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Killen Green, 79, of Bradenton died Sept. 7, 2022.

As per her wishes, the family will host a celebration of her life on what would have been her 81st birthday weekend, at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at Bayfront Park in Anna Maria. Refreshments and appetizers will be served.

A Facebook event page for the celebration is planned.

She was born May 22, 1943 at Tampa General Hospital to R.H. and Alice Merle (Collins) Killen.

She was in the Lakeland High School class of 1961, earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Atlantic University and later, a master’s degree in varying exceptionalities in education from the University of South Florida. Her last post before retirement was at Bashaw Elementary in Bradenton.

She was the greatest light in our family. She spread joy and was the best example of unconditional love. In retirement, she spent countless hours with her great-grandchildren and great-nieces.

She is sorely missed.

Beach event to raise mental health awareness

Hoop and Flow for Hope, set for Saturday, May 18, will raise awareness of mental health issues.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, observed since 1949 with a variety of events and educational campaigns.

A goal of the event is to raise awareness and instill hope by fostering positivity and community through hula hooping and yoga, according to organizer Paige Phelps.

The event will be 6:30-8 p.m. at the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, near where the AMI drum circle gathers.

For more information about the event, contact Phelps at 480-215-6460 or im.mindful222@gmail. com.

For more information about mental health issues, go to the National Alliance of Mental Illness’ site at www.nami.org.

Mrs. Green is survived by her son, Bill Shafer and wife Kathy of Anna Maria; five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, niece Tracey Brunner and nephew Patrick Goeser.

Deborah Webster Halakan

Deborah Webster Halakan, 72, of New York and formerly of Anna Maria Island, died April 28. She was born Feb. 17, 1952, in Schenectady, New York, to Dewey and Constance Webster.

She was a 1970 graduate of Mohonasen High School, earned a master’s of fine arts from Albany State University and went on to become a highly regarded teacher in the Schenectady City School District until her retirement in 2008.

A Fulbright scholarship award to Australia and a three-year sabbatical in Hawaii provided adventures she loved.

In retirement, she and husband Lex opened a successful art studio and gallery overlooking Tampa Bay on Anna Maria Island. She loved the life she led living on the island for more than 10 years.

Her Anna Maria friends were dear to her as she would often reminisce about the adventures and the peaceful beach times they shared.

If you knew her, you knew that her greatest accomplishment was her ability to make everyone she encountered feel special. She had a one in a million way of making everyone feel welcome and loved. Her smile was one that was genuinely loving and infectious. And even though Parkinson’s disease robbed her of so much, it was never able to conquer her smile.

Arrangements were by DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, Rotterdam, New York. Memorial donations may be made to Community Hospice, 445 New Karner Road, Albany, NY 12205.

Ms. Webster is survived by her loving husband, Lex Halakan; son Dan Northrup and wife Dawn Lukes; daughter Kyndra Northrup and Kyndra’s sister, Aleeza Oppelt Van Avery and her husband John Van Avery; stepdaughter Liz and husband Sam Mahan; brother Ed and wife Judy; sister Cheryl and husband Cliff Baum; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

She also is survived by a special “Arizona family,” from which her amazingly special Arty proclaimed her, “Great Grandma Princess.”

Postal carriers plan food drive for May 11

Island postal workers are joining the annual National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive.

The nationwide collection — set this year for Saturday, May 11 — is the largest one-day food drive in the country. People leave donations at their mailboxes for letter carriers to collect, as well

GoodDeeds

By Lisa Neff

Assistance sought on AMI

• Save the date: The annual Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is Saturday, May 11, when U.S. Postal Servce employees collect nonperishables for food banks at post offices, as well as from residents’ mailboxes. Info: nalc.org.

• The Islander seeks donations on behalf of Holmes Beach Commissioner Pat Morton, injured when struck by a truck while walking to his workplace. Information: “Please help — Unexpected Medical and Care Costs” on gofundme.com.

• Wildlife Inc. rescue and rehabilitation in Bradenton Beach seeks help tending to injured and sick

as drop off nonperishable food items at their post offices.

Brian Andrews, who is coordinating the drive for the Bradenton Beach Post Office, encouraged participation in a notice to The Islander: “We’re excited to be able to do this, especially with so many families struggling with inflation and food insecurity.”

For more, call the post office at 941-779-0069 or go to www.nalc.org/community-service/food-drive.

animals. Info: 941-778-6342.

• The Island Players, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, seeks volunteers. Info: theislandplayers.org, 941-941 778-5755.

• The Anna Maria Island Historical Society, 402 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, seeks volunteer docents. Info: 941-778-0492, amihs.org.

• The Friends of the Island Library welcomes members to support the island branch, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-6341, friendsoftheislandlibrary.org.

• Roser Food Bank seeks donations. Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, administers the pantry supported by All Island Denominations. Info: 941-778-0414.

... The Islander newspaper is FREE at Publix Holmes Beach. Just stop by the customer service desk, hold out your hand and say, “Islander, please!” And maybe remind staff you’d like the serveyourself community news returned to the lobby.

Webster

Green

With ____ to (acknowledging) 102 Bowed

Disappear . . . like the circled creatures might do, if not for the 112-/114-Across

Cortez has a problem: No authority over growing anchorage

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

An influx of live-aboard boats and anchored vessels is testing the waters in Cortez.

Cortez also has seen seen an increase in abandoned and at-risk vessels, raising questions about the need for the sort of maritime enforcement employed in other communities.

In recent months, there has been an uptick in vessels in the village anchorage, including some at-risk boats that pose hazards to navigation and threaten the environment.

Karen Bell, who owns A.P. Bell Fish Co., 4600 124th St. Court W., and the adjacent Star Fish Company Market & Restaurant, said captains operating at the A.P. Bell docks must navigate around too many anchor lines and sunken vessels.

“It’s really hard for them to get through,” Bell said. “Most of the live-aboards are not anchored properly. Most of them don’t have the right size anchor much less the proper amount of scope. You literally have to weave in and out of that craziness.”

Bell said derelict and at-risk vessels break loose from anchors in storms and drift until they collide with other vessels or structures or run aground in the shallows.

She and others in the Cortez community have been in touch with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Manatee County about the need to police at-risk vessels and removing derelict or abandoned boats.

The FWC works with municipal governments to remove vessels in state waters through a derelict vessel grant program, which reimburses local governments.

Also, Sarasota, Bradenton Beach and Palmetto governments police waters within their municipal boundaries.

Cortez has no municipal or local government.

Police Chief John Cosby spoke to The Islander May 1 about Bradenton Beach’s derelict boat program,

which started in 2013.

Officers utilize a 24-foot center console Pathfinder, the same model used locally by FWC officers and purchased for $120,000 with a grant from the West Coast Inland Navigation District.

Cosby said since its inception the program has removed more than 75 derelict or problem vessels from Bradenton Beach waters.

He also said as of May 1 the anchorage area next to the city’s Historic Bridge Street Pier had only five vessels.

“The word’s out,” Cosby said. “If your boat’s not up to speed, don’t come here.”

“The key to this is constantly being out there,” he added. “We don’t care if they come. It’s just that they have to be up to speed.”

Cosby said the police department applies the same conditions for at-risk as the FWC:

• A vessel has taken on water without a way to de-water;

• Enclosed spaces can’t be sealed off or stay open

for long periods;

• It’s broken loose or is at risk of breaking loose from an anchor;

• It’s left unattended aground;

• It’s sunk or partially sunk.

Sometimes rather than meet requirements for seaworthiness, at-risk or near at-risk boat owners move outside an area of enforcement, which is the situation in Cortez — an unincorporated area in Manatee County.

Cosby said the county has a program for the removal of abandoned boats but not at-risk live-aboard vessels.

However, the county has approached Bradenton Beach about how it implemented the derelict and atrisk vessel program.

“The discussion we had with them is that they are doing the research to look at seeing what it would take to move it forward,” Cosby said. “Because they know that there are issues. They asked for a copy of our ordinance and we provided it to them.”

Looking southeast May 1 across the Intracoastal Waterway toward the expanded Cortez anchorage from Bradenton Beach. Islander Photo: Robert anderson

HB boutique reopens following crash, shell shop a no-go

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

One of two Holmes Beach storefronts struck by motorists is back in business after a brief recovery period.

Rexann Cecil, owner of Gypsea Tides Beach Boutique, 5602 Marina Drive, Unit A, told The Islander May 3 that she was hoping to get her business back in the swing of things after an April 18 crash forced it to close for eight days and left her — and two others — injured.

Susan Reedy, 69, of Lancaster, Ohio, drove her Jeep April 18 through Gypsea Tides’ south-facing windows and into the store, crashing into indoor displays, three people in the store and coming to a stop at the opposite wall, the boutique’s shared interior wall with Reed Fitness & Physical Therapy.

Cecil was struck during the crash and received several lacerations requiring stitches, as well as a fractured left ankle, according to a police report.

She and two patrons injured in the crash were taken to a Bradenton hospital, where there were released within days.

Reedy was cited for careless driving and her vehicle was inspected for mechanical faults that might have led to the crash.

While her vehicle’s brake fluid was low, “the vehicle appeared to be in working order,” according to a Holmes Beach police report.

The crash left the boutique with a gaping hole that was covered with plywood, a damaged interior wall that was repaired in short order by the building’s owner, as well as plenty of damaged displays and merchandise.

Cecil said the business was tallying its damages as of May 3, but did not expect to have new windows for “a few months” since they must be custom-made. Regardless, she thanked the local community, which played a big part in getting Gypsea Tides back up by April 26 — only eight days after the crash —

while she remains limited by her injuries.

“A lot of friends, my team and family helped get it back together so we could open again,” Cecil said. “So many people volunteered their time just to get me back open and get me anything I needed.”

“We moved here almost four years ago and this community has just been amazing. … I’m super thankful,” she added.

Now, the boutique is hoping for a big summer to make up for lost business.

“We had a good June and July last year, so we’re hoping it’ll be the same this year,” Cecil said.

In the meantime, directly across 56th Street, Raders Reef, 5508 Marina Drive Unit B, remained closed as of May 3 due to extensive damage from an April 20 motor vehicle crash that also resulted in a fire at the seashell and gift shop.

Raders Reef has a long way to go to reopen.

Holmes Beach building official Neal Schwartz did not respond to a May 1 email from The Islander about whether the structure was safe following the crash.

Gypsea Tides Beach Boutique, 5602 Marina Drive, Unit a, Holmes Beach, reopened april 26 with a plywood wall, while Raders Reef, below, 5508 Marina Drive, Unit B, remained closed after a car drove into the entry and a fire broke out april 20. Islander

Photos: Ryan Paice

BB chief delivers good crime stats

With four officers behind him, Police Chief John Cosby reports on crime statistics during a May 2 Bradenton Beach City Commission meeting. Islander

Photo: Robert anderson

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

Bradenton Beach’s police chief May 2 reported a reduction in crime as he presented a 2023 statistics report to commissioners during a meeting at city hall.

Mayor John Chappie and Commissioners Ralph Cole and Jan Vosburgh were present at the dais while Commissioners Debbie Scaccianoce and Marilyn Maro participated via phone.

Police Chief John Cosby said the stats, administered by Lt. Lenard Diaz, are reported to federal and state agencies.

Cosby said while there was one case of aggravated assault in 2023 and none in 2022, the stats for 2023 were lower in areas of property theft, down 11.5%, and simple assaults, down 50%, with one case in the city.

Total arrests were down from 15 in 2022 to 13 in 2023.

“Our overall crime went down 43.5% from last year,” Cosby said comparing 2023 to 2022. “Last year, stolen property was around $41,000. This year (2023) we only had $4,100 taken. That was a drop of 89%.”

“Our biggest issue right now is tourism,” Cosby

Island watch

In an emergency, call 911. To report information, call the MCSO Anna Maria substation, 941-708-8899; Bradenton Beach police, 941-7786311; or Holmes Beach police, 941-708-5804.

said. “People are getting drunk, and they are getting bulletproof, and they like to fight each other. So that’s the biggest thing we are seeing right now.”

Cosby spoke on his philosophy of community policing: “I encourage my officers to speak to everybody. We are fortunate that we have a lot of longtime officers. We encourage a lot of foot patrol, especially on Bridge Street, the pier and even up in the neighborhoods.”

“My opinion is you don’t have to enforce every law. Laws are tools. You use the tool when you need it. Sometimes you need the biggest tool you have and that’s the way it has to be but, if we don’t have to go there, then we don’t have to go there,” he continued.

Cosby said the creation of the community redevelopment agency allowed for added police presence in the main commercial district.

The CRA was established in 1992 and is responsible for projects in the district, including the Historic Bridge Street Pier and Bridge Street.

“I constantly get comments from our citizens, our businesses, other citizens on the island, elected officials and tourists, just how happy they are with our program. We are fortunate, we have a good crew right now,” the chief said.

Mayor John Chappie responded, “Our police officers know us, and we know them. The big change is the development of our commercial downtown core area, the CRA, and how it has developed. We are no longer the pass-through community that we used to be.”

The next commission meeting will be at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 6, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.

BB P&Z switches up stormwater discussion

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

The Bradenton Beach Planning and Zoning Board May 1 motioned to continue its discussions on credits for permeable surfaces at one- and two-family dwellings as they relate to stormwater retention.

The board had been working to finalize its recommendations on changes to language in the city’s land development code.

“Based on where we started, when we started this, we’ve gotten next to nowhere,” P&Z member John Burns said.

Board members agreed, expressing the need for a more definitive answer to the problem of how to best calculate credits for the use of pervious surfaces for developments.

The board for several months considered how developments might use a deemed-to-comply method for stormwater infiltration, including permeable pavers or permeable concrete over an infiltration system. The first 18% of such a system would be exempt from the total impervious lot coverage calculation.

Deemed to comply is a process by which applicants consult their local government about whether development approval is required for their proposed plans.

Impervious surfaces are regulated because, when more land is covered with buildings and pavement, water runoff can cause drainage problems, including flooding and pollution.

Burns motioned to continue the discussion to the P&Z’s next meeting. He was seconded by Fred Bartizal and the motion passed 5-0.

The board also directed staff to ask Mayor John Chappie to allow an engineer to attend the next P&Z meeting, which will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.

The P&Z is a citizen board that recommends landuse policies to the city commission and reviews development proposals.

Bradenton Beach Planning and Zoning Board member John Burns speaks May 1 during a meeting at city hall. Islander

Photo: Robert anderson

Cops & Courts

Bradenton man given probation for DUI

Jerry Garner, 40, of Bradenton, will be on probation through January 2025 after Judge Heather Doyle of the 12th Circuit Court ruled Garner guilty Jan. 23 of a second-degree misdemeanor for driving under the influence of alcohol after prior convictions.

Garner first was convicted for a DUI following a September 2006 arrest in West Samoset. He pleaded no contest to that charge and was found guilty, receiving one year on probation.

Garner was arrested and charged with DUI again May 31, 2023, in Holmes Beach.

Garner pleaded no contest at a Jan. 23 pretrial conference. He was found guilty and ordered to complete 12 months of probation, 50 hours of community service and 45 days of house arrest.

Doyle also suspended Garner’s driver’s license for one year and required him to complete DUI school.

— Ryan Paice

Island watch

In an emergency, call 911.

Streetlife

By Robert anderson and Ryan Paice

Anna Maria

No new reports.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office 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

April 25, 200 block of 35th Street, recovered property. Two Holmes Beach police officers responded to reports of an abandoned backpack containing $1,261 and three debit cards. The officers contacted the owner of the debit cards and the backpack was believed to have been stolen. An officer placed the backpack in storage for retrieval.

entry due to her use of a service dog. An employee told police he denied entry to the woman because she caused a disturbance when asked about the dog. The woman wanted to press charges and provided a written statement. A probable cause affidavit for a service animal violation was completed as a capias request to be sent to the state attorney’s office.

April 30, Cedar Cove, 2710 Gulf Drive, trespass warning. An offi cer responded to reports of a trespasser. A manager pointed out the trespasser and issued trespass warning as the officer supervised. The man left without issue.

April 30, Prime Vacations, 307 66th St., recovered property. A woman called the police to report she found a firearm in a vacant rental unit. The gun was not reported stolen. An officer retrieved the firearm and placed it in storage.

April 30, Edibles N More, 5368 Gulf Drive, recovered property. An officer responded to reports of suspicious circumstance and spoke with the store owner. She said a man purchased items but left a payment card behind and she found the card was registered to a woman.

To report information, call the MCSO Anna Maria substation, 941-7088899; Bradenton Beach police, 941-778-6311; or Holmes Beach police, 941-708-5804.

April 26, Publix, 3900 E. Bay Drive, shoplifting. An officer responded to reports of a person leaving the store with stolen merchandise. The complainant told police the thief packed the groceries into a silver SUV and left. An officer located the motorist, who denied stealing the merchandise. She also had a suspended driver’s license and was driving an unregistered vehicle. The officer arrested the woman and transported her to the Manatee County jail.

April 28, Publix, 3900 E. Bay Drive, shoplifting. An officer responded to reports of shoplifting and spoke with a manager. She said a woman left the store without paying for $200-$300 worth of merchandise and provided video footage of the incident.

April 29, Westbay Cove condominiums, 731 Manatee Ave., larceny. A woman entered the Holmes Beach Police Department to report two locked bicycles were missing from outside her condo. The woman provided descriptions of both bikes and wanted to press charges. An officer provided her with a victim’s rights brochure.

April 29, Beach Bistro, 6600 Gulf Drive, disturbance/service animal violation. An officer responded to reports of a verbal disturbance between a customer and employee. He found the complainant, who alleged she was discriminated against because she was denied

April 30, 6800 block of Marina Drive, suspicious circumstance. An officer responded to reports of suspicious circumstances. A complainant told police his boat was moved from one slip to another. The boat was not damaged, nothing was missing and there were no signs anyone had been inside. The owner did not want to press charges.

HBPD polices Holmes Beach.

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

Islander archive 24/7

Some years ago, The Islander was invited to take part in a pilot project with the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries. We donated our collection of newspapers beginning with the first edition in 1992. Now it’s all maintained on the library site. Look for The Islander 24/7 in the online stacks at ufdc.ufl.edu.

T-Shirts $10 @ The Islander, 315 58th St., HB.

Cops & Courts

Bradenton woman cited for felony traffic offense

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Holmes Beach police issued a court summons April 27 to Heavenleigh Williams, 31, of Bradenton, for allegedly driving with a license revoked for habitual traffic offenses — a third-degree felony charge.

Police also issued Williams citations for allegedly failing to yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk and ignoring a traffic sign.

An officer saw a motorist on Gulf Drive fail to stop at a crosswalk at 45th Street with flashing yellow lights, where a group was waiting to cross.

The officer followed the motorist, who took an illegal turn onto 43rd Street where signage is posted to prevent such a turn.

The officer conducted a traffic stop and spoke to the driver, Williams, who did not have a license but said it had been reinstated.

He allowed Williams to leave with a licensed driver to find her license at her home.

However, when the officer contacted her two hours later, Williams told police she could not find her license and had scheduled an appointment for a new one.

The officer issued the citations and court summons via certified mail.

If convicted, punishment for a third-degree felony charge includes up to five years in prison, five years of probation and a fine of up to $5,000.

An arraignment will be at 9 a.m. Friday, May 24, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

RoadWatch

Eyes on the road

• South Bradenton Beach: Manatee County is working on sewer lines on side streets leading from Gulf Drive South. Motorists can expect closures of some side streets, including Sixth Street South through early June. For the latest, go to amiprojects.io.

• City center in Holmes Beach: Manatee County’s final work on a force main project on Holmes Boulevard, Marina Drive and side streets continues. For the latest, go to amiprojects.io.

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

— Lisa Neff

HB parks committee reviews adopt-a-spots

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Some of Holmes Beach’s adopt-a-spot areas are ready for a makeover.

The city’s parks and beautification committee reached consensuses May 1 to approve requests to improve two spots — Magnolia Park, 3707 Sixth Ave., and an island at the intersection of 81st Street, Gulf Drive and Palm Drive.

The adopt-a-spot program is overseen by the P&B and allows volunteers to beautify, customize and maintain different spaces throughout the city.

The spots are supervised by P&B members to ensure upkeep, but volunteers are encouraged to beautify spots with their own landscaping and plants.

P&B member Loretta Estabrooks, who also is a member of the Anna Maria Island Garden Club, said the club wants to help adopt the spot at 81st, Gulf and Palm.

The spot is currently adopted and maintained by Sarasota-based Grants Gardens SRQ.

Nevertheless, Estabrooks said the garden club had approved up to $2,000 for plants within the spot’s existing layout.

The proposal includes the addition of sunshine mimosa flowers along a grassy border, as well as coonties, porter weed and coreopsis plants.

Estabrooks said a “slew” of club members are ready and willing to begin work at the spot.

However, the area is not irrigated, so a water source would need to be added.

P&B members reached a consensus to approve the garden club’s proposed improvements for the spot, as well as add a rain barrel.

The committee also heard a pair of requests to improve Magnolia Park.

Nearby residents Don Clemens and Tony Bettis emailed city engineer and public works superintendent Sage Kamiya, who also serves as P&B chair, with their proposals.

Clemens emailed April 13 for permission to purchase 20 cocoplums for the city to plant and form a hedge in an area at the park where grass struggles to grow. He added that he would maintain the plants and replace any that die.

Bettis emailed April 18 to request permission to purchase and plant a Shumard red oak tree. Bettis wrote, “I will pay for the tree and think it would really add to the look and feel of the park.”

The committee reached consensuses to approve both requests.

In the meantime, five adopt-a-spots remain available for adoption across the city.

Those include spots at:

• Spring Lake Park, 6807 Holmes Blvd.;

• The intersection of 56th Street and Gulf Drive;

• The intersection of 58th Street and Gulf Drive;

• A 56th Street island in the 500 block, east of city hall;

• An island on the north side of Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive.

People interested in adopting a spot can contact the city clerk’s office by calling 941-708-5800, ext. 0, or email deputyclerk@holmesbeachfl.org.

The P&B does not meet over the summer, so the committee’s next meeting will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at city hall.

The meeting will be open to the public.

an adopt-a-spot area at the intersection of 81st Street, Gulf Drive and Palm Drive is due to be enhanced. The anna Maria Island Garden Club has proposed adding $2,000 in plants and other landscaping. Islander

Photo: Ryan Paice

Soccer tops center playbill, horseshoes

By Kevin P. Cassidy Islander Reporter

With three games left in the regular season of the adult soccer league at the Center of Anna Maria Island, the standings are tight. There are five teams within 4 points of first place. Progressive Cabinetry holds the top spot with a 4-1-1 record and 13 points. Pool America and Ross Built are 3-1-2 and have 11 points, while Moss Builders is 3-2-1 with 10 points. Salty Printing and Sato Real Estate follow with 3-3 records and 9 points, just ahead of Language Services Associates, which is 2-2-2 and 8 points. Solid Rock Construction at 1-2-3, Diamond Turf at 1-4-1 and 1-5 Beach House Restaurant complete the standings.

Action May 2 kicked off with Solid Rock Construction outscoring Salty Printing 5-3 behind two goals from Luca Vecchio and a goal each from Timo Vecchio, Zachary Long and James Noblett. Mark Long helped preserve the victory with 12 saves in goal.

Kevin Roman paced Salty Printing with a pair of goals, while Erica Nielsen finished with a goal and an assist. Tuna McCracken finished with nine saves for Salty Printing in the loss.

The second match of the night saw Language Services Associates and Progressive Cabinetry battle to a 3-3 tie. Ethan Hampton scored a pair of goals to lead Language Services, which also received one goal from Murat Akay and 13 saves from goalie Steve Oelfke in the draw.

Junior Martines, Leo Gonzalez and Osvaldo Cabello each scored one goal for Progressive Cabinetry, which also received nine saves from goalie Tyler Bekkerus.

John Ruppal of Bradenton shows off a healthy mangrove snapper he caught on a live shiner May 3 with Capt. David White about 5 miles off anna Maria Island in the Gulf of Mexico.

The third match of the evening saw Moss Builders edge Diamond Turf 2-1 behind a pair of goals from Olaf Krause, who also contributed three saves in goal. Ryan Moss finished with five saves in the victory for Moss Builders.

Eric Pullen scored the lone goal for Diamond Turf, which also received a combined seven saves from Yuri Pereira and Curtis Bickler in the loss.

Ted Hurst scored a pair of goals to help Ross Built to a 4-2 victory over Pool America in the fourth match of the night. Helio Gomez had a goal and two assists for Ross Built, which also received a goal from Dean Hinterstoisser and six saves from Max Gazzo in the victory.

Chris Klotz and Brandon Rolland each scored a goal for Pool America, which also received five saves from Jessica Reukberg in the loss.

The last match of the evening saw Sato earn a 3-0 shutout victory over Beach House. Amy Ivin led the way with two goals and an assist, while Damir Glavan finished with a goal and an assist. Paul Jennison made seven saves in the shutout.

Aaron Frech made six saves for Beach House in the loss.

Youth soccer action

After fi ve weeks of action in the 8-10 division of the youth soccer league at the center, Solid Rock Construction holds a slim lead with a 4-0-1 record, just ahead of Intuitive Foundation at 4-1. Am I Coconuts holds down third with a 2-2-1 record, while Isola Bella Italian Eatery follows with a 1-1-3 record. Emily Moss Designs at 1-3-1 and Shady Lady Horticultural Services at 0-5 complete the standings.

Action for the 8-10s kicked off April 30 with Intutive Foundation edging Isola Bella 2-1 behind a pair of goals from Parker Svoboda. Silas Whitehead and Sawyer Leibfried combined to make three saves in the victory.

Summer soccer starts up

The Center of Anna Maria is bringing back its youth indoor soccer summer league.

Games will take place Tuesday nights.

Registration will continue until Friday, May 31, followed by evaluations at 6 p.m. Monday, June 3, for the 11-14 division and 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, for the 8-10 division.

The season will kick off June 24.

The cost is $20 for members and $100 for nonmembers.

The center is at 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria. For more information, email sports@centerami. org or call 941-778-1908.

— Lisa Neff

Asher Patel scored the lone goal for Isola Bella, which also received four saves from Carson Long in the loss.

Am I Coconuts earned a 2-0 shutout victory over Moss Designs in the second game of the night. Andre Harwood and Owen Serra combined to make six saves to help preserve the victory.

Miles Moss made five saves and Wesley Bekkerus made two saves for Moss in the loss.

The third match of the night saw Solid Rock Construction defeat Shady Lady 2-0 behind goals from Everly Chaplinsky and Lucas Urbiola. Samuel Raulerson and Elijah Roadman each made four saves in the victory.

Simon Messinger and Karlan Mohib each made three saves for Shady Lady in the loss.

The 11-14 division held a mid-season five-on-five tournament April 30 with pug goals and no goalies. The winner received 3 points in the division standings and the runner-up got 1 point.

Moss Builders defeated Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control in the double-elimination final, giving them nine points and a commanding lead in the standings. Solid Rock Construction and Gitt Team are tied for second place with four points each, while HSH Designs has 3 points and Westfall’s Lawn Care has 1 point.

Regular league action was to resume May 7.

KRC news

Action on the links at the Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach got started with the men’s modifiedStableford system match April 29. Gary Razze and Blake Ress fi nished in a tie for fi rst with matching plus-4s on their scorecards. The trio of Joe Coyne, Dale Hudson and Larry Pippel finished a point back in a tie for second.

The Key Royale women played a nine-hole individual-low-net match in two fl ights April 30. Debi Wohlers fired a 4-under-par 28 to earn a four-stroke victory in Flight A. Debbie DuVernay and Linda Dorsey finished in a tie for second with even-par 32s. Jana Samuels carded an even-par 32 to take first in Flight B, a stroke ahead of second-place finisher Judy Christensen and two strokes ahead of third-place finisher Sue Wheeler.

Horseshoe news

Horseshoe action May 1 at the Anna Maria City Hall pits was short and sweet. The team of Bob Hawks and Bob Heiger posted the lone undefeated record in pool play and were the day’s outright champs.

Two teams advanced to the knockout stage during the May 4 games. In a tight, back and forth match, the team of Tim Sofran and Tom Betty edged Tom Farrington and Bob Baker 22-19 on a game-ending ringer by Betty.

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.

Cassidy

Fishers suffer from onset of tarpon fever in May

By Capt. Danny Stasny Islander Reporter

As we settle into the second week of May, you can bet Anna Maria Island anglers have one thing on their mind.

They are suffering from a fever that can be cured by long hours in the sun scanning the waters of the Gulf of Mexico through polarized sunglasses in hopes of seeing a fish roll or, at the very least, a flash of silver. They are suffering from tarpon fever.

This ailment has many side effects —

• Lack of focus at work;

• Fatigue;

• Sunburn from hours of gathering bait

• Dehydration;

• In severe cases, diminished bank accounts from spending vast amounts on tackle among their delirium.

But then comes the moment, the pay off. To look into that big tarpon eye, to study the fish as it studies you.

At this moment, the angler is at peace.

Aside from sore arms, the angler displays normalcy again.

But for the true tarpon junkie, the moment can be short lived, as they bait another rod, preparing to cast again.

During the next six weeks, if you see any characters showing signs of this tarpon fever, stay back. It’s easy to fall under the spell after only a few fish stories.

And once you’re hooked, it’s all over.

Kiss the family goodbye during the weeks prior to that full moon in June, as the urge to be on the water in search of a silver king will be uncontrollable.

On my Just Reel charters, spotted seatrout are proving to be the most consistent bite. I’m seeing many fish just under the slot, but we’re managing to catch limits of keeper fish.

Big Spanish mackerel are mixed in, which provide exceptional action on medium-spinning gear. I’m also seeing ladyfish and jack crevalle when the bite is really active.

Fishing deeper areas in the Gulf of Mexico is

TideWatch

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission the week ending May 5 did not find the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, locally.

For more information, go to myfwc.com.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit Suncoast Waterkeeper’s most recent water quality test results found “stay out” levels of enterococci bacteria — bacteria that lives in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals — at Robinson Preserve in west Bradenton and “take caution” levels at the Longboat Key Boat Ramp in the historic village.

For more information, go to suncoastwaterkeeper. org.

The Florida Healthy Beaches Program did not report any issues for Manatee County for the week ending May 5.

For more, go to floridahealth.gov.

— Lisa Neff

entertaining as my anglers are reeling up all sorts of reef fish, including mangrove snapper, flounder, lane snapper, Key West grunts and juvenile grouper.

Also, black tip sharks are frequently being seen along beaches and are great targets for anglers who want to pull on a big fish.

Capt. David White is getting some quality time offshore in the Gulf of Mexico now that the winds have subsided.

In depths of 80-100 feet of water, White is bottom fishing around ledges and hard-bottom areas. Species such as red grouper, mangrove snapper and yellowtail snapper are the most predominant catches for White’s anglers.

Pelagic species also are coming to the boat while offshore, especially around wrecks. Blackfin tuna are being caught on free-lined live shiners and White is happy to say he hooked two sailfish in the past week in the same areas as the tuna.

Moving inshore, White is targeting snook, redfish and spotted seatrout. Working oyster bars and mangrove shorelines is working well for the snook and reds. For the trout, deeper grass flats are the place to be. Some larger macks are mixed in, too.

Capt. Connor Kesten of Anna Maria Boat Co. says he’s finding some tarpon action while drifting baits around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Anchoring and chumming for these “early season” tarpon can be rewarding, especially when the fish are not yet abundant along the beaches.

Threadfin herring are the bait of choice and are attracting multiple hookups for anglers on a morning charter.

Other days, Kesten is working the flats of Tampa Bay southbound to Sarasota Bay, where spotted seatrout are frequently being caught.

On deeper flats, Kesten is putting clients on numerous trout of 14- to 16-inches as well as a mix of macks and ladyfish.

On the shallower flats in 3-4 feet of water, Kesten is putting anglers on larger trout, ranging 18-22 inches. Kesten said he likes to add a popping cork to the rig while working the shallower flats to keep the bait from getting tangled in seagrass.

While inshore, Kesten’s crews are hooking up catch-and-release snook around the passes, with most snook running 20-30 inches.

Moving into the Gulf of Mexico, Kesten is finding a variety of action on pelagics and reef species.

For the pelagics, kingfish, macks and bonito are turning up around the artificial reefs and hard-bottom areas.

And bottom fishing for reef species is producing mangrove snapper, Key West grunts and numerous juvenile grouper.

Lastly, Kesten says switching over to some shrimp as bait is leading to some hookups for his anglers on hogfish.

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

Stasny

Juliana Roe, Carrie Paget, and Christina Graham, all of Seattle, show off their May 3 catch — some bruiser beach Jack crevalle — one caught on spin and one on fly with Capt. David White of anna Maria Charters.

Nesting notes

By Masha Dolgoff

Riding along with AMITW

Sea turtle nesting season, when mother sea turtles come ashore on Anna Maria Island to deposit their eggs, officially began May 1.

To mark the launch, The Islander joined a beach patrol conducted by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, which surveys the shores collecting data on nesting and hatchling activity through the season.

AMITW members meet at sunrise every morning.

On May 2, the group patrolling the Gulf of Mexico beach met at 6:20 a.m. at Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach.

Because monitoring the Gulf side often has a higher yield in terms of nests and a larger nesting area, a pair of utility vehicles were used for transport.

On the bay shore, Kristen Mazzarella, executive director of AMITW, patrolled by foot with another set of volunteers.

The Gulf group, which The Islander joined, began their routine by loading the back of the UTVs with about 10 yellow stakes, which are used to mark any found nests.

The drivers of the UTVs are required to go below 10 mph, allowing the passengers to survey the beach in sufficient detail.

The group made its way north from Manatee Public Beach to Bean Point in Anna Maria, where the volunteers turned around just before the shore bends around from the Gulf to Tampa Bay.

Karen Anderson, stranding coordinator for

AMITW, said over the years the beach has eroded to reveal some rocky areas at Bean Point.

The rocks are not natural, but were placed years ago in an attempt to hold back erosion.

Turtle watch checks the area because sea turtles still might choose to nest there.

The volunteers also have come across false crawls in past years and followed those tracks to make sure turtles safely returned to the water.

The volunteers that morning also paid a visit to the first nest of the season, discovered and staked April 27 in Anna Maria.

Volunteer Chuck Anderson described the process by which turtle mothers create their nests.

First, they “body pit,” shifting their body to create a depression in the sand.

Next, they use their back fl ippers to dig a hole about 12- to 18-inches deep. They lay their eggs and then use their flippers fill the nest with sand.

aMITW volunteers patrol the beach May 2, including checking on a new nest in anna Maria. The back of the vehicle is loaded with supplies used to mark nests. Islander Photo: Masha Dolgoff

Climbing out of about 18 inches of sand is an undertaking for the hatchlings, Chuck Anderson said. They work together, using air pockets created by their siblings, ascending in what he called a “turtle ladder,” climbing over one another and the discarded shells.

The May 2 patrol took two hours on the Gulf side and the volunteers found no new nests but deeper into the season, the volunteers will spend three or more hours on the beach as nesting and hatching activity increases.

Chuck Anderson said the most new nests he’d seen in one day was nine.

In addition to the first nest discovered April 27, a second nest and a false crawl were spotted May 1 in Holmes Beach.

Sea turtle nesting season continues until Oct. 31. Each nest will contain about100 eggs but only one in 1,000 hatchlings survives to adulthood, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

About AMITW

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

Turtle Talks on Tuesdays

aMITW hosts Turtle Talks Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5701 Marina Drive.

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This inviting vacation investment property is located just steps away from the sandy shores of Anna Maria Island’s world renowned beaches With its prime location near trolley stops, ice cream shops and a variety of local restaurants, breathtaking views, and impeccable design, this luxury retreat promises a lucrative return on investment. It is certainly a standout choice in the realm of exclusive Anna Maria Island vacation properties

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By Lisa Neff

Nature and nurture

Some summers ago, my morning routine involved going out to the beach in Anna Maria to watch from afar as black skimmers protected their nests in the sand and later their chicks.

Skimmers will nest on beaches in colonies — sometimes up to several hundred pairs — as it takes a village to protect the eggs from predators and bumbling beachgoers.

The birds usually lay three to five eggs per nest and both parents will incubate the eggs for about four hours at a time for 23-25 days.

Once the eggs hatch, parents will guard the offspring for about a month, when they can fly.

I recall seeing remarkable care by parenting skimmers, if not affection.

I also have observed owls fiercely defend nests from predators.

And, just the other day, I observed a hairy woodpecker aggressively attempt to protect newly hatched offspring from a poaching red-bellied woodpecker.

The next day, I saw with sadness an empty nest in the hollowed tree.

Yeah, I know, it’s the way of nature, but I was rooting for the maternal hairy woodpecker to win in the end.

A couple of years ago, the National Audubon Society marked Mother’s Day for humans by presenting the “Mother Hen Awards,” honoring certain avian species for their distinctive parenting styles.

a stork delivers a babe in an illustration from a collection of fables by Hans Christian andersen, who popularized the myth of birds delivering babies. In “The Storks,” the birds take slumbering babies from ponds and lakes and deliver them to deserving families. The transporting bird in an ancient Greece telling of the myth, however, was a crane and, in an early Egypt legend, the bird was a heron. Islander Courtesy Graphic

Audubon presented the “best overall” award to a species familiar to islanders, the osprey.

The award read, “Osprey mothers take parenting seriously. They do most of the incubation and care for the hatchlings for weeks after they appear.”

The least tern, another species observed on AMI, won “the coolest” category.

We’ve seen terns nest on island beaches in past summers but, as of May 3, there were no reports of any shorebirds nesting on AMI.

Called to bird

Did you hear the call?

Organizations for the conservation of birds are calling on you to grab a pair of binoculars and get out Saturday, May 11, for Global Big Day.

Participating is simple and can be done in 5-10 minutes by noting bird observations from one or more locations and reporting them in the eBird Mobile app or online at eBird.com.

The observations help scientists and policymakers better understand global bird populations.

Last year, Global Big Day set a record for collected data about birds on a single day. More than 58,000 people gathered 3.2 million bird observations on 148,000 checklists.

What will you fi nd on and around Anna Maria Island?

Songbirds? Sure, they can be found at Leffis Key in Bradenton Beach, as well as Bean Point in Anna Maria and probably in yards with inviting trees.

Crows and pigeons? Why yes, especially if you are doing your birding work while dining outdoors.

Egrets, herons, terns, gulls, pelicans, osprey? Yes, you’ll likely see them if you conduct your observations on the beach.

May 11 also is World Migratory Bird Day — which occurs in the fall and in the spring, aligning with the cyclic nature of migration in different hemispheres.

World Migratory Bird Day in 2024 — promoted at www.worldmigratorybirdday.org — is focused on the importance of insects, essential sources of energy for migratory bird species.

Something to consider the next time you reach for the Raid or the Roundup for an outdoor application.

The Audubon award for the least tern read, “On warm days, tern moms will stand over eggs and hatchlings to shade them from the sun. On hot days, they’ll soak their belly feathers in the ocean and return to the beach to give their broods a cool sponge bath.” Are you thinking about the “mother hens” you want to honor May 12?

Neff

Shellie Young, PA, MCNS, IARP, CLHMS Million Dollar Guild Premier Sotheby’s International Realty

Servicing Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key & Waterfront Properties

ITEMS FOR SALE

CELTIC THUNDER SET: Two-disc CD, teeshirt, ballcap, $20. Monkees five-CD collection, $20. Call Bill, 724-986-0314.

FLOOR JOIST HaNGERS: 2-by-8-inch. 50 cents each. 941-778-5542.

Wa LNUT WOOD FURNITURE set. Queen bed, great condition, $500. Baers display cabinets, top glass doors, $200 each. Luxury pool lounge chair, $75. 941-330-5225.

BOSU HOME GyM, $35, exercise ball, $25, side tables, round, glass top, 2/$19, black chairs, soft leather 2/$20. 941-920-2494.

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. (limited time offer).

TRANSPORTATION

GOLF C a RT RENTa LS: Fun for residents and tourists! 212-941-2402. www.GolfCartRentalaMI.com.

ELECTRIC BIKE, DayMaK Wildgoose fattire bike. 2018 model, used very little, battery range down to about six miles. $500. Text or call, 616-490-3814.

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.

SUNCO a ST BOTTOM Pa INTING: Professional bottom painting. Mobile. Call 941704-9382.

CaPTaIN FOR HIRE and boat caretaker services: If you need help with your boat on or off the water, call Captain Dan. USCG, retired. 772-486-8085.

21-FOOT CUDDy CaBIN with 225 Evinrude and trailer, $15,000. Call Captain Fred, 941356-1456.

WELCOME aBOaRD JOyFISH Charters for private fishing, sunset cruises, and dolphin watching. Check out joyfishcharters.com or follow us on Facebook. Call to reserve, 941840-3181.

HELP WANTED

P a RT-TIME DOCKM a STER position available. 8-10 hours per week. Dock On The Bay Marina. Contact 941-3136496.

COMMERCIaL PaINTERS NEEDED. Minimum three years’ experience and valid driver license. Call weekdays 8am-4pm, 941-7464452.

aNNa MaRIa RESIDENT looking to hire a real gardener to maintain plants for summer months. Contact Chuck Bode at 410-3659028.

NOW HIRING HaNDyMaN: Full-time professional services. $18 an hour and up, based on experience. Call JayPros, 941962-2874.

REPORTER Wa NTED: Full- to part-time. Print media, newspaper experience required. a pply via email with letter of interest to news@islander.org.

KIDS FOR HIRE

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 W a SHING, PaVER sealing, driveway, roof, fence, pool area. also, window cleaning. Licensed and insured. 941-5653931.

More ads = more

SERVICES Continued

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.

aPI’S DRyWaLL REPaIR: I look forward to servicing your drywall repair needs. Call 941524-8067 to schedule an appointment.

CLE a N TECH MOBILE Detailing. a t your location. Cars, boats, RVs. Call or text Billie for an appointment. 941-592-3482.

PC OR TECH issues? Not sure where to start? With years of experience, I’ll come to you with reliable solutions. Contact Gavin at 928-587-1309. www.gse.codes.

PaINTING: INTERIOR/EXTERIOR: Sarasota interior painting. Call or text Don, 941-9009398. We are the best high-end painting! Just ask our aMI clients! I’m the owner and the painter. Free estimates. Fully insured licensed business.

U PLUS ME LLC: Provides quality coatings for pool decks, driveways, garage floors, patios. Don’t miss out on our pro polishing services, concrete, terrazzo, travertine. 727623-5050.

PRIVaTE CaREGIVER: DO you need help with groceries, doctors’ appointments, cleaning, care for pet, care for elderly or companion. I am looking for a part-time job. I have references and very experienced. I have integrity and I can help you and your loved ones with anything! Sparkles, 941-704-9948.

aFFORDaBLE PRESSURE WaSHING and vacation cleaning service. 941-356-1456.

GORILL a DRy Wa LL REPa IR LLC. Let’s solve your drywall problems together. Give us a call at 941-286-0607.

RIDEEaSy 247 yOUR professional, reliable and courteous car service to airports and events since 2015. you can reach us via text 941-447-7737 or email to mrfort5001@gmail. com We are available 24/7.

WIND MITIGaTION and four-point inspection package. Licensed, insured, references available. Call 941-518-6329.

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

BE a CH 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.

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.

LAWN & GARDEN

CONNIE’S LaNDSCaPING INC. Residential and commercial. Full-service lawn maintenance, landscaping, cleanups, hauling and more! Insured. 941-778-5294.

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, or “shell phone” 941-720-0770.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

VaN-GO PaINTING residential/commercial, interior/exterior, pressure cleaning, wallpaper. Island references. Bill, 941-795-5100. www.vangopainting.net.

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.

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.

LOOKING FOR a N y home improvement?

JRCC Home Improvement, handyman service can get the job done. Please, contact us at 413-246-2410. We would love to help.

BMF INTERIORS: HOME repairs and more, no job too small. 786-318-8585.

TILE-TILE-TILE: LVT vinyl flooring, all variations of porcelain and ceramic tile supplied and installed. Total bathroom remodels. Many Mt. Vernon references. Licensed and insured. Operations manager, 941-2269671.

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.

RENTALS

a NN a M a RI a GULF beachfront vacation rentals. One- two- and three-bedroom units, all beachfront. www.amiparadise.com. 941778-3143.

PERICO ISL a ND PaTIO home for rent. 3BR/2Ba, 30-day minimum. Privacy fence/ gate, two miles to a MI. Now leasing May through December, 2024. $4,500/month. Call or text, 859-771-6423. http://pericoislandrental.com/

aVa IL a BLE NOW a ND season: 1BR/1B a , seven-night minimum. carlesvacationrentals. com Special rates are available. 941-8071405.

RENTALS Continued

aNNUaL RENTaL. 2/BR1B a duplex. Near Cortez village. Nice quiet area across from bay. Two miles to beach. Full kitchen, in-unit laundry room. Shed. Patio. $1,850/month includes water and WI-FI tv. 941-773-1552.

aNNUaL RENTaL: VILLa home in Perico Bay Club, Bradenton. Gated and 24-hour security. 2BR/2B a , updated. Updated kitchen, screened deck and two-car garage. Unfurnished. Text 908-875-0299 for information.

SE a SON a L OR a NNU a L rental: 55-plus, friendly community, bottom floor. Sleeps four, 1.5Ba. Beach access. $3,400/month. 847-769-9080.

MONTHLy RENTa L aVa IL a BLE June 11 through December. furnished, all utilities. Off Cortez Road, 2 miles from beach, across from bay. Quiet, friendly neighborhood. $2,400/month. 941-773-1552. Locally owned.

FOR RENT: M ay to December. a nna Maria Island condo. Great value, beautiful upgraded 2BR/2BR. Incredible water view. Pool, tennis, walk to beach. Private carport. Excellent rental terms. Owner/ renter. Call/email for pictures, 570-239-0431. marketreps@aol.com

2BR/2Ba HOLMES BEaCH. Westbay Point. Second-floor, furnished condo, beautiful bay views. No pets, no smoking. Six months, $2,850/month. 941-778-2824.

HOLMES BE a CH 2BR/2B a elevated furnished duplex with one-car garage. No pets, no smoking. Six months, $2,850/month plus utilities. 941-778-2824.

REAL ESTATE

WINNIE MCH a LE, RE a LTOR, 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.”

COaSTaL LUXURy: 4BR/4.5Ba, pool, sold turnkey furnished for immediate move-in. Meticulously maintained, never rented, includes golf cart and electric beach wagon for island exploration! an absolute must-see! Call 941-685-6850 or email Team@HuntBrothersRealty.com for more info.

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.

HOLMES BEaCH HOUSE: Beach lifestyle, 3BR/2B a . Enjoy a chef’s kitchen, fenced yard, pool and screened porch complete the beach lifestyle. Oversized garage. Minutes from Gulf beaches. $1,599,900. Beth Beckert Call or text, 941-720-3676. Sarasota Global Realty.

2BR/2Ba HOME for sale. 3,000 sfur. 1,100 sf garage. Steps to beach. $1,449,000. 941518-6329.

CONDO FOR S a LE or lease. 2BR/2B a at the west end of Bradenton Riverwalk. Downtown walk-a-bout community features library, performing art center, creative art center and galleries. Shoppes, fine and casual dining. $280,000. Florida Suncoast Real Estate, Geri Kenyon, 941-725-4374.

Don’t miss The Islander’s Premiere showing May 8 at Holmes Beach City Hall. Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $50. Proceeds to U.S. Coast Guard Flotilla 81 nonprofit Safe Seas of Florida. Call 941-778-7978 or email info@islander.org for tickets.

Welcome to AMI chamber

The Islander joins the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce in welcoming new members to the nonprofit roster in April, including:

• Surf Signature RV Resort, Olivia Broom, 941900-4240.

• Dolphins Cleaning Services, Harold Baigorria, 941-402-8093.

• Weddings by Bonnie, Bonnie Sanchez, 941-6008009.

• Archwell Health, Paige Wesley, 804-873-9360.

• America’s Swimming Pool Co. of West Bradenton, Nate Rodriguez, 941-877-1710.

• Captain Kathe & First-Mate Pup-Pup Charters Capt. Kathe Fannon, 941-812-3241

• Splash Squad, Renee Taber, 941-840-1756.

• Beach Sand Babe Jewelry at Coquina Beach Market and local shops, Shannell Lance, 941-7251485.

• Just 4 Fun Boat & Kayak Rentals, Chris Mann, 941-896-7884.

• Michele Blethen, agent at Leslie Wells Realty, 941-737-1245.

• Kathryn “Kit” Plosica, agent at Coldwell Banker, 908-489-2010.

For more, call the chamber at 941-778-1541.

— Bonner Joy

Restaurant news

Bradenton native Rich Knowles closed enRich in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 and his lease.

But over the past two years, Knowles has poured himself into creating his forever restaurant.

He purchased a property near the previous location and handled every detail for the new enRich. It’s set to reopen Friday, May 10, at 5239 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

A Mother’s Day brunch is planned 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, May 12.

The modern American restaurant will be bigger and better than before, said Knowles, and familiar menu items, such as calamari salad and tuna poke with wasabi kale slaw will be served along with additions like skirt steak with black garlic chimichurri sauce and a plantain rice medley.

“Modern American means flavors from all over the world because that is what America is — a melting pot of people and flavors,” Knowles told The Islander May 2.

The location is 40% larger than before at 140 seats. It also has private dining and banquet areas.

Knowle’s passion for food flows into his love for wine and he said he put a lot of effort into sourcing the wine.

In addition, there will be a 12-tap bar system with local beers and two wines.

“We invested in this property and people will notice that the inside is nice. It has to go along with my food and the style of service, which is high end,” Knowles said.

May 10-28, service will be limited to dinner, 5-11 p.m. Starting May 29, service will include lunch.

EnRich will then be open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. MondayThursday and 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday.

By Robyn Murrell

EnRich restaurant owner Rich Knowles poses May 2 in the restaurant, 5239 Manatee ave. W., Bradenton. Islander Photo: Robyn Murrell

ANNA MARIA