The Islander Newspaper E-Edition: Wednesday, May 03, 2023

AM settles litigation over party houses

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Litigation over a pair of Anna Maria vacation rental properties declared to be public nuisances didn’t last long.

City commissioners voted April 24 on motions to approve settlement agreements with the owners of property at 205 S. Bay Blvd. — Beach to Bay Investments Inc. — and at 313 Magnolia Ave. — Mangoes on Magnolia LLC.

Special magistrate Gerald Buhr, an attorney from Tampa-based Saxon Gilmore & Carraway law firm, declared the vacation units to be public nuisances last summer due to repeated noise ordinance violations at the properties.

TDC backs $425K water taxi subsidy

By Lisa Neff Islander Editor

A possible launch for July 4 could finally float the boat.

Tourism officials showed enthusiasm April 24 for the prospect of launching a ferry service between Bradenton and Anna Maria Island for the July 4 weekend.

“We’re hoping to start a Friday-Saturday-Sunday service in the

month of July,” Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said April 24. “”Would Fourth of July weekend be the perfect scenario? Absolutely.”

Falcione was addressing the Manatee County Tourist Development Council, an advisory committee to the county commission, at a meeting at the county administration building in Bradenton. He also was asking the TDC to recommend commissioners approve a $400,000

Pines residents await park sale in limbo

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

Pines Trailer Park residents are holding out hope that a buyer might keep the property for mobile homes.

Residents failed in a drive to purchase the park, 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach.

The owner partnership, with Richard and William Jackson as officers, listed the 2.78 acre park for sale at $16 million in January but the price rose to at least $16.5 million.

By law, the partnership first had to offer the park to the resident owners.

Now the owners are entertaining offers from prospective buyers, a process operating under a veil of nondisclosure.

Bill Gorman, an agent representing the Pines Homeowners Association, would not disclose the potential business entities

involved in the sale but did confirm at least two potential buyers have made bids.

Asked about the possibility a buyer would continue to operate the park, Gorman said he hoped that would happen for the sake of residents.

Gorman, president at Lifestyle Choice Realty Inc. of Casselberry, was retained by the HOA to represent their interests.

Homeowners formed a cooperative after the park partnership announced its intent to sell the land leased by residents.

Although Gorman and the HOA worked to negotiate the purchase of the park, their efforts proved unsuccessful.

“I think everything had to do with the fact that the community itself is an incredible location and the owner could demand a higher price than the worth of a normal mobile home park and the lenders were

City code deems three or more violations at a single property within a rolling 12-month period evidence of a public nuisance.

The designation allows the city to pursue litigation against property owners and management for injunctions for relief.

Buhr declared the vacation unit at 205 S. Bay Blvd. a public nuisance July 26, 2022, after reviewing three noise citations issued

MAY 9, 1980 TURN TO PINES PARK, PaGE 2

43 years ago

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster unfolds in this view from the north span looking toward the Summit Venture on the horizon. The Islander’s coverage, page 16. Islander File Photo: Paul Roat

.com

Work is taking place in a yard near Orlando to construct two boats for a Bradentonanna maria Island ferry service. “The boats are coming along well,” Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said april 24. Islander Photo: Courtesy BaCVB

Falcione

reluctant to make a loan on that basis,” Gorman said in an April 27 interview with The Islander.

A listing for the park, which abuts the Historic Bridge Street Pier, can be found on the website for Yale Realty & Capital Advisors at yaleadvisors.com.

“As a resident of the beautiful Pines Park, I am heartbroken,” Pines resident Linda Maerker wrote on Facebook regarding the failed bid.

She also wrote, “Pines Park is not just our homes, it’s our family. I appreciate all the kind words. As for the others, someday it will be you who are cast away because of your age or financial circumstances. I hope someone who can WILL HELP YOU.”

Commercial fishing industry workers in Cortez share their perspectives in 5 new videos.

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PINES PARK CONTINUED FROm PaGE 1

David Higgins, left, and mark Pearce of Bradenton Beach public works and plant a pigeon plum at Herb Dolan Park in Bradenton Beach. They are joined by Richard Larson of the Florida Forest Service and Holly Harper of WWSB-TV 7, who “reported” for the aBC Sarasota affiliate station. Islander Photo: Courtesy Ingrid mcClellan

anna maria Island Garden Club members Loretta Estabrooks, left, Janet Conner, Zan Fuller and Kathy Goerlitz, right, stand april 28 next to one of two silver buttonwood trees they purchased for Holmes Beach to enhance the 34th Street Park, 3400 Sixth ave., and celebrate National arbor Day. The holiday is annually observed in april. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Richard Larson, left, of the Florida Forest Service; Bradenton Beach ScenicWaVES Committee members Peg miller, Cathy King, Lee Zerkel and Shawn mayers; anna maria Island Garden Club president Kathy morgan Johnson; and Bradenton Beach mayor John Chappie mark National arbor Day april 28 with the planting of a pigeon plum at Herb Dolan Park. Islander Photo: Courtesy Ingrid mcClellan

Holmes Beach mayor Judy Titsworth, center, reads a proclamation april 28 recognizing National arbor Day. The city celebrated a new city-funded satinleaf tree, center rear, and a pair of newly planted silver buttonwood trees that flank the walkway at the 34th Street Park, 3400 Sixth ave. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Island cities mark Arbor Day

anna maria public works employees and Florida Forest Service county forester Richard Larsen, right, plant a redbay tree april 28 in a minipark at 311 S. Bay Blvd., as a part of the city’s celebration of National arbor Day celebration. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Anna Maria-Mote center opening May 5

The doors of mote marine Laboratory’s educational outreach center on the anna maria City Pier — in the works for almost two years — will open to the public this week. a grand-opening ceremony for the marine center will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, may 5, at City Pier Park, 103 N. Bay Blvd., with speeches from mayor Dan murphy and mote president/ CEO michael Crosby, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the pier, after which people will be allowed a first look and tours of the outreach center.

MCSO rescues swimmers at island’s north end

Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office rescued two swimmers — a man and a child — April 23 swimming off Bean Point on Anna Maria Island.

A current pulled the swimmers — identified as a father and son — about 100 yards from shore.

MCSO marine deputies, while on patrol, saw the swimmers in distress and pulled them to their boat before returning them to the beach at the north end.

The swimmers were vacationing from Europe and, according to an MCSO news release, were not aware of rip currents common to the area.

“Fortunately,” the release stated, “deputies were in the right place at the right time and saw the struggling swimmers before it was too late.”

A video of the rescue was posted to MCSO’s social media accounts, including on YouTube.

The MCSO, in social media posts May 1, cautioned about the dangers of currents and stressed safeswimming practices.

Q&A 050323

The Islander poll

Last week’s question

By Lisa Neff

The best Mother’s Day gift is …

39%. Flowers.

1%. Candy.

1%. Clothing.

17%. Gift card.

41%. Other.

This week’s question

The Mote Marine education center opens May 5 at the Anna Maria City Pier.

A. I will be among the first to visit.

B. I’ll visit soon.

C. No rush to see.

D. Not really interested.

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

Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

to renters from Sept 2021-March 2022. Beach to Bay Investments owns the property, which is managed by AMI Locals.

Developer Shawn Kaleta serves as title president of Beach to Bay and title manager of AMI Locals.

Beach to Bay appealed Buhr’s order in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in August 2022, claiming the city violated its due process rights.

Attorney Michelle Grantham, from the Bradentonbased Najmy Thompson law firm, filed an initial appellant brief in February.

The city moved to extend the deadline to respond to the brief from March 8 to March 28 due to “the complexity of the constitutional challenges raised by Appellants, heavy workloads and ongoing staffing constraints”.

The extension was approved but, by March 28, the court had already approved a 30-day extension for the involved parties to conduct settlement negotiations.

The parties had until April 28 to negotiate a settlement agreement, and city officials met April 13 in a shade meeting to discuss the possible outcome.

A shade meeting allows public officials to discuss pending litigation with legal counsel in private as an exception to the state’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law, which guarantees public access to governmental proceedings.

The shade meeting minutes become public at the outcome of the litigation.

During the meeting’s public session, city officials agreed to hold another shade meeting April 24 to discuss the case.

However, by April 24, the shade meeting had become a special meeting, with a finalized settlement up for commission consideration.

The settlement agreement specifies:

• The city will withdraw the public nuisance designation from the property;

• If any verified noise citations occur at the property on or before July 24, the nuisance designation shall be reinstated for a 90-day period from the date of such citation;

• Beach to Bay will dismiss its appeal against

Milestones

The Islander welcomes stories about islanders and island life, as well as photographs and notices of the milestones in readers’ lives — weddings, births, anniversaries, travels, obituaries and other events.

Submit your announcements and photographs with captions for publication — along with contact information — to news@islander. org.

also, visit us on Facebook and join the 13,800-plus friends who “like” The Islander and share their social news.

a vacation rental at 313 magnolia ave., anna maria, was declared a public nuisance in may 2022 by a special magistrate after renters were cited for five noise violations at the property over less than 10 months.

Buhr’s order upon the settlement’s filing.

Commissioner Deanie Sebring noted a scrivener’s error in the agreement.

City attorney Becky Vose said she would write in a correction and recommended commissioners approve the agreement.

Commissioners unanimously voted to approve the settlement, with a revision to correct the error.

Mangoes on Magnolia

Buhr declared property at 313 Magnolia Ave. a public nuisance due to five noise violation citations issued to renters staying there from June 2021-March 2022.

The property is managed by Vacasa and owned by Mangoes on Magnolia LLC, of which Orlando resident Rajendra Patel is the registered agent, according to sunbiz.org.

Following Buhr’s ruling, the city filed a complaint in June 2022 for injunctive relief against Mangoes on Magnolia, asking the court to close rental activities at the property for a year.

Mangoes on Magnolia LLC responded by July 2022 and the case was moving forward as recently as April 21, when a witness and exhibit list for the case was released.

City officials discussed a potential settlement during an April 13 shade meeting, before the shade meeting on the Beach to Bay Investments case, and a finalized agreement made it onto the April 24 special meeting agenda.

The settlement agreement specifies:

• Mangoes on Magnolia LLC will be on a “form of probation” for one year, beginning when the settlement is signed by all parties, and if there are no further proven noise violations, the city will dismiss its case;

• If there is a proven noise violation, the vacation unit must be shut down for a consecutive six-week period that must commence no later than four months after the violation;

• In the event of any litigation regarding the settlement, the losing party shall pay the reasonable attorney’s fees of the prevailing party.

Commissioner Jonathan Crane said last time city officials discussed the case, they talked about an advertisement for the rental unit displaying a length of stay they wanted changed.

He said a representative from Mangoes on Magnolia LLC told the city it would change the ad, but it hadn’t.

Vose said the city was only legally interested in reducing noise from the property and was not concerned with how it was accomplished, including the advertisement.

She said she did not want to risk the city’s vacation rental ordinance by dictating ads or attempting to regulate length of stay.

Crane said he had a problem with Mangoes on Magnolia LLC’s failure to change the ad after the representative’s “promise.”

Vose said such a promise had never been made. She said problems had stopped at the property since it was labeled a public nuisance and the owners had installed noise meters to enforce a low noise level.

Vose said she “strongly” recommended commissioners approve the settlement.

Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the settlement.

Crane voted “no.”

There was no public comment on either item.

Property at 205 S. Bay Blvd., anna maria, was declared a public nuisance in July 2022 by the city’s special magistrate after renters were cited for three noise violations over six months. Islander Photos: Ryan Paice

subsidy — paid with tourist development tax revenues — for the ferry service’s first year, as well as $25,000 in TDT money for marketing.

The council unanimously approved the recommendation after Falcione described the funding situation: A former county administrator was exploring funding from two other sources — beach concession revenue, which traditionally has gone to the island cities, and beach market revenue, which doesn’t exist because no market has been established.

“The only option this year is subsidizing the operation with tourist tax proceeds,” Falcione said.

Falcione said a goal is to build a sustainable operation that pays for itself, one that eventually would be operated by the county transit agency but still marketed by the BACVB.

“Until we try,” he said, “we’re just not going to know the ridership.”

The planned westward route for the Gulf Islands Ferry is from downtown Bradenton to the city pier in Anna Maria and the Historic Bridge Street Pier and Coquina Boat Ramp in Bradenton Beach. The eastward route would be the reverse.

The cost will be $8 one way, $10 for a “hopper” and the county plans to offer a fare-free workforce pass.

Before the launch, some details need to be worked out, including adopting interlocal agreements between the county and the partner cities and finalizing an agreement with the ferry service operator, Gulf Coast Water Taxi LLC.

Also, the boats — each capable of carrying 49 passengers — are still under construction in a boat yard near Orlando. The TDC previously recommended spending $950,000 for the boats.

One vessel is the Downtown Duchess and the other is the Miss Anna Maria. Their port of call will be Bradenton.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Falcione, tapped by the county commission to steer the effort to launch the service.

TDC member Ed Chiles, an island resident and businessman, agreed: “We have been talking about this for 25 or 30 years.”

Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover-Bryant, who wants the ferry route eventually expanded to her side of the Manatee River, motioned to recommend the $425,000 subsidy using TDT money.

Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

County commissioners are expected to consider the recommendation this month and agreements with the cities and operator either this month or next.

The next TDC meeting will be at 9 a.m. Monday, June 5, at the Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

At the June meeting, the council will consider a recommendation on a two-year budget.

Meetings

ANNA MARIA CITY

manatee plans to put two boats in service this summer as water taxis between Bradenton and anna maria Island. Islander Photo: Courtesy BaVCB

Ready for summer season?

Is your business ready for the summer season on AMI? Improve your odds of success with The Islander’s readers — residents, seasonal visitors and vacationers — looking to shop and dine, as well as indoor and outdoor fun. For advertising info, call or text 941-778-7978.

By Lisa Neff

May 5, 10 a.m., Mote Marine Education Center grand opening, city pier and City Pier Park.

May 11, 2 p.m., commission.

May 25, 6 p.m., commission.

May 29, 10 a.m., Memorial Day ceremony and city centennial celebration.

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

BRADENTON BEACH

May 3, 9:30 a.m., CRA.

May 3, 1 p.m., planning and zoning.

May 4, 6 p.m., commission.

May 17, 10 a.m., department heads.

May 17, 1 p.m., ScenicWAVES.

May 18, noon, commission.

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

HOLMES BEACH

May 3, 10 a.m., parks and beautification.

May 3, 5 p.m., planning.

May 9, 2 p.m., commission.

May 10, 9 a.m., clean water.

May 19, 11:30 a.m., police pension fund.

Palmetto mayor Shirley Groover-Bryant, a member of the TDC, wants a ferry route eventually to include Palmetto. Islander Screenshot

a planned route for the Gulf Islands Ferry. The service will operate between downtown Bradenton, the anna maria City Pier, the Historic Bridge Street Pier and the Coquina Beach boat launch. There will be no stop in Holmes Beach. Islander Courtesy Image

May 23, 5 p.m., commission.

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

WEST MANATEE FIRE RESCUE

May 16, 6 p.m., commission.

WMFR administration building, 701 63rd St. W., Bradenton, 941-761-1555, wmfr.org.

MANATEE COUNTY

May 9, 9 a.m., commission.

May 18, 9 a.m., commission (land use).

May 23, 9 a.m., commission.

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

ALSO OF INTEREST

May 8, 2 p.m., Island Transportation Planning Organization, Holmes Beach City Hall.

May 18, 4-7 p.m., community hurricane preparedness expo, Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

May 22, 9:30 a.m., Sarasota/Manatee MPO, Holiday Inn Sarasota-Bradenton Airport, 8009 15th St. E., Sarasota.

Memorial Day is May 29. Most government offices will be closed.

Send meeting notices to calendar@islander.org.

And we’re off

There’s no end to the seasons on Anna Maria Island.

Soon it will be the blistering hot, avoid-walkingthe-dog-on-hot-pavement season.

There’s tourist season but that’s pretty much yearround nowadays.

For many people, a highlight of life on Anna Maria Island is sea turtle nesting season, which is underway now — with the sea turtles ahead of schedule.

The larger-than-an ottoman female loggerhead sea turtles that frequent our beaches are typically slow, lumbering creatures with the instincts of a prehistoric creature to continue their species — in spite of the obstacles put in their way by people in the oceans and on land.

I like to think that folks on Anna Maria Island have a collective love for the sea turtles — especially since our presence here is an obstacle for them.

That’s because sea turtles are not land animals. They live all their lives in the water, swimming, eating, swimming, feeding, traveling the coast and the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and the Atlantic.

They generally don’t encounter obstacles in the water — only on land. And scientists tell us they don’t see objects on land all too well. The females appear to crawl ashore in a daze, looking to dump a clutch of eggs and return to the sea. Males never leave the water.

She senses her way on the beach, looking for temperature and sand compaction just to her taste, and then she digs with their back flippers a fairly concise nest, about 2 feet deep, into which she drops, one-by-one, about a hundred or so pingpong ball-sized eggs.

When done, she takes a turn or two over the nest, flipping sand in various directions to disguise the location, and then she follows her instinct to the sparkle of light on the water, slowly, slowly crawling, lifting and dipping her head, laboring in deep breaths, until you can almost hear her sigh of relief when she reaches the water. Then, whooosh, she’s gone.

It’s an incredible process to witness.

And 60 or so days later, with no nurturing or coaxing, the tiny hatchlings bubble up to the top, crawl across the sand in search of the reflection of stars and moon on the water and bob in the Gulf as they paddle toward the seaweed line for nourishment.

And thus, it’s up to us to keep the beach clear of obstacles — holes, castles and beach gear — and to keep the lights off through October.

Let’s do our best this year for Mother Nature.

— Bonner Joy, news@islander.org

For genuine dialogue

We applaud our Holmes Beach mayor and commissioners and their fellow civic leaders in Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach for defending longstanding, reasonable local “home rule” from attack by Republican lawmakers.

An expensive, intrusive parking garage? Really?

On an island that has a unique character compared to Longboat Key and other beachfront communities?

Extensive, appealing, public beach access with ample parking is regularly underused at Coquina Beach.

Skimming online

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As others have wisely observed, we have a traffic problem not a parking problem.

Yet the facts are unimportant. It’s all about political muscle and optics! And this is a political battle we are in danger of losing.

One hopes that the mayor’s very workable compromise did not come too late.

Holmes Beach has perhaps appeared to be insufficiently attentive to concerns raised about parking for daytime visitors.

And, to be fair, the tightening of parking regulations and removal of formerly available spaces pose an inconvenience for longtime homeowners like us — part-time or full-time residents for almost 25 years.

Two wide, beach-block streets — 67th and 77th streets —now suddenly forbid parking on both sides, though vehicles and pedestrians still would have ample, safe passage. The change is especially regrettable for those of us aged and/or requiring shelter from the sun, as 77th Street has a welcome beachfront shelter but few parking spaces remaining — even though golf carts have additional protected spaces.

Let’s hope our state lawmakers engage in genuine dialogue with local leaders, so we have a plan that

responds appropriately to the need for parking for nonresidents. But essential is a plan that recognizes and respects the primary responsibility of the island’s elected officials to protect the quality of life for homeowners, as well as visitors and the special character of Anna Maria Island.

Helen and Tom Flynn, Holmes Beach

Desecration of AMI

How did we come to the point where some want to further destroy what used to be one of the most beautiful locations in Florida?

Officials on Anna Maria Island answered complaints by residents, taxpayers, voters complaining about not being able to park in front of their homes, dealing with, trash, feces, urine, loud voices and general interference with what they thought was their right to peaceful existence and where some have lived for 25 or 50 years.

After the city initiated some parking rules, some

Looking back

Specimen storage at mote marine Laboratory in Sarasota in 1979.

mote will open an educational center may 5 on the anna maria City Pier in anna maria.

Islander Photo: Courtesy manatee County Public Library Systems

of the county’s children — sorry commissioners — demanded parking restrictions be rescinded, and if not, there would be consequences/repercussions.

So now they want to spend $42 million to build a three-story monstrosity, close the cafe for two years, force beachgoers to pay for parking with the resulting increase in traffic and further degrading of the island.

It was pointed out to state representatives and others that there already is plenty of parking on the island and there could be accommodations offered by various organizations to offer parking to county residents.

Still, it seems some commissioners want to show Anna Maria who is the boss.

The commissioners should recognize vacationers do not vote but residents do. There is such a well of disappointment, anger and resolve toward these

commissioners that there will be organized efforts to change the composition of the county commission, which I expect will be well-funded. Remember to vote in 2024.

Paul Reed Steberger, Holmes Beach

State contacts

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

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

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

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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.”

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10&20 years ago

From the April 30, 2003, issue

• Two Holmes Beach residents were arrested for a shooting incident near Anna Maria Elementary around 5:40 a.m. April 25. Police charged the two people with illegal possession of firearms and possession of illegal drugs. More than 20 weapons were discovered inside a house.

• Holmes Beach police dealt with vandalism in the city center that involved someone using a BB gun to break store windows and automobile windows. Store owners called for more police patrols late at night and in the early morning.

• Anna Maria residents and some commissioners disapproved of a plan by the mayors of Anna Maria and Holmes Beach to share building offi cials and allow the Holmes Beach building department to cover duties in Anna Maria. From the May 1, 2013, issue

• Lynn Tran addressed Holmes Beach commissioners in an attempt to open a dialogue over the city’s April 5, 2013, notice of violation issued for a treehouse built on the beach at her home and lodging facility, Angelino’s Sea Lodge, at 103 29th St., Holmes Beach.

• By a 3-2 vote, Anna Maria commissioners approved a park and parking plan for the vacant land owned by the city at the east end of Pine Avenue but they rejected a proposal to provide public restrooms at the park.

• Direct spending by visitors to the island for February-April 2013 totaled just under $300,000, according to a Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau report and many in the local retail industry said 2013’s season was the best ever for sales.

— Lisa Neff

Print Your Own Memories

Islanders ‘go with the flow’

By Kathy Caserta Special to The Islander

“Go with the flow.”

I have been using the phrase for years and the stars must have aligned because there we were in Belize with Clearwater Marine Aquarium doing health assessments on manatees.

The new word that goes with the phrase is “fluidity,” as it refers to having patience as we waited to capture a manatee.

Each day, I thought, where would I rather be in life? The answer: I’m thanking my lucky stars we were here to share this adventure with the greatest animal lovers on Earth, after all a manatee is not like a puppy to pick up and cuddle. You must respect them as the fascinating animals that they are.

We had joined Dr. James “Buddy” Powell, CMA’s chief zoological officer, and his research team in Belize to assess the overall health and condition of the Antillean manatees.

Dr. Adrienne Atkins was the team’s vet and does she ever show love to animals, especially the manatee. She sprang into action, taking blood samples, measurements, weighing and tagging the special animals.

Anmari Alvarez-Aleman, Ph.D. and CMA’s Caribbean research director, has been involved with manatees for years and was such an asset to have on board to explain each step of the process.

At Gales Point, the BBC was there to report on the team’s work. Marine biologist Jamal Galves, program coordinator for Belize Manatee Conservation at CMA, was taken away in their boat for an interview on the water, an interview about manatee habitat and all that’s being done to protect the animals.

Some of the most important features of a health assessment are documentation of an animal with photos, blood work and notations of white marks referred to as blaze — similar to a birthmark — along with scars and boat strikes with dates showing a timeline for injuries.

We captured a manatee in Placencia Lagoon that had monofilament fishing line tangled around a flipper.

Atkins was fantastic with her quick work removing the line and doing surgery to repair the flipper. She is one of the kindest and most caring vets I have met.

The manatee was surrounded with love from all the team, which I am sure contributed to its calm demeanor.

The manatees we encountered weighed 300-1,000 pounds. At Southern Lagoon, we came across “Trenton,” a 675-pound male manatee first assessed 23 years ago and caught six times in the past.

So I believe Trenton was looking to get a tag this time. The tags are similar to microchips used on domestic pets and a way to trace activity and make sure all is well in the manatee neighborhood.

There were four boats involved in this work — a capture boat, medical boat, jumpers boat and a lunch

TURN TO MANATEES, PaGE 9

Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater held a groundbreaking April 25 on a new manatee rehabilitation center.

Vulnerable to extinction, manatees are a flagship species and indicators of balance in their natural aquatic habitat.

The center will allow CMA to accept manatees recovering from the effects of food and habitat loss, red tide exposure, boat strike wounds, cold stress and more.

The center will use technology including ozone treatment and medical habitats with false bottoms for the comfort of the manatees and safety of the animal care staff, according to a news release.

“The manatee care center represents a full circle moment for us, as we have already assisted with the rescue, research and monitoring of manatees and now we’ll be able to provide the care needed for their best chance of recovery and survival,” said Dr. James “Buddy” Powell, CMA’s chief zoological officer.

He continued, “Global research and actual care go hand in hand, by studying the manatees both in

Research on saving manatees leads to Belize

the wild and in our care, we can better understand their needs and behaviors and develop more effective conservation strategies.”

a rendering of the planned manatee rehab center at Clearwater marine aquarium in Clearwater. Cma will care for manatees recovering from the effects of seagrass and habitat loss, red tide exposure, boat strike wounds, cold stress syndrome and more.

Islander Courtesy Photo

CMA has a board that includes, as director, Vic Caserta of Holmes Beach.

In late April, Vic Caserta and wife Kathy joined Powell and others in Belize, where CMA was assessing the health of the manatee population.

Kathy Caserta wrote the dispatch above about the eco-adventure.

Holmes Beach resident Kathy Caserta and marine biologist Jamal Galves in april in Belize, on the north-eastern coast of Central america. Islander Courtesy Photos

Holmes Beach residents Kathy and Vic Caserta pose with a manatee in Southern Lagoon in Belize.

Holmes Beach residents Vic and Kathy Caserta attend an april 25 groundbreaking for a manatee rehabilitation center at Clearwater marine aquarium. Vic Caserta is on the Cma board.

boat! The capture boat held 18 people at one counting!

The setup to capture a manatee is quite something to experience, as the skipper searches the waters and sometimes sends up a drone and then, when a manatee is spotted, the net is set and all the jumpers go into the water to hold the net position while the manatee moves through a smaller net to be lifted onto the boat for assessment.

On this trip, we encountered at least 12 manatees, 11 were tagged and all doing well and healthy with good seagrass available at this time.

Hopefully, Belize does not follow the path of the manatees in Florida with boat strikes and lack of food sources due to water pollution.

Manatees on the move in Florida waters

With temperatures heating up, manatees are on the move and conservation officials are reminding boaters to keep a watchful eye for marine mammals.

Designated manatee protection zones in Florida can signify areas where manatees have been regularly documented but the slow-moving mammals can be found in all types of rivers, bays, estuaries and coastal ecosystems.

Manatees are more likely to prefer shallower waters —about 3-7 feet deep — and areas with aquatic vegetation, like seagrass beds.

Boating slowly in these areas and looking for

snouts, backs, tails and flippers can help people spot manatees.

Manatees are a protected species and it is illegal to feed, harass or harm them.

And physically handling a distressed or stranded manatee can cause additional harm.

Instead, report injured, distressed, sick or dead manatees to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC so trained responders can assist.

— Lisa Neff

Dr. adrienne atkins, Cma vet, performs surgery to remove monofilament fishing line at Placencia Lagoon in Belize.

aBOVE: Holmes Beach resident Vic Caserta and Dr. James “Buddy” Powell in Placencia, Belize. Caserta is a director on the Clearwater marine aquarium board. Powell is chief zoological officer at Cma.

LEFT: Jamal Galves prepares to send up a drone at Stan Creek in Belize.

a souvenir — for fans of the manatee and Clearwater marine aquarium.

Compiled by Lisa Neff, calendar@islander.org.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ON AMI

Saturday, May 6

5-8 p.m. — Center of Anna Maria Island Crawfish Boil, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria. Fee applies. Information: 941-7781908.

ONGOING ON AMI

Through May 14, Island Players’ “How the Other Half Loves,” 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria. Fee applies. Information: 941-7785755.

Tuesdays through May 9, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Anna Maria Farmers Market, City Pier Park, North Bay Boulevard and Pine Avenue, Anna Maria. Information: 941-708-6130.

Friday, May 5

6-8 p.m. — Music in the Park presents Combo Fusion — dance, Latin, Riverwalk Mosaic Amphitheater, 606 Third Ave. W., Bradenton: Information: 941-301-8445.

ONGOING OFF AMI

Throughout May, Island Gallery and Studios, 456 Old Main St., Bradenton, showcases “It’s All About the Light” by Marie Garafano. Information: 941-778-6648.

Through May 28, “Gods and Lovers: Painting and Sculpture from India,” the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road, Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-360-7390, ringling.org.

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

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 through May, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Bradenton Public Market, Old Main Street, Bradenton. Information: 941-932-9439.

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

SAVE THE DATE

May 13, Anna Maria Island Privateers’ Food Trucks, Pirates and Tunes Festival, Holmes Beach.

May 25, The Bishop Laser Light Nights opens, Bradenton. Dec. 1-2, Bradenton Blues Fest, Bradenton.

Visit islander.org for the best news on AMI.

Island happenings

Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-7786341.

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

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.

ONGOING OFF AMI

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

SAVE THE DATE

May 13, Letter Carriers Food Drive Day, areawide.

Manatee matters

Learn about manatees during a program at 9 a.m. Friday, may 5. The manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department will present “Explore Nature: manatees” at Portosueno Park, 1206 alcazar Drive, Bradenton. For more, call 941-742-5923.

KIDS & FAMILY

ON AMI

NATURE, FITNESS & SPORTS

ONGOING ON AMI

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

OFF AMI

Friday, May 5

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

ONGOING OFF AMI

Through May 21, Mote Marine Aquarium’s “Voyage to the Deep” exhibit, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota. Fee applies. Information: 941-388-4441.

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

SAVE THE DATE

May 27, Anna Maria Island Privateers’ Snooks Adams Kids Day, Holmes Beach.

CLUBS & COMMUNITY ON AMI

Thursday, May 4

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

Saturday, May 6 9-11 a.m. — Center of Anna Maria Island beach cleanup, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria. Information: 941-778-1908.

Wednesday, May 10

6:30 p.m. — Island Time Book Club, Island Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Information: 941-778-6341.

ONGOING ON AMI

Most Wednesdays, 1 p.m., mahjong club beginners, Island

Friday, May 5

9-11 a.m. — Explore Nature: Manatees, Portosueno Park, 1206 Alcazar Drive, Bradenton. Information: 941-742-5923. Monday, May 8

6:30 p.m. — Sunset Tai Chi at the NEST, Robinson Preserve expansion, 10299 Ninth Ave. NW., Bradenton. Information: 941-7425923.

ONGOING

OFF AMI

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

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

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

SAVE THE DATE

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

GOOD TO KNOW

KEEP THE DATES

May 5, Cinco de Mayo.

May 14, Mother’s Day.

May 20, Armed Forces Day.

May 29, Memorial Day.

June 1, Atlantic hurricane season begins.

Music Lessons: Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Saxophone and Drum

Used & Consigned Musical Instruments

Open JAM 1st Wednesdays

941.896.9089 playitagainjams.com 8208 Cortez Road W., Ste.5, Bradenton

Island happenings

Curtain to open on Island Players’ season closer

The Island Players will bring Alan Ayckbourn’s “How the Other Half Loves” to the Anna Maria theater May 4-14.

The comedy, directed by James Thaggard, is the final production in the 2022-23 season.

Performances will take place Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The theater is dark

Mondays.

Ticket sales at the box office — $25 — are 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, as well as an hour before performances. Online tickets cost $27.

The theater is at 10009 Gulf Drive.

For more, call the box office at 941-778-5755 or go online to islandplayers.org.

Privateers to park food trucks at HB city field

Their truckin’ on to city field.

The Anna Maria Island Privateers will stage the Food Trucks, Pirates and Tunes Festival May 13 in Holmes Beach.

The Saturday event — noon-6 p.m. — will be at city field in the 5800 block of Marina Drive north of city hall.

An announcement on the nonprofit’s website said 10 food trucks were booked, as well as five bands — Southern Cross, Steve Paradis, The 301 Travelers, Cabana Dogs and Bradentucky Death Rays.

For more information, contact John “Lil John Arr” Rutherford at 941-779-6033 or johnrutherford25@yahoo.com.

Center sets derby-themed dinner date — May 6

Bet on a good time.

Diners May 6 at the Center of Anna Maria Island will cheer on the Kentucky Derby and feast on crawfish, bourbon bread pudding and more.

The center is hosting its annual crawfish boil 5-8 p.m. Saturday, May 6, but this year with a Kentucky Derby-themed party — post time for the televised horse race is 6:57 p.m. EST — that includes a hat contest and bets on a crawfish race.

Also, the Stockton Brothers will perform.

Tickets are $60.

The center is at 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

Swinging the day away

Lincoln Seabaugh, 2, smiles and laughs april 19 as dad Johnny pushes the swing at the city field playground in Holmes Beach during a family vacation from of South Bend, Indiana, to the island. Islander

Photo: Ryan Paice

Privateers, HBPD presenting Kids’ Day May 27 at city field

The Anna Maria Island Privateers invite kids to sail into summer with Snooks Adams’ Kids Day.

This year, the nonprofi t dedicated to “kids and community” is partnering with the Holmes Beach Police Department — a return, of sorts, to the original event, which was founded by the late Snooks Adams, longtime law enforcement officer and 25-year Holmes Beach police chief, to mark the end of the school year.

The activities will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 27, at city field, 5800 block of Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.

Submit social news to news@islander.org. Please, include time, date and location for events, as well as a contact and phone number for publication. And, thanks for sharing!

Odd Duck Designs Shop

Privateers will lead children in a series of games and activities, including a treasure hunt.

They also will serve kids a lunch that includes hot dogs, pizza and beverages.

The Privateers assumed responsibility from Adams for hosting the party in the 1980s.

For more, call the HBPD at 941-708-5804.

Off-Stage Ladies to lunch

The Off-Stage Ladies of the Island players will meet at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 10, at the Feast in Holmes Beach.

Reservations are required. For more, call 941-932-2798.

For more information, go online to centerami. org or call the center at 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

Center plans season’s final beach cleanup

The Center of Anna Maria Island will coordinate a beach cleanup — its last of the season — Saturday, May 6.

Volunteers will meet at the center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, at 9 a.m. and walk to the beach.

For more, call the center at 941-778-1908.

Kiwanis to meet

The Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island is meeting Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. at Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.

The program May 6 will feature remarks by Casey Hoffman of Real Island Productions.

For more information, call Sandy Haas-Martens at 941-778-1383.

Wearable T-shirt art by local artist Connie Wolgast. Scan here shop!

to

941-224-1897

Lion roars in the jungle

aBOVE: amE first-graders Jackson Griffin, top left, Owen Serra, Simon messinger, Robbie Bradford, Kalvin Kroth and Lucas Urbiola get into character during the production of “Jungle Party Tonight” april 25 at the Holmes Beach school.

LEFT: amE first-grader Jackson Glasscock gives his best lion performance april 25 for a class play, “Jungle Party Tonight,” in the auditorium. Islander Photos: Courtesy Ryan Serra

Community center $211K in red, AM contributes $50K

By Ryan Paice

Islander Reporter

The Center of Anna Maria Island has a ways go to turn around its fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the city of Anna Maria pitched in, with commissioners unanimously voting April 27 to approve a $50,000 donation from a contingency fund toward new air conditioning at the center.

Mayor Dan Murphy, who proposed the donation, said it would be a “worthwhile effort” to improve the nonprofit’s facility at 407 Magnolia Ave.

Murphy added that, moving forward, he would like commissioners to consider annual contributions toward capital improvements instead of the general funding as it has allocated in the past.

Commissioner Robert Kingan praised the center and said it was in the city’s best interests to maintain the building.

“(The center) is a vital asset on this island and in this community,” Kingan said.

The donation addresses one of the primary reasons the nonprofit was $211,646 in the red through March, worse than the same time last year, according to a financial report.

Fiscal year 2022-23 began July 1, 2022, and will

end June 30, leaving the center three months to make up the deficit.

Capital expenses through March make up the majority, or $151,461, of the nonprofit’s deficit.

Executive director Chris Culhane said April 27 that capital improvement costs were largely due to ongoing bathroom renovations and an AC replacement.

Culhane said the nonprofit received a $250,000 estimate to replace its AC units and would accept any help toward paying that cost.

Anna Maria Commission Chair Mark Short, who is on the nonprofit’s finance committee, said the center received funding for those capital improvements in fiscal 2021-22.

He noted the expenses were funded but the funds are not reflected in this year’s financials.

Without capital expenses, the center is $60,186 in the red through March with less program and fundraising income through the same month last year.

The nonprofit’s program income through March was $331,017 — $22,686 less than the same period last year.

The center has taken in $171,197 in fundraising income through March, $75,850 less than the year

Tiki & Kitty’s

There’s just no time for spring cleaning, while Tiki and Kitty map out their time for some spring shopping at their favorite thrifts and boutiques.

Blue Flamingo is home to hip and trendy upcycled and repurposed goods, furniture and decor, garden features, candles, jewelry and work by local artisans. They also offer Dixie Belle paints.

Cat’s Meow has 7,700 square feet of vintage, unique and repurposed items. You may want to lace up your skates, as this large, former skating rink has plenty to offer bargain, antique, unique hunters. Plus, there’s a mancave and a cool clothing boutique. You

Miss us? WE MISS YOU AMI!

Stop by at our other locations:

Scavengers Marketplace SRQ

1175 N Washington Blvd

Scavengers Palmetto

2100 US Hwy 301

don’t want to miss this vast collection of vendors.

Blessed and Distressed is a tastefully designed store — so inviting, you’ll want to pull up a chair — with collectibles and work by local artists. The store is at Palma Sola Square, around the corner from WinnDixie. It offers 30-plus vintage, upcycled, shabby chic and artsy vendors. You won’t be disappointed.

Scavengers Marketplace invites you to visit its many vendors at the Palmetto store, 2100 U.S. 301, where a portion of your purchase benefits Moonracer No Kill Pet Rescue — our favorite pet rescue group. Founder Lisa Williams leads the rescue efforts and also works at The Islander as office manager.

FYI: Scavengers also carries Fusion Paints.

Your place for fun, funky quirky!

Great work from Local Artisans Upcycled, Repurposed, Vintage Dixie Belle Paint, Fun Gifts & More! theblueflamingo.biz

before, when it earned $247,047 during the same period.

That’s despite receiving $100,000 in fundraising revenue from the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for hosting the latest Bradenton Gulf Island Concert Series, according to BACVB reports requested by The Islander.

The center received $25,000 as a general marketing sponsorship from the BACVB in November, then $18,750 each of the following four months, corresponding with the series’ four concerts.

The nonprofit did not detail its revenue from ticket sales or catering services for the concerts.

Spring fundraising campaign

The center emailed its members April 27 to announce a spring fundraising campaign.

The campaign began May 1-2 with a 24-hour matching challenge, during which donors’ money was matched dollar for dollar.

People will have another opportunity to have their donations matched during a crawfish boil 5-8 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at the center.

For more information about the campaign and the party, people can reach the center at 941-778-1908.

Adventures in Shopping … Antiques, Art-Tiques and Chic Boutiques!

And don’t forget, tell people you meet along the way, “The Islander sent me.”

Wed-Sat 10-5

Palma Sola Square

Winn Dixie Plaza

615 59th St. W. Bradenton 941-896-8800

Dru Love, Owner Dru@bdVintage.com FUSION

Coastal campus cleanup

LEFT: amE first-graders Kylie Baker and Jackson Glasscock collect trash on campus for Earth Day, during an april 21 coastal cleanup at the Holmes Beach school. Islander Photo: Courtesy amE

BELOW: amE first-graders pose at the caboose april 21 to commemorate Earth Day. Islander Photo: Courtesy margaret Van Wormer

AME Calendar

• Through May 5, staff appreciation week.

• May 9, PTO board meeting, 3:30 p.m., conference room.

• May 9-10, fifth-grade science assessments.

• Saturday, May 13, spring gala, IMG Academy Club, Bradenton.

• Tuesday, May 16, kindergarten play, 6:30 p.m., auditorium; PTO dinner TBD, 5 p.m., cafeteria.

• May 16-17, math state assessments.

• Friday, May 19, field day.

• Monday, May 22, fifth-grade awards, AME auditorium.

• Tuesday, May 23, fifth-grade luncheon.

• Friday, May 26, last day of school for students.

AME is at 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. For more, call the school at 941-708-5525.

— Brook morrison

AmE NEWS

Delighted by dolphins

RIGHT: amE first-graders Hayes Bystrom and Piper Lewis learn about dolphins april 26 on a field trip to mote marine Laboratory and aquarium, City Island, Sarasota. LEFT: amE students — K-second-grade — learn about bottlenose dolphins april 26 at mote marine Laboratory and aquarium. Islander Photos: Courtesy amE

Bidders can win prizes, boost gala revenues

Paddles up!

An auction to boost revenue for the Anna Maria Elementary spring gala, “Vintage Hollywood, the Golden Age,” has gone live.

Auction items include front-row seats to school plays; vacations to Iceland, Scotland and Chicago; pizza for a year from Pizza Social in Anna Maria; student-created artwork and baskets; art by Guy Harvey; and an opportunity to be principal for the day.

People can access the auction at 32auctions.com/ame2023.

Auction proceeds will support the education and social needs of students by providing classrooms with supplemental reading, math and STEM tools.

Also, the PTO provides teachers with enrichment funds and the school with funds for schoolwide initiatives.

The PTO, in addition, sponsors field trips, such as the April 26 outing to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota.

“We went on a field trip to Mote Marine today and did the ‘our dolphin neighbors’ program and then a selfguided tour of the museum and it was so much fun,” first-grade teacher Margaret Van Wormer told The Islander.

The auction opened May 1 at 5 p.m. and will close at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 13 — the night of the gala.

For more about auction items, visit the AME-PTO website at amepto.org.

— Brook morrison

i.wed The Islander

Wedding Directory

ACCOMMODATIONS

Bungalow Beach Resort

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Classic 1930s island-style resort 800.779.3601

Gulf Drive Band

The Best! Classic Dance Tunes

Musical Entertainment

DJ for Weddings, Receptions. Call: 941.778.0173. gulfdriveband@gmail.com

PHOTOGRAPHY

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Dara

WEDDING PLANNER

AMI Beach Weddings

Destination Beach Wedding Experts. AMIBeachWeddings.com love@amibeachweddings.com

LOCATION!

By Lisa Neff

St. B group celebrates b-days

Expect a sing-a-long?

The women’s guild at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach, will celebrate birthdays with a party at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, May 4, in the parish center.

Attendees should bring a sack-lunch and beverage to the party but the guild will provide birthday cake for dessert, according to an announcement in the church bulletin.

There also will be a grab bag gift exchange. Reservations are required.

The church office is at 941-778-4769.

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

Tidings

ON AMI

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

Worship: Sundays, 9 a.m.

Ongoing: Wednesdays, 7 a.m., men’s Bible meeting; Wednesdays, 6 p.m., supper; Wednesdays through May 10, Wednesday Night Blast, 6:45 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. women’s Bible meeting.

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

Worship: Thursdays, 9:30 a.m.; Sundays, 8 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.

Ongoing: Wednesdays, 8 a.m., men’s meeting; Mondays, 1 p.m., book group.

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

Worship: Sundays, 9:30 a.m.

Ongoing: Sundays, 10:15 a.m., coffee and fellowship.

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

Worship: Sundays, 9:15 a.m.

Roser choir goes on tour

The Roser memorial Community Church cantata choir performs the “Festival of Faith” cantata april 16 at the Casa mora senior living center in Bradenton. The choir also performed that day at Freedom Village in Bradenton, led by Craig Ramberger and Brandon Kouri. Islander Courtesy Photo

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

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

Ongoing: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30 a.m., Roser Robics; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Roser Thrift Store; Wednesdays, 6:15 p.m., Youth Performing Arts, first and third Wednesdays, 11: 30 a.m., Just Older Youth group programs with brown-bag lunch; Thursdays, 5:30 p.m., Roser Ringers rehearsal; 7 p.m., Thursdays, choir rehearsal; Sundays, 8:30 a.m., adult Sunday school and coffee and conversation sessions. St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach. Info: 941-778-4769, stbernardcc.org, office@stbernardcc. org.

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

Ongoing: Mondays-Fridays, 8 a.m., rosary; Wednesdays, 7:30 a.m., Rosary on the Beach at Manatee Public Beach; second Thursdays, women’s guild luncheons; Saturdays, 3 p.m., confession.

OFF AMI

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

Worship: Sundays, 10 a.m.

GoodDeeds

Assistance offered on AMI

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

• AID offers financial help to those who live on the

GoodDeeds

Does your group offer islandcentric services? Does your group need volunteers or other help? Email calendar@ islanderorg.

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

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

Worship: Sundays, 10 a.m.

Ongoing: Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Lord’s Warehouse Thrift Shop; Wednesdays, 10 a.m., Bible study; Mondays, 4 p.m., choir rehearsal.

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

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

SPECIAL DATES & EVENTS

May 4, 11:30 a.m., women’s guild birthday party, St. Bernard.

May 10, 6 p.m., final Wednesday Night Blast of the 2022-23 season, CrossPointe.

May 12, 7 p.m., “Martin and the Doors,” musical, Roser Church.

June 19-22, Vacation Bible School, CrossPointe.

GET LISTED, CHANGE LISTINGS

Seasons change and so do schedules. Please, send listings and/or changes in worship calendars and other events to calendar@ islander.org.

island, go to church on the island, attend school on the island and work on the island. Info: 941-725-2433.

Assistance sought on AMI

• Moonracer Animal Rescue seeks volunteers to offer foster and forever homes for rescued animals. Info: 941345-2441.

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

Postal workers to conduct food drive May 13

Postal workers expect to receive some special deliveries in May.

The annual National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive will be held Saturday, May 13.

The drive is the largest one-day food drive in the country, when people leave donations at their mailboxes and also drop nonperishable items at local post offices.

For more information, call the Bradenton Beach Post Office at 941-779-0069 or go online to nalc.org/ community-service/food-drive.

— Lisa Neff

Compiled by Lisa Neff

GoodDeeds

Milestones

Islanders mark diamond anniversary

David and Shirley Romberger of Holmes Beach reached their diamond anniversary, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary April 27.

The couple moved to Holmes Beach more than 30 years ago, having moved to the 500 block of 71st Street in 1991.

Their “together” story goes back even earlier than the 1960s.

When they wed in 1963, they’d been childhood sweethearts since their middle school days in Middletown, Pennsylvania, where both were born.

Within a few years of marrying, they left Pennsylvania for Stone Harbor, New Jersey, where Dave Romberger practiced law and Shirley Romberger earned her master’s in marriage and family therapy.

They raised two sons — Dave Jr. and Bill — and retired to AMI but there also were other adventures, as they’ve enjoyed a life of good work and good fun:

Model mayor

Bradenton Beach mayor John Chappie shows fashion flair during a benefit — Strength in action Inc.’s “Fabulous Fashions: Puttin’ on the Ritz” — april 15, at the Center of anna maria Island, 407 magnolia ave., anna maria. Proceeds supported work at the mt. Carmel Resource Center in Palmetto. For more information, call the Palmetto center at 941-9815354. Islander Photo: Stacey Shores

Prizewinning poster

anna maria Elementary fifthgrader Vincent Gollamudi’s poster, which won in the youth category of the city of Holmes Beach’s Earth Day poster contest. The city announced Vincent won a skateboard as his prize. The city did not provide details regarding the winner in the adult category. Islander Courtesy Photo

74TH SEASON

HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN

DIRECTED BY JAMES THAGGARD

CO-PRODUCED BY SATO REAL ESTATE

May 4-14

Two living rooms and three couples literally and hilariously overlap. Frank and Fiona reside in an upper-class house. Bob and Teresa live in a middle-class mess. Fiona and Bob are having an affair and must entangle the naive William and Mary in this beloved farce about adultery and alibis.

SHOWTIMES: 7:30 PM Tuesday-Saturday

2 PM Sunday Matinees

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Box office: 9-1, Monday-Saturday and 1 hour before curtain

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• They served as volunteer teachers at a children’s school in Ramallah, Palestine

• Dave Romberger spent six years building singleroom homes for people without housing in Belize.

• Shirley Romberger served as a volunteer counselor at the Anna Maria Island Community Center, now the Center of Anna Maria Island.

• Dave Romberger served as a volunteer pastor for several years at a church in Suffolk County, United Kingdom, with Shirley serving alongside him.

• They lived for a time on a sailboat, traveling along the Atlantic Coast and in the Caribbean.

• They supported their son Bill and daughter-inlaw Heather in the operation of AMI’s Tropic Isle Inn for almost a decade.

• Today, at 80, they volunteer at CrossPointe Fellowship in Holmes Beach, where he leads a Bible study and serves as an elder and she is involved in ministries, especially mentoring married couples.

Shirley and David Romberger outside their anna maria Island home. They celebrated a 60th wedding anniversary april 27. Islander Courtesy Photos

Milestones The Islander welcomes news about islanders and island life, as well as photographs and notices of the milestones in readers’ lives — weddings, births, anniversaries, travels, obituaries and other events. Email news@islander.org.

"76%

workers report being frequently tired at work."

Shirley and David Romberger on their wedding day — april 27, 1963.

Looking back: Disaster on the Skyway bridge

By Lisa Neff

Compiled from The Islander archives

Florida A&M University student Tawana McClendon rode the Greyhound bus May 9, 1980, planning to celebrate Mother’s Day with family in Palmetto.

She was just a short distance from home but never arrived. Instead of celebrating, her brother collected McClendon’s belongings from a morgue.

Sandra Davis and Woodrow Triplett also were on the Greyhound bus, traveling from Bainbridge, Georgia, to Sarasota under new identities as he was a fugitive from the law.

“Their new lives lasted only to the summit of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge,” the AP reported in a wire account.

Shortly after 7:30 a.m. that day, the Greyhound bus and other seven vehicles plunged into Tampa Bay as a section of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge collapsed, rammed by a ship.

Thirty-six people went down when parts of the bridge went down.

Only one person, Wesley MacIntire of Gulfport, survived. He was traveling to work in a 1974 Ford Courier pickup that rode the bridge down, hit the Summit Venture’s bow and then dropped into the water.

The oldest to die in the disaster was 92; the youngest was 7 months old.

Those who died include: Doris and John Carlson of Pinellas Park; Harry and Hildred Dietch, Marguerite Mathison and Leslie Coleman of St. Petersburg; Charles Collins of Tampa, James Pryor of Seminole; Delores and Robert Smith of Pennsville, New Jersey; Ann Pondy and Lillian Loucks of Winnipeg, Manitoba; Melborne Russell of Chicago; Mel Buck maybe of Chicago; Michael Curtin of Apollo Beach; Duane Adderly, Alphonso Blidge, John Callaway Jr., Laverne Daniels, Sharon Dixon, Brenda Green, of Miami; Myrtle and Willis Brown and Aubrey and Phyllis Hudson of St. Johns, Newfoundland; Robert Harding of Glen Falls, New York; Gerda Hedquist of Charlotte Harbor; Louis Johnson of Cataula, Georgia; Yvonne Johnson of Perrine; Horace Lemmons of Kings Mountain, North Carolina; Louis Lucas Jr. of Dolomite, Alabama; Manesha and Wanda McGarrah of Tallahassee.

Their names are not nearly as well-known as that of Capt. John Eugene Lerro, 37 at the time, who was piloting the 609-foot-long Summit Venture.

The ship, eastbound and headed for the Port of Tampa, was 800 feet to the right center of the shipping channel.

Lerro had lost sight of the bridge in a squall that came in off the Gulf of Mexico and he was struggling to keep control of the 35,000-ton ship in the wind and the rain.

“It was heavy, heavy, heavy rain,” Lerro would testify. “The radar screen was a sheet of water. It turned yellow. You could see nothing.”

He could not see the bow.

He could not see the bridge.

Telling the Skyway story

“John Lerro knew he was in trouble.” So begins Bill DeYoung’s book, “Skyway” about the May 9, 1980, collapse of the bridge. DeYoung titled the first chapter “Ambush” and he writes the Skyway disaster like a mystery. A play, podcasts, documentaries and other books deal with the disaster, including “Bridge Down,” “Skyway Down” “Skyway” and “Bridge to Oblivion,” historical fiction about a suicide that followed the bridge collapse.

And when the rain cleared moments before impact, Lerro was unable to stop or steer the vessel clear of the span.

The ship hit the main pier and then hit the anchor span pier head-on. That pier failed, the anchor span separated from the cantilever arm and the anchor span, cantilever arm and suspended span pitched into the bay.

An emergency call went out at 7:34 a.m. from the ship: “Mayday! Coast Guard! Mayday! Bridge crossing is down!”

Lerro and the ship’s crew watched as structure and vehicles plunged into the water.

Harry Dietch was driving with his wife, Hildred, to her hair appointment in Bradenton.

Tuskegee Institute student John Callaway had just finished his exams and spring semester.

Wanda McGrath and her baby Manesha were traveling to Fort Lauderdale to celebrate Mother’s Day and a birthday.

Mel Buck was journeying from Chicago to Sarasota, seeking to repair his marriage. His wife told The AP after the disaster, “He said he’d come because I asked him to.”

Newspaper headlines in the wake of the bridge collapse and the deaths read simply but boldly, “Skyway Disaster.”

Just months before, a headline on a St. Pete Times editorial read, “Why not fenders?” and the board, pointing to other incidents at the Skyway, wrote, “The Skyway cannot maintain its string of good luck forever. We urge Gov. Bob Graham to order his Department of Transportation to begin immediately a study of how the bridge might be protected more adequately from ship traffic. A new fender system might be built when the Skyway becomes a part of the interstate network.”

The string of good luck didn’t last much longer.

Since 1980, the remnants of the old structure have been repurposed into fishing piers and a new bridge — a taller, cable-stayed structure — built.

The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened in 1987, with a clearance of 175 feet and a channel 1,200 feet wide — 400 feet wider than the channel at the time of the disaster.

The Skyway Bridge disaster unfolds in this view from the top of the north span looking toward the Summit Venture. Islander File Photo: Paul Roat

an Eckerd College marine rescue team was first on the scene at the Skyway Bridge disaster and set about with recovery operations amid the wreckage. Islander File Photo: Paul Roat

— Lisa Neff

a postcard depicts the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in 1959. The first span opened in 1954 with two lanes of traffic. In 1971, a twin parallel span was opened. The title of the postcard is “moonlight Over Lower Tampa Bay Showing main Ship Channel Bridge of Sunshine Skyway, Florida.” Islander Courtesy Image

The cover for “Skyway: The True Story of Tampa Bay’s Signature Bridge and the man Who Brought it Down” by Bill Deyoung. The author will lecture at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, may 11, at the St. Petersburg museum of History, 335 Second ave. NE, St. Pete. Islander Courtesy Photo

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 pilot to abandon transit when he lost 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 rain 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,” testified the 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.

you can peruse The Islander newspaper archive, dating back to its launch in November 1992, at ufdc.ufl.edu.

“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

a Florida Highway Patrol officer helps secure the 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

a tugboat pushes the Summit Venture from the wreckage after the may 9, 1980, crash into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge as a small boat in the center searches for survivors. Thirty-five people died. Islander File

Photo: Gene Page III

attorney Steve yerrid sits with John Lerro during the 1980 trial following the Sunshine Skyway disaster. Lerro was piloting the Summit Venture when it hit the bridge, resulting in 35 deaths. yerrid represented Lerro in the 1980 trial. Islander Photo: Courtesy Steve yerrid

A day of learning

Anna Maria approves city hall hardening grant

Batten down the hatches!

Anna Maria city commissioners unanimously voted April 27 to authorize Mayor Dan Murphy to sign for a $77,732 grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to harden city hall against storm conditions.

The grant provides funding to retrofit city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, with flood barriers, storm windows and doors, as well as other “envelope hardening measures,” according to the agreement.

City clerk LeAnne Addy did not respond to an April 28 email from The Islander requesting additional information on the grant.

The city commission will meet next at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at city hall.

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

— Ryan Paice

HB vacation rental fined for repeat violation

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Special magistrate Michael Connolly April 25 found Amy Louise Boyd, owner of property at 427 62nd St., in violation of city code for advertising and renting the property for less than seven-night stays in the municipality’s R-4 district.

Connolly also issued Boyd a $500 fine.

The R-4 district is one of the city’s medium density residential zones and requires vacation rental stays of at least seven consecutive nights.

Code compliance supervisor JT Thomas said Boyd was first cited last August for advertising two-night minimum stays and quickly came into compliance, paying the citation and correcting the advertisement.

Thomas said code compliance again found advertisements for two-night minimum stays at the property last October, resulting in a second citation and notice of repeat violation.

While Boyd had come into compliance by November 2022, code compliance found an advertisement offering a four-night minimum stay in February.

City attorney Erica Augello said the city received an email that morning from Boyd, admitting to the violation and offering to pay a $500 fine and compliance in lieu of appearing at the hearing.

Augello said such a violation can be charged with

a fine of up to $500 per day until the issue is resolved. She said Boyd came into compliance the day after the city posted a notice of violation, so the city agreed to the fine.

Augello asked Connolly to issue the $500 fine, without administrative costs, as well as provide a finding of fact that there had been a violation.

The city’s next special magistrate hearing will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 23, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.

The owner of 427 62nd St., Holmes Beach, was found april 25 to be in violation of city code by advertising and renting the property for less than seven-night stays. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice

Sarasota Bay Estuary Program public outreach manager megan Barry represented the SBEP at the Suncoast Remake Learning Days festival at the Florida maritime museum in Cortez. The event was free to attend. Islander Photos: Courtesy Kris martinez

West manatee Fire Rescue volunteers promote fire and drowning prevention april 29 during the Suncoast Remake Learning Days event.

Nathan meschelle, Organized Fisherman of Florida Cortez chapter president, and alexis meschelle of OFF host a booth april 29 at the Fmm, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez.

Circuit court reverses, remands HB magistrate rental ruling

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

In this case, the city must reconsider.

Judge Edward Nicholas of the 12th Judicial Circuit issued an April 26 opinion reversing and remanding a Holmes Beach special magistrate’s order finding a code violation against 100 73rd LLC, the owner of two units at the Coconuts Beach Resort, 100 73rd St.

Developer Shawn Kaleta is the title manager of 100 73rd LLC, which owns Coconuts resort units 102/103B and 203C.

Special magistrate Michael Connolly, of the Sarasota-based Fournier, Connolly, Shamsey, Mladinich & Polz law firm, ruled Nov. 12, 2021, to find the property owner of unit 102/103B violated city code by advertising and renting a unit for less than seven-night stays and without a city-issued vacation rental certificate.

Connolly’s ruling also included a $100 daily fine from Sept. 24, 2021, which was set to run until 100 73rd LLC came into compliance by obtaining a vacation rental certificate and correcting its advertising.

Attorney Michelle Grantham of Bradenton-based Najmy Thompson law firm, representing 100 73rd LLC, filed an appeal Dec. 10, 2021, claiming Connolly rejected the admission of relevant evidence and that city code did not require seven-night stays in the A-1 residential district.

A-1 zoning is intended for multifamily residential and seasonal tourism. The district, known as the “motel zone,” runs along the beach from about the Martinique condos at 5200 Gulf Drive to 74th Street.

The city argued during an Oct. 20, 2021, special magistrate hearing that the property was subject to the use requirements of the R-4 residential district, which requires seven-night minimum rental stays, despite its location in the A-1 district.

The Kaleta appeal also argues that the city violated his corporation’s due process rights by not noticing the owner about the potential fine at the hearing.

The city filed an answer April 1, 2022, arguing it

did not violate the property owner’s due process rights and that the appeal was “frivolous” since the appellant admitted to committing a repeat violation by renting without a city-issued vacation rental certificate.

Nicholas wrote in his April 26 opinion that the city’s R-4 zoning district’s rules only applied in the city’s A-1 zoning district if the principal use of a property is for multi-family dwellings, not resort housing such as the Coconuts.

Nicholas’ opinion ordered that, upon remand, Connolly must determine the property’s principal use in order to determine whether rental duration restrictions apply to the property.

The judge affirmed Connolly’s rejection of the property owner’s evidence relating to its historical use, dismissing one of the three grounds of appeal.

Nicholas wrote that the city properly noticed 100 73rd LLC and did not violate the property owner’s due process rights, but did not specify “how much weight the magistrate gave to the violation for renting for an improper length of stay in imposing the fine”.

The judge ordered that, on remand, if Connolly finds the property owner in violation of city code

for “an improper length of stay then the fine shall be affirmed.”

If Connolly finds the property owner did not commit a length-of-stay violation upon reconsideration, then he “shall re-evaluate the fine” without considering that violation.

Nicholas acknowledged that “the record clearly reflects the violation for renting without a valid vacation rental certificate occurred; counsel for the appellant specifically stipulated to that fact.”

The principal in the firm representing Kaleta, attorney Louis Najmy, wrote in an April 28 text message to The Islander that the magistrate’s rulings were part of the city’s attack on his client.

“Upon learning Shawn (Kaleta) owned some units in this condo/hotel property, the city changed its mind and in a discombobulated way determined the code doesn’t allow nightly rentals in the A-1 district,” Najmy wrote. “The code is clear that it does allow nightly rentals and everyone knew that. But rules were attempted to be changed because of Shawn.”

City attorney Erica Augello told The Islander May 1 that the remand order may not include significant changes after reconsideration by a magistrate.

“I don’t foresee the same issues being litigated,” Augello said. “I do believe that the city can go back before the magistrate and ask for a narrow ruling on the things the judge requested or found flawed with the magistrate’s order.”

“I can’t see that he would rule any differently given that the evidence will be nearly identical,” she added.

The case is one of three appeals of magistrate rulings for the Coconuts cases for which Nicholas ordered reversal and remand April 26-27.

There other two appeals involve the following units at the Coconuts Beach Resort:

• Unit 111/202A, owned by KCI Island Investments LLC, Kimberly and Christopher Roehl;

• Unit 118/202C, also owned by 100 73rd St.

Coconuts Beach Resort, Holmes Beach, is situated at 73rd Street on the beachfront. Islander Courtesy

Photo

Indiana woman arrested for swinging rattail at police

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Holmes Beach police arrested Indiana resident Sarah Esterline, 40, April 21 on a third-degree felony charge for alleged battery on a law enforcement officer.

Esterline also was charged with two first-degree misdemeanors — assault on a law enforcement officer and obstructing an officer without violence.

Officers responded around 9:10 p.m. to reports of a drowning near Kingfish Boat Ramp, 752 Manatee Ave., Holmes Beach, but could not find the caller and no one there appeared distressed.

The officers learned that the caller was a kayak tour guide with clients in the water near the boat ramp who was reporting a nude woman — later identified as Esterline — swimming near their kayaks and “behaving oddly.”

The kayakers and the guide came to shore and told the officers Esterline “was coming up to their boats and saying bizarre things and specifically offering services of a sexual nature” but hadn’t touched or attacked

New hurricane re-entry tags ready in Holmes Beach

Hurricane season is less than a month away.

So prepare now.

Holmes Beach Police Lt. Brian Hall issued a news release April 27 directing residents to obtain new reentry tags ahead of storm season, which runs June 1-Nov. 30.

The free tags allow public safety officials to readily identify people approved to re-enter an impacted area following an evacuation.

Hall encouraged residents to get new tags by completing a form available on the city’s website, holmesbeachfl.org, or at the Holmes Beach Police Department, 5801 Marina Drive.

Residents must return the form to the HBPD, along with proof of residency, to receive new tags.

For info, contact the HBPD at 941-778-2677.

— Ryan Paice

anyone, according to a report.

The officers approached Esterline’s husband, who had set up camp on the shore and was trying to get her to come back to the camp.

However, Esterline continued to swim and did not respond to police. She “appeared to be making light of the situation by feigning that she was drowning in approximately 3-foot-deep water throughout the interaction and trying to get us to walk out to the water.”

The officers advised the husband that he and Esterline were violating city codes by camping and possessing open alcohol containers in public but were facing no criminal charges.

By that time, Esterline came to shore, chugged an alcoholic beverage her husband had been drinking and threw the empty container into nearby bushes.

She then “suddenly and unprovoked” twirled her wet shirt into “for lack of a better term, a whip” and swung it at two officers’ heads, missing them both.

Esterline then stepped back into the water, kicked water at a nearby officer, refused to comply when officers informed her she was under arrest and threw her shirt at them.

By 10 p.m., Esterline approached an officer on the shore “aggressively” while yelling, so the officer deployed pepper spray and she retreated into the water.

She continued to taunt the officers until about 10:30 p.m., when she came to shore and was detained by the officers.

The officers clothed and arrested Esterline, then transported her to the Manatee County jail, where she remained in custody under $3,500 bond as of April 27.

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

Punishment for a first-degree misdemeanor charge include up to one year in jail, one year of probation and a fine of up to $1,000.

An arraignment will be at 9 a.m. Friday, June 2, at the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

Bradenton man pleads no contest in BUI case

A Bradenton man accused of boating while intoxicated pleaded no contest to the reckless operation of a vessel.

Ryan M. Davis entered the plea April 21, just days ahead of a scheduled jury trial in the 12th Circuit at the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Davis, 44, at about 3:40 a.m. Feb. 21, 2022, near the 4500 block of 124th St. Court W. in Cortez.

U.S. Coast Guard officers had observed a Carolina skiff lacking illumination in the Intracoastal Waterway near the Cortez Bridge, according to court records.

The vessel later was found stuck in the sand and the MCSO responded to conduct a BUI investigation of the vessel’s operator and sole occupant, Davis.

An MCSO report said Davis had red, glassy eyes and a flush face and showed signs of impairment.

Davis was transported to the Manatee County jail, where he refused a breath test.

In court, the charge was amended from DUI to reckless operation of a vessel, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Judge Heather Doyle withheld adjudication pending Davis’ completion of 12 months on probation and 25 hours of community service.

Davis’ attorney is Connie Mederos Jacobs. Christine Neilson is the prosecutor.

— Lisa Neff

Streetlife Staff reports

Island police reports

Anna Maria

No new reports.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office polices Anna Maria.

Bradenton Beach

April 23, 100 block of Gulf Drive South, restraining order. A Bradenton Beach police officer observed a man and woman known from a previous interaction. The officer informed the two people a restraining order prohibited their contact and arrested the man for viola-

PLEaSE, SEE STREETLIFE, NEXT PaGE

STREETLIFE FROm PaGE 20 tion of a domestic injunction. He was transported to the Manatee County jail.

April 24, 2651 Gulf Drive S., Coquina Beach, trespass. BBPD officers observed a man asleep on a bench at the park outside of operation hours. The officers woke the man, who would not comply with commands to leave. After repeatedly refusing to leave, the man was arrested and transported to the Manatee County jail.

The BBPD polices Bradenton Beach. Cortez

No new reports.

The MCSO polices Cortez. Holmes Beach

April 18, 5800 block of Holmes Boulevard, recovered property. An officer from the Holmes Beach Police Department responded to a call regarding a found bicycle and located the caller, who said a green bike had been left in their driveway “several days ago.” There were no reports of a stolen bike matching its description.

April 18, 500 block of Manatee Avenue, marijuana. An officer saw a man sleeping on a park bench. The officer approached the man and tried to wake him but he was unresponsive to verbal and physical stimuli. The officer called Manatee County Emergency Medical Services and checked the man’s pupils, which showed signs he was overdosing. The offi cer administered Narcan and the man began to respond and consented for EMS to take him to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton. The officer found a metal pipe with a green burnt substance and a bag containing 1.4 grams of marijuana with the man’s items. Another officer found a prescription bottle of clonazepam, a benzodiazepine, in the man’s bag. The officer submitted a capias request to the state attorney’s office for misdemeanor charges against the man for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

April 19, 8100 block of Manatee Avenue West, reckless driving. An officer responded to reports of a

Looking back

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer officially took office 10 years ago — april 10, 2013. Holmes Beach city clerk Stacey Johnston administered the oath of office to the new chief at city hall april 9, 2013. Tokajer succeeded interim Chief Dale Stephenson, who succeeded 26-year department member and 19-year Chief Jay Romine. Islander File Photo collected information from the rental agency and was advised the boat had been found drifting near Fort De Soto Park. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was contacted to recover the boat. Holmes Beach Police Department polices Holmes Beach.

reckless driver and found the complainant, who said a motorist came to a sudden stop in front of her while she was driving on Manatee Avenue. She said the motorist twice tried to run her off the road. The motorist then parked nearby, got out and yelled threats at her driverside window. She said the man realized she was on the phone with police and left the area. The woman provided descriptions of the man and his vehicle. The officer identified the vehicle using the HBPD’s license plate recognition cameras and contacted the Bradenton Police Department since the incident began in their jurisdiction.

April 22, Just 4 Fun Rentals, 5358 Gulf Drive, assisting law enforcement. An officer responded to the rental agency to assist the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on a boat theft on Egmont Key. The officer

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

Island

In an emergency, call 911. To report info, call MCSO Anna Maria, 941-708-8899; BB police, 941778-6311; HB police, 941-708-5804.

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State transportation dept. to study Cortez Road corridor

The Florida Department of Transportation is lining up some summer studies.

The DOT secured support April 25 from Manatee County commissioners for its “Cortez Road Vision and Action Plan” study after outlining a need for a “refined vision for the corridor and identification of specific projects.”

The DOT plans to spend the next year — beginning in June — studying a 10-mile corridor of State Road 684/Cortez Road to address land-use policy, safety issues, congestion, identify multimodal opportunities and propose funding approaches.

A slideshow presentation to county commissioners included:

• A map of the study area — stretching from Bradenton Beach to south Bradenton;

• A graphic showing 21 fatal crashes with 22 fatalities on Cortez Road since 2015;

• A graphic locating 347 crashes with serious injuries since 2015;

• A map showing dangerous segments of Cortez Road, including from Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach to 115th Street West in Cortez;

Tourism council backs Coquina Beach trail plan

By Lisa Neff Islander Editor

The best course for the future is to follow an existing 8-foot path in Bradenton Beach, say Manatee County tourism leaders.

The tourist development council, an advisory board to the county commission, reviewed and backed April 24 a plan to rebuild a multipurpose beach path in Bradenton Beach.

But the TDC also requested the county pursue a dedicated course — possibly parallel to the multipurpose path — for a beach-to-Bridge Street shuttle operated by the city.

The TDC, meeting at the county administration building in Bradenton, heard from county public works director Chad Butzow and public works project manager Mike Stern on work to improve stormwater drainage and expand parking at Coquina Beach, as well as replace a trail that’s cracked and buckling due in part to tree roots.

“The trail goes a long way, from the bus stop at Fifth on the north end all the way back to the pass,” Stern said, referring to Fifth Street South and Longboat Pass as the multipurpose trail’s endpoints.

He displayed a map, showing locations where the trail meanders in the shade of Australian pine trees.

The new path will be in the footprint of the existing trail but with a root barrier beneath to protect the infrastructure.

“We hope it will last … much longer,” Butzow said.

The replacement project will cost about $1.5 mil-

lion, take about eight months to complete and involve the removal of 96 Australian pine trees.

“It’s going to be obvious when those trees come out,” Stern said.

Not all the trees along the path will be removed, just those within three feet, and, for those removed, the county will mitigate by adding native species of buttonwoods and olives.

TDC members discussed the possibility of widening the path to accommodate golf carts or at least accommodate one cart — the shuttle between the beaches and the city’s commercial district privately operated under a contract with the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency.

But, Stern said, the multipurpose path proposal is to use the footprint, which keeps costs down and eliminates the need for new coastal permitting.

Also, the multipurpose path is restricted to nonmotorized vehicles.

Stern and Butzow indicated they could identify an alternative path for the shuttle to keep the service off Gulf Drive and out of traffic, perhaps establishing a route in conjunction with the county’s ongoing sewer replacement project.

“That’s tremendous news,” said Ed Chiles, a member of the TDC and the BBCRA, as well as a Bradenton Beach business owner.

The next action on the Coquina trail project likely will be by the county commission, possibly this month.

The Florida Department of Transportation’s proposed study area for Cortez Road, as presented april 25 to manatee County commissioners, who voted to support the work. Islander Courtesy Image

• A map locating the six fatalities and 40 serious injuries involving bicyclists or pedestrians since 2015.

The commission vote to support the work was 6-0, with Mike Rahn away from the meeting for the roll call.

The DOT plans to launch the project and interview people with interests in the corridor this summer, followed by data collection and analysis in the fall, workshops and the release of a vision report in late 2023 or early 2024 and the adoption of an action plan next spring.

The project will be taking place as the DOT continues its planning to replace the drawbridge on Cortez Road connecting Bradenton Beach to the mainland at Cortez with a high, fixed-span bridge.

The study project leaders are Bessie Reina, in the DOT’s District 1 office, and Frank Kalpakis of Renaissance Planning, a consulting agency.

RoadWatch

Eyes on the road

• Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach : Manatee County is relocating and replacing sewer lines in Bradenton Beach along Gulf Drive from Sixth Street South to 13th Street South. Motorists can expect a detour and traffic delays. The contractor currently is installing the gravity sewer between Ninth Street South and 11th Street South. For more information, go online to amiprojects.io.

• Gulf and Marina drives in Holmes Beach : Holmes Beach contractor crews continue working near the intersection of Gulf and Marina drives on infrastructure improvements. Traffic patterns can change. For the latest, check the city’s page on Facebook.

• Holmes Boulevard in Holmes Beach: Manatee County is working on a force main project near Holmes Boulevard, which can result in some traffic delays and congestion. For the latest, go to amiprojects.io.

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

— Lisa Neff

Chiles

Beach parking garage, rental preemptions on cusp of state law

By Ryan Paice Islander Reporter

Two bills that could reshape Anna Maria Island are nearing the finish line in the Florida legislative session.

House Bill 947 and Senate Bill 714 passed April 27 through their respective chambers — about a week before the state legislative session is set to close Friday, May 5.

HB 947 and SB 714 would facilitate Manatee County’s pledge to build a parking garage in Holmes Beach and preempt statewide municipal vacation rental regulations, respectively. If HB 947 passes through the Senate and SB 714 passes through the House of Representatives, the bills will be sent to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for consideration.

DeSantis has seven days after a bill reaches his desk to sign or veto the measure.

HB 947, county allowance

HB 947 was filed by state Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, and would authorize Manatee County to construct a parking garage within Holmes Beach.

The bill would override a city code that prohibits multi-level parking facilities within city limits by authorizing the county to construct such a facility at a county-managed public park such as Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive.

HB 947 comes in response to a more than two-year feud between the county and city over parking lost when the city established its park-by-permit system in 2020.

The city prohibited public parking 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in 645 parking spaces along residential roadways and began offering $15 decals to residents and property owners to allow them to park in those spots.

City officials stand by the system, which they argue improved residential quality of life by reducing roadside parking in residential areas and its side effects, litter and noise.

County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Robinson argue the parking allocation is unfair to offisland residents who visit the beaches and have pushed the city to return the lost parking spaces.

Mayor Judy Titsworth wrote an April 4 letter to Robinson asking him to table HB 947 in exchange for potentially designating 220 parking spaces within city limits for Manatee County residents only.

However, Titsworth said April 25 that she had received a phone call from an “upset” Robinson, who refused to discuss the matter with her until the legislative session was over.

The House voted 116-0 April 27 to approve HB 947 with one amendment to clarify that the county could construct a parking garage “without obtaining any permit, approval, consent or letter of no objection from the city of Holmes Beach.”

The bill was sent to the Senate later that day, but had not been scheduled for a first reading as of April 29.

Titsworth has said that if the bill is adopted into law and the county pursues the creation of a multilevel

parking garage, the city will put up a legal challenge since such a structure would violate the city’s comprehensive plan.

SB 714

SB 714 was filed by state Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg, and would preempt many local vacation regulations adopted after June 1, 2011, to the state.

The bill would nullify the vacation rental ordinances of all three island cities, which adopted ordinances no earlier than 2015.

SB 716 would preempt non-grandfathered licensing and inspections of vacation rental properties to the state, as well as prohibit municipalities from regulating the duration or frequency of rental activities.

The bill would allow local governments to establish vacation rental registration programs but limit registration fees to $50 for an individual and $100 for a collective application.

It also would not provide a limit for vacation rental occupancy.

The city of Anna Maria has led the charge against SB 714 by using its website, homerulefl.com, to facilitate an opposition campaign consisting of thousands of pre-written letters sent to state officials on behalf of concerned constituents.

However, Mayor Dan Murphy said he was “not overly optimistic” the bill would be killed or modified despite the opposition.

Murphy said the city’s best shot would be to lobby DeSantis to veto the bill. He said DeSantis has been forewarned about the “controversial” nature of SB 714.

The Senate voted 28-10 April 27 to approve SB 714 with two amendments.

The bill was sent to the House the same day but had not been scheduled for a first reading as of April 29.

aBOVE: The old Tallahassee Capitol building is now the Historic Capitol museum at 400 S. monroe St. The new Capitol rises behind it at 402 S. monroe St. Islander File Photo: Bonner Joy

Titsworth

Van Ostenbridge

Robinson

murphy

A week of soccer, golf, horseshoes tops sports on AMI

By Kevin P. Cassidy Islander Reporter

At the midway point for the spring soccer season at the Center of Anna Maria Island, Cheesecake Cutie of the 8-10 division and Gulf Drive Cafe from the 11-14 division lead the way with 4-0 records.

Moss Builders holds down second place in the 11-14s at 2-1-1, three points ahead of third place HSH Designs which is 1-2-1, while Shady Lady Horticultural Services brings up the rear at 0-4.

Sato Real Estate holds down second in the 8-10 division with a 3-1 record, just ahead of 2-2 Solid Rock Construction. Island Real Estate holds down fourth with a 1-3 record, just ahead of fifth place Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control at 1-2, while Am I Coconuts completes the standings with an 0-3 record.

Action for the 8-10s kicked off April 25 with Cheesecake Cutie earning a 2-0 victory over Solid Rock behind two goals from Gunnar Maize on assists from Aidan Guess. Sawyer Leibfried helped preserve the victory with three saves.

Sato outscored IRE 4-2 on two goals and two assists from Brandon Sato and two goals from Dylan Sato. Vincent Gollamudi helped secure the victory with four saves in goal.

Preston LaPensee scored both goals for IRE, which also received an assist from Jordy Perez and seven saves from Owen Mahoney in the loss.

Gulf Drive Cafe defeated Shady Lady 3-1 April 25 in 11-14 action. Luke Dellenger scored two goals and Kegan McGlade added one to lead Gulf Drive, which also saw five saves from Cyrus Ryan.

Dominick Zupa scored the lone Shady Lady goal on an assist from Colton Kranz.

The last match of the night saw Moss Builders outscore HSH Designs 4-1 behind two goals from Mason Moss and a goal each from Lucas Signor and Callin Westfall. Aidan Guess added an assist and Austin Guess came through with seven saves in the victory.

Sterling Holiday notched the lone goal for HSH Designs.

Adult soccer action

With one week remaining in the adult soccer season at the Center of Anna Maria Island, Duncan Real Estate is at the head of the table with a 4-1-1 record, a point ahead of Sandbar Restaurant at 4-2.

Sato Real Estate holds down third at 3-2-1, just

ahead of Pool America and Solid Rock Construction, which are tied for fourth at 3-3. Gulf View Windows & Doors holds down sixth place at 2-3-1, followed by 2-4 Moss Builders and 1-4-1 Vintage Beach.

Action April 27 kicked off with Pool America outscoring Vintage Beach 7-6 behind a hat trick from Dean Hinterstoisser and two goals and an assist from Sam Parker. Christopher Klotz and Lucas Wilson each added goals and Robb Marshall made eight saves in the victory.

Joey Hutchinson had four goals and an assist to lead Vintage Beach, which also saw goals from Mandy Sky and Cody Wright. PJ Smargisso added an assist and seven saves.

Next up, Sato earned a 2-0 shutout victory over the Sandbar. Lindsey Styka carried the scoring, while Oisen Crean posted six saves in goal.

Jessica Ruekberg helped keep Sandbar in the game with four saves.

In the third match of the evening, Duncan Real Estate showed how it got to No. 1 with an 8-4 victory over Moss Builders. Kevin Roman led the way with five goals, while Murat Akay added a goal and two assists. Erica Nielsen and Eric Pullen each added goals, while Tuna McCracken had six saves in goal.

Adam Bujarski scored four goals to lead Moss, which also received a combined eight saves from Brian Leibfried and David Moss in the loss.

The final match of the night saw Gulf View Windows & Doors earn a 4-1 victory over Solid Rock. Brandon Rolland scored three goals and Keith Mahoney added a goal and two saves in the victory.

Blair Schlossberg scored the lone goal for Solid Rock Construction.

KRC golf news

There was a full week of golf action at the Key Royale Club in Holmes Beach starting April 24 with the men’s modifi ed-Stableford system match. Don Grau and Jim Hitchen both carded plus-5s to share clubhouse bragging rights for the day.

The women played their weekly nine-hole individual-low-net match in two flights April 23. Sue Pierce fired a 1-under-par 31 to grab a one-stroke victory in Flight A. Sue Wheeler, Mary Wilkie and Pam Lowry finished in a tie for second with even-par 32s.

AMI paddlers collect silver Heather Pritchard carded a 2-under-par 30 to capture first place in Flight B, while Jan Turner, Gloria LaDue and Ann Klein each shot 1-over-par 33 to tie for second.

Members wrapped up the week of golf with a scramble-shamble combo on a modified par 46 course. The team of Dave DuVernay, Jim Hill, Wayne Patterson and Mike Riddick combined on a 2-under-par 44 to earn clubhouse bragging rights for the day. They were followed by Beech Byrns, Brian Comer, Nub Turner and Tom Young in second with a 1-under-par 45, while the Deb DuVernay, Clint Hurdle, Bob Rowley and Kurt Snouffer took third at even-par 46.

Horseshoe action

Four teams advanced from pool play and settled things in the playoffs during April 26 horseshoe action at the Anna Maria City Hall pits.

The team of Bob Baker and Dom Livedoti shut out Bob Heiger and Bob Lee while Tom Farrington and Ron Gagnon advanced to the finals with a 21-14 victory over Rod Bussey and Bob Rowley. Baker and Livedoti outlasted Farrington and Gagnon 21-18 to win the day’s competition.

Three teams forged 3-0 pool play records during April 29 action at the pits with the lucky bye into the finals going to Bussey and Stuart Lindberg. John Yarouch and Tim Sofran cruised past Lee and Gary Howcroft 21-8 to advance to the finals. The championship match was all Bussey and Lindberg as they turned the tables on Yarouch and Sofran with a 21-8 victory.

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.

Recreational harvest of snook in state’s Gulf waters closed

The recreational harvest of snook in Gulf state and federal waters closed May 1 and will reopen Sept. 1.

The seasonal harvest closure occurs during peak snook spawning in the Gulf and is a management tool that helps to conserve Florida’s valuable snook populations for anglers today and for generations to come.

In an announcement for the closure, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it is “considering a holistic management approach for snook that includes a review of several environmental and human factors, such as habitat, fishing effort and stakeholder feedback, to evaluate the fishery on a more local scale.”

FWC commissioners could consider new rules this month.

Stone crab season ends

The 2022/2023 season for harvesting commercial stone crabs ended May 1.

The harvest season opened Oct. 15, 2022, and it will reopen Oct. 15, 2023.

The fishery closes each year to help protect and sustain Florida’s stone crab population, which inhabits bays and estuaries along the Florida Atlantic coast, Gulf coast and in the Caribbean.

Cassidy

Gulf View Windows & Doors player Jana Whitehead carries the ball toward the goal during recent action in the adult soccer league at the Center of anna maria Island. Islander Photo: Kevin P. Cassidy

Stuart Lindberg and Rod Bussey show off the winner’s trophy at the april 29 horseshoe competition in anna maria.

Fish early morning for cooler air, cooler water, better catch

By Capt. Danny Stasny Islander Reporter

Springtime fishing is going strong.

We should see water temperatures climbing into the lower 80s as May progresses.

This can impact the fishing — especially in the backcountry.

Fishing low-light conditions during morning tides to seize the moment before water temps climb too high will be advantageous. Species such as snook and redfi sh will be on the prowl during the hours just before and after sunrise.

Slightly cooler water temps at dawn versus dusk will motivate the shallow-water species to feed.

But, as the morning progresses and the sun gets higher in the sky, you might need to switch tactics and fish in areas slightly deeper, where the cooler water temps prevail.

In areas such as deep grass flats, you can find spotted seatrout, Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and ladyfish.

If you decide to go even deeper, you might try the reefs, wrecks and ledges in the nearshore and offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where grouper and snapper will be your targeted species.

Bottom fi shing around the nearshore reefs and wrecks can produce excellent action on mangrove snapper and you might also find migratory species, such as Spanish mackerel, kingfish and cobia roaming about.

For the grouper, you’ll probably want to venture further to the reefs. Depths around 100 feet are a good place to start. Both red and gag grouper frequent these depths during the warmer months.

On my Just Reel charters, I’m finding spotted seatrout to be cooperative while working the deeper grass flats of Tampa Bay south to Sarasota Bay. Mixed in with the trout are Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, ladyfish and bluefish.

Moving to the shallower flats, I’m seeing a decent number of snook being caught. While casting baits along the mangrove shorelines, hungry snook are darting out from under the branches to attack baits.

While targeting snook, I’m also seeing redfish.

So is Capt. David White.

He’s catching a variety of species while fishing

the inshore waters around Anna Maria Island. Fishing along mangrove shorelines is yielding action for White’s clients on redfish and snook — both responding to live shiners as bait.

Deeper grass flats also are producing action for White’s anglers, with spotted seatrout, jack crevalle and ladyfish taking the offering, free-lined live shiners.

Moving offshore, White is bottom fi shing over ledges and reefs, where red grouper are being caught, as well as yellowtail and mangrove snapper.

Capt. Warren Girle is finding plenty of action fishing the grass flats of Sarasota Bay. On the deeper grass flats, a variety of species are being caught, including spotted seatrout, bluefish, mackerel and jack crevalle.

On some flats, rallies of fish lasting 30 minutes or longer are common while other areas require moving the boat frequently to keep the bite going.

Friends for 50-plus

Jimmy “Feez” malfese, left, baitmaster and fishing guide at the Rod & Reel Pier in anna maria, and David Bouziane, former owner of the Bali Hai Resort in Holmes Beach, celebrate 50 years of friendship on anna maria Island april 18 at the snack bar at the pier. Islander Courtesy Photo

On the shallow grass flats, Girle is hooking up with snook and redfish. For the snook, Girle has his anglers casting live shiners into sandy potholes throughout the shallows. As for the reds, mangrove shorelines are working best.

Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier says mangrove snapper are becoming more frequent at Anna Maria Island’s northernmost pier.

Pier fishers using live shrimp as bait on a weighted rig are catching some tasty snapper measuring 10-12 inches, with some larger fish mixed in. Using shrimp as bait is best as the snappers are versatile — and many species like eating shrimp.

Other catches on shrimp include black drum, redfish and an occasional snook.

Pier fishers casting artificials away from the pier are hooking into macks, ladyfish and numerous blue runners.

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

John Niemeyer of Riverview shows off a hefty jack crevalle he caught the morning of april 29 from the shore at Bean Point in anna maria. Niemeyer said he visits anna maria Island frequently to fish the shoreline. He said the jack took a plug he was skimming on the surface and then was returned to the water. He also noted that there was a lot of seaweed churned up in the rough surf. Islander Photo: Jacob merrifield

Stasny

Joey Webb shows off an early-season tarpon he caught about an hour past sunset april 25 on light tackle in Tampa Bay while fishing with Capt. Josh Peurifoy.

Nesting notes

By Lisa Neff

Looking for loggerheads

What’s that up ahead?

What’s that near the dunes?

A sea turtle on the beach will leave traces.

And any early morning through the season, beachgoers might see tread-like sea turtle tracks in the sand or glimpse the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring team investigating those tracks, staking a nest or note-taking on an incident.

Nesting season officially took off with the arrival of May but began this year with an April nest.

The sea turtle most common to AMI beaches is the loggerhead, caretta caretta

The loggerhead may be the most abundant sea turtle in the United States but the species, depending on the region, is threatened and protected.

Threats to loggerheads include incidental capture in longline fishing, shrimp trawling, pollution, preda-

Adoption honors

tion of nests and human disturbances such as coastal lighting and housing development.

Another threat is the loss of nesting habitat due to coastal development, which makes safeguarding the shoreline vital.

On Anna Maria Island, the nesting activity can seem so ample that it might be easy to overlook the fact there are only 40,000-50,000 nesting females in the world, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which lists loggerheads as “vulnerable,” facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

LEFT: a nest plaque for anna maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird monitoring’s 2023 awareness campaign. To honor Suzi Fox, the late director of amITW, and to mark Suzi Fox Day on may 1, the program was renamed. “as part of our efforts to honor Suzi, we are renaming our adopt-a-Nest program in her memory,” said director Kristen mazzarella. The Suzi L. Fox adopt-a-Nest program allows donors to symbolically adopt a nest on an amI beach with proceeds helping turtle watch with its protection and educational programs. “Suzi’s passion for protecting sea turtles enriched the community conservation efforts of amITW for over 30 years and we dedicate this sea turtle nesting season to her,” mazzarella said in a news release. Islander Courtesy Photo

From her balcony near 30th Street in Holmes Beach at daylight april 29, Kathy Caserta spots a trio from amITW — director Kristen mazzarella and two others — checking out what mazzarella confirmed to be the second loggerhead nest of the season. The first day of nesting season was may

The females nest every two to four years.

A nest, typically dug in the sand between the dunes and high tide line, contains an average 100-126 eggs that incubate about 60 days.

So that first nest of the season? It might produce hatchlings in late June.

When hatchlings emerge from nests, usually at night, they scramble across the sand to reach the water and swim for their survival.

The mama turtle’s “parenting” is done when the nest gets covered with sand.

And to protect the survival of the species, the loggerhead lays numerous clutches of eggs in one season in locations miles apart.

One University of South Florida study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that some female loggerheads lay as many as six clutches as far as six miles apart during the same breeding season.

The strategy reduces the risk of reproductive failure due to storms that could wash out clutches and improves the hatchling survival rate.

In a lifetime, one mama loggerhead might produce 4,200 eggs and place them at 40 sites on a single barrier island, according to research based on 17 years of data from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

TideWatch

Red tide lingers

By Lisa Neff

The red tide organism was detected in Southwest Florida during the week ending April 30.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported K. brevis at background and very low concentrations in Manatee County, background to medium concentrations in Pinellas and background to medium concentrations in Sarasota.

For more, go to myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/.

1. Islander Photo: Kathy Caserta

County could acquire grove for park

By Lisa Neff Islander Editor

Manatee County might grow a park with the acquisition of an orange grove.

By Lisa Neff

Yes, in my backyard

“Nimby” is a word I’ve heard.

Define?

“Meaning ‘not in my backyard.’ Opposition by nearby residents to a proposed building project, esp. a public one, as being hazardous, unsightly, etc.”

Use in a sentence?

“AMI nimbys object to a parking garage at Manatee Public Beach.”

“Yimby” is not a word I’ve heard or used often.

But we all can be Yimbys.

Neff

Think about what we welcome to island backyards.

Yimbys who live on the shore look out and care for nurseries for sea turtles and shorebirds.

Yimbys’ yards across AMI are populated with native trees, shrubs and flowers.

Yimbys’ yards from Bean Point to south Bradenton Beach attract bees, butterflies and birds.

Yimbys on AMI say:

Yes, in my backyard I welcome the protected gopher tortoise crawling through the garden.

Yes, in my backyard I want an army of frogs to croak the chorus to my morning alarm clock.

Yes, in my backyard the Ring camera is used more to observe nature than for security.

Yes, in my backyard there’s vegetative shelter for raccoons, squirrels, rabbits and whatever else wants to take up residence.

Yes, in my backyard I leave the dead tree trunk for the woodpeckers to hammer away on.

Yes, in my backyard I can count 100 species of birds during the fall or spring migration.

Yes, in my backyard I turn out the lights when I turn in for the night to benefit the nocturnal critters.

Yes, in my backyard I seed pollinator plants to help reverse species decline.

Yes, in my backyard I collect rainwater in a barrel to grow herbs and vegetables.

Yes, in my backyard I built a compost bin for richer soil.

WE ROCK ONLINE

vide parks.

But the county has identified additional potential funding sources for the Emerson and Mixon properties.

County commissioners April 25 voted 7-0 to move ahead with due diligence on the possible acquisition of the 38-acre Mixon Fruit Farms, owned by Dean and Janet Mixon of Anna Maria, as well as 98 acres adjacent to Emerson Point Preserve in Palmetto.

The Mixon property is along Glen Creek at 2525 27th St. E., Bradenton, and could become a park to aid stormwater runoff and help ease flooding in the area, as well as provide birdwatching and educational opportunities.

The Emerson property consists of pasture land, wetlands and water and lies along a blueway trail.

Earlier this year, commissioners voted to authorize staff and the county environmental lands management and acquisition committee and county staff to proceed with due diligence on several other environmentally sensitive properties, including one that would add to Perico Preserve.

ELMAC is tasked with reviewing and recommending properties that might be acquired with a special tax approved by voters in 2020 — a 0.15 mill ad valorem tax and authorized the issuance of up to $50 million in bonds to buy and protect water resources, preserve fish and wildlife habitat and pro-

Mind the chicks

a black skimmer adopts a juvenile gull-billed tern. Springtime brings nesting birds — including skimmers and terns — to the shore, prompting cautions to beachgoers. Islander Photo: Courtesy FWC

Yes, in my backyard my pots are peat-free. Yes, in my backyard xeriscaping is incorporated into the landscape.

Yes, in my backyard I green the walls with climb-

The Emerson property might be eligible for some Florida Forever funding and a Tampa Bay Estuary Program restoration grant.

And the Mixon property, because it would be a stormwater park, might be eligible for county capital improvement funding and money from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Dean and Janet Mixon addressed commissioners April 25, reflecting on how the property was used as a grove for 84 years and their hopes to see the acreage become a park.

“We always wanted something like that,” Janet Mixon said.

Dean Mixon, who recalled years of “pounding hard dirt,” said they’d love to see the property continue to be visited by families looking to learn about Florida agriculture and the land.

The Mixons announced earlier this year plans to close operations July 29 and they’ve scheduled a celebration for 5:30-9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the farm, “84 Years of Mixon Memories,” with the Billy Rice Band.

Commissioner George Kruse motioned to authorize due diligence and was seconded by James Bearden. The vote was unanimous to move ahead.

Mind the nest

a skimmer sits on eggs. Springtime is nesting season on Gulf Coast beaches and the nests can be difficult to spot. Tread carefully. Islander Photo: FWC/Carol Rizkalla

ing vines, which can help insulate homes.

Yes, in my backyard I’m interested in trying bird and bat boxes.

Yes, in my backyard I’m growing nettles to make a plant-based fertilizer.

Yes, in my backyard I plant a tree annually for Arbor Day.

Yes, yes, yes to green living in the backyard.

But the nimby gets the last word: Pesticide? Herbicide? Not in my backyard.

MIKE NORMAN REALTY EST. 1978

ITEMS FOR SALE

COmPLETE VERTICaL BLIND system: Draw cord, turn and pull, white and brown slats. 108 inches. Excellent-plus condition. $79 or best offer. 941-778-5542.

PaNINNI maKER: CUISINaRT, stainlesssteel, like new, $45. 941-920-2494.

CHaIR: BLaCK, SOFT cushion $15/ each and office chair, white, $10. Side tables, brown with glass top. 2/$20. 941920-2494.

GLaSS DISPLay CaSE: $95. 765-7482967.

aNTIQUE PaRTNER DESK: all wood, $500. Inquire at The Islander office, 315 58th St. Suite J, Holmes Beach. 941-778-7978.

LOOKING FOR aN EaRLy BIRD? you can read Wednesday’s classifieds on Tuesday at islander.org. and it’s FREE!

Sandy’s

Paradise Improvements 941.792.5600

RDI

AdoptA-Pet

Oh, those eyes!

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

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

SPONSORED By

ANSWERS TO MAY 3 PUZZLE

FREEBIE ITEMS FOR SALE

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

ESTATE SALES

ESTaTE SaLE: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, may 6. Furniture, clothing, jewelry, artwork, furnishings, accessories, kitchenware and more. 5506 Holmes Blvd., Holmes Beach.

LOST & FOUND

LOST: SmaLL TWO-year old black, longhaired cat. Last seen 69th Street and marina Drive, Holmes Beach. Katie mae, 941-7057179.

PETS

HELP RESCUED PETS! Volunteer, foster, computer help needed! moonracer animal Rescue. Email: moonraceranimalrescue@ gmail.com.

TRANSPORTATION

GOLF CaRT RENTaLS: Fun for residents and tourists! www.GolfCartRentalamI.com.

2021 ICON i40f LSV golf cart for sale. all four seats face forward. Can be a six-seater. 48v distance package. Bluetooth with speakers. Golf bag attachment with cooler. $9,000. 404-819-7110.

BOATS & BOATING

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

SUNCOaST BOTTOm PaINTING: Professional bottom painting. mobile. Call 941704-9382.

HELP WANTED

CLEaNERS NEEDED ON the Island on Saturdays. Great team, good payment. Please, call 941-243-3097.

PaRT-TImE CaSHIER: Interested in supplementing your income? Bored with your life? Then, join our team. We are hiring for a part-time cashier. No evening hours! Email your resume to hometruevaluehardware@ gmail.co m or apply in person. Home True Value Hardware, 5324 marina Drive, Holmes Beach.

NOW HIRING HaNDymaN: Full-time professional services. $15 an hour and up, based on experience. Call JayPros, 941962-2874.

REPORTER WaNTED: Full- to part-time. Print media, newspaper experience required. apply to news@islander.org.

KIDS FOR HIRE

NEED aN aDULT night out? Call maty’s Babysitting Services. I’m 16, love kids and have lots of experience. References upon request. 618-977-9630.

KIDS FOR HIRE ads are FREE for up to three weeks for Island youths under 16 looking for work. ads must be placed in person at The Islander office, 315 58th St. Suite J, Holmes Beach.

SERVICES

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

CLEaNING: VaCaTION, CONSTRUCTION, residential, commercial and windows. Licensed and insured. 941-756-4570.

PRESSURE WaSHING, PaVER sealing, driveway, roof, fence, pool area. also, window cleaning. Licensed and insured. 941-5653931.

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

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

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

PROFESSIONaL WINDOW CLEaNING: Residential, commercial, free estimates. “We want to earn your business!” 207-8526163.

aIRPORT RIDES: SaRaSOTa, St. Pete, Tampa. Call/text, Vita, 941-376-7555.

PaRaDISE PET CaRE: Pet specialist. Walking, sitting, vet visits. Training and love. Jason, 908-720-1688.

HaNGIN’ ON amI: We hang artwork, mirrors, TVs, etc. Furniture assembly. Local references available. 941-720-3126.

ISLaND LIGHTSCaPES & SECURITy: Landscape lighting and home security installation. Quality service by Island residents. 941-7203126.

PROFESSIONaL CaR SERVICE to all local airports. 24/7, 365. Eamonn, 941-4477737.

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

BEaCH SERVICE air conditioning, heat, refrigeration. Commercial and residential service, repair and/or replacement. Serving manatee County and the Island since 1987. For dependable, honest and personalized service, call Bill Eller, 941-795-7411. CaC184228.

CLEaN TECH mOBILE Detailing. at your location. Cars, boats, RVs. Call or text Billie for an appointment. 941-592-3482.

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.

BaRNES LaWN aND Landscape LLC. Design and installation, lawn and landscape services, tree trimming, mulch, rock and shell. 941-705-1444. Jr98@barneslawnandlandscape.com.

COLLINS LaNDSCaPE LIGHTING: Outdoor lighting, landscaping, irrigation services and maintenance. 941-279-9947. mJC24373@ gmail.com.

SEaRay SPRINKLER SERVICES. Repairs, additions, drip, sprinkler head/timer adjustments. 941-920-0775.

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

mP LaWN maINTENaNCE now accepting new clients. Call Dante, 941-730-9199. mp@ mplawnmaintenance.com.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

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

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

GRIFFIN’S HOmE ImPROVEmENTS Inc. Handyman, fine woodwork, countertops, cabinets and wood flooring. Insured and licensed. 941-722-8792.

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

HaNDymaN aND PaINTING. No job too small. most jobs just right. Call Richard Kloss. 941-204-1162.

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

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

SaRaSOTa INTERIOR PaINTING: We specialize in high-end properties. We love to paint! Owner operated. Fully insured/ licensed. Call or text Don, 941-900-9398. Instagram: SarasotaInteriorPainting.

RENTALS

aNNa maRIa GULF beachfront vacation rentals. One- two- and three-bedroom units, all beachfront. www.amiparadise.com. 941778-3143.

PERICO ISLaND PaTIO home for rent. 3BR/2Ba. two-car garage, fully renovated. 30-day minimum. Privacy fence/gate, two miles to amI. available July 1- December 25, 2023. #bluerockingchair instagram/fb. 859-771-6423.

aNNa maRIa 3BR/1Ba historic cottage, half-block to Gulf beach and one block to Pine avenue shopping and restaurants. available april and may, $2,800/month. 941778-8456. terryaposporos@gmail.com

aNNUaL 2BR/1Ba IN Bradenton Beach. 150 yards to Gulf. $2,650/month includes utilities and appliances. No smoking or pets. First/ last/security. 508-496-8480. williamshomes@ yahoo.com

NICE COZy HOLmES Beach 3BR/2Ba fully furnished. available by week or month may 15-Sept. 15. Five-minute walk to the beach. No pool. 231-670-6697.

FLEXIBLE LEaSES, Off-season rentals. Bayshore condo 2BR/1Ba, $1,250 per month. Wildwood Springs, 2BR/2Ba. $1,800 per month. also available January, February, march 2024 at $5,000 per month. Book now. Real Estate mart, 941-356-1456.

BEaUTIFULLy FURNISHED, aNNUaL rental in Beach Harbor Club, Longboat Key. 2BR/2Ba with views of the bay, laundry and condo amenities include pool, grill, with both bay and beach access. $200 application required. $3,800 month plus fi rst and last month’s rent and $1,000 deposit. Call mike Norman Realty, 941-778-6696. 3101 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, FL 34217.

HOLmES BEaCH annual rental available now. Fully furnished. 3BR/2Ba elevated duplex. $4,000 per month plus utilities. Contact us at 941-778-4410 for more details.

ON aNNa maRIa Island: total remodel, ground-level, 2BR/1.5Ba in 55-plus community. Beach across street, furnished, pool, library, parking, annual rental, $3,200 per month. Includes WIFI, all utilities, no pets, no smoking, Call Tim, 507-382-8880.

WaTERFRONT aNNa maRIa Island home. 2BR/2Ba two-car garage. Completely remodeled. Pool. Dock with boat lift. Walk to beaches and golf course. Pet friendly. Nonsmoking. annual rental. Call owner 941-7047336. $6,000 per month. available may 5. 55-PLUS PaRK: 1BR/1Ba. Beach just across the street! Furnished, pool, parking, annual rental. $1,795 month, includes all utilities except electricity. available mid to late may after vetting. No pets. Text, 831-212-2606.

WINNIE mCHaLE, REaLTOR, 941-5046146. Rosebay International Realty Inc. you need an aggressive and experienced Realtor in today’s market! Selling island homes, Sarasota and Bradenton areas. multi-milliondollar producer! “Selling Homes - making Dreams Come True.”

CLaSSIC HOmE: FIXER-upper on private golf course. Half acre-plus, panoramic views, minutes to beaches. $719,000 or best offer. Real Estate mart, 941-356-1456.

Wine, dine, network, cheer

The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce will host its regular monthly events in May, as well as a ribbon-cutting ceremony and golf outing.

The schedule includes a breakfast meeting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, May 4, at Blueberries Cafe and Wine, 5337 Gulf Drive, Suite 300, Holmes Beach.

The cost to attend is $15 for members, $25 for nonmembers. For reservations, contact the chamber at 941-778-1541 or info@chamber.org.

From 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, May 11, chamber members and guests will lunch at the Porch Restaurant, 9707 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria.

The cost is $22 for members, $30 for nonmembers. Reservations are required.

The business-card exchange will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, May 25, at the chamber office, 5313 Gulf Drive, Holmes beach.

Starwheel Websites will sponsor the event, with the Anna Maria Island Privateers providing refreshments.

The cost to attend is $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required.

Also, the chamber will hold a ribbon-cutting at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at Turning Tides, 6672 Cortez Road W., Bradenton.

Expo features services for storm protections

Area businesses will showcase their offerings at Manatee County’s third annual hurricane expo, set for 4-7 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

The Manatee County Emergency Management division is bringing dozens of vendors to the convention center for the expo to provide advice and promote products and services for the Atlantic storm season, which runs June 1-Nov. 30.

There is no cost to attend.

The golf outing — an annual tournament — will be Friday, May 12 at IMG Academy Golf Club in Bradenton, with opportunities to play and dine.

Showcase services, sales

The Manatee Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Spring Expo 4-7 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

The chamber invites business people to network, connect and spotlight their services.

The evening also will include light bites from local restaurants, entertainment, door prizes and more.

For more information, call the chamber at 941748-3411.

Admission to the expo is free.

County public safety director Jodie Fiske, in a news release, said 2022’s Hurricane Ian “was a reminder for all of us to stay prepared. Now is the time to make sure you’re ready—from knowing your evacuation level to deciding what you’ll need in your hurricane kit.”

For more information, including on becoming a vendor, call 941-749-3500.

By Lisa Neff

Holmes Beach.

Cortez Seafood Shack hits the market

By Robert anderson Islander Reporter

The shack is getting the sack.

Vandyk Properties, a Canadian-based development company and owner of the Seafood Shack, a landmark restaurant and marina on Sarasota Bay and the surrounding properties on the north side of Cortez, has put it on the market for a minimum of $15 million.

Vandyk Properties is a privately-owned real estate development and investment management company specializing in luxury condominium developments. It has made other land acquisitions in the SarasotaBradenton area, including One88, a fi ve-story, $17 million residential building in downtown Sarasota.

A listing from Coldwell Banker on Crexi.com shows the property hit the market April 13. It lists the 5.6-acre parcel and its submerged land lease without a price.

Listing agents Elliot Rose and David Neff spoke with The Islander in an April 28 interview about the property.

Neff and Rose said although no price is listed, the property has a floor of $15 million.

The real estate professionals said the property has a call for offers by Monday, May 15.

A call for offer is a closed bid auction process. All

PropertyWatch Carol Bernard

Island real estate sales

property information is gathered and marketing material is distributed. A best and final bid date is set and the seller reviews all offers on that day.

Although Neff and Rose would not speak about who might be the interested parties, they did say they have been inundated with credible inquiries, some in the process of performing due diligence.

872 North Shore Drive, Anna Maria a 1,560 sq ft 3BR/2BA home on a 5,101 sq ft lot built in 1981 sold 4/4/2023 by Doll Trust to Estivo for $1,700,000, list price $1,899,000.

207 Periwinkle Plaza, Anna Maria a 1,916 sq ft 3BR/3BA pool home on a 10,624 sq ft lot built in 1958 sold 4/19/2023 by Miller to WCS Prop LLC for $2,100,000, list price $2,299,000.

1801 Gulf Drive #165, Bradenton Beach, a 691 sq ft 1BR/1BA Runaway Bay condo built in 1978 sold 3/31/2023 by Hudson to Espinosa for $440,000, list price $450,000.

308 Second St. N., #201, Bradenton Beach, a 520 sq ft 1BR/1BA Bayview Inn condo built in 1974 sold 3/30/2023 by Jones to Cavanaugh for $475,000, list price $475,000.

5352 Marina Drive, #421, Holmes Beach, a 1,158 sq ft 2BR/2BA Waterline Villas condo built in 2017 sold 3/31/2023 by McCormick to Tharakan Inv LLC for $700,000, list price $750,000.

5352 Marina Drive, #432, Holmes Beach, a 1,053 sq ft 2BR/2BA Waterline Villas condo built in 2017 sold 3/30/2023 Toplind Corp to Elliot for $715,000, list price was $779,999. Compiled by Island Real Estate. IRE professionals can be reached at 941-778-6066, islandreal.com.

The Seafood Shack, 4110 127th St. W., Cortez, and adjoining property were listed for sale april 13. The property has been owned by Canadianbased development company Vandyke Properties since 2014.

By comparison, the owners of the 2.78 acre Pines Trailer Park in Bradenton Beach are negotiating a sale of the land for $16.5 million.

Rose said Vandyke opted not to pursue the Cortez property as a development site after realizing incompatibility with their objectives to create luxury condominium developments.

Vandyk bought the property for $4 million in 2014, including the 650-seat restaurant and banquet hall, 100-slip marina on 6 acres. The purchase also included Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop, 4334 127th St. W., and a homesite at 4327 127th St. W.

The marina was built in 1971 by Ham Jones, who built the restaurant a year later.

The Islander reached out to Vandyk Properties through email and phone April 28 but, as of Islander press time, no Vandyk representative responded.

Islander Photo: Courtesy Crexi. com