Explore 2020 issues

HOLMES BEACH – Only 18 people came out to the Island Branch Library on a stormy Wednesday night to hear what Manatee County Commissioner-at-large George Kruse had to say, but the conversation continued for nearly two hours. Kruse held his monthly town hall meeting in Holmes Beach and...

The first cold front is probably still a month or more away, but fish are showing up and now is a great time to prepare for the fall season, getting tackle in order and keeping an eye on the sky for diving birds and breaking fish. Under those...

To some people, our national real estate market is downright awful, but to others, it may be the best of real estate times. It’s all in the eye of the beholder. Don’t believe everything you read and, believe me, I read it all. Yes, it’s true that buyers,...

ANNA MARIA – Bradenton Beach resident Rob Edwards made a heartwarming discovery while recently photographing the sunrise at the Anna Maria City Pier. Edwards, a retired electrician from New York, often takes photographs of the Island sunrises to send to his snowbird friends up north. On Sept. 9,...

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners have passed a request from Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby to approve funding for the removal of derelict boats at the city pier following Hurricane Idalia. A proposed motion was read by Mayor John Chappie at the Sept. 21 commission meeting to...

MANATEE COUNTY – Democrat Diana Shoemaker and Republican Talha “Tal” Siddique both seek the District 3 Manatee County Commission seat currently held by Kevin Van Ostenbridge. Shoemaker announced her candidacy on Sept. 22. Siddique announced his candidacy on Sept. 19. District 3 includes all of Anna Maria Island, Cortez,...

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The 2023 turtle nesting season is coming to an early end, partly due to Hurricane Idalia. “No changes in nest numbers,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said. “That’s not surprising as this is usually the hatching time of year.” The last...

ANNA MARIA – The city commission has approved an interlocal agreement that allows Manatee County to use the City Pier as a Gulf Island Ferry stop. The unanimous approval granted on Aug. 21 ends a lengthy negotiation process that included the mayor and city commissioners recently rejecting the...

HOLMES BEACH - To anyone seeing him on the playground at Anna Maria Elementary School or on the field at the Island’s community center, Miles Moss looks like any 8-year-old boy. Kicking the soccer ball on the field or in the gym at The Center, Miles has...

ANNA MARIA – City Commissioner Deanie Sebring has vacated her city commission seat. Sebring participated in her final commission meeting on Sept. 21. In October, she and her husband, Tripp, are moving to France. The remaining months of Sebring’s two-year term will be filled by a commission appointment...

Turtle nests laid: 405 (Record: 544 in 2019) False crawls: 438 (Record: 831 in 2010) Hatched nests: 295 (Record: 453 in 2022) Hatchlings: 22,995 (Previous record: 35,850 in 2022) Hatchling disorientations: 89 Source: Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring

Suzi, a female loggerhead sea turtle released from Coquina Beach after nesting and being satellite tagged on June 27, is in 7th place in a field of 11 turtles in the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s Tour de Turtles race, having traveled 743 miles. Suzi is swimming to bring...