- Named Best Florida Newspaper In Its Class -
VOL 23 No. 12
December 28, 2022
Island holiday shenanigans JASON SCHAFFER | SUN
The Abominable Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Yukon Cornelius and Tracy Prandine of Cortez bring the Jeep of Misfit Toys to Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach.
Old Town Tram discussions continue The CRA-funded Old Town Trams had 4,093 riders in November. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – During its final meeting of 2022, the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) members once again discussed allowing the CRA-funded Old Town Trams to travel north of the Cortez Bridge. During the Dec. 7 CRA meeting, the board members ultimately decided the tram route would remain as-is and not be expanded north of the bridge. The CRA members once again dis-
cussed discontinuing the trams from traveling all the way south to Coquina Beach, where ridership demand remains low, but once again the board decided not to eliminate the southernmost portion of the existing tram route. When first initiated as a one-year pilot program in November 2020, the plan was for the trams to travel a designated route within the CRA district that extends from the Cortez Bridge to the southernmost property lines along Fifth Street South. The trams are also allowed to travel south of the CRA district to Cortez Beach and Coquina Beach to transport visitors to and from the CRA district. According to state
unexpected with your champagne this holiday with crab deviled eggs. 18 TRY THE
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SEE TRAM, PAGE 28
Anna Maria Island, Florida
Honoring Dr. Mary Fulford Green Green led the efforts to preserve Cortez–leaving an indelible imprint and is The Sun’s 2022 Person of the Year. BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
CORTEZ -- Imagine a Cortez village where the fishing bungalows and working fish houses have been replaced by high-rise condos and a 140-year history is left unrecorded. Green Dr. Mary Fulford Green, a lifelong Cortez resident who passed away on June 9 at the age of 96, made it her goal to ensure that none of that ever happened. In recognition of her leading the many efforts to preserve the character of the village she called
home, she is named The Sun’s 2022 Person of the Year. “She certainly has quite a legacy,” said Kaye Bell, former president of the Cortez Village Historical Society (CVHS). “She was always either supporting something or stirring something up.” Green’s long list of accomplishments centered around three things: the preservation of Cortez, her family and her faith. In 1984 Green was instrumental in establishing the CVHS. “Without her we wouldn’t have CVHS,” said Bell, who met Green in 1965. In a recently drafted resolution to dedicate the Cortez Village Historical Society Cultural Center in honor of Green, CVHS board member J.B. Crawford wrote the following to be placed on a proposed plaque at the site: SEE GREEN, PAGE 20
LOCAL MOTORCYCLE club
brings Christmas cheer. 11 ISLAND TRAFFIC woes
spread to Bradenton Beach. 4
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