- Named Best Florida Newspaper In Its Class -
VOL 22 No. 49
September 14, 2022
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | leslielake@aol.com
ANNA MARIA - Several hundred people gathered Saturday night with a common goal in mind - to support The Center of Anna Maria Island. All 64 lanes of the Bowlero Bradenton bowling alley were sold out, filled with participants in the Greg LaPensee Bowling Tournament, a fundraiser for The Center. This year marks the first time that the tournament took over the entire bowling alley. This year’s winners were Salty Dolphin for best team; Joey Newell won for top-scoring male with a 266-point single game and Cali Hanson won for top-scoring female with 184 points. The Gutter Ball winner was Dhaval Patel. Charlie Serra won the Top Kid award, and the Morey Foundation hippies team, sponsored by Laura King, won Best Costume. “We sold out,” Center Executive Director Christopher Culhane said. “All of the proceeds will benefit The Center.” Culhane declined to speculate on the anticipated amount of funds raised by the event. The cost of participation was $50 per person; $700 for signature lane sponsors; $450 for lane sponsors with six players; and $250 for lane sponsors without players. The event also featured multiple silent auction items.
Bowlers roll to raise funds for Center
ANNE YARBROUGH | SUN
Some members of the AMI Locals team bowled as bananas.
SEE BOWLING, PAGE 17
New COVID-19 vaccine available on the Island The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend those 12 and older get the new COVID-19 vaccine, now available on the Island. BY JASON SCHAFFER SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND - The new COVID-19 booster vaccines aimed at fighting the omicron subvariants hit local pharmacies late last week after final approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pharmacists at both Walgreens and CVS in Holmes Beach confirmed the updated vaccine is in stock and available. According to the Centers for Disease SEE VACCINE, PAGE 21
Page 23
JASON SCHAFFER | SUN
Walgreens in Holmes Beach is among the many pharmacies in Manatee County that are now offering the new COVID-19 booster vaccine targeting the new variants.
Who’s Anna Marie? BY JASON SCHAFFER SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND - It’s been 100 years since the first bridge linking Anna Maria Island to the mainland was opened to the public. During that time, the Island has gone through a lot of changes, but a name change hasn’t been one of them. Knowing this, local veterinarian Denise Vondrasek was surprised when she was driving on Manatee Avenue toward the Island and noticed a crew putting up a sign letting drivers know that they are five miles from “Anna Marie Is.” Realizing the sign was misspelled, she stopped to tell the workers, but none of them spoke English, so she reached out to The Anna Maria Island Sun. SEE SIGN, PAGE 13
JASON SCHAFFER | SUN
After being destroyed in an accident, the predecessor to this sign on Manatee Avenue just west of 75th Street was replaced, but the new sign isn’t quite right.
ANNA MARIA
ISLAND PLAYERS opens the
wants a water taxi to stop twice each trip at the City Pier. 4
season with ‘Cliffhanger.’ 9
Anna Maria Island, Florida
TURTLE WATCH fundraiser
Sept. 28 at Hank’s. 11
The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper www.amisun.com