The Islander Newspaper E-Edition: Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Seeking safer streets. 16

Price’s place. 18

Don’t be fooled. 27

Happy Fools’ Day

VOLUME 25, NO. 22

MARCH 29, 2017 FREE

The Best News on Anna Maria Island Since 1992 AsTheWorldTerns play the fools. 6 Manatee County to consider rezoning Aqua By The Bay. 2 Holmes Beach wins 1 Bert Harris case, faces another. 4 Anna Maria commission OKs Bert Harris settlement offers. 4

Op-Ed

The Islander editorial, reader letters. 6

10-20 YEARS AGO

From the archives. 7

Anna Maria commission, mayor push new assessment tax. 8

Meetings

Gov’ calendar. 8

Noise complaints heard at city halls. 10

Happenings

Community announcements, activities. 12-13 Make plans, save a date. 14-15

Gathering. 20 Easter sunrise plans. 20

Obituary. 20 23

Streetlife. 24 Center rededicates baseball field. 28 Greeting spring on the water. 29

ISL BIZ Co-op program boosts business’ reach. 30 Classifieds. 31-34

www.islander.org

Turtle watch shocked by EPA halt to nesting

By chrisann Silver esformes islander reporter Sea turtles that have nested on anna maria island beaches for millennia are being targeted as undocumented immigrants. according to new environmental regulations enacted by new officials with the EPA, sea turtles will no longer be allowed on u.S. shores, and a wall will be built to prevent future nesting activity. an aquatic defense Boundary Wall — a title given to the project by the federal government — will extend the full length of the gulf-side of the island, about 1 mile offshore. Similar plans are in motion for neighboring barrier islands where sea turtles nest, including on Longboat Key. an adBW is under construction in the waters surrounding the florida Keys. the wall will be funded using money previously allocated to environmental protection for sea turtles and other species.

turtles have been considered a “nuisance” by some government factions for years. “now that government isn’t wasting all that money on turtle-friendly lights and outreach, we can finally build this wall and keep those seagrass-eating menaces offshore,” dawson said. Wall construction could begin as early as May, the start of sea turtle nesting season. female sea turtles only come ashore to nest and during this time, lights on the waterfront must be kept low and shielded, so as not to distract the turtles from returning to the gulf of mexico. But no more. george Linnby owns a home on the beach in anna maria and says he is “over A loggerhead confronts an Aquatic it” with sea-turtle precautions. Defense Boundary Wall March 23 in the “Switching out lights, shutting curFlorida Keys. Islander Photo: April Fool tains after dark, motion sensors — all this to accommodate outsiders that just want to aBdW’s Willam dawson is chair of dig up our beaches with their stinky nests,” pLeaSe See Sea turtleS page 3 the wall logistics committee. He claims sea

DOT funds $7M Holmes Beach-SR 789 project

The cost: more than $1 million a mile. the length: 5.72 miles. a road improvement project for portions of State road 789 with construction in 2021-25 is expected to cost $7.09 million. the improvements cover the Sr 789 corridor from 27th Street north to the intersection of Palm and gulf drives, with funding by the florida department of transportation. gulf Drive has been identified by the dot as a “failing segment during seasons and holidays,” according to the project information packet. Holmes Beach city engineer Lynn Burnett registered the project on the dot’s priority list to address “chronic flooding issues that are prevalent along gulf Drive,” according to a May 12, 2016, email from Burnett to DoT’s Ryan Weeks and Lauren Hatchell. the project also ties in with Burnett’s recently proposed roadway bike and pedestrian plans. the repairs would establish a safe corridor for visitors and residents as the only evacuation route in the city, while providing the first step in converting the corridor to a “complete street.” the push for complete streets is part of a dot initiative to provide safer, context-sensitive roads by putting “the right street in the right place,” according to

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The intersection of Gulf Drive and State Road 789 will be reconstructed as a roundabout as part of a $7.09 million plan by the Florida Department of Transportation. Islander Photo: Bonner Joy the DoT website, fdot.gov. eight existing concrete cross drains from 52nd Street to 43rd Street would be repaired to manage stormwater runoff, while allowing for bike path construction on top of the drainage system. a four-lane arterial roundabout would also be constructed at the intersection of gulf Drive and SR 789, according to the DoT packet. a portion of the project would be funded by the city’s local gas tax revenue and regional trails funding as sections of Sr 789 are within the city limits and part of a future

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Shared-use, Nonmotorized Trail system. The AMI SunTrail, a north-south corridor from would run the length of gulf drive. it would consist of two 11-foot-wide vehicle lanes with a 3-foot separation on each side for a paved two-way 10-foot-wide bike path on one side and an 8-foot-wide path on the other side. city commissioners are expected to authorize Mayor Bob Johnson to execute the project’s priority application for the dot to fund the project at their march 28 meeting at city hall. — Jennifer Sheppard

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