Island voters headed to the polls Aug. 24, to mark ballots for school board candidates in three races, as well as join other Floridians in nominating candidates in county, state and federal races.

School board decided

In the District 3 race for the Manatee County school board, incumbent Jane Pfeilsticker and Julie B. Aranibar are headed for a run-off Nov. 2. The two each received about 41 percent of the vote in a race too close to call. Albert G. Yusko, receiving about 18 percent, is out of the race

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Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas ruled today, Aug. 24, that a recall petition against Anna Maria Commissioner Harry Stoltzfus was “legally sufficient” to proceed with the recall.

Stoltzfus filed a lawsuit in May against the Recall Commissioner Stoltzfus Committee and its chair, Bob Carter, claiming the recall petition lacked proof of misfeasance of malfeasance on his part and was “legally insufficient” for a recall. Stoltzfus asked the court to dismiss the recall.

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The Historic Anna Maria City Pier remains the No. 1 attraction for visitors to the Manatee County area.

In the April-June 2010 study by Research Data Services of Tampa for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, 29.2 percent of visitors rated Anna Maria’s pier their favorite attraction in Manatee County.

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Anna Maria residents are asking just about everybody they meet if they’ve heard whether Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas rendered a decision on the motion to dismiss the recall petition against Commissioner Harry Stoltzfus.

All answer the same: “No.”

Nicholas was expected to make a prompt decision after hearing arguments in the case Aug. 12 and is under orders by 12th District Circuit Court Chief Judge Lee Haworth to promptly provide a decision. But no announcement had been made by The Islander’s press deadline on Monday, Aug. 25 — 13 days after the hearing.

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Bradenton Beach is planning a new walkover to halt the treading of the dunes at the Bridge Street beach access.

The city, using community redevelopment agency funds, also is planning to improve the beach access at Third Street South.

The CRA committee gave the go-ahead for design and construction Aug. 18, when it accepted a proposal from LTA Engineering of Bradenton. ZNS Engineering also bid on the job.

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The Manatee County Environmental Health Services department issued a health advisory Aug. 12 for the waters on the south side of the Palma Sola Causeway near the mainland and for Coquina Beach north in Bradenton Beach.

The advisory said marine water bacterial indicators show that contact with the water in either area may pose “an increased risk of infectious disease, particularly for susceptible individuals.”

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With only three of five Anna Maria commissioners at the Aug. 18 parking work session, Commission Chair John Quam said dialogue might be meaningless.

Commissioner Chuck Webb e-mailed the city that he had a death in the family and could not attend, while Commissioner Harry Stoltzfus, long an advocate of safe parking on Pine Avenue, was absent for unknown reasons.

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Holmes Beach Commissioner Al Robinson sounded off about overspending once again at West Manatee Fire Rescue District commissioners during their Aug. 19 meeting at WMFR Station No. 1.

Regarding WMFR’s retirement program, Robinson said, “No one on this planet with any financial background would estimate a return on investment of 8 percent in this economy. Someone is living in la-la land. Could it be this is to cover the fact that the retirement fund is sucking air?”

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The Islander will host Popcorn and Politics at the newspaper office Wednesday, Oct. 20, providing an opportunity for voters to meet candidates for office in Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and the Manatee County Board of Commissioners.

The event will take place at 5:30 p.m. at The Islander storefront in the Island Shopping Center, 5404 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.

The Islander this week launches a new reader service. News photos are now available online at the newspaper’s website for purchase.

We have had countless requests through the years for reprints of photos that have appeared in The Islander.

Now, online readers will be able to purchase photographs as well as see pictures we take weekly, but can’t publish due to space limitations, including images from events and reader-submitted photos.

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