Open house success
Sheila Zink, left, front office secretary at Anna Maria Elementary School, and Dawn Trejo, a teacher aide, smile Aug. 6 after the annual open house for students, parents and other guardians at AME. A squall with lightning and 50-mph winds rocked the area for about an hour just as the event was getting underway at the campus, 4700 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach. Islander Photos: Bonner Joy
Bradenton Beach developer envisions hotel, retail, public spaces
A conceptual plan to redevelop the old Pines Trailer Park and surrounding properties includes hotel rooms, condominiums, restaurants, retail space […]
Florida’s primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 18? Will you vote?
Last week’s question The anniversary of the unsolved 1980 Kingfish Boat Ramp killings was Aug. 1. Four people were killed […]
Top Notch Week 5: A spell at sunset
Lorri Webb of Oldsmar captured this photo Aug. 4 of a wizard — Luke Webb — on the shore near 64th Street in Holmes Beach. “Not every day you see a wizard on the beach,” the photographer wrote. She is the fifth weekly winner in The Islander’s 2026 Top Notch photo contest. There will be one more weekly winner on Page 1 in the Aug. 19 issue. All the weekly winners will be entered into the grand prize round, which offers $100 from The Islander and gift certificates from Islander advertisers. The Islander also is hosting a pet photo contest, with the winner announced Aug. 26.
Demo work on T-end begins
Tangerine Group employees wheel carts Aug. 5 along protective matting out to the T-end of the Anna Maria City Pier so debris from demolition work can be hauled back to dumpsters at the structure’s base. The pier has remained in disrepair since sustaining damages from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. Mayor Mark Short told The Islander Aug. 6 that the contractor was set to complete demolition and remediation work in 2-3 weeks. Islander Photo: Ryan Paice
Manatee bed tax sets another June record at $4.6 million
In June, the county took in more than $4.6 million from the tourist development tax, an increase of 27.63% from […]
FISH joins opposition to Sarasota Bay development permit
The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage board voted Aug. 3 to oppose a federal permit for a Sarasota Bay development, […]
Nesting notes: Summer’s slowdown
Sea turtle nesting is winding down on Anna Maria Island while the last of the island’s least tern chicks have […]