Time to talk about Cortez again in view of the monumental changes being made on the Cortez peninsula and, by extension, within the fishing village. The changes will affect all Cortez residents and many residents of Manatee County as well, and likely some of it you won’t agree with.
You would never know it now if you took a ride down 127th Street past the former Seafood Shack Restaurant site, but the property owned by Manatee County is slated for a major overhaul. As a matter of fact, you can’t even access 127th Street from Cortez Road since the county is working on infrastructure for the new Cortez Bridge scheduled to start construction late 2025 or early 2026, also a big change.
At this moment, the Seafood Shack property is tentatively being renamed the future Cortez Marina. Plans for the best use of this property are still being worked on and the county commissioners are looking for input from residents. At a meeting held in Bradenton Beach on June 12, with residents from the peninsula, there were a lot of opinions. Mostly homeowners were concerned about traffic flow and boats on trailers accessing narrow roads on their way to a planned boat launch area. If you’re concerned about how the property is being developed – whether you live in Cortez or not – you should make your voice heard. Don’t wait for another meeting; you can email the commissioners, whose contact information is on the Manatee County website.
In addition to boat ramps and parking for boat trailers it is suggested that the site could be a landing area for a water taxi and possibly the Gulf Islands Ferry with vehicle parking provided for that purpose. Also discussed was a restaurant and hopefully some retail space, both of which would be a bonus to the community.
Will these changes give new life to the 8 acres? I believe it will, even though not everyone will be happy with the county’s plans. Some other positives are a fixed high-level new bridge to the Island with some pedestrian- and bike-friendly areas, providing quick access from the Island in the event of storms as well as access to the charm and seafood restaurants of one of the few remaining authentic fishing villages in Florida. Add to this a new active boating area on some of the best boating waters on the west coast of Florida and hopefully you will see a facility that will be a draw for more than just the boating community.
What, if anything, does this mean for real estate values in Cortez? There’s no surprise that values are down and available listings are more than available buyers. However, if you are a home or condo buyer considering waterfront and water access property, I would give Cortez a serious look. We’re in a buyer’s market and Cortez is not immune to that so it can be a very advantageous time to buy. Primarily I keep thinking about how things will look in a couple of years after everything is rebuilt and spanking new for an underused 8 acres of prime land. Property values can only go up in an area with spectacular water views and convenient water access.
Ask yourself why did you come to Florida in the first place? Was it to live in a master planned community or to live in a vibrant varied community on the water, where the dolphins are jumping every day? I’m optimistic for the first time since October. I believe little Cortez will come back better than ever and more valuable. Look to the future – not the past.
BRADENTON BEACH – Following city commissioners’ discussion on July 10 about commercial beach cabana companies doing business on public beaches, commissioners
asked City Attorney Ricinda Perry to look at legal options and possible modifications to regulations.
“I looked at our existing code and in Article 2 – conduct in public parks – ‘park’ is defined as the beach, and there is an enforcement provision,” Perry said. “When you get down to
Section 46-37, it says no person in a park shall construct or erect any building or structure whether of permanent or temporary character.”
She noted another section, 46-44, which states that no person in a park shall erect, maintain, use or occupy on or in any beach any tents, shelter or structure of any kind without a special written permit.
“What that says to me is there can be no tents of any kind or sun shelter on any part of the beaches because they are covered under that code,” she said.
Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce said her concern would not be to prevent beachgoers from using personal shelters to stay out of the sun, but was opposed to having private cabana companies using the public beach for financial gain.
“The concern is those concierge companies that don’t have a brick and mortar building, they just have a storage unit with a bunch of cabanas in it and they pull out their cabanas and chairs and set them up,” Scaccianoce said. “The bigger issue is concierge companies lining up 20 cabanas on prime spots on the beach. Nobody’s in them and they’re taking up space on the beach, in the hope that somebody is going to rent them.”
She noted that Holmes Beach has also recently expressed concern about private businesses advertising for financial gain on the beach.
“Holmes Beach is addressing it in a way that has code enforcement going out and watching these cabanas,” Scaccianoce said. “These cabana companies are advertising with their name, phone number, QR codes, and setting up empty tents with chairs that are not rented. If they’re set up in the morning and in the afternoon if they’re still empty they (Holmes Beach) are doing code enforcement.”
Commissioner Ralph Cole noted that resorts put out umbrellas for their guests.
“However that’s worded needs to be fixed so we can protect the businesses that were here for years and years,” Cole said. “The last thing we want to do is ruin our resorts and make people not want to come here because they have to sit on the beach with no umbrella.”
Cole compared the private cabana rental companies to many other businesses on the Palma Sola Causeway.
“I have a problem with someone just showing up on a public beach and starting to rent out Jet Skis,” Cole said. “When I see people up on the causeway, they’ve got banners out and they pay no rent. That’s just what the cabanas are doing. It’s getting out of hand.”
Scaccianoce said she does not support taking opportunity away from resorts or from families coming to the beach with sun shades.
“The issue I’m talking about here is that I think we should be able to police the businesses,” she said.
Mayor John Chappie suggested directing Perry to look at the city’s legal options with the possibility of making modifications to the current code. A motion to that effect passed unanimously.
“I believe all of us want to try to address this and have some type of regulation,” Chappie said.
The Thursday, July 17 city commission meeting agenda includes an update on commercial activity on public property.
ANNA MARIA – City commissioners want to see improvements to Waste Management’s current side-door trash and recycling collection services while still considering the company’s request to switch Anna Maria’s trash collection days from Mondays and Thursdays to Tuesdays and Fridays.
Waste Management also wants to change recyclable collections to half of the city on Tuesdays and half of the city on Fridays, with yard waste still collected on Mondays.
On July 10, Waste Management representatives Brenna Haggar, Luigi Pace and Chris Sawallich presented the company’s request to Mayor Mark Short and the city commissioners. No final decisions were made and the commissioners stressed the need for Waste Management to first improve its side-door trash and recycling collection efforts that have fallen far short of the city’s expectations and have been the subject of several commission discussions.
Side-door service entails a Waste Management employee retrieving the trash and recyclable receptacles from the side of a home, emptying them and returning them to the side of the home rather than leaving them at the end of the driveway or alongside the street, where they sometimes sit for days. All non-homesteaded residential properties in Anna Maria, including short-term vacation rentals, are required to use side-door service, which comes at an additional cost.
Haggar serves as Waste Management’s government affairs manager.
“I’m not saying we’re perfect. We know that. With the side-door service, there’s always opportunities for improvement,” she said during her opening remarks.
She noted the company now provides the city with weekly Saturday beach access point dumpster and receptacle collections at no additional cost to the city, rather than the five holiday weekend collections set forth the company’s current contract with the city. That exclusive contract and revenue sharing franchise agreement expires next June.
Haggar told commissioners Manatee County is switching to carted, automated solid waste collections on Oct. 6. Automated collections utilize trucks equipped with mechanical arms that grab and empty the receptacle carts placed curbside while the driver remains in the truck. This eliminates the need for a second employee to manually empty the receptacles.
Haggar said the county wants all its contracted solid waste service providers to operate on the same days when that October change occurs. She said the county’s request will require a significant change in Waste Management’s current route planning and staffing assignments.
“If we don’t make these changes, on Mondays we would need twice the number of trucks, twice the number of drivers only on Mondays. And then those drivers and trucks would be sitting idle the rest of the week. It’s not sustainable for us,” Haggar said.
The Waste Management team did not propose automated collections for Anna Maria.
“Monday pickup is after the busy weekend. That’s when you have the most trash,” Commissioner Gary McMullen said. “That’s when I believe it should be picked up. It shouldn’t matter to me because I have side-door (service), but it does, because they don’t always do that.”
“We hear you loud and clear about the side-door service. That is something that needs a solution,” Haggar acknowledged.
“I think the difference between Thursday and Friday is fairly minimal. But there are probably a lot more (vacation rental) checkouts on a Monday than there are on a Tuesday,” Commissioner Charlie Salem said when noting the proposed Tuesday collections would result in trash accumulating over the weekend and sitting uncollected for an additional
day.
Salem wants to see side-door service improved before he supports changing the collection schedule.
“A lot of this hinges on whether or not that gets solved, and it’s been a problem for quite a while. I don’t have a ton of confidence that there’s a magic bullet out there for that,” he said.
He also noted Waste Management recently imposed a 3% cost increase on its Anna Maria customers.
Commissioners Chris Arendt, John Lynch and Kathy Morgan-Johnson agreed with Salem and share those same concerns.
“We really need to understand the impact of the rental weekends, what that looks like and how that affects the trash pile going to Tuesday versus Monday,” Lynch said.
Lynch said it’s also important for side-door service customers to receive the service they’re paying for.
It was noted that 80% of the Anna Maria’s residential properties currently have side-door service and the Waste Management truck drivers are supposed to use their digital, in-truck tablets to identify which properties require that service.
McMullen suggested a simpler solution: Placing easily identifiable stickers on receptacles that require side-door service. As an alternative, he suggested requiring all residential properties to have side-door service.
He said that would eliminate any confusion as to which properties require that service, but he also noted that some residents who bring their receptacles to the street and back themselves won’t want to pay the additional fee. The Waste Management team said they’d get back to the commission with an estimate on customer pricing for mandatory
side-door service citywide.
“I think there’s a lot to discuss,” Salem said as the discussion ended
with no final decisions proposed or voted on regarding the proposed
change to the current collection days.
HOLMES BEACH – Mayor Judy Titsworth and city staff presented a proposed $23.7 million 2025-26 fiscal year city budget that’s currently based on increasing the current millage rate from 1.99 mills to 2.1812 mills.
At 2.1812 mills, Holmes Beach property owners would pay an ad valorem city property tax rate of $2.18 per every thousand dollars of assessed taxable property value.
City commissioners are expected to formally adopt this year’s maximum millage rate during their Monday, July 22 meeting that starts at 2 p.m. The adopted maximum millage rate can then be lowered, but not increased, before two budget adoption hearings are held in September. The 2025-26 fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
When presenting the proposed budget during the city commission’s July 8 budget work session, City Treasurer Julie Marcotte said the millage rate increase is proposed to offset the 8.33% decline in Holmes Beach property values, as established by the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office.
City Treasurer Julie Marcotte presented the proposed budget. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
According to the property appraiser’s 2025 Taxing Authority Report, the 4,759 parcels in Holmes Beach have a total taxable value of $3.26 billion. Development Services Director Chad Minor said 1,671 of those parcels are being used as vacation rentals. According to the 2024 report, 4,762 parcels in Holmes Beach had a total taxable value of $3.54 billion.
Marcotte said the lower property values would produce a $590,000 decrease in the city’s ad valorem property tax revenues if the 1.99 millage rate is maintained. The proposed millage rate increase would result in the city receiving about the same amount of city property tax revenues as it did this year at the 1.99 rate.
An increased millage rate combined with lower appraised property values would result in most property owners paying about the same amount of city property taxes in the coming fiscal year. Property owners are also subjected to the taxes and fees levied by the county, school board, fire district and other taxing authorities that account for a significant portion of a property owner’s total annual tax bill.
BUDGET SPECIFICS
State law requires cities to operate with balanced budgets where projected revenues match the projected expenditures. The $23.7 million in projected 2025-26 revenues includes $7.46 million in reserve funds to be carried over from the current 2024-25 fiscal year budget, which is $25.2 million.
The proposed budget for the general operations of the city that includes employee salaries and benefits is $1.77 million – a decrease from the $1.94 million budgeted this year.
The current fiscal year police department budget is $5.49 million. Marcotte and Police Chief Bill Tokajer propose increasing it to $5.52 million for the coming fiscal year. The proposed increase includes Tokajer’s yet-to-be-approved request to hire an additional officer with a starting pay range between $68,000-$72,000.
The building department budget Marcotte and Minor proposed would increase from $1.37 million to $1.6 million, but increased building permit revenues and other development fees are expected to cover the additional expenses incurred by the one department that generates as much or more money than it spends.
The public works department budget proposed by Marcotte and Public Works Director Sage Kamiya anticipates expenditures decreasing from $4.08 million to $3.58 million in the coming fiscal year. Kamiya said his department is currently three employees short of being fully staffed and he’d like to hire at least one additional employee if approved by the city commission.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said the proposed public works budget is about $500,000 lower than the current fiscal year and to him that justifies hiring an additional employee and adding about $63,000 to the city payroll.
The proposed budget doesn’t yet factor in a proposed stormwater fee increase from $2.95 per 100 square feet of property to $4.95 or $9 per 100 square feet. The proposed budget lists $1.88 million for anticipated stormwater drainage project expenses and Kamiya said that projection would change if additional revenues are to be generated by a stormwater fee increase.
The projected $765,236 for code compliance department expenditures is about $10,000 higher than the current fiscal year.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore opposes increasing the millage rate at a time when many property owners are still recovering from hurricane damage sustained in 2024. She opposes adding an additional police officer and an additional public works department employee to the city payroll and she opposes the proposed stormwater assessment fee increase to be determined during the commission’s Tuesday, July 22 meeting.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore opposes the proposed millage rate increase. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Manatee County’s 6% tourist development tax (resort tax) is collected from hotel, motel, resort, condo and other short-term vacation accommodations rented for six months or less.
The amounts shown were collected for May and paid to the Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office in June. A third of the tax revenues are spent on marketing the county as a tourist destination and almost 17% is spent on beach renourishment.
In Anna Maria, May tourist tax revenues increased from $318,188 in 2024 to $406,297 in 2025 – an $88,109 (27.6%) increase.
In Bradenton Beach, May tourist tax revenues decreased from $112,803 in 2024 to $93,365 in 2025 – a $19,438 (17.23%) decrease.
In Holmes Beach, May tourist tax revenues increased from $660,167 in 2024 to $620,641 in 2025 – a $20,474 (3.41%) increase.
In unincorporated Manatee County (the areas located outside of the six chartered municipalities), May tourist tax revenues increased from $770,194 in 2024 to $917,906 in 2025 – a $147,712 (19.17%) increase.
In Manatee County as a whole, May tourist tax revenues increased from $2,520,318 in 2024 to $2,520,318 in 2025 – a $349,445 (16.09%) increase.
Tourist development taxes are also collected in Bradenton, Palmetto and the Manatee County portion of Longboat Key. The revenues are controlled by the Manatee County Commission and can be shared with local municipalities to help fund tourism-related projects and enhancements.
ANNA MARIA – Former city commissioner and longtime Anna Maria resident Dale Woodland passed away on June 28 at the age of 76 due to complications caused by dementia.
The family plans to host a memorial service in October but those details are still being worked out.
Dale served eight consecutive two-year terms as an Anna Maria commissioner before leaving office in late 2019. He’s survived by his son, Jason Woodland; daughter-in-law, Meghan Woodland; seven grandchildren; younger sister, Melanie; and former wife, Gayle. Dale and Gayle’s son, Scott, passed away in 2020.
After relocating from Canada at a young age, Dale grew up on Mangrove Avenue in Anna Maria with his parents Maxwell and Marguerite Woodland, sister, Melanie and older brother, Christopher.
Maxwell Woodland served as Anna Maria mayor from 1959-62. According to family members, he suddenly disappeared after completing his tenure as mayor and the family never heard from him again. Dale was about 14 at the time and many years later it was learned that Maxwell died in his home country of Australia in 1963. Christoper Woodland was a U.S. Air Force pilot and died in a plane crash in the 1970s.
After starting their family in east Manatee County, Dale and Gayle bought the property at 134 Hammock Road in Anna Maria in 1986, when Jason and Scott were teenagers, and there they built the house Dale would call home most of the rest of his life.
From 1995 to 2020, Dale and Scott owned and operated Woodland Quality Pool Care.
In his later years, Dale dated Anna Maria resident Jayne Slade-Dashiell for six and a half years.
Jayne, a nurse, first noticed signs of Dale’s dementia in March 2022 immediately after Dale had open heart surgery.
“He never really recovered from that,” she said of the memory issues that gradually worsened. While living in her own home, Jayne cared for Dale as long as she could.
In mid-2024, Dale’s grandson, Michael Stull, moved into Dale’s home and began providing live-in care, assisted by Michael’s girlfriend. They rode out Hurricane Helene at Dale’s home but before Hurricane Milton arrived, the family decided to move Dale to Jason and Meghan’s home in Live Oak.
Dale passed away at The Canopy at Harper Lake assisted living and memory care facility in Lake City.
Commissioner Woodland
Dale’s beloved dog, Lucy, accompanied him to the city commission meetings and often wandered around the commission chambers during meetings.
After Hurricane Irma damaged the City Pier in 2017, Woodland was the only commissioner in support of building a new pier atop the existing wooden pilings, or atop new wooden pilings. Mayor Dan Murphy and the other commissioners opted for a new pier built atop concrete pilings instead. Due to damage caused by Hurricane Milton, another pier replacement project is currently in its early stages.
Commissioner Dale Woodland and Mayor Dan Murphy examined the hurricane-damaged City Pier decking after Hurricane Irma in 2017. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
In 2019, Dale filed his qualifying paperwork with the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office seeking a ninth term, but he was disqualified because he paid his $48 qualifying fee with a personal check instead of a check drawn on a designated campaign account. He then sought commission appointment to his vacated seat but the commissioners appointed Joe Muscatello instead.
Dale never sought office again, but when addressing the commission that day he said his path to public service began when he came to a city meeting to complain to the commission and Mayor Ray Simches about Lake La Vista being so shallow and the need to dredge the channel that connects with Tampa Bay.
“That’s how I got involved in the city. Later, Ray asked me if I’d be on the code enforcement board,” Dale told the commission.
Meghan believes Dale’s memory loss contributed to the qualifying fee error.
Family
Meghan shared with The Sun a soliloquy Jason wrote about his father’s passing: “What makes a life? Is it the one with the most toys wins? Maybe it is riches and a luxurious lifestyle. Or could it be Love; giving, receiving and sharing love? For my dad, toys were never his priority. I never heard him want for anything. He had what he wanted and ignored the rest,” Jason wrote.
“Dale took advantage of opportunities that enriched his life. He built a home in paradise and made a dream life he would never leave. If experiences in life, living exactly where and how you want to live count, then my dad was a very rich man.
Dale got some help on the campaign trail from his grandchildren Jordan, Michael, Savannah, Shyanne and his daughter-in-law, Meghan Woodland. – Meghan Woodland | Submitted
“Dale loved people and people loved my dad. He once told me that my mother (Gayle) was the greatest woman he ever knew. His grandchildren were the apple of his eye. He opened and shared his home with family, friends and people he knew. My dad never missed an opportunity to make a person happy with a ‘Dale Burger.’
Scott Roscoe, Scott Woodland and one of Dale’s friends waiting for ‘Dale Burgers’ during a Daytona 500 party. – Meghan Woodland | Submitted
“Dale was born in Canada and became an American citizen. He loved America and the Constitution. And oh, how he loved Anna Maria. So much so that he became your city commissioner so he could be of service.
“And last, but first, my dad loved God. His favorite part of the Bible was the Beatitudes, Matthew 5. These verses were always in his mind on how to be a better person,” Jason wrote.
Dale Woodland and his youngest granddaughter, Montana Woodland. – Meghan Woodland | Submitted
“I saw his heart break when he lost his dog (Lucy). I saw him support his sons in their endeavors. But what made his life, to me, and what will stay with me, are the stories. My dad was a genius storyteller – and these are real stories, not fables. He had a gift of humbling himself and sharing these stories that would jerk a tear from your eye or have you crying from laughter. He loved it because it made the listener happy. Dale had a fulfilled life and it showed in his stories,” Jason wrote.
“Now my dad is with Our Father, finally satisfied in the Beatitudes and experiencing more love than humanly possible. Dad, I love you and I will see you again one day and I can’t wait to hear the stories you will have to tell,” Jason wrote.
Meghan Woodland and her beloved father-in-law, Dale Woodland. – Meghan Woodland | Submitted
Speaking by phone, Meghan said, “Dale was amazing. He knew so many people and he had so many stories to tell about his life and his parents’ life. Dale was the kind of guy where if you walked by you would be friends. It didn’t matter if he knew you his whole life or he just met you five minutes ago. His house was open for anyone to come visit at any given time. He’d tell people he just met walking down the road to come use his kayaks. He was generous and open.
“He was born in Canada and when he was a young child they moved here. He told me he remembered the day he became a U.S. citizen and it was the greatest day of his life. He was such a patriot. He loved this country and he loved Anna Maria,” Meghan said.
Anna Maria Mayor Max Woodland was featured on the cover of the Key Look-out newspaper in 1959. – Meghan Woodland | Submitted
She shared a copy of a three-page feature story that ran in the “Key Look-out” newspaper in August 1959. The newspaper’s coverage area included Longboat Key, Sarasota and Anna Maria Island and their story touted Maxwell Woodland as a “Man of the Keys.” The story recapped Maxwell’s service as a bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force, his career path as an engineer, comptroller and certified public accountant, the life journeys that brought him and his family to Anna Maria and his current status as the Anna Maria mayor.
“He disappeared later and was never heard from,” Meghan said of Maxwell’s mysterious disappearance.
Meghan first noticed signs of Dale’s dementia around the time he started dating Jayne, and as his memory loss progressed he relied more heavily on her.
“He really turned to Jayne for everything. She would answer questions, speak for him and she was like a safety net for him. When Lucy passed away, it was traumatic. He was grieving and he couldn’t be at his house without his dog,” Meghan said.
When Michael took over Dale’s care, the family hoped to keep him at home as long as possible.
“We wanted him to stay in his house until the very last day of his life. That’s where he wanted to be and we didn’t want to take him from the Island. But I found out just how bad Dale was and my son (Michael) said he couldn’t do it anymore,” Meghan said of the decision to bring Dale to Live Oak where she could help care for him.
“He didn’t know where he was. He kept thinking he could walk up the street but he was out in the middle of nowhere,” she said of his time there.
Eventually, the family concluded it was time to place Dale in a memory care facility for his own safety and that’s where he would later pass away.
When sharing the news of this grandfather’s passing on Facebook, Michael wrote: “Some of you may have known my grandpa, Dale Woodland. He was commissioner on the Island for many years and his dad, Maxwell, was mayor many, many years ago.
“It’s come time where my grandpa has gone to be with our Father. He was loved by many people on Anna Maria, and he loved you all and the Island. He was a family man and a man for America. He preached common sense and lived by it too. He spent more time at the Rod & Reel (Pier) than anyone else; and more importantly, knew how to handle a couple too many beers. I’ll forever cherish the times that I spent with my grandpa and I hope that those of you that did spend time with him will cherish them too. Rest in Paradise Grandpa Dale,” Michael wrote.
Friends
Jayne said she and her late husband, Vic, met Dale many years ago when he was campaigning for a city commission seat, and as time passed, they got to know him better.
“My husband passed away eight years ago. I was walking my dog six months later and Dale was cleaning a pool. I asked him about windows, because I was going to get new windows for my house; and he asked me out for a date. He asked me to go to the Island Players with him because he had season tickets. He always bought two season tickets and asked different people to go,” Jayne said.
Jayne Slade-Dashiell and Dale Woodland dated for more than six years. – Jayne Slade-Dashiell | Submitted
When asked what she misses most about Dale, she said, “Going on our long walks, whether it be on the beach, down the piers or walking over to Ginny’s and Jane E’s in the morning to see the locals. We also liked to go on long bike rides around the Island, knowing that if we got tired, or the weather got bad, we could get on the trolley. I am an outdoor person and so was he. He loved the mountains in North Carolina and we enjoyed going there to go hiking and see the leaves change. I just loved that he such was an outgoing, friendly person.”
While growing up on Mangrove Avenue, Dale became close friends with fellow Mangrove Avenue resident Bruce Dickins.
Currently a Tampa resident, and soon moving to the greater Sarasota area, Dickins said, “Dale lived down on Mangrove with his parents, on the beach side. I was up the street at a little house called ‘The Mayflower’ and we became good friends. His father was the mayor of Anna Maria and he was very strict. One day, I asked if I could go down there and watch color TV for the first time and I watched my first cartoons in color. Dale was the kind of guy people gravitated too. Nobody disliked him.”
Regarding Dale’s dad, Bruce said, “I don’t know why he left. After being the mayor, one day he was gone. Apparently, he died in Australia.”
Dickins also suffered a childhood tragedy: “My mom died when I was 12, so we moved to Connecticut, but we kept in contact. When I moved to Daytona, I used to go over to Anna Maria to visit. Dale was a great guy and he never forgot me,” Bruce said, noting that he continued to visit Dale and Anna Maria through the years.
From talking to Jayne, Bruce knew Dale’s dementia was getting worse.
“The last time I saw him was last year on the Rod & Reel Pier before the hurricanes blew it out. My wife and I were walking up the pier and we were about 100 feet from Dale and he looked up and said, ‘holy crap.’ We talked for an hour or two. He knew the dementia was setting in and I’d ask him questions and he didn’t know the answers,” Bruce said.
“After we talked, I got a couple pictures of us and told him I was going to leave. We were walking off the pier and Dale followed us and walked with us to the car. I didn’t think that would be the last time I saw him, but I think he knew it would be the last time. He was my oldest friend and I was his oldest friend, I loved him and he loved me back. He was a great guy. I’ll miss him so much,” Bruce said.
Dale Woodland saw his lifelong friend, Bruce Dickins, for the last time last year on the Rod & Reel Pier. – Bruce Dickins | Submitted
Holmes Beach resident and charter captain Scott Moore said, “I’ve known Dale all my life. He was a true islander. He loved to scuba dive. He used to dive underneath the piers to see how many fish were there. Him and Andy Torgeson used to dive a lot together. He was always interested in protecting the environment, the fisheries and the animals here on the Island.
“Dale was a very good commissioner. You could talk to him and he was very sensible, and a gentleman. His favorite spot was the Rod & Reel Pier. He would ride his bike up there almost every day and have a couple beers. He loved that place. We lost the Rod & Reel last year and now we lost Dale. He was a really good man,” Moore said.
Reading aloud some thoughts he wrote down, former Rod & Reel Pier General Manager Dave Cochran said, “Dale was a very unique individual and an interesting person. He loved going to the Rod & Reel Pier and talking to everyone about Anna Maria and its charm. Dale was especially enthusiastic with visitors and children about the local history and activities.
Dale dedicated himself for the betterment of Anna Maria and its people. He always promoted the beauty and flavor of the Island. Having a conversation with Dale was always interesting and enjoyable. Dale was a real character at promoting good feelings and happiness around him. He will be missed and remembered by all.” Cochran said.
Public officials
The Anna Maria City Hall flag was flown at half-staff in Dale’s honor.
“I briefly served with Dale on the commission,” Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short said. “Dale was a well-known figure here in the city and gave years of service to the city as a commissioner and as an involved citizen. On behalf of the city, we were sorry to hear about Dale’s passing and our condolences go out to his family.”
Dale Woodland was a voice of the people during his long tenure as a city commissioner. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Former Anna Maria Commissioner Doug Copeland said, “Dale loved Anna Maria and spent a good portion of his life trying to make it a better place to live.”
Former Anna Maria Commissioner Brian Seymour said, “Dale was one of the first locals I met when I moved here 16 years ago. I also had the privilege of serving on the city commission with him for three years. There was nothing more important to Dale than his family, his dog and serving this community. I will miss running into him at city events and around the ‘north end’ when we would catch up on how each other was doing. Another true islander lost too soon.”
Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Whitmore said, “I have known Dale since the 1970s. He was a true islander and a free spirit. He was always smiling and he always had a story to tell. He will be missed.”
BRADENTON – The cheesesteaks were sizzling on the grills once again as the long-awaited Bradenton Boiler Room opened its doors on July 2.
Under new ownership and with a new name, the former Boiler Room Bar and Grill at 5600 Manatee Ave. W., owned by Matt Lavallee from 1984 until its closure in 2020, has reopened under the partnership of Cortez business owner Karen Bell and Cortezians Josh and Staci Wilkinson.
Bradenton’s Boiler Room opened for business on July 2. – Leslie Lake | Sun
“This is something that the town has missed, at a time of a lot of growth, redevelopment and change we’re kind of trying to bring back something that everybody loves, a time-honored tradition,” Staci Wilkinson told The Sun on July 3. “We’re trying to honor the way that it once was and put our own little flair on it as well.”
Bell, owner of A.P. Bell Fish Co., Star Fish and co-owner of Tide Tables Restaurant in Cortez, partnered with the Wilkinsons, both of whom are Cortez residents and had been employees at her restaurants.
Bradenton Boiler Room co-owners, Cortez residents Josh and Staci Wilkinson, along with Karen Bell (not pictured), take a quick break from serving patrons at their busy bar and restaurant, – Leslie Lake | Sun
“I met Josh at Tide Tables almost 11 years ago and he was in the kitchen, and I was a bartender, and we worked together as friends for a year, and we fell in love and the rest is history. We’ve been married six years,” Staci said. “We’ve been under one of Karen’s umbrellas for that amount of time. Josh moved over to Star Fish the last two years, so between the two restaurants we’ve worked for her for over a decade.”
The new restaurant layout looks similar the old Boiler Room, with a few changes that include flat screen televisions and one pool table where there had once been two. The menu features cheesesteaks, seven different types of wings, sandwiches, kids’ meals and soups and salads.
The menu description of the cheesesteaks, a staple of the old Boiler Room, states: “What the Boiler Room was known for! In keeping up with that tradition we offer a cheesesteak with ribeye steak, cheese, onions and peppers all on an Amoroso roll.”
The Bradenton Boiler Room is located at 5600 Manatee Ave, – Leslie Lake | Sun
The opening of the restaurant, which had been slated for 2024, was stalled following a series of hurricane-related challenges.
“Right in the middle of trying to get this restaurant up and running, we were really hard hit by the hurricanes,” Staci said. “We live in Cortez and our house was under 4 feet of water, so obviously what we went through and what Karen went through put us behind. We’re just really excited. It’s been a year and a half in the making.”
Patrons can shoot pool at the Bradenton Boiler Room while enjoying the food and drinks. – Leslie Lake | Sun
The menu recounts the story of the restaurant opening: “After more than a year of challenges – from replacing plumbing and exhaust systems to weathering a tropical storm and two hurricanes – we’re proud to finally open our doors. This milestone wouldn’t have been possible without the relentless dedication of partners Josh and Staci Wilkinson and Karen Bell as well as the unwavering support of Matt LaVallee’s original Boiler Room fans who have followed the reopening of this iconic location.”
The Boiler Room was a large part of Josh Wilkinson’s early years.
“My husband grew up right around the corner from here and came here his entire life,” Staci said. “I’m from Orlando and never made it to the Boiler Room. The week that they announced they were closing he brought me here once to see the staple item of his childhood, so I had a steak sandwich one time and saw a big part of his childhood before they closed the doors forever and ever. But never say never.”
The Bradenton Boiler Room is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
ANNA MARIA – The city will receive a $1.25 million state appropriation that will assist in the replacement of the Anna Maria City Pier walkway that sustained significant damage during Hurricane Milton last year.
Gov. Ron DeSantis did not veto the city’s appropriation request before signing Florida’s $117.4 billion 2025-26 fiscal year budget on June 30. Before signing the budget, DeSantis vetoed $567 million in line-item funding requests.
According to Mayor Mark Short, the city will have access to the $1.25 million when the state and city’s new fiscal years begin on Oct. 1.
The Local Funding Initiative Request form that Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) filed on the city’s behalf in early February originally sought $2.5 million, but that amount was reduced by 50% during the Florida Legislature’s 2025 session.
“Hurricane Milton destroyed the walkway of the Anna Maria City Pier, including all sewer, electrical and several pilings and has made the building at the end of the pier inoperable,” Boyd’s request form said. “The businesses and organizations that occupy the pier, including Mote Marine’s Educational Center, the Gulf Islands Ferry and the City Pier Grill are unable to provide any services due to the damage from the storm’s direct impacts.”
As part of his efforts to secure the $7 million to $9 million needed to complete the pier replacement project, Short anticipates Manatee County commissioners approving a $2 million funding request on July 29 when that Tourist Development Council-supported request is presented to county commissioners. If approved, the $2 million would come from tourist development tax revenues generated by the 6% tax the county levies on hotel, motel, resort and vacation rental stays of six months or less.
Short and the city also hope to receive up to $4 million in federal FEMA funds as reimbursement for the pier damage, but those funds are not guaranteed and remain uncertain.
The estimated pier replacement costs include approximately $800,000 to repair and remediate the flood-damaged but structurally sound city-owned buildings at the T-end of the pier. The pier buildings are currently leased to the City Pier Grill operators and Mote Marine and neither entity has officially confirmed their return to the pier when it reopens.
When meeting with Short and some of the city commissioners, Manatee County Commission Chair George Kruse expressed his personal support for the county fronting the city the additional funds needed to complete the pier project, especially if the FEMA funds are not received. Speaking for himself only, Kruse said the city would then be expected to repay some or all of those additional funds to the county.
Short told Kruse, county officials and TDC members that he hopes to complete the pier replacement project by October 2026.
Quality Marine recently demolished and removed what remained of the pier walkway. At some point soon, the city is expected to issue a request for proposals seeking bids from marine construction companies interested in building the new pier walkway and concrete support structure.
HOLMES BEACH – Mayor Judy Titsworth is concerned about beach cabana rental signage and cabanas being placed in prime beach locations before they’re rented.
Titsworth shared these concerns during the June 24 Holmes Beach City Commission meeting. She said it was brought to the city’s attention that company logos and website references appeared on rented beach cabanas.
“You’re not allowed to have signs on the beaches and it’s advertising for businesses. There’s not supposed to be commercial use on preservation (zoned) land,” she said.
Mayor Judy Titsworth is concerned about commercial activity on public land. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
According to Holmes Beach city code: “Any sign to be located on property designated as preservation shall require the approval of the city commission prior to the issuance of a permit with the fee for such sign to be set by the city commission.”
“It was an eyesore, so we asked them to remove all of their advertisements and signage off their cabanas,” Titsworth said.
Cabana rental companies were given until June 27 to remove the signage and advertising from their cabanas before police officers and code compliance officers began issuing citations.
Titsworth noted that federal law prohibits the city from regulating what the signs say but the city can regulate their placement, size and style.
Staking a claim
Titsworth said that eliminating cabana signage addresses one concern but the city also received complaints about cabana rental companies staking out prime beach locations by placing cabanas and chairs in those locations before they are reserved and rented.
“Some of these companies are actually going out first thing in the morning and putting out a lot of their cabanas in a lot of really great spots and they’re claiming them before other people can get to them and they’re not rented,” Titsworth said.
She said some non-reserved cabanas have QR codes on them that allow someone to rent them after they’ve been placed on the beach without a reservation.
“They’re making money off of it and this is public land. How do we allow them to commercialize and make money on public sand when we don’t allow other people?” Titsworth said of the cabana rentals in general.
“We’re looking at these different types of things that could potentially move in there. My goal is that our beaches don’t become the causeway,” Titsworth said in reference to the Palma Sola Causeway along Manatee Avenue in west Bradenton. In recent years, the east end of causeway has become heavily saturated with commercial activities that include horseback rides, personal watercraft rentals and more.
Titsworth said city code prohibits commercial transactions in public spaces but most of those transactions are now conducted through company websites or online payment services like Venmo and Zelle.
These beach cabanas contained no exterior signage and had been reserved in advance. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Titsworth said she, City Attorney Erica Augello, Development Services Director Chad Minor and Code Compliance Chief James Thomas are researching what more can be done to regulate commercial activities on the beaches and how other coastal communities address these concerns.
“It gets harder and harder to enforce. Everybody’s trying to make money and they’re doing it now on public land and we’ve got to reel it in,” Titsworth said. “And there’s more things people are going to be coming up with in order to profit off the beaches. What would prevent someone from dropping off 25 kayaks and a QR code and pick them up at the end of the day?”
Commissioner Carol Whitmore questioned whether the use of state and federal funds to renourish the beaches might limit the city’s ability to regulate commercial beach activities, asking whether a city-issued occupational license is required.
Titsworth said occupational licenses pertain to ‘brick and mortar’ businesses that have actual physical locations but some cabana companies don’t have a primary physical location in Holmes Beach.
Beach cabanas provide beachgoers with shade and shelter from the sun. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Commissioner Dan Diggins asked whether Manatee County has any regulations that address commercial activities at the county-owned Manatee Beach. Titsworth said she’s not aware of anything other than the county sign restrictions.
According to county code, “Private vendors, concessionaires providing concession services or activities in county parks may only do so by obtaining a concessionaire permit for such activity, or a franchise license agreement, and paying a franchise license fee.”
Manatee County uses the same contracted beach concessionaires at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach and at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach.
Commissioner Terry Schafer asked whether the city’s goal is to prohibit beach cabana rentals. Titsworth said that wasn’t the intent, but she questions how the city can allow beach cabana rentals on preservation-zoned public land when other commercial activities are not allowed.
“It’s a fine line. We’ve got to do some more work,” Titsworth said.
On June 26, beach cabanas occupied a significant portion of the 68th Street beach access shoreline. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
A visit to the 68th Street beach access at 10 a.m. on June 26 (a Thursday) revealed beach cabanas lining the shoreline in both directions and occupying much of the area closest to the water. Some cabanas were occupied, some were not and it was not clear which cabanas were rentals and which were not.
BRADENTON – C&D Properties of AMI has not appealed a judge’s ruling in favor of the West Manatee Fire and Rescue District’s (WMFR) right to levy annual assessments on short-term vacation rental properties at a higher commercial rate rather than a lower residential rate.
The 2024 lawsuit pertained to two condo units 101 67th St. in Holmes Beach owned by C&D Properties. On May 22, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas issued his written order in favor of WMFR, followed by his final order on May 29. C&D Properties then had 30 days to file an appeal and did not.
On July 2, WMFR issued a written statement that addressed the lawsuit.
“The West Manatee Fire and Rescue District has prevailed on all counts in a legal challenge brought by a short-term residential property owner over the district’s higher non-ad valorem assessment rates for such properties. The plaintiff did not appeal the ruling and the appeal period has now expired,” according to the statement. “The plaintiff argued that the district’s imposition of a higher ‘commercial’ assessment rate on short-term vacation rental properties was an unlawful regulation and preempted by Florida Statutes. The court rejected those claims, upholding the district’s authority to increase assessments based on property usage – particularly where such use demands higher service levels and resource allocation from the fire department.
“Florida’s Fire Prevention Code requires elevated life safety standards, inspections and enforcement from fire departments for short-term rentals compared to traditional single-family residential properties. The court confirmed the district lawfully applied its special assessment powers to equitably apportion costs among properties requiring more extensive fire and safety services,” according to the statement.
The statement notes the higher commercial rate is also applied to residentially-zoned assisted living facilities and daycare centers that are also subject to stricter fire code standards.
“Importantly, the court found that the district’s assessments did not constitute a regulation and did not prohibit or limit vacation rental operations, nor regulate the duration or frequency of such rentals,” according to the statement.
“The Fire Commission has never opposed short-term vacation rentals within the district,” Fire Chief Ben Rigney said in the statement. “The Fire Commission believes property owners have the right to choose how they use their homes. However, if they opt to operate a vacation rental, they should bear the additional costs for the inspections and life safety enforcement required by the Florida Fire Prevention Code.”
WMFR is an independent special fire control district that operates three fire stations and serves Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and the unincorporated areas of Cortez, Palma Sola and northwest Bradenton.
BRADENTON BEACH – Pines Trailer Park homeowners are expressing frustration about the lack of communication as a possible park closure date looms on July 31.
A Feb. 4 email to homeowners from Fort Lauderdale-based property acquisition company The Urban Group stated in part: “As you have been previously informed, and as a direct result of the community-wide damage dealt by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, coupled with non-payment of lot rent, Pines Trailer Park is no longer sustainable as a trailer park, and must be closed, with an official park closure date of July 31, 2025.”
That email also offered homeowners some options, which included turning over title to the mobile homes in exchange for extended tenancy until January 2026 along with state statute-required compensation for abandoned units.
Several Pines homeowners have told The Sun that there has been no confirmation of the closing date either from park owners or The Urban Group.
Pines Homeowners Association President Neil Lind told The Sun on July 2 that the attorneys for the HOA and Pines owners Pines Park Investors LLC are currently “in negotiations” but said he was not authorized to elaborate.
“I have not heard a thing,” Pines homeowner Mary Mox stated by text on July 3. “No one is talking.”
The Sun emailed Sarasota-based Attorney David Fredericks of Anderson, Givens and Fredericks P.A., who represents the HOA, for comment about the park closure on July 2, but did not receive a response.
The HOA filed a lawsuit in March in part to stop park closure and evictions. Park owners made a motion for the dismissal of that lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled on the motion on Monday, July 28.
Pines homeowners react to park closure
Debbie Bouts’ family has a long history with Pines Trailer Park. Her grandparents bought into the park in the 1970s and her parents traveled from Ohio to spend five months there each year for many years.
She said after the 2024 hurricanes, they drove two days from Ohio to replace floorboards in a unit with no electricity and hired someone to clean the trailer out.
“He’s (Shawn Kaleta) keeping us hostage in a way,” Bouts said. “I think this was the perfect storm for him to have the land grab. He was able to take it over. This is breaking our hearts, it’s such a part of the community and he has taken so much from us.”
Bouts is concerned that when people see the current unkempt condition of the park, they will think the homeowners didn’t care.
“We have tried to do a lot even without electricity and plumbing,” she said. “There are a lot of us who are willing to fight for what’s ours.”
Bouts said she would like a decision on the future of the park to be made soon.
“We’ve paid rent for a year on a place we’re not able to use and we can’t get an answer,” she said. “Our dream is to get our place back. There weren’t any services and we’ve been paying over $1,500 a month. We should have the basic amenities. This is a perpetual whirlpool I find myself in.”
Lorraine D’Agostino and her husband purchased a trailer in the park in 2020 as a vacation getaway from their home in New York. She has a flight booked at the end of July in case the park closure necessitates cleaning out their unit.
She said she would like to say to Kaleta, “Why couldn’t you be honest and communicate with us? If you had really sat down with us and talked to us, you would have gotten a response.”
Another Pines homeowner, who asked not to be named, wrote the following in a text to The Sun which reads in part: “For decades, Pines Trailer Park has been a safe haven – a quiet, close-knit community nestled in the heart of one of Florida’s most picturesque coastal towns. Generations of families have called this place home, with neighbors watching out for one another, sharing tools, memories and a deep-rooted sense of belonging. But today, that spirit is being tested like never before.”
The homeowner described a change in tone after Hurricanes Helene and Milton and wrote that 80 families were left waiting for clarity and guidance, but instead heard silence.
“Nothing from Mr. Kaleta, the man behind the LLC that now owns our park. Nothing from his investors. Just cold legal notices and whispers of evictions and threats.”
The homeowner said local municipalities seemed paralyzed to challenge Kaleta and seniors on fixed incomes in the parks don’t have the resources to fight back.
“When the new owners bought Pines Trailer Park, we understood that the sale contract included a stipulation: the park was to remain a mobile home community for five years. That was our safety net, our lifeline. And now it seems it’s being ripped away. Is anyone listening?
“Pines Trailer Park isn’t just land. It’s our home. It’s our history. It’s the place where our neighbors became family. We are not just property to be bought, bulldozed and sold off to the highest bidder. We are 80+ families and we deserve to be heard.”
That homeowner said on July 2 that he was told by The Urban Group that no lot rent payments would be accepted after July 31, as more than 80 homeowners wait for official confirmation of a closure date.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Sea turtle hatchling season has officially begun with two nests laid on the Island that hatched on July 3.
“Both were good hatches that appeared to go directly to the water,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in a July 4 email to The Sun.
“Now that hatching season has begun, if you see a hatchling turtle going towards the water, please let it crawl so it can get its body stretched out and ready for a long swim,” she wrote.
If you spot a hatchling going away from the water or in danger of any kind, please call the Turtle Watch hotline at 941-301-8434 and a permitted volunteer or staff member will respond 24/7 during hatching season.
“Please do not handle hatchlings unless you are taking them out of danger and please do not put turtles directly in the water as they are air-breathing reptiles, and if they are injured or tired, they may not be able to swim,” Mazzarella wrote.
Hatching season also means that it’s time for nest inventories. Turtle Watch conducts nest inventories three days after a nest hatches. Volunteers dig up the contents of the nest to determine how many eggs hatched and sometimes will find a straggler hatchling in the nest.
“If you see us on patrol and we are conducting a nest inventory, feel free to come up and watch and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have,” Mazzarella wrote. “These are fun to watch as you never know what you’ll find.”
There are a lot of bridges on the coastline of Florida. They serve as an important function to transport vehicles and people to our beautiful beaches and restaurants. However, there is another type of bridge which also serves an important function – a bridge loan.
Bridge loans are short-term loans that can be used to bridge the gap between buying a new home and selling your previous home. For example, you found the home of your dreams, but you need the equity in your current home for the down payment and closing costs in order to go forward and close on your new home.
Bridge loans can be acquired in less time than mortgage loans but aren’t offered by banks or credit unions, they’re usually only offered by specialized lenders
Bridge loans can often be available within 72 hours, as opposed to mortgage loans, which can take 30 to 45 days for approval. They run from six months to three years with a variety of repayment arrangements. You can have a monthly payment, interest-only payment or end with a balloon payment. Bridge loans are also used for investment property when the property is purchased, renovated and flipped or resold for a profit.
Qualifying for a bridge loan is similar to qualifying for a conventional home mortgage. Lenders will check your debt-to-income ratio, the amount of equity in your current home, credit score and income. Having a large percentage of equity and a high credit score are essential to getting approved.
Having an approved bridge loan could make your offer more competitive since there will not be any further mortgage contingencies, practically a guarantee to a seller. It’s also faster than a conventional mortgage, which could be attractive to a seller as well.
The flip side of bridge loans are the higher interest rates, which are beneficial to the lender for short-term loans. Remember, the higher interest rates and fees are out of pocket money, so be prepared with some extra cash. In addition, you are essentially paying two mortgage fees until you sell your property and are able to close out the bridge loan.
If a bridge loan sounds too risky or you’re worried about qualifying, there are two other ways to pull the equity out of your home. Cash out refinance allows you to borrow against the existing equity in your home by taking out a new mortgage in excess of what you need to close on the new property. Home equity line of credit (HELOC) also lets you borrow against the available equity in your home. Most lenders will also limit the amount you can borrow to 80% of your home’s appraised value. Either way you still need adequate equity in your current home to move forward.
Applying for a bridge loan may be beneficial depending on your financial situation and where you are in the buying and selling process. But make sure to weigh your options and consider alternatives like cash out refinance and home equity loans.
Bridge loans are challenging and should be undertaken only by buyers who are fairly confident they can sell their current residence and have the funds to make the bridge loan payments until such time as it can be closed. It’s also important that you have the personality that will sustain the stress that this financial endeavor will likely create. If not, stick to the physical bridges in and around Anna Maria Island; they don’t cost a penny and the views are spectacular.
Every time I hear a new angler say, “Wow, this place is paradise,” it takes me back to the early 80s when I met Capt. Scott Moore and began fishing Suncoast waters. I had much the same response so many years ago, and while this place is still a paradise, I’m all too aware of the changes I’ve seen over four-plus decades and how they’ve impacted the fishing and habitat that brought us here in the first place.
Those changes haven’t all been bad because prior to environmental regulation (1940s-70s), canal dredging, port expansion, causeway construction, spoil islands, seawalls, marina construction and urban runoff had contributed to an estimated loss of over 6,000 acres of seagrass in Sarasota Bay and 40,000 acres in Tampa Bay.
Neighborhoods like Key Royale on Anna Maria Island, County Club Shores on Longboat Key and Bird Key in Sarasota are just a few of the developments that filled seagrass meadows, destroyed mangroves and increased turbidity in bay waters, blocking light from remaining seagrass beds.
From the early 80s through the early 90s, recovery began with the creation of the Tampa Bay National Estuary Program (TBEP) in 1983. The start of coordinated nitrogen reduction plans began in Tampa Bay in 1987. In 1991, the Sarasota Bay National Estuary Program (SBEP) was established and in 1995, regional agencies adopted a seagrass restoration goal of 38,000 acres which was based on 1950s mapping.
Early results from these efforts included improved wastewater treatment, fertilizer and stormwater regulations as well as a public and political focus on the health of local estuaries. At the peak of the recovery between the early 2000s and 2015, Tampa Bay recovered over 40,000 acres of seagrass, which exceeded the restoration goals. Meanwhile Sarasota Bay experienced a steady increase in seagrass coverage to over 13,000 acres by 2016.
During this same period, alarmed anglers organized and formed the Florida Conservation Association (now the Coastal Conservation Association), which began establishing chapters in Florida to lobby for protection of species like trout, redfish and snook. That effort began locally in 1985 with the establishment of the Manatee chapter, and in 1986 with the Sarasota chapter, the state’s fifth and sixth chapters. Those years between the early 80s and 2016 gave anglers a reason to celebrate achievements that included redfish’s designation as a protected species in 1991 and the Florida net ban in 1995.
Unfortunately, those improvements ended between 2016 and 2020 when warming waters, high rainfall, algae blooms, development pressures and hurricanes like Irma contributed to increased runoff and turbidity. That trend only intensified from 2020 to 2024 and resulted in an estimated loss of 2,000-plus acres in Sarasota Bay (a nearly 20% decline) and over 10,000 acres in Tampa Bay. While there were many factors that contributed to the loss, the 2021 release of over 200 million gallons of nutrient-rich water from Piney Point exacerbated an already serious decline.
At a time when there should have been serious measures enacted to reverse this decline, just the opposite occurred when commissioners in Manatee County voted (against the will of the citizens) to actually reduce wetland setbacks for developers. This blatant disregard of the public resulted in the replacement of commissioners that voted at the will of developers when they were up for reelection in 2024.
When the newly-formed commission attempted to reverse the rule reducing wetland setbacks, they were challenged by state agencies while the Florida Legislature was in the process of enacting SB170/HB 1515 in May 2025. Dubbed “The Mother of All Preemptions,” the bill automatically suspends any local ordinance as soon as it’s legally challenged, even before courts decide on its validity. This bill allows developers or businesses to sue local governments and seek reimbursement for legal costs (up to $50,000), creating a deterrent against passing locally driven rules.
This isn’t or shouldn’t be a political issue, but it clearly shines a light on the need for every citizen to be informed about and involved in decisions being made at the local, state and national level that affect them and future generations. Call it “enlightened self interest.” The choice determines who directs the future of the natural resources that form the basis of our environmental and economic future. We either get involved and vote for leaders who protect a future for our children or let our inaction fuel the greed and power struggles that will dominate in our absence.
HOLMES BEACH – A pickup truck collided with a low-speed vehicle (LSV) on Gulf Drive on Tuesday evening, resulting in two of the seven LSV passengers being transported to a walk-in emergency room for non-incapacitating injuries.
The accident occurred at the Gulf Drive and 52nd Street intersection at approximately 6:53 p.m. on July 1.
According to the report obtained from the Holmes Beach Police Department, Vehicle 1 (V1) was a 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup truck owned by a Bradenton man whose age is not listed in the report. The pickup truck was carrying one passenger.
Vehicle 2 (V-2) was a six-passenger 2025 HDKP-brand electric low-speed vehicle (LSV) owned by Just 4 Fun beach rentals in Holmes Beach. The LSV was driven by a 46-year-old man from Tampa, whose birthday it was, according to the birthdate listed on his driver’s license.
According to the police report, the pickup truck and the LSV were both traveling northbound on Gulf Drive. The LSV was stopped in traffic and attempting to make a left turn onto 52nd Street when the pickup struck the passenger-side rear of the LSV.
“I spoke with D1 (Driver 1) about what had happened and he stated that he was talking to his friend in the front passenger seat and he looked over at him during conversation and when he looked back V2 (the LSV) was stopped in traffic and he could not stop in time. D1 was deemed to be at fault and was issued a citation for careless driving,” according to the reporting officer.
The name of the person who received the citation is redacted in the report.
According to the report, no one was ejected from the LSV but two passengers were transported by Manatee County EMS to a Manatee Memorial walk-in emergency room with non-incapacitating injuries.
Alcohol use was not suspected as a contributing factor and the LSV sustained minor damage estimated to be approximately $500. Both vehicles were able to leave the scene under their own power.
Tuesday’s accident occurred one day after a 15-year-old girl fell out of a golf cart in Anna Maria and suffered traumatic head and chest injuries and was transported by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital.
