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1 week ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring is making tracks on the beach. The team began surveying the beaches April 15 to monitor for sea turtle nesting activity. The Florida nesting season officially begins May 1 and continues through Oct. 31. However, Kristen Mazzarella, AMITW executive director, says, “Turtles don’t follow our calendar and are usually nesting here prior to May 1.”Several sea turtle species swim and feed around AMI.
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1 week ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
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1 week ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
No red tide was reported from Southwest Florida the week ending April 14. For more information, go to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission site at myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/. — Lisa Neff
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2 weeks ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
RoadWatch: Eyes on the road – 04-09-2025 Cortez Bridge utility relocation project: State Road 684/Cortez Road. The Manatee County Public Works Department is relocating a water main and force main Intracoastal crossing. The work requires shoulder, sidewalk and bike lane closures in the area, as well as road detours and flagging operations. For more, call 941-306-4660, email [email protected] or go to amiprojects.io.
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3 weeks ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
RoadWatch: Eyes on the road – 04-02-2025 Cortez Bridge utility relocation project: State Road 684/Cortez Road. The Manatee County Public Works Department is relocating a water main and force main Intracoastal crossing. The work requires shoulder, sidewalk and bike lane closures in the area, as well as road detours and flagging operations. For area road watch information, go online to swflroads.com or dial 511.
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1 month ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
March 19 is International Read to Me Day. Which children’s book would you like to read aloud? “Where the Wild Things Are” “Charlotte’s Web.” “The Hobbit.” “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” View Results Last week’s questionThe bracket reveal for the NCAA March Madness basketball tournaments is March 18. I’d like to see a voting-based bracket for AMI’s best …Grouper sandwich. 49%Sunset view. 21%Burger.
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1 month ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
At AMI check-in desks and cash registers in mid-March, the focus is on springing into a new season — spring break. But the Manatee County Tax Collector’s office is still tallying up winter receipts for tourist dollars. The tax collector March 3 released January 2025 collection numbers for the tourist development tax or bed tax — the 6% collected on accommodation rentals of six months or less.
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1 month ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
Manatee County’s tourism promoters, seeking to shift perspectives from gloom to bloom, delivered a bright outlook for spring. Meeting Feb. 24 at Bradenton City Hall, the tourist development council heard reports on marketing and airport operations indicating the area could experience a record-breaking spring season just six months after twin disasters.
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1 month ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
Holy cow, that’s the crack of a bat whacking a ball and the roar of a crowd on Ninth Street West in Bradenton. The Pittsburgh Pirates are back on the field at LECOM Park. Spring training opened with a flurry of promotional events at LECOM and Pirate City, as well as other venues, including a community block party on Old Main in Bradenton Feb. 15 and a Manatee Chamber of Commerce luncheon Feb. 12 at Bradenton’s Pier 22. The Pirates’ first game of the season was Feb.
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2 months ago | 
islander.org | Lisa Neff
Visitors snug in Manatee County beds netted $1.87 million in tourist development tax revenues in December 2024. The Manatee County Tax Collector’s office Feb. 3 released December 2024 collection numbers for the tourist development or bed tax — the tax collected on overnight rentals of six months or less. The third month of the 2024-25 fiscal year generated $1,930,860 in bed tax revenues in the county, a 16.6% drop from the $2,309,508 collected in December 2023.
