Merab-Michal Favorite

By Merab-Michal Favorite, Islander Reporter ANNA MARIA — A 72-year-old Canadian man drowned April 3, after falling into Tampa Bay while fishing from a residential dock. Luciano Ranieri of Ontario fell from the dock of a home on the 700 block of Key Royal Drive. His foot became wedged between two planks causing him to hang…

  By Merab-Michal Favorite A man was arrested March 14 after he allegedly stabbed a woman multiple times after learning she had an intimate relationship with their roommate, according to the Holmes Beach Police Department. Andrew Helderman, 23, of the 300 block of Clark Drive, faces charges of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault with…

By Merab-Michal Favorite, Islander Reporter Two cases of sexual battery were investigated in Holmes Beach in 2013 and, while no arrests have been made, the Holmes Beach Police Department is pursuing warrants for both suspects. The incident reports were made available Feb. 20 from the HBPD, after being noted among the annual Crime in Florida…

  By Merab-Michal Favorite The 12th Judicial State Attorney’s Office has declined to file sexual battery charges against a 39-year-old EMS paramedic accused of raping his partner in December, due to a lack of evidence. The incident allegedly occurred in Holmes Beach July 5, 2013, at the West Manatee Fire District Station, 6001 Marina Dr,…

Published Sunday, March 2, thebradentontimes.com 2014 12:05 am by Merab-Michal Favorite and Drew Winchester A fishing boat is pulled up to the dock in downtown Apalachicola. Arriving in Apalachicola is like stepping back in time. As part of Florida’s so-called “Forgotten Coast”, the town with a population of 2,300 still focuses on fishing, shrimping and oysters as its main…

Published Sunday, February 23, in thebradentontimes.com, 2014 12:05 am by Merab-Michal Favorite and Drew Winchester SANTA ROSA BEACH — When I was around eight years old, we visited my cousins home in Santa Rosa Beach, a quiet beachfront town in the panhandle, near Panama City. A walk down the shore with my brother revealed a large saltwater-fed pond…

Published Sunday, January 26, 2014 12:05 am by Merab-Michal Favorite The 5,770 acre tract for sale in Sarasota County is the last of its kind. NORTH PORT – Florida has long been the promised land for speculators, as developers and real estate magnates have helped to shape the state in both good and bad ways over the…

Published Sunday, February 9, 2014 12:05 am by Merab-Michal Favorite and Drew Winchester It was 7:30 a.m. on May 9, 1980, when a blinding thunderstorm caused the MV Summit Venture freighter to strike one of the Sunshine Skyway’s concrete pilings. The accident collapsed 1,250 feet of the southbound lanes of the bridge and caused the deaths…

Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) – Thursday, June 20, 2013 PORT CHARLOTTE — Authorities have confirmed that the remains found in a Port Charlotte home Tuesday belong to the man suspected of burning it down. Donald Hierspiel, 51, broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home on Riviera Lane early Tuesday morning and threatened her with a gun,…