Trolley plan gains support

The Anna Maria Island business community may get one year to prove that it can raise enough money to keep the free trolley from becoming the $1-a-day trolley, and community leaders are confident they can do it.

County Administrator Ed Hunzeker recommended Thursday night that Manatee County commissioners consider the Save Our Trolley plan as an alternative to his original county budget-cutting proposal, a $1-a-day trolley fee. More...

Longline gear banned to save loggerheads

CORTEZ – To Cortez commercial fishermen, it feels like the net ban all over again.

Beginning June 27, bottom longline fishing gear used to catch reef fish, including grouper, will be banned in deep water in the Gulf until the end of October, and possibly for another six months afterwards. The gear has been prohibited in shallow water since May 18.

The short-term emergency rule by the National Marine Fisheries Service is a response to hotly-debated studies that the gear is causing more unintended loggerhead sea turtle deaths than allowed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Loggerheads are federally listed as a threatened species, one step under endangered. More...

Scouts pay a visit to injured
pooch

Four members of Girl Scout Troop 590 recently found their hearts engaged by a tiny brown Chihuahua named Isabella.

"Oh, look," Amanda Bosch-Nyberg said, as she and fellow scouts Sarah Quattromani, Julia Ware and Rebecca Victor-Hinds visited Isabella at the Humane Society Saturday. "She’s wagging her tail."

The tail wagging brought smiles from the four girls, all recent graduates of Anna Maria Elementary School. More...

Seashells by the seashore

Those iridescent, irresistible gems of the Gulf that we call shells not only make great home decorations, they actually are, or once were, homes themselves to a variety of sea creatures.

Coquina Beach, at the south end of Anna Maria Island, is named after a local favorite – coquinas, also known as periwinkles. You’ll find these tiny clams burrowing into the sand in the tidal zone after waves wash over them. With deep violet, pearly pink, cobalt blue, sunny yellow and other bright colors, they are popular finds and are collectible. More...

Women celebrate life after 50

For Holmes Beach resident Jean Peelen and friends Renee Fisher and Joyce Kramer, "Saving the Best for Last" is the second book they’ve written.

The first book, "The Secret Lives of Women Over 50," sold extremely well and won several awards. Even Betty Friedan, author of "The Feminine Mystique," had words of praise for that first work:

"For these three brave women, life began at 50 years of age when they made a decision to be honest about themselves. Thankfully, they have shared their stories with us." More...

Author Peelen in paradise on Island

HOLMES BEACH — As she approached the age of 50, Jean Peelen and two of her friends began to notice that they were becoming sort of invisible.

"We noticed that we weren’t being noticed," she said. " We were invisible to men on the street. Even at the cosmetics counter at Nordstrom’s, the clerks didn’t see us."

So Peelen and her friends, Renee Fisher and Joyce Kramer treated themselves to a "fabulous women’s dinner" and discussed how they were going to handle this new phenomenon in their lives. More...

Sgt. Kenney honored at reception

ANNA MARIA — Residents and business owners turned out to say thanks to Sgt. John Kenney, who is retiring after serving seven years as commander of the Anna Maria substation of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

"We’re going to miss him," said Mayor Fran Barford. "He’s done a wonderful job for us here."

Kenney, who has had a 30-year career in law enforcement, opted for an early retirement buy out five years ago. More...

Cell tower plans up to city

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners started off last week listening to prospective cellular telephone tower builders and ended the week knowing that they were more in control than they thought.

The commissioners scheduled a work session for Monday, June 15, to go over a proposal by Alpha Omega Communications and Ridan Industries presented earlier in the month to build a tower just south of the city’s public works building. However Collier Enterprises II signed on to make a presentation on a distributive antenna system that would not require a tower. Also present was Longboat Key City Commissioner Gene Jaleski, who spoke as a citizen, not an elected officials. He spoke at the first meeting also and he favors the distributive antenna approach. More...

The Club House was the Island’s first resort

BRADENTON BEACH – Young people watched, tears streaming down their faces, while older residents cheered as the Oar House bar burned to the ground in 1979. In 70 years, it had gone from a grand three-story resort to a one-story mish mash of shops to a popular lounge with rock bands blasting into the night.

First known as The Club House, the resort was the dream of Rurick Cobb, who came to the Island in 1898. Rurick, an Army bandleader stationed in Tampa, fell in love with the Island and moved his family here in 1901, homesteading 160 acres. More...

A family affair

Fishing was a family affair for me. My first adventure on the water was with my father along the beaches near Wilmington, N. C. That day laid a lifetime foundation of love and respect for fishing and the value of our natural resources. An appreciation for the natural world and an understanding of the importance of protecting it can become one of the integral life lessons passed from one generation to another. We are fortunate to have many such local families who have shared these values with their children. More...

Making home ownership more affordable

There’s always an upside to every downside, and although the economy has been in free fall for almost a year experiencing high rates of job loss and foreclosures, there are still things to celebrate. More...

The Londoner offers a taste of England

Just like people, homes become more interesting with age, the experience of living reflected on both faces and walls. So when you find a house with character accumulated over 80 years of living, it’s hard not to become intrigued. At least it was for Jennifer and John Taylor. More...

Uncharted Territory?

here has been a common theme in our conversations about the government and the economy recently, and it seems to cross party lines as well as income lines. The federal government is just spending too much money, we are mortgaging our future and our kids will not have it as good as we do today. More...

Turtle nesting numbers way up

If you think you’re seeing more turtle nests marked off on the beach this summer, your eyes aren’t deceiving you.

"Our nest count is way up so far this year," said Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch Director Suzi Fox. "As of June 19, we had 74 nests. That’s way ahead of last year, when we had 41 at this time. In 2007, we only had 26, and in 2006, it was 40."

Fox said she wasn’t sure why the increase in nests was occurring. More...