Stoltzfus recalled, Aubry elected

ANNA MARIA - City Commissioner Harry Stoltzfus appears to have been recalled from office and Eugene Aubry elected to fill the remainder of his term.

But the final tally hasn't been certified and the results remain unofficial until an appeal of the election is heard by the the Second District Court of Appeal. Stoltzfus is challenging the legality of the recall petition that originally led to the Sept. 7 election. More...

AMI takes surf fest by storm

Besides getting to dance with the California raisins, National Pie Champion Andrea Spring will be representing the California Raisin Marketing Board across the country.

It all came after Spring made history in April as the first professional to twice win the Crisco American Pie Council National Pie Crisco American Pie Council National Pie Championship. The winning entry, her chocolate raisin walnut combination, also won first place in the raisin pie category. More...

Concert to benefit oil spill victims

ORTEZ – Save the Gulf, a local organization formed after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, plans to sponsor a free, three-day concert from Nov. 19-21 at the soccer field adjacent to Holmes Beach City Hall.

Proceeds from donations, raffles and a silent auction would benefit the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH), which administers the FISH Preserve on Sarasota Bay in Cortez. More...

City prepares to tackle towers

BRADENTON BEACH – The city is about to put together a telecommunications ordinance and the planning and zoning board met last week to make sure everyone is on the same wavelength.

The work meeting almost did not happen, as there were only three board members present. At that time, there were only three people on the board and the bylaws said that there must be four board members present to make a quorum. Board member Bill Shearon refused to participate, even though chairman Rick Bisio assured him that they would not be voting on anything, just discussing the issue. More...

Cortez launches free youth sailing program

An open house for a new youth maritime program is scheduled for Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at 4523 123rd St. Court W. in Cortez.

Funded by a bequest from the estate of Jay K. Turner, the Turner Maritime Challenge Program begins on Sept. 27 with after school classes from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and Saturday outings from three to fours hours. More...

FISH creates ethics committee

The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) has created an ethics/nomination committee consisting of Lisa Marie Allen, Mary Fulford Green, Debra Ibasfalean, Joe Kane and David Zaccagnino to oversee nominations and elections procedures for the not-for-profit organization. More...

Comedy rules at Island Players

ANNA MARIA – The Island Players celebrate their 62nd season with five plays, four of them comedies, and a special collection of vignettes in November.

According to their website (www.theislandplayers.org), this season benefits from improved lighting and set design. Ticket prices remain at $15 per person and season tickets are $65. More...

Peace to prevail at AME

HOLMES BEACH – Eleven days after the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon, students at Anna Maria Elementary School will be getting exposed to the notion that peace must prevail in our world. More...

Underwater cable project set

A directional contractor for Bright House Networks will begin installing pipe under the Intracoastal Waterway at the Cortez Bridge starting Monday Sept. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.. The project will begin on the eastern end of the Cortez Bridge and work across to the Island. The westbound right turn lane will be closed from time to time, but the impact will be very minor, according to a Florida Department of Transportation release. Bright House will be placing door hangers in the area to inform the public.

Spanish fiesta at Center Saturday

To kick off Spanish Heritage Month, the Island Community Center is offering a Spanish Fiesta on Sept. 18 in combination with Soccer Spirit Day. The day will include paella available for purchase and a demonstration of Spanish dancing.

At noon inside the Center, Fatima Soriano, of Tapas and Fun, will serve up paella, which features pork, chicken, shrimp, mussels, clams, vegetables, shellfish stock, rice and saffron. Servings will be available for $5 each.

In addition, Jessica Perez-Maqueda, of The Spanish Academy of Bradenton, will teach people how to perform Sevillanas, the traditional dance of southern Spain.

Island Weddings

Anna Maria Island is the perfect place for a destination wedding or a sunset ceremony. Use our wedding section to help you plan your special day.

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Late-season tarpon action explodes in Matlacha

The sun was still under the horizon, and the dock lights cast dim shadows on the Matlacha canal as I arrived at Captain Joe Harley's house and began loading tackle, rods and cameras on his 18-foot homemade skiff. Harley, a musician and guide, grew up fishing the waters around Matlacha and Pine Island. He promised to show me some late season action on tarpon that inhabit the sound and the mangrove flats that ring Charlotte Harbor. Harley had assembled two boats with photographers, guides and top notch fly casters. We would be joined by Brad Lowman, manager of Flint Creek Outfitters in Ruskin and a frequent contributor to Fly Fishing in Saltwaters Magazine. On the second boat, Harley had enlisted his friend and fellow guide, Rich Osgood, photojournalist Sam Root and Scott Swartz, president of the Florida Fly-fishing School, located on nearby Pine Island. More...

Killing off the American dream

Did you know that homeownership is inherently wrong, that homeowners are responsible for just about everything from the national debt to the decline of American cities? You mean you haven’t heard that? Then I guess you just haven’t been reading the weekly news magazines. More...

Luck in investing

Some investors believe their prowess in picking investments is above average because they have a good year now and then. This is similar to surveys which reveal that over 80 percent of drivers polled indicated their abilities to navigate the highways were above average (obviously only 49 percent can be above average by definition). The problem with the human ego is that we attribute successes to our own abilities and failures to randomness or bad luck. More...

Party planned for Edgar

The public can comment on a plan to reclassify some loggerhead sea turtle species as endangered until Sept. 13.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service is considering classifying nine loggerhead populations as separate species under the federal Endangered Species Act, with two as endangered and seven as threatened. More...