Five qualify in H.B.

HOLMES BEACH – Three city commission incumbents and two former candidates qualified by Friday's deadline to run for three commission seats up for election on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Pat Morton is seeking his fifth term, Al Robinson, his second, and David Zaccagnino, his fourth. Jean Peelen ran unsuccessfully for a seat in 2010, and Andy Sheridan ran in 2009. More...

9/11 events set for Island

Sunday, Sept. 11, marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. There will be several observations on the Island at Bridge Street, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church and Coquina Beach.

Island Time Bar & Grill and Bridge Street Bistro will be honoring the men and women who serve our community and our country with a $10 all-you-can-eat buffet lunch from 2 to 5 p.m. along with drink specials, live music, family entertainment and raffles for a massage package, scooter rental, water sports and a grand prize vacation getaway. Police, fire and emergency personnel who show a valid ID will get the lunch buffet, beer and house cocktails free of charge. More...

Ex-mayor fought to save marine life

When Roy McChesney married Dorothy Quinn, he said it changed his life for the good. The same could be said for the city of Anna Maria, Roser Church, local shellfish and local theater troupes she graced.

Dorothy Quinn McChesney, originally from Dayton, Ohio, died Thursday, Sept. 1. She and Roy moved to Parrish 15 years ago, after she lost her bid for a second term as mayor in 1996. She was an Anna Maria city commissioner from 1993 through 1994 and mayor from 1995 through 1996. More...

Suspect's bond reduced

Bond has been reduced from $500,000 to $15,000 for the woman accused of defrauding the Key Royale Club of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Circuit Court Judge Gilbert Smith dropped the bond for Holly Connelly last week despite objections from the prosecutor in the case. More...

City commission gives Tortuga its pergola

BRADENTON BEACH – The recommendations of the planning and zoning (P&Z) board are just that – recommendations. The city commission made its own decision last week on a triple request by Tortuga Inn and gave it more than the P&Z recommended.

Before the public hearing on the Tortuga Inn Owner's Association's requests for a special exception application for accessory uses, Mayor Bob Bartelt said he had met with commissioners Gay Breuler and Jan Vosburgh to discuss procedural issues. More...

Spahn offers Infield to Historical Society

ANNA MARIA – Commissioners must determine a use for the six lots at the corner of Pine Avenue and North Bay Boulevard in order to proceed with the $3 million purchase advised their bond counsel, Judson Freeman.

The advice came after Commissioner Dale Woodland asked that some language be deleted from the bond ordinance under discussion at last week's commission meeting. Freeman said the city charter requires an ordinance for borrowing money. More...

Fertilizer study begins

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is coordinating a four-year research project beginning this summer to compare nitrogen levels in stormwater ponds in Manatee, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

The objective is to determine whether water quality improves in counties with residential fertilizer ordinances.

Manatee County passed a fertilizer ordinance in May regulating application from June 1 to Sept. 30, but not banning the sale of fertilizer. More...

Cornhole and golf tourneys planned

A Cornhole Tournament is set for the Anna Maria Island Community Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, on Saturday, Sept. 24, form noon to 4 p.m. The fee is $20 per team of two people.

Registration forms are available in the Center's lobby. You must be 21 years old or older to play. You can bring your own cooler. There will be prizes for first, second and last place. Proceeds will benefit children's programming. More...

Welsh artist paints mural for MartiniVille

Dog days strategy

The name "dog days" comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun, was responsible for hot summer weather. Dog days is a common term among fishermen signifying the long hot days of August and September, when fish can be hard to find and catch. While there's no doubt that late summer days are long and often intensely hot and uncomfortable, they can also yield some surprising results for savvy anglers. By employing a change of strategy and tailoring their efforts to maximize comfort and opportunities, anglers can catch fish in relative comfort. More...

Time to buy a vacation home?

It may seem counterintuitive, considering everything that's gone on in the real estate market in recent years, but this may be the absolute best time to buy a vacation home. I don't mean just because prices are down, but also because second home buyers' outlook is up.

We've been reporting for some time that Anna Maria real estate sales are exploding, but it wasn't until I read a Wall Street Journal analysis that I realized that we're not alone. In fact, much of the luxury and second home market around the country is on a major upswing. More...

Child's play at Thompson Academy

Remember when playing just for the fun of it was a good thing and it was OK to get messy? Remember when kids would go outside, invent games and build their own play things? Remember when overachieving was a term reserved for adults?

Cindy Thompson remembers all of these things, and as a result has incorporated play based creative learning into the structure of her new private preschool. More...

Probability vs. possibility

Investment Corner By Tom Brieter

Financial markets have been very volatile over the last few years. By some statistical measures, the volatility is not so extreme compared to historical levels, but there have been certain short periods of time, like the month of August just passed, that contain movements both up and down that are very extreme. For example, during the week of Aug. 8, the first four trading days of the week for stocks resulted in alternating down and up moves in excess of 4 percent each day. More...

Tiny Mites pack a punch

The Manatee Wildcats Pop Warner Tiny Mites team is off to a great 2 and 0 start. The Tiny Mites team is made up of seven-year-olds weighing in at a whopping 45 to 75 pounds. This is the first time many of them have worn pads for full contact football. As you can expect, they are full of fun. More...

Making ends meet in a hurricane and beyond

Feasting on Fitness By ellen Jaffe Jones

As a former anchor/reporter in Miami and elsewhere, I know that for whatever meteorological reasons, hurricanes threaten Florida more before, during and after Labor Day. As a cooking instructor focused on preparing healthy foods on a budget, besides the incredible health benefits my students often experience, this time of year I hear, "Wow, this is great hurricane food!" More...