Commission holds off on moratorium

ANNA MARIA – Commissioners agreed to hold off on advertising the second reading of the moratorium ordinance and have a special meeting March 15 to define the problem.

The moratorium would stop the issuance of building permits on the construction of new houses or for remodeling, reconfiguring or renovation of existing houses if that would increase the habitable area.

Currently there is an administrative stop on the issuance of building permits. Those owners that received a building permit or site plan approval by Feb. 23 are exempted. More...

Green's the color for St. Paddy's Parade

HOLMES BEACH – While nobody would associate Anna Maria Island with hunting wild animals, one might want to keep an eye out for an elephant marching down Marina Drive and Gulf Drive on Sunday, March 18, starting at 4 p.m.

Don't worry that this precocious pachyderm named Judy might sneak up on you – she'll be in the 15th Annual Beach Bistro St. Patrick's Day Parade along with her trainer and owner, Mr. Bones. More...

Noisy breakers evicted from rentals

HOLMES BEACH – Eighteen spring breakers were evicted from a rental house on 72nd Street last week after neighbors twice complained about noise.

Holmes Beach police responded to noise complaints at 204 72nd Street on Sunday, March 4, and Tuesday, March 6, where 18 spring breakers from North Carolina were partying. More...

Commissioner reports progress on rental issue

ANNA MARIA – Commissioner SueLynn reported last week that she is continuing to work on rental issues with Larry Chatt, of Island Real Estate, and Mike Brinson, of AMI Accommodations.

"We have our arms around many of the issues," she said. "I'm appreciative of the interest they (Brinson and Chatt) have." More...

Parking plan well received

ANNA MARIA – Commissioners seemed pleased with a plan by architect and former commissioner Gene Aubry for parking around the six lots at the corner of North Bay Boulevard and Pine Avenue.

"You can get a total of 19 cars in the available space," Aubry said. "Parallel parking spaces along North Bay Boulevard are 12 feet wide and 20 feet long. The walkways I've shown are10 feet wide." More...

Holmes Beach man charged in Sarasota bank robberies

Holmes Beach resident Danny Nemeth, 46, has been arrested after confessing to robbing two Sarasota banks.

According to a Sarasota police news release, Nemeth walked into the Bank of America at 3175 Fruitville Road in Sarasota at approximately 4:40 p.m. on Friday, March 2, gave the teller a blank bank bag and told her, "Fill my bag with everything you got. No dye pack or I'll come back and hurt you." More...

Wine tasting for Affaire at Harry's

ANNA MARIA – Harry's Continental Kitchen is holding a wine tasting from 4:30 to 6:30 on Wednesday, March 14, to benefit the Island Community Center's Affaire to Remember.

Enjoy a variety of wines from around the world as well as tasty hors d'oeuvres from Harry's. Admission is $10. Harry's Continental Kitchens is located at 5600 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. More...

Island police departments honor officers of the year

Every year the Manatee County One Hundred Club, a group that supports law enforcement agencies, makes its Law Enforcement Officer of the Year presentation, from among the top officers chosen by police chiefs and the sheriff.

This year's contestants from Anna Maria Island will be officers of the year Brian L. Copeman, from Holmes Beach, and Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz, from Bradenton Beach.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Jay Romine chose Copeman for his work at Anna Maria Elementary School. According to Romine's letter to the One Hundred Club, Copeman was chosen to as the school's resource officer to teach the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program and he has "built an outstanding rapport with both the students, the staff and faculty at the school." More...

Tour of Homes: Island living at its best

The Community Center's 19th annual Tour of Homes on Saturday, March 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. includes six Holmes Beach homes that showcase the distinct style of Island living and provide participants with ideas for interior decorating and entertainment.

The tour includes the homes of Diana McManaway, 208A 66th Street; Dan and Jan Hazewski, 212 68th Street; Susan Gress, 534 70th Street; Debi Wohlers and Lori Waggoner, 508 72nd Street; Marty and Laurie Hicks, 615 Key Royale Drive; and Ron and Barb Harrold, 619 Ivanhoe Lane. More...

Push poles: flat out essential

Push poles are as essential as rods and reels to anglers who stalk the flats. They have evolved from wooden poling oars hewn from solid timber to technological wonders of carbon fiber, Kevlar and graphite. In the early years of flats fishing, short poles were all that were needed as anglers hunted fish in shallow waters poling from the deck of their boats. More...

Top turnaround towns in Florida

By the middle of March, those New Year's resolutions to turn our lives around are receding faster and faster into the rearview mirror. But there is a turnaround that's happening right under our noses, and you didn't have to put on your running shoes to get the benefit.

On Feb. 17, Realtor.com released a list of the top 10 turnaround towns in the United States for the fourth quarter of 2011. The list was compiled based on market rankings on year-over-year median price appreciation, reduction in year-over-year median age of inventory and inventory reduction levels based on Realtor.com's data base. It also considered unemployment rates on a year-over-year basis. More...

Local mullet catching on

CORTEZ – Mullet has been the staple food of Cortez for more than a century, served at everything from fishing festivals to church cookouts to family dinners.

Finally, the rest of the world is catching on, according to restaurateur Ed Chiles. More...

Manage your portfolio like you would run a business

Investment Corner By Tom Brieter

The financial markets have been a much friendlier place for investors in the last few months compared to the extremely volatile times we went through last summer and fall. But rest assured, there will be trying times in our future at some point, just as we have experienced in the past.

For individual investors, it is how we react during these times of stress that goes a long way to determining our long-term results. Of course, predicting trouble in advance is never an exact science, so the choices are to: More...

Slim's Place wins volleyball title

The Anna Maria Island Community Center's inaugural adult co-ed volleyball season is now over. The champion is Slim's Place, aka "The Green Machine." It took three sets to gain the title, but Slim's held onto its first place season record to win the playoff championship against Best Buy.

Slim's won the first set 25 to 18. In the second set, Best Buy responded and won 25-14. The third and final set to determine the first ever volleyball champion was a close one and Slim's captured the crown 25-20. More...

New York, New York

Feasting on Fitness By ellen Jaffe Jones

If you have been following my adventures of having written my publisher's #1 book, you may recall that I was headed to New York's Vegetarian Festival. I was the one of the two two billed speakers since my book is still relatively new. My publisher has been able to get me invited to the largest vegfests. Toronto, Boston, Tampa and Orlando vegfests are done, more on tap. More...