Vol. 12 No. 34 - June 6, 2012

news

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryArt League board seeks answers

HOLMES BEACH – Fearing they would be blamed for the demise of the AMI Art League, three board members and two former directors chose to speak out last week.

The Art League closed on May 11, when Executive Director Christina Reginelli put a sign on the door stating “Closed until further notice,” and left the organization because she was not being paid. Seven members of the 10-member board of directors resigned the same week following an emergency meeting. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryIsland Blood Drive draws donors

HOLMES BEACH – This year’s Island Blood Drive got off to a smooth start. In fact, so smooth that it looked like there wasn’t much of a crowd, but organizer Wanda Reed-Burk reported 70 donors went through in the first hour.

Overall, the number of donors was down, but there were five non-profits rounding up donors last year compared with four this year. The total number of donors was 466, compared with more than 700 last year. The money raised totaled $25,409 this year compared with $31,764 last year. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryLocal surf legend Wilson Shymanski passes

Wilson Shymanski, 52, died suddenly in his Bradenton home on Tuesday, May 8. Born at Manatee Memorial Hospital in 1959, he died just two weeks shy of his 53rd birthday.

Growing up in Palma Sola Park mere miles from the beach, Wilson began going to Manatee Public Beach at a very early age. His mother, Kay Shymanski, who died in 2007, packed her kids into the station wagon, crossed the Palma Sola Causeway and spent nearly every day in the sun and waves.

Older twin brothers Rich and Phil Salick became local surf legends, moving to Cocoa Beach just out of high school. Wilson followed their lead after graduating in 1977 from Manatee High School. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryCourt to settle 27th Street gate debate

HOLMES BEACH – The city has sued the city of Bradenton Beach and Sandpiper Resort Co-op Inc., asking the court to decide a dispute over the ownership of the right of way on 27th Street, the border between the two cities.

In a declaratory action filed on May 24, Holmes Beach asked the court to declare that the property is a public street and that Sandpiper does not own the property, alleging that Bradenton Beach did not own the right of way when it quitclaimed the property to Sandpiper. More...

Finding funds for Gavon

West Manatee Fire Rescue, Island Real Estate and other contributors will be hosting a fund-raiser for Gavon Sutphin, the five-year-old who suffered a stroke and is now recovering, on Sunday, June. 10, at 11 a.m. The group will be washing cars, selling hotdogs and drinks and holding a raffle drive at Fire Station 1, 6001 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, to help with Gavon’s expenses. Doctors say his stroke was caused by a weak vein, which burst. They said they can’t operate because the vein is too close to the brain stem. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Paraders welcome on Fourth of July

BRADENTON BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Privateers are looking for a few good paraders to join them in celebrating the Fourth of July starting at Coquina Beach at 10 a.m. and ending at Bayfront Park, in Anna Maria.

Those wanting to participate are welcome, but they need to register in advance. Some of the rules are:

• All floats and units must be staged by 9:30 a.m. Applications must be turned in. More...

Commissioner explains project vote

BRADENTON BEACH – City Commissioner Rick Gatehouse said he initially had misgivings on the city’s joint sand dune/parking lot on the beach project with ELRA, Inc., owners of the BeachHouse, where the project will be.

Following the City Commission vote to approve the project against the recommendations of the city’s Planning and Zoning (P&Z) board, most members of the board resigned saying in essence that they felt their work was for naught. The board made the recommendation to the Commission following a hearing, but when the commission held its hearing, some P&Z members also spoke to reaffirm their opposition.

“Too often, commissions have made decisions without taking into consideration the long-term ramifications of their actions,” Gatehouse said. “We must have an eye to the future to ensure the actions we take now do not come back to haunt us in a year or a few years. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryIt’s a small world, after all

HOLMES BEACH – Rounding the Key Royale golf course, Jim Finn and Dick Rowse talk about things, mostly lousy swings.

But one thing they don’t talk about – their military service in World War II.

“It just never came up,” Rowse said. That is, until the day last November that his wife handed him an article in the Anna Maria Island Sun about Finn’s upcoming Honor Flight to Washington D.C.

As he read Finn’s story, it hit him, like a bombshell out of the past. More...



features

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryNo oil here (or is there?)

Hands Across the Sand will draw people to beaches around the world on Saturday, Aug. 4, at noon to draw a line in the sand saying no to offshore oil drilling and yes to clean energy.

If Anna Maria Island participates, it will be the fourth time people have lined Island beaches hand in hand for the event. More...



OUTDOORS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryTarpon fishing: show a little respect

Tarpon season is in full bloom and should be heading to a peak on the full moon in a couple of weeks. If you've never tried tarpon fishing, don't miss out on what one legendary guide has called "the apex of angling."

The best way to experience this amazing fishery is to engage the services of one of the many excellent guides that call local Gulf waters their office. You don't have to hire a professional to catch a tarpon, but a guided trip will be the best investment you've ever made, guaranteed. More...



real estate

HomeSnap, an exciting new app

In 1970, there was a best selling book called “Future Shock,” which discussed our quickly changing technical world. Basically "Future Shock" described too much change in too short a period of time and the effect on our culture. Now it’s 2012 and we think we’ve seen everything, but I’m going to tell you about a real estate app for your iPhone that qualifies as future shock.

HomeSnap is a new app for iPhone users that allows you to take a picture of any home on any street in most parts of the country and then will provide you with practically anything you want to know about it. If the home is for sale, the app will interface with the local multiple listing service providing pictures, asking price, comparable homes in the area, a trend line of sales, schools and more. More...



business

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Making sense of J.P. Morgan's loss

Investment Corner

The recent news of a trade-gone-bad creating a large $2 billion loss for J.P. Morgan Chase is the latest jab in the war of needles pricking away at investor confidence. With memories of the financial crisis of 2008, the flash crash in 2010, Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and the seemingly endless Eurozone troubles still fresh in our minds, the last thing we need is a lack of confidence in the soundness of our banking institutions.

Any loss with the word billions after it is a big deal. But, for a large institution like J.P. Morgan Chase, it is not even close to being big enough to bring the firm down. In fact, the estimates of the loss are still growing as the complicated, illiquid trade has still not been wound down, and some say the real loss could end up being $3 billion or $4 billion. More...



turtles

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryTurtle tours begin

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring is hosting Turtle Tours on the beach for anyone interested in seeing sea turtle nests up close.

You may be able to see the tracks made by the mother turtle, known as the crawl, leading from the Gulf to the beach and back, and may watch as volunteers verify a nest by digging carefully down into the spot where the tracks end until they find the eggs. More...

Read Suzi Fox's Blog - Flipper's and Feathers >>



SPORTS

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Soccer playoff stunners

The adult co-ed soccer playoffs are heating up at the Anna Maria Island Community Center. The action is intense, as each team competes in the single elimination tournament to see who will be crowned this year’s Community Center Cup Champion. Win or go home is the motto, and the first round of the playoffs stunned and excited the fans.

The number two seed, 6-1-2, Island Pest Control team was upset by the seventh place, 2-5-2, Pink & Navy Boutique team. A huge performance in goal by Scott Rudacille, with 9 saves and goals by Damir Glavan, Scott Pardue and Anthony Rasulo, led Pink and Navy Boutique to the next round of the playoffs and the 3-2 win. Adam Bujarski had both goals for the Island Pest Control team, and Blair Schlossberg had six saves in goal in the final game of the season for Island Pest Control. More...

Beach being fouled by garbage

Feasting on Fitness

I’ve been away traveling the U.S. on my book tour that has been arranged by my publisher. I’ve been to New Orleans and Cape Canaveral since my last column. It was good to be back on my morning 3-mile run the day after Memorial Day right in front of the lifeguard stand at Manatee Beach. Not many people were at the beach as the residual wind, clouds and choppy surf from Tropical Storm Beryl kept most people inside.

It was a red flag day, meaning rip currents and whitecaps abound – my favorite time to run. Instead of people-watching as I run, I focus on the music from my iPod and the beautiful, serene beach that reminds me why I'll choose a Florida summer over a midwest summer any day of the year. More...


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