Vol. 12 No. 49 - September 19, 2012

news

Resident questions construction work

HOLMES BEACH – Resident Steve Titsworth, owner of Shoreline Builders, read a letter to city commissioners last week regarding substantial improvement construction occurring at 302 67th Street and 303 68th Street.

“The continuing permitting of this kind of work is against our LDC (land development code), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) regulations and the Florida Building Code which now mandates FEMA compliance,” he stressed. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryBridge study on horizon

CORTEZ – Get ready for another round of bridge replacement talks.

Engineer Andrew Hayslip, from E.C. Driver and Associates, a Tampa engineering firm sent a letter to FISH board member Linda Molto asking for a meeting of residents, engineers and environmentalists to discuss the possible rehabilitation and replacement of Cortez Bridge. More...

Board disagrees on six lots usage

ANNA MARIA – A disagreement about uses and structures allowed in the six lots at the corner of Pine Avenue and North Bay Boulevard led commissioners to put off a decision until hearing more pubic comment.

Commissioners were considering a resolution that listed the following allowable uses: low impact ones such as art shows and high impact ones such as festivals. The resolution said the park could contain benches, lighting, walkways and landscaping. More...

Police wonder about grisly joke

The former owner of a restaurant in Bradenton Beach who faces a murder charge in the disappearance of his wife in Los Angeles has people wondering what really happened to her body.

David Viens was charged with second-degree murder in February 2011 after police said he confessed to his daughter one night that he put tape over Dawn Viens’ mouth when she would not be quiet while he was trying to sleep. He said she choked to death on her vomit. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryCity pier tenant continues to seek gate

ANNA MARIA – City pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder has written to Mayor Mike Selby asking for a letter of no objection to his plan to install a gated parking system.

In July, he asked the city for permission to install the gate at the entrance to the north parking lot. People would get a ticket upon entering the lot and have it stamped when using the pier facilities. Others would pay a parking fee. More...

Board to pursue maximum square footage

ANNA MARIA – After discussing the concept of floor area ratio (FAR) last week, commissioners agreed to pursue the concept of limiting the square footage of new homes.

City Planner Alan Garrett had presented examples of FAR using different lot and house sizes with ground, first and second floors. However, Vice Chair Dale Woodland said he didn’t want the ground floor included in the calculations, only habitable floors. More...

Attorney to respond to building policy questions

HOLMES BEACH – At last week’s commission meeting Commissioner Jean Peelen questioned why City Attorney Patricia Petruff had not responded to an e-mail from Judy Titsworth regarding building department policies.

“As part of my duty, I do not respond to citizen requests,” Petruff replied. “If the commission wishes me to respond, I need some authority to do so. It’s inappropriate to spend taxpayers’ dollars on any e-mail I might receive.” More...

Electric car purchase causes problem

ANNA MARIA – “What the heck were you thinking?” Vice Chair Dale Woodland asked Public Works Director George McKay after learning that McKay had purchased an electric car that the commission had agreed to purchase for the city.

At Tuesdays’ budget hearing, commissioners agreed to purchase the vehicle this year instead of putting it in the 2012-13 budget. However, they learned at Thursday’s meeting that McKay had already purchased the vehicle. More...



features

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryFour Island winners in Keep Manatee Beautiful contest

Four Island entities were given awards last week for their efforts to keep Manatee County clean and beautiful.

The plaques were given out by Keep Manatee Beautiful at its annual awards celebration at Pirate City and the four locations are diverse.

The Women of the Moose Lodge Chapter 1601 were honored for cleaning Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach from Fourth Street South to Fourth Street North periodically. Manatee County Commissioner John Chappie accepted the plaque for the group. More...



OUTDOORS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryGlacier National Park rugged and scenic

I’ve always wanted to do an extended hike into the backcountry, so when I got an invitation I jumped at the chance, even though it meant training in the hot humid Florida environment.

To make the adventure even more exciting, I would be hiking for four nights and five days (Aug. 26-30) in Glacier National Park, one of the most ruggedly scenic American parks. I love the outdoors and while I’ve hiked extensively, I‘ve been limited to day-long excursions. This time I would be out for four nights and have access to some excellent remote, high country lakes. More...



real estate

Anna Maria in the limelight – again

It’s the classic be careful what you wish for narrative. Anna Maria Island homeowners wished for a better real estate market. Anna Maria hotel and restaurant owners wished for more tourist business. And Anna Maria Island shop owners wished they didn’t have to take a summer vacation. At this point in time, pretty much everyone got what they wished for.

The Island has been unusually busy with both property sales and tourists all summer. Much of this activity has been fueled by all of the national magazine and newspaper articles written during the past couple years about Anna Maria and its Old Florida vibe. Now, however, Anna Maria has made the big time, and we can only guess what will happen next. More...



business

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryEvent planners check out Studio

ANNA MARIA – The Studio at Gulf and Pine put on a show for event planners last Wednesday to convince them it is a great place to hold a celebration.

The Studio is owned by former Florida First Lady Rhea Chiles and her son, Ed, owner of the Sandbar, BeachHouse and Mar Vista restaurants, is already an important player in the Island’s bid to be a destination for beach weddings and other events. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Income from equities – Part II

Investment Corner

In the first part of this series, we examined some of the risks of owning both stocks and bonds with the purpose of generating income in mind. In this segment, we’ll compare some of the potential rewards of each of these asset classes.

First and very simply, at the present time, a portfolio of U.S. high quality companies provides a yield higher than that offered by a 10-year treasury bond (2.2 percent or more vs. 1.7 percent). Beyond this basic comparison, income from stocks offers other potential advantages:

Increasing income – Historically, over time, companies have tended to raise their dividend payout as the company and its profits grow. The general rate of increase in the last few decades has been in the 6 to 7 percent range, meaning that dividends have risen faster than the rate of inflation. Some companies raise their dividends more aggressively, providing even more benefit to shareholders. More...



turtles

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Green turtle sets record

ANNA MARIA – A mother turtle stepped on shore last Friday night near the Fern Street access, dug a hole in the sand and deposited her eggs. Nothing unusual except she did so later in the turtle nesting season than has ever been recorded by Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, plus she was a green turtle and her nest was the unprecedented second green turtle nest of the season.

“In the entire history of Turtle Watch, there have been only three green turtle nests recorded and then we had another one this year and now there is a second one,” Fox said. “All eyes are on this nest.” More...



SPORTS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryAdult soccer and basketball begin

Adult co-ed soccer results:

Wash Family Construction - 4
Sato Real Estate -2
Zoran Kolega scored three goals and Greg Ross had one goal, Damir Glavan and Kris Yavalar each had one assist, and Don Purvis had 10 saves in goal for the Wash Family Construction win. Lexi Braxton and Jeff Christianson each had a goal, Kim Christianson had an assist, and Jason Sato had six saves in goal for the Sato Real Estate team.

Florida Discount Signs – 5
Moss & Bernard Construction - 3
Chrissy Rice scored two goals, and Rich Bell, Brent Laudicina and Tim Tedesco each scored one goal, and Troy Shonk had five saves in goal the Florida Discount Signs win. Omar Polar scored two goals and had an assist, Brent Moss scored a goal and Jonathan Moss had 17 saves in goal for the Moss & Bernard Construction team. More...

Inspiring a generation

Feasting on Fitness

This week, I placed in my 28th 5 or 10K race for my age group since 2008 – a year after I started running again following a 20-year absence. During that time, I biked, walked, and biked and walked with my kids on my back or the back of my bike.

What was unusual about this most recent race was that I also came in sixth overall female and got my first masters award, meaning I beat out women who were 10 to 20 years younger than me. The results for the “It Works 5K” haven’t been posted officially yet, but they were available at the race.

When I ran with the pack at my Sunday morning run with the Suncoast Striders at the pristine Robinson Preserve today, a friend ribbed, “So if you were sixth overall female, how many females were there? 7?” More...


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