Holmes Beach officials sworn in

HOLMES BEACH – It was a love fest in city hall Monday as Mayor Carmel Monti and Commissioners Marvin Grossman and Judy Titsworth were sworn into office.

A chamber full of residents applauded after each was sworn in by Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore. Following the ceremony, Commissioner Jean Peelen was elected chair, after Commissioner Pat Morton declined the nomination, and Titsworth was elected vice chair of the commission. More...

Mayor yes, commissioner no in Anna Maria

ANNA MARIA –Commissioners unanimously approved SueLynn as commission chair, and she automatically became mayor, according to the procedure stated in the city charter.

The agreement ended there, however, as commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on a vote for a new commissioner to fill SueLynn’s seat. More...

Public works director opts for retirement

HOLMES BEACH – Longtime Superintendent of Public Works and Building Official Joe Duennes last week asked to use his accrued leave that would culminate in his retirement.

“He submitted a letter requesting terminal leave, so he will still be on the payroll until Feb. 17,” Mayor Rich Bohnenberger explained. “He wants to be able to use his time and then retire.” More...

Island beaches certified ‘Blue Wave’

BRADENTON BEACH – The Clean Beaches Coalition has awarded its “Blue Wave” designation to five beaches on Anna Maria Island, and expects to add Whitney Beach on Longboat Key early next year.

The certification by the Washington D.C.-based council designates Manatee County beaches as healthy and clean, according to Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Marketing Manager Debbie Meihls. More...

Pier tenant quashes water taxi

Anna Maria City Pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder has put an end to talks about a water taxi service tying up to the city pier. For more than a year, Anna Maria Island Water Shuttle, has attempted to get permission to operate a water taxi to and from the pier. More...

Arrests mount in fraud investigation

The number arrests of employees working on Beach to Bay Construction sites on Anna Maria Island stand at eight, so far. Five have been charged with Workers Compensation fraud, and three are charged with being in the U.S. illegally. More...

Privateers invite all to parade

Everybody loves a parade and one of the best is the annual Anna Maria Island Privateers Christmas Parade, which will travel from Bayfront Park in Anna Maria to Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach starting around 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8. When it gets to Coquina, Santa will join revelers to talk with the kids and pass out presents. More...

New director plans to listen to the community

ANNA MARIA – The last thing she expected to find when she vacationed on the Island over Memorial Day was a job, said Dawn Stiles, the Island Community Center’s new executive director.

“We had been looking all over Florida for 10 years for somewhere to retire,” she explained. “We had honed in on Sarasota, and during a visit there, we came to the Island and fell in love.” More...

Island restaurants savor Gourmet Lawn Party

For the first time in event history, a group of Anna Maria Island and Cortez restaurants participated in the annual Longboat Key Gourmet Lawn Party.

Now in its 31st year, the annual Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key fundraiser took place at the Longboat Key Club on Saturday, Nov. 17, from noon until 2 p.m.

The food-tasting event featured 29 Sarasota and Bradenton area restaurants serving unlimited samples of their signature dishes to an estimated crowd of more than 800 attendees. More...

Choosing the right polarized sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses are an essential tool for anglers. Polarized lenses reduce the amount of visible light that passes through the glasses, protecting the eyes and cutting the surface glare, making fish visible below the waters' surface. This ability is indispensable when sight fishing or looking for signs of fish.

Many anglers choose their glasses according to style, not realizing that the color of the lenses and other factors determine their real effectiveness. Color is important, but it’s just one of the choices that you will need to make to get the most from your sunglasses. More...

The new extended American family

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and although we may not be thankful for the national economy we’ve been enduring during the past four years, we are all thankful for our families. But what happens when families may be a little too close for comfort like living in the same house?

Last week I talked about micro living units either being built or at least being considered in large cities. These micro units are fulfilling a need for affordable housing for single young people and seniors. The need to fill this gap has multiplied since the financial crisis with adult children moving back in with their parents who also may be responsible for providing living space for aging parents. More...

Investing as the fiscal cliff approaches

I’m sure by now everyone has heard the term "fiscal cliff” and the sounds of it are enough to strike fear into the hearts of some investors and business people. Let’s try to make some simple sense of the cliff and help you decide if action may be warranted in your investment portfolio.

The fiscal cliff refers to a combination of federal spending cuts and tax increases which will take place on Jan. 1, 2013, if no action is taken by Congress between now and then. The largest impact is the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which were enacted in 2003 and remain the same today after being extended for two years in 2010. More...

Gator Man wins third straight title

Entering the playoffs in both the Anna Maria Island Community Center’s adult soccer league and also the adult basketball league, there were two undefeated teams. The seasons for both leagues are now over, and both undefeated teams were upset in this year’s playoffs.

The number two ranked Gator Man Pools squad upset the undefeated number one ranked Best Buy team by a score of 79 to 75. Craig Boery led the way for the Gator Squad scoring 30 points and hauling in 7 rebounds and dishing out an assist. Boery set the tone early by hitting four three-pointers in the first quarter and scoring 14 of his 30 points. Sean Hubbard had a big game with a double-double scoring 15 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Richard Atkins added 14 points and brought in 8 rebounds. Alban Gega chipped in with 12 points and 6 boards. The Gator Man’s season team high leading scorer, Evan Wolfe, was held to 8 points, 2 rebounds and 4 unselfish assists. More...

My top four reasons to go vegan

My friends and I got a little sad this week to read that Starbucks bought Teavana, the popular online tea store and that alsois found in many upscale malls. The best thing about Teavana is it lets you sample an amazing number of teas for free. But the more depressing thing about the story, other than another case of a big corporation gobbling up a smaller one, is that one of the reasons cited is that the coffee bean is in deep distress over global warming. And tea leaves may eventually follow suit.

With corn prices soaring ever higher from drought conditions earlier this year, meat and dairy are feeling the impact too. One of my Google alerts is “vegan.” An increasing number of studies say what I’ve been saying for years, especially globally, we may all be eating veg eventually, like it or not. More...