Vol. 13 No. 16 - January 30, 2013

news

Anna Maria Island Sun News StorySettlement proposed for Sandpiper border dispute

BRADENTON BEACH – The City Commission voted unanimously on Friday to approve a long-anticipated proposed settlement agreement to end a legal dispute among the city, Sandpiper Resort Co-Op Inc. and the city of Holmes Beach.

The other two parties had not decided on the proposal by press time. More...

Code could end short-term rentals

ANNA MARIA – Provisions in the city’s zoning code and the city’s future land use element of its comprehensive plan might be the tools the city can use to prevent the construction of large, multi-bedroom structures for short term rentals, according to City Commissioner Chuck Webb.

Webb’s assertion is what brought an overflow crowd of residents and professionals from real estate and construction to city hall on Thursday, Jan. 24. More...

Ordinance to tie parking spaces to bedrooms

ANNA MARIA – An ordinance tying the number of bedrooms in a house to the number of parking spaces provided got its first hearing at the city commission meeting last Thursday. Under the proposed ordinance, one- and two-bedroom houses would have to provide two off-street parking spaces. Three bedrooms would need three spaces and one additional space would be required for every two added bedrooms or a fraction thereof. One of the spaces would be required to be located under an elevated house, to discourage the illegal use of that space as a living area. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Sousa named Instructor of the Year

West Manatee Fire Rescue is proud to announce that Capt. Tom Sousa was recognized as one of Florida’s best and was chosen by the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association as the 2012 Instructor of the Year.

Sousa received this award during the opening ceremonies at Fire Rescue East, which is the largest fire-rescue training conference in the Southeastern United States. He was recognized for his 35 years of service to the community, but more importantly, his remarkable accomplishments for West Manatee, as well as the fire services within Manatee County. More...

Moratorium objectives being met

HOLMES BEACH – If all goes well, the moratorium in the R-2 district could be lifted by the end of March.

The moratorium on issuing demolition permits and building permits for any work that exceeds the threshold for substantial improvement for all residential dwelling units came into effect on Dec. 26. More...

LAR approved for R-2

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners approved the second reading of an ordinance establishing a living area ratio (LAR) of .34 for homes built in the R-2 district.

The LAR is the relationship between the habitable square footage and the size of the lot. It is arrived at by dividing the total air-conditioned floor area of all habitable floors in the dwelling unit by the square footage of land area associated with that dwelling unit. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryGirl Scouts protest loss of park concerts

HOLMES BEACH – Girl Scouts from Troop 316 put their civics lessons to work and came to the city commission meeting last week to protest the demise of Concerts in the Park.

Event coordinator Cindy Thompson said she would no longer produce the concerts after Mayor Carmel Monti made the decision to charge all users, including non-profits, the $250 special event fee for use of the field. More...

One dock ordinance to go to second reading

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners approved on first reading an ordinance to clarify the language in the code to insure that only one dock per lot is allowed.

At a meeting earlier this month, Planner Bill Brisson said there are 99 lots in the city that have enough frontage to have two docks without the need for a DEP permit.

Commissioner David Zaccagnino objected and said, “There’s nine lots in the R-2, and we’ve had some problems with the R-2, but now we’re going in to the R-1, the R-4, the R-1AA. We don’t have people tearing down the doors complaining that their neighbors have two docks.” More...



features

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryGo native

They may not be as flashy as a bird of paradise, but the native plants you see near the shoreline on your beach walks literally – and littorraly – help hold Anna Maria Island together.

Beach sand shifts due to wind, tides and alongshore currents, making one beach larger one day and another beach smaller another day. More...



OUTDOORS

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story The 10-minute practice session

Visualize the drama – a school of big bonefish moving along a mangrove edge, heading right towards your boat or an advancing school of permit tails across a jumble of coral, slowly coming into casting range. You ready your fly rod, keenly watching the approaching prey. More...



real estate

Mortgage crisis produces new home lending rules

If you think mortgage lenders were complicit in the financial meltdown, you will probably agree that more stringent banking guidelines are necessary. Two weeks ago, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the long awaited rules intended to spell out how lenders ensure that borrowers can repay their home loans intended to protect taxpayers against future bail outs, but watch out for the unintended consequences. More...



business

Bistro offspring gets honor

The judges at the Golden Spoon are in love with Sean Murphy’s Beach Bistro and now they’re saying “Eat here,” when talking about his newest restaurants. The Eat Here Restaurants at 5315 Gulf Drive, in Holmes Beach, and 1888 Main St., in Sarasota, have won the Golden Spoon “Best New Restaurants in Florida” Award

Murphy was profoundly moved by the award. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

A story of two barometers

Investment Corner

There is no shortage of Wall Street adages related to the calendar. These range from the likelihood of a good year based on where we are in the presidential election cycle to where the year lies within the decade, to the one I want to highlight today – the January barometer.

There are two versions of the January barometer. Both are said to predict the stock market’s direction for the full year after observing the success, or lack thereof, in either the first five trading days of January, or the full first month of the year performance. Both have reasonably good track records, but like any indicator which averages enough time together to make a prediction, there will be exceptions to the rule. More...



SPORTS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryCenter hosts Anna Maria Island Sports Awards

The Anna Maria Island Community Center hosted the first Anna Maria Island Sports Awards night on Saturday. The event was the Center’s version of ESPN’s E.S.P.Y Awards. The awards were designed to honor the male and female ddult athletes who participate at the Center.

A host committee planned hard and laid the foundation for a fun new tradition for the annual event. Members of the host committee were Island D.J. Chris Grumley, Chrissy & Chuck McCracken, Matt Ray, Troy Shonk, Nate and Amy Talucci, Dawn Wash and Lindsey Weaver. More...

A weekend of transformation in Texas

Feasting on Fitness

Just pinch me, again. You’ve heard me say this before. Here it comes again. We moved here, like so many people do, to chill. But that is not what the universe had in mind. Last weekend, I didn’t have a column because I was honored to be a speaker in the New Year, New You Healthfest. Its website called me one of the most influential speakers/authors and athletes. I don’t know. It’s always better when others say those things.

Here’s part of what I wrote and what was published in the largest vegan magazine in the US. I was also asked to be the reporter for the event. More...


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