Forfeiture rules adopted

BRADENTON BEACH – The city’s new forfeiture of office resolution, aimed at embattled Mayor Bill Shearon, has been adopted as city policy.

Supported by Vice Mayor Jack Clarke and Commissioners Ed Straight and Jan Vosburgh, and opposed by Commissioner Janie Robertson and Shearon, Resolution 14-827 received final approval at the Tuesday, Oct. 28, special commission meeting.

The approved resolution provides the procedural groundwork for the quasi-judicial hearings that will determine whether Shearon is removed from office by his peers. More...

Irene’s, the Feast and AMI Resorts Businesses of the Year

HOLMES BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce installed new officers and honored three business and the Chamber President Monday night at Key Royale Club.

The installation banquet formalities began with Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island Secretary Judy Rupp announcing that their choice for Businessperson of the Year was Chamber President Mary Ann Brockman for her 20 years of leadership. Chamber Board Chair Larry Chatt talked about how Brockman could do so much with so little, citing the fact that when he first visited her at her office, she had an old computer with a monitor “about the size of a postage stamp.”

He told her to spend some money and get a more usable computer. More...

Bridge reopens after repair

LONGBOAT KEY – A shift in the alignment of the moveable bascule of the Longboat Pass Bridge put the drawbridge out of order on Friday, Oct. 24. When workers arrived to solve the problem, they found a 1 1/2-inch gap in the roadway had enlarged to four inches, locking the roadway in the down position. The bascule could not be raised for boats.

Workers placed temporary lock spans on the bridge, which got the bascule to operate again and the engineers are working on a permanent solution, according to Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Robin Stublen.

“We haven't finalized a design to fix it permanently,” Stublen said last week. More...

High court to hear Yates appeal

CORTEZ – An oral argument in the case of former commercial fisherman John Yates is scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Yates was found guilty in 2011 of destroying evidence in a 2007 federal fisheries investigation based on trial testimony that three of 72 undersized grouper discovered by fisheries officers on his boat at sea were thrown overboard before Yates docked in Cortez.

One of the two charges Yates was convicted of is a violation of the anti-shredding provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which makes it a crime to “knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate, conceal, cover up, falsify or make a false entry in any record, document or tangible object with the intent to impede or obstruct an investigation.” More...

Crosswalk signs debated

HOLMES BEACH – After receiving complaints regarding the crosswalk signs in the middle of the city’s streets, city commissioners agreed to bring the issue to a work session.

Commissioner Jean Peelen said she is hearing more and more objections to the signs that say, “STOP for pedestrians.”

“The stop sign on there is confusing to people,” she said. “They think they have to stop (even if no one is in the crosswalk) and could possibly cause an accident.

Commissioners David Zaccagnino and Pat Morton agreed, and Commissioner Judy Titsworth said drivers are running bicyclists off the road to avoid hitting the crosswalk signs. More...

Discover Egmont Key this weekend

Come to Egmont Key State Park on Saturday, Nov. 8 and Sunday, Nov. 9 and "Discover the Island."

The event is the 17th annual fundraiser for the Egmont Key Alliance, a non-profit citizen support organization dedicated to protecting, restoring and preserving the key.

Egmont Key has been a prison for Seminole Indians and Confederate soldiers, a refuge for runaway slaves, a hideout for bootleggers during Prohibition and a wartime landing field. It’s now a harbor pilot base, a recreational boating destination and a bird, sea turtle and gopher tortoise refuge.

The first thing you’ll notice is the 156-year-old working lighthouse, built in 1858, which replaced one built in 1848 that was destroyed by storms. The light, which once ran on whale oil and lard, is now electric. More...

artsHOP set for this weekend

The 8th Annual artsHOP will offer artistic visions of Shells, Sand & Sea all over Anna Maria Island from Nov. 7 through 9.

On Friday, Nov. 7, follow a gallery walk from 5 to 8 p.m. around Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach, with more than 20 art galleries and retail locations participating.

Island Gallery West, 5368 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach, will host a reception on Friday, Nov. 7, from 5 to 8 p.m., for the late acrylics and oils artist Don Pulver, who passed away last weekend. His exhibit, “The World in Art,” will be accompanied by music from Chip Ragsdale. An art demonstration of Gyotaku (fish prints) is scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m. by Brenda Alcorn. More...

Cortez Stone Crab Festival this weekend

CORTEZ – Stone crab is at the top of the menu at the Third Annual Cortez Stone Crab Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sarasota Bay at the end of 119th Street West.

The free festival will feature music by the Bobby G Band, Razing Cane, Karen and the Big Bad Wolves, Doug Deming, Reid Frost, Brandi and the Ride, Eric von Hahmann and Ted Stevens and the Doo-Shots.

Besides stone crabs fresh from the Cortez docks, the menu includes Cortez hot dogs (mullet dogs), pizza, shrimp and grits, and other fresh-from-Florida seafood, with freshly-made pina coladas with the coconuts opened by machete while you wait. You can also browse the work of local artists, and there are pony rides for the kids. More...

November is Manatee Awareness Month

How much do you really know about manatees?

Sure, they’re cute, and Manatee County is named after them.

But did you know that the marine mammals are smart?

Snooty at the Parker Aquarium in Bradenton, the oldest living manatee in captivity at age 66, hoists himself up on the side of his pool on command for veterinary visits.

Buffett and Hugh at Mote Marine in Sarasota perform tasks on command that allow staff to weigh them. Hugh weighs a mere 1,199 pounds while Buffett tips the scales at 1,855 pounds. They also push paddles to “predict” Super Bowl winners, a behavior used in research on how they perceive boat engine sounds. More...

Tripletail – a unique species

Tripletail are a unique species of fish that make a strong appearance in local waters after traps are placed in the Gulf during stone crab season. Tripletail like all kinds of structure – floating debris, channel markers, and swim buoys, but most anglers target crab trap floats this time of the year because they are so prevalent.

This curious fish has the general shape of a fresh water crappie and the coloration of a smallmouth bass. The name tripletail comes from their large anal and dorsal fins.

They are most often found floating on their side very close to a float or other structure. Tripletail are ambush feeders and prey on the small baitfish and crustaceans that are attracted to the algae that grows on the structure they gravitate to. More...

Who the heck is Bert Harris?

There is a new name that many of us have only just started hearing about within the past year, but he has made a big impression leaving everyone to ask, “Who the heck is Bert Harris?” I thought it was high time to find out who and what Bert Harris is and how it affects property owners.

First of all, although surely Bert Harris is or was a real person, what everyone is really referring to is the Bert J. Harris, Jr. Private Property Rights Protection Act of 1995. The Bert Harris Act was presumably created to restore balance to the regulatory process by providing citizens with a mechanism for seeing compensation when government regulations or policy actions inordinately burdened their property rights. More...

Pay now or pay later

Most investors have a distinct choice in their retirement plan savings efforts. Selecting the correct choice can yield a larger after tax income in retirement. However, making the choice can be complicated by our inability to know what future tax rates may be, or what level of income we’ll have in retirement.

The choice resides between two philosophies. The traditional plans, like IRAs and 401Ks allow the participant to make contributions to the plan and receive a tax deduction for the portion of their earned income they contribute each year. There may be limitations on deductibility of traditional IRA contributions depending on level of income and simultaneous participation in an employer sponsored retirement plan. More...

Jessie’s comes back to remain undefeated

As regular season for the Anna Maria Island Community Center adult co-ed soccer league winds to a close the dominant teams stand out. Jessie’s Island Store, led by Captain Jeff Christianson, remains undefeated despite a very strong effort last week by Island Pest Control in a 4-3 loss.

The first half of the game saw one goal scored on Troy Shonk, goalie and captain of Island Pest Control. Before the fifth minute of play, Brent Laudicina scored the first goal for Island Pest, with an assist by Teddy Louloudes, tying the score at 1-1. More...