Beach bash concerns raised

BRADENTON BEACH – City officials are concerned about a social media driven Floatopia-type beach bash potentially taking place at Coquina Beach on Saturday, April 30.

Mayor Bill Shearon addressed these concerns during last week's City Commission meeting. He said the Bradenton Beach Police Department officers assigned to work the De Soto Grand Parade would be reassigned to work locally in case any incidents unfold at the beach. Shearon said he also spoke to Holmes Beach Mayor Bob Johnson and Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy about providing additional law enforcement assistance if needed. More...

Gloria Dei seeks rezone to residential

HOLMES BEACH – Gloria Dei officials submitted an application for a rezone from PSP (public/semi public) to R-2 (residential) to the city's building department on Friday, April 22.

The church, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008, is making the request in order "to save the church and preserve an iconic architectural resource," according to the application. More...

Building moratorium to expire

ANNA MARIA – City Commissioners have decided to let the building moratorium expire as scheduled on Wednesday, May 11, rather than repeal it ahead of time.

This decision was reached during the special commission meeting on Thursday, April 21.

In effect for two more weeks, the moratorium prevents the review and issuance of demolition permits and building permits for the construction of a residential structure with more than four bedrooms. More...

Moratorium ordinance submitted

BRADENTON BEACH – Building moratorium advocate Pricilla VonAhnen has presented the city clerk's office with a proposed citizen-initiated moratorium ordinance.

The proposed ordinance VonAhnen presented to the clerk's office calls for a six-month moratorium on the acceptance, review and issuance of building permit applications for all residential units in the R-1 and R-2 residential zone districts. New duplexes would be limited during this period to two bedrooms per side.

If adopted by the commission, or later by city voters, the moratorium would apply to homes containing more than four rooms that can be used as bedrooms or sleeping areas. More...

$15 million grant would benefit AMI

BRADENTON – Manatee County officials are putting together a $15-17 million TIGER grant application that, if approved, would help fund multiple county and city projects on the Island.

The grant would provide federal funding for North Coquina Boat Ramp improvements, county and city stormwater improvements and the development of the AMI Sun Trail bike and pedestrian path.

The grant application was discussed at the Tuesday, April 19, Manatee County Commission work session.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation website, the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program funds capital investments in transportation and infrastructure and grants are awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region. More...

Peelen to leave TDC

Holmes Beach Commissioner Jean Peelen has told Manatee County Commissioners that she will not be reapplying for reappointment to the Tourist Development Council (TDC) when her term is up in June.

In her April 24 e-mail, Peelen said, " … I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to serve the county in this way. I greatly admire the professionalism of Elliott (Elliott Falcione, executive manager of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors' Bureau) and his hard-working crew.

"The organization is run beautifully, and their success in diversifying tourism attractors is impressive: sports, the arts, regattas, eco-activities, and, of course, the beach. More...

Tree house hearing set for May 4

HOLMES BEACH – Tree house owners Richard Hazen and Lynn Tran were served with a notice of hearing on Wednesday, April 20, to appear before a special magistrate on Wednesday, May 4, regarding a fine that was first imposed by the Code Enforcement Board in 2013.

However on Friday, April 22, tree house attorney David Levin filed a motion for continuance to stay the hearing because another case involving the structure was scheduled for a court hearing in June.

The June 6 hearing involves an initiative petition filed by Tran and Hazen seeking to put an ordinance on the ballot for voters to decide if the tree house is legal. More...

Legendary hammerhead immortalized

CORTEZ – "Go big," Eric Grimes likes to say.

So why not commission a life-size replica of the biggest, baddest, meaner-than-a junkyard-dog hammerhead shark ever known to prowl southwest Florida's waters?

Ol' Hitler is slated to greet people at the luxury vacation motor coach resort and marina that Grimes is planning at the canalfront 17.8-acre property at 12444 Cortez Road W. His company, Florida Land Enterprises, recently purchased the land, formerly known as Hunter's Hill and HH Marina and tentatively renamed Capt. Frank's after Grimes' grandfather. More...

Once in a lifetime

Last week, I was lucky enough to have an experience that I would like to share with all of you, but first a little background. As many of you remember, we held wine tastings at the Waterfront for many years. Every Thursday evening we would bring in a vendor and pick a theme for the night, usually six wines from a given region or timed with a holiday. We would ask the chef to pair hors-d'oeuvres with the given wines for everyone's enjoyment.

We were able to taste and learn about a lot of wines over the years. We had a lot of regular clients who became friends with us and each other during that time. One of these people, Larry, and his wife, Deb, became good friends. More...

Top water kingfish

There is nothing quite like the sight of a hungry predator exploding from the water in a vertical 20-foot leap with your lure or fly planted firmly between its tooth studded jaws.

Late April and May are the perfect times to target these streamlined, small scaled rockets along the Gulf Coast beaches. Kings can be caught in a myriad of ways, but experience has shown me there is no more exciting method than top water plugs and flies. More...

High end real estate market

There is some scuttlebutt around the country that the high end market has leveled off, and prices are starting to come down. Of course, you can define high end in a variety of ways. High end in New York City is not exactly the same as high end on Anna Maria Island, however, the general consensus is there has been a correction in the upper end of the market. If there is a correction in asking prices on Anna Maria Island and in Cortez, you can't tell by what is currently on the market over $1,000,000, so let's have a look at what a million dollars will buy you.

This analysis represents the number of properties in the three cities on Anna Maria and in neighboring Cortez over $900,000. As I stated last week when I analyzed closed properties, I include properties above $900,000, since many of them are very close to the million dollar mark. The properties are either available or pending at the time of this writing on the realtor.com website, which generally reflects properties listed on our local multiple listing service. Properties that may be available for sale directly from the homeowner or for some reason not placed on multiple listing are not included. More...

Deli delicious at Scott's Deli

Picture this – you're lounging on the beach the sun is shining, the Gulf water is that ideal color, and there's a soft breeze. The only problem is it's getting near lunch time, and the last thing you want to do is give up your perfect spot on the beach and get in the car. Well, the only thing you actually have to do is move your fingers to dial Scott's Deli, and someone will bring lunch right to your beach chair.

Scott Mason and his mother, Trudy Hussey, opened Scott's Deli in April last year. Mason was working for six years as a chef in a golf and country club in Kansas when his mother discovered Anna Maria Island after visiting some relatives. It didn't take too many visits to the Island before she told her son that this would be a great place to open a restaurant and to raise his children. And it didn't take Mason too many on line searches to find the perfect spot for his gourmet deli. More...

Dividend income from stocks is tax preferenced

As investors examine how to generate income from their investment capital, the subject of taxation on income becomes important. For those in the highest income brackets, more than 40 percent of ordinary income may be lost to federal taxes and in most states there is additional income tax at the state level (but not in Florida). Of course we are not talking about income earned inside an IRA or other tax qualified account, where taxes are paid as distributions are taken from the account, or not at all in the case of a Roth-style qualified account.

Ordinary income is that received from employment or business profits, distributions from annuities and traditional IRAs, interest payments from bonds (except municipal bonds), Social Security and other pensions. More...

Brothers Moss light up the championship field: Beach House Real Estate victorious

Beach House Real Estate 21
Moss Builders 13

Just before sundown, the regular season league leader faced the second seeded team in the adult co-ed flag football championship game at The Center Wednesday night. Beach House Real Estate, #1 seed, proved why they were at the top of the league against worthy opponents #2 seed Moss Builders.

What proved to be a showdown between brothers Ryan Moss and Jon Moss kept those on the sidelines and the dozen spectators, more than half part of the closely-knit Moss family, engaged in the 40 minutes battle the entire time. More...

Sea turtle contest underway Find the Travelin' Turtle and win!

In celebration of sea turtle nesting season, which opens on Sunday, May 1, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring is holding a contest with weekly prizes, and a grand prize to be awarded on May 7.

The Travelin' Turtle will be hidden at a different Anna Maria Island business each week, and a clue is printed in this newspaper and on the Turtle Watch Facebook page.

The first person to find the turtle and call Laurie Crawford at 941-746-3611 will win the weekly contest.

A grand prize winner will be chosen from among the finalists, winning Turtle Watch gear, gift certificates from Island businesses and Sun souvenirs. More...