Pipeline route draws protests

HOLMES BEACH – What exactly did Port Dolphin find while surveying 12,400 acres at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico off Anna Maria Island last year?

The question was asked several times in several ways by officials of the town of Longboat Key at a Barrier Island Elected Officials meeting last Wednesday. More...

Fund raiser planned for shooting victim

There will be a fundraiser for shooting victim Chris Sharts on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 4 p.m. at The Distillery Tavern, 108 44th Ave. E., Bradenton.

There will be a live local band and guest DJs Francisco V. and James West spinning Chris's music of choice. There will be food, drinks, raffle drawings with prizes and plenty of merchandise for sale. All proceeds go to the Chris Sharts Fund. More...

It’s go, no go for stop signs

ANNA MARIA — After numerous complaints, some acts of vandalism and study by the city, the stop signs on both sides of the Crescent Street Bridge are being replaced with 15 mph speed limit signs.

But signs on the North Bay Boulevard Bridge will stay. More...

Opposition forms to proposal

ANNA MARIA — Proposed changes to the land use regulations governing Pine Avenue are prompting strong reactions on both sides of the development issue.

Residents in favor and those opposed to the plans filled city hall at two separate meetings last week and made their feelings known. More...

SAM seeks answers on bridge

HOLMES BEACH – When the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) held its latest workshop on the future of the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Dec. 16, several members of the citizen’s activist group Save Anna Maria (SAM) submitted questions to the state officials.

As yet, they have not received any answers, according to SAM President Billie Martini. More...

Relay for Life kicks off Monday

The public is invited to a kickoff celebration for the 2009 Relay for Life of Anna Maria Island on Monday, Jan. 19 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Star Fish Company, 4600 124th St. W. in Cortez.

The 2009 Relay for Life of Anna Maria Island is a team event scheduled for May 16 and 17 to celebrate cancer survivorship and raise money for research and programs of the American Cancer Society. Teams gather at Coquina Beach for fun and inspirational activities and an overnight campout. More...

Citizens may raise rates

Citizens Property Insurance policyholders could be charged higher rates and be forced to move to smaller insurance companies beginning next year.

The Citizens Property Insurance Mission Review Task Force announced its support last week for Citizens raising rates when its rate freeze expires at the end of 2009. More...

Neighbors protest proposed alley vacation

Island’s first motel is 60 years old

ANNA MARIA – In 1949, Carlos and Irene Wells built the Island’s first motel at the end of North Bay Boulevard with six-units and an unobstructed view of the Gulf.

A year later, when Paul Carlisle retired from the DuPont Company, he and his wife, Norene, wanted to find a place to retire where their families could come to visit. They found Anna Maria and fell in love, purchasing the motel for $27,500. More...

The best resolution: Simplify your fishing

It’s January and time again for New Year’s resolutions. If I had to choose the best resolution for anglers to make in the coming year, it would be to simplify their fishing. With so many choices in lures, the smart angler finds a couple of lures that work and then concentrates on finding fish and making good presentations. Of all the lures in existence the jig would have to be my number one pick. The jig is one of the oldest and most productive lures known to man. With the plethora of modern computer designed lures, holographic patterns and life-like action, this simple design remains one of the most productive lures in an angler’s tackle box. Choose the proper size and color for any given situation, impart the appropriate action and it's possible to elicit a strike from any game fish, fresh or salt, that swims local waters. More...

Luxury along the coast at La Casa Costiera

Costiera in Italian means coast and is frequently associated with the Amalfi Coast south of Naples on the southwestern side of the Italian peninsula. La Casa Costiera in Holmes Beach means home on the coast and although the small condo complex is directly Gulffront, its style and color will remind you more of Tuscany than Positano. More...

Two Scoops - more than ice cream

If one scoop is good and two scoops are better, it stands to reason that if one business is good, then two are the best. At least that’s what Dave LaBelle the owner of Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor & Coffee Café in Anna Maria thinks.

LaBelle’s eight successful clothing stores, Two Sides of Nature, have been keeping him and his wife, Mary LaBelle, busy for some time. When the opportunity of opening a café next door to one of his shops presented itself two years ago, LaBelle was more than ready for his next venture. More...

Common stocks as income vehicles

For the last few decades, investors have tended to think of government bonds to produce income and provide safety of principal and stocks to provide growth of principal value. The recent explosion in bond prices and decline in stock prices has flipped this idea on its head, at least in some ways. More...

Golfers see increase in their ranks

There are more players and fewer proxies at the Key Royale Golf Course recently, as more seasonal residents arrive.

In tournament action, the team of Frankie Smith-Williams, Gordon McKinna, Jerry Brown and Al Morgan took first place in the co-ed weekly handicap tournament on Friday, Jan. 2, with a best-ball-of-foursome score of 27. Jane Winegarden, Sue Hokum, Jim Finn and Matt Behan tied with Nell Bergstrom, Rose Slomba, Earl Huntzinger and Teddy Morgan for second place with scores of 28. Huntzinger had a chip-in on the sixth hole and Morgan had one on the fifth hole. More...

Horseshoe tossers seek new challenges

If you’re looking for an opportunity to compete, the regulars at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits would like to meet you, They compete on Wednesday and Saturday morning, Warm-ups begin at 8:45 a.m. More...