Anna Maria OKs land use regulations

ANNA MARIA — Separate ownership of the residential and business portions of buildings on Pine Avenue will be allowed following a vote Feb. 12 by the city commission.

At the packed meeting, commissioners approved the land development regulations that make the separate ownership legal in the city’s small residential/office/retail district (ROR). More...

Cortez Fishing Festival this weekend

CORTEZ – There’s no excuse to be crabby on Saturday and Sunday, not with the 27th Annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival celebrating "Claws."

Stone crabs will take center stage on the plates of festival goers, along with mullet and other fresh seafood that made the village famous.

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Preserve dispute remains unresolved

Tests next week on the Anna Maria Island Bridge will involve opening and closing the span but should not cause traffic jams any more than normal openings would, according to project spokesperson Audrey Clarke.

Meanwhile, the sidewalk on the south side of the bridge remains closed, but the north sidewalk is open to pedestrians and bicyclists. The speed limit over the bridge is 35 miles per hour and if you are caught speeding, the fine is double if it happens while construction workers are on the bridge. More...

LBK blasts pipeline company

LONGBOAT KEY – The Town of Longboat Key has formally objected to Port Dolphin’s revised pipeline route, charging that the new path could affect underwater sand reserves that the company has discovered and is keeping confidential. More...

Parents vent at school budget meeting

HOLMES BEACH – A representative of the Manatee County School District addressed 50 parents and citizens at a meeting Thursday night about the budget shortfalls that they face in the future. While it drew concern from some people, others were critical of how public education got in this condition. More...

Perico cell tower in works

PERICO ISLAND – Manatee County officials are planning to build a cell phone tower on Perico Island that would aid the county’s emergency services communications system and individual cell phone users.

The radio system the county uses for public safety purposes has 3,500 users and needs to be expanded, said Diane Frenz, county director of information services. More...

R-1 to stay at 30 days

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners rejected a compromise offered by city planning consultant Bill Brisson and agreed to leave the rental period at 30 days in the R-1 district.

Two years ago, commissioners changed the rental period from seven to 30 days. In addition, owners with a valid rental license who were renting for seven days could continue to do so for 10 years to give them time to recoup their investment. Last year, commissioners agreed to revisit the issue after hearing objections from rental agents. More...

Center staff works to cut expenses

Weddings & Engagements - Island style

Use our Wedding Guide to help you plan your wedding. More...

View the pdf of our Wedding Guide

Miami boat show offers innovative products

This past week I attended the Miami International Boat Show in Miami Beach with my friends David Miller and Benny Parrish from Cannons Marina. I try to attend the show every year because it’s a great place to network with the writers, anglers and boat manufacturers that I have developed a relationship with over the years. I also get to preview many of the newest innovations in marine technology and sometimes get a glimpse of the future of boating and fishing. More...

A stimulus plan you can believe in

Roses are red, violets are blue, what affect will the government stimulus package have on you? Well, if I knew the answer to that question, I would be in Washington, but then no one in Washington really knows the answer either. There is one thing I do know and although it doesn’t have much to do with stimulus it has a lot to do with Anna Maria. More...

Get fit at home with Steve

Do you think Adam and Eve worried if they were eating properly or getting enough exercise? Their lifestyle was organic by default, filled with basic natural foods and physical exertion modern man needs to make a deliberate point of perusing. Steve Schewe understands the disconnect between ancient and modern man, and encourages his clients to adopt the Adam and Eve Principle of natural wholesome foods as part of their fitness program. More...

Revisiting reverse mortgages

The last time I wrote about reverse mortgages, the real estate market was heating up and prices were escalating toward unsustainable levels. Hindsight has revealed the truths about many things in the last few years. Despite price declines for most real estate in the last couple years, many seniors still have a lot of equity in their home, which does not produce any spendable income. With investment portfolios across the board at low levels and interest rates on "safe" savings vehicles not paying much at all, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit the concept of the reverse mortgage. More...

Rotten Ralph’s, Ross Built take division titles

Dips Ice Cream had already sealed the deal going into this week and was crowned regular season Division I champion. Same scenario with Sand Dollar, a team that had dominated Division II all season. Undecided was the tussle between Rotten Ralph's and A Paradise Realty in the Premier Division. More...

‘Shoe pits filled despite weather

Wednesday, 4 Feb. we had all pits occupied and four teams standing by, despite the cold. Three teams qualified for the playoffs. Al Norman and partner Mark Kennedy luckily won the bye. Nick Sianato, an 80-year-old visitor from New Jersey and John Johnson lost in the preliminary to Adin Shank and Art Kingstad 25 to 17, and went on to defeat Norman and Kennedy 23 to 19. More...