County to state: No drilling

Tourism doesn’t mix with proposals to allow oil and gas exploration and drilling in state waters, according to the Manatee County Commission.

Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution on Nov. 3 opposing offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling in state waters, expressing concern about endangering Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key and public beaches including Coquina and Manatee. More...

Remembering Sabine

ANNA MARIA - More than 25 people gathered at the beach behind the Sandbar restaurant Wednesday evening to commemorate the first anniversary of the disappearance of Sabine Musil-Buehler, co-owner of Haley’s Motel.

Tina Rudek, who used to walk the beach with Musil-Buehler, said she still feels the missing woman’s presence at the beach.

“This is a place she enjoyed and she’s still here,” Rudek said. More...

Island rated one of best in world

“Quaint,” according to Webster, means “marked by beauty or elegance, unusual or different in character or appearance, pleasingly or strikingly old-fashioned.”

That’s Anna Maria Island, according to the November issue of Islands magazine, which names it the Best Quaint Island in the world for family vacations.

The Island is ranked alongside 13 others as exotic as Tahiti’s Bora Bora and Hawaii’s Kauai. More...

Kingfish gets sidewalk, more parking spaces

Work has started on planned improvements to Kingfish Ramp near the Anna Maria Island Bridge.

“It’s going as planned,” Manatee County Project Manager Walter Sowa said Friday. “In fact, it’s better than I thought. We began two weeks ago and it should take another four to six weeks.” More...

ArtsHOP Gallery Walk set for Friday

Eight galleries will welcome visitors during the third annual ArtsHOP Gallery Walk on Friday, Nov. 13, which will be a lucky day for the winners of a $150 gift basket from Keeton’s Office and Art Supply and a discount at three area restaurants.

The event, from 5 to 9 p.m., will take place at The Studio at Gulf and Pine and Ginny & Jane E's in Anna Maria, the Artists’ Guild Gallery, the Anna Maria Island Art League, Emerson Quillin, The Tide and the Moon and Island Gallery West in Holmes Beach and Front of the Back Alley in Bradenton Beach. More...

ArtsHOP presents weekend of activities

ArtsHOP weekend, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 13 through 15, opens the Island art season and offers the following arts and cultural activities for the entire family:

Friday

• Gallery Walk – see article above.

• Island Players –Kelly Wynn Woodland will present a one-woman play, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” at the Island Playhouse at the corner of Gulf and Pine avenues in Anna Maria, 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and seating is general admission, Tickets are available by calling 778-5755 or 778-3094. More...

Cortez Folk Arts Festival coming soon

CORTEZ – If you thought Cortez was just about fishing, it’s time to take in the second annual Cortez Village Folk Arts Festival on Saturday, Nov. 21.

The festival will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds of the Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez, 4415 119th St. W. More...

Sandblast set for Nov. 18 through 21

SandBlast, Keep Manatee Beautiful’s (KMB) annual sand sculpting contest, will be held Nov. 18 through 21 at the BeachHouse restaurant, 200 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach. The competition pairs youth groups with local business sponsors to raise funds to support the group’s programs for a cleaner, more beautiful community.

From Nov. 18 through 20, Team Sandtastic, a professional sand sculpture team, will build a huge exhibition sculpture, which will have a nautical holiday theme. The public is invited to the free clinics from 5 to 6 p.m. to learn sand sculpture tips, tricks and techniques. More...

Oil plan needed, commissioner says

A standing room only town hall meeting on oil drilling last week in Gulfport left Holmes Beach Commissioner David Zaccagnino wondering, “Where’s the plan?”

“There’s no strategy to fight it,” said Zaccagnino, adding that nearly everyone in the audience appeared to be opposed to oil and gas exploration off Florida’s Gulf coast. “They’re preaching to the choir.” More...

Students celebrate Veteran's Day

HOLMES BEACH – Fifth-graders at Anna Maria Elementary School celebrated Veteran’s Day early last Friday with four local military veterans.

Three of the four veterans represented a branch of the military while the fourth veteran narrated a program about what veterans represent and another about the history of the American flag. More...

How to land a seabird

On Oct. 17, members of Sarasota Bay Watch teamed with Save Our Seabirds and Audubon Coastal Islands Sanctuaries to conduct a monofilament cleanup of bird rookeries in Sarasota Bay. The event was organized to remove fishing line from mangroves during the season when birds are not nesting. The event was a great success despite the arrival of a strong cold front that roiled local waters. During the morning event participants collected yards of line from Roberts Bay to Manatee County. More...

Spooked by identity theft – Part 2

Don’t get me wrong, I like Halloween as much as the next person, but all right already, let’s stop with the scary stuff. Last week I lamented about my fleeting encounter with bank fraud. At the time I thought it was over, everything was under control and I was moving on, but it turned out to be just another case of counting those chickens too soon. More...

Jolie Bell introduces new calendar, note cards

HOLMES BEACH – Island author Jolie Bell has something new for her fans – a 2010 Natural Reflections calendar featuring photos of the Island.

“It started because I had some great photos of the Island – some taken by me, some taken by my husband, Steve, and some taken by friends, and I wanted to do something with them,” Bell said. More...

Put your estate plan in order

Estate planning is the process of planning for your own demise. It is probably the least favorite subject of personal finance, but is also one of the top priorities for many retired individuals and couples.

The process of detailing your wishes for disposition of your assets can be a very detailed process, and depending on your personal and family situation, perhaps very complicated. With limited space, my goal is to provoke a few thoughts for your consideration, and to encourage you to take action at a level appropriate for you. More...

Regular season ends, teams prepare for playoffs

The regular season of Community Center soccer games has officially ended and now teams look ahead to the playoffs with aspirations of winning the championship. There will be a double-elimination tournament for the 6 to 7-year-old league and a single-elimination playoff system set up for the three oldest divisions, beginning on Nov. 12 taking place at the Center. More...

Horseshoe play is hot

One dominant team emerged from Nov. 4 play. The team of Jeff Moore and Jerry Bennett ended the days action with an unblemished 3-0 record. A battle ensued for second place with a collection of four pairs vying for runner up honors. In the first semi, the duo of Tom Rhodes and Norm Good squashed would be competitors John Nelson and Jay Disbrow, 24-12. In the subsequent match, the dyad of Sam Samuels and Norm Langeland narrowly defeated walker Steve Grossmann, 21-16. The closing match of the day was a teeter totter contest. In the end, Good and Rhodes squeezed out a victory with a final score of 21-18. More...