Clues scarce in Sabine mystery

ANNA MARIA – After a week of digging on the beachatMagnolia Avenue, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office homicide investigators and crime scene specialists are no closer to solving the mystery of Sabine Musil Buehler’s disappearance.

The department brought out two front-end loaders to dig 3 to 4 feet deep in the sand from the Magnolia Avenue entrance to the beach north 200 feet. The only thing they found was a pair of flip-flops buried about a foot down. Homicide Detective John Kenney said they are looking for a possible link to the missing motel owner who disappeared Nov. 4, 2008. He would not say whether they feel she might have been wearing flip flops when she disappeared. More...

Preserve expansion gains support

Manatee County commissioners reached an informal consensus last week to proceed with negotiations to purchase a 200-acre parcel adjoining the 487-acre Robinson Preserve.

“If we can find the money somehow, it’s a tremendous opportunity (to enlarge the preserve)," Commissioner John Chappie said. “I’m hopeful.”

So far, no funding source has been identified, Commissioner Carol Whitmore said. More...

Residents campaign for boardwalk

ANNA MARIA —The pending city pier improvement project that a committee has spent three years designing is beginning to draw broad-based support from the community.

The committee has designed a boardwalk that would run at the base of the city pier on Tampa Bay from the Lake LaVista Inlet to the north and approximately the south end of Bayview Plaza at the other end. More...

Drilling foes to rally Saturday

Protestors will draw a human line in the sand at Manatee Public Beach on Feb. 13 to challenge oil exploration and drilling off Florida’s coast.

A proposal during the 2009 Florida legislative session to allow drilling as close as 3 to 10 miles from shore prompted the statewide Hands Across the Sand event, sponsored locally by the Sierra Conservation Committee of Manatee County. The proposal is expected to resurface when the 2010 session begins on March 2. More...

City attorney awaits direction on comp plan challenge

ANNA MARIA – City commissioners didn’t conclusively give City Attorney Jim Dye direction on how to proceed with a legal challenge that Robert and Nicky Hunt and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Muzzy have issued to the city.

Land use attorney Dan Lobeck, who was hired by the Hunts and Muzzys to represent them in this matter, says the city is violating the terms of its comprehensive plan, which limits the residential density in the city to a maximum of six units per acre. More...

Be wary of phony service people

The Bradenton Police Department has issued an alert for people posing as Bright House Networks employees who knock on the door and say they are conducting a quality service call following two incidents in different areas of the city. More...

Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival on its way

BRADENTON BEACH – The Scenic Waves Partnership Parking Subcommittee met on Wednesday, Jan. 27, to address the possibility of additional funding to help solve the city’s lack of parking spaces during season and holidays.

The group, which worked out plans to use parking spaces at Cortez and Coquina beaches and shuttle employees of city businesses and shoppers from their parking spaces to the city’s commercial district with electric shuttles, reinforced their support for those plans at the meeting. More...

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Island Tour of Homes set for March 20

Distinctive architecture, elegant interiors and stunning waterfront views will be showcased at the 17th Annual Anna Maria Island Tour of Homes on Saturday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Acclaimed each year by professional decorators and past attendees from throughout the Tampa Bay area, the tour will include select Island properties in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach. The homes reflect various styles of Island living and provide participants with ideas for interior decorating and entertainment. More...

New Orleans docks at Longboat

LONGBOAT KEY – You can almost smell the magnolias, feel the warm breeze off the Mississippi and taste the mimosas as authentic New Orleans jazz fills the Longboat Key Education Center on Thursday nights.

The music is ageless, and so are the octogenarians who play weekly concerts to a smiling, humming, packed house. More...

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Remembering Mel Berman

To most people on Florida’s West Coast, Captain Mel Berman was the voice of fishing through his weekly radio program. Berman found his passion and his most avid audience on Tampa’s 970 WFLA where for three hours every Saturday he held court with listeners that included anglers and non-anglers alike. This past Friday Berman passed away after complications from heart surgery. Berman was a seasoned broadcaster when he arrived in Florida close to three decades ago, but to me and most of the angling fraternity in Florida he was known for his love of the outdoors, his radio show and Web site, capmel.com. More...

Are you and your home ready to sell?

Recently I had occasion to go back and reread the very first column that ran in this space in September 2000. The topic was getting your home ready for sale, and since we are hopefully at the end of the real estate downturn and at the beginning of a busy selling season, it sure wouldn’t hurt to remind anyone who may selling their home of a few pertinent tips. More...

Bargains galore at Island Flea

Question: What happens when you merge a farmers' market, a flea market and a Caribbean market, put it all under one roof and stick it on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico?

Answer: You get The Island Flea Farmers' Market in Holmes Beach, a very fun and cool place.

In November of last year, Nicole Heslop and her husband, Jon Westergard, opened The Island Flea Farmers' Market. After living on Anna Maria Island for more than 15 years, Heslop knew that the Island sure didn’t need another T-shirt or shell shop. More...

Build America bonds

The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created a new form of municipal bond that may be worth considering for investors who see a need for a fixed income investment with government backing, but perhaps are not in a very high tax bracket where traditional tax-free municipal bonds provide an advantage. More...

Mr. Bones knocks off Ross Built

It is still anyone’s game at the midway point of the 2010 season, as the standings in each division are still tight with enough games left for a team to step up. The Tortilla Bay Dolphins lead their division with a 6-0 record and the Ross Built Raiders lead their league with the same record. The Tapes Tennis Titans picked up three wins this week and sit atop their division. This past week featured games on Saturday to make up for picture day previously scheduled and postponed for earlier in the season due to inclement weather. The conditions for the makeup games weren’t much better this time around, but every team played on Saturday to provide more exciting football action. For more scores, standings, schedules and information visit www.islandcommunitycenter.com. More...

Events are free unless otherwise indicated.

Wednesday, Feb. 10

Anna Maria Garden Club Antiques Road Show, Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, 4408 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, three item limit, $5 per item, 5 to 8 p.m.

Save Our Seabirds Valentine Love Birds Food and Wine Tasting, 1708 Ken Thompson Parkway, City Island, 6 to 9 p.m., $35.

Forum on red tide, Mote Marine Laboratory, Keating Marine Education Center, 1599 Ken Thompson Parkway, City Island, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 11

Lecture on the Ringling mansion, Ca d’Zan, by Curator Ron McCarty, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10:30 a.m.

Bingo, Annie Silver Community Center, 103 23rd St., Bradenton Beach, 7 p.m.

Kiwanis Valentine Dance, Community Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, 8 to 11 p.m., $15.

Friday, Feb. 12

Reception for Anne Abgott and Karen Case, The Studio at Gulf and Pine, 10101 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, 3 to 6 p.m.

Opening reception for Nancy Law, Island Gallery West, 5368 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Opening reception for The Florida I Remember: A Photographic Journey, Anna Maria Island Art League, 5312 Holmes Blvd., Holmes Beach, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Opening reception for Marie Garafano, Artists’ Guild Gallery, 5414 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 5:30 p.m.

Opening reception for artists Val Sandell and Robert Semler, 6 p.m., Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez , 4415 119th St. W.

Saturday, Feb. 13

Privateer’s Thieves’ Market, Coquina Beach parking lot, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bridge Street Market, 107 Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Master gardener tour, DeSoto National Memorial and Riverview Pointe Preserve, end of 75th Street, Bradenton, 9 to 11 a.m. Call 722-4524 for reservations.

Carole Dougherty will demonstrate creating textured ground for abstract watermedia, Island Gallery West, 5368 Gulf Drive in the S&S Plaza, 10 a.m. to noon.

Children’s book reading, Save our Seabirds sanctuary, 1708 Ken Thompson Parkway, City Island, 11 a.m.

Hands Across the Sand – protestors draw a human line in the sand south of the Manatee Public Beach pavilion to challenge oil exploration and drilling off Florida’s coast, 1 to 2 p.m. Dress in black.

Valentine’s Day Dance, Moose Lodge, 110 Gulf Drive, Bradenton Beach, 6 p.m., $15.

Sunday, Feb.14

Master Gardener tour, Robinson Preserve, 99th Street N.W. and 17th Avenue N.W., Bradenton, 9 to 11 a.m. Call 722-4524 for reservations.

AMI Concert Chorus and Orchestra presents AMICO with Love, Crosspointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, 2 p.m., $20.

Wednesday, Feb. 17

Dr. Alan Grindal speaks on “In Search of Memory,” The Studio at Gulf and Pine, 10101 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, 11 a.m.

AMI Historical Society annual luncheon and volunteer recognition, Beach Bistro, 6600 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, noon to 2 p.m., $20. Call 779-9108 to reserve.

Lecture on Charles Darwin by Dr. Tim Berra, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 18

Karen Cunningham will demonstrate polymer clay and Jill Luisi will teach., Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island, 5414 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Bring clay to experiment.

Friday, Feb. 19

Cheryl Jorgensen will hold a workshop on Watercolors and Values, AMI Art League, 5312 Holmes Blvd., Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., $40 for members and $48 for non-members.

Friday fest featuring Koko Ray &The Soul Providers and Bootleg, Pine Ave and Bay Boulevard, Anna Maria, 3 to 10 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 20

Bridge Street Market, 107 Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival, Cortez village, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Pam McMillen will demonstrate gourd/basket making, Island Gallery West, 5368 Gulf Drive (S & S Shopping Plaza), Holmes Beach, 10 a.m., to noon.

Naturalist led wagon tours, Robinson Preserve, 99th Street N.W. and 17th Avenue N.W., Bradenton, 3 and 4:30 p.m., $3 per adult and $2 per child. Call 742-5757, ext. 1, to reserve.