Renourishment uncertain

ANNA MARIA — City commissioners were expecting a brief report at their Jan. 27 commission meeting from the county on the possibilities of funding for a small strip of bay shore on the city's northeast side.

Instead, they heard a caution about funding sources during a 90-minute overview of all renourishment projects planned and scheduled for Anna Maria Island over the next several years. Charlie Hunsicker, the director of the Manatee County Department of Natural Resources and Rick Spadoni, vice president and senior engineer with Coastal Engineering laid out the scenario. More...

Home invasion suspects flee area

HOLMES BEACH - The car stolen from a Holmes Beach resident in a home invasion on Tuesday, Jan. 25, has been recovered in Roanoke, Va.

Holmes Beach Police Detective Mike Leonard said the two women suspected in the forced entry and burglary are no longer in the area, for those who are concerned that it could happen again here. Police released a photo of two suspects on Thursday, Jan. 27, but Leonard said they are sure those suspects are no longer in the state. More...

History, great food, great music at Cortez fest

CORTEZ – The 29th Annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival on Feb. 19 and 20 will celebrate historic Cortez, one of the last remaining working fishing villages in Florida.

Commercial fishing historically was one of the twin pillars of Manatee County's economy, along with agriculture, according to John M. Stevely, one of the festival's original organizers and a speaker at the festival.

Despite obstacles, including the longline ban, the gill net ban and other restrictions, the pioneering spirit of Cortez continues with two working fish houses providing grouper, mullet, stone crab, baitfish and other seafood to local and international markets, he said. More...

County chooses vendor for Segway tours, rentals

BRADENTON BEACH – The Coquina Beach Trail, although a pathway for non-motorized vehicles such as baby buggies and bicycles, will soon see people on electric powered two wheelers known as Segways learning more about the flora and fauna at the beach.

The Manatee County Parks and Recreation Department has chosen a vendor to rent the popular machines for people to ride while learning more about the area. Segs by the Sea, 9908 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria, will soon be renting to people who will ride them on the trail in the southern part of the Island and over to Leffis Key, on the other side of Gulf Drive. More...

Friday Fest returns

ANNA MARIA – If you live here or were here last winter and spring, you'll know that the expression "Thank goodness it's Friday" (TGIF) takes on new meaning whenever there's a Friday Fest.

Instead of going to a stuffy restaurant in your work clothes to celebrate the end of the work week, come on out and do it Island style. Get out of those stuffy work clothes and into your weekend wear. Come on down to the field at the corner of Pine Avenue and Bay Boulevard on Friday, Feb. 18, from 5 to 10 p.m. and get the attitude adjustment you need for your weekend. Two local bands will provide the live music: Human Condition from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and Bootleg from 7 to 10 p.m. The field is a great place to dance, for those who have romance on their minds. More...

Commission OKs film ordinance

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners approved the first reading of the city's film ordinance last week and are awaiting its review by Elliott Falcione, manager of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors' Bureau.

In November, the county adopted an ordinance to establish a one-stop permitting process throughout the county. At the time, City Attorney Patricia Petruff told commissioners it would be effective unless the city adopted its own ordinance. More...

Cottage moves to Cortez

CORTEZ – Brett Johnson and his sons, Beau and Kyle, were up most of the night on Jan. 25 working to haul the 64-year-old Monroe cottage at 304 Church St. in Bradenton Beach across the Cortez bridge to the FISH Preserve before dawn.

Johnson's chosen target window of 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. proved auspicious, as rain and wind buffeted the area both before and after the move. The cottage and its escort of heavy equipment made it over the bridge and onto the preserve without incident in about half an hour, clearing power lines and traffic lights on a low profile trailer. More...

The birth of the public beaches

Manatee County's first public beach in Holmes Beach was created in 1947 by a special legislative act and ratified by voters. A tax of one mil was to be levied for five years to purchase the property and construct a building.

The clear blue water and sparkling white sand attracted hundreds of bathers, creating a need for facilities, and in 1951, the Public Beach Commission (PBC) asked the county commission to advertise for bids. More...

A culinary Super Bowl

Next Sunday football fans will be cheering sacks and runbacks and passes. They will be hoping for a spectacular finish – a long bomb on the last play of the game, a field goal attempt from 50 yards out.

For a restaurant brat like me the Super Bowl was last week. More...

Diet and wellness program changes lives

ANNA MARIA –Men and women on the Island are shrinking at a rapid rate, and they say it’s all Mary’s fault.

Mary Selby, of Anna Maria, has introduced friends and neighbors to the Take Shape for Life program featuring Medifast meals, and they are losing pounds effortlessly and getting healthier in the process. Now the program is being offered at the Island Community Center.

Selby said she first heard about the program while getting a facial at the beauty shop two years ago.

More...

Fishing 'frigid' Florida waters

Local anglers are hopeful that the historic cold weather that decimated fish stocks state-wide last year will not repeat this year, even though this season began with even colder temperatures than last year. Water temperatures have been near killing lows several times this season, but we luckily have not seen anything like the massive fish kills that affected fish as far away as Flamingo and Islamorada. Chief among the victims last season were snook, tarpon, bonefish, cravelle jacks; but species including catfish, grouper, snapper and even mullet perished in large numbers. Every year in January and February, anglers need to change tactics to effectively target local gamefish. Conditions over the past two winters make catching fish more challenging than ever, but the same winter tactics we have always employed still produce results. More...

Internet posting skews surtax

The old expression used to be, "Don't believe everything you read in the papers," but we've since updated that phrase to, "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet," even if it's partially true.

There's been an e-mail floating around which beached itself on my computer a week ago that said in part, "Under the new health care bill, did you know that all real estate transactions are subject to a 3.8 percent sales tax? If you sell your $400,000 home, this will be a $15,400 tax, regardless of income." More...

Developing your allocation strategy

In my last column, we reviewed the importance of rebalancing your investment portfolio back to a target allocation periodically. This process reduces the risk of the price action of the financial markets from inducing too much risk to your portfolio through the segments which have been performing well occupying too much of the allocation as they edge toward the next inevitable price correction. If applied in a disciplined manner, it is also a way to keep our subjective excitement over an asset class's perceived potential from skewing the allocation through excessive purchases. Let's face it; you'll be wrong as often as right in these cases. More...

Everyone's a winner in Center football

The Sun sports Game of the Week came under the Friday night lights when the Air & Energy Patriots played the Connelly Marine Buccaneers in Instructional League Community Center NFL Flag Football action. These five to seven year old, half pint players, were packed full of excitement. You could hear fans cheering, coaches encouraging and players giggling. Some of the action included five-year-olds running with the ball the wrong way, six-year-olds bobbing and weaving through the defense, and seven-year-olds scoring touchdowns and celebrating in the end zone like it was the best thing ever. More...

Jack LaLanne and a Chocolate Surprise

It would be difficult to write a fitness column and not talk about the recent death of America’s fitness icon, Jack LaLanne. If you were one of his fans, you probably have already read a little or perhaps a great deal about his life that often surfaces when a legend leaves our world.

The 96-year-old LaLanne was known for his amazing strength and giving birth to the fitness movement. Much of the equipment he invented still exists in health clubs and fitness gyms all over the world and here on the Island. More...