State funding for Egmont Key may be cut under a proposal by a state Legislative subcommittee.

EGMONT KEY – Fort Dade on Egmont Key may see its first battle since it was built in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, as the Florida Legislature discusses cutting state funding for the island.

A proposal by Rep. Trudi Williams (R-Fort Myers), chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee, would cut $351,044 – the equivalent of five employee salaries – from three Florida parks, including Egmont Key. The proposal has not yet been included in a bill.

With the state Legislature working to save money, it makes sense to trim the state's contribution to the federally-operated Egmont Key, since the federal government could provide the shortfall, said State Rep. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton), who sits on the 15-member committee.

"Hopefully it won't change anything," Boyd said, adding that the live-in park ranger is funded by the state, but that his salary could be paid by the federal government.

Egmont Key, north of Anna Maria Island in the mouth of Tampa Bay, is both a federal preserve and a state park, operating on federal and state funds.

The federal Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1974 to protect its animals and plants, including sea turtles and birds, many of which are threatened or endangered.

Egmont Key State Park provides an additional layer of protection for the key, which houses the ruins of U.S. Army Fort Dade Military Reservation, the Tampa Bay Pilots, who guide ships through the Tampa Bay channel, and the lighthouse, built in 1848 and rebuilt in 1858, still operated as an aid to navigation by the U.S. Coast Guard.

State funding cuts could mean that the key, frequented by boaters, could be posted as closed during the week if the ranger's salary is not picked up by the federal government, refuge manager Michael Lusk said.

"We're into bird nesting season and sea turtles are getting ready to come ashore," he said, adding that nesting areas are off limits to visitors. "We would have no way to patrol and make those areas safe."

Egmont Key supports laughing gulls, royal terns, sandwich terns, oystercatchers, white ibis, brown pelicans, osprey and black skimmers, and is a loggerhead sea turtle nesting site. Gopher tortoises, an imperiled land species, also inhabit the island.

Businesses that ferry people to and from the key also would be impacted if the key was closed due to funding cuts, Lusk said.

A state budget cut would not affect renourishment efforts, which are federally funded, he said, adding that federal funds are being sought for renourishment (see related story).

Egmont Key was named for John Perceval, the second Earl of Egmont and a member of the Irish House of Commons in 1763.

The key was used by the U.S. Army to detain Seminole prisoners at the end of the third Seminole War in 1858. It was occupied by both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War, and later became the site of Fort Dade, built to defend against Spanish attack during the Spanish-American War.

The island was owned by the U.S. Department of War, later the Department of Defense, until 1974, when it became the property of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The key was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

EGMONT KEY – A move to gain Congressional support for a 50-year beach renourishment project for Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge is gearing up this week, just days after Florida legislators proposed cutting state funding for the federally-owned preserve.

The Egmont Key Alliance and the Friends of the Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuges are seeking support for a beach renourishment plan proposed in a 2008 Army Corps of Engineers feasibility study.

"We, as partners, need to bring this to the attention of Congress at a briefing in Washington, D.C. sometime this summer and request the project be funded," wrote Barbara Howard of the Friends of the Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuges in a letter to prospective supporters.

Egmont Key has lost nearly half its dry land mass since its original survey in 1877, according to the study, which states that 280 acres of the 539 acres remain.

If no action is taken, approximately a third of the width of the island at its narrowest point will be lost in 10 years, and in 20 years the shoreline would be within 100 feet of the Tampa Bay Pilot compound on the key, endangering houses and operations, according to the study.

"We're concerned it will be overwashed and split the island in two," refuge manager Michael Lusk said. "We're down to one dune line. If it washes over that, it could cut a channel in the island."

The Corps recommends installing a wall to protect three surviving gun batteries from the ruins of the U.S. Army's Fort Dade Military Reservation, and renourishing the west beach every seven years for the next 50 years with sand from the Egmont shoals.

First-year costs for the project are estimated at $15.9 million plus engineering costs. Renourishments in years 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 49 are estimated at $8.5 million each plus engineering costs and inflation.

Some Fort Dade structures, including gun batteries Burchstead and Page, the power plant, mess hall and mining casements already have been compromised by erosion, according to the study.

Gun batteries Mellon, McIntosh and Howard are in relatively good structural condition after being protected by renourishment in 2000, 2006 and 2011 with sand from Army Corps channel dredging projects, funded by the state, non-profit organizations and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, according to the study.

Those who support beach renourishment on Egmont Key are urged to attend the organizational meeting on Wednesday, April 6, at 5:30 p.m. at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, 4000 Gateway Centre Blvd. in Pinellas Park.

The Anna Maria City Pier Centennial Celebration will take place May 13 and 14 on Pine Avenue in Anna Maria. One of the main features of the celebration is the Food and Wine on Pine event on May 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This upscale will showcase the best in food, wine, art and music that Anna Maria and the surrounding area has to offer. Island business owner and resident Ed Chiles is sponsoring this part of the celebration.

"I have wanted to do this for several years", stated Chiles. "The pier centennial is the perfect catalyst to get this off the ground. This is the first year of what we hope will become an annual event. One which will showcase the best our area has to offer and allow us to donate proceeds to help local causes."

During the event, 30 of the area's top restaurants will be feature their fine cuisine. Over 50 hand-picked wines and several boutique beers will be paired with the upscale cuisine.

Over 30 musical performances will take place comprising a wide variety of musical styles, duos, quintets and quartets from classical to bluegrass. The art exhibits will offer works for sale, as well as those in progress by more than 40 of the area's top artists.

There will be chalk art on pavement, live interactive art and a children's art and activity center. Local actors and participants dressed in period costumes will depict the dress and lifestyle of the period and perform monologues and soliloquies telling stories of how life was then.

Several weeks after he allegedly implicated himself in his wife's disappearance and possible death, a former restaurant owner in Bradenton Beach was wheeled into a Los Angeles courtroom on Monday, March 28, where he pleaded not guilty.

David Viens, who owned Beach City Market and Grill on Gulf Drive until 2004, jumped from a cliff Feb. 23 near Lomita, Cal., where he most recently owned Thyme Contemporary Café. He learned that day he was the prime suspect in the Oct. 18, 2009, disappearance of his wife, Dawn Marie Viens. When police spotted him arguing with his current girlfriend, Kathy Galvin, they told him to stop what they thought was domestic violence. That's when Viens turned and jumped off the cliff, breaking both ankles and severely injuring himself.

Following that incident, Galvin said he admitted to her that he was responsible for his wife's disappearance. Los Angeles detectives told the media that he had implicated himself to them in Dawn's possible death.

After that, detectives got an order and excavated Thyme Contemporary Café looking for her body. They found nothing under new concrete Viens had poured during a recent refurbishment of the eatery.

In last week's court hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Upinder S. Kalra ordered Viens to remain jailed on $1 million bail and to return to court April 28 to set a preliminary hearing date.

Police have charged Viens with murder, and he could get life in prison, if convicted, according to the district attorney's office.

ANNA MARIA – It was another magical evening at the Affaire to Remember as country music star Lee Greenwood brought down the house with his performance at the Community Center's 27th annual fundraiser.

After singing a couple of his most well known hits, Greenwood brought out two of his band members for a selection of songs and then returned to the stage after the live auction and sang his most famous song, "God Bless the U.S.A." among others.

The event, which hosted a record crowd of 360 brought in $224,000 for the Center's programs and services. A part of that total was the cash call, which brought in $50,000 for scholarships for children so no child gets turned away for inability to pay.

One table having a great time was the "Men's Night Out" table with Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker; County Commissioner John Chappie; Elliott Falcione, manager of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors' Bureau; Bradenton Beach Mayor Bob Bartelt; Joe Pickett; of the Florida Gulf Coast Sports Commission; developer and tourist council member David Teitelbaum; Jack Rynerson, of the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority and Tom Aposporos, president of the Longboat Key/Lido Key/ St. Armands Key Chamber of Commerce.

At the BB&T table, Johathan Schneider, said, "I thought the Affaire was awesome. I can't imagine how much time people into it. Our entire table was impressed."

Tickets were "flying off the shelf" for chances to win a television, a diamond necklace and earrings and the pick of the live auction. Winners were John van Zandt for the television, Sherry Knowles for the jewelry and Cindy Thompson for pick of the live auction. Thompson picked a one-week stay in Costa Rica in the Galati family's condo.

ANNA MARIA – Two families staying at a house on the bay found out the sea has its share of mysteries.

The families, which included a number of children, were enjoying the water behind their home when the kids started finding dead fish. The fish ranged from young bonnethead sharks to catfish to mullet, and most seemed to be in good shape with no visible wounds from fishhooks.

The visitors called The Sun, the city of Anna Maria and Mote Marine, which referred them to Mote's shark research division.

Speculation is that a fisherman using a net caught the fish and dumped them back into the water after they died, according to Steve Mefford, one of the dads in the group. He said somebody in city hall also thought they could have been killed by a lightning strike in the water.

As of press time, there was noanswer, but the to the families staying at the house, it was all part of an exciting vacation on Anna Maria Island.