Sabine search takes new path

ANNA MARIA – After a week of digging up the white sandy beach, Manatee County Sheriff's Office Detective John Kenney decided to look somewhere more likely to yield a body, rather than someplace where they would do less damage.

Shortly before shutting down for the day on Wednesday, July 20, Kenney directed front-end loader operator David Livingston to bring his machine off the beach and up Willow Avenue to the other side of the sand dunes and start digging out the underbrush around where items belonging to missing motel owner Sabine Musil Buehler were found a week earlier. Kenney figured the ground cover there would make a great place to hide a body, and the job had already been permitted for the Moss family, which owns the home directly east of that portion of the beach. More...

City considers tax increase

ANNA MARIA – Finance Director Diane Percycoe presented a proposed $2.1 million budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year to commissioners at a work session last week.

She said she based the budget on a 2.0 millage rate because the city has taken money from its reserve for the past five years to maintain a 1.7882 millage rate. She said if the city keeps the 1.7882 millage rate for 2011-12, it would receive $59,000 less in ad valorem revenue. More...

Food and Wine on Pine plans for 2012

ANNA MARIA – Caryn Hodge, marketing director of the Chiles Restaurant Group, unveiled plans for Food and Wine on Pine in 2012 to members of Cultural Connections recently.

The event debuted this year during the city pier centennial celebration in May and included the area's top restaurants featuring their specialties with wine and boutique beer pairings, musical performances, art booths and local actors dressed in period costumes. More...

Public input sought on aging docks

BRADENTON BEACH – One of the city's bayside docks is in dangerous shape and the city wants to protect the public from it without setting a precedent.

The problem is there is no agreement on who owns the docks because when they were built, the residents nearest the bay usually paid to erect them, even though they are located on public land. Most of those owners are long-gone and there is a question as to whether the city or the property owners should be liable for the upkeep. Either way, the city would be named in a lawsuit stemming from a dock in disrepair, like the one in question at Eighth Street South. More...

Turtle volunteers celebrate the past, present and future

Volunteers from Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch gathered at the Bradenton Beach fire station to celebrate sea turtle nesting on the Island. This year, the theme was the past, present and future.

It's always one of the most important events in the year and it's also one of the most fun. More...

Design contest for college students

The Florida Public Transportation Association (FPTA) is searching for a talented graphic arts student to create a new logo for the association. The competition is open to all graphic arts students enrolled in a Florida University/College.

The winning student will receive $1,000, and the school's art/graphic department will receive a prize of $500. The new logo design will be used on the FPTA website, displayed at future events and in future transit publications. More...

Chamber to gather in Anna Maria

The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly Business Card Exchange on Wednesday, July 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Sunrise Garden Resort, 512 Spring Ave., Anna Maria. The cost is $5 per person to network with fellow members and friends by the pool. The new owners recently joined the Chamber, and members are urged to come out and welcome them. For more information, call 778-1541. More...

New menu at Village Cafe

The Village Cafe at Rosedale in Anna Maria has announced new breakfast and lunch menus with lower prices. Items include breakfast sandwiches of egg, cheese and choice of meat on toasted English muffins, as well as a vegetarian sandwich of egg, tomatoes, bell peppers and cheese. More...

My Aunt Peg the saint

Sarasota Bay Watch launches new initiative

Sarasota Bay Watch, a non-profit 501c3 grass-roots, citizen-based organization has just announced an exciting new initiative with the Sarasota Yacht Club. Dubbed Scallopalooza-Repay the Bay, the initiative will be held at the Sarasota Yacht Club on Aug. 6. The dinner and auction is the kick-off event in a mission to restore bay scallops to Sarasota Bay. More...

The end of reverse mortgages?

Negative fallout from the financial crisis and specifically the housing crisis has taken many forms and has impacted individuals across all ages and income levels. Another financial domino that's getting ready to fall, this time hitting seniors, is the reverse mortgage. More...

Get a bite at Sharky's

There's a shark in Bradenton Beach but don't be afraid, this one's on dry land and he's very friendly. So friendly, in fact, that he's asking you to join him for dinner, and he's on the menu.

Sharky's Seagrill has been a fixture in Bradenton Beach since 1998 when Anton and Marie Lulgjuri purchased the restaurant and renamed it Sharky's. The Lulgjuri's, originally from Croatia, brought to Bradenton Beach Chief Anton's European training and over 30 years of experience to establish a fine dining restaurant in a casual atmosphere. More...

Ignore television coverage of markets

It almost never fails. In the middle of a weekday golf game, someone will ask if the market is up or down that day. Or, perhaps during my morning walk with the dog, someone will ask me what I think the stock market will do that day.

Since the market experiences more up days than down over time, as evidenced by the long-term upward trend for stock prices, I suppose the best guess to make would be to predict an up day, but it would be just that – a guess. To the golf buddies I generally ask why they care – they should be concentrating on improving their golf swing, and not distracted by the daily coming and goings of up and down days for the financial markets. More...

Panther's lose heartbreaker

AMICC Adult Co-Ed Flag Football
Adult Co-Ed League game summaries:

MartiniVille Saints – 40
Island Sun Panthers – 34
Overtime
For the Saints, Ryan Moss threw for 239 yards and five TDs and had 48 yards receiving and a TD, Jonathan Moss threw for 48 yards and one TD and had 88 yards receiving and four TDs. Ed Moss had 111 yards receiving and a pair of two-point conversions, David Moss had 22 yards receiving and a TD and an interception. For the Panthers, Scott Dell threw for 220 yards and five TDs, Tyler Bekkerus had 112 yards receiving and two TDs and an extra point and an interception, Kevin Austin had 42 yards receiving and two TDs and a safety and three sacks. Morgan Bekkerus had 68 yards receiving and a TD and an extra point. More...

Keeping fit on the cheap

Keeping fit doesn't have to be expensive.

If you belong to a gym, inquire about existing fitness center discounts.

Some of the biggest gym membership deals come from corporate accounts. Many companies, even small ones, make deals with local gyms. More...