Mayor: Tebbetts Field to stay open

HOLMES BEACH – Despite a parking lot jammed with drainage pipes and heavy equipment, Birdie Tebbetts Field is open for business.

Make that, open for play. More...

WAMi radio ready to air

Anna Maria Island has a large number of admirers – those who love the lifestyle whether as their home or as their vacation spot. Come New Year's Eve, at 10 p.m., Anna Maria Island will also have its own radio station, something to entertain listeners on this small barrier island and define the music that makes up a part of Island life. WAMi Radio, a project of Casey and Robert Herman, goes on the air at 1700 on the AM band at 10 p.m. Dec. 31 and, after a short announcement by the pair, will air commercial-free music from local musicians throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties for three months before settling into a format of entertainment, information and whatever the Island lifestyle demands. More...

Skies to light up on New Year's Eve

BRADENTON BEACH – Celebrate New Year's Eve with a bang in Bradenton Beach, where fireworks, courtesy of the BeachHouse restaurant, will light up the sky at midnight.

Revelers should leave fireworks to the professionals, according to Dave Bristow of the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, who reminds beachgoers that anything that flies through the air and goes boom is illegal. In dry weather, the risk of fire increases, he added. More...

Bountiful season for mullet fishermen

The mullet were jumping again last week, drawing commercial fishermen from Cortez and both commercial and recreational fishermen from around the state to catch the females bearing red roe, prized as a delicacy, especially in Asia. More...

Dolphin Dash T-shirts chosen

ANNA MARIA – The stage was set for a watery appearance by Santa Claus, but the skill of Manatee County Rescue Lifeguard Rex Beach assured Santa made it to the kids with only sand and surf on his boots. More...

Sun ads win statewide honors

The Anna Maria Island Sun newspaper captured six awards in the Florida Press Association's 2011 Display Advertising Contest.

Sun graphic artist Elaine Stroili won all six of the honors for ads she designed during the course of the year, including two firsts, three seconds and one third. More...

Artist's Guild donates to schools

The Artist's Guild of Anna Maria Island recently donated $200 to each of two Manatee County Middle Schools for their Art Departments. The Artist's Guild is a non-profit organization and one of its missions is to support public school art education by donations, scholarships and demonstrations. More...

Island Gallery West features Faris

In January, Island Gallery West will feature Nancy Faris' fiber art in an exhibit entitled "Fiber of my Life," highlighting Ms. Faris' unique and popular hand-woven purses and wall hangings. Faris, a former interior designer, has enjoyed a lifelong love of textiles and design and now focuses on fiber art. More...

Sparks featured at Artists' Guild

New year's resolution idea: Have a garage sale

On the eve of 2012, the first thing that comes to mind as I sit down to write this column is the New Year's resolution, that heartfelt promise I make to myself every year and somehow seem to put off to next year. This year, I got a head start when I decided to go through every drawer and shelf in my tackle room and see what I actually had. More...

Review: The Hell's Bay Biscayne

I have to start this boat review with a disclosure. I've owned a Hell's Bay boat for close to eleven years and I count it among one of my prized possessions. When I got a call from Captain Todd Fuller with an offer to try out the Biscayne, Hell's Bay's newest boat, I jumped at the chance. Not only was there the opportunity to drive and fish the new model, but  I would also have the chance to meet and fish with Captain C.A. Richardson, host of "Flat's Class" a popular TV show that airs on Sun Sports, The Sportsman's Channel and The World Fishing Network. More...

Will 2012 be better?

By now all of the predictions for the New Year are starting to circulate, and since it's an important election year, the soothsayers will be out in force. But what are the crystal ball readers saying about the real estate market or more importantly how will events that are already in place influence the outcome? More...

Investors wish list for 2012

Investment Corner By Tom Brieter

As I write this about one week in advance of printing for the last issue of the Anna Maria Island Sun in 2011, it may be worthwhile to put this year of emotionally trying times in some historical perspective. Then consider some things to wish for in 2012 that might help cheer us up with some improved financial markets. More...

NFL Flag Football Preview

The Sun Sports game of the week was the Center Cup Soccer Tournament finals in the Adult Co-Ed division. The number one ranked team, Ross Built Construction, battled the number two seeded team, Sato Real Estate, for the coveted title. More...

Resolving to resolve in the New Year

Feasting on Fitness By ellen Jaffe Jones

Over the past seven months I have been interviewed hundreds of times while out promoting my new book. What's changed the most since my 18 years in broadcasting ended, or so I thought in 1998, is radio. You could argue it's all changed – print and television as well. The TV station I spent many years at as an investigative reporter and then as a morning anchor in St. Louis, like many stations, no longer does news. More...