Vol. 12 No. 20 - February 29, 2012

news

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryCasino Night

HOLMES BEACH – It was a great time at the Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island Casino Night at St. Bernard Church last Saturday, and a lot of people lost money for a great cause.

At press time, there was no official count of the proceeds from this event, which is usually the club's top fund raiser, but if success is measured in other ways, it was a lot of fun and things went well. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryBuilding moratorium agreed on

ANNA MARIA – Commissioners wasted no time in responding to residents' concerns and on Thursday put a stop on all new residential construction and remodeling. However, the move won't include mixed use residential in the ROR (residential, office, retail) district.

"This is an administrative stop," Mayor Mike Selby explained. "A moratorium would have to come in the form of an ordinance. More...

Last dance: Jack says 'Toodle-dooo'

It's always sad to have to say goodbye to those we love - and even to some we've never known or heard of. But now I've gotta do it.

According to the "masculine degeneration" that I'm now going through, one of its features is macular degeneration, aka dimming of the eyeballs. Ergo, it is no longer possible for me to read or write, so today I gotta call "Senior Prom" quits. It's been 11 years and five months since we first showed up in the newborn Sun on Sept. 27, 2000. More...

Island home sales remain good

Sales of homes for the first month of the year are up on Anna Maria Island, continuing a recent trend, according to Island Real Estate Broker Associate Alan Galletto.

The total sales for January 2012 were 28, broken into 13 single-family homes, 11 condominium units, two duplexes and two empty lots. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Building booming on Perico

PERICO – Sales have been so good at Harbor Isle, Minto Communities' development on Perico Island, that construction has been accelerated, said Bob Stevens, director of sales west/central Florida.

"We were building two buildings every other month and now we're building two a month," he explained. "Sales are fantastic. More...

Audubon hosts birding class

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Thirty-four people from Manatee and Sarasota counties and as far as Rehoboth, Mass.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Beaver, W.Va.; attended the 2012 Manatee County Audubon Society Beginning Bird Watching Course. They learned the art and science of bird watching, protection from exotic and invasive predators, environmental preservation and birding.

Instructors Nancy and Bob Dean, as well as seven additional field instructors, helped course members see 100 different bird species over the two eight-hour field trips. Included were male and female cinnamon teals, a duck of western states that strayed into the Sarasota Celery Fields apparently for the winter. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryGulf Drive Café to try again

BRADENTON BEACH – The last item on the agenda for Thursday night's city commission meeting is familiar. It reads, "Special event beach market at the Gulf Drive Café on Sundays from March 4 though the end of December 2012.". More...

Board sets fees for use of six lots

ANNA MARIA – Although commissioners came to a consensus on fees for the use of the six lots at the corner of North Bay Boulevard and Pine Avenue, not all were in agreement.

Chair Chuck Webb suggested a fee of $500, and Commissioner John Quam countered with $750 per day for an event if alcohol is not served and $1,500 if alcohol is served. More...



features

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Get Tour of Homes and quilt tickets

Tickets for the 19th Annual Anna Maria Island Tour of Homes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 17, will be available the first week of March for $20 at the following Island locations:

Anna Maria: AMI Sun, 202 Palm Ave.; Ginny's & Jane E's, 9807 Gulf Dr.; The White Egret,10006 Gulf Dr.; Beach Bums, 427 Pine Ave.; Egret's Nest,10010 Gulf Drive; the Island Community Center, 407 Magnolia Ave.; and Anna Maria General Store and Deli, 307 Pine Ave. More...



OUTDOORS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryPhotograph catch and release digitally

While you've read these words before, I think it's important to keep reminding anglers of how easy it is to record a great catch and release it after taking a picture. For me, and I suspect many of you, there's a special satisfaction knowing that a fish that gave you pleasure and a great fight is still swimming. Photos of a special fish, magic light on the natural world or an outing with a friend hold the promise of years of enjoyment. More...


real estate

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Mid-century moderns designed for families

Most writers have an ongoing love affair with the written word and are always on the hunt for new words and phrases that seen to subliminally become part of our vocabulary. Since I'm certainly no exception, I have become fascinated with some of the not so positive vocabulary words related to the real estate problems we're having. Words like sub-prime, negative equity and strategic default, but there is a word that is not only more optimistic, but also returns us to a more relaxed historic era. More...



business

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Creativity with class at Relish

Resourcefulness is the ability to think creatively, to generate ideas and to identify alternatives. It really doesn't matter if you're wearing a three-piece suit and have salt and pepper hair or your dress was designed in 1960 and you have flaming red hair, resourcefulness is resourcefulness. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Web Security 2.0

Investment Corner

Security while using the Internet and e-mail was not something I envisioned as a priority when I started my registered investment advisory firm 20 years ago this month. Of course, many Internet-based services and tools we take for granted today weren't available back then. More...



SPORTS

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Playoffs start this week

The road to the Super Bowl Championship begins this week with the much anticipated AMICC flag football playoffs. Top seeds for placement ranking are still to be determined during the final regular season games this week and are still too close to call in the youth divisions. Especially in the 13- to16-year-old Division I. Youth playoffs begin this Saturday, March 3.

On top of the Adult Co-Ed Division are the AFC Division, Duffy's Tavern Ravens and the Coastal Orthopedic Raiders, who get the first and second place bye, respectively. In the NFC Division, Slim's Place Dolphins and Florida Discount 49ers get the first and second place bye, respectively. Playoffs begin this Thursday and shake out like this: More...

Whole Foods - the whole story

Feasting on Fitness

I know you've been dying to know more about my teaser headline last week…the accomplishment of a real bucket list priority. Getting a book, well my book specifically, into Whole Foods. As my publisher told me months ago, "It's a process." Indeed.

In 1984, the year my sister got breast cancer and same year I almost died of a colon blockage, I started changing my diet to include more plants. Doctors said, "You better make some serious changes unless you want to end up like everyone else in your family." More...


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