City proposes tax hike to avoid deficit

BRADENTON BEACH – With one visitor in the room and no public comment, the city commission proposed a higher millage rate, also known as property tax rate, to help eliminate a deficit in next fiscal year’s budget.

The proposed $2,421,019 budget would provide a 2.5-percent pay increase across the board for city employees and a new patrol car for the police department while cutting back on certain projects until the economy improves. However, there are some areas where the city commission wants to spend more to rebuild some of the infrastructure. More...

Connelly gets three years

After hearing from several friends and family members and reading almost 100 letters from friends asking him to give her probation, Circuit Judge Thomas W. Krug sentenced Holly Connelly to three years in prison with credit for time served, and 25 years probation for her guilty plea to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Key Royale Golf Club. She will also be responsible for making restitution, and Krug said he would name an amount within 60 days that she would have to repay.

After the sentence, many of the more than 80 people who packed the courtroom in Bradenton were sobbing. Many of those attending were there for Connelly’s moral support, while others were Key Royale members hoping the once-trusted bookkeeper would exact some form of punishment. More...

One lot, one pool suggested

commissioners last week that they consider prohibiting more than one pool on duplex lots.

The recent redevelopment trend of demolishing ground floor homes and building duplex condos with a pool on each side has exacerbated vacation rental problems in Holmes Beach neighborhoods, she said.

“It’s so much of an increase of intensity,” she said, adding that she has one next door to her. More...

Tenant seeks a gated parking system at pier

ANNA MARIA – City pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder has asked the city if he could install a gate system at the entrance to the north parking lot for the city pier.

“People would get a ticket when entering the parking lot and need that ticket, processed at the city pier bait shop, for example, to leave the parking lot,” he explained in a memo to Commission Chair Chuck Webb. More...

Rental control suggestions nixed

ANNA MARIA – Commissioners were not receptive to two ideas proposed by Commissioner SueLynn last week regarding rental issues.

The first was to require every swimming pool owner to have a sign “that advises people in the pool that noise travels and they need to keep the noise down. When the deputies go to talk to the people making the noise they say they didn’t know. If there’s a sign, they can’t say that.” More...

Pier reopens with no fanfare

BRADENTON BEACH – Anglers are again jockeying for their favorite spots off the Bridge Street Pier after a Cortez native, Quinn Mora, and his helper, Luis Bracero, reinforced a broken piling with wood and cable.

The piling broke last month after two boats crashed into the pier at that location during high winds and waves from Tropical Storm Debby. After they discovered the piling, city officials searched for somebody to fix it, and the best estimate thy could get was between $5,000 and $10,000. The city commission turned down spending that kind of money because the piling is scheduled to be replaced within two years when the city rebuilds the structure east of the restaurant.More...

Privateer stays while commission debates

BRADENTON BEACH – Although they were already approved for next season’s activities, the Anna Maria Island Privateers stayed at the city commission meeting last Thursday while the commission reviewed a new planning, zoning and land use fee schedule.

Privateer Tim “Hammer” Thompson saw the proposed list and wondered if the city would be charging his non-profit group a fee to hold gatherings and festivals in city limits. More...

Commissioners lobby for less parking, more crosswalks

ANNA MARIA – Commissioners last week targeted several streets in the city where they feel parking is a problem.

Streets include the intersection of Spring Avenue and Gulf Drive, the first blocks of Tarpon Street and Crescent Drive off Pine Avenue, Jacaranda Road between North Shore Drive and North Bay Boulevard and Magnolia and Palm avenues. More...

Rally held for Bradenton Beach victim

BRADENTON BEACH – A woman whose mother does not believe her daughter’s Bradenton Beach hanging death was a suicide held a “March for Justice” on Sunday in Tampa and in Liverpool, N.Y. that attracted hundreds of supporters.

Liverpool is the former home of Sheena Morris, who was found dead at age 22 at the BridgeWalk resort on Bridge Street on Jan. 1, 2009, by Bradenton Beach police. More...

Hone your hot weather strategy

Dog Days (Latin: diés canicularés) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, the dog days of summer are most commonly experienced in the months of July and August, which typically observe the warmest summer temperatures. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.

On the west coast of Florida, dog days can run through September, with the spell being broken by the change of season, more than the easing of daytime temperatures. While the temperatures create challenging conditions, savvy anglers know to change their strategies, tailoring their efforts to maximize their comfort and opportunities. More...

Renting is becoming the new reality

Want to be footloose and fancy free? No lawn to mow, no weeds to pull, no trim to paint , no air conditioning to replace and no mortgage to pay. There is a way – become a renter. In our here today, gone tomorrow world practically anything can be rented from clothes to cars without any stigma attached.

The American dream of owning your own home has tarnished a little in the wake of the financial meltdown and housing bubble resulting in a new reality termed "rentership society." For a lot of homeowners who found themselves essentially paying rent on their underwater homes, there isn’t much difference between paying rent to the bank or to your landlord. More...

Marshalls opens near Island

BRADENTON – The sign is up and the store is stocked, and at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, the doors will open to the newest Marshalls department store at 75th and Cortez Road.

This is the third Marshalls in Bradenton, and it offers 23,844 square feet of the latest fashions for leisure lifestyles and formal occasions at affordable prices. Expect top-quality and trendy fashions and designer brand names for ladies, gentlemen and children at low prices. More...

Consider Master Limited Partnership investment

Thanks to the Sun reader who called to suggest this topic. I’m happy to communicate about topics that are important to our readers, so keep the suggestions coming. Master Limited Partnerships are commonly referred to as MLPs. It is a corporate structure authorized by federal legislation, and allowed for businesses in certain industries primarily it the natural resources arena. Ninety percent of the MLP's revenue must come from qualifying sources, usually the production, processing, or transportation of products like oil, gasoline natural gas or coal.

Investors can invest in MLPs by buying units of ownership in a brokerage transaction just like a stock trade. Units are commonly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ market. More...

Turtle Watch recognizes volunteers

ANNA MARIA – Volunteers for Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring are early birds, beginning their days before dawn to walk the beach looking for signs of turtle nesting and hatching.

So it makes sense that their annual awards banquet was held at 9 a.m., with coffee instead of champagne, and fruit cups designed to look like turtles (kiwi shells with apple slice flippers and cherry heads). More...

Dolphins remain undefeated

The Agnelli Pools & Spa Dolphins remain the only unbeaten team in the Anna Maria Island Community Center’s adult co-ed flag football league. A grueling back to back game schedule this past week for the entire league saw the 3-0 Dolphins facing off against the 3-0 Duffy’s Tavern Raiders. The Dolphins pulled off the win by a score of 33 to 25.

Quarterback Tim Shaughnessy threw for 90 yards and two touchdowns but also had 86 rushing yards and two hard to come by rushing TDs. Pat Calvary had 94 yards receiving and two TDs and two extra points. Brianna Shaughnessy also had a receiving TD in the Dolphin’s victory. More...

Tips for getting toned

A Facebook fan private-messaged me wondering how to get rid of flab, even though she runs more than 25 miles a week. She lifts 10-pound free-weights and does crunches three times per week.

My answer:

I'm not a doc or RD, but as I say often, especially without being able to talk to or see you directly on Skype, "It depends." It could be several things, or a combination. More...