Super Summer

HOLMES BEACH – The usually quiet summer season on Anna Maria Island hasn’t arrived yet this year, with visitors steadily streaming in from nearby Florida towns, and tourist taxes breaking records.

“Normally we’d be slowing down, but we’re seeing a continued pace through November and December,” Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) member and Bradenton Beach hotelier David Teitelbaum said. More...

Peelen report prompts records request

HOLMES BEACH – A lawyer for Anna Maria Island developer Shawn Kaleta has made a public records request to the city of Holmes Beach for Commissioner Jean Peelen’s home computer records pertaining to her elected office.

Bradenton attorney Louis Najmy, representing Kaleta and the Anna Maria Island Coalition, which he described as a large group of Island property owners, made the written request by e-mail about three hours before last week’s Tuesday night commission meeting.

At the meeting, Peelen read aloud the first five pages of a 21-page report entitled “The Crisis in Holmes Beach,” which began, “One developer in Holmes Beach, Shawn Kaleta, essentially invaded Holmes Beach around 2004 and has transformed it – and not in a good way.” More...

Code enforcement an issue with MSO

ANNA MARIA – At last week’s budget meeting, commissioners were surprised by a memo from Sgt. Dave Turner of the Sheriff’s Office stating that his deputies would not enforce the city’s codes, and they said it could affect the budget.

“Once again, I am referring you for the fifth time to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office legal division regarding deputies going outside the normal parameters of their required duties under the MCSO contract and the agencies and general orders,” Turner wrote. More...

O'Connor Bowling Challenge Saturday

When this many residents leave the Island at one time, it must be for a good cause or a lot of fun.

In this case, it's both. The 22nd Annual O'Connor Bowling Challenge is this Saturday, Aug. 25, at the AMF Bowling Lanes, 4208 Cortez Road W. The yearly tourney, which raises money for the Community Center, is always a great party as would-be Don Webers (who?) try their luck on the lanes and with raffle tickets for some serious prizes. Check-in is at 5 p.m. and bowling starts at 6 p.m. The cost is $25 per bowler, and that includes shoe rental, if needed. You also need to pre-register at Duffy’s Tavern to get a lane guarantee. More...

Island teen arrested on Facebook threat charge

Holmes Beach police on Aug. 16 arrested a 15-year-old Manatee High School student who authorities say threatened on his Facebook page to detonate an explosive device at his school.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Holmes Beach teenager was taken into custody and charged with threatening to use a destructive device. The Sun is not naming the teen because he is being charged as a juvenile. More...

Your PTO wants you this Friday

The Anna Maria Elementary School PTO is hosting a volunteer reception at the Studio on Pine Ave. at Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue in Anna Maria on Friday, Aug. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m.

PTO members will outline the various programs and fund-raisers they hold during the school year, and volunteers are needed to keep the momentum going. Child care will be provided by the School for Constructive Play. Parents are urged to call 778-2210 for child care information. More...

Commissioners assess election

The Island’s two county commissioners say businesses can expect better relations with the commission following the election last week. Both commissioners are former mayors on the Island and they spoke at the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce board meeting last Wednesday.

“Joe McClash lost his re-election bid and (the winner) Betsy Benac seems like she is more business friendly,” said Commissioner Carol Whitmore. “If the commission is more business friendly, that’s bound to be good for businesses out here.” More...

Mom marches in Bradenton Beach

BRADENTON BEACH – Kelley Osborn was back in town last Thursday to urge the city to find the truth about the death of her daughter, Sheena Morris, on New Year’s Day, 2009.

Morris was found hanging from a showerhead and Bradenton Beach police ruled it a suicide. But for the past three years, Osborn has been trying to get law enforcement to reopen the case, saying she believes her daughter was murdered. More...

AME kicks off another school year

HOLMES BEACH – There was excitement in the air as the teachers and staff took their positions outside Anna Maria Elementary School to make sure every student on the first day of school got a wristband, color coded to show how each child is to get home.

The first school bus pulled up and fifth-grader Angelina Sculco became the first student off the bus. More...

Scallop count up from last year

The weather was perfect, the water clear and a record-breaking crowd of more than 100 volunteers collected 93 scallops during Sarasota Bay Watch’s Fifth Annual Scallop Search based at the Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant on Longboat Key.

The Scallop Search is the signature event of Sarasota Bay Watch and has been growing in popularity every year. Volunteers combed the grass flats from Palma Sola Bay in Manatee County to Big Pass in Sarasota from boats, kayaks, a sailboat and Sarasota High School’s floating classroom, The Carefree Learner. More...

Low appraisals a hiccup in the mortgage market

We all know that a referee in sports is the final word on whether the ball was in or out and whether the boxers have followed the rules. Buying real estate can be viewed as a sport, a very expensive one, where the referee is the appraiser who can make or break the deal before the finish line.

The housing market is in a slow but steady recovery, spurred on by record low interest rates. However, one of the little hiccups in the mortgage process is low appraisals, preventing buyers from taking advantage of depressed prices before they start to move up. More...

Coleman shares Pine Avenue vision

ANNA MARIA – Micheal Coleman, of Pine Avenue Restoration, shared his vision of the street with members of Cultural Connections last week.

He said when he and his wife, Jane, saw a 1920s photo of the street as a promenade the idea began to form. He said he met with Ed Chiles and they formed a partnership to make the vision come true. More...

Absolute return, but no guarantee

In the last decade, and in particular, the last few years since the end of the 2008-09 financial crisis, a lot of investment product has been created with some variation of the moniker "absolute return." The idea of absolute return is a bit ambiguous and might catch the unsuspecting investor, eager for some sort of guaranteed and safe return in today’s uncertain climate, a bit unaware.

The word absolute almost implies a guarantee, and the idea of return implies profit, creating the idea of a guaranteed profit from these vehicles, which are usually structured as mutual funds. However, as most investors are aware, true guarantees can only be made by someone who owns a printing press and the authority to print money. In other words, governments are the only true guarantors, and many of these may presently be viewed with skepticism as to the quality of the guarantee. More...

Early birds protect turtles

Threatened loggerhead sea turtles have a dozen volunteer coordinators to thank for making Anna Maria Island beaches a safer place for them to nest and for their eggs to hatch.

The “daybreak dozen” gets up before dawn to walk the beaches in search of telltale turtle tracks indicating either a new nest or a newly-hatched nest – both events happen mostly at night. More...

Summer Super Bowl set

The most anticipated game of the summer is now set. The Agnelli Pools & Spa Dolphins will square-off against the Duffy’s Tavern Raiders in the Anna Maria Island Community Center’s adult co-ed flag football Super Bowl championship.

Eight teams began the season and only two remain after a seven-week summer season and two intense back-to-back playoff games last week. This match up should prove to be one of the best ever. The two teams are both tied with the best record in the league at 8-1. The Dolphins are the only team to have beaten the Raiders this year and the Dolphins loss came earlier in the year from the Vikings. More...

Fixing that pain in the back

An article on back pain by Active.com reminded me that we all battle gravity, and especially the back.

A recent study said sitting in a chair all day is right up there with cigarette smoking. Other reports about body parts fusing to each other if you don’t get out of that chair, have made me set my computer to announce the time every 15 minutes. I used to have it set for every hour to remind me to move. But it doesn’t seem like that is often enough. More...