Vol. 13 No. 5 - November 14, 2012

news

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryartsHOP gets Island hoppin’

The arts on the Island were the stars of the weekend as hundreds of people turned out for Cultural Connections’ annual artsHOP event in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach.

Visitors enjoyed a wide variety of art exhibits, demonstrations and music, as well as a play, a concert and a drum circle. More...

Challengers sweep Holmes Beach vote

HOLMES BEACH – The voters elected change Tuesday as three challengers swept three incumbents from office.

In the mayoral race, Carmel Monti beat Rich Bohnenberger, 54.46 percent (1,318 votes) to 45.54 percent (1,102 votes). For the two city commission seats, Judy Titsworth got 36.46 percent (1,682 votes) Marvin Grossman got 25.58 percent (1,142 votes), John Monetti had 19.31 percent (862 votes) and Sandy Haas-Martens got 18.63 percent (832 votes). More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryNew director chosen for Community Center

ANNA MARIA – The Island Community Center board of directors has appointed Dawn Stiles as its new executive director.

“It was a unanimous decision of the selection committee and the board, and Pierrette (former Executive Director Pierrette Kelly) supported our decision,” board chair Greg Ross said. “We’re excited about her. We have high expectations and think she’ll do a good job.” More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryVeterans honored at Bradenton Beach

BRADENTON BEACH – The hustle and bustle of the Bridge Street Market slowed down a little bit on Sunday around 11:30 a.m. to honor those who fought our wars for us on Veteran’s Day.

Organizer Adams Jenkins started the ceremony at a corner of the market by introducing the Kirby Stewart VFW Post 10141 Flag and Color Guard, which led to the Pledge of Allegiance and a moving speech by Bradenton Beach Mayor John Shaughnessy. More...

Holmes Beach questions court ruling

Manatee Circuit Judge Diana Moreland has ruled on the city of Bradenton Beach’s motion to dismiss the action for declaratory relief filed in May by the city of Holmes Beach against Sandpiper Co-op Resort Inc. and the city of Bradenton Beach.

Holmes Beach had requested that the court declare that Sandpiper did not acquire ownership of 27th Street with a quitclaim deed granted by Bradenton Beach and that Sandpiper wrongly prevented the public from using the street by installing lockable gates and no trespassing signs, which remain in place. More...

New filings in Peelen lawsuit

HOLMES BEACH – Attorney Jay Daigneault has filed a motion to dismiss a civil suit against Commissioner Jean Peelen filed by contractor John F. Agnelli, Jr. in October.

Agnelli’s suit claims that on Sept. 30, Peelen sent out an e-mail newsletter regarding happenings in the city and in it she said Agnelli has been “cited for construction deficiencies and /or been before the code board more than once…”

Peelen said as soon as she discovered that she had confused John Agnelli with his son in the e-mail, she sent out a correction and attempted to call Mr. Agnelli to no avail. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryAuthors mingle at library

HOLMES BEACH – Thirteen writers gathered at the Island Branch Library Saturday afternoon as part of artsHOP to speak with readers and those who might want to sit down and write a novel someday.

The guests came from all walks of life and their works ranged from World War II battleships to poetry.

E.H. Domienik, from Venice, was in the Navy from 1941 to 1947 and he has written three books about the Lexington, the West Virginia (the “Wee Vee”) and the Yorktown. His chronologies explained how each ship earned deserved a Presidential Unit Citation. He was involved in the big battles in the Pacific during the war. More...

Local fishermen question their role in FISH

CORTEZ – Questions raised at the Nov. 5 Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) board meeting resulted in a much-needed discussion about the role commercial fishermen will play in the FISH BoatWorks program.

Questions were also raised in regard to what role the FISH organization might play in supporting the local fishing industry.

The FISH BoatWorks program was envisioned as a fundraising arm of the land preservation organization, with FISH volunteers repairing boats for a fee, or restoring donated boats and selling them for a profit, with the money going to FISH. More...



features

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryIt was love at first sight

ANNA MARIA – There is an adage going around: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Paul and Tammy Foster took that adage to heart when they started looking for a business to occupy their time and pay the bills, and they almost lost an opportunity to own Ginny and Jane E’s. More...



OUTDOORS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryStriking fish invade local waters

Anglers fishing the waters off Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key have been experiencing some terrific action on schools of Spanish mackerel, kingfish and little tunny (false albacore) just off the beaches. October and November are traditionally the best months to find these pelagic fish, which can be targeted using many different methods.

Live baiting is the most common technique followed closely by trolling. All of these species are also great targets for fly fishers and spin anglers using spoons, jigs and top water plugs.

More...



real estate

Micro apartments make urban living affordable

It seems like everything except housing and televisions have gotten smaller during the last couple of decades, including computers, cars, telephones and file cabinets. But we may be in for a return to micro living at least in densely populated cities.

To say that China has challenges facing it when it comes to housing its 230 million urban residents is like predicting it’s going to snow in Vermont this winter. China’s economy has slowed considerably in part because it too faced a housing bubble, which has now deflated impacting its overall economy. It also is facing a shift from rural to urban living for millions of Chinese, many of them single people who are moving to China’s growing cities. More...



business

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryCoastal Marine sews up boat canvas business

There isn’t a boater in the world who doesn’t have a love hate relationship with his/her vessel. Most are happiest the day they buy it and equally happy the day they sell it. If you’re still at the happy stage and want to protect as well as dress up your vessel, Coastal Marine can make it all happen in a really convenient way. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Investing as the fiscal cliff approaches

Investment Corner

I’m sure by now everyone has heard the term "fiscal cliff” and the sounds of it are enough to strike fear into the hearts of some investors and business people. Let’s try to make some simple sense of the cliff and help you decide if action may be warranted in your investment portfolio.

The fiscal cliff refers to a combination of federal spending cuts and tax increases which will take place on Jan. 1, 2013, if no action is taken by Congress between now and then. The largest impact is the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which were enacted in 2003 and remain the same today after being extended for two years in 2010. More...



SPORTS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StorySoccer champions crowned

The fall youth soccer league at the Anna Maria Island Community Center ended Saturday with a day of Championship and All-Star games. All competitive age groups crowned their champions and then celebrated the year with the traditional All-Star games.

In the 8-10-year-old division, Lobstah’s remained unbeaten and defeated Tyler’s Ice Cream in the championship game by a score of 3-0. Catherine Calhoun led the way and scored two goals for her team. Chris Snyder scored the other goal to secure the championship for Lobstah’s. More...

Age is just a number

Feasting on Fitness

My birthday is in 8 days. 60. Wahoo!! At a time when most women don’t talk about their age, the ladies who showed up in my age group at the Suncoast Striders’ Veterans Day 5K at Manatee Technical Institute were all giggles about my rejoicing. Ecstasy, to put it mildly, about jumping up into the next competitive tier: 60-64. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it dozens of times: Runners are the only people who delight in getting older. More...


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