Tourism marketing budget soars

Manatee County plans to spend nearly $8 million to market itself as a tourist destination over the next two years.

The proposed tourism marketing budget for fiscal year 2014 is $3,921,020 (from a total Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau budget of $6,557,635), while the marketing budget for fiscal year 2015 is $3,969,804 (from a total budget of $6,504,419). More...

Suit filed against Carleton

A lawsuit has been filed against Michael Carleton, owner of the now-defunct Coast Line Realtors, accusing him of embezzling escrow funds on a house sale that never materialized.

Daniel S. Spitzer filed the suit claiming he never got the $41,500 he paid in escrow back from Carleton after the short sale of the home for $415,000 fell through. More...

Ralph’s gone, will reopen in town

BRADENTON BEACH – Commissioners voted on Friday to accept $15,000 in full payment of past due rent and terminate the city’s lease with Dave Russell of Rotten Ralph’s restaurant on the Bridge Street Pier.

Commissioners asked Police Chief Sam Speciale to have the locks changed on Saturday, the official day of the lease termination. The next business day, Monday, was the deadline for Russell to make the payment and provide proof that he has paid the remaining $3,200 left on his $14,000 WastePro utility bill, which the city would be responsible for if he fails to pay. More...

Performance artist wows audience at Affaire

ANNA MARIA – The Grand Ballroom of the Island Community Center was filled with excitement as artist Brian Olsen brought his performance, Art in Action, to the stage at An Island Affaire Saturday.

Olsen dipped into pots of bright colors of paint lining the floor below a large canvas and using brushes, fingertips, palms and elbows began painting a famous face as music played in the background. As he progressed, people began guessing the person. More...

Fire board approves tax assessment rate

BRADENTON –Fire commissioners approved a 1.91 percent increase in the fire assessment rate for the 2013-14 budget after two commissioners sought a lower increase.

The fire district charges an assessment rate based on the type of parcel and the number of square feet. It can only raise the rate as much as the Florida Personal Income Growth (PIG) rate, which is 1.91 this year. More...

Road and bridge work continue

It’s spring, and the road crews are out fixing and improving our roads and bridges.

Work continues State Road 684, Cortez Road between 102nd Street West and 119th Street West as crews trim trees around streetlights. There will be a westbound lane closure through Thursday, May 23, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. More...

Required parking for restaurants to increase

HOLMES BEACH – After considerable discussion, commissioners agreed to increase the number of parking spaces for new restaurants, assembly halls and changes of use from one for five seats to one for three seats.

The issue was raised at recent work sessions, and Commissioner Judy Titsworth said she found that the parking requirements had changed not only for restaurants, but also for hotels and motels; assembly halls; business, professional and government; and general commercial. More...

Board approves Silver Surf rehab

BRADENTON BEACH – Plans to give the Silver Surf a makeover and add some amenities got approval by the Planning and Zoning Board on Wednesday, May 15.

The board voted unanimously to recommend approval to the City Commission, which has the final say.

The plans for the major development include a new façade for the venerable resort, which was known as the Harbor Light Motel in the 1960s. The plans also call for enlarging the main office area to include a continental breakfast area with outside seating for guests only, a viewing and sunning deck above the office, rooms in the north building, a larger swimming pool area with a spa and a viewing deck in front of the south building. More...

Wounded warrior makes gallery debut

ANNA MARIA – Friday night, patrons of the Artspace Studios and Gallery in Anna Maria celebrated the public debut of local photographer and former Gulf War veteran Christian Ulanch.

On display at 101 South Bay Blvd. through June 7, Ulanch’s PhotoNutt exhibit features a series of 10 close-up photographs of Anna Maria landmarks such as the Island Historical Museum, CrossPointe Fellowship, Galati’s Marina and more. More...

It's tarpon time

It’s one of the most incredible experiences in the angling world. The adrenalin produced is sure to quicken the heartbeat of the most seasoned angler and weaken the knees of the uninitiated. It’s tarpon fishing and now is the time when west coast anglers have access to this amazing sport fish. Savvy anglers know that May heralds the beginning of tarpon season, but this year the great fish arrived early, brought in most likely by rising water temperatures and the arrival of massive schools of baitfish. More...

Knowing the right day to list your home

When it comes to selling your home, there are several things you need to do to get the house ready, ranging from cleaning closets to cleaning windows. But what’s the best day of the week for the listing to come out? Believe it or not, there is one.

I still think of Friday’s as the happiest day of the week. Something that is ingrained going back to my New York City going out after work on Friday days. Well as it turns out Fridays is also a good day to list your home for sale for some of the same reasons. More...

Solo's is like dining in your living room

Sometimes you want to go out for a burger or pizza, and sometimes you want to stay in, and sometimes you can’t decide what to do. For those times when you want the convenience of a restaurant and the casualness of staying home, Solo’s Pizza is just the right fit.

Solo’s Pizza in Holmes Beach has been in the same location for 10 years this past March, quite an accomplishment for any restaurant, especially one on an Island dependent on seasonal visitors. Solo’s owner Shawn Waters loves his seasonal customers and is rejuvenated every year when he sees familiar faces coming through his door. More...

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus

The title of this article is that of the best-selling book by Dr. John Gray in the 1990s. The book, which attempted to describe the personality and emotional differences between the genders, sold over 50 million copies and remains in print today.

In the realm of investments and the process of giving and receiving investment advice, there are stark differences between males and females that are important for both the client, man or woman, and the advisor, man or woman, to understand to try to avoid miscommunication, or even worse, offending the other party. More...

Making beach lights turtle friendly

Walk Anna Maria Island’s beaches at night and you’ll see patches of dark interrupted by bright lights coming from condominium garages, motel living rooms, businesses on both sides of Gulf Drive and other sources.

If you can see them from the beach, so can a sea turtle, and that’s bad for turtles. More...

Hard to stay undefeated

The Anna Maria Island Community Center is currently offering five different sports. This is a new record, according to Center’s Athletic Director Troy Shonk. Of the 34 teams currently playing, only the Beach to Bay Construction kickball team remains unbeaten.

The Sato Real Estate soccer team was the only other unbeaten team, but it fell short, losing to Island Pest Control 6 to 1 this week. The Beach to Bay construction team had a tough time keeping that perfect record this week, though. It had to pull off wins in the last inning of play in both of this week’s games. It won by a score of 5 to 3 over Lobstahs and a score of 8 to 6 over Agnelli Pools & Spa. More...

Consider changing your diet

If anyone should be terrified of breast cancer, it should be me. My aunt died of it in our home when I was 5. As I say in my YouTube video responding to the Jolie decision to undergo two prophylactic mastectomies, figuring out the truth about food and how to avoid breast cancer has become the investigative reporting job of my life. Many newspaper articles have been written about my apparent success in defying the odds. More...