Center goes over the top in comeback bid

ANNA MARIA – Donations continue to come in to the Island Community Center since officials announced in a community meeting on June 4 that it could be forced to close due to lack of funds.

The $50,000 match by an anonymous donor was met and then surpassed last week. Putting it over the top was the surprise donation of Food and Wine on Pine (FWP) proceeds by six Island non-profit groups. The non-profit donations totaled $10,000, and Center received $2,500 from FWP, making the match fund $65,000. More...

Anticipation grows for crowded, fabulous Fourth

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Got plans to visit the Island over the Fourth of July holiday? Local officials have three words of advice: Get. Here. Early.

Island police are anticipating an extremely busy weekend, with 40,000 or more people expected to visit. A recent preview might have been Memorial Day, when swamped police estimated a crowd of 30,000 in one day just at Coquina Beach.

Cars were parked every which way ers can expect to be trapped in the usual crush of motorists streaming in from the mainland, then finding themselves with no place to put the car. More...

Prince gets another week's stay

HOLMES BEACH – The Island’s “King of the Road,” Prince the cat, will stay at Island Animal Clinic for another week, according to his unofficial custodian, Patty Marifjeren, of Suncoast Realty.

Prince, the tabby cat that calls two shopping centers home in Holmes Beach, was suffering from anemia and a urinary tract infection. He improved and was to be released Monday, but doctors decided he needed daily doses of medicine and they didn’t want him running around the shopping centers when the Island would be crowded because of the Fourth of July holiday. More...

Chiles Group offers fireworks

Look to the skies above the Island’s two Chiles Group of restaurants for their annual public fireworks displays over the Fourth of July holiday. Beach-goers will get a good view, and the restaurants will offer packages for those wanting to enjoy food and drinks from a front row seat.

On Thursday, July 3, the BeachHouse restaurant will host its 21st Annual Fireworks Extravaganza at its renovated dining room and bar and newly renourished beach. VIP packages are available. Call 779-2222 for more information. More...

Complaint: Mayor operated resort without state license

BRADENTON BEACH – Mayor Bill Shearon and his partner Tjet Martin are strong proponents of adherence to local codes, ordinances and regulations. But according to a complaint filed with a state regulatory agency, the two have been operating the Linger Longer resort without a state-mandated public lodging establishment license.

Working on behalf of Ed Chiles and the ELRA Inc. restaurant ownership group that is engaged in one lawsuit involving Shearon, and another involving Martin, attorney Robert Lincoln said he discovered the violation and filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). More...

Carleton case dropped for now

A Manatee Circuit Court judge has cancelled a case against former licensed real estate agent Michael Carleton, but he is still the subject of investigation by the U.S. Postal Service.

Carleton had been charged with practicing real estate without a license after Bruce Nelson, of Massachusetts, filed a complaint. Carleton was arrested in November 2013 and bonded out the same day. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Real Estate ordered the arrest. More...

Fireworks law to be enforced this holiday

Privateers still accepting parade applications

HOLMES BEACH –The Anna Maria Island Privateers will celebrate our nation’s birth with their annual Fourth of July Parade on Friday, beginning at 8 a.m. at Coquina Beach and moving up the Island to Bayfront Park.

The Privateers welcome anyone who registers to participate. They need to fill out an application, decorate their rides and be there at 8:30 a.m. for staging. More...

New pier bids opened

BRADENTON BEACH – The new city pier reconstruction bids are in.

Acting City Clerk Tammy Johnson opened the sealed bids Friday morning, joined by Building Official Steve Gilbert and ZNS Engineering’s Karen Wilson.

Gibsonton-based Tampa Marine submitted the lowest opening bid, at $1,402,879, with a $7,500 discount offered if the city can secure the rights to use the county-owned barge dock located at the south end of the Island, near Coquina Beach. More...

Exploring Pine Island

Fishing trips can be great adventures as most anglers know, but it’s important to enjoy the experience because the fish do not always cooperate. The mark of a good guide in my book is one that can show you a great day on the water, even if the fish don’t bite. Recently, I had just a trip in one of my favorite areas with Captain Joe Harley of Matlacha and Pine Island.

Pine Island and the estuarine environment that surrounds it is one of Florida’s richest ecosystems. Within miles of any point on the island you can get lost in a mangrove forest and visualize yourself a century in the past. The area has a huge variety of habitat ranging from oyster bar strewn flats, lush mangrove forests to remote bays and creeks. And while the island doesn’t feature any Gulf beaches, it’s only a short boat ride to the pristine clear water beaches of Cayo Costa and Captiva Islands. More...

Thousands of new housing units coming

If you like your beach, you can keep your beach. The question Manatee County residents are starting to ask is will you be able to get to your beach?

The winter season we just emerged from was by all accounts the biggest Anna Maria Island ever experienced. The most hotel rooms booked, the most houses and condos rented, the longest wait times at the restaurants and the most traffic and parking problems at the beach overflowing on to Island streets. So what’s going to happen when the county adds almost 8,000 residential units? This is in addition to new construction already started like Harbour Isles on Perico Island with almost 700 units. More...

Be mindful of risk

In my last article here in the Sun, I made the case for why the stock market may move higher before a major correction. I also pointed out that rising bull markets usually don’t die of old age, but rather are killed by external factors, usually rising interest rates. In this article I would like to balance that optimistic view with some common sense advise on controlling risk.

The current bull market in stocks now ranks as the fourth longest without being interrupted by a new growling bear market. At 63 months, only bulls from 1921–1929, 1949–1956, and 1990–2000 have longer durations. The last one on the list was a super-bull lasting 117 months! More...