Vol. 14 No. 39 - July 23, 2014

news

Drama Camp at the Island Community CenterDrama campers wow audience

ANNA MARIA – Campers from the Island Community Center/Island Players Drama Camp wowed audiences in two performances last week at the Island Playhouse.

The play, “Munchkin Mediation: Conflict Resolution in Oz,” took place a year after the events depicted in the “Wizard of Oz,” with the main characters having issues and the Munchkins helping them resolve their problems and learn how to get along with each other. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryFish poison victims return home

BRADENTON – Fifteen-year-old Bradenton resident Austin Goncalves returned to his Bradenton home Friday afternoon, but continues to suffer the after effects of ciguatera fish poisoning contracted during a Fourth of July vacation in the Bahamas.

Austin, his mother Karen, her boyfriend Allen Smith and 14-year-old Marlin Ellis were stricken with the rare toxic condition after consuming large reef fish, either porgie or mutton snapper, caught while spear fishing and diving.

Ciguatera poisoning produces nausea, vomiting, hallucinations and other neurologic symptoms. More...

New bridge, land purchase urged

HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Commissioner Dale Woodland urged Island elected officials to ask the county commission to consider purchasing the Manatee Fruit Company property at 75th Street and Cortez Road in Bradenton to prevent a planned housing development.

He also asked them to consider seeking a bridge from 53rd Street in Bradenton to Coquina Beach.

“I think purchasing the farm is an interesting idea,” Longboat Key Mayor Jim Brown said. “Those of us on the barrier islands are not going to be able to leave the islands if they build all these developments.” More...

Panel: Don't park here - or there

Holmes Beach’s Island Congestion Committee is recommending to the city commission that all street and right of way parking be eliminated in the city’s residential districts except Key Royale.

The committee has discussed a proposal regarding street parking for several months, but added rights of way parking at Monday’s meeting after member Jayne Christenson pointed out that residents are blocking them with fences, boulders and plants to prevent people from parking there. More...

City official resigns citing health reasons

HOLMES BEACH – Building Official and Superintendent of Public Works Tom O’Brien has resigned due to health reasons.

In the resignation, effective July 15, O’Brien said, “I find that the tasks assigned to me as building official and superintendent of public works are interfering with my health issues, which have been exacerbated over the months resulting in a recent hospitalization.”

Human Resource Analyst Mary Buonagura said O’Brien was given a performance improvement plan (PIP) in March. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryPier contract hammered out

BRADENTON BEACH – Last week, City Attorney Ricinda Perry led city commissioners through a page-by-page review of the Bradenton Beach City Pier reconstruction contract with Duncan Seawall, Dock and Boat Lift LLC.

The contract review resulted in a few commission requested changes to the third draft of the 28-page contract prepared by Perry. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryWhitmore proposes pelican law

Commissioner Carol Whitmore has asked the four mayors of Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key to consider passing municipal ordinances outlawing multiple hooks on fishing lines.

The hooks are decimating the pelican population of the barrier islands, entangling and choking them, she told the Barrier Island Elected Officials (BIEO) last week, adding that other birds and marine life also are affected. More...

Chikungunya virus now locally acquired in Florida

HOLMES BEACH – On Friday, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) announced that the first two cases of locally acquired Chikungunya (ChikV) virus were confirmed in Miami Dade and Palm Beach counties.

In addition, the FDOH in Manatee County announced the second case of the virus in a person who just returned from the Caribbean. Until Friday, all cases of the virus in Florida were acquired by people who were bitten in the Caribbean. More...



features

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryStart an organic community garden

When Walmart starts moving to organic, it's probably time to start listening up.

The trend is unmistakable! Are you ready to get started? Do you want to make a quantum leap into the sustainable local food movement? What? You don't have a green thumb, and you wouldn't know where to start. Take a walk down the native pathways along Pine Avenue in the city of Anna Maria and check out the raised bed, organic community gardens.

After completing our last building in the Pine Avenue Restoration project we looked for ways to further enhance the green aspect of what we now like to call the “Greenest Little Main Street in America”. The landscaping is really important to the look and feel of the street. We are saving money and negating the environmental cost that would be incurred fertilizing, watering, and spraying the insecticides necessary to propagate the exotic landscape. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryLocal musicians spread multi-cultural vibe

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Led by 19-year-old Island resident and singer/songwriter/guitarist Trevor Bystrom, The Tribal Trio followed their CD release party with a return trip to Orlando last weekend to perform again at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville.

On stage, Bystrom is accompanied by his 18-year-old girlfriend and multi-instrumentalist Kristie Armas and 17-year-old percussionist and longtime friend Morgan Greig. More...



OUTDOORS

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Scallopalooza Celebrates Fourth Year

It’s Scallopalooza time again and you are invited to come to Sarasota Bay Watch’s yearly fund raiser held at the beautiful Sarasota Yacht Club.  Monies raised from this event have paid for the introduction of millions of scallop larvae into Sarasota Bay from Bradenton to Sarasota with the hope of repopulating our bay waters with this once abundant species. 

The Scallopalooza event has enjoyed the continued support of the Community, proof that the businesses and inhabitants of Manatee and Sarasota Counties care about and are willing to tackle this long term restoration project. Sarasota Bay Watch (SBW) was initially formed with the mission of protecting and restoring Sarasota Bay's ecosystem through community education and citizen participation. The spirit of the mission is reflected in the organizations slogan “A Healthy Bay Is Everybody’s Business.” More...



real estate

Having a condo board personality

Last week we talked about needing a condo personality in order to successfully live in a condominium community. This week we’ll assume you have the right personality, have bought and moved into your dream condo and now you want to serve on the board. Get ready for boards untamed.

It’s frequently thought that people who serve on condominium boards are controlling, egotistical and possibly corrupt. Well, sometimes all or some of these elements are present in condo board members, but mostly they’re just every day people who want to contribute to making the community they live in function for everyone and stay on budget. More...



business

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Index funds continue to evolve

Investment Corner

Investors have a choice when purchasing pooled investment vehicles. Mutual funds or exchange traded funds are available in two varieties. Actively managed funds are directed using the skills of a manager or team of managers to select the securities held in the fund. Index funds hold virtually all the securities in a particular benchmark index with the goal of the performance of the fund mimicking the index. Indexes may be very broadly defined like the World Total Stock Market Index or the well known S&P 500 Index, which targets large U.S. based corporations, or more finely tuned indexes that are populated with companies in a specific region or industry.

The use of index funds has been expanding recently, driven by lower operating expenses, which translates to higher performance if the index fund does as well as a comparable actively managed fund. More...


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