County balks at 700-foot beach pier

BRADENTON ­– Manatee County commissioners said they could not justify the additional $1 million to build a 700-foot pier at Manatee Public Beach versus a 312-foot pier.

“On June 9, you directed us to develop a permit and construction plan for the Manatee Beach Pier at 312 feet,” Charlie Hunsicker, natural resources administrator, explained. “When we looked at the footprint of the aerial view and the scale and size of the pier relative to the gently sloping Gulf Beach, we became concerned about the visual effect.” More...

Library use surges as economy sputters

The economy may be in the tank but business is booming at the Island’s two libraries.

In fact, library use has surged because of the recession, according to library officials.

“Oh gosh! More and more people are flocking to the library even during the off season, and we are making do with less – less money, fewer resources, less staffing to serve all these people,” said Ava Ehde, chief librarian at the Island Branch Library. More...

Skim Bash set for Oct. 4

BRADENTON BEACH – Skimboarders will slice up the shallows at the Beach House Skim Board Bash on Sunday, Oct. 4, at the BeachHouse restaurant.

Sponsored by the West Coat Surf Shop, the annual event raises money for red tide research at Mote Marine Laboratory.

The amateur contest will feature beginners scooting across the flats and experienced riders heading into the waves to perform skateboard-style tricks. More...

Goodwill opens on Island

HOLMES BEACH – If you’ve got some unwanted items around your home and you don’t want to go through the hassle of a garage sale, there will soon be an answer and it’s one that will help other people get a hand up.

Goodwill is opening its first donation center on Anna Maria Island on Oct. 1 at 3614 East Bay Drive, next to Ocean Star restaurant. Donations of usable good and clothing can be dropped off seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those who can’t get those items to the new center can call 351-8946 for home pickup. More...

Bayfest to feature Kidsfest

ANNA MARIA – Bayfest, the something for everybody, start-of-the-season festival on Pine Avenue, presents another bigger and better feature at this year’s event on Saturday, Oct. 17.

It’s called Kidsfest and it’s being put together by Island Dojo’s Kevin Berquist.

“The theme is Kids Helping Kids and it’s really big,” he said. “All the money raised goes toward helping at-risk and abused kids.” More...

Board adds bridge to Kingfish annexation

BRADENTON – Much to the surprise of Holmes Beach officials, Manatee County commissioners added the Anna Maria Island Bridge to the city’s request to annex Kingfish Ramp last week.

The discussion began with a resolution to indicate the county’s interest in negotiating an agreement with the city to annex the boat ramp area up to the bridge. The city asked to annex the area so its police department can patrol it. More...

City arms itself against Swine Flu

BRADENTON BEACH – With the H1N1 swine flu still in the headlines, one city has taken steps to ensure anybody with flu-like symptoms doesn’t share them in the workplace.

City department heads met with Mayor Michael Pierce a week earlier to go over a resolution that City Attorney Ricinda Perry drew up addressing communicable diseases and the city commission passed it Thursday. More...

Island Rockers charm talent scouts

PALMETTO – The Island Rockers took the Gulf Coast Talent and Film Expo by storm on Saturday afternoon, drawing a crowd with “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Johnny B. Goode” and their original song, “Let’s Go.”

The three Anna Maria Elementary School students lacked their older bandmate from Edison Academy, Matt Robec, 15, but still brought down the house with a driving beat from drummer Ethan Bertrand, 9, Brandon Mills, 9, on guitar and Jacob Castro, 8, on guitar and vocals. More...

Festival attendees marry on the beach

ANNA MARIA – Carrie Cerini and Eric Harter, of Bradenton, took their vows at the Sandbar restaurant last Friday in a wedding that they planned with some help from the Wedding Festival help of this year’s wedding festival.

The couple that has been together for more than four years and own a house in Bradenton, attended the festival last February and really enjoyed it, according to Cerini.

“I thought it was excellent and it was run perfectly,” she said. “We loved riding the limousines to all the locations. It was a fun day.” More...

Fishing with Captain Joe Harley

Smokehouse Bay, Two Pines, The Rock Hole, Jug Creek. The names alone convey some of the magic and mystery of Matlacha and Pine Island, situated just south of Charlotte Harbor. Anglers, photographers, kayakers and nature lovers alike will find some of Florida’s most productive and picturesque waters, shallow in depth but deep in tradition and diversity. This past week I had the pleasure of fishing with a new friend, Captain Joe Harley, and reacquainting with one of my favorite destinations, The Sun & Moon Resort in Matlacha. More...

The perfect time to trade up

There have been a lot of new slang words that have crept into our everyday vocabulary during the past several years. One term that is particularly applicable to the real estate dilemma we find ourselves in is "reality check." According to Wikipedia, reality check means coming to terms with what is actually happening rather than what one chooses to believe. Perfect, right? More...

Making urgent care affordable

In case you haven’t noticed, the increased cost of quality medical care has been in the news quite a bit lately. With insurance premiums increasing and incomes decreasing, affording basic medical care is becoming more of a challenge to families every day, something that has not gone unnoticed by at least one doctor in Bradenton. More...

Stick with dividend payers

In January, I wrote about investing in dividend paying common stocks as a source of income which could potentially top yields offered on government bonds and certificates of deposit in today’s low interest rate environment.

I believe that the reason to focus the bulk of your stock ownership in dividend paying companies goes beyond the income stream. It increases your chance of a successful total return strategy, which combines the dividend income with appreciation of the share price of the companies over time. More...

Soccer season kicks off with Spirit Week

The 2009 Community Center soccer season is under way after this past Friday and Saturday’s Spirit Week exhibition games. This year there are 22 teams spread out among five age divisions, with nearly 200 children registered to play. Each team played two shortened games over the course of the weekend, which served as a pre-season jamboree before the season opens this week. More...

Nesting season nears finish

It’s been a good year for turtles on Anna Maria Island. That’s according to Suxi Fox, who directs the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch Program.

“The hatch rate is way up, though the number of nests is about the same as last year,” Fox said. ‘I think that’s probably because we didn’t have any really bad weather – just a few heavy rain days.’ More...