Board peeved with pier project

ANNA MARIA — A skeptical city commission cast doubt on the feasibility of a $1 million transportation enhancement grant project that is in the final phases of planning.

Commissioner Jo Ann Mattick, who wrote the original grant for the project before she was elected five years ago, expressed dismay at the commission attitude.

“I can’t believe you don’t want this project,” she said to her fellow commissioners at their Jan. 29 meeting. “It would be so foolish to turn down this project.” More...

Four bid on beach concessions

BRADENTON – Anticipation was high in the financial management office at the county administration building Friday as Melissa Assha opened proposals for the Manatee and Coquina beach concessions.

For Manatee Public Beach, there were four – Blue Wave, a division of Sunrise-Sunset Concessions of Nokomis; Café on the Beach/P.S. Beach Associates; United Park Services of Tampa; and Loggerheads LLC. For Coquina Beach, there were three – all of the above with the exception of Café on the Beach/P.S. Beach Associates. More...

City pier repairs underway

ANNA MARIA — After months of wrangling about who should pay, structural repairs to the city pier are underway.

“The city of Anna Maria has reached an agreement with the pier tenant on the structural repairs identified in the MTCI identified in the MTCI condition assessment report,” Mayor Fran Barford wrote in a memo that City Clerk Alice Baird read to city commissioners at their Jan. 20 meeting. “Within 60 days, the major repairs will be complete.” More...

Suspected counterfeiters cornered, cuffed

BRADENTON BEACH – A man and two women were arrested on Saturday at the Anna Maria Island Inn after a clerk at CVS in Holmes Beach tipped police about receiving counterfeit money.

The clerk told police that a woman bought products with a counterfeit $100 bill, according to Bradenton Beach Police Department Lt. John Cosby. More...

Couple airs a wave of complaints about surfers

HOLMES BEACH – Complaints about surfer parking and behavior on Aqua Lane are enforcement issues and reducing parking is probably not an option, city commissioners said last week.

The pronouncement was in response to complaints aired by a couple who live on Aqua. More...

Ideas abound to improve Sarasota Bay

CITY ISLAND – Innovative ideas to improve water quality in Sarasota Bay struck a chord with about 50 people who attended the inaugural Sarasota Bay Watch Stakeholders' Meeting at Mote Marine Laboratory.

The grassroots group invited several people to address bay-related issues last month at the event, which attracted fishermen, biologists and bayfront residents. More...

Park and ride seen as parking problem answer

BRADENTON BEACH – The Scenic Waves Partnership Parking Subcommittee met on Wednesday, Jan. 27, to address the possibility of additional funding to help solve the city’s lack of parking spaces during season and holidays.

The group, which worked out plans to use parking spaces at Cortez and Coquina beaches and shuttle employees of city businesses and shoppers from their parking spaces to the city’s commercial district with electric shuttles, reinforced their support for those plans at the meeting. More...

City gets grant for public garden

BRADENTON BEACH – If projects and programs manager Lisa Marie Phillips has her way, the African proverb “It take a village to raise a child” will have a new meaning at the Annie Silver Community Center.

The Florida Department of Elder Affairs recently announced that it had awarded a $2,780 mini-grant for an intergenerational activity that will promote community health and safety in Bradenton Beach. More...

Museum explores historic boat illustrations

CORTEZ – To Roger Allen, the boxes might as well have been filled with sunken treasure.

A treasure trove of historic boat sketches has been warehoused, Indiana Jones-style, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., just waiting for the right person to explore them. More...

Historic freeze could have a silver lining

Hopefully, the historic cold weather that has decimated fish stocks state-wide is behind us for this year. It’s only the end of January, but already we’ve experienced the most devastating cold wave in more than a century. The record breaking temperatures caused massive fish kills as far away as Flamingo and Islamorada. Chief among the victims are snook, tarpon, bonefish, cravelle jacks; but species including catfish, grouper, snapper and even mullet perished in large numbers. It seems the worst damage occurred along the lower west coast of Florida in the Everglades near Flamingo. More...

Property sales up, up and away

It’s been a long time coming, some people thought it would never happen, but I had faith. I knew Florida real estate would be the first to level off and start to turn around, I knew that weather, water and wonderful prices would be the tipping point, and here it is just in time for our winter guests. More...

Fix your swing with Cathy Schmidt

During the years I’ve lived in Florida I’ve heard people say you can play golf or you can boat, but you can’t do both. Turns out I was wrong, some people can do both, and Cathy Schmidt, a golf pro who runs The Golf Boot Camp, is one of them. More...

2009: The year of the bond market

The 2009 recovery rally fit the pattern of other early phase recoveries from steep market declines in that lower quality companies tend to experience the largest appreciation from the nadir of the selling panic phase. This trend is sometimes called a junk rally, a risk rally or, most creatively, a dash for trash. More...

Division races heat up halfway through season

It is still anyone’s game at the midway point of the 2010 season, as the standings in each division are still tight with enough games left for a team to step up. The Tortilla Bay Dolphins lead their division with a 6-0 record and the Ross Built Raiders lead their league with the same record. The Tapes Tennis Titans picked up three wins this week and sit atop their division. This past week featured games on Saturday to make up for picture day previously scheduled and postponed for earlier in the season due to inclement weather. The conditions for the makeup games weren’t much better this time around, but every team played on Saturday to provide more exciting football action. For more scores, standings, schedules and information visit www.islandcommunitycenter.com. More...

Events are free unless otherwise indicated.

Thursday, Feb. 4
Card/dessert party, St. Bernard Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach, 1 p.m., bring your cards or games, $10.

Historical Society Jazz Fest, Sandbar restaurant pavilion, 100 Spring Ave., Anna Maria, 3 to 5 p.m. Tickets $6 per person before noon on Feb. 4 at the Historical Museum, 402 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, or $8 at the door.

Bingo, Annie Silver Community Center, 103 23rd St., Bradenton Beach, 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 5
Anna Maria Island Art League workshop on Faces, The Basics of Drawing Portraits with Doug Land, 5312 Holmes Blvd., Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., $35 for members and $40 for nonmembers.

Lecture on “The Human Animal,” by Joe Kerata, Island Community Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, 11 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 6
Island Branch Library book sale, 5701 Marina

Drive, Holmes Beach, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Episcopal Church of the Annunciation white elephant sale, 4408 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bridge Street Market, 107 Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nancy Law will demonstrate painting on wood, Island Gallery West, 5368 Gulf Drive in the S&S Plaza, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. to noon.

Jean Peelen book signing, The Back Alley, 121 Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Afternoon adventure paddle, Robinson Preserve, 99th Street N.W. and 17th Avenue N.W., Bradenton 2 to 4 p.m. Bring your own canoe or kayak and safety gear. Call 941-742-5757, ext. 7, for reservations.

Tuesday, Feb. 9
Reception for artist Hank Cornille, The Studio at Gulf and Pine, 10101 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, 3 to 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 10
Anna Maria Island Art League workshop on Exploring Textures in Watercolor with Joye Moon, 5312 Holmes Blvd., Holmes Beach, Feb. 10 and 11, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., $140 for members and $160 for non-members.

Anna Maria Garden Club Antiques Road Show, Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, 4408 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, three item limit, $5 per item, 5 to 8 p.m.

Save Our Seabirds Valentine Love Birds Food and Wine Tasting, 1708 Ken Thompson Parkway, City Island, 6 to 9 p.m., $35.

Forum on red tide, Mote Marine Laboratory, Keating Marine Education Center, 1599 Ken Thompson Parkway, City Island, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 11
Lecture on the Ringling mansion, Ca d’Zan, by Curator Ron McCarty, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10:30 a.m.

Bingo, Annie Silver Community Center, 103 23rd St., Bradenton Beach, 7 p.m.

Kiwanis Valentine Dance, Community Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, 8 to 11 p.m., $15.