GOIN' COASTAL

What appeared to be a record crowd attended the 17th annual Community Center Tour of Homes Saturday, keeping two shuttle buses running at capacity all day and raising an estimated $33,000 for Center programs.

"I think it's a lot of fun," Alicia Dettling, of Bradenton and Minnesota, said. "I really appreciate the variety of homes. They're not all million dollar homes." More...

Get ready for beach pipes this week

BRADENTON BEACH – Crews from Great Lakes Dock and Dredge have brought in all of the pipes they need for this year's $12.98 million renourishment project and they will start laying pipes on the beach in anticipation of the first phase of the job on Cortez and Coquina Beaches.

That's the latest from Coastal Planning and Engineering coastal engineer Michelle Rees, who said they are still on track for an April 1 start. More...

Bridge work at night

A maintenance project on the Anna Maria Island Bridge on State Road 64, will cause lane closures Monday through Wednesday, March 28 through 30, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., according to the Florida Department of Transportation. Flaggers will control traffic during the lane closures. Motorists are advised to use caution while in the area and expect possible delays. More...

Win a TV or diamond jewelry at the Affaire

ANNA MARIA – Lucky ticket holders have two great prizes to look forward to at the Affaire to Remember, "A Magic Moment with Lee Greenwood," on Saturday, April 2, at the Island Community Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

Couch potatoes can line up for a Vizio 55-inch LED Internet television sponsored by Lutz, Bobo and Telfair, PA. Tickets are one for $5, three for $10 or seven for $20. More...

Water taxi plan floated

As traffic snarls reach their annual peak on Anna Maria Island, a local sailboat excursion operator is pursuing a plan to provide an alternative to cars.

A regularly scheduled water shuttle service based on the Island could ferry passengers to and from the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach, Catcher's Marina in Holmes Beach, the city pier in Anna Maria, Coquina Beach Bayside Park, Cortez, and Fort DeSoto Park and the Bay Pier in Pinellas County, said Tracey Dell, of Idylwild Enterprises of Delaware. More...

Privateers move picnic to pier

ANNA MARIA – The Anna Maria Island Privateers will celebrate their 40th anniversary picnic during the Anna Maria City Pier's Centennial Celebration in the pier's north parking lot, the centennial committee learned last week.

The picnic, originally scheduled at 4 p.m. at Bayfront Park, will be moved to the parking lot due to safety concerns about people walking over the steep humpback bridge that separates the pier from the park, Anna Maria Mayor Mike Selby said. In addition, activities at the park fall under county regulations that prohibit alcohol, which will be sold at the picnic. More...

Easter bonnet contest on Pine Avenue

Whether you're an experienced Easter bonnet maker or taking your first shot at it, here's a chance to show off your skills and creativity by entering in the first ever Anna Maria Easter Bonnet Contest.

The Sandbar restaurant and the Pine Avenue Restoration Company (PAR) are sponsoring this event during the Easter Egg Roll on Pine Avenue on Saturday, April 23. They will host an Easter Bonnet contest at 11 a.m. in front of Anna Maria Island Accommodations at 315 Pine Ave. Two contests will take place, one for adults and one for children. This is seriously fun business, and judges will be looking for the most original bonnet. More...

Messing with bottles

Growing up in the rugged coves of Nova Scotia, we spent a lot of time throwing rocks.

There was not much else to throw, and God knows there were a lot of rocks.

Some of our rock throwing may have had religious significance. There was a preponderance of Protestants in front of our rocks.

The Protestants were fun to throw at because they threw back. More...

The secret to fishing

One of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten about fishing came from Captain Scott Moore. When he first told me, "Fish move around," the statement seemed self evident, but over time the implications became more nuanced. Another piece of fishing wisdom was gleaned from Captain Rick Grassett in his statement, "You don't know until you go." If there is a secret to fishing I think these two seasoned guides summed it up. More...

The future of Florida is looking sunny

Wine and caviar – Cortez style

CORTEZ – A former Anna Maria Island resident has gone bicoastal, pairing bottarga from Cortez with Lola from Napa Valley for a successful business recipe.

Bottarga is mullet roe caught locally, then pressed and dried with sea salt. It's also known as poutargue in France, karasumi in Japan and Taiwan and avgotaraho in Greece.

Lola is Pinot Noir wine, invented and introduced to the world in 2008 by Seth Cripe, who is also in the bottarga business. More...

Dealing with natural disasters as an investor

In light of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan almost two weeks ago, I thought some perspective on how investors should react to natural disasters might be appropriate. Obviously, the financial markets will have already reacted by the time you are reading this, but the lessons from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan are at least a bit similar to the lesson of Hurricane Katrina and other past natural disasters and may be beneficial to consider for future events.

Obviously, our thoughts are with the Japanese people as they struggle through this difficult time, but as an investor, it is important to separate the human disaster from the economic impact and the resulting impact on asset values in your portfolio. More...

AMICC NFL March madness

After the longest and largest sports season the Community Center has ever had, it all comes down to one mad week of games. The Anna Maria Island Community Center's NFL Flag Football regular season is over and the playoff picture is finally set.

Thirty-three teams started play more than 12 weeks ago and now it all culminates with a rush of playoff games this week and a Super Bowl on Saturday. Some teams will have to test their endurance and drive playing up to three back to back days if they want to be crowned champions. More...

Obesity cure – race with kids

I recently wrote about running the Senior Olympics for the first time. If I had competed in the national games held in 2009, I would have placed 7th in the 1500 meter race, and 8th in the 800 meter race. I gave it my all, so much so, that my #1 rule of personal training, "listen to your body," gave me early warning signs about my next race.

That race was to be the Sarasota Half Marathon on March 13. The 13.1 mile path takes runners over the Ringling Bridge twice and through some beautiful neighborhoods. But my little aches told me that 13 miles was too much, even though I'd run that race the past two years. This was the first year for relays. At the last minute, I teamed up with Riley Paige Dunn, a member of the Manatee High Girls' Cross Country and Track teams. I am the assistant volunteer coach and knew that Riley had just run the Disney Princess Half Marathon and didn't want to do another half so close together. So we registered under the name she chose, Team Rellen. Other fun team names included, Hot Mommas, Cupcakes, and Quicken.More...