Vol. 12 No. 38 - July 4, 2012

news

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryOfficials ponder beaches’ future

BRADENTON BEACH – The sand that was washed away from Coquina Beach by Tropical Storm Debby might end up on shores of Holmes Beach or Anna Maria, according to Manatee County Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker. That means the southern beaches of Anna Maria Island will be more vulnerable to erosion than many would deem comfortable. The federal government might have a solution, but the question is, “how soon?”

A renourishment project takes a long time to initiate with mounds of paperwork and permit applications. More...

AMI Art League to reopen for classes

HOLMES BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Art League, which closed May 11, apparently is poised to reopen.

In a surprise announcement on Friday, Art League Board President Laura McGeary sent out an e-mail saying classes would resume in July.

“We never really closed,” McGeary said when contacted. “We’re making adjustments. We have no set hours at this point, but when we have a regular schedule, we’ll let you know.” More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryDebby carves, shifts shoreline

BRADENTON BEACH – Surfers and anglers rejoice. It appears there is money in the county budget to replace all three groins that have fallen into ruin along Cortez and Coquina beaches.

That’s the word from Bradenton Beach Police Lt. John Cosby, a member of the city’s Capital Improvements Projects (CIP) Committee, at the group’s June 20 meeting. More...

Mayor weighs in on FAR

HOLMES BEACH – The Holmes Beach Commission’s attempt to regulate vacation rentals using a floor/area ratio (FAR) requirement could invalidate the city’s existing rental regulations under a state law passed last year, Mayor Rich Bohnenberger says.

In a memo to commissioners, the mayor expressed concern last week about their recent work session vote favoring FAR in the R-2 zoning district, where duplex vacation rentals are common.

Residents in the district have complained for months about overcrowding, noise, trash and other problems in the large, multi-bedroom duplexes. More...

Still time to see some great fireworks displays

Catch the legal fireworks on the beach for two nights on Anna Maria Island. The BeachHouse restaurant, 200 Gulf Drive N., will launch the largest show of the three nights of fireworks on Tuesday, July 3. On Wednesday, July 4, the show moves to the Sandbar, 100 Spring Ave., in Anna Maria. Both shows start after sundown, weather permitting. Mar Vista, on Longboat Key, was home of the first fireworks display on Monday, July 2. Law enforcement officers remind everyone not to bring their own fireworks to the beach celebrations. Any fireworks that fly or explode are illegal in Manatee County and will be confiscated. More...

Jump in the turtle pool

BRADENTON BEACH – How many sea turtle nests will be laid this season?

If you guess right, you can win half of a 50/50 cash prize, with the other half benefiting Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.

The idea was hatched by Privateer-turned-D.J. Tim “Hammer” Thompson of WAMI-AM radio as he spoke with AMITW’s director, Suzi Fox, about this year’s turtle nesting season on his radio program, “Hammer in the Morning,” which airs from 7-10 a.m. Monday through Friday. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryAnimal cruelty suspect Baker Acted

A Key Royale resident was arrested June 16 and charged with killing a white egret because it ate a fish from his front yard fishpond.

Holmes Beach Police arrested 74-year-old Laurie Miles Pardee, Jr. after witnesses said he shot the bird, beat it with a net and stomped it to death because it ate a Koi from his pond in front of his house. He was charged with felony cruelty to animals and discharging a firearm in public. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission also charged him with unlawful taking of a migratory bird. More...

City board brainstorms rental ideas

ANNA MARIA – Commissioners continued to seek ways to address problems created by high intensity use of rental properties.

Chair Chuck Webb said recently there were 19 vehicles parked along Magnolia Avenue from people renting two houses, and the city needs to find ways to regulate problem vacation rentals.

Commissioner SueLynn said one man who complained about a vacation rental had his vehicle vandalized and received threats.

“We still have a long way to go,” she stressed. “Anything we can do to manage the problem will help.” More...



features

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryWildlife needs your help

Anna Maria Island is a great place to enjoy wildlife, and there are many ways you can help make sure that flora and fauna will be here to enjoy this time next year, and long into the future.

Sea turtles

It’s sea turtle season from May 1 to Oct. 31, when threatened loggerhead turtles lay their nests and hatchlings burst out of them, making a break for the Gulf of Mexico, dodging predators from the air and the water. More...



OUTDOORS

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryJack cravelle: Bull dogs of the sea

Jack Cravelle are not a target species of most anglers who fish with fly, spin or bait casters. The majority of these fish are caught inshore by anglers looking for trout, redfish, snook and other species. Small Jack cravelle are even considered trash fish by many anglers, but once they hook one over five pounds they usually have a new appreciation of these bull dogs of the sea.

During the summer months, it’s not uncommon to see large schools of big Jack cravelle along local beaches where they pursue schools of baitfish. While even small Jacks can put up a feisty battle, larger members of the species are incredibly challenging. A big Jack on the west coast will run about 15 to 20 pounds and can put up an awe inspiring fight. It’s not uncommon for a 10- to 15-pound fish to fight for 15 to 20 minutes on a 12-weight fly rod used for tarpon. More...



real estate

Let fireworks inspire your color palette

It’s the Fourth of July - time for the sky to serve as a backdrop for blasts of colorful fireworks celebrating our nation’s freedom. But what about the walls in your house? Do they also serve as a backdrop for color and diversity? If not, this could be the year you stop playing it safe.

Since the housing crisis began and the financial crisis took our breath away, Americans have retreated to the safety of their homes. Most of us are eating more meals at home, less four-star restaurants; more stay-vacations, less South of France; and more neutral colors and less Brazil. Our big ticket items especially have tended to be neutral - cars, furniture, floor coverings - almost as if we’re looking for the color equivalent of comfort food; mac and cheese instead of paella. More...



business

Anna Maria Island Sun News StoryLocal business makes protective electronics cases

ANNA MARIA – Some might call it a tragedy, but to Rita Payne, the day she dropped her $800 iPad in her driveway and it shattered into a thousand pieces became her lucky day.

“I had already gone through three phones by dropping them, so I went to the Apple store and asked for a case to keep my electronics safe,” she recalled. “All they had was a piece of plastic that goes over the screen. It offered no protection at all. More...

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

Safe withdrawal rates: Part II

Investment Corner

In Part I of this article two weeks ago we reviewed the concept of the safe withdrawal rate from diversified investment portfolios, as originated by William Bengen, a California-based financial planner who pioneered this concept about 20 years ago. His conclusion was that the safe withdrawal rate from a diversified portfolio, allowing for inflation adjustments, was 4.5 percent per year. At this withdrawal rate, a portfolio should last 30 years before the owner would run out of money. More...



turtles

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story Debby hits turtles hard

Just about this time each year on Anna Maria Island beaches, the first sea turtle nest of the season hatches.

When it does, it will be even more of a joy than usual, since Tropical Storm Debby wreaked havoc last week with the loggerheads, a threatened species.

Beaches were eroded so badly that some nests were uncovered; Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring relocated five nests to higher ground, including a rare, endangered green turtle nest. More...



SPORTS

Summer sports off to great start

Youth Indoor Soccer

(5-7 year-olds) Results:

Bowes Imaging Center  14
Southern Greens  5
Alessandro Rincon scored 12 goals and Aliva Enzo chipped in with two for the Bowes Imaging Center win. Travis Bates scored all five for the Southern Greens team. More...

A marathon of epic proportions

Feasting on Fitness

It has been one wild and crazy thing after another. Seriously, I moved back to Florida in 2004 to chill and make some tracks after putting a few folks in jail as a TV investigative/consumer reporter for 18 years in Miami and St. Louis. Thought I would do a little running and racing and call it a life. Ha. Maybe runners are just born-to-run Type As. I’ve never been busier, and it shows no sign of slowing. It all started when that little book I wrote (“Eat Vegan on $4 a Day) got published a year ago this month and became my publisher’s best seller. As he likes to say, “It takes decades to be an overnight sensation.” More...


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