Bayfest was hot, hot, hot

ANNA MARIA – It has been an unusual summer weatherwise and Bayfest fell victim to the climate this year, although not enough to put a damper on things.

Friday night was perfect as the crowd gathered for the food and music. The field where the stage was located was busy with diners and dancers.

Vendors sold jewelry, décor and other items in one area and the food servers drew long lines near the street. There was a huge tent with tables and chairs where people could enjoy a meal with the music that was onstage. More...

Landmark business forced to move

HOLMES BEACH – The owners of Island Auto Repair have been asked by the property owner to vacate the Marina Drive location the local business has occupied for the past 25 years.

According to Aaron Rickerson, who co-owns the business with his parents Rick and Judi, the family received notice via a handwritten letter delivered approximately two weeks ago, asking them to leave the premises by Sunday, Dec. 1.More...

Tourist funds slated for pier repair

BRADENTON BEACH – Up to $1 million in resort tax funds will be used to renovate the historic Bridge Street Pier in a dollar-for-dollar match with the city of Bradenton Beach.

The Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) voted unanimously on Monday to recommend that the Manatee County Commission approve the partnership between the county and the city. The commission is expected to vote on the issue in December. More...

'Dolphin Tale' opens Movies in the Park

The city of Holmes Beach will host its inaugural Movies in the Park movie screening at 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25.

"Dolphin Tale" will be the first film screened at this free, family-friendly event. Starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson, “Dolphin Tale” tells the true story of a bottlenose dolphin rescued off the Florida coast in 2005 and fitted with a prosthetic tail. More...

20/20 spotlights Morris case

BRADENTON BEACH – ABC’s 20/20 program featured the Sheena Morris case on Friday, Oct. 18, spotlighting Morris’ mother, Kelly Osborn, who rejects the city police department’s conclusion that Morris committed suicide.

Morris’ body was found hanging from her dog’s leash in a Bradenton Beach hotel room shower on New Year’s Day 2009, after hotel guests called 911 during an argument they overheard between Morris and her fiance, Joe Genoese. Morris also had called 911 to report domestic abuse. More...

A.M. candidates share common views and differences

ANNA MARIA – The four candidates for three city commission seats answered questions and discussed their differences at the Anna Maria Island Sun Candidates Forum at city hall last week. There was civility during the hour-long meeting as the voters present listened to the answers.

Carol Carter began the opening statements with a brief bio and some of her goals. Carter, who lives on Willow Avenue, said she wants to re-establish a balance between the needs of the permanent residents, the businesses and the tourists. Carter, who became a full-time resident in 2006, said she wants the city to enforce the beach laws, traffic laws and regulations that protect the ecosystem and get citizens to help monitor the city during the busy seasons. She believes the county should return more of the tax dollars it collects from the Island to projects here and she would like to see the Tourist Development Council back off the advertising that has drawn massive numbers of tourists to the once-sleepy small Island. More...

H.B. candidates weigh in on local matters

HOLMES BEACH – Taking place at city hall on Tuesday, Oct. 15, The Sun’s candidate forum provided incumbents Pat Morton, Jean Peelen and David Zaccagnino, and political newcomers Carol Soustek, C. Melissa Williams, an opportunity to share their views on city issues.

The top three vote getters in the Nov. 5 election will serve two-year terms and earn $500 per month. More...

Privateers invasion names musical lineup

While Entertainment Chair Bob "Stitch" Dominas continues to put the finishing touches on the Anna Maria Island Privateer's Pirate Invasion 2013 Entertainment Schedule, inquiries are pouring in about the band line-up for the weekend.

"We may have a few surprises to add in and I don't want anyone to miss a minute of fun by watching just this schedule,” he warned. “We arrrr pirates mate, you always have to watch what we have up our flouncy sleeves." More...

Scallops transplanted to bay

LONGBOAT KEY – At the bottom of a white bucket, they look like coarse sand, until one of them squirts itself to the other side of the bucket.

The tiny juvenile scallops checked out the real estate at the bottom of five buckets on Friday, Oct. 11, while Sarasota Bay Watch volunteers readied several boats to take them to their new homes in the shady seagrass beds of Perico Bay and off Long Bar Pointe. More...

Fall fishing fantasy begins

October is one of the best months of the year for angling local waters. A plethora of species both migratory and resident are treated to massive schools of bait fish that have begun the fall migration into the inshore and nearshore waters. Tampa Bay, local passes and the Gulf can be jammed with these voraciously feeding gamefish. Look for them as they slash though schools of bait, showering them skyward, with seagulls and terns likely to be wheeling overhead. If you don’t see action on the top, don’t assume that there are no fish around. Either chum areas with structure or use a top water plug or fly to prospect. Captain Rick Grassett and I did just that last year in October and found some big Spanish mackerel over a reef off Whitney Beach. When we arrived there was no sign of fish or bait, but they were there. We had a fabulous time throwing top water poppers to mackerel approaching six pounds. This time of the year there are also likely to be little tunny (bonito), kingfish and possibly cobia over structure and haunting baitfish schools. More...

Value of waterfront property remains high

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is water, most of which is ocean water. The high percentage of water on our planet does not, however, mean that we have a lot of waterfront land to build on, just the opposite; waterfront land is scarce, which is why there is always a premium to live on the water.

According to Knight Frank, a global independent real estate consulting firm, luxury vacation homes built on the water cost 63 percent more on average than similar properties that are landlocked. More...

How to make a charitable gift from an IRA

For certain individuals there may be an advantage to making donations to qualifying non-profit organizations using funds distributed from their Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA). These distributions, which are passed through to the non-profit organization, are known as Qualifying Charitable Distributions (QCD).

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended the qualified charitable distribution provisions through 2013. A QCD is an otherwise taxable distribution from an IRA owned by an individual who is age 70 1/2 or over that is received by the IRA owner, but then paid to a qualified charity. The IRA owner can exclude from gross income up to $100,000 of a QCD made for a year, and the QCD can be used to satisfy any Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) for the year. More...

Turtle season ending with a bang

As sea turtle season winds to a close on Oct. 31, preliminary statistics indicate that 2013 was a record year for turtle nesting and hatching on Anna Maria Island.

With 370 nests laid and 23,178 hatchlings hatched so far, the turtles beat the record they set last year of 362 nests and 12,645 turtles hatched.

The low hatching number in 2012 was due to Tropical Storm Debby, which destroyed more than 150 nests. More...

American Marine rolls in like a hurricane

The Sun Sports game of the week was a thriller between the only two undefeated teams in the adult co-ed soccer league at the Anna Maria Island Community Center. It featured the 3-0 Florida Discount Signs and Wraps team against the 3-0 Sato Real Estate team.

The Sato Real Estate team struck first early in the first half. At the eight minute mark, Josh Sato picked up the ball out of bounds and threw it in to a sprinting Matt Plummer in front of the net. Plummer perfectly headed the throw in ball past the goalie for the pretty goal. 1-0 Sato Real Estate team. More...

Get healthy at plant-based living festivals

This has probably been the busiest week of my life. My publisher asked me to participate in a large social media campaign to promote my book "Kitchen Divided." In retrospect, I probably should not have agreed to do it between the two largest VegFests in Florida. This past weekend in Tampa and this coming weekend in Orlando. But this was the fourth time that I was going to be speaking at Tampa’s VegFest. And they invited me to speak the very first year they had it when none of my books had even been published yet. So I always like to support organizations that have supported me. More...