Mayor, commissioners square off

BRADENTON BEACH – Monday afternoon, the city commission decided by 4-1 vote to initiate forfeiture of office proceedings against embattled Mayor Bill Shearon, with the caveat that an alternative proposal may be presented at a follow up meeting tentatively scheduled for Monday, Oct. 6.

Shearon pleaded with commissioners to take a more measured approach, but it was Commissioner Janie Robertson who cast the lone vote in in opposition to moving forward with forfeiture proceedings.

She warned her fellow commissioners that any decisions rendered regarding the removal of the mayor may be appealed and might subject commissioners, individually or collectively, to future lawsuits. More...

War of words exchanged at city commission

BRADENTON BEACH – Mayor Bill Shearon was the subject of intense scrutiny during last week’s commission work session.

By meeting’s end, Vice Mayor Jack Clarke had requested a special meeting on Monday to initiate forfeiture of office proceedings against the mayor.

“Since coming into office, the mayor has used the metaphor of being the captain of a ship. In just over 300 days, our city, the ship, has been repeatedly taken off course and directed into the eye of many storms,” Clarke said, when launching into his 25-minute speech. More...

Sousa named fire chief

BRADENTON – In a unanimous vote, West Manatee fire commissioners approved Capt. Tom Sousa as the district’s chief to take over when Fire Chief Andy Price retires in April 2015.

Prior to the vote, Chair Scott Ricci said they had three choices – to approve of Sousa, to approve of Deputy Chief Brett Pollock, who also was seeking the job, or continue the search outside the district. He said he was concerned that neither candidate had budget experience and added, “That scares me.” More...

Building moratorium OK’d again

ANNA MARIA – The land along Magnolia Avenue east or Ginny’s and Jane E’s is being filled in with houses and neighbors found out some startling facts recently that prompted City Commissioner Carol Carter to call an emergency meeting Monday.

“We found out that some of the permits were for six and eight bedrooms in an area of two and three bedroom houses,” she told the meeting. “That’s transient housing and the comprehensive plan needs to be changed.” More...

Sabine case figure arrested

A figure in the disappearance of Haley’s Motel co-owner Sabine Musil-Buehler has been arrested and charged with burglary.

Robert Corona, 43, of Bradenton, was arrested Wednesday, Sept. 17, after a witness claimed to have seen him walk out of the victim’s back yard, around 2 p.m. at 1408 11h St. W.

When contacted by police, the victim said the shed had been burglarized Aug. 26, and the victim identified Corona as the person walking out of the shed on that date. More...

Judge upholds code board on tree house

HOLMES BEACH – Circuit Judge Janette Dunnigan last week upheld the Code Enforcement Board’s 2013 order regarding the tree house at Angelino’s Sea Lodge, 103 29th St., owned by Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen.

“We have reviewed the circuit court judge's decision with our lawyer, and we believe that we have legitimate grounds to seek review of the judge's decision by the District Court of Appeal, Second District,” Tran said after learning of the judge’s decision. More...

City clerk returns

BRADENTON BEACH – City Clerk Gia Lancaster returned to work Monday morning, after missing more than two weeks to attend to an undisclosed personal matter.

Friday morning, Lancaster, City Attorney Ricinda Perry and Mayor Bill Shearon huddled in the mayor’s office for more than an hour to discuss the clerk’s return. The trio emerged from Shearon’s office at 11:23 a.m., with smiles on the faces. More...

Bridge study results released

BRADENTON BEACH – The future of the Cortez Bridge remains uncertain, but if the people who voted at a meeting at St. Bernard Church Aug. 28 had their way, the drawbridge would be replaced by a mid-sized drawbridge.

The results of the vote from those attending the public information meeting held by the Florida Department of Transportation showed 72 percent of the 60 voters wanted to replace the current bridge, which was build in the mid-1950s, 23 percent wanted to rehabilitate the bridge and 11 percent wanted to repair the bridge as needed. More...

Parking and congestion dominate meeting

LONGBOAT KEY – Island elected officials focused on parking and congestion at their monthly meeting last week.

“We continue to struggle with congestion,” Anna Maria Mayor SueLynn said. “The cities should work together.”

Holmes Beach Mayor Carmel Monti suggested an Island-wide traffic analysis, congestion study or parking analysis. He said the city is getting valuable information from its new speed signs that can track the time of day, number of vehicles, speed of each vehicle, top speed, average speed and low speed. More...

Floridians lead the charge

It's the dog days of summer. By September we have all had enough of the heat. Some years the storms are threatening – knock on wood, so far. There's nothing to speak of coming off our farms right now. Our cover crops are in at Gamble, and our seedlings are coming up in the greenhouse for the start of the fall season. This will be our first fall crop at Gamble Creek Farm. Eric Geraldson, our farmer manager, has been joined by his son, Ryan, and together they have put together a really exciting grow plan for all of our restaurants.

Our local delicacy, grey striped mullet, are starting to fatten up and Captain Anthony Manali is supplying them to all three of our restaurants. If you haven't tried mullet, which is one of the ultimate sustainable fish species that also happens to be super healthy, due in part to its high omega three fat content, then I encourage you to do so. More...

Fishing with Captain Rob Gilbert

When Steve Traves first mentioned the young guide he had met, I didn’t make the association with a man who was very well known in the Sarasota/Manatee area in the early 80s. When Traves arranged an afternoon of fishing with Captain Rob Gilbert, he mentioned that his grandfather was Ad Gilbert, a name I knew very well. Although I didn’t know Gilbert personally, I did know him by his reputation, so I asked my good friend Captain Rick Grassett about his memories of the elder Gilbert.

Grassett related, “I met Ad Gilbert when I first started guiding in the early 90s. At the time, he was a recently retired educator, I think a teacher and a principal. I knew him as a fishing guide, fly shop owner in Venice and mentor to many aspiring fly anglers back in the day. More...

Wanted – a home for my boat

You’ve heard the old adage, the happiest days in a boat owner’s life is the day he buys a boat and the day he sells it. But if you’re one of those boating diehards who never want to experience the day you sell your boat, then you may be looking for a home for your floating obsession.

Everyone who lives in Florida wants to live on the water. After all, that’s the reason most of us are here. However, purchasing a home on the Gulf of Mexico or Tampa Bay comes with a premium. If you also happen to be a boat owner, then that premium gets even more expensive. Since maintaining a permanent boat dock directly on the Gulf or the bay is not an option, you will have to pay separately for dock space away from your waterfront home. More...

Quiet markets won’t last forever

Investors have been enjoying an unusual period where the wind has been at the back of most major asset classes for the last few years. With the exception of commodities, which continue to do poorly in 2014, and emerging markets equities, which were poor performers until perking up this year, all other major asset classes have turned in good performances since the end of the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The great returns have also come in a period of extremely low volatility where daily price swings have been small compared to historical levels and mostly in the upward direction.

Our human nature tends to build confidence after periods where making money has been relatively easy and without a lot of stress. Of course, history has shown us these periods have never lasted forever. The current upward trend in stock prices is now the fourth longest ever, and there is evidence that some of the money fueling the run is being invested by individual investors. More...