Island Volunteers Give Nesting Turtles A Helping Hand
Turtle Nest
By. J. Hunter Sizemore, The Bradenton Herald
ANNA MARIA ISLAND — A distinct track in the sand, some dug-up plants and possibly a clutch of eggs are the only signs of a mother turtle’s nocturnal visit to the beach.
But at sunrise twice a week, Tom and Lois Huntington pull on their Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch T-shirts and search for these markings by the pink glow of early morning.
From late spring to mid-fall, about 70 volunteers take turns searching Anna Maria Island’s Gulf side beaches for turtle nests: marking them off, logging data and protecting them. The information is used to protect the turtle’s nesting grounds from development and misuse that might further harm these already-endangered species.
Statewide in 2009, 2,748 people helped in some way to monitor the 800 miles of turtle-nesting beaches along Florida’s coast. All of it is covered on foot or by all-terrain vehicle every morning from March to October, says Anne Meylan, a research administrator for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Baby Loggerhead Sea Turtle
This group includes some government and military employees, but it is largely made up of volunteer citizens.
“It’s a partnership,” Meylan said. “If it didn’t exist, then collecting all of this data would be impossible.”
As of Friday, volunteers had found 130 turtle nests on the island this season, and so far almost 1,100 baby turtles had hatched and made their way to the Gulf of Mexico.
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You Never Know Who You Will Catch at The Rod & Reel Pier
By RICHARD DYMOND - rdymond@bradenton.com
Erica Webb, the bartender at the historic Rod & Reel Pier Restaurant on North Shore Drive in Anna Maria, says the best thing about the place is that you always meet someone interesting there.
A sampling of the Sunday crowd turned up, in this order, a treasure hunter with an eBay account, an opera singer who is also a paranormal investigator and a super serious fisherman from Lakeland. Not a bad haul and well below the legal limit.
But the 300-foot pier, said to be one of only several privately owned piers in Florida, seems to attract those accomplished in the much ignored art of doing little to relax from doing much.
It has always been not much more than it was when built in 1947 — a bunch of boards strung together out over Tampa Bay with quaint bar, bait shop and restaurant at the tip.
But there, with a fishing pole in her hand, was Brenda Delhotal, a soprano in the Elgin Opera in Illinois and a member of the Elgin Paranormal Investigators.
Wearing a neon pink top and a yellow hat, Delhotal said she trekked to Anna Maria from Illinois with her sister and friend Lydia Hanson all because of her husband, Augie.
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Former Tidemark to Become Reality Under Mainsail Development
Buildings surround the marina in this architect's rendering of the Mainsail development in Holmes Beach.
By Pat Copeland – Sun Staff Writer
June 30, 2010
HOLMES BEACH – Joe Collier, president of Mainsail Development of Tampa, unveiled drawings by the architectural firm of Cooper, Johnson, Smith for the Mainsail Lodge and condos at 5325 Marina Drive.
“We should have construction drawings by early fall,” Collier said. “Our goal is to have the building permit before the end of the year.
“We have a nice amount of reservations – about eight. We’ll work on pricing over the next 30 to 45 days.”
He said the Mainsail marina complex would have 37 units. In addition, there is a 62-slip marina with boats and fishing guides and a lodge is planned.
“We have been sprucing up the trailer there and added boats and lifts,” he said.
Collier said the company has sold four units and is about to sell a fifth at the Beach Inn, its other Island condo complex at 101 66th Street. Units are being sold as a modified condo/hotel, and when the owner is not using a unit, it is a hotel rental.
The Mainsail Lodge and Marina, formerly the Tidemark Lodge and Marina, was begun by Nick Easterling in 2001. Easterling filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and in 2005, Reliance Realty Partners joined the project and the bankruptcy was resolved.
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Litten Book Features Anna Maria Island Photography
Holmes Beach photographer Craig Litten has published a book of photos on Anna Maria Island subjects, including this banyan tree PHOTOS/CRAIG LITTEN
Cindy Lane – Sun Staff Writer
July 7, 2010
HOLMES BEACH – Former photojournalist Craig Litten has published a book of photographs of Anna Maria Island focusing on the lesser-known angles of the much–photographed destination.
Artistic renderings of tree roots, power lines, clouds and beach toys add seasoning to familiar beach locales in the hardcover book, available from the author.
The book has been used by two bridal couples as a guest book for their Island weddings, said Litten, a Holmes Beach resident who has photos on display at The Back Alley on Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach and at Ginny and Jane E’s in Anna Maria.
“I started shooting it because I was inspired by the Island,” said Litten, who relocated here with his wife from Daytona Beach, where he worked for the News-Journal.
A Florida newspaper photographer since 1988, Litten estimates he has had more than 10,000 pictures published worldwide in newspapers, magazines, books and on the Internet.
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Is An Outdoor Kitchen Right For You?
By FrontDoor.com
Perfect for the entertainer and culinary connoisseur, an outdoor kitchen brings the heart of the home into the open air and extends a home’s living space.
A great option for those who love to entertain outdoors but hate having to run back and forth with utensils, plates, food and more, an outdoor kitchen can be a very practical way of utilizing time and energy as well as creating a special spot to bring family and friends together.
CURRENT TRENDS
The outdoor kitchen has taken cooking and entertaining to levels that far exceed the standalone charcoal grill.
Accessories such as sub-zero refrigerators, stoves, bread warmers, wine coolers, custom cabinetry, soaker sinks, barbecue, even kegorators for serving beer are now being implemented into outdoor kitchen design.
An outdoor kitchen can now do the duties of a professional chef’s kitchen, all while being steps away from the pool area or fire pit.
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Mortgage Rates Drop to Lowest Level In Five Decades
Alan Zibel
The Associated Press
July 2, 2010
WASHINGTON – July 2, 2010 – Mortgage rates have sunk to the lowest level in more than five decades, but consumers aren’t rushing to refinance their loans or buy homes.
Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.58 percent this week.
That’s down from the previous record of 4.69 percent set last week and the lowest since the mortgage company began keeping records in 1971. The last time they were cheaper was the 1950s, when most long-term home loans lasted just 20 or 25 years.
Rates have fallen over the past two months. Investors wary of the European debt crisis and the stock market have shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, driving down yields. Mortgage rates tend to track the yields on long-term Treasury’s.
On Wednesday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note dropped to 2.95 percent. That was the first time it has fallen below 3 percent since April 2009, when the markets were beginning to recover from the financial crisis.
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Existing Home Sales Up In April
WASHINGTON (May 24, 2010) – Existing-home sales rose again in April with buyers motivated by the tax credit, improving consumer confidence and favorable affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales1, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 7.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.77 million units in April from an upwardly revised 5.36 million in March, and are 22.8 percent higher than the 4.70 million-unit pace in April 2009. Monthly sales rose 7.0 percent in March.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the gain was widely anticipated. “The upswing in April existing-home sales was expected because of the tax credit inducement, and no doubt there will be some temporary fallback in the months immediately after it expires, but other factors also are supporting the market,” he said. “For people who were on the sidelines, there’s been a return of buyer confidence with stabilizing home prices, an improving economy and mortgage interest rates that remain historically low.”
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Memorial Day Weekend – In a Word…Fabulous!
By Tom Vaught – Sun Staff Writer
June 2, 2010
They came to the beach this Memorial Day just like they have since the first bridge to the Island was built and they came despite the ongoing oil spill on the other side of the Gulf.
Memorial Day was a day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, a day to forget the grim news headlines and a day to enjoy the beautiful weather on Anna Maria Island’s beaches.
Beautiful Weather and Perfect Water Temperatures Kept The Beaches Full For The Entire Memorial Day Weekend
“We’ve had strong crowds of people all three days of the weekend,” said Capt. Joe Westerman, lifeguard for the Manatee County Department of Safety stationed at Coquina Beach. “It’s been busy, but we haven’t had any big problems.”
Meanwhile, businesses that deal with visitors to the beach were doing well.
“We’ve done real well this holiday,” said JoAnne Spallino, who owns Joe’s Eats and Sweets with her husband, Joe.
“This holiday was a lot busier than last year’s.”
Lauren Sato, co-owner of Beach Bum’s in Anna Maria, said that they had a great holiday renting electric vehicles, bikes and beach related items.
“We had a record high for Memorial Day,” she said. “The majority of our customers came from Bradenton, Apopka, Lakeland and Orlando.”
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