Anna Maria News

Less than an hour before a scheduled school board budget workshop, parents and their children, along with community supporters, flanked the doorway to the Manatee County School District administrative offices Monday chanting support for teachers.

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, left, took time to listen to issues of concern with Ed Natkie, right, of the Mount Vernon community near Cortez and others following a town hall meeting May 11 at Holmes Beach City Hall.

Just about every Anna Maria Island resident could have told Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau director Elliott Falcione that tourism to the island was up in 2012.

Dozens and dozens of families came out Saturday afternoon to watch rubber ducks race down the Manatee River, all for a good cause.

ANNA MARIA Artspace Studios and Gallery, located on Anna Maria Island, will be hosting an artist's reception for local photographer, Christian Ulanch, on Friday, May 17 from 5:30-7:30 PM.

Fresh seafood that's cooked to order is what reels you in to Cedar Reef Fish Camp restaurant, but it's the "mom and pop" feel that completes the experience.

Mother's Day is the perfect time to treat the moms, grandmas, sisters and aunts in your life! Celebrate the holiday, which falls on Sunday, May 12 this year, by enjoying a delicious meal at a favorite restaurant in Sarasota.

From left, Heiko Knipfelberg, Brian Dennis, Sylvia Marnie, Cathy Hansel-Edgerton, Miriam Ring and Robin Rhodes , star in the Island Players production of "37 Postcards." The play is directed by Phyllis Elfenbein and stage managers Bobbie Berger and Ruth Stevens.

Holmes Beach selected Steven M. "Steve" Seibert at an April 30 special meeting to serve as special master to preside over the city's dispute with Mainsail.

March 2013 marked the 23rd month of the past 24 that resort tax collections by the Manatee County Tax Collector's Office exceeded the same month's collections the previous year.

The restaurant will award five $1,000 scholarships, Applicants must be a graduating senior from a Manatee County School District public high school, have at least a 3.0 GPA and plan to enroll in a full time Culinary Arts, Hotel/Restaurant Management or Hospitality related preparatory program at an accredited trade or technical school or an ... (more)

Now, if you're wondering what is up with all the ducks -- here's the deal. After some diligent tagging Saturday by a gaggle of PACE volunteers , they'll be unleashed en masse along the Manatee River as part of the Lucky Ducky Race for PACE at the Bradenton Riverwalk.

Food, wine and art lovers came out to Anna Maria on Saturday for an afternoon filled with good eats and good spirits.

Anna Maria Island is in line to receive $3 million in state dollars for beach restoration, since the shoreline was damaged in Tropical Storm Debby.

Food and Wine on Pine features "vignettes," small clusters where food and wine are offered and musicians perform.PHOTO PROVIDED The event is called Food and Wine on Pine, but organizer Caryn Hodge said the name tells only part of the story.

The city of Holmes Beach responded at its April 23 commission meeting to an April 18 filing of a petition for relief by attorney Robert Lincoln representing the Mainsail development team.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 4 on historic Pine Avenue in the city of Anna Maria.

As part of the nation's 2013 National Arbor Day observance, a 12-foot live oak tree was planted Friday at Hidden Lake Park at 1720 12th St.

Don't look now but the Anna Maria Oyster Bar owner recently taught a hospitality management class for the University of South Florida Sarasota/Manatee's hospitality school.

Could Florida's best beach bar be right here in Bradenton? Several area establishments are in the running for this year's "Best Florida Beach Bar" crown, as chosen by readers of floridabeachbar.com . Voting in the online contest runs through April 30.