- Named Best Florida Newspaper In Its Class -
VOL 23 No. 37
May 10, 2023
Seafood Shack sale may eliminate Annie’s Annie’s Bait and Tackle is part of the parcel for sale that includes the Seafood Shack. BY LESLIE LAKE
SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
CORTEZ – A very unique bit of old Florida may soon be gone. Annie’s Bait and Tackle, 4334 127th St. W., is part of a parcel including the Seafood Shack restaurant and marina that is for sale at an asking price of $15 million. “I heard about this through the rumor mill,” said Bruce Shearer, Annie’s co-owner with Kim Shepherd. “I heard secondhand there are six people interested in it, and four would like to keep things the way they are. I hope whoever buys it keeps things the way they are.” Annie’s, which has been serving fishermen since 1957 and has been owned by Shearer and Shepherd for more than 20 years, is a
Cortezian breaks state record with backyard pumpkin LESLIE LAKE | SUN
go-to place for whatever is needed for a day on the water, as well as a cozy waterfront lunch or dinner spot. Annie’s sells bait and tackle, beer, ice, food and gas. “Our motto is, ‘If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.’ When we started this place, I knew if I didn’t have everything I couldn’t stay in business,’’ Shearer said. “There really is nothing else like this. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.” Shearer, 70, said while he can retire comfortably, he hopes that won’t be the case. “I really like working. I’m here every day,” he said. “I would miss the friendship. I have met a lot of nice people here.” Shearer acknowledged that Annie’s ramshackle building just north of the Cortez Bridge may be off-putting to some tourists, but he said that locals and regular customers understand the value of Annie’s. SEE ANNIE’S, PAGE 25
Proposed vacation rental legislation fails The city of Anna Maria led statewide opposition to the proposed vacation rental legislation. BY JOE HENDRICKS
Cortez resident Tim Caniff stands behind his record-breaking pumpkin.
SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
The great pumpkin weighs in at 1,039 pounds, a new state record.
It was a nearly two-hour long process on Saturday morning to get the pumpkin out of the garden and into the back of Caniff’s truck to get it weighed. Fellow fisherman Tim Murphy, who helped with the pumpkin’s move, told Caniff, “Two kings are going to be crowned today. One in England and one in Cortez.” Prior to Saturday morning’s weigh-in, Caniff, a commercial fisherman for Cortez Bait and Seafood, had fashioned a hoist from a bait net scoop, with rope and chains to lift the oversized fruit (a pumpkin is a fruit, not a vegetable). Once lifted, a wooden pallet was pushed under
TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Legislature has failed in its efforts to preempt the regulation of short-term vacation rentals to the state. During the 60-day legislative session that concluded on May 5, the Florida Senate and House of Representatives both proposed preempting the regulation of short-term vacation rentals (also known as transient public lodging establishments) to the Florida Department of Professional and Business Regulation (DBPR). Doing so would have severely limited city and county governments’ ability to regulate and inspect short-term vacation rentals at the local level. The proposed legislation would have prohibited city and county governments from imposing and enforcing occupancy limits and would have also ended their ability to regulate and enforce short-term vacation rental advertising by online platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
SEE PUMPKIN, PAGE 25
SEE RENTALS, PAGE 28
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
CORTEZ – What started out as a casual pastime for Cortez resident and backyard farmer Tim Caniff has turned into a serious statewide agriculture record. At 1,039 pounds, Caniff’s great pumpkin - grown in his backyard – has blown the previous state record out of the water by more than 400 pounds. “This started off as a fun beer-drinking hobby,” Caniff said. “This pumpkin was golf ball-size a little over two months ago.”
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