Beaches notebook

The Florida Department of Transportation will host a public meeting April 30 to accept comments about the replacement for John's Pass Bridge.

The meeting will be from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 30 at the Treasure Island Community Center, located at 1 Park Place.

The DOT is proposing a 21-foot drawbridge to replace the existing bridge, which is the same height. The Treasure Island and Madeira Beach city commissions, which want a bridge with higher clearance so it doesn't have to raise as often, are pushing for a 29-foot bridge.

St. Pete Beach

The city and the Pass-a-Grille and Vina Del Mar associations this weekend present the 12th annual Beach Goes Pops.

This year's Beach Goes Pops will include two days of entertainment: a free evening of jazz, with food available from local vendors; and the traditional Beach Goes Pops orchestra concert, where people can either pay for a catered meal from the Hurricane or watch the concert for free from the beach.

From 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday at the Seaside Grill, 10th Avenue in Pass-a-Grille, Trio Del Sol Caliente will perform acoustic Latin jazz. Then Suzette Jennings and the Mood Swings, a jazz band, will perform. Food will be available from Asado Cafe, Saffron's, Backfin Blue Cafe, Eighth Avenue Fish House & Grill, Harvey's Fourth Street Grill and Do-Als.

On Saturday night, Caribbean steel drum music will begin at 5 p.m., followed by the Beach Goes Pops Orchestra at 7.

Tables for the Saturday night event, catered by the Hurricane, cost $600. People who do not pay for tables can watch the concert from the beach. For information, call Mark Robichaux at 367-8590.

A free shuttle service will be available from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday from the Pinellas County park in St. Pete Beach, across from Dolphin Village Shopping Center.

Proceeds from Beach Goes Pops will benefit the Pinellas Marine Institute, Gulf Beaches Historical Museum and the Vina Del Mar and Pass-a-Grille neighborhood associations.

St. Pete Beach will dedicate its new City Hall at 6:30 p.m. April 26 at the new building, 155 Corey Ave.

Self-guided tours will be permitted after the ceremony. Refreshments will be served. For information, call City Hall at 367-2735.

St. Pete Beach will hold its annual Hurricane Forum on May 1.

Scheduled are a discussion on hurricane safety, fire and police department displays, hurricane-related vendors demonstrating hurricane safety products, disaster preparedness and home safety information, as well as evacuation maps and information on sand bag locations.

There will be door prizes and free hot dogs and sodas. The forum will be from 6 to 9 p.m. in the city gymnasium, 7701 Boca Ciega Drive. For information, call the St. Pete Beach Fire Department at 363-9206.

Gulf Beaches Historical Museum, 115 10th Ave., has opened a special exhibit room featuring a display of promotional material from old beach restaurants and bars and the return of two previous exhibits on the Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa and the beaches during World War II.

Army units were stationed at the tip of Pass-a-Grille during World War II and the Don CeSar was used as a military hospital and later as a convalescent hospital for the Army Air Corps. The museum is seeking photos and memorabilia and would like to talk to anyone who served with or has a connection to the Pass-a-Grille Army units or the hospital. It also is seeking information on Bill Nelson, a patient who painted two murals at the hospital that are now at the museum.

The current special exhibits will be on display through December. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Museum admission is free; guided tours are $2. Call 360-2491 for information.

Indian Shores

Beach cleanup volunteers should meet at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Town Hall. Coffee and doughnuts will be served. Call 595-4020 for information

Indian Rocks Beach

The city is planning a Memorial Day ceremony that will include an opportunity for people to properly dispose of American flags.

Because so many people have been flying flags since Sept. 11, Mayor Bob DiNicola said, many flags are tattered and need to be replaced. The city plans to work with Veterans of Foreign Wars to properly dispose of flags on Memorial Day.

Anyone who has an old flag can bring it to City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday between now and May 24. Nonresidents are invited to drop off flags and participate, City Manager Tom Brobeil said.

The city is working out details of the Memorial Day ceremony.

The Indian Rocks Beach Library has collected 231 recipes and compiled them into a cookbook called Cooking With Friends.

The library is selling the cookbook for $7. Proceeds go toward buying new books and maintaining the library. Call 596-1822.

The city will host a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting for the Indian Rocks Beach Nature Preserve at 1 p.m. April 21.

A cookout will follow the ceremony. The park is at 903 Gulf Blvd.

It's garage sales galore in Indian Rocks Beach this weekend. Residents throughout the city will have items for sale from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, so take this opportunity to find some great bargains. Call 517-0404 or 595-2517 for information.

Treasure Island

The event will be hosted by Dan Doubleday and Meredith Corson, current world doubles champions and owners of Sanding Ovations, a sand sculpting company here

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