Spyglass Resort Demolished

The Spyglass Resort on Clearwater Beach was imploded last night on live television. The landmark was brought down with over 400 sticks of dynamite. Once the tallest building on the beach, it featured a large balloon mural on one side. It will be replaced with a hotel and timeshare, The Clearwater Beach Resort. Illusionis Criss Angel used the implosion as part of a stunt, which was telvised live on A&E.

Clearwater Marine Aquarium To Host Fishing Tournament & Community Party

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium will host its first annual “Ted Williams Teammates Fishing Hall of Fame Tournament” and silent auction Saturday, August 16th. Boats will leave from the Aquarium’s marina for the fishing tournament. The Aquarium will host the other day’s events
The tournament will be led by local fishing expert and TV personality Captain Sergio Atanes. The event will give CMA an opportunity to educate the public about marine conservation and promote responsible fishing and will include a day of fun for the whole family with food, live music, a moonwalk, dunk tank, games and more.

Event Schedule and cost:
Fishing Tournament - 7:30 am-1:30 pm. Entry fee $125 per boat angler, $50 per kayak angler
Community Party - fun for the entire family at CMA from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m
Silent Auction - items on display at CMA all day, bidding ends at 6 pm, followed by live auction
The cost of entry to CMA is $11 for adults, $9 for seniors and $7.50 for children ages 3-12. Admission on that day includes games for kids (including a clown, bounce house, etc.)Food bands may be purchased for $7 for adults and $5 for children.
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium is located at 249 Windward Passage on Island Estates in Clearwater Beach.

Beach Walk Offically Open

Clearwater's long-awaited $30-million Beach Walk opened officially Saturday,(it had unofficially opened in the spring). Narrow sidewalks have been replaced by two wide, paved promenades for skating, walking and biking — one along the sand and the other in front of the stores, restaurants and hotels on the east side of S Gulfview Boulevard.

While the transformation is wonderful, it's just the beginning. In 2009, the Hyatt Hotel will open, adding 400 public parking spaces. Passers-by will be welcomed into the hotel to enjoy its restaurants and shops. Other hotels, stores and restaurants are expected to open on the east side, where the promenade is 35 feet wide to permit sidewalk cafes and public seating. So while the west side of Beach Walk is unlikely to see many changes other than maintenance and minor tweaking, the east side is still a work in progress in some sections.

Beach Walk was designed to be a beautiful attractor — to attract new hotels and restaurants and to attract visitors who wanted an experience off the sand. Already, it is doing both.
Clearwater officials have good reason to be proud of the result.

Criss Angel Will Perform Stunt in Cleatwater Beach Tonight

Illusionist Criss Angel is scheduled to perform what he calls “the most exciting, biggest and baddest escape” yet before a live audience and live on television. This will be his first live performance on his show, “Mindfreak” and will be televised live on Wednesday night from 10 pm - 11 pm.

Angel is scheduled to stand handcuffed to a sixth-floor balcony of the Spyglass Resort where he’ll have 3.5 minutes to pick handcuff locks, then two door locks, run up three flights of stairs, pick two more locks on a roof hatch and escape to a 30-foot ladder that will dangle from a hovering helicopter. It will take 30 seconds for the helicopter to climb 1,000 feet. At the four-minute mark, the building implodes.“That’s 4,500 tons of cement that will be coming barreling down to the earth, and it’s my goal not to be in its path, and it will be coming down, no matter what,” Angel said during a July 24 press conference.

Two public viewing areas north and south of a 500-foot “safety zone” will be open for the event on Clearwater Beach, between the Pier 60 parking lot to the north and the Barefoot Beach House to the southA large video screen will be placed at the northern edge of the safety zone for public viewing of the live program.A&E and Criss Angel Productions is handling all invitations and credentialing for their live production area, which is separate from any public viewing areas.

Road Closures For Hotel Implosion

The following traffic closures will be required for the implosion and television coverage of the Spyglass Hotel:-

South Gulfview Boulevard will be closed from just south of the Pier 60 parking lot to just south of the Hyatt Aqualea construction site from 7 a.m. July 28 until approximately 7 a.m. July 31.

Coronado Drive will be open for through traffic during this time.- No traffic will be allowed on
Coronado Drive between Hamden Drive and Third Street from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. July 30. North and south traffic will be able to use Hamden to access local residences and businesses during this time.

No northbound and southbound traffic between the roundabout and Fifth Street will be allowed from about 10:30 until 11:30 p.m. on July 30 for the implosion.

Traffic from north beach will be able to enter and exit the island using the Memorial Causeway Bridge. Traffic from Sand Key will need to use the Belleair Causeway as an alternate route.

Newcomer Club Meeting

The Welcome Newcomer Club will beet August 5th at noon the the Beachcomber restaurant at 447 Mandalay Ave. For more information visit the Newcomers website.

Spyglass Hotel Implosion Scheduled For Wednesday

The implosion will be on television network A & E at 10 p.m. But if you live nearby you can see it up close.Public viewing areas are available on the beach both north and south of the implosion site. The actual implosion is scheduled between 10:45 & 11:00 pm.
Large video screens will provide a feed of the TV coverage. Illusionist Criss Angel will attempt to leave the building in time before the strategically placed explosives fire off destroying the building's columns. If all works as planned the building will collapse on to itself. At the same time, Criss Angel will be taken away to safety after he escapes his binds.
Coming early is advised, as traffic is expected to back up by mid-evening (6-7 p.m.). Sunsets at Pier 60 will be taking place from 6-10 p.m., so families can come early to enjoy the sunset and stay for the event. Large screens will be set up on both the north and south ends of the beach to view the live production.

South Gulfview Boulevard will remain closed until 7 a.m. Thursday morning. Coronado Drive will close at approximately 6 p.m., at which time north/south traffic can use Hamden Drive as an alternate route. All north/south roads will close at 10:30 p.m. for the implosion and remain closed until approximately 11:30 p.m.

All public parking will be open, with the exception of some on-street parking on Coronado Drive and the temporary lots on the Patel property (both closed for safety reasons). Give yourself enough time to park and walk from remote lots on the north end of the beach, available parking on the Causeway, or at remote parking at St. Brendan's Church on Island Estates.

Beach Walk Grand Opening Celebration

The City of Clearwater &bSunsets at Pier 60, will Celebrate Beach Walk on Saturday, July 19. A dedication ceremony will begin at 6 pm at the Sundial Plaza at Beach Walk, with a fireworks display at 9:30 pm.There will be musicians, street entertainers, local mascots and others will perform along the Beach Walk promenade. Many beach businesses will be offering specials during the celebration. Fireworks are at 9:30 p.m.

Beach Walk was designed to revitalize the community that surrounds Clearwater’s popular south beach destination. The $30-million project has attracted new hotel development to the beach and will bring new tourism to the area.

Clearwater Beach Library Grand Opening

Celebrate the Clearwater Beach Library grand opening on July 21 at 10 am. It is also the 47th anniversary of the library, which has moved into a new facility inside the Clearwater Beach Recreation Center at 69 Bay Esplanade. Fore more information visit www.myclearwater.com/cpl

See Winter the Dolphin on Live Webcam

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium has installed a webcam where you can see "Winter" the dolphin live. Click here for a live shot.

Today's Triathalon Cancelled

The Morton Plant Mease triathon scheduled for this morning has be cancelled due to severe weather. Participants will be contacted regarding rescheduling.

4th of July Fireworks

Tonight's Fireworks Displays

Clearwater - Coachman Park 9:30 pm
Madeira Beach - John's Pass 9:00 pm
Safety Harbor - Marina Park 9:00 pm
Largo - Central Park 9:00 pm
St Pete - The Pier 9:00 pm

Saturday Fireworks Displays
Dunedin - Knology Park, Saturday 9:00 pm