Jared Leone, Times Staff Writer
Jared Leone works in the Carrollwood bureau assisting daily and regional coverage for the St. Petersburg Times and the Friday North of Tampa section. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2004 and started working for the Times in 2006.
Phone: (813) 286-5314
E-mail: jleone@tampabay.com
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Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club shoots for National Register of Historic Places listing
12/02/10 Human InterestTEMPLE TERRACE — Wearing black knickers and a white, newsboy-style cap slung over his face, Mike Stevens lined up his nearly 100-year-old hickory shaft iron and let go.
A free and easy swing sent his old-fashioned mesh golf ball sailing down the fairway and bouncing lightly on the Bermuda grass to settle just where the course curves.
Using the old gear really takes advantage of the original intent of the course, Stevens says....
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North Tampa events and meetings
12/02/10BriefsInfant and child CPR: Learn how to perform CPR and choking rescue techniques on infants and children using American Heart Association guidelines. Participants must be at least 9 years old. Registration required; $30. St. Joseph's Women's Hospital Pavilion, 4321 N MacDill Ave., fourth floor. Today from 6 to 9 p.m.; Thursday, 6 to 9 p.m.
Arts and crafts festival: The GFWC Lutz-Land O'Lakes Woman's Club helps sponsor the event with a food court and booths with art, jewelry and crafts. Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. $2 parking fee. Lake Park, 17302 N Dale Mabry Highway, Lutz. (813) 264-3806....
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Downtown Tampa to get pay stations that let you keep the change
11/11/10GrowthDOWNTOWN — Pushing those nickels, dimes and quarters through parking meters can really add up.
In Tampa, they ring up to the tune of close to $2.1 million a year.
And if all goes as expected, that number could increase.
The city is rolling out new solar parking meters that officials say could help bring in an additional $250,000 annually.
The meters will be installed in phases, the first expected to be in use Monday. The final machine should be up and ready for use the week of Dec. 20....
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Controversial sidewalk near Westchase gets county commissioners' approval
11/04/10GrowthBevin Maynard will soon be able to take her children on a bike ride without having to cross a major road to get on a sidewalk.
Maynard, who works as a bike safety coordinator, knows the risks of not having a safe place to ride.
"With all the recent fatalities, it doesn't make sense not to build (a sidewalk)," she said.
Hillsborough County commissioners agreed.
They unanimously voted Thursday to approve a controversial half-mile sidewalk along Nine Eagles Drive in front of Westchase's Bryant Elementary School....
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Walmart Supercenter opens on Gandy Boulevard
11/04/10GrowthGANDY — The world's largest retailer just got a little bigger. The latest Walmart Supercenter opened Oct. 27 at 4302 Gandy Blvd. The location will employ about 300 people where a Sticks 'N' Stuff and the Pleasure Zone Adult Supercenter were once located. The 145,000-square-foot store features a fresh layout with wide aisles and bright colors inside. The 24-hour store has a pharmacy, grocery store and more than 30 other departments. Plans for the store has been in the works for three years, with some residents concerned about its impact on their community. Reached this week, Al Steenson, president of the Gandy/Sun Bay South Civic Association, was concerned about increased traffic on Lois Avenue. "I think it's going over well but we'll see what happens through the holidays," he said. Above left, Martha Alderman hands out holiday food shopping lists to Marion Skinner, center, and Minnie Sutton, right, as they entered the store on opening day. All three live in the Bayshore Presbyterian apartments in Tampa and are members of the Bayshore Belles chapter of the Red Hat Society. Jared Leone, Times staff writer...
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New book by Temple Terrace Preservation Society explores city's history
11/04/10 Human InterestTEMPLE TERRACE — This book is just a start.
Grant Rimbey of the Temple Terrace Preservation Society has spent the last decade gathering news clippings, photos, brochures — anything old that might have some tie to the city.
"It was mostly just gathering stuff that was scattered in the winds," Rimbey said. "We are hoping to tie a lot of the loose ends together."
All the scouring finally paid off. The result, Images of America, Temple Terrace by Arcadia Publishing, is available for $21.99 starting Monday....
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Voting location changes for Palm River precincts
11/01/10PoliticsTAMPA — Some changes are in store for east Hillsborough voters even before any ballots get counted.
Like where to vote.
The Hillsborough County supervisor of elections changed locations for Precincts 966 and 968 in Palm River after finding out last week the business that had hosted the precincts was closed.
Now the 3,910 voters who used to go to All Events Catering at Harris Hall will vote at the 78th Street Community Library, about a half-mile away....
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'Green' Mobil gas station to open in Dunedin
10/28/10GrowthDUNEDIN — This grand opening has been 10 years in the making.
Back in 2000, local business owners Spiro and Labrine Voutsinas took their family to meet the "green patriarch," His All Holiness Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christianity. He talked about the importance of saving the environment. So the husband and wife began thinking of ways they could help.
"We have to be more green, more involved," Labrine Voutsinas said, calling the green movement a "moral issue."...
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DOT changes procedure amid Bryant Elementary sidewalk dispute
10/28/10GrowthWESTCHASE — The controversy over a half-mile-long sidewalk in front of Bryant Elementary School has changed the way the state spends $1 million a year on school safety projects.
As proposed, the $286,000 sidewalk would be built on Nine Eagles Drive between Westwood Lakes Boulevard and Chase Grove Drive.
A final public hearing about building the sidewalk is set for the Nov. 4 Board of County Commission meeting....
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Pasco cuts down $129,000 worth of trees in medians along U.S. 41
10/22/10 Local GovernmentLAND O'LAKES — At least twice a day Douglas McDowell enjoyed driving along the tree-lined portion of U.S. 41 near State Road 54.
The 30-year Pasco resident likened the experience to driving in France or Italy.
Well, his European excursion is over.
Last week Pasco County Public Works crews chopped down live oaks and crape myrtle trees that were planted 10 years ago when the road was expanded. The trees cost $129,000 at the time....
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Mediation settles costs of sewage pipe leak
10/21/10EnvironmentTOWN 'N COUNTRY — Hillsborough will get $350,000 through a settlement with the manufacturers and installers of piping that leaked and sent millions of gallons of raw sewage into Sweetwater Creek in 2008.
County attorney Rob Brazel mediated the settlement with Spectrum Underground, North American Pipe and Sigma Corp. The County Commission unanimously approved it at its meeting Wednesday....
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Channeldistrict Kennel Club, a private dog park, opens in downtown Tampa
10/21/10GrowthCHANNEL DISTRICT
Lady may have to leave the Tramp at home — if she is to use what may be the area's sole members-only dog park, that is.
The Channeldistrict Kennel Club officially opened Monday across from the Grand Central at Kennedy condos where, now, cabbage palms dot the landscape.
This used to be a row of aging and rat-infested industrial buildings, but those were razed to make way for the park....
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Renowned architect restores Tampa's famed Kiley Gardens
10/21/10GrowthDOWNTOWN — For landscape architect Ron Sill, getting an opportunity to restore the all-but-forgotten park near Hillsborough River is like an artist having a chance to refresh a lost masterpiece.
That's because the place in question, the one next to the new Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, was designed by noted landscape architect Dan Kiley. ...
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Comments at Hillsborough commission meeting may bring new rules
10/20/10 Local GovernmentTAMPA — A tense comment session at the Hillsborough County Commission meeting Wednesday may change the way the public can address the board.
Mark Klutho, a vocal Largo resident who frequents commission meetings, stirred things up by talking about a newspaper article on the fatal bicycle accident involving LeRoy Collins Jr.
"You have to follow the rules of the road," Klutho said....
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Summit attracts "green businesses"
10/13/10GrowthTAMPA — University of South Florida student Jeb Bjorn recycles and rides his bicycle, all part of his interest in working toward a greener, more sustainable, environment.
So the 26-year-old geography major decided to take a bus Wednesday from his Davis Islands home to check out the Tampa Bay Green Business Summit at the Tampa Convention Center.
He liked what he saw.
There were green businesses hawking solar panels and water softeners. Others were touting the benefits of insulation and hybrid cars. There were plenty of politicians milling about, including Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker....
