Purple Cloud Studio

Artist Michele Palenik teaches fused glass jewelry class noon to 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 and noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Urban Suburban, 1742 Bruce B Downs Blvd. Please bring jewelry tools including two pairs of pliers. Cost is $40 for the first class or $70 for both. Call (813) 731-3825.

Freedom edges out Wharton in season opener

After dominating for two seasons, Wharton football fans wondered when neighborhood foe Freedom would provide a challenge. It came Friday as the Patriots scored 17 points in two minutes on their way to a 29-24 victory.

Trailing 10-0 with 2:48 left in the first half, Freedom got a safety when Wharton punter Andrew Meinsen stepped out of the back of the end zone. Rodney Lyons returned the ensuing punt 65 yards for a touchdown.

After a two-point conversion, a Wharton fumble led to another touchdown.

The Patriots, who trailed again in the second half, got touchdown runs from quarterback Josh Grady and running back Chris Bonti in the fourth. Grady finished with 114 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

"We just kept playing," Freedom coach Marquel Blackwell said. "There was a lot of football to be played, and we just kept our intensity up."

Rod Gipson, Times correspondent

Wesley Chapel not ready for all-night diner

Roger Wolf tried it for 10 days and called it quits. He opened his Wolf's Den on State Road 56 in July and a month later decided to try to stay open 24 hours.

"It cost me $300 a night to be open and I think I did $8 of business," said Wolf, whose restaurant serves a variety of entrees, including breakfast, pizza and meat loaf. "Everybody was asleep."

He still plans to stay open until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.

"I guess everybody's used to eating at the Waffle House and are okay with it," he said of the establishment on SR 54 at Interstate 75.

Mix-N-Mingle

The New Tampa Village will host its monthly Mix-N-Mingle event on Sunday, Sept. 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Pebble Creek Community Center. See an interactive presentation by fitness and nutrition expert Sonee Thompson; enjoy refreshments from The Juice Zone, great music too. $3 per person, children attend free. The organization strives to create a sense of community among African Americans and Craribbean Americans in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel.

What in God's name is that smell?

No, seriously.

What...is...that...smell?

The playground at Pride Elementary is practically inhabitable these days. As one of the parents who hangs out there for 15 minutes many afternoons waiting for his child to emerge from school, I'm disgusted intrigued by an odor that is becoming more and more suffocating every day.

Imagine a dead animal...no, better yet, a dead human a yucky pile of dirty dishes being covered in rotting fruit a gallon of expired milk and wrapped in a big giant soiled diaper tortilla and then dipped in standing gutter water dark chocolate. If I had such a thing, I'd use it to cover my face to protect me from the actual smell I'm trying to describe.

It really is no laughing matter. It's incredibly repugnant stinky, and something the school --- or the county, whichever is responsible --- should take care of. Some of the parents have tried to figure out the source, and failed.

Tuesday, one woman brought a spray bottle of disinfectant and doused all the garbage cans, to no avail. Today, another woman lamented the fact she had forgotten to bring a bottle of bleach (I'm assuming to clean with, though drinking it to put herself out of misery is not farfetched).

Today, I saw parents covering their faces, wincing showing discomfort in their faces and fleeing walking away to find safer air. Problem is, that safer air is getting harder and harder to find.

I nearly hurled got ill today. I thought for a split second I was going to blow chunks all over one of the picnic tables expose my breakfast in an unkindly fashion after the wind blew something rancid icky my way. The potential embarrassment was all that kept the Shredded Wheat I had for breakfast in its rightful place digesting in my stomach and providing my body with important nurtients.

Come on, Pride. This stench blight on freshness is no secret. Teachers are out there every day with kids. They can smell it, too.

Please. Help. Us.

Otherwise, I'm going to have to start skipping breakfast just to be safe.

-- Times staff writer JOHN C. COTEY (johncotey@gmail.com)

Judge to Cory Lake Isles developer: Turn over records

Cory Lake Isles homeowners who sued for financial records won a big victory in court Thursday after a judge ordered the developer to produce the documents within 20 days.

"(Residents) are entitled to see where their money went," Hillsborough Circuit Judge Martha Cook said in her ruling.

Eight residents filed the lawsuit almost a year ago, saying homeowners in the upscale, gated community in New Tampa paid about $4.6-million over five years for operation and maintenance, but there was no documentation showing how the money was spent.

Lawyers for the property owners association turned over about 15,000 pages of documents, but the contents were incomplete, said Mark Basurto, an attorney for the homeowners.

Basurto said he wrote an e-mail to the lawyers for Cory Lakes Ltd., the company run by Gene Thomason that collected the fees, asking for more detailed records, but never got them.

"My clients are extremely frustrated with the process," Basurto said. "The time has come now for us to get these documents."

Philip Friedman, an attorney for the property owners association, argued that the association didn't have any of the records since checks were made out to Cory Lakes Ltd.

Artist of the month: Katherine Michael

Enjoy the paintings of West Meadows folk artist Katherine Michael throughout September at the New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd. Read more about Michael here. The North Tampa Arts League, which named Michael its September Artist of the Month, meets the 4th Wednesday of every month at Tampa Palms' Compton Community Center, 7:00 pm.

Cars burgled in Wesley Chapel, Meadow Pointe

The Pasco Sheriff's Office is investigating a string of auto burglaries in Oak Creek and Meadow Pointe.

At least nine vehicles were broken into Monday and Tuesday. Three were stolen, including one that was recovered several miles away on County Road 54 in Zephyrhills.

Deputies are warning residents to lock their car doors and keep valuables out of sight.

Someone broke into an unlocked 2008 Lexus ES 350 parked in the driveway of a Runner Oak Drive home Monday night or Tuesday morning. A garage door opener inside the car was used to enter the home.

After grabbing a set of car keys from the kitchen counter, the burglars stole a 2001 Ford Mustang and 2008 Ford Fusion from the garage.

"If you have a garage door opener, you might want to bring those into your home like you would a set of keys," said Doug Tobin, a Sheriff's Office spokesman.

"Cinebistro" set to open in Wesley Chapel

The movie posters are up, with titles that include Ghost Town and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People.

But executives for the Grove 16 theater and its much touted Cinebistro restaurant and bar doubt those movie titles will be omens when central Pasco’s first movie house has its grand opening mid-September.

“On a good day this is adult Disneyland,” said Alan Lake, a veteran executive chef overseeing the startup of the Pasco theater at the Grove shopping center at County Road 54 and Interstate 75. Lake’s Web site lists such A-list celebrities as Bono and the Edge, George Harrison, Julian Lennon, Tina Turner and Bruce Springsteen as among those who have eaten his cuisine.

Lake and Cobb executives gave media tours of the 86,000 square foot theater, which boasts 16 screens of varying sizes, including four that are about 60 feet wide by 30 feet high.
“About three stories tall,” said Jeremy Welman, chief operating officer for Cobb Theatres.

The theaters also feature Dolby 7.1 sound, which is a step higher than what most cinemas now offer, he said. It also offers seats four inches wider than the industry standard.

But the big draw is expected to be the Cinebistro, a restaurant that features a full gourmet menu and bar. The restaurant, which also offers a kids’ menu, is accessible to all moviegoers as well as the public.

Patrons ages 21 and older who want to combine a meal with the movie can pay about $5 more for a plush leather seat in the theater’s upper level, called the loge. Loge seating allows them to buy food and drinks, including beer, wine and cocktails, all served to them before the film begins.

“There won’t be any nachos and squeeze cheese up here,” joked Welman.

Something to cheer about

New Tampa Wildcat Midget Division Cheerleaders pump up the crowd in a 33-0 victory over the Land O' Lakes Chargers on Saturday, Aug. 30. Photo by Gabriela Ramirez. Lots of good details are here: Download Wildcats083008.doc . Gregg, as always, thanks!