Orchid show and sale at USF

Make plans to check out the Tampa Orchid Club Orchid Expo show and sale from noon to 4 p.m. Friday (Oct. 31) at the USF Botanical Gardens, 12210 USF Pine Drive. The event runs through the weekend, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 1);  and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 2). The cost is $4, free for members. The event features lectures, orchids and supplies for sale. Call (813) 974-2329 or (813) 833-0204.

New Tampa Wildcats: Week 9

The Wildcats play their final regular season games Saturday (Nov. 1) at home, 9190 Imperial Oak Blvd.  against the Auburndale Bulls. Read more about how the teams did last week against the Land O' Lakes Chargers Download Wildcats102508.doc .

Photo by Gabriela Ramirez
Wildcats Mighty Mite players Roderick Ramirez, Christian Watson, and  Garrett Clarke gang tackle the Land O' Lakes running back during a defensive stand. The Wildcats would go on to win the game 32-0.

Say no to soda and candy...and drugs, too!

My kindergartener came home yesterday and asked me why he had to write "Just Say No" on one of his worksheets. It's Red Ribbon Week at school, and all week long, teachers have been hammering home the anti-drug message, complete with a rubber "Just Say No" bracelet that was sent home in his folder.

I totally dig the program, but does my kindergartener really need to hear it at his age? He's five. And I'd like to keep him that way. You know: laughing, playing, thinking the world is a fun place and life is carefree. He'll discover it's not soon enough, but this is too soon.

Why do I need to explain drugs to him right now? He's amazingly persistent and he'll want to know what drugs are. What kind of drugs there are. Where do you get drugs? What do drugs do? Why do people do drugs if they're not supposed to? Does he need to know all that? Will I need to explain what cocaine is? Marijuana? Heroin? Roofies? How will I explain trips to the DRUGstore? Why do I feel like I have stumbled into a bad episode of The Wire?

I'm still trying to teach him that candy and soda are unhealthy foods. Can I please work up to the drugs?
An anti-obesity campaign sounds like a better option to me --- at least for now.

--- Phuong Nguyen

Editor's note: Dong-Phuong Nguyen might be the Hillsborough County School District's worst nightmare. She is a perfectionist at everything she does, above all else, being a mom. The milk must be organic, the peanut butter too. They toys are lead-free. "Hate" is a four-letter word. Nguyen lives in New Tampa, where the schools are excellent. At least that's what people tell her. As her son enters kindergarten, she'll be the judge.

Lunch and learn at USF

Rob Lorei, co founder of public radio station WMNF, will talk about “How the changing media environment has impacted this year’s elections” from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Friday (Oct. 31) at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at USF, 4202 E Fowler Ave. For a parking pass and to register call (813) 974-8036.

Crime report Oct. 16-22

This report contains incidents called in to the Tampa Police Department for ZIP code 33647 from Oct. 16-22. Please contact Tampa police for more information on individual reports. Addresses may reflect where the incident happened or who reported it.

BAY CEDAR AV, 20100 BLK, Burglary-Residence, Wednesday, 10/22, 10:55 am

FOX CHAPEL RD, 9700 BLK, Burglary-Residence, Saturday, 10/18, 7:48 pm

VENITIA REAL AV, 10300 BLK, Domestic Violence, Monday, 10/20, 4:59 pm

AMBERLY DR, 15300 BLK, Domestic Violence, Sunday, 10/19, 10:11 pm

AMBERLY DR, 15300 BLK, Assault/Battery, Thursday, 10/16, 3:08 am

BRUCE B DOWNS BL, 15500 BLK, Stolen Vehicle, Thursday, 10/16, 8:13 am

PLANTATION OAKS DR, 15400 BLK, Domestic Violence, Saturday, 10/18, 1:55 pm

AMBERLY DR, 15300 BLK, Domestic Violence, Sunday, 10/19, 12:06 pm

PLANTATION OAKS DR, 15400 BLK, Domestic Violence, Sunday, 10/19, 1:33 pm

AMBERLY DR, 15300 BLK, Assault/Battery, Sunday, 10/19, 7:30 pm

PLANTATION OAKS DR, 15300 BLK, Burglary-Auto, Monday, 10/20, 5:49 pm

AMBERLY DR, 15300 BLK, Burglary-Auto, Tuesday, 10/21, 9:48 am

AMBERLY DR, 15300 BLK, Grand Theft, Wednesday, 10/22, 8:23 pm

Note to readers: Because of confidentiality laws, police agencies cannot report the addresses of sexual assaults, and this report does not contain those incidents.

I-75 Northbound at BBD to close overnight Thursday

Traffic from Bruce B. Downs to Interstate-75 northbound will be closed Thursday night from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. as work continues on the flyover.

Managers think Shops at Wiregrass can fill shopping void

WESLEY CHAPEL — Chad Doritan still had not declared a major when he took a public relations class.

His project: Revive a campus restaurant suffering from lackluster sales.

That's when he honed his philosophy of marketing.

"It was much more than putting an ad in the school newspaper," said the 35-year-old graduate of Denison University, a small liberal arts college just east of Columbus, Ohio. "Every point of contact is marketing."

Doritan tweaked the menu, improved customer service, brought in live entertainment and dreamed up some promotions.

At the end of the semester, the restaurant, whose name Doritan can't recall, was still in business, and Doritan earned an A.

A marketing director was born.

Today, after a career that has included working for a hospital, restaurants, hotels and shopping centers, Doritan is the marketing director for the Shops at Wiregrass, which is set to open Oct. 30.

Anchors Dillard's and Macy's opened Saturday, while Barnes & Noble will have a sneak preview from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow.

Real costumes made by real people

Still don't have a costume for your child? Check out some homemade costumes made by local moms, dads and grandmas.

click here to see more.

Crafty Costume: Retro-Robot   Cute kid: Gavin, 4, Lexington Oaks
Created by: Lori & Corey Spurr (parents)
How long it took: 8 hours
How she did it: We bought a plastic bin and my husband cut out the holes for the head, arms, and legs with a rotary (Dremel) tool.  He also made small holes in the front of the bin for these great battery operated Christmas lights that I found at Wal-Mart (the lights just popped into the holes).  Then, I searched around Ace's Hardware for robot accessories, including reflectors, mini-LED lights, an outdoor thermometer, and flexible dryer vent tubing for the arms and legs.  I bought a cheap aluminum pot for the hat and made a strap out of some silver cording that I already had.  Under the bin, he wore gray pants, shirts, and gray gloves on his hands.  We already had the "space" shoes in our dress-up bin.
Cost: About $30

Share your vision for mass transit

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority community workshop is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 20735 Leonard Road. Share your opinion on the master plan for regional transportation that TBARTA is developing and see how the system will link the seven county area. Call 813-271-4048.

Got questions about Friday's book parade?

If you have a child at Pride Elementary School, you know there's a storybook parade on Friday, called the Pride Prowl. At least we hope you do. Is this a Halloween party? Not really. The rules are very specific: Nothing scary, nothing violent and it must be all about a book. Read here for everything you need to know.Download pride_prowl_october_31_2008_school_flyer.pdf