Discussion Seeks Citizen Input on Nation’s Future as an International Power

The University of South Florida’s Patel Center for Global Solutions joins with Creative Loafing in hosting a community discussion on America’s role in the world as part of a nationwide effort  by the Fund for Peace seeking the public’s views on America’s role in the world.

The public is invited to “A National Dialogue: America in the World” at 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, at Creative Loafing’s offices, 810 N. Howard Ave., Tampa.  The event is free, but seating is limited.

The forums are sponsored by The Fund for Peace, a Washington, D.C.-based research and education organization, and are supported by the Ford Foundation. Tampa is one of seven U.S. cities to host the traveling town halls in a two-year effort to spark a national conversation on American interests and values in the world.

The views and themes articulated at the forums will be published in a major report and provided to Washington policymakers and legislators before the State of the Union Address in 2010.

“The U.S. remains the world’s pre-eminent power,” said Will Ferroggiaro, the Fund for Peace project director who is facilitating the dialogues. “But there are increasing challenges to that power, whether the threats are military, economic or even environmental. This is an opportunity for people to come together and identify what our goals should be – beyond the immediate financial crises and Iraq and Afghan wars, but looking five, 10 or 20 years out.”

Central to the discussion will be questions on the nature of national interests and values, and what goals the United States and its citizens have for the world.

The public will be asked to weigh in on how they are affected by world events and how their point-of-view influences what happens outside U.S. borders.

“We live in interdependence; yet people’s priorities and values differ and their access to resources, standards of living, and power varies tremendously,” said Mark Amen, the Patel Center’s academic director and expert on globalization and international relations. “There is no better time to consider the contributions all of us as well as countries like the United States are making to bring about a more justice, equitable, peaceful, and fairer world. This dialogue is an excellent opportunity to have serious discussion about the state of global affairs.”

Those interested in attending the forum are asked to RSVP by clicking here by Sept. 18.  More information on The Fund for Peace and the national dialogues can be found here.

New Tampa Junior Woman's Club hosts new member orientation at Winestyles

 

Photo courtesy of The New Tampa Woman's Club
Heather Keen, left, club president, and Amy Warenyk, department chair, at the club's new member orientation.

The New Tampa Junior Woman's Club hosted its annual new member orientation at Winestyles in Wesley Chapel on Aug. 12. 

Twenty women showed up to learn more about the club and how they can get involved.  Many active members and board members attended to welcome the potential provisionals, give a short presentation and answer questions. 

As each person arrived, they received a ticket for a complimentary glass of wine, were offered literature about the club and nibbled on appetizers.

As of Sept. 1, the NTJWC has registered about 22 provisional members for the 2009-2010 year. 

"We are very excited to welcome this group of women to the club and look forward to their contributions to the club as a whole," the club said in a statement. 

There's still time for women in the New Tampa area to  join the New Tampa Junior Woman's Club's 2009-2010 provisonal class. Visit www.ntjwc.org for more information. Enrollment is open until the end of September.

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Stories of pain, and prosperity, during recession

Labor Day won't carry the same meaning this year for many weathering one of the worst recessions in recent history. They've lost their jobs, so a day off for the working world may not be cause for a yippee. But it's not the same for everyone. So we gathered personal experiences from New Tampa to Belmont Heights to Valrico. Their short stories were as complex as they were diverse: the lawyer busy with child support claims, the family close to losing their home and the guy who never worries about a slowdown in his line of work — digging graves.

John Thrasher, New Tampa: Music programs in public schools are typically among the first cut when budgets are slashed. It turns out, in times of recession, parents are willing to pay for private lessons.

Excel Music, a 3-year-old studio that offers private instrument and voice lessons, has not been devastated by the sagging economy. Instead, this business, in the Cory Lake Isles Professional Center, continues to grow as more parents seek other ways to enrich their children's lives through music.
Owner John Thrasher believes education-based businesses are less susceptible to a fluctuating economy because parents want more for their children. "A lot of parents feel that music is an important aspect in a well-rounded education," said Thrasher, a former drummer in the Mickey Gilley band. "And they're willing to give up their Starbucks every day to afford it."

As with any music program, students come and go. Thrasher said that whenever students drop his program, he has them give the reasons so he can track the quality of his school. They leave for reasons like a parent's job transfer or they go off to college. Only 3 percent indicated the decision was fueled by economics.

Dong-Phuong Nguyen, Times Staff Writer

Hillsborough commissioners make public hearings on new cell phone towers at schools mandatory

From the Times:

By Rodney Thrash

TAMPA — Hillsborough County parents will have a chance to make their case at public hearings before cell towers rise at schools.

Facing a nearly packed auditorium of cell tower supporters and opponents, county commissioners on Thursday reversed an ordinance that had made it easier to place cell towers at schools without public comment.

Previously, the county allowed cell towers at schools without a public hearing if the principal approved and the school met certain other criteria.

An outcry from parents prompted the vote, which was unanimous. Worried that there are too many unknowns about towers and their risks, they had called for a moratorium on towers altogether.

Though other governments across the country have done that very thing, Hillsborough commissioners and attorneys have said that federal law prohibits governments from enforcing an all-out ban based on health concerns.

"What's before us right now is the toughest language that we can apply," Commissioner Jim Norman said. "We have crafted language that the School Board has accepted to make it as tough as possible for cell towers to be put up at school sites."

The parents had also asked board members to require that towers be at least 1,500 feet from schools, a request commissioners did not entertain.

Still, parents were elated that commissioners gave them more of a voice on an issue that affects their children and their neighborhoods.

A tower was up for more than six weeks before Pride Elementary in New Tampa hosted a meeting to gauge community sentiment.

Commissioner Mark Sharpe acknowledged that he didn't know a tower was near his children's school until the controversy over towers began last fall.

The commission's vote will curb incidents like those, parents said.

Stacy Frank, the Tampa lawyer who develops towers for Hills­borough schools and has been a target of parents, endorsed greater public participation.

"It's a good opportunity to answer questions," she said after the vote.

Like the county, the city of Tampa is reviewing its ordinance. The City Council has scheduled a workshop on cell towers at 9 a.m. Aug. 27.

$340 million plan would expand reclaimed water to New Tampa by 2024

From the Times:

By Janet Zink

TAMPA — City officials unveiled plans Tuesday for a $340 million expansion of the reclaimed water system and a proposal to force people who live along the system’s lines to use the water.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Mayor Pam Iorio. “Supplying the majority of the city with reclaimed water is going to take time. It’s going to take funding. First you have to start with a plan.”

Reclaimed water lines currently reach about 8,700 customers in south Tampa. About 3,600 customers have already connected to the system.

Under the proposal, people with access to the highly treated wastewater would not be able to use drinkable water for lawn watering as of Dec. 1.

To enforce the rule, city officials say they will remove potable water irrigation meters along reclaimed lines and remove or lock reclaimed water meters that are not being used.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the recommendations at a workshop May 28.

“It’s long overdue,” Council member John Dingfelder said of the proposal. “Putting drinking water out on yards when you’ve got access to reclaimed is sinful.”

An expansion that could be completed in five years would reach another 9,000 customers in an area loosely bordered by Bayshore Boulevard, Ballast Point and North Hyde Park as well as big users such as Tampa International Airport and International Plaza.

By 2024, the water would service neighborhoods in New Tampa.

The cost of construction would be shared by the city, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and Tampa Bay Water, the regional utility. Tampa Bay Water wants to take some of the reclaimed water to Pasco County.

Food stamp use up, even in New Tampa

From the Times:

By Marlene Sokol

BRANDON — With two small children and a husband in construction, Jennifer Marcus is an expert on the recession.

Her family is living with a relative. Unable to find work, the family lost its home to foreclosure. The children's clothes come from Goodwill.

And every month they use $588 in food stamps.

"It's a little bit embarrassing not to be able to support your family," said Marcus, 25, of Brandon. "We really don't enjoy it, but it's that or not eat."

Marcus and her family are in good company; their middle-class bedroom community has seen a net gain this year of 1,187 food stamp cases, a 42 percent increase. Food stamp aid also is up sharply in Carrollwood, Palm Harbor, Wesley Chapel and New Tampa, areas better known for affluence than public assistance.

Tough times and program advances that allow great discretion have thousands applying for benefits from home computers, then using debit-style cards to do their shopping.

"We are all seeing the same kind of thing," said Lourdes Benedict, regional operations manager for the Department of Children and Families in Pinellas and Pasco counties.

"A lady walked in, with her son in the lobby and their puppy, too." The electricity had been off in their house for some time, she said.

"And they lived in a nice house. They had nothing to eat. She had lost her job. She was with her child, desperate."

In Fort Myers, epicenter of the state's foreclosure crisis, "we're packed every day," said program spokeswoman Erin Gillespie.

"We have people who never thought that they would apply. People who at the height of the boom started a business, maybe a tile company or a plumber. They never thought they would be in this position."

Food facts

Families not familiar with the program might not realize that:

• "Stamps" are a misnomer. Gone are the coupons that used to look like Monopoly money. Today's electronic benefits cards look almost identical to bank cards. Even the name "food stamps" is being replaced with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

• A visit to a government office, crying children in tow, is often unnecessary. Applicants without computers can apply at dozens of libraries and community centers that advertise the name "Access Florida."

• Food stamp money comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the same agency that keeps agribusiness afloat. Think of it as your own little stimulus program. By one program estimate, every $5 in food stamp benefits generates $9.20 in the local economy.

• A state Web site provides a prescreening test, income limits and benefits. Owning a house won't preclude you from getting food stamps, as long as it is your homestead.

'Like a disaster'

As unemployment and foreclosures become the norm, program officials believe the stigma against food stamps is decreasing even in the middle class.

People seem more incredulous than embarrassed, Benedict said.

"It's more of, 'The economy is like this now, we're all in this together,' " she said. "It's almost like a disaster. Typically, applicants will tell the waiting room greeters, 'I've been working all my life. I can't believe I'm here.' "

A longtime program employee, Benedict is proud of the technological advances that allow families to get help privately, around-the-clock.

"It's a great help," said Carmen Silva, 70, of Citrus Park, who cares for her grandchild and daughter, who suffered a stroke after childbirth.

"Social Security just is not enough," she said. "I believe that many people misunderstand or label the program. You use it when you need it."

While the benefits are supposed to supplement a family's food budget, the stimulus plan passed by Congress could result in higher monthly allotments. A recent state analysis showed that benefits could go up by about 13 percent in Florida.

Despite a caseload that has already gone up by 51 percent statewide, local officials are urging residents to ask for help if they need it.

"Fortunately," Benedict said, "because of the economy, we haven't had turnover."

Food stamps in the suburbs:

Community    Dec. 2007cases     Dec. 2008 cases     Increase
Brandon                   2,818                  4,005               1,187
Valrico                     2,451                  3,047                  596
Palm Harbor             1,514                  2,189                  675
Seminole                  3,432                  4,256                  824
Pinellas Park             4,558                  5,950               1,392
Largo                       3,812                   4,726                  914
Seffner                     2,025                   2,762                  737
Citrus Park                1,597                   2,088                  491
Carrollwood               1,717                    2,324                 607
Lutz                          1,807                    2,545                 738
Wesley Chapel           1,025                    1,377                 352
New Tampa               1,519                   2,104                  585

Source: Florida Department of Children and Families

• Would food stamp benefits help you? Find out here.

Proposed boundaries for new Steinbrenner High will affect several schools

From the Times:

By Richard Danielson

TAMPA — Lots of questions, not so many complaints.

That's what about 400 parents offered Wednesday night about the proposed attendance zone for Steinbrenner High School.

Most of the concerns raised during a 90-minute public meeting came from Lutz parents whose children would not be assigned to a new school. Those families live east of U.S. 41, and their children are zoned for Freedom High School in New Tampa.

That means long bus rides, family transportation hassles, reduced opportunities to play sports and being separated from lifelong school chums who live west of U.S. 41.

The problem, those families say, is nothing would change under the school district's proposed plan for Steinbrenner. Their kids would still go to Freedom, not Gaither or Steinbrenner, which are closer.

"Keep us in our own neighborhood," Lakes of Wellington resident Chuck Eade pleaded as fellow Lutz residents applauded. "That's where we want to be."

Steinbrenner High is scheduled to open on Lutz-Lake Fern Road, near the Suncoast Parkway, in August.

Freedom's boundaries would not change because it is not overcrowded, Hillsborough school administrators say. Moving students out of Freedom would create wasteful excess capacity there, they say.

But Hillsborough school officials do propose moving other students, most from Sickles High and some from Gaither High, both of which are overcrowded, to Steinbrenner.

Sickles would pick up some students from Alonso High.

But all four schools would end up under their designed capacity.

That drew praise from one parent and applause from others in the Sickles auditorium.

Saying she's tired of seeing her children attend class in portables at Sickles, Lisa Kasson of Odessa said, "we are thrilled to see this new school opening."

Administrators said they would consider suggestions from the meeting and probably do some fine-tuning. The School Board could vote on the boundaries as soon as Feb. 10.

For the most part, questions came from people who weren't sure which side of a boundary line they live on, or were curious about the curriculum or sports at Steinbrenner High.

A few people asked about Chamberlain High School, which is overcrowded but would not be affected by the proposed changes. Administrators say they are looking at other ways to address that problem.

Rising seniors would stay at the schools they attend now, so Steinbrenner would not have a senior class its first year.

The district plans to hold a special choice period from March 3 to 13 specifically for families at the affected high schools.

Appeals court upholds exclusion of bomb videos from trial of former USF student Megahed

From the Times:

By Kevin Graham

TAMPA — A federal appeals panel on Wednesday backed a U.S. district judge's decision to exclude computer evidence that prosecutors intended to use at the explosives trial of former University of South Florida student Youssef Megahed.

Prosecutors argued before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals last week that U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday overstepped his bounds when he excluded nine video clips taken from Megahed's home computer. Merryday excluded the evidence as a sanction after prosecutors failed to disclose it to the defense before a required deadline.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rhodes called the evidence possibly crucial to the government's cases.

The clips, each about 20 seconds or less, show rockets launching in combat zones in the Middle East and explosive devices being used against U.S. military vehicles.

Defense attorneys argued that the evidence had nothing to do with the charges against Megahed, who is accused of illegally transporting explosive materials across state lines.

The appeals panel seated in Jacksonville, issued this one-sentence opinion on Wednesday: "After review and oral argument, we conclude that the appellant United States has not shown, at this juncture, reversible error in the district court's pretrial rulings as to the particular items of evidence that are the subject of this appeal."

Steve Cole, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined to comment. It was unclear Wednesday whether prosecutors would ask for a rehearing before the full Circuit Court.

Adam Allen, Megahed's public defender, said he's ready to move forward. "We're pleased with the 11th Circuit's ruling and want to finally get this case to trial," Allen said.

Megahed and fellow student Ahmed Mohamed were arrested on Aug. 4, 2007, after a South Carolina deputy stopped them for speeding and found explosive materials in the trunk.

Mohamed is serving a 15-year prison sentence for providing material support to terrorists. He posted a YouTube video showing how to turn a toy into a detonator. Megahed remains on home detention awaiting trial.

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Officials share ideas on rail lines with Tampa council

From the Times:

By Janet Zink

TAMPA — City Council members got a rundown Thursday on regional rail plans.

Bob Clifford, executive director of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, told the board that residents consistently say they want an alternative to cars. But the need for rail goes beyond mobility, Clifford said.

"At the end of the day, it's about economic development," he said, noting that construction typically sprouts around transit stations.

At a meeting today, Mayor Pam Iorio is scheduled to present her plan for a rail line that would run from New Tampa to Tampa International Airport, serving as the first leg of a system connecting Wesley Chapel to St. Petersburg.

Hillsborough planners estimate the 31-mile Tampa line would cost $2.1-billion, or $70-million a mile. Iorio hopes the County Commission will ask voters in 2010 to consider a sales tax to help pay for it.

In the past, commissioners have rejected the idea. But Clifford said attitudes have changed.

City Council member Tom Scott, a former county commissioner, said he thinks commissioners will approve the referendum. But rail backers will have to work hard to persuade voters to tax themselves, Scott said.

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Circuit City closure leaves the Walk on shaky footing

From the Times:

By Dong-Phuong Nguyen

NEW TAMPA — When Linens 'n Things and Circuit City opened at the Walk in Highwoods Preserve in 2001, developers described the first few months as going "exceptionally well."

With a prime location along busy Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, the shopping plaza became a popular stop in this affluent community.

Today — eight years and a crumbling economy later — the strip center is about to look like a ghost town.

Corporate bankruptcies have forced both these big box giants to go into liquidation, just a few months after Bennigan's, another tenant at the Walk, locked its doors.

Circuit City has become the largest retailer to fall victim to the expanding financial crisis. After attempts to sell the business failed, the company announced last week that it will shut down its remaining 567 stores nationwide at the cost of 34,000 more jobs.

Barbara Schlappig, owner of Salon at the Walk, located next to Circuit City, said she worried about how the closings will affect business.

Traffic was at high volume and parking spaces were scarce because of all the bargain-hunters this week, but what will happen after everything is sold and the Circuit City sign is taken off the building?

"You get concerned when anybody closes," Schlappig said. "It just doesn't look right."

Schlappig said the property has changed management companies several times. It is currently being managed by Developers Diversified Realty, a company based in Ohio. No one from Developers Diversified Realty was available for comment early this week.

According to the company's Web site, the Walk is a 150,529-square-foot community center.

More than 94,046 people with an average household income of $82,976 live within a 5-mile radius, it states.

Michaels, the arts and crafts store, is the one remaining anchor for about two dozen other tenants, including a Subway, a pediatrician's office, a bike shop and a Panera Bread.

Listening to the sound of car engines zooming past each day, it's odd to find a once-bustling center reduced to a strip of small shops with a single anchor, residents said.

"I feel bad for the shopping center," said Barbara Franklin, of Pebble Creek. "With the economy the way it is, I can't say that I'm surprised."

Franklin and her husband, Stan, were among a steady stream of shoppers earlier this week who stopped in at Circuit City to look for liquidation deals.

Signs along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard said items were discounted up to 30 percent.

It was a familiar trip for the Franklins, who weeks earlier browsed the barren aisles at Linens 'n Things next door as it sold remaining merchandise to pay creditors.

"Hopefully a Kohl's or a similar department store will move in here," Franklin said.

Scott Hileman of Nye Commercial Advisors, who specializes in land brokerage and development, said with a lot of retailers pulling back, the closings are "just a reflection of the economy."

He predicts the other business will survive.

"Obviously, everybody kind of relies on those anchor tenants to pull in traffic," he said. "The smaller tenants will be okay. Most of them have a pretty good presence in this market anyway. They'll be able to fill that space really quick."