The Cheesecake Factory Submits Plans To Open At The Tampa Premium Outlets!

Congratulations to the amazing Pasco County Development & Growth Updates (PCDGU) Facebook page for another scoop that has many people in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel excited — the announcement that plans for a new Cheesecake Factory restaurant have been submitted to Pasco County (below). 

According to the initial site plan, the nearly 8,000-sq.-ft. restaurant is expected to have 201 seats inside and room for an additional 78 seats outside at the Tampa Premium Outlets on the south side of S.R. 56. 

The excitement of the announcement that Cheesecake Factory could be coming to our area has been tempered somewhat by the fact that the new restaurant is planned to go on what has previously been part of the already-limited parking on the west side of the mall off Grand Cypress Dr. — basically where the often-stressed valet parking station has been located (see map, also provided by PCDGU, above). 

Some of the nearly 700 comments (at our press time) on the PCDGU post also lamented about yet another chain coming to the area around the outlet mall (and the Wesley Chapel area in general), while others said that if this popular chain, with nearly 350 locations in the U.S. and Canada (and 34 more licensed internationally), has to come to our area that the currently-vacant potential restaurant sites around the new Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant east of the Shops at Wiregrass mall on the north side of S.R. 56 would be a better — and less overcrowded — fit. 

Of course, this is just a pre-application submission and definitely subject to many potential changes. In fact, Kelly Gilroy, the PCDGU admin, told the Neighborhood News that she assumes, “The county will allow the Outlets to alter the minimum parking standards first,” which would be necessary for the restaurant to be able to proceed in this location. 

Among the chain restaurants already on the south side of 56 near the mall are Chedddar’s, BJ’s Brewhouse, McDonald’s, Longhorn Steakhouse, Rock & Brews, Main Event, Culver’s, Starbucks, MOD Pizza, Panda Express, Zaxby’s, Shuckin’ Shack, Chick-fil-A, Miller’s Ale House and the under construction Raising Cane’s and Rodizio Grill. 

The Law Office Of Elizabeth Devolder For Quality Estate Planning With Heart 

(Above, l.-r.) Attorney Elizabeth Devolder, case manager Camelia Howard and attorney Rachael Alexander make up the team you’ll have on your side if you choose the Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder in Tampa Palms. (Photos by Charmaine George)

When Dwan Klein’s dear friend of 37 years called to say her checks were suddenly bouncing, Dwan immediately knew something was wrong. 

Her friend, now 86, had been widowed for many years, had no family, and had signed documents appointing Dwan and her husband as her caregivers if she were to become incapacitated. 

Dwan had no idea that day was so close. 

Dwan’s husband, an accountant, realized someone was stealing from their friend. They were able to determine it was an online scammer, but Dwan’s friend didn’t believe it. She refused to close her accounts to stop the perpetrator. 

At an absolute loss of what to do, Dwan turned to attorney Elizabeth Devolder of The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder, located in the Tampa Palms Professional Center, just off the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. exit of I-75. 

“It was the best thing we could have done,” Dwan says. “Elizabeth understood immediately what our issues were, and gave us direction on what do to, and how to do it.” 

Elizabeth says her firm is seeing many instances of such financial exploitation. In addition to this example, she has seen elderly people who have left their financial and medical decisions to some unexpected people, including a dog trainer, someone who painted a person’s car and even a taxi driver. 

“Sometimes, people don’t know who to trust,” Elizabeth says. “Sometimes, their families live far away and aren’t able to be on site, but there’s a neighbor or a person from church who offers to help. We often don’t know those people’s bad intentions until much later.” 

Elizabeth and her team have the legal expertise to help people understand and think through their options when it comes to establishing caregiving and financial responsibility, should they become incapacitated. 

“People come into my office to set up a will and they aren’t thinking about the kinds of decisions that might need to be made if they become ill and can’t make them [for themselves] anymore,” she says. “They have this idea in their mind that, in the future, they will either be dead or perfectly fine. They don’t anticipate incapacity.” 

Elizabeth established The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder in 2021, five years after she earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) law degree from the Tampa campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Riverview in 2016, following a successful career in advertising and sales management. She had previously earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Corporate Communications from the College of Charleston, SC, in 1997. For five years, Elizabeth worked jointly with her ex-husband Bryan Devolder at their Devolder Law Firm. 

The newer firm’s associate attorney Rachael Alexander was previously a case manager, working closely with Elizabeth and helping her found the firm while going to law school herself. The team also includes case manager Camelia Howard. 

Elizabeth says there are ways to set up your documents to ensure a system of checks and balances, so that no one person has total control and there’s always someone looking out for your best interests, even if it’s not your primary caregiver. 

She emphasizes that this is why setting up an estate plan with an attorney is so important, and that online documents from a website don’t give you personalized, customized advice from an expert who takes your individual circumstances into account. 

There’s another benefit to hiring an attorney, too. The attorney who prepares and signs your documents can testify to your capacity and intentions in court if that becomes necessary. 

Dwan and her husband were grateful for Elizabeth’s immediate action to help their friend. They ended up going to court, where three separate experts evaluated their friend and determined that she was unable to make good decisions for herself. Her paperwork was crystal clear about who she wanted to make decisions on her behalf if that were to happen. 

The court gave Dwan the authority to close the accounts that were being attacked and protect her friend’s assets. By the time they were able to do that, the scammer already had taken $150,000 from their friend. 

“When we met Elizabeth, we knew immediately that she was the right person to help us,” Dwan says. “She knew exactly what we needed to do.” Dwan adds that she is grateful that Elizabeth helped her to ensure her friend’s assets could no longer be stolen. 

“We talk regularly, and we ensure that all of her needs are met,” says Dwan. “It was very difficult, and very hard to see her unable to accept the fact that she was being taken advantage of, but the judge was so kind and actually said, ‘I wish I had a friend like you.’” 

Elizabeth says this is a perfect example of how one situation is very different from another. Not everyone has a friend who would take such good care of them and manage their finances in their best interest. In those cases, when a person has no family present, there are professionals who can manage these decisions for them. 

Sometimes, though, a professional isn’t needed. Remember the dog trainer, taxi driver, and car painter who were given control over someone’s entire estate? One of those actually had no bad intentions at all. 

In fact, Elizabeth says the person who asked her taxi driver to care for her had no family. She had formed a bond with the lady who drove her to all of her appointments. That taxi driver ended up caring for her for the rest of her life, ensuring she had all she needed, and looking out for her best interests. 

“Every family and every person’s situation is different,” she says. “The important thing an attorney can do is help to create a system that avoids the potential for abuse, and can provide testimony about your capacity when you signed the documents.” 

Elizabeth says for her clients, she is willing to take the time to be incredibly detailed, as long as that’s what the client wants. She tells of visiting a client in the hospital who was refusing to eat and the client’s nurses were frustrated. Elizabeth glanced at the papers she had brought with her. 

“I told the nurses his favorite treat was ice cream, and they looked at me like I was a genius,” Elizabeth laughs. “You can have sufficient documents that don’t go into that level of detail, but with it, you can provide direction for how to provide better care for you.” 

Elizabeth also specializes in valuating and managing collections of art or other tangible personal property, such as gun or coin collections, or antiques. 

“It may require calling in a special appraiser who is familiar with that type of collection, because 1980s rock posters are very different than a collection of china,” Elizabeth says. “Our goal is to maximize the value of the collection, which takes some effort, and the person who is best at knowing how to maximize the value is the one who collected it.” 

Elizabeth says she and her team offer their clients experience, knowledge and care that may be hard to find, especially as the market grows and many attorneys offer estate planning. 

“In addition to eight years of experience doing estate planning here in our area, we live and work in Tampa, and we work together to answer our own calls in our own office,” she says. “We’re not working out of a coworking space or having a virtual assistant in another country answering our phones. My clients want to walk in and see the person they spoke to on the phone, and meet my staff, who is then also able to testify about you if necessary. Those details are important to look for when hiring an estate planning attorney.” 

The Law Office of Elizabeth Devolder is located at 5383 Primrose Lake Cir., Suite C, in the Tampa Palms Professional Center. It is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment, call (813) 319-4550 or visit ElizabethDevolder.com.

Nov. 5 Is Only 3 Weeks Away. How Will New Tampa Vote? 

The Presidential Election Is The Centerpiece But County & State Races & Amendments Also Will Help Shape Life Here 

Vice-President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump: Only one can be elected the 47th President of the United States on Tuesday, November 5. (Photo: Associated Press) 

On Tuesday, November 5, voters across the U.S. will elect a new President and Vice-President. And, while there are other candidates on the ballot, there’s no doubt that either current Vice-President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump will be elected the 47th president of the U.S., and their respective running mates — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz or Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance — will become our next Vice-President. 

Yes, the election will be historic no matter who wins. Harris would be the first woman, the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to ascend to our country’s highest office. 

Trump would be the first President since Grover Cleveland (who won in 1884 and 1892, after losing in 1888, despite winning the popular vote) and the second in history to regain the office after losing his first attempt at a second term. And, no matter what you think about his trial for falsifying business records, Trump also would be the only convicted felon to become President. 

But, while this election also comes at one of the most volatile times in our nation’s history — with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, the very real threat of Chinese aggression against Taiwan and Republicans and Democrats pointing fingers at each other for the myriad of problems we face domestically — there is little doubt that this will be one of the most hotly contested Presidential elections in history. 

And, while that’s actually a good thing, because it likely means that more people will be casting ballots than ever before — probably surpassing the record 155+ million who cast ballots in 2020 — it also probably means that all of the candidates down-ballot, from U.S. Senator to local Community Development District races, can expect larger-than-usual voting numbers, too. 

Yes, some people will only vote in the Presidential race while others will vote in every race except for President, but for anyone who cares about life not only in our country but in our state and local communities, this is an opportunity to truly let your voice be “heard.” 

And, with super-controversial State Constitutional Amendments — including abortion rights and recreational marijuana — also on the Nov. 5 ballot, the hope here is that local voters will look beyond the non-stop TV ads on those issues and try to read the texts of those amendments (difficult though it may be) to decide what you truly think is the right thing to do with your vote. 

If that feels like a lot of pressure to you, just imagine what all of the candidates on your ballot (see pages 4-5) are feeling right now as they come down to this election’s home stretch. 

Speaking of which, Vote by Mail ballots were sent out beginning on Oct. 3 and are due back by no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. The Early Voting period begins on Monday, October 21, and runs through Sunday, November 3, and the New Tampa Regional Library (10001 Cross Creek Blvd.) is the closest Early Voting site for pretty much everyone who lives in zip code 33647, although the Victor Crist Community Center Complex (at 14013 N. 22nd St.) is a reasonable alternative Early Voting site for some of you. 

The deadline to register to vote in this election was Oct. 7, so if you’re not already registered to vote in Hillsborough County, you will not be able to cast a ballot here in this election. 

I also encourage you to know your polling place. If you don’t know where you are supposed to vote on Election Day, visit VoteHillsborough.gov to find out.

Please note that what appears above and below represents the entire sample ballot for voters who live in New Tampa. 

In addition to the Presidential election, the national races being contested that you have the ability to help decide are: 

U.S. Senator – Incumbent Republican Rick Scott vs. Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell , Libertarian candidate Feena Bonoan and two candidates with No Party Affiliation (Tuan TQ Nguyen & Ben Everidge) 

Dist. 15 U.S. Congress – Incumbent Rep. Laurel Lee vs. Dem. Pat Kemp 

State Races on this year’s ballot include: 

State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit – Appointed incumbent Rep. Suzy Lopez vs. Dem. Andrew Warren 

State Senator, Dist. 23 – Incumbent Rep. Danny Burgess vs. Dem. Ben Braver & Independent John Houman 

State Representative, Dist. 67 – Incumbent Dem. Fentrice Driskell vs. Rep. Rico Smith 

Hillsborough County races on the ballot: 

Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller – Incumbent Dem. Cindy Stuart vs. Rep. Victor Crist 

Property Appraiser – Incumbent Dem. Bob Henriquez vs. Rep. John Ballance 

Supervisor of Elections – Incumbent Dem. Craig Latimer vs, Rep. Billy Christensen 

County Commissioner, Dist. 2 – Incumbent Rep. Ken Hagan vs. Patricia Altagracia Alonzo 

County Commissioner, Dist. 6 – Rep. Chris Boles vs. Dem. Sean Shaw 

Justice of the Supreme Court – Shall Justice Renatha Francis be retained? 

Justice of the Supreme Court – Shall Justice Meredith Sasso be retained? 

District Court of Appeal – Shall Judge Anthony K. Black be retained? 

District Court of Appeal – Shall Judge Edward C. LaRose be retained? 

District Court of Appeal – Shall Judge Susan H. Rothstein-Youakim be retained? 

School Board Member, Dist. 7 (runoff) – Incumbent Lynn Gray vs. Karen Bendorf 

Soil & Water Conservation District – Group 4 – Tyler Barrett vs. David Maynard 

State Constitutional Amendments on the ballot include: No. 1 – Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards; No. 2 – Right to Fish & Hunt; No. 3 – Adult Personal Use of Marijuana; No. 4 – Limit Government Interference with Abortion; No. 5 – Annual Adjustments to the Value of Certain Homestead Exemptions; No. 6 – Repeal of Public Campaign Financing Requirement 

Hillsborough County Referendum: No. 1 – Renewal of Community Investment 1/2-cent Sales Tax through Dec. 31, 2041; No. 2 – The School Board of Hillsborough County Millage Election for Public School Students 

Local Community Development District (CDD) Races (not shown on these Sample Ballots): 

Cory Lake Isles CDD, Seat 2 – Juan Jose Aliaga vs. Prasad Yealuru 

Tampa Palms OST CDD, Seat 4 – Louis Hector De Armas, Jr. vs. Brad van Rooyen 

Tampa Palms OST CDD, Seat 5 – Bob Lennon vs. Ram Ramadoss 

Please get out and vote, New Tampa! 

AdventHealth Radiologist Discusses The Importance Of Mammograms 

Dr. Rachel Burke demonstrates how the AdventHealth Care Pavilion mammography machine works. (Photos by Charmaine George)

As most people know, October is “National Breast Cancer Awareness Month” across the U.S. and here in Tampa, the AdventHealth Care Pavilion at 8702 Hunter’s Lake Dr., in front of the Hunter’s Green community on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., hosted a breast cancer awareness event on Oct. 3 to encourage women to get their mammograms. 

“One in eight women will be touched by breast cancer in their lifetimes,” said Dr. Rachel Burke, the medical director and head breast radiologist at the Kay Meyer Breast Care Center at AdventHealth Tampa. “The median age is around 62 and the highest risk is for those over age 70, but we diagnose it in all ages. Pretty much everyone knows someone who has been affected by it. I always tell people that the biggest risk factors for developing breast cancer are being born female and getting older — and if you’re alive, you’re getting older, so nobody is immune to it.” 

In fact, she said, “This year alone, more than 300,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, the kind that can possibly spread, and another 56,000 with the non-invasive or ‘Stage 0’ breast cancer, and that’s just here in the U.S.” 

Dr. Burke says that not only is a mammogram the only diagnostic test approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), it also is the “gold standard” for detecting breast cancer. 

“And honestly, it’s so easy,” Dr. Burke said. “It only takes a few minutes, isn’t painful and it can definitely save your life. I don’t know why some women have built it up in their heads that it’s this scary thing. It’s really just a couple of seconds of pressure on each side.” 

She added that she started as a diagnostic radiologist specializing in breast radiology, “before I turned 40, so I hadn’t actually had a mammogram myself yet. But, I had heard many scary things about mammograms from patients. And, when I finally had mine, I said, ‘OK, that wasn’t so bad.’ I didn’t know what the whole fuss was about. It was over and done with so fast and wasn’t terrible at all.” 

Dr. Burke also said that since the 1990s, with widespread screening becoming the norm, “Mortality from breast cancer has been reduced by 40% and up to 50% in some studies. Yes, it works. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to have a test that took five minutes of their time that could save their life.” 

And, she noted that considering that an annual mammogram is a covered test for women over age 40 on virtually all health insurance plans, “Cost isn’t an issue, either. Even if you don’t have insurance, there are programs — like through our AdventHealth Foundation — that offer free or low-cost mammograms to women, regardless of their insurance status, if they can’t afford to get one. We will find a way to help you” 

In addition, Dr. Burke said, “Most mammography facilities offer special programs and lower fees during October. I know we have a special for a $99 mammogram this month.” 

The Care Pavilion staff “celebrates” Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

Dr. Burke also noted that although African American women have a lower incidence of breast cancer when compared with Caucasians and other races, “They have a higher mortality rate from it. We don’t know exactly why — but Black women have a higher incidence of dense breast tissue and there are some other factors, including socioeconomic, but it absolutely is something to be aware of. We don’t want any women to die from breast cancer, but we also don’t want this type of disparity either.” 

Speaking of breast density, however, Dr. Burke said that it is harder to read the mammograms of women who have more dense, glandular tissue than fatty tissue, which puts any woman with dense breasts at higher risk for breast cancer. 

“Mammograms are still our best diagnostic tool,” she said, “but the test isn’t perfect. Just as it’s harder to see when you’re driving in dense fog, it’s harder to read the mammograms through dense breast tissue. Some women will need a supplemental test — like an MRI or ultrasound — if they have dense breasts and there’s a concern.” 

Dr. Burke also talked about BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations, which significantly increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. Statistics show that 55%-65% of women found with a BRCA1 mutation and 45% of women with a BRCA2 mutation will develop breast cancer by age 70. 

“More and more celebrities are coming out and discussing that they have gotten prophylactic bilateral mastectomies and reconstruction after being found with either mutation,” she said. “You know, the Angelina Jolie effect. So now, there are a lot of women with these mutations who aren’t celebrities who were inspired by that and also are having mastectomies to prevent breast cancer and that’s great. A surgery without cancer is easier to recover from than a surgery with cancer.” 

And now, she added, “We have found a lot of different genes that are proving to be risk factors not just for breast but for a lot of different cancers.” 

Dr. Burke also said that although there are some risk factors that women can’t change, like aging and genetics, “The risk factors we can change are alcohol consumption, diet and exercise and smoking. I never tell women they have to give up alcohol altogether,” she said. “I still like to have a glass of wine, too, and I have friends who are oncologists who still have a drink here and there. All we say is to limit your alcohol consumption because it definitely is related to breast cancer.” 

She also noted that it’s important to tell women who are diagnosed that, “It’s not your fault. I tell them, ‘You did not cause this. This is one rogue cell that decided to proliferate. There wasn’t one particular thing you did to cause it.’” 

The stage of the cancer itself also is important. “The chance for long-term survival goes down with each stage,” Dr. Burke said. “However, even though we can’t ‘cure’ Stage 4, we do have many patients who live for a number of years with Stage 4 disease.” 

Dr. Burke then demonstrated how a mammogram works in the Care Pavilion’s Mammography Suite. And, after the interview,Charmaine and I enjoyed pink cupcakes, donuts and lemonade with the Care Pavilion staff, who also painted provided stones pink with the name of someone they lost to the disease for the Care Pavilion’s garden. They also took home pink light bulbs. 

For more info about AHCP, call (813) 548-8550, visit AHCarePavilionNewTampa.com

Hurricane Milton Aftermath — Of Tornado Near Misses & What You’re Dealing With Here

As I reflect on the horror that was — and still is for many people — Hurricane Milton, I am both happy and a little guilty to report that our power is back on (at the Silversaw Apartments on the north side of S.R. 56, west of I-75), our complex seemingly suffered little to no structural damage, the traffic signals are working and many of the stores and restaurants have been able to reopen in our area.
 
But, believe me, I know this is not the case for a large number of our readers and the State of Florida in general. And, I once again feel powerless to help, other than maybe to donate money to disaster relief, which won’t necessarily benefit the local residents in need.


Jannah and I went to stay with her daughter in Port Saint Lucie — yes, the same Port Saint Lucie (and St. Lucie County) that took the brunt of the 126 tornado warnings and nearly 40 verified tornado touchdowns as Milton’s outer bands were first reaching the “Sunshine State” early on Thursday afternoon. One of those tornadoes, which touched down less than five miles from where we were hunkered down, tore the roof off the city’s Police Department and another that hit Ft. Pierce (only 12 miles from us) is responsible for the deaths of at least five people in one subdivision — the Spanish Lakes Country Club. 
 
Scary stuff, to be sure, but those near misses were the worst we dealt with from the storm and we got an email that the power had somehow already been restored at Silversaw on Thursday night. We definitely saw less rain and wind in Port Saint Lucie than pretty much anywhere other than Miami and other areas in the southeastern corner of the state.
 
My mom, who lives in downtown Sarasota, made the decision to stay in her high-rise apartment building, which did lose power but had a backup generator that kicked in and her hurricane windows held up just fine. Even so, she was alone with her cat in her apartment and said that the winds — which exceeded 100 mph upon Milton’s landfall in nearby Siesta Key (which already had been devastated by storm surge from Hurricane Helene) — never seemed to let up from what she could only describe as a high-speed train sound right outside those windows for more than six hours. I’ve seen comments on local Facebook community pages that tell a similar story about the conditions here for those who didn’t evacuate.
 
On our drive back yesterday, which included passing through the “war zone” that is now Ft. Pierce, we saw dozens of downed power lines, non-working traffic signals and tons of damage. We felt even more fortunate — but maybe also even more guilty — to have a place to return to that has electricity and running water with our lives pretty much able to resume back to “normal.”


 
But, I know that simply isn’t true for everyone who receives our publications. Photographer Charmaine George and freelance writers Celeste McLaughlin and Iris Vitelli still have no power and TECO (Tampa Electric Co.) has told its many thousands of customers that they “hope” all power will be restored by next Thursday. That would be almost an entire week with no electricity, which is horrible to think about until you consider those who lost their homes completely and whose lives are changed forever.  
 
We have seen the buckling of a portion of Curley Rd., the flooding of the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza (BBD Blvd. at S.R. 56), trees that fell on people’s houses and many more truly frightening things that have happened since Thursday night. 
 
And, the effects of Milton clearly haven’t left us yet entirely, either. Just today, the National Guard and other military and law enforcement personnel had to help evacuate the Enclave development on Wesley Chapel Blvd.(not to be confused with The Enclave subdivision of Meadow Pointe or The Enclave Apartments on S.R. 56) because of the flooding of the nearby Cypress Creek. Flooding continues to be an issue for a lot of our other readers, too, and many have structural damage to their homes and what could be long waits for insurance claims to be processed and paid, while also having to find temporary shelter.


 
In other words, just because you and I don’t have the same full-fledged disaster on our hands doesn’t mean your neighbors are all OK. I have seen some of the nastiest comments back and forth on local Facebook communities and have seen and heard of people being nasty to workers at Costco, local restaurants and especially, at local gas stations, many of which weren’t able to replenish their supplies until this morning. It’s obvious that many people do still have to fill gas cans because they do still need to run their generators because they still don’t have power. Please try to avoid getting gas right now if you already have more than half a tank, in order to let those who desperately need it now get it. We all hate waiting on lines for things, but we don’t need to hate or fight or threaten each other because we have to do so.
 
I am praying for a speedy recovery for everyone from this but sadly, I know that many have a lot of “bad road” ahead of them. Please email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com (mailto:ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com) if you have ideas about what those of us who are already recovering from Milton can do to help those who aren’t. Also feel free to send me a note about what you or someone you know are going through and please let me know if you want me to share that information with our readers, even if you want it to remain anonymous.