Thursday night at the offices of the Neighborhood News, the first episode of WCNT-tv was shown to a select crowd of more than 100 at the launch party. Now it’s your turn.
The new YouTube-based video news show is a partnership between Full Throttle Intermedia and the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, and also is the exclusive webcast partner of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. The program will come to you from the Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Studio, and will be released bi-monthly, featuring local news, businesses and restaurants.
The Cory Lake Isles CDD Board of Supervisors is negotiating with M/I Homes, which plans to take down the monument sign on Cory Lake Dr. just off Cross Creek Blvd. to build one of three new homes.
When you enter Cory Lake Isles (CLI) off of Cross Creek Blvd., and weave your way down Cory Lake Dr. until you can only turn left or right, you can’t help but notice the perfectly manicured orange brick marker with resplendent palm trees rising towards the clouds from behind it.
For many residents, the sign symbolizes what Cory Lake Isles is all about, with a nod to its brick roads and driveways and gorgeous landscaping that reflects a nature-centric view. “It gives you the first impression of the community,’’ said Cyril Spiro, the chair of the CLI Community Development District (CDD).
That is why the CDD is trying to save the marker, as builder M/I Homes is poised to build a home over it.
The three lots M/I is building on — with the marker situated on the middle one — were bought from the original developer and founder of Cory Lake Isles, Gene Thomason, who named the community for his son Cory (who is now a local Realtor).
Whereas the view of the property when approaching the “T” at Cory Lake Dr. used to be the marker in front of a swatch of green grass, trees and a glimpse of Cory Lake, one home already has been built and two more would completely obscure the lake’s view.
Roughly eight months ago, M/I Homes went to the CLI Property Owners Association (POA) for approval to build on the lots.
At first, residents assumed that Thomason had an easement around the marker, essentially making it public property and meaning that any home construction would have to be built around it, thus preserving it.
But, when subsequent CDD meetings with engineers revealed that there was no easement for the sign, Spiro says he and other CDD supervisors were shocked.
“My immediate reaction was, ‘How can that be?,’’” he says. “I had assumed that was public property … and that’s when the confusion set in.”
The CLI CDD then asked M/I Homes to consider the marker when building a home on the lot where the sign sits, suggesting a wraparound driveway that comes in from the left side. The house, then, would be behind the marker, which Spiro thought was reasonable because it would also keep nighttime headlights from shining through the front of a new home.
M/I was initially unwilling to consider that, Spiro says, but in a meeting last week the POA presented a design variance that the home builder has agreed to look at.
Another possible solution: M/I officials have told the CDD to make them an offer for the property.
Now, after some additional meetings and study, the CDD is preparing to do just that. The land has been privately appraised, “and we are ready to make M/I an offer,’’ Spiro says.
Spiro, who also is running for the Tampa City Council (see story on page 4), is pitching the idea of buying the property as less of an expense and more of a community asset. Doing so would put Cory Lake Isles in control of the land. Any homebuilder the CDD chooses to use to put a home on the lot would have to do so while preserving the marker.
To pay for the cost of the land, which could approach six figures, the CDD could tap into its reserve funds, where the District would essentially be borrowing the money from itself and paying itself back, or it could take out a standard loan.
He estimates the cost could be as little as $12 a year to each of the roughly 1,000 homeowners in the community to save the marker.
Spiro, who is campaigning for the City Council on a platform that includes using technology to connect communities and their representatives, hopes to get Board approval to poll CLI residents about how they feel about the marker. However, he says in many conversations with residents, has never heard from anyone who thinks the marker isn’t worth preserving.
And, while the CDD isn’t in the business of buying and selling real estate, there’s a good chance the land could one day turn a profit, paying back the loan and then some.
Spiro and the CDD are continuing to negotiate and fight for ways to save a marker they feel is important to the community.
“I know that the attraction of Cory Lake Isles to owners is the lush green of it all,” Spiro says. “The red brick roads, the trees at every home, the lake…Take out (the marker) and you’ll have a home and a big front door (that greets visitors), and it just sends a completely different message. We are a community of big homes, but that’s not all that we are, and I think (this would) give the impression that this is a community that was developed and put together to make a profit as opposed to appealing to the people and the lifestyle they want to live.”
Luis Viera is the latest candidate to officially enter the race for Tampa City Council.
After two months of lining up support and organizing a campaign, Tampa lawyer and Hunter’s Green resident Luis Viera has officially entered the race for the Tampa City Council District 7 seat being vacated by Lisa Montelione.
Montelione turned in her resignation June 10 with intentions of challenging Republican incumbent Shawn Harrison for the Florida House District 63 seat in November. Montelione, who earns $42,078 as a City Council member, will continue to serve on the Council through Nov. 8.
Viera joins three others in the upcoming special election —Dr. Cyril Spiro of Cory Lake Isles, newspaper editor Gene Siudut of Tampa Palms and former police officer Orlando Gudes of the Copeland Park area near Busch Blvd.
City Council elections are usually held in March in odd-numbered years. An official date for the special election had not been announced at our press time, but the winner of it will serve until the District 7 seat is up again in 2019.
Viera, a single father whose son attends Lawton Chiles Elementary in Tampa Palms, is an attorney with Ogden & Sullivan, P.A., a civil trial practice firm in Tampa, and a former Temple Terrace resident. This is his first time running for public office.
“I took a long look at the process and took a look at life’s responsibilities, and made that personal assessment that I felt this was something I could do,’’ Viera says of his approach. “I wanted to make sure there was good support for me in this race. I wanted to make sure I’m doing well in that regard.”
Which he is, if endorsements are any indication.
While all municipal elections in Tampa are non-partisan, Viera already has a number of top Democrats lined up behind him. Since entering the race on June 1, he already has big-name endorsements, such as from U.S. Rep. (14th Congressional District of Florida) Kathy Castor.
“As an active member of our Tampa community, including work in the City of Tampa Civil Service Board, with the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association and with his autism foundation, Lawyers Autism Awareness Foundation, he (Viera) has proven to be a strong advocate for our community and a fighter for those who need a clearer voice in the community, something that I strive to do everyday in the halls of Congress,’’ Rep. Castor said in a statement.
Viera also claims the endorsements of current Tampa City Council chair Mike Suarez, former state Rep., U.S. congressman and Florida gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis and former state Rep. Mary Figg, who represented the Lutz area in the Florida Legislature in the 1980s.
“We’ll have more endorsements forthcoming and more community leaders supporting our efforts,’’ Viera says.
Will endorsements translate to votes in New Tampa and throughout the diverse District 7? Perhaps. Viera says the support he has already received will help when it comes to building on the work already done in the district, which runs north from Waters Ave. to County Line Rd. and includes Forest Hills, Terrace Park, the University of South Florida and New Tampa. “I plan on fighting for respect for this part of the city,’’ he says.
Viera, who held a fund-raising event in June, has another scheduled for Friday, June 29, hosted by Columbia Restaurant Group president Richard Gonzmart.
Spiro Leads District 7 Candidates in Funds Raised
Cyril Spiro’s campaign kickoff fundraiser is June 23 at Peabody’s Palm Lounge in Tampa Palms 7:30-9:30 p.m., but he already leads the field after raising more than $10,000 in May.
Speaking of raising funds, Spiro, who works in health care data analytics and has been on the Cory Lake Isles Community Development District (CDD) Board of Supervisors the past five years, had a good first month and led the District 7 pack with $10,989.83 raised in May, including $1,989.83 of his own money, plus six $1,000 donations.
Spiro was pleased with his first month’s total, considering he has yet to hold an official fund raiser.
Meanwhile, Siudut, who recently held a fund raiser at the University Club in downtown Tampa, raised $9,425 in May, according to financial reports.
“We wanted to get to $10,000 our first month, and including in-kind (non-cash, which totaled $1,280.22) donations, we did, so we’re very pleased,’’ said Siudut.
Viera, who wasn’t in the race at the time, and Gudes, who said he has yet to begin fund raising, did not file financial reports for May.
Gudes said he has been spending his time setting up a campaign headquarters, meeting with the local community to identify their needs, and was waiting for Montelione to officially resign, “before we put things in full gear.”
New Tampa resident Aarush Prasad has always been good at math, but when he got his SAT results back in February, even he was a little stunned at the results:
A perfect 800 on the math portion of the important college entrance exam.
Even more amazing is the fact that Aarush is only a seventh-grader.
“I was a little surprised,’’ says Aarush, who attends Williams Middle Magnet School on E. Hillsborough Ave. “I was pretty excited when I found out.”
Aarush was honored for his accomplishment by the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP) on May 16 at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke’s beautiful campus in Durham, NC.
The Grand Recognition Ceremony honored seventh graders across the country who earned exceptional scores on either the ACT or SAT.
The last four years, Duke TIP has named 35-60 students a year as William and Dorothy C. Bevan Scholars for getting perfect SAT math scores, which means they scored equal to or better than 99 percent of all college-bound high school students who took the test, not that they answered every question correctly.
Aarush’s mother, Veenu Gupta, is an instructor at Aloha Mind Math on Cross Creek Blvd. She said she told her son before the test to focus on the math section, since that was his strongest subject. He says he took some mock tests and read study guides to prepare.
“I told him to focus on getting a better score in the math,’’ Veenu said. “But a perfect score is really amazing.”
Aarush, who was on the Math League team at Williams that won top Hillsborough County School District honors last year, also plays the viola for the school orchestra, competed in the U.S. Chess Nationals this past fall and can complete a Rubik’s Cube in less than a minute.
Six year-old Wesley Chapel resident Saaya Felder has been chosen as a state finalist for the National American Miss Florida Pageant that will be held in Orlando on July 8-9. She will be competing for the title of Miss Princess Florida in the 4-6 age division.
The pageant, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Hotel, is for girls ages 4-18 in five different age divisions. Contestants will compete in four overall categories, including formal wear modeling, personal introduction, interview and community service projects. They also have the opportunity to compete in optional contests like Top Model Search, Talent, Actress, etc.
“We learned about the National American Miss Pageant from my sister-in-law, whose two daughters competed for Virginia in 2015,” says Nisha Sharma-Felder, Saaya’s mother. “The pageant is all about confidence and showing inner beauty, so they thought Saaya would be a perfect candidate.”
Through the National American Miss referral program, Saaya received an invitation in the mail to come to try-outs, which included an interview and a photo shoot. She had never competed in a pageant before and Saaya’s family was thrilled to find out that she had been chosen as a finalist.
“We had such a great experience with National American Miss,” Nisha says. “We are going to try and do it every year from now on.”
Saaya’s easiness around the cameras and with her photo shoot did not come as a surprise, as she has been modeling for the Benz Modeling Agency in Tampa since she was only a year old. According to Nisha, she loves to “work it” for the camera.
Saaya says her favorite part about the pageant was meeting the other girls, getting to dress up and model for the judges, and the photo shoot. Her favorite activities outside of modeling include t-ball, tennis, piano and swimming, as well as spending time with her family and friends.
In addition to the National American Miss Florida pageant, Saaya will also compete in the optional Casual Wear and Most Photogenic contests.
According to Steven Roddy, founder of ThePageantPlanet.com, the National American Miss Pageant System is by far the largest in the nation, beating out Miss America and Miss United States by a long shot. National American Miss places an emphasis on the importance of gaining self-confidence and learning new skills, such as good attitudes about competition, as well as setting and achieving personal goals. It is dedicated to celebrating America’s greatness and encouraging its future leaders while equipping them with the real-world skills they will need to make their dreams come true. The program awards hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships and prizes to recognize and assist the development of young ladies.
If she wins Miss Princess Florida, Saaya will receive a $1,000 cash award, the official crown and banner, a bouquet of roses, a VIP day for 2 at Disneyland and the opportunity to compete in the National American Miss pageant at Disneyland in California on November 19-25. She also will tour Hollywood, and have the chance to represent Florida for the entire year.
For more information about the National American Miss Program, please visit NAMiss.com.
