‘Trading Spaces’ TV At Tampa Premium Outlets Saturday!

The cast of the newly rebooted “Trading Spaces” on TLC includes former stars Ty Pennington (far left) and Hildi Santo Tomas (with her arm around Pennington).

“Trading Spaces,” the hit TLC (The Learning Channel) TV show that launched innumerable copycat design shows, has been off the air for 10 years.

But now, it’s coming back.

Not only can you watch “Trading Spaces” on Saturday, April 7, at 9 p.m., but you can gear up for the big premiere right here in Wesley Chapel by taking pictures by the show’s iconic “Trading Spaces” truck or hanging out in the show’s lounge because, that same day, from noon to 6 p.m., the “Trading Spaces Experience” will be held at the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO, 2300 Grand Cypress Dr.), near the mall’s children’s play area.

Celebrity designer Hildi Santo Tomas and carpenter Ty Pennington — who both appeared on the original show and will be back on the reboot — also will be appearing live at TPO for the “Trading Spaces Experience.”

The event at TPO will be held from noon to 6 p.m. It’s part of a three-city tour, with similar events happening simultaneously in Atlanta and Charlotte (with different cast and crew members on hand), as well.

At TPO, the day’s events will include:

• Design Live — fans can design a room live and see which “Trading Spaces” talent they are most like

• DIY Lab — attendees will be involved in mini workshops where they will learn some of the best how-to secrets for designing from the show’s designers and carpenters

• Do It Yourselfie — an interactive photo station where fans can recreate iconic “Trading Spaces” designs to share with their friends

• Kid Zone — where kids can participate in a fun design.

“This is so exciting for us to have them here,” says North Tampa Bay Chamber CEO Hope Allen. “Another first for Wesley Chapel!”

To get in on the fun, follow the show’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/TradingSpaces.

New Tampa YMCA Picks Top Volunteer

Coach Brigid Merenda is congratulated for being named the New Tampa Family YMCA Volunteer of the Year.

Volunteer youth basketball coach Brigid Merenda has been named the New Tampa Family YMCA Volunteer of the Year.

At the New Tampa Y in Tampa Palms, Brigid uses her skills and experience as a college basketball player for the University of South Florida (1993-97) to teach the next generation of players the sport she loves.

“I have the ability and the skills to coach, and I had a lot of volunteer coaches in my life, so I want to give back,” says Brigid, who — in addition to her “day job” as a lawyer — also is a color commentator for radio broadcasts of the USF women’s basketball home games. (Our congratulations go out to the team, which is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the last six seasons, all under the leadership of head coach and New Tampa resident José Fernandez.)

Among the many volunteers at the Y, Brigid stands out.

“Brigid has been heavily involved in growing the girls’ basketball program with a unique talent to teach a group of young girls in a fun, but competitive way,” explains Michael Cosentino, executive director of the New Tampa Y. “Brigid is always on the court, active and involved in teaching the game. Coach Brigid realizes that if you teach skills in a fun way, your team will learn about the game and be successful, even at a young age.”

Brigid says she and her husband, Jason, have been members of the New Tampa Y since about 2003. She began coaching at the Y about three years ago, when her daughter, Sophia, who was five at the time, wanted to play basketball. Now, Brigid’s son, Charlie, is five, and will start playing basketball this summer.

“If you see a coach running around high-fiving everyone,” Cosentino says, “then you are probably watching Brigid coach. She has as much fun as the kids!”

Brigid received the award at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA’s Community Impact Dinner on Feb. 27, at TPepin’s Hospitality Centre on N. 50th St. in Tampa, where more than 500 guests were in attendance.

Viera Files For Re-Election

Luis Viera is only a little more than a year removed from his first political campaign, and is already looking forward to his second one.

Viera, who represents District 7 (which includes the portions of New Tampa within Tampa’s city limits) on the Tampa City Council, has officially thrown his hat in the ring for the March 2019 City Council election.

Viera, who defeated fellow New Tampa resident Jim Davison by only 65 votes in a runoff election on Dec. 6, 2016, filed his re-election papers with the city on March 1.

“We have an election about a year away, and I wanted to get started,” Viera says. “I’m very optimistic and very proud of our accomplishments for District 7. We’ve done a lot in a short time.”

Viera cited his work organizing both the North Tampa Veterans Association and the New Tampa Council, as well as his partnerships with community leaders when it came to Tampa city budget issues involving the New Tampa Recreation Center and his pet project — a proposed autism park in Tampa Palms.

“I think those are the some of the greatest things we can be proud of in the last one-and-a-half years,” Viera says. “We’ve worked hard on the rebirth of civic engagement in New Tampa, and I think we’ve seen results. It’s one of the things I want to continue to champion.”

Viera says that Gene Siudut, Orlando Gudes and Arbor Greene’s Avis Harrison, all opponents in the 2016 primaries,  have already endorsed his re-election efforts.

BIG START FOR DRISKELL:

Tampa attorney Fentrice Driskell, who has filed to run against incumbent Shawn Harrison for his State House District 63 seat (as we reported last issue), raised $40,805.18 in the first 22 days after announcing her bid. Driskell says that total is from more than 200 donors.

“I truly appreciate the outpouring of community support,” Driskell says. “We are focused on common-sense solutions to the challenges we face every day in Hillsborough County and throughout Florida, from investing in education and transportation, to protecting our children with sensible gun laws.”

Local Girl Scout Donates 4000 Books

Elaine Feaster (center) donated 1,700 books to Edison Elementary in Tampa as part of her Girl Scout Silver Award. She’s pictured here with (l.-r.) Hillsborough County assistant superintendent Dr. Larry Sykes, Judy O’Connoll (Elaine’s great aunt, who is the sister of Linda Jones, a former teacher at the school), Edison principal Marc Gaillard and secretary Barbara Williams.

New Tampa resident and Liberty Middle School seventh grade student Elaine Feaster wanted to get books into the hands of kids who may not have them, as a project for her Girl Scout Silver Award.

Now, after dedicating 60 hours to her initiative, she has donated a total of 4,000 books, thanks to the generosity of the New Tampa community.

On February 22, Elaine wrapped up her community service project by donating more than 1,700 books to Edison Elementary in North Tampa, in memory of her great aunt Linda Jones, who was a teacher at the school for many years and who championed literacy.

Over the 10 months of her project, Elaine received and donated:

• 1,500 books to Foster Elem.

• 1,700 to Edison Elem.

• 200 to the Salvation Army (cookbooks, religious materials, books for adults, etc.)

• 60 brand new books to Metropolitan Ministries at Christmas

• 50 middle-school level books to her own school, Liberty

• 400 books to the Parents & Children Advance Together (PCAT) family literacy program

“When she was beginning to plan the project in January 2017, she only expected to collect 500 books,” says Elaine’s mom, Jane Feaster, “so the community support has been very overwhelming.”

To earn her Silver Award, Elaine had to spend at least 50 community service hours on a project that will have a lasting impact on the community.

The Cadette in Troop 1247, which meets at St. James Church on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Tampa Palms, says she was inspired by the Girl Scout Law. “It says to make the world a better place, and I want to do that for kids in need.”

City Of Tampa Hires Designers For Rec Center Expansion & Sensory Park

FleischmanGarcia Architects & Planners will begin work on designing the long-awaited expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center, which has a waiting list for its popular gymnastics and dance programs. (Photo: City of Tampa)

After years of being the bridesmaid and never the bride when it came to expanding the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms, the Tampa City Council seems to have finally brought the project to the altar.

At its meeting on March 15, the city issued a resolution approving a work order to officially begin designing the NTRC expansion.

According to the resolution, the City of Tampa will pay FleischmanGarcia Architects and Planners, A.I.A., P.A. $99,800 “for professional services in connection with the New Tampa Recreation Center addition.”

It also issued another resolution to pay $49,400 to David Conner & Associates, Inc., to begin similar work on the proposed 5-acre sensory-friendly park in Tampa Palms.

“It was a good day for New Tampa,’’ said District 7 councilman Luis Viera, who rallied community support for both projects, helping get them in the city budget that was passed by Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Plans to expand the NTRC had been in previous budgets before, but were somehow removed from those budgets before they were passed.

“In years past, we’ve gotten through some of the steps in the process, but this is the furthest we’ve gotten,” Viera said. “I’m happy to see the ball is rolling.”

The $1.7-million expansion project is expected to ease the overburdened and popular gymnastics and dance programs at the NTRC, which have more than 800 students participating and just as many on waiting lists.

The difficulties area parents have faced in getting their children into the program spurred much of the civic involvement this past year in the city’s budget process.

According to the proposal from Kevin Smith, senior vice president at FleischmanGarcia, his firm plans to utilize as much as 90 percent of the construction documents from the original planned addition in 2012, as well as using many of the same engineers from that project.

The project will be a 1-story addition to the existing rec center, of roughly 5,000-8,500-sq.-ft., depending upon budget limitations. That space will include areas for gymnastics, two multi-purpose areas, restrooms, storage, a staff office and an HVAC upgrade to the chiller system.

The NTRC currently has nearly 20,000 sq. ft. of space, with 14,000 of that dedicated to its gymnastics area.

As for the sensory-friendly park —which will be located behind the B.J.’s Wholesale Club on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms — $90,000 was allocated in the city budget for Phase 1, which is Design & Development.

More than half of that will go to David Connor & Associates, which is  proposing designing the park to perhaps include an inclusive playground with Autism-focused elements, a dog park, picnic shelter and other site furnishings.

The design firm says it will conduct its due diligence on any environmental issues, and then hold a community design meeting to gain input from residents.

After coming up with some  preliminary designs, another community design meeting will be held before a final design concept is submitted, along with preliminary cost estimates.