Beginning March 8 and running through March 29, the Tampa Water Department (TWD) is temporarily changing its water disinfection process from chloramine to chlorine to disinfect the water distributed to all TWD customers.
If you get your water from the TWD, you might notice a slight change in what you are tasting and smelling coming out of our faucets the next three weeks. However, chances are you won’t.
Your water is safe to drink and does not need to be boiled, according to the TWD. Customers who are sensitive to chlorine may notice. If so, it is recommended you run the tap for a few minutes before using, fill a pitcher of water and let it sit for a few hours to allow any residual chlorine to evaporate or consider installing a carbon filter on your faucets or replace existing filters with new ones.
The TWD uses chloramine (ammonia added to chlorine) to disinfect the water, but as a sustainable alternative to losing millions of gallons of drinking water by flushing the system, at least twice a year for three-week periods it switches to chlorine disinfection, which is stronger. TWD says the temporary change kills bacteria and ensures the water remains safe to drink as it travels through the water mains and service lines.
โWe work closely with the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to ensure that we comply with EPA guidelines for using chlorine and chloramine to disinfect Tampaโs drinking water,โ it says on the TWD website.
Those who already take special steps to remove chloramine from tap water, such as dialysis centers, medical facilities and aquatic pet owners, should take the same precautions during the temporary switch to chlorine, says TWD.
For more information, contact City of Tampa Utilities at (813) 274-8811, Option 2, or visit tampa.gov/ChlorineDisinfection.
The much-anticipated and long-awaited expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) in Tampa Palms, which dates all the way back to the day the facility debuted in 2008 with a waiting list of more than 1,000 kids, has finally come to fruition.
Today at 3:30 p.m., almost two years to the day of the expansionโs groundbreaking on April 12, 2019, the NTRC will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reopen with 7,300 square feet of extra space, featuring three new rooms (convertible to five, with partitions) that will provide new space for gymnastics and dance instruction, community meetings, adult and senior fitness classes and athletic training.
The expansion cost roughly $2.6-million, after years of budget battles that saw the long-planned project get passed over in 2012 and again in 2016.
โItโs been a long time coming,โ said Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who as the District 7 Council member, helped rally New Tampa residents, led by Tampa Palms attorney Tracy Falkowitz, to show up at the budget deliberations in 2017 and implore the Council to keep the money in the budget for the project.
The end result will expand not only the NTRCโs profile, but also its reach.
โWeโre known for gymnastics and dance classes, but the expansion makes us more than that,โ said Heather Wolf-Erickson, the athletics, aquatics and special facilities manager for the City of Tampaโs Parks & Recreation Department, who took us on a tour of the new add-on prior to the March 3 opening. โKids are one aspect of a family, but we also wanted to give the parents that sit here during the practices an opportunity to do some fitness classes and other things, too.โ
Wolf-Erickson also is excited about offering classes for older residents, as well as space for community gatherings and meetings. All of that will be available in the first multi-purpose room you pass upon entering the expanded facility, which has a partition to give it more flexibility to host two classes at once.
โWe can get a little more creative with what we can offer (now),โ Wolf-Erickson says.
The “fun” room
Next to that room is what Wolf-Erickson calls the โfunโ room โ a new mini-gym for those just starting out in gymnastics, typically ages 5-and-below.
The space was designed for โthe littlesโ who, until now, had to share space with the bigger kids in the NTRCโs large 12,500-sq.-ft. main gymnasium. Now, instead of being lost in a forest of taller gymnasts, the younger kids have a great new space of their own.
โItโs easy to get distracted (in the main gymnastics area),โ said Linda Hall, Site Supervisor II for the City of Tampa. โWhen the big kids are in there, theyโre doing big kid (moves) and itโs easy (for the younger kids) to get distracted.โ
Also making the new room unique is the equipment itself, like the rings and parallel bars, which are smaller to fit smaller hands. And, an inflatable trampoline and foam ball pit are used for practicing jumping and flipping.
โEverything is catered to them,โ Wolf-Erickson says of the new room. โWeโre not teaching them any big gymnastic moves in here, weโre working on upper-body strength, hand-eye coordination and patience. When kids have fun learning and doing physical things, theyโre more apt to come back.โ
Adjustable Batting Cage, Too
Wolf-Erickson says her favorite room is the 1,760-sq.-ft. rectangular training โbox,โ which resembles popular, more rustic training facilities that look like warehouses, with large fans, a garage door that opens and even a batting cage that is stored above the floor and can be lowered with the press of a button.
Baseball and softball athletes will be the obvious beneficiaries of the batting cage, but when the cage is suspended above the floor, the area can be used for almost any kind of training, from football to soccer to any kind of fitness and weight training. It also will come in handy on rainy days.
โThis space is going to get used and used and used,โ Wolf-Erickson said. โWhen designing it, they asked, โWhat are you going to do there?โ We said weโll show you. Itโs just a little bit more different than what weโve done here. (This room) will be more open to the community.โ
While technically part of the NTRC expansion, the training box is practically its own separate space. It has its own climate control, separate from the rest of the facility, and the door leading in from the rest of the expanded spaces can be locked down, with a door leading outside (and inside, monitored by a keypad) for those who are training later than regular building hours.
โWe can have this open 24/7 without impacting the staffing requirement,โ Wolf-Erickson said. โIt is its own space, with its own restroom. It was pretty well thought out.โ
In fact, all three of the new spaces have their own restrooms, and there will be another bathroom that can be accessed from the playground, a touch sure to be appreciated by parents.
The two rooms with dance and gymnastics also have multiple large windows for parents to watch their children, similar to the rooms in the main building.
After years of having to turn folks away, or at least put them on a waiting list that had as many as 1,800 kids on it, Wolf-Erickson hopes the new space gets children off the waiting lists and helps free up more room for more students to sign up. Pre-Covid, the NTRC had more than 4,000 class slots programmed each week, and saw nearly 8,000 gymnasts and dancers receive training every year at the popular facility.
Wolf-Erickson said she wants to see the community, from beginners all the way to seniors, utilize the facility for exercise, training and other events. While all those things may be offered at other places in the area, Wolf-Erickson says the plans for the pricing and community memberships at the NTRC are still being finalized, โBut we believe it should be affordable, and we wonโt be out-priced here,โ she says.
For more info, call (813) 975-2794 or visit Tampa.Gov/parks-and-recreation/activities-recreation/gym-and-dance/new-tampa-center.
The kid that gave socks to the judges, danced with Katie Perry (see photo on next page) and then wowed with his voice โ when it transformed from Kermit the Frog to Frank Sinatra to earn a golden ticket โ is now older and wiser and back on the show.
The Wiregrass Ranch High graduate, who now attends Florida Southern College, will appear on the audition shows in the coming weeks. He did not appear in the season premiere, which aired locally on Feb. 14 at 8 p.m. onย WFTS-TV, or the second episode. He hasnโt been told when his episode will air. But he did leave a teaser on his Instagram this weekend.
So, what happens this time? A lot.
But we canโt tell you.
Just like last time, Zach has been sworn to secrecy until the episode airs. His family, a good friend and his girlfriend know, and we are privy to a few of Zachโs twists and turns this time around, so we could tell you, but then weโd have to…well, you know how the saying goes.
Zachโs return to โIdolโ actually began in August when he signed up for Zoom auditions. The producers instantly recognized him, and he sang โNo Fireโ by S. Grant Parker while playing the ukelele, and the following round, sang the same song and also played piano while singing โPlaces We Wonโt Walkโ by Bruno Major.
Zach wasnโt sure he had passed, especially when August passed, and so did September. Then, a friend received a rejection email, so Zach thought he might still be alive. In mid-October, he finally got word that he was headed to Ojai, CA โ which is in Ventura County about 90 minutes northwest of Los Angeles โ for live auditions the first week of November, and mumโs been the word ever since.
โItโs kind of fun keeping the secret,โ Zach says.
Although it was his second time in front of judges Lionel Ritchie, Luke Bryan and Perry, Zach says he still felt a little trepidation about his second chance.
โI was pretty nervous seeing the judges again because itโs been so long,โ he says. โWhen I walked out, they were like, โOh, we know Zach.โโ He sang โGolden Slumbersโ by the Beatles.
โAnd, thatโs pretty much all I can tell you,โ he says, chuckling.
He returned to Wesley Chapel, won a few singing competitions, graduated from Wiregrass Ranch and was accepted into the University of South Florida, where he was going to study biomedical science and become a doctor one day.
But, โAmerican Idolโ had awakened something in him. He wanted to hone his singing skills. He wanted to help make music. He wanted to follow what had become his passion.
After one year at USF, Zach, now 20, transferred to Florida Southern and is now a music management major. He says he would like to manage artists one day, help them with auditions and, of course, cut his own first album.
โI think only reason I wanted to be a doctor was because they make a lot of money, but would that make me happy?,โ Zach says. โ(Being on) โAmerican Idolโ made me happy. Singing made me happy. I liked the performing and talking to fans. So why not commit to music fully?โ
Why not try โAmerican Idolโ again?
The last thing Zach told us in 2018 after his surprisingly quick end on the show was that he was encouraged by fellow contestants to try again โ and he told them he would. And, that thought has always stuck in his head.
His girlfriend, Catie Turner, was on the show with Zach in 2018 and finished sixth. While she canโt compete again, she never stopped encouraging Zach to try.
โItโs always been kind of stuck in the back of my head that I would go back and try again,โ Zach says. โIt was inevitable. I want to prove to myself that I can do it again. My goal was to make it farther this time than last time.โ
Zach says being in California during the pandemic was concerning, especially making the trip out there. But, with Covid-19 tests every other day, and the threat of being sent home if you tested positive, Zach says the auditions were smooth. Each contestant was encouraged to stay confined to their room.
โIt was kind of like house arrest,โ Zach jokes. โBut I felt safe the whole time. Everyone wore masks. You wonโt see people wearing them while on stage, but anyone who wasnโt singing at the time had masks on.โ
Zach says people still recognize him in public as the โAmerican Idol,โ though most seem to remember his affinity for socks. But his โsocks appealโ is gone, and this seasonโs version of Zach might be best described as โsweater late than never,โ as he makes his return with a different style.
As for the rest, Zach says youโll have to tune in on Sunday nights.
Yo Murphy (right) is hands-on when it comes to training athletes trying to get to the next level.
Llewellyn Murphy, Jr., better known as Yo to Tampa Bay Buccaneersโ fans, remembers tearing his quad muscle in 2001. But, with the help of a performance therapist and fitness coach, Murphy was able to get back to playing wide receiver in time to help the St. Louis Rams make it to Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, which the Rams lost to the New England Patriots, the first Big Game win for QB Tom Brady.
Murphy, who played seven games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999 and was an electric kickoff returner, says he didnโt have a Plan B at the time, but the rehabilitation experience and how it helped him play four more seasons of professional football crystallized one for him.
โIt showed me how much value that has, and how much impact you can have on someoneโs life when you do this job and focus on what they need,โ Murphy says. โI just fell in love with it.โ
Murphy ended up becoming the only player ever to play seasons in the NFL, Candaian Football League (CFL), the XFL and NFL Europe. He also is the only player to suit up for the Super Bowl, Grey Cup and World Bowl championship games. Murphy is now a 15-year veteran of the performance training industry, and is expanding from his Westchase location to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.
Yo Murphy Performance should be up and running later this month.
At the 11,000-sq.-ft. Westchase location, 38 professional and professional-to-be athletes train as part of his clientele, including Washington Nationals outfielder Kyle Schwarber, Kanasas City Royals first baseman Carlos Santana, 2020 Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith (from the University of Alabama) as well as NFL hopefuls getting ready for the NFL combine, like Smithโs teammate at Alabama, DT Christian Barmore and speedy Auburn WR Anthony Schwartz.
While prepping professional athletes for a combine or upcoming season may be a specialty, Murphy says his training center also caters to a few hundred โcorporate,โ as well as more than 100 youth athletes.
โWe treat the regular dude like a serious athlete,โ Murphy says. โPeople get in ruts when they just go to the gym (to go). The only difference between the athlete and the regular dude is, while in the gym training, athletes have a start and an end date. We are good as humans when we have goals and we have deadlines and we have discipline involved. Thatโs what we focus on. We treat everyone the same.โ
Murphy says he was alerted to the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus by his director of basketball, Darryl Hepburn, who Murphy says has held NBA combines but saw a need for a facility with more courts. Once Murphy visited, he saw the Wiregrass Sports Campus, with its 98,000-sq. ft. of indoor space to be โa perfect fit.โ
Yo Murphy Performance caters to the serious athlete, whether professional or amateur. The Wiregrass Ranch location, he says, will offer memberships for adults, and even offer 1-on-1 training and combines for those corporate athletes.
Expect a fair share of professional athletes to be sharing that space as well. Murphy said NFL wide receivers like Diontae Johnson (Pittsburgh), Deon Cain (Baltimore) and Auden Tate (Cincinatti and a Wharton High in New Tampa graduate) all live near the facility and plan on training there in the offseason.
Murphy expects a more than two dozen NFL players to make Wiregrass Ranch their training home now that the Super Bowl LV is over.
For additional information about Yo Murphy Performance, visit YoMurphy.com.
This store is located in Rockville, MD, and is the first Lotte Plaza Market. The small chain is now expanding into Florida with an Orlando store, and likely a second location in New Tampa
The long dormant Sweetbay Supermarket property, which has been empty since 2013, has a new owner.
And, it appears that New Tampa may soon be home to a new Lotte Plaza Mart, a small-chain Maryland-based ethnic grocery store focusing on Asian groceries and goods.
John Neukamm, the attorney for the sellers, KNK Tampa, Ltd., confirmed that the sale was completed on Feb. 1, but would not say what the plans were for the site.
He said a โdifferent type of conceptโ was likely heading to the space, one that has not been seen locally.
Neukamm said that he had spoken with the North Palms Village Master Association and that they were โvery excitedโ that the sale of the former Sweetbay had been completed.
According to city records, the property, located right across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the AMC movie theater and next to Home Depot, was purchased by SW Tampa, LLC, for $7-million.
According to Sunbiz.org, the Florida Division of Corporationsโ online directory of companies in Florida, the owner of SW Tampa, LLC is Sang Min Lee, who also owns Sungwon Orlando, LLC.
Lotte Plaza Market in Orlando. (lotteplaza.com)
The only other Lotte Plaza Mart in Florida is located in Orlando.
Both SW Tampa, LLC (the SW is likely short for Sungwon), and Sungwon Orlando, LLC are registered at the same address in Jessup, MD, as Sungwon Distributors, LLC, which serves as the headquarters of Lotte Plaza Mart.
Marc Bergoffen, the lawyer representing SW Tampa, did not respond to messages. Ross Waters of Atlantic Retail, one of the brokers involved in the sale, declined comment.
If a new Lotte Plaza Mart does materialize at the old Sweetbay site, it will be the second large ethnic grocery store to open in New Tampa since 2019, joining Taaza Mart, a roughly 17,000-sq.-ft., predominantly Indian grocer located in Tampa Palms.
The potential Lotte Plaza Mart location would be more than three times as large as Taaza Mart โ at roughly 55,000 square feet.
Founded in 1976, Lotte Plaza Mart is considered to be one of the premier Asian groceries in Maryland and Virginia, where it has 12 locations. The mini-chain also has one location in New Jersey, and opened the Orlando location on W. Colonial Dr. in February 2019.
Like all Lotte Plaza Marts, the location in Orlando โ which moved into a 60,000-sq.-ft. space formerly occupied by a Winn-Dixie โ has a wide choice of Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese food items and ingredients, an impressive selection of meats and fresh fish and a huge variety of fruits and vegetables not found at your regular American grocery stores.
The store has received online praise for its variety and prices.
Although there are no exact plans available for what a New Tampa location might feature, the Orlando store also has a hair salon, bakery and food court, featuring a handful of Asian restaurants, including Taglish, a Filipino-American concept run by Chef Michael Collantes, who has worked with such notable chefs as Wolfgang Puck.
The nearest location for buying Asian groceries currently is the MD Oriental Market located on E. Fowler Ave., or the A-Green Oriental Market on E. Fletcher, both in the USF area.
If S.R. 56 is now the Restaurant Row of the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas, the BBD corridor from Cross Creek Blvd. to Tampa Palms Blvd. might be its supermarket counterpart.
Sprouts Farmers Market, which opened last year, and Aldi, which is under construction and will likely open sometime this year, are within walking distance from the potential Lotte Plaza Mart location, and just south of the I-75 interchange, Taaza is located in Market Square at Tampa Palms.
That stretch of stores is bookended by Publix Super Markets in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms and at the New Tampa Center, giving shoppers of all ethnicities five supermarkets within five miles.
