Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center’s Grand(est) Opening!

Pascal Collard (right) and tennis legend Nick Bollettieri (center).

When it comes to pomp and circumstance, Pascal Collard spared little expense for the Grand Opening last month of the Sarah Vande Berg (SVB) Tennis & Wellness Center in Zephyrhills.

Collard, a Wesley Chapel resident and the CEO of the facility, danced around excitedly as four skydivers made their landings at SVB, the last skydiver bringing along a large U.S. flag to kick off the national anthem.

Tennis legend Nick Bollettieri gave a short speech, as did a number of other local dignitaries, and Hope Kennedy, the CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber, spoke for many in attendance when she declared the SVB event, “the best grand opening ever.”

Collard, an avid skydiver himself who joked that his wife had banned him from jumping out of planes for the past three months because, “I needed to be alive for the Grand Opening,” was overjoyed at the turnout at the event, which hosted well over 100 attendees.

He shared the emotional story about the long battle to get the new facility open, and the many hours of work put in by his team of 42 employees for little to no pay.

He closed his speech by screaming, “We did iiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”

SVB is located in Zephyrhills, just a 20-minute drive up Morris Bridge Rd. from Cross Creek Blvd.

The facility offers an elegant boutique-style experience, with an exercise room, yoga and fitness classes, massages and salt therapy and cryotherapy rooms.

The menu at the SVB Café is provided by Vesh Catering (which also catered the Grand Opening and is one of the top caterers in our area) and features healthy items like quinoa bowls and many fruit- and vegetable-based dishes.

But, racquet sports are expected to put the facility on the map. Named for Sarah Vande Berg, the former Zephyrhills High tennis player who was killed in a car accident, SVB boasts 9 clay tennis courts, including one that can serve as a center court for special events, with spectator seating.

There also are two hard courts, eight pickleball courts and four padel courts. Pascal is hoping to make the facility the national headquarters for padel, a game that merges tennis and racquetball and is popular in Spain, Portugal and Argentina. Pascal says Padel is the fastest growing sport in the world, and that pickleball is the fastest growing in the U.S.

A New Local Option

In the past, Saddlebrook Resort was the only local facility with enough tennis courts to host pro events, like the Women’s Fed Cup in 2017, and various International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments on the USTA Pro Circuit, which features players trying to gain the professional ranking points they need to compete on the major pro tours.

However, SVB is now another option. It has booked its first tournament,  the SVB Championships, which will be held January 25-31, 2021. The field for the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit women’s event will feature 16 doubles teams and 32 singles players. 

USTA Pro Circuit events often attract players ranked in the Top 100 in the world, and even some in the top 50. A recent ITF tournament in Tyler, TX, attracted U.S. standout Shelby Rogers (No. 55 in the world), Japan’s Misaki Doi (#81) and up-and-coming U.S. star Caty McNally (#120).

The tournament is one of the first tennis events scheduled in Florida for the new year. 

 SVB also is home to the United Global Academy, a private school offering athletics and specialized training for student athletes in and around Zephyrhills. The Academy offers an academic environment for those training in various sports like tennis, golf and even boxing.

For more info, or to sign up for a membership, visit SVBTennisCenter.com or see the ad on pg. 5 of our latest issue!

TPOST Residents Share Concerns About New Apartments

Tampa City Council member Luis Viera (center, pink shirt) meets with Tampa Palms-area residents who are concerned about a new apartment complex slated to be built near their homes in the TPOST CDD/Tampa Palms Area 3.

More apartments are coming to the Tampa Palms area, and Kevin Hawley knows there is little he can do to stop them.

But, the Tuscany at Tampa Palms Homeowners Association (HOA) president is still going to try.

On Oct. 28, he organized a meeting — socially distant, of course — in a cul-de-sac in Tuscany in the hopes of formulating a plan to convince developer Warren Kinsler of New Tampa Inc. to not build 400 apartment units at 7970 Tampa Palms Blvd., just west and across the street from the Emerald Pointe Townhomes. 

However, New Tampa Inc., which bought the property in the Tampa Palms Open Space & Transportation (TPOST Community Development District in 1994, already has the entitlements to build them, going back to 1985, when the property was first annexed into the city.

Still, Hawley’s meeting, which included Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera (who represents District 7, which includes most of New Tampa) and various HOA board members from neighboring communities Chelsea, Buckingham and Stafford, stirred the debate. Hawley said more than 30 residents attended.

“Our concern is that it (the apartments) will have a negative  impact on Tampa Palms Elementary, which is already beyond capacity, and a negative impact on traffic, where we already have problems on Tampa Palms Blvd.” Hawley says. “There also is concern about the possible impact on property values, and some also voiced concerns about environmental impacts.”

A City of Tampa Variance Review Board meeting for the property had been scheduled for Oct. 13, creating the stir. However, that meeting did not need to be held because the planned development has an allowance for 40 percent tree retention, and “they actually have 50 percent retention,” according to Abbye Feeley, the Director of Tampa’s Development & Growth Management Department (formerly known as the Planning and Development department).

“The notices (for the variance meeting) went out prematurely,” she added.

Feeley said the area has already gone through the first round review to ensure that it is compliant with all of the codes that govern it, and the city is waiting for the developers’ resubmission. Feeley says little can be done to stop Kinsler from building the apartments.

“Unfortunately, the builders of these villages (like Tuscany, Chelsea and Buckingham) never properly briefed their buyers about the developer’s rights and plans for the whole area,” said Maggie Wilson, the vice-president of the Tampa Palms Owners Association (TPOA).

The TPOA represents the owners and residents of 3,000 single family homes and 1,500 apartments in Tampa Palms. TPOST 3, which was once part of the Tampa Palms DRI before being purchased by Kinsler, already has more than 1,000 homes in its various villages and apartment communities.

When asked by Hawley to join him in opposing the apartment project, the TPOA declined.

“They are the big dog,” Hawley says of the TPOA. “I reached out to them, and they said this has been zoned this way for a long time and they decided as a board not to oppose it,” says Hawley, a USF faculty member and Tampa Palms resident for 18 years.

With no way to stop the project, Hawley is hoping for at least some traffic mitigation from the developer, or some way to “soften the impact.”

Hawley doesn’t think that entitlements and plans developed two decades ago necessarily still make sense today, and would like to see other things considered for the property that better meet the needs of the area.

He even has his own suggestion — instead of yet another apartment complex, why not build something for older residents in their 60s and 70s? “That way, there will be less impact on the schools,” he says, “but it would still bring in more residents to support local businesses and restaurants.” 

Viera said he will meet with Hawley and the residents in a few weeks, and intends on bringing some planning officials from the city to also participate.

Wharton Football Looking To Stay Perfect


Wharton cornerback Fred Jolly has been one of the top players this season on the Wildcats’ fearsome defense. (Photo: Alyssa Cason).

Prior to Wharton High’s game against Plant on Oct. 23, first-year head coach Mike Williams was about the only person around the Wildcats’ football program who could remember the last time Wharton beat the Panthers.

But that’s only because he played in that game, for Plant, which suffered a 15-14 loss on that night — way back in 2000.

Well, it doesn’t take such a long memory to remember such things anymore, because Wharton beat Williams’ alma mater 10-0 — even more impressive considering that Plant had scored 40 or more points in the last five games between the teams.

The win improved Wharton’s record to 6-0 on the season, its best start since going 7-0 in 2006. It can match that start tonight with a win over Durant at Wharton.

“We expected to have a good season, but maybe not to this extent,” says Williams, a former college All-American wide receiver at Southern Cal and first-round NFL draft pick of Detroit. “I knew we had some good players, and some good size, but we also had a bunch of young players competing for the first time.”

Another thing Williams knew — his defense was going to be nasty. And it has been.

The Wildcats have only allowed 23 points in six games. Only one team — Alonso — has scored a touchdown against Wharton, getting two while losing  44-17 to the Wildcats. Wharton has shut out Freedom 50-0, King 14-0, and Plant.

While the offense is still rounding into shape, the ‘Cats have been truly dominant on the other side of the ball.

Junior linebacker Henry Griffith leads the team with 56 tackles, including nine for a loss of yards, and Booker Pickett Jr. has 50 tackles. Only a freshman, Pickett Jr. is already 6’-4”, 200 pounds — “He’s a monster,”  Williams says — and shares the same on-field ferocity as his father, a former University of Miami linebacker.

Junior linebacker  Daveon Crouch, arguably the team’s best overall player and a Division I prospect, has a team-high nine sacks and regularly delivers a wallop, forcing six fumbles.

And, if you can bypass the linebackers, the Wildcats’ defensive backfield will be waiting for you.

“We have elite cover guys,” Williams says. “In my book, we have the best secondary in the county that nobody is talking about.”

Junior cornerback Jairon Dorsey leads the team with four interceptions, and has returned two of them for touchdowns. Junior Fred Jolly has eight passes defended and returned a punt blocked by Pickett Jr. for a TD with five minutes left to beat Palm Harbor University 7-3.

Williams says Junior Jason Cornwell, who returned his only interception this season 70 yards for a score, and senior Markell Dominique are primetime players as well.

Wharton, which had its Oct. 30 game against Steinbrenner canceled due to Covid-19 issues related to the Warriors, will wrap up the regular season tonight, then will host Riverview in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs on Nov. 13.

Williams hopes his offense, directed by quarterback Emery Floyd, and the 1-2 punch of running backs Keith Morris and Johnny Cason, is clicking by then. Along with the defense, he thinks something special might be brewing off Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

“Even though the program may have been up and down, Coach Mitchell really had a group that wasn’t afraid to work hard, wasn’t afraid to be in the weight room,” Williams says. “He had good things going. We’re going to keep it going.”

School Board Race For District 3 Down To 2

When Mitch Thrower and Jessica Vaughn decided to run for the Hillsborough County School Board, things were a little bit different than they are now.

In fact, the job they are both vying for — the District 3 seat that includes all of New Tampa’s public schools — suddenly looks a lot harder than it once did.

In the past six months, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the school system, and the school’s budget situation has gone from bad to worse to downright terrible.

“I completely agree it’s become a tougher job,” says Thrower, the former chairman of the Hillsborough County Planning Commission (he resigned in June). “There are some very tough decisions that are going to need to be made.”

Vaughn, a Tampa Palms resident and substitute teacher who was elected to the Tampa Palms Community Development District (CDD) Board in 2016, doesn’t disagree. In fact, when it comes to discussing the biggest issues facing schools in the upcoming months, they both agree the budget and keeping schools safe — primarily from Covid-19 — are easily the top two issues of the campaign.

Thrower, a Carrollwood resident, was the top finisher among six candidates in the August primary, capturing 25% of the vote, while Vaughn was second with 24.5%. The difference between the two was a mere 296 votes out of 42,950 votes cast.

Now that just these two candidates remain, both feel voters will be able to draw a clearer distinction between them. The early voting period is October 19 through November 1, with Election Day scheduled for Tuesday, November 3.

Jessica Vaughn, and husband Nilesh and son Zachariah.

When it comes to fixing the $32-million shortfall in the District’s budget — much of it due to the continued loss of students due to home schooling and charter schools — a lot of belt-tightening, including potential layoffs and program cuts, is in the future for the county.

Vaughn, who has a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of South Florida, says the School District needs to stem the loss of students, and an evaluation to find out why more students are choosing charter schools — and how public schools can retain those students — is vital.

“Why aren’t they choosing our public schools? That is the question that needs to be answered,” she says. “We need to fix that.”

Vaughn, who has been endorsed by the Tampa Bay Times, also says the county needs to look for alternative sources of revenue, and make sure the money it does have is being spent wisely on items like administrative salaries and contracts with vendors.

Mitch Thrower with Ally (pink bandana) and Ruby.

Thrower, who started his professional career auditing school boards at the State of Florida Auditor General’s office, thinks it is time for tough questions for those controlling the District’s purse strings. 

“I think my business experience is needed at this time,” he says. “I can go in there as an auditor and I know what questions to ask. When it to comes to experience, honestly, there’s no comparison.”

Thrower is a Certified Public Accountant and certified internal auditor, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Tulane University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Florida State University.

When it to comes to school safety, both candidates are in favor of mandating masks in schools to deal with the spread of Covid-19, say teacher safety is a priority and approve of the other safety precautions being taken by the District.

Both candidates said the School Board’s handling of the return to school in August, arguably one of the most important discussions it has had to make in recent memory, could have been smoother. Thrower says he will bring more communication to the position, which he thought was lacking during the controversial re-opening discussions. He also felt the School Board wasn’t “proactive and creative enough.” 

Meanwhile, Vaughn said she was extremely frustrated watching the School Board meetings, particularly the lack of planning. She said she was advocating in March and April for a plan in case the pandemic stretched into the fall, including the creation of e-Learning centers to accommodate parents who needed to return to work and didn’t have childcare.

“Nothing would have been perfect,” she says. “You can’t mitigate a pandemic perfectly. But, I would like the School Board to be more realistic and proactive about our challenges and less reactive. It undermines public confidence in the Board.”

Both candidates, who have children in public schools, say charter schools have a place in education. Thrower says charter schools provide options, “but they should be held accountable just like public schools.”

Vaughn says she is fine with not-for-profit charter schools, except when they hire for-profit management companies.

“At the end of the day, all parents really want the same thing,” Vaughn says. “They want a safe environment that’s close by, that is free, that nurtures and respects their students and offers them a good education. And, I want to see that happen in our public schools.”

Overall, Thrower had raised $58,500 but only had $6,500 cash on hand at our press time, while Vaughn had brought in $45,127, but still had nearly $28,000 cash on hand.

Vaughn has criticized Thrower for taking more than $12,000 from developers while he was chairman of the Hillsborough Planning Commission, which examines and weighs in on development projects for the county commission.

Thrower resigned from that position in June, to avoid any charges of impropriety.

Thrower says he is running a non-partisan campaign built on his experience and not as an activist. Since the primary, Vaughn has outraised Thrower $18,940 to $4,725, thanks to $12,000 in donations from the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee.

For more information about each candidate, visit VoteMitchThrower.com and JessicaVaughn.us, or search their names on Facebook.

Best Bye

The rumors that have been circulating the past 18 month of popular electronics retailer Best Buy closing its New Tampa location have turned out to be true.

The store, located in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve off of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. between the HomeGoods and Michaels store, has that announced it is shutting down on Oct. 31. The announcement points customers to the nearest locations in Brandon and Wesley Chapel (in The Grove).

The store has already begun the moving process. Many of the aisles in the New Tampa Best Buy have empty shelves and are blocked off, while some aisles are selling open box items at a 15-20 percent discount.

It is unclear if the effects of Covid-19 had a hand in the closing, although it had been rumored before the pandemic that the big box electronics giant’s New Tampa location had been struggling.

According to a recent report by CNN, Best Buy is at a disadvantage fighting companies like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco, because those others also sell food and other household essentials. Beat Buy is also facing higher costs when it comes with the rise in online orders. The CNN report says that “Best Buy’s gross profit rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 22.8% during the three months ending August 1, compared with the same period last year.”

The loss of Best Buy will leave a number of vacancies in the cross-section of BBD and around Highwoods Preserve Pkwy., such as the old Sweetbay grocery store (which has been vacant since 2013) and the former Romano’s Macaroni Grill restaurant (which has been closed since 2017, after two failed attempts after being revived as a Mexican restaurant) on the west side of BBD and the Pier 1 Importa (currently closing) on the east side.

The AMC Theater, which had to postpone a major renovation project and has been hit hard by Covid-19, and former Ruby Tuesday restaurant, which will be replaced by Aldi, are also on the east side on BBD.