Category: News

Four Candidates Vying For Montelione’s Vacant Dist. 7 City Council Seat

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 hasn’t held any fund raisers yet, but still leads the field after raising more than $10,000 in May. — 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.”

Girl Scouts Leave A Legacy At Tampa Palms Elementary

The Girl Scouts of Troop 966 donated a bike rack to Tampa Palms Elementary as part of their Bronze Project encouraging bike safety. The girls, pictured here with TPE principal MaryAnn Lippek are (l.-r.): Kaitlyn Graulich, Carissa Smith, Mallory Yee, Emory Seay, Lily Scalabrin, Isabella Cruz (in back) and Alexander Dominique. Gina Jasreman is not pictured.

When the eight girls (see photo) who make up Girl Scouts Troop 966 get together every other week, they meet at Compton Park in Tampa Palms. They’ve just completed fifth grade, but they’ve been a group since they were in kindergarten. While a few girls have come and gone over the years, the core group has stuck together.

“Six of the girls started together as Daisies, then moved up to Brownies, then Juniors,” explains their leader, Mieke Caris. “They are Juniors in fourth and fifth grade, and have now bridged to be Cadets, which is the Girl Scout rank for sixth grade girls.”

Now, as they leave Tampa Palms Elementary (TPE) and move on to middle school, they are leaving their mark at the school where all but one girl attended, in the form of a bike rack and a bike safety program that will continue, even after they’re gone.

Throughout this past school year, the girls have worked to complete their “Bronze Award” project, the highest award that can be received by Girl Scout Juniors. They have done all of the work and submitted their application; now they are waiting to hear if they will receive the award from the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.

Earlier this year, the girls decided they wanted their project to support kids. “The Girl Scout law says to care for our neighborhood,” says Mieke, “so they found a good cause in safety when going to school.”

She explained that their research for the project included interviewing their school principal, local police, the crossing guards, and kids and parents on bicycles. They sold Girl Scout cookies and held other fund raisers to support their efforts.

Ultimately, the girls designed a program of bike safety that was supported by the TPE’s PTA. At a PTA meeting, the local group Bike/Walk Tampa Bay gave a presentation on bike safety, the girls discussed their project, and the PTA gave away bicycles and helmets.

“The Girl Scouts then placed a bike rack for all students to use in years to come to store their bikes safely,” says Mieke proudly.

Guinness Record for local hotshot

New Tampa resident Justin Dargahi recently made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for making 26 NBA-range (23’-9”) three-point shots in one minute.

Justin Dargahi doesn’t have the smoothest shot around. His form isn’t ideal, his finish isn’t textbook. In fact, you could argue he looks a little awkward as he fires the basketball towards the rim, jumping forward a bit, landing on his right foot.

“My shot’s been laughed at all my life,’’ Dargahi says.

Until it starts going in, which it almost always does.

Swish.

Dargahi, who lives in Hunter’s Green, is one of the newest entries into the Guinness Book of World Records, for that not-ideal, non-textbook, awkward-motion shot, after he made 26 three-pointers from the NBA range in one minute.

Shooting at the top of the key from 23 feet, 9 inches away, Justin broke the old Guinness record of 25 threes in a minute held by Oregon’s Dan Loriaux, who also holds the record for most treys made in one hour (1,077) and in 24 hours (10,381).

“I told some friends that I set the record, but they just told me to come see them when it’s official,’’ Justin said, laughing.

Well, it’s official.

Taking aim at Guinness record

The former Land O’ Lakes girls basketball assistant coach set the record Jan. 4 in the Land O’Lakes High gymnasium. His record-setting morning, for which he had to file an official application, as well as hiring basketball officials and recording the event, was finally certified by the Guinness Book of World Records last month.

Justin says the Guinness record doesn’t sound like much to some, who are convinced that an NBA player could set it if they tried. But, he says some have, most notably former Boston Celtics All-Star forward Paul Pierce and former NBA journeyman and sharpshooter Jason Kapono, who led the NBA in three-point shooting percentage twice and also won the Three-Point Shootout, held during the NBA’s midseason All-Star Weekend, twice.

It takes consistency and resilience, Justin says, and the fortitude to throw up almost a shot a second. After about 10 shots, most shooters’ arms grow weary. After 20, they hurt and after 30 the ball gets heavier, and the shooting form becomes a bit unraveled.

On Justin’s most recent attempt, which was the fifth time he had tried to break the record, he missed his first shot but then made his next six.

Halfway there (at 30 seconds), he had 16 makes and only five misses.

Justin Dargahi sets the record, seen here on YouTube.

And, with 7.8 seconds left, Record No. 26 swished through the net.

Justin, however, thought he had only made 25. After missing his final four shots, he extended his arms in agony, despite the cheering from the girl basketball players on hand.

“We had to make sure and check the video,’’ he said.

In all, Justin shot 38 times in 60 seconds, and made 26, for a remarkable 68.4 percent.

“It’s a little bit of notoriety, that’s nice,’’ said Dargahi, who works for Future Home Realty, which has six Florida offices, including one in Wesley Chapel.

Guinness confirmation arrives

The official Guinness Record certificate now sits over the fireplace in his home, a testament to setting a goal and achieving it. His next shot at fame, he says, may come from the free throw line, where the current record is 52 made in one minute from that 15-foot distance.

For Justin, the road to the record books was a natural one. He grew up a shooter, always drawing crowds and breaking records at the pop-a-shot games you find at arcades and theme parks.

He first played organized basketball at Tampa Baptist and Tampa’s Cambridge Christian, and had college aspirations. But, there were few spots on college basketball rosters for slightly-built 6-footers who weren’t great defenders.

“I was always by far the best shooter on the basketball teams I played on,’’ Justin said. “But, I wasn’t at good playing defense.”

Instead, Dargahi went to USF — where he once won $1,000 in a three-point shooting contest at the school — and graduated with a degree in journalism.

He continues to shoot hoops. On a recent blazing hot afternoon at Hunter’s Green’s Capt. Nathaniel Hunter Park, Justin shows off his gift, moving around the court and firing up shots, or “shot puts,” he jokes, many from a few feet behind the arc.

Swish.

“I’ve never been better,’’ says Justin, who is 34 years old. “My range keeps getting better.”

Justin still plays on Sunday mornings at Cambridge Christian on N. Habana Ave. with his old high school teammates and friends, and though he lives across the street from the court at Hunter’s Green, he doesn’t get out to shoot as much as he would like.

Still, he recently sent a letter to the University of South Florida basketball program — which has sorely lacked a pure outside shooter in recent years — asking coach Orlando Antigua for a chance to walk on to the team. He figured if he can make the Guinness Book of World Records for his uncommon gift of deadeye, long-range shooting, why not?

“Wouldn’t that be a great story?’’ Justin asks with a smile.

Susanna Martinez To Co-Anchor WCNT-tv

The producers of WCNT-tv are proud to announce that former Bay News 9 on-air talent (and longtime Wesley Chapel resident) Susanna Martinez will co-anchor the first-ever video news program dedicated to the residents and businesses in New Tampa & Wesley Chapel.

WCNT-tv, the new YouTube-based video news show which is a partnership between Full Throttle Intermedia and the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News, 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.

Susanna, whose roots are in television journalism, helped launch Tampa Bay’s first 24-hour local news channel, Bay News 9. For six years, Susanna worked as an on-air television news reporter, bringing some of the area’s most significant stories and weather-related news into the homes of millions of viewers throughout the 11th largest media market in the country.

Prior to moving to Tampa, Susanna was the main news anchor at WKAG-TV 43 in Hopkinsville, KY, where she started her broadcast career.

“Like Bay News 9, I think WCNT-tv will create another local phenomenon and I am excited to co-anchor the program with Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager,” says Susanna, who also is the public information officer for the Southwest Florida Water Management District (aka Swiftmud).

Look for more announcements about the launch date of WCNT-tv at NTNeighborhoodNews.com and in the next issue of Neighborhood News.

Keeping The Buzz Going About Wesley Chapel’s ‘Crystal Lagoon’

The days of housing communities in Florida being built around golf courses designed by PGA professionals could be numbered, judging by the level of excitement created by news that a Crystal Lagoon — first announced nearly two years ago — is finally ready to break ground in Wesley Chapel.

In the planning stages since an official announcement in November of 2014, the construction of the first-ever man-made lagoon in the U.S. is expected to be the knockout amenity offered by the $100-million residential development which will be called Epperson in Wesley Chapel.

Epperson, which is part of the Tampa-based Metro Development Group’s “Connected City” project that will have approximately 2,000 home sites, is located north of the Bridgewater community on Curley Rd. north of S.R. 54. Homes are already being built and Metro expects to have lots available by the fall.

There is no date yet for the completion of the lagoon, but expect it to happen sometime in 2017.

The original Epperson Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) has been dormant for years, after the original developer (Lennar Homes) sold the property to Metro in 2007, just before Pasco County’s housing market collapse.

The 8-acre (nearly 350,000 sq. ft.) lagoon was originally announced for Park Place, which has since been renamed Epperson to honor the legacy of the Epperson family, which previously owned the land.

The original plan to break ground in 2015 was held up by permitting issues, particularly approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, delaying the project.

Renderings of the lagoon show a spectacularly blue body of water large enough for kayaking, paddle boarding and small human-powered boats, with sand beaches and a recreation area. “An idyllic beach paradise,’’ says the Crystal Lagoons website.

“The Lagoon, roughly the length of five football fields, will have crystal-clear turquoise water and will be surrounded by a sandy beachfront,’’ said Kyle Parks of St. Petersburg-based B2 Communications, which does public relations for Metro, in an email.

A huge get for Wesley Chapel, Crystal Lagoons was founded in 2007 by Chilean biochemist-turned real estate developer Fernando Fischmann, who created a system based on pulses and ultra sonic filtration that can take virtually any kind of water and purify and maintain it at a low cost.

He developed the first lagoon at San Alfonso del Mar on the west coast of the South American cone. His patented system uses small sensors and injectors to treat the pool water when needed in specific areas. The system can sense when an area needs an injection of cleaner, like in the case of someone going to the bathroom in the water or spilling something into it.

Crystal Lagoons is the only company in the world with the technology, which is patented in 160 countries, and claims it currently has more than 300 projects in development in 60 countries.

According to Crystal Lagoons, its system is more efficient than a swimming pool, will use 100 times less chemicals and is 50 times more energy efficient, while consuming only 2% of the energy needed by conventional filtration systems. The lagoon uses 30 times less water than a typical 18-hole golf course.

But, where will the water come from? Any water, even salt water, can be used due to the effectiveness of the filtration system. However, for the 18 million gallons required to initially fill the lagoon, Parks said Metro is “leaning toward potable water to fill the lagoons.”

Potable water is fit for human consumption.

“Our plan is to fill the lagoon during non-peak usage times of the day,’’ Parks wrote. “In normal conditions, rainwater keeps the lagoon at its optimal level after that.”

Will I Be Able To Use It?

The lagoon will be a private amenity for the residents of the Epperson community. However, Parks says, some limited access could be provided to guests in the form of day passes or some other means.

Although pristine beaches are just a drive away, the lagoon offers clear salt- and chlorine-free water that won’t leave your eyes stinging. It will feature its own beach and will be just a short ride by golf cart or bike for Epperson residents.

“Much more convenient,’’ Parks says.

Metro expects the lagoon to be a major draw to Epperson, and its other sites. Epperson will be the first community in the U.S. to have a Crystal Lagoon, and there are also plans to build another lagoon in a new Wesley Chapel community called “Mirada” in the Cannon Ranch area just south of S.R. 52, as well as one in Southern Hillsborough County near Wimauma and another in North Ft. Myers.

For additional information about Crystal Lagoons, please visit Crystal-Lagoons.com.