Ninth Annual Tampa Fisher House Golf Tourney A Classic!

FisherHouseWEBMeanwhile, we went to press so soon after the ninth annual Fisher House Golf Classic (held at Pebble Creek Country Club off Bruce B. Downs {BBD} Blvd.) on October 30 that organizer and New Tampa Noon Rotary Club president Val Casey and her amazing committee did not yet have a total amount of funds raised.

But, with a full field of golfers and plenty of great sponsorships โ€” including, for the first time, Valโ€™s employer Delta Airlines โ€” thereโ€™s little doubt that this yearโ€™s Fisher House Golf Classic was, indeed, a true classic.

Of course, the Tampa Fisher House is the 20-bed residence which houses and feeds โ€” at no charge โ€” the families and significant others of the wounded soldiers being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.

And, thanks to Val, the Arbor Greene resident from a military family who has organized and run the annual golf tourney to benefit the Haley Fisher House, more than $210,000 already had been raised in the previously eight years of the event, including surpassing her goal of $30,000 this year.

Val again thanks her fellow New Tampa Noon Rotary Club members Barry and Clare Shuman, as well as all of the tournamentโ€™s sponsors, golfers and supporters for their efforts this year and was again thrilled that injured U.S. Army Ranger Romy Camargo and several other Purple Heart recipients and other military veterans were again on-hand for the event.

Tampa Fisher House director Paula Welenc and Fisher House national Board member and U.S. Marines Lt. Gen. (ret.) Marty Steele, who has been a member of the Board of Directors of the national Fisher House Foundation, were both again thrilled to be able to attend โ€” and speak at โ€” the tournamentโ€™s awards ceremony.

โ€œWe certainly couldnโ€™t have housed more than 850 family members of our wounded soldiers at the Tampa Fisher House without all of you supporting events like this one,โ€ Welenc said.

To make a donation, email ValCasey3@aol.com or visit FisherHouse.org.

Shoppers tolerating not-so-bad traffic, seem pleasantly surprised

TRAFFICWEB2While traffic in and around the new Tampa Premium Outlet mall (2398 Grand Cypress Dr., at the interchange of I-75 and S.R. 56) is bound to get worse as the holiday season approaches, reviews for the first day were mostly positive.

But with one major caveat: So far.

The S.R. 56 and I-75 intersection traffic has taken on almost mythic status among those who find the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas to be frustratingly congested. Whether itโ€™s long drive times to work, traffic signals that drivers are convinced arenโ€™t timed properly or long enough and backed-up lines of cars getting on and off the interstate, many canโ€™t imagine the new 441,000-square-foot upscale mall not adding to those problems.

But, Pasco Sheriffโ€™s Office spokesperson Eddie Daniels said that may not be the case. While acknowledging the S.R. 56 and I-75 intersection has yielded its share of complaints in recent months, Daniels says PCSO doesnโ€™t believe the mall will add to the traffic woes, once the opening weeks and holiday season are past.

Most of the build-up on the opening days, said Daniels, was at the I-75 northbound off-ramp to S.R. 56.

Some shoppers feel the trade-off is worth it for the potential of a good bargain and a gorgeous new mall to stroll around.

LaboyWEBโ€œI think youโ€™ll always have your morning and rush hour traffic in that area,โ€™โ€™ said Pebble Creek resident Linda Laboy, โ€œbut there were no problems for me today.โ€

Thursdayโ€™s shoppers appeared more impressed with the layout and design of the sprawling outlet mall and the selection of stores than they were discouraged by the traffic woes.

โ€œIt wasnโ€™t as crowded as I thought it would be,โ€™โ€™ said Melissa Blas of Land Oโ€™Lakes. โ€œ(There was) a little traffic, but not too bad.โ€

Stephen Yalof, chief executive officer of Simon Premium Outlets, said he was aware of the traffic concerns.

โ€œWe pick out our locations based on access, thatโ€™s the most important thing,โ€™โ€™ he said, โ€œbut the last thing we want to do is frustrate a customer and have them

not want to come back. In addition to great parking (roughly 2,200 spots), there also is public transportation that will be operating from here to Wesley Chapel. So, thatโ€™s just (another) way to ease some of the traffic.โ€

An overflow lot across from the mall and the Walgreens at the S.R.54/56 intersection also were available, with shuttles to transport customers to the mall during the Grand Opening weekend (Oct. 29-Nov. 1). There also is valet parking available in front of the Saks Off 5th anchor store.

MatthewsRegina Matthews of New Tampa said she had little problem getting into the mall on Thursday, where she was directed by parking attendants who were working hard to get cars swiftly into spots. She did say she wished there were more signs in the area directing people to the mall, however, which she thinks could ease confusion and make the process go more smoothly in the future.

โ€œI think you get a lot of people slowing down to get their directions,โ€™โ€™ she said. โ€œI do think they are going to need additional parking, though.โ€

Itโ€™s too early to declare that longterm, the traffic around S.R. 56 and I-75 will be unaffected by the new outlet mall. Obviously there are some complaints, and some shoppers have claimed bad experiences. But in the early stages of the honeymoon period that accompanies a grand opening, most seem willing to navigate any road turbulence for a new experience.

 

 

Caetano running for school board post

CaetanoWEBAfter filing last year to regain his old Tampa City Council District 7 seat, New Tampaโ€™s Joseph Caetano ended up not running, saying he had a change of heart.

Now, he says, he is following his heart.

Caetano is one of five candidates who have (so far) filed to replace Carol Kurdell in the District 7 seat on the Hillsborough County School Board in 2016, returning to what he says are his roots.

Caetano says he was a school board member in Woburn, MA, from 1981-85, and he plans on taking some of the things he championed then and using them to build his platform now for the District School Board election, which will be held during the Primary Election on August 30, 2016.

(Note-Unless one of the five Dist. 7 candidates garners at least 50-percent of the vote on Aug. 30, the two candidates with the most votes will advance to a runoff during the General Election on November 8, 2016.)

Specifically, Caetano, 82, says he will run on vocational education, which he says was the backbone of the school district he served up north.

โ€œI know vocational education is a dirty word (to some people),โ€™โ€™ he says. โ€œBut itโ€™s a very good system.โ€

Some other concerns Caetano said he hopes to tackle: the financial woes of the Hillsborough school district, graduation rates that he says remain far too low and increasing the pay for the Districtโ€™s bus drivers.

This wonโ€™t be the first time Caetano has run for the Hillsborough School Board. In 1996, he was unsuccessful in a deep field of nine for a countywide that included winner Sharon Danaher, although Caetano says he received 20,450 votes.

โ€œI know they (the voters) are going to end up loving my message when I come out again,โ€™โ€™ he said.

โ€œTheyโ€ had better love him, because Caetano already faces four other candidates for the District 7 seat โ€” a little less than a year before the Aug. 30 Primary Election.

If he ends up following through this time on his filing, this will be Caetanoโ€™s first campaign since he served on the Tampa City Council from 2007-11. He was unseated in March 2011 by current District 7 Council member Lisa Montelione, finishing third of four candidates and attracting 19 percent on the vote.

Caetano, a longtime Tampa Palms resident now living in Grand Hampton, owned the Bostonian Hair Studio in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center for more than two decades (and a second salon in the New Tampa Center plaza for several years), before filing for bankruptcy in 2008 and closing both of those salons. He later opened and closed two salons in Wesley Chapel and helped his daughter, Jacquie, open the Urban Renewal Hair & More salon in the Pebble Creek Collection a couple of years ago.

The always-colorful Caetano promises that his age wonโ€™t hold him back. He said he works out at a gym every day and is in top shape.

โ€œI think I can make a difference; Iโ€™m a hard worker,โ€™โ€™ Caetano said. โ€œIโ€™m going to win the election, Iโ€™ll tell you that now. Iโ€™ll work my (butt) off. And Iโ€™m running from here down to Apollo Beach. Iโ€™ll be knocking on doors and advertising.โ€

Caetano said he plans on forming a committee in the coming months to plan his campaign and begin his fund-raising efforts in earnest.

For more information, email Joseph Caetano at caetanobim@aol.com.

First Pasco County all-star game will feature 10 from Wesley Chapel

Wiregrass Ranch RB/DB Brandon Mosley is one of 10 players from Wiregrass and Wesley Chapel High named to the first all-star game. (photo: John C. Cotey)
Wiregrass Ranch RB/DB Brandon Mosley is one of 10 players from Wiregrass and Wesley Chapel High named to the first all-star game. (photo: John C. Cotey)

Wiregrass Ranch and Wesley Chapel didn’t come close to making the football playoffs this season, but a handful of players from each team will get one more high school football game their senior season.

The rosters were announced for the 2015 Pasco County East-West Classic, the first-ever all-star game for the county, and the Bulls and Wildcats areย well-represented, by players and coaches as Wiregrass Ranch head coach Mark Kantor will be in charge of the East.

Making the team from Wesley Chapel were wide receiver Brian Mena, offensive and defensive linemen Naim Smith and Tristan Pauwels, kicker Chase Oknefski and linebacker Mike Mosley.

The Bulls representatives will be wide receiver Taylor Bleistein, offensive and defensive linemen Tyler Ichimura and Marque Davis, running back and defensive back Brandon Mosley and linebacker Ty DeCarire.

 

The game, organized by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. at Sunlake High School (3023 Sunlake Blvd., Land O’Lakes). Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at any of the high schools or at participating Beef O’Brady’s.

 

First weekend in the books, TPO is a hit

TallGirlDanceBy Gary Nager

How do you sum up, in one word, how many people in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel feel about the opening of the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO) on S.R. 56?

I think Stacey Nance, the general manager of the sparkling new outlet mall, said it best at the festive VIP Grand Opening event on October 29:

โ€œFinally!โ€

After years of delays due to environmental concerns, TPO โ€” which originally was supposed to open as a series of big box stores (similar to The Grove shopping plaza off Oakley Blvd. in Wesley Chapel) before both The Grove and the Shops at Wiregrass mall โ€” has finally taken its opening bow.

And, despite previous concerns (and a Sierra Club lawsuit) about environmental impacts on the Cypress Creek watershed (a major source of drinking water for New Tampa) and the traffic the mall would bring, from what Iโ€™ve seen and heard so far, the reviews for the 441,000-sq.-ft. designer outlet mall are mostly raves.

And, with the deals the mallโ€™s 100+ stores were offering throughoutย  the Grand Opening weekend (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) โ€” and the quality of the merchandise and the shops themselves โ€” it was hard to not be impressed with TPO as a whole, regardless of any nit-picky little issues some have with it, such as:

1) TPOโ€™s Name & Address โ€” Despite the involvement and best efforts of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce from Day One of this project, the mallโ€™s main address, on Grand Cypress Dr., is in Lutz, not Wesley Chapel โ€” and certainly not in Tampa โ€” although (as Nance has had to explain many times) Tampa is the city most people who live outside of our area will look for when they search on-line for it.

2) The Food Court โ€” Those of us who have been looking for some great new restaurants are not going to find them in the mallโ€™s five-eatery Food Court. On the other hand, the lines at Asian Chao, South Philly Cheesesteaks and Villa Italian kept moving.

3) Traffic & Parking โ€” The opening weekend traffic at TPO was greatly helped by the mallโ€™s hiring of multiple off-duty law enforcement officers and their vehicles. How long that additional help will be on the scene remains to be seen, but this reporter was impressed by the lack of delays on S.R. 56.

As for parking, itโ€™s also been pretty incredible how hard all those valet parking and orange-vested parking โ€œdirectorsโ€ already have been working and how easily visitors have been able to get in and out of the mallโ€™s 2,200 parking spaces (plus overflow lots). The opening weekend had some temperatures in the low 90s, but you have to wonder how the parking help will hold up in the heat of our Florida summers.

BandWEBVIP Breakfast

John and I were among the hundreds of media, Chamber and local governmental dignitaries on hand on Thursday morning for the mallโ€™s amazing VIP breakfast.

With incredible food like breakfast crepes, pecan-crusted chicken & waffle โ€œbitesโ€ and mini-Monte Christo sandwiches and adult beverages (I was among those raving about the mimosasย  with not only orange, but also peach and even passion fruit juice) by Puff nโ€™ Stuff Catering of Tampa, elected officials like State Rep. Danny Burgess, Pasco clerk & comptroller Paul Oโ€™Neil and Pasco commissioners Mike Moore, Jack Mariano and Board chair Ted Schrader, plus lots of WCCC and New Tampa and Wesley Chapel Rotary Club members helped Nance and crew celebrate TPOโ€™s opening in style before Schrader and the top brass from Simon Premium Outlets cut the ribbon. Everyone who attended the invitation-only VIP breakfast also received a portable stand-up cooler as a parting gift.

Opening Weekend Deals

Although I certainly didnโ€™t get to check out all of the 100+ stores that were open for the first weekend (a few more, like the Aldo outlet will open within the next week or two, bringing the total number of shops up to 110), thereโ€™s no doubt that the deals โ€” and giveaways โ€” were hot and heavy for the opening.

Many stores were offering not only 60-70-percent off (and more!), but also free gifts to the first wave of shoppers as the stores opened their doors following the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

SaksSignUpOf course, many people skipped the ribbon-cutting to line up in front of their favorite stores for their free gift(s).Considering that I only wear New Balance athletic shoes, I was one of the first 50 in line at the New Balance outlet, which earned me a $15 gift card, in addition to 60-percent-off the shoes I bought (which were already on clearance for half off the regular price). When it was all said and done, I went home with an incredible pair of โ€œkicks,โ€ plus some New Balance gym shorts and orthotic inserts for my shoes for less than $70!

And, while I didnโ€™t get on line soon enough after that to get a free gift at the Calvin Klein outlet, I returned a $20 shirt I had purchased at the Prime Outlets of Ellenton (does anyone still remember how much further that drive is?), exchanged it for a $60 dress shirt that also was on clearance and with all of the discounts applied, I ended up getting that shirt for about $3!

Will the deals stay that impressive now that the opening weekend is over and the post-Halloween holiday season has officially begun? That remains to be seen. The whole concept of an outlet mall is that the merchandise sold there at deep discounts is so expensive to start with that only the rich could afford to shop at many of the stores without those discounts.

A case in point is TPOโ€™s โ€œsignatureโ€ store, Saks Off 5th. Although I found it hard to believe how much merchandise in Saks has the same labels โ€” Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, etc.ย  โ€” as the ones in TPOโ€™s individual outlets, the huge Off 5th store literally has something for everyone. I didnโ€™t feel that the deals were quite as good there as at other stores, but I have shopped at the original Saks ON 5th Ave. in NYC, so I know thereโ€™s nothing โ€œcheapโ€ there.ย 


Bring It, Bethenny!

One of the highlights of the opening weekend was the appearance ofย  reality TV star, author and Skinny Girl owner Bethenny Frankel.

Frankel, who has appeared on โ€œThe Apprentice: Martha Stewart,โ€ โ€œThe Real Housewives of New York Cityโ€ and โ€œBethenny Ever After,โ€ also founded Skinnygirl Cocktails, authored four self-help books and hosted the talk show, โ€œBethenny.โ€

She told me she appeared at the TPO opening not to promote herself, but because, โ€œIโ€™m an outlet mall shopper from way back and Iโ€™m here to give shopping tips to the women here.โ€ Her #1 tip? โ€œClean out those closets, ladies! Why bring new stuff to clutter up your limited space when you still have things in your closet that no longer fit or are old or pilly?โ€

Considering how long we have waited for the opening of TPO, Iโ€™d have to agree that the outlet mallโ€™s opening weekend was a smashing success. TPO may only be about half the size of the Shops at Wiregrass (which has more than 800,000 sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space), but itโ€™s definitely a new force to be reckoned with that will surely bring more mom-and-pop businesses to our area. Take a bow, Simon!

For more info about the new TPO and its VIP Shopping Club, please visit PremiumOutlets.com/Tampa.