Wesley Chapel’s Zach D’Onofrio’s ‘American Idol’ Quest Ends In Los Angeles

ach D’Onofrio is surprised after being eliminated in his journey to become the next “American Idol.” But, he says the experience was one he will never forget.

Wiregrass Ranch junior Zach D’Onofrio’s hopes of being the next “American Idol” are officially over, after taking the shy Wesley Chapel 16-year-old on an incredible whirlwind journey that started at auditions at Florida Hospital Center Ice here in Wesley Chapel and led him to Orlando, New York and California.

Unofficially, his dream ended Jan. 21 in Hollywood, CA. But, to those not in his immediate family, Zach’s end came March 26, when the last episode he will appear in was shown on ABC-TV.

“It was a really great experience,” said Zach, the day after the final episode.

Like he did on the “Idol” season premiere, Zach had a nice spot on the March 26 episode, which focused on his friendship with fellow contestant, the quirky Catie Turner. While Turner pined for the young, good-looking hopefuls on the show, her affections were mostly aimed at Zach.

“He’s funny, he’s nice, he dresses cool,” Catie said.

“Me and Catie got really close on the show, and I definitely made a lot of good friends that I will never forget,” Zach says. “I am very thankful I could meet all these great people.”

Like Zach, Catie transforms herself when it comes to singing. She turned in a sterling performance of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” and then cheered on Zach from backstage.

Zach sang 45 seconds of Michael Buble’s “Cry Me A River” (though it was edited to about 15 second for TV) on his final appearance. Cameras showed the other contestants expressing shock (as most people do) when Zach’s squeaky voice gave way to his much bigger and deeper singing voice.

When it came time for elimination, the 10 contestants in Zach’s group were called to the Dolby Theater stage. While the show made it look like three were asked to step forward, it was actually seven of the 10. The three that weren’t asked to step forward, including Zach, were eliminated by celebrity judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, who famously danced with Zach during his audition in New York.

Zach was never told why he was not chosen. He walked off the stage with the other eliminated contestants, did a brief confessional-type interview that aired and showed him fighting back tears, and then it was over.

He and his mother Darci ate at a nearby diner with $25 gift cards they had been given, and packed up their suitcases.

“It hit me pretty hard,” Zach says. “One day you’re there and they are explaining the rules, the day after that you sing, and the next morning you are on your way back home. It all happened so fast.”

Zach quickly put the disappointment behind him.

“It was nice to have my mom with me, sharing the experience. It definitely helped me out,” he said. “I bounced back really quickly. I felt like I sang my best. I felt like I didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no reason to be sad.”

Back home in Wesley Chapel and at school, Zach said he found lots of support.

“A lot of people have told me I should have gotten through,” Zach says. “My teachers watched it too, and they were confused about why I didn’t get through. I don’t know why, which kind of sucks.”

But, Zach says he plans on building on his experience. When he started, he had 400 followers on Instagram but now he has an audience of 12,000. He says he will continue posting videos on YouTube, and he hopes to bring back the more intimate sound made famous by crooners like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and, more currently, by Harry Connick, Jr., and Michael Buble.

He said he has talked with New Jersey’s Austin Georgio, who is currently on NBC-TV’s “The Voice” singing competition as that show’s resident crooner, about collaborating on a project.

And, before he left Hollywood, he was told by other contestants he should try again next year.

“Why not?,” Zach says. “If they get a second season, I plan on trying to be there.”

Look for an announcement about a possible local performance by Zach on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page and at WCNeighborhoodNews.com.

‘Best Food Ever, Most Fun Ever!’ 

THIS ONE WAS MAGICAL!

When the Rotary Club of New Tampa revived the Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel last year, I was proud to be the restaurant guy who procured 46 food and beverage providers and helped promote the 2017 return of my favorite 20-year-old single-day event in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel in these pages and on WCNT-tv (Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Television on Youtube & Facebook).

Rotary Club president and Taste organizer Karen Frashier — who also ran the show last year when an estimated total crowd (including vendors and volunteers) of about 2,000 people helped the club net about $10,000 for its own charitable foundation (more on that below) and about $1,000 to benefit the Greater Wesley Chapel (now North Tampa Bay) Chamber of Commerce (NTBCC)’s high school scholarship fund — was truly stunned at how much bigger and better this year’s Taste was than last year.

“Based on our ticket sales, we estimate the crowd this year at more than 2,000 attendees and close to 2,500 people overall,” Frashier said only three days after the event. “We don’t have final numbers yet, but we definitely more than doubled last year’s net proceeds.”

Whether you chalk it up to the Rotary Club having a year of experience under its belt, the even better restaurants, the even more outstanding entertainment — everyone loved the virtuoso guitar work of Shaun Hopper and taking pics with Zammy the Giant Sheepadoodle — or the even bigger promotional bump the Taste got from our New Tampa issue hitting mailboxes in zip code 33647 only two days before the event (where the preview started on Page 1), Taste 2018 was pure magic.

Superlative Food & Drinks!

Although I honestly believe that there were at least a dozen other restaurants that  planned to be at this year’s Taste, including several of last year’s participants who simply couldn’t get themselves together in time, I have no doubt that this year’s food was the best in the 22-year history of the Taste.

Yes, there were the superlative samples of three different bowls served by People’s Choice 1st-place winner Ciccio Cali, the lasagna, meatballs and eggplant parmigiana from 2nd Place Little Italy’s (which had by far the longest lines of any restaurants all afternoon) and the crispy Brussels sprouts appetizer from 3rd Place Noble Crust.

I also thought that Vesh Catering’s potsticker dumplings and chopped salad were both outstanding, as were Texas Roadhouse’s ribs and steak bites. Canterbury Hall at Grace Episcopal Church served delicious salmon mousse cups provided by Rotary Club member Peter Gambacorta of the Private Chef of Tampa. And, Acai Brazil, Bosco’s Italian-to-Go, Cinebistro, Jon’s Nutrition, Union 72 BBQ and Cappy’s Pizza all offered tasty samples, too.

The beverage competition came down to the three beer providers — The Brass Tap, Zephyrhills Brewing Co. (2nd place), and 81 Bay Brewing (1st place), and wine providers PRP Wine, Time for Wine (3rd place), Vom Fass (which also brought, and quickly went through, a giant tray of paella I couldn’t try because of my shellfish allergy, but it looked amazing) and Chuy’s Tex-Mex (see story on pg. 14), which is opening in our area later this month. Chuy’s only served chips with very spicy salsa for food but everyone who sampled the sangria raved about it.

As for the dessert providers, Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt, Blondie’s Cookies, Leann’s Gourmet Cookies, Culver’s frozen custard and Snowrolls ice cream all deserve  high marks, with Snowrolls and Culver’s my favorites, although there were no People’s Choice dessert winners.

Rotary Club of New Tampa president Karen Frashier explained that the People’s Choice food and beverage honors went to the providers who had a combination of the most actual People’s Choice votes and the number of Taste tickets they collected from patrons who sampled their wares. It’s an imperfect, somewhat subjective system, but I have to give major kudos to all 43 of our food and beverage providers who showed up, as well as to Rotary Club members Nikki Smith and David West, who figured a way to donate all leftover food to local food banks and shelters, although there was definitely less food left over than last year.

Thank You, JCs!

I also want to send a big shout-out to this year’s “JC” sponsorship chairs — Rotary Club members James Carner and Jason Contino. Not only did these two hard-working gentleman procure thousands more in sponsorships this year than last, between the two of them, they helped me get about 1/4 of the 40+ restaurants for this year’s Taste.

And, best of all, Carner also lassoed his long-time friend —  fingerstyle and percussion-style guitarist Shaun Hopper — into being the headline entertainer for the event. Read more about Shaun on the next page.

When I first heard that guitarist Shaun Hopper was going to be the headline entertainer at the Taste, I honestly had  never heard of him, even though he’s toured with several major bands.

But now, I know for fact that not only is the guy a gifted guitarist and performer, he also is a truly caring gentleman. Shaun told me that when he saw Zammy the Giant Sheepadoodle (check him out at #ZammyPup on Instagram) lumbering around the insulated floor at Florida Hospital Center Ice, he instantly started writing a song in his head. Not long after Shaun finished performing, he sat with Zammy for a few minutes and played a happy, lilting little guitar melody that Zammy’s owner Todd Pitner will likely use as Zammy’s theme song for his future videos.

I also really enjoyed the performance of the New Tampa Players, who gave everyone a preview of their upcoming production of “Legally Blonde” during the Taste.

Zammy hung out on his grooming table, next to the free photo booth for most of the event. I apologize for not remembering the gentleman’s name who ran the photo booth, but I did see lots of people taking family pics during the event. Also busy all day was the Taste’s kids area.

I also want to thank each and every sponsor who appeared on page 39 of our last issue. I don’t have room to use pics of all of them in these pages, but without the hard work of James and Jason to get them to ante up money to be at the Taste, the event would never have netted as much money as it did.

I also applaud Jason’s daughter Sophia Contino, for bringing her lemonade stand to the Taste, and for making yet another big donation to the Pasco Sheriff’s K-9 Association.

‘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.

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.”

Hagan Looks To Press Kinnan-Mansfield Connection

Ken Hagan

Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan says the infamous 50-foot space between Kinnan St. in New Tampa and Mansfield Blvd. in Pasco County needs to be connected.

Now.

So, at the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting on Feb. 21, Hagan put forth a motion directing the county attorney’s office to look into all possibilities, which passed by a unanimous vote.

“We are directing the (attorneys) to explore all legal options, including eminent domain, to force the connection to be made,” Hagan says.

The county is taking a hard look at records from the Pasco and Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) for Transportation, the City of Tampa and M/I Homes, the developer of K-Bar Ranch, to determine what agreements are in place.

This photo taken by a drone shows the 60-foot gap between Kinnan St. (on the bottom) and Mansfield Blvd. Hillsborough and Pasco counties are stalemated on the issue but continue to discuss connecting the two roads.

According to Hagan, the Kinnan-Mansfield connection was already approved in the original developer’s agreements for K-Bar Ranch.

“Basically, and I’ve said it before, the original agreement was once the road to Wiregrass was opened, then Pasco County would connect Kinnan-Mansfield,” Hagan says. “It is absolutely absurd the roads aren’t connected.”

Hagan says the county’s attorneys also will be looking for similar cases involving disputes between two counties, to see if there are any precedents for legal action, including eminent domain, to force the issue.

Hagan says the connection of the roads will provide a north-south alternative to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. that would provide for both counties, as well as benefit the public good, he adds, by improving police and fire response times and relieving congestion.

Once the attorneys complete their research, a course of action will be presented to the BOCC for a vote. Hagan is confident he has the commission votes to pursue any recommendation, considering that the Hillsborough County Commission unanimously approved his motion to explore legal action, as well as a vote in September 2017 to put $250,000 towards funding a potential connection.

“Nothing will ever get done, I’m convinced,” Hagan says. “It’s not the money, right?”

Hagan believes the fear of political backlash from Meadow Pointe (especially Meadow Pointe II & III) residents who live near the proposed connection, many who are opposed to it cite safety concerns, which has stalled the efforts by Pasco County to make a decision.

Pasco’s District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, whose district includes all of Meadow Pointe, scoffs at Hagan’s notion. He says the county is still waiting for the results of the Pasco Roadway Connections study to determine whether or not the connection should be made, and if there might be better connection points, including one between Meadow Pointe Blvd. and K-Bar Ranch Blvd., a planned east-west road currently under construction in K-Bar Ranch.

Any talk of eminent domain, Moore says, is “ridiculous.”

That connections study, though, was announced in May and, at the time, Moore said he expected it would take 6-7 months, or by the end of 2017.

“Now we’re in March (of 2018) and I’m hearing it could be May or June,” Hagan says. “It seems they (Pasco) are looking for any reason not to make this connection.”

The Political Football

Moore is running for re-election this year, which Hagan suggests is paralyzing the commissioner from taking swifter action. “Pasco County residents use our parks, our libraries, and they preach connectivity between the counties,” Hagan says. “There’s no valid reason not to make the connection other than fear of political fallout.”

To be fair, Hagan also will be busy this upcoming election season. Currently the countywide District 5 commissioner, Hagan is running for his original District 2 seat that represents New Tampa, where residents generally seem in favor of a connected for Kinnan-Mansfield.

But, as a former New Tampa resident and the District 2 commissioner from 2002-10,, Hagan says the Kinnan-Mansfield conundrum is a long-standing issue that he has been trying to resolve for years.

“There’s always going to be another excuse, whether its an election or a transportation study,” He says. “There’s always another reason (for Pasco) not to move forward.”