Category: News

New Identities Hair Studio Featured On HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ With The Bucs!

It wasn’t just another hair coloring appointment for Katie Ellwood.

After all, Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Kwon Alexander was sitting in her chair at the New Identities Hair Studio of Tampa in Tampa Palms and a handful of television cameras were pointed right at her.

Everything she said, every move she made, every hair she dyed red was going to be shown to the entire country on HBO’s popular “Hard Knocks” reality show. “Was I nervous?,’’ Katie said. “Yeah, a little.”

Thanks to a recommendation from one of her customers, Bucs defensive tackle and Tampa Palms resident Gerald McCoy, Ellwood was working her magic on Alexander, who was looking to sharpen the red in his current ‘do. Katie had done a similar job on McCoy two years ago, and the All-Pro lineman noticed that Alexander’s color was fading and told his teammate he needed to go see his stylist.

“Hard Knocks,” which airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on HBO and offers a behind-the-scenes look at one NFL team each preseason – this year it’s the Bucs – followed along.

“That was my first experience with a camera crew focused on what I was doing,’’ said Katie, although she has been involved in other photo shoots over the years. “The production crew was very nice and very informative.”

Marc Rockquemore, who owns New Identities Hair Studios of Tampa with his wife Kelly, said they had less than 24 hours to get ready for Alexander and the HBO crew.

Being on reality television shows, however, is old hat for Rockquemore and the crew at New Identities, which has been featured on shows like FOX-TV’s “Ambush Makeover,” The Learning Channel’s “A Wedding Story” and MTV’s “True Life.”

New Identities also has had a long relationship with the Bucs. From 2003 until last year, Rockquemore sent a crew of stylists to every Bucs game to do the cheerleaders’ hair. Currently, New Identities is working with the Tampa Bay Lightning cheerleaders.

“We’ve had a lot of blessings come into our lives,’’ says Rockquemore, whose studio has more than 10,000 followers on Instagram.

Katie’s experience in front of the cameras took more than an hour, but once edited by HBO producers, was distilled into her 30 seconds of fame in the show’s third episode (check it out on the HBO GO app).

Instead of any viewing parties, Katie said she just went over to her girlfriend’s house to watch it when it aired.

“It was a little strange to see,’’ said Katie, a big Bucs fan and “Hard Knocks” viewer even before her appearance. “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t sound like a goober or anything. Once my 30 seconds were over, I was able to relax and just watch the rest of the show.”

She did receive a slew of text messages that night. Patrons at the new Fat Rabbit Pub in Tampa Palms, which Katie owns with her husband John, congratulated her the next day. Two days later, an old friend and former Bucs cheerleader texted her from New York to tell her she had seen her on the show.

“Overall, it was a really cool experience,’’ Katie said.

For more information about the New Identities Hair Studios in Tampa Palms (15307 Amberly Dr.) and South Shore (10639 Big Bend Rd., Riverview), visit NewIdentitiesSalon.com, or call (813) 979-0760 (New Tampa) or (813) 741-1177 (Riverview).

More Assisted Living, Home Decor, Food Options For Wesley Chapel

With the Beach House at Wiregrass Ranch set to open its doors in December, another assisted living facility may be on its way to Wesley Chapel.

According to plans filed with Pasco County, TLC Management is looking to build a 125,000-sq.ft. residence that will include an adult living and skilled nursing facility at the corner of Eagleston Blvd. and Stockton Dr. in Seven Oaks.

TLC Management had its pre-application meeting with county staffers last month.

The proposed 9.7-acre site is located in Seven Oaks between Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and I-75. According to conceptual site plans, the facility would have more than 230 parking spots and offer private rooms, dining and activities and plenty of green space for its residents.

TLC Management is an Indiana-based company that was created in 1987 with a focus on independent and assisted living, skilled nursing, rehabilitation and memory care. In 30 years, it has created 15 health and rehabilitation centers, as well as two assisted living and independent retirement communities in Indiana.

The company does already have two locations in Florida — Bridgewater Park Assisted Living in Ocala and The Village at Vienna Square in Winter Haven.

According to the Indianapolis Star, the company’s most recent project was a $14-million health and rehabilitation center in Indianapolis, which was expected to create 140 jobs and accommodate 199 patients.

TLC Management is owned by brothers Dwight, Gary and Randy Ott. The brothers were inspired to get into the business by their grandmother, who operated a nursing home in Iowa.

Messages left with TLC Management were not returned.

Home Decor Getting A Boost

Shoppers looking for home décor ideas soon will have plenty of new options in Wesley Chapel, as Cost Plus World Market is close to opening and At Home may not far behind.

Cost Plus World Market, which is under construction at 5833 Wesley Grove Blvd. in The Grove plaza, will be the first store shoppers see when they turn right on Pink Flamingo Ln. and enter the shopping center at its southernmost point. It will replace the AT&T store, although the space is being modified to account for the larger home décor store.

Although Cost Plus World Market filed its original plans with the county in 2016, The Grove let everyone know it was coming soon recently hanging a “Cost Plus World Market Coming Soon” banner at the construction site.

The 18,600-sq.-ft. store will be located next to Bed Bath & Beyond and Cost Plus World Market is a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.

Based in California, Cost Plus World Market specializes in an eclectic assortment of unique items for the home, from furniture to jewelry and accessories, as well as gourmet food and drinks. It claims to sell items imported from more than 50 countries.

Cost Plus World Market has 277 stores nationwide. The Wesley Chapel location will be the second in the Tampa Bay area, as a location in Clearwater opened on Aug. 3.

It could soon have competition from At Home, which is looking to join the busy scene just a few miles down Wesley Chapel Blvd./S.R. 54, south of S.R. 56, tucked behind the Tampa Premium Outlets and just off the new extension of Wesley Chapel Blvd.

Guggenheim Development of Dallas has filed plans with the county to put At Home in a 108,490-sq.-ft. retail space just south of Grand Cypress Blvd., and south and east of Costco.

The developer met with county staff earlier this month. According to site plans filed at that time, the proposed store would have 485 parking spaces, and would abut another still-unnamed 72,000-sq.-ft. retail store.

At Home claims to offer the largest and freshest assortment of home décor items, at the lowest prices, including its own unique products all sold in a “no-frills warehouse without all the commissioned salespeople.”

The store sells home and wall décor, furniture, pillows, rugs, housewares, seasonal items and much more.

assisted living facility seven oaks taco bus World Market

Students & Teachers Across Wesley Chapel Are Back In School

The lunchrooms and the walkway and courtyard at Cypress Creek Middle High School were finally filled by students as the new school, while others across Pasco County were back in business on Aug. 14. (Photo: Pasco County Schools)

Among the thousands of students who went back to school in Pasco County on August 14, more than 1,500 of them spent their first day at Wesley Chapel’s newest school, Cypress Creek Middle High School, which is located off Old Pasco Rd.

Cypress Creek Middle High was expected to open with about 1,500 students, but actually had 1,603 students show up on the first day. The school’s capacity is 1,958 students, so it still has some room to grow.

The new school was needed to relieve crowding at not only Wiregrass Ranch High and John Long Middle schools, but also has students who previously were zoned for Sunlake and Wesley Chapel high schools, as well as Weightman and Rushe middle schools.

All students at the new school follow the same bell schedule, from 7:25 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.

“The first few days have been outstanding,” said Cypress Creek principal Carin Hetzler-Nettles. “Our students are enjoying their new environment and are learning the layout of the campus. Other than the normal situation of getting used to the routine, and watching to see where we need to change procedures with car loop or bus loop, etc., we have truly had an amazing first few days.”

Hetzler-Nettles also said that the campus was filled with Parent Teacher Student Association members helping students find their classes, and even Pasco Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning was on hand to help welcome the students and direct them to their new classes.

Cypress Creek Middle/High. (Photo: Cypress Creek Howler)

“It takes a village to open a new school,” added Hetzler-Nettles, “and our community has just been so welcoming and helpful! We couldn’t have done it without them and are excited for our future!”

Among those who helped get the teachers set up in their new digs at the school on July 26 were volunteers from the Pasco Education foundation and the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel.

At Long Middle School, one of the schools that lost students to Cypress Creek, principal Christine Wolff said, “You always miss the kids on campus that you have grown attached to, and my wish for all of our former students is to have a good adjustment and get excited for learning, and take that excitement for learning with them wherever they are.”

She says that while Long’s enrollment numbers are down slightly (1,488 students were enrolled on opening day this year, versus 1,810 last year), the school is still over capacity because of all the growth in the area.

“We did have a smooth start to the school year,” Wolff says, “And, just like all of our Pasco County schools, we’re focused on meeting our school improvement goals and making sure they (the teachers and students) are meeting the learning standards in the classroom.”

And at Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), the 10-period schedule is a thing of the past, as many former students have new homes at either Cypress Creek Middle High or WCH.

A contentious rezoning process last year was designed to ease the overcrowding at Wiregrass Ranch while also filling the new school.

“We had a great start,’’ said WRH principal Robyn White. “We are back to the 7-period day, and while there are a lot of students on campus at the same time, it is manageable. We started day one with a little over 2,200, which was a decrease of 300 from last year.”

CORRECTION: We inadvertently omitted New River Elementary from our chart of Pasco County school grades in our last issue. We’re really sorry about that, because principal Lynn Pabst and the students and teachers at New River earned a “B” grade for the third consecutive year.

back to school Wesley Chapel

Pasco’s Libraries Adapting To New Technologies To Stay Relevant

The times they are a’changing, and so, too, are libraries, according to Bob Harrison of Pasco County Libraries.

“Typically when people think of libraries, they think of books,” Harrison told local business leaders on July 20, during a Lunch n’ Learn program in the Don Porter Boardroom at the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), which sponsored the event. “But, we’re so much more than just books.”

Harrison said area libraries are taking a quantum leap into the future with a litany of new services offered to both small businesses and residents of Pasco County.

Although the image of libraries may be of dusty old bookshelves and gray-haired librarians demanding total silence, one of the first services detailed by Harrison was the addition in many county libraries of community meeting rooms.

Space is subject to availability, but having a public space to meet can be an asset for a small business or organization. Heck, just look around at any coffee shop during the day, and you can see all kinds of business meetings taking place. The library not only offers free internet, but also low-cost printers and copiers.

“We are trying to become part of the Maker Movement that’s sweeping the nation right now,” Harrison said. “The libraries have jumped into it.”

Maker Spaces, as they are dubbed, are being created across the county’s seven branches in Hudson, Regency Park, Centennial Park, South Holiday, Hugh Embry, Land O’ Lakes and the New River branch library at 34043 S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel.

The New River library has a meeting room that can accommodate up to 30 people, and does not even require a library card to book, which can be done at PascoLibraries.org.

Adrienne Hymes, Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, sees it as an opportunity, as she said her church is looking to incorporate new members from the Wesley Chapel area.

“We are trying to establish a church in Wesley Chapel, and we need options for meeting spaces,” Hymes said.

Additionally, Pasco’s libraries offer a conduit to the WCCC and to the Pasco County Economic Development Council (EDC).

With that access, potential or existing business owners can learn the ins and outs of how to start and/or run a business in the county, and receive direction to the appropriate places for permitting or licensing information that goes beyond a typical Google search.

All you need is a library card.

AtoZDatabases.com, for example, offers access to business listings not just in the county, but nationwide. The site is a subscription site, but can be used for free at the library. The site says that while Google and other search engines are valuable tools, they are limited to simple searches. AtoZDatabases can handle more complex questions, and returns the information in a consistent format.

“All the information you need is in one place,” Harrison says.

Pasco County library card holders also can access Demographics Now, a database that gathers information from the US Census from 2000 and 2010, as well other sources. There, users can find information about population density, income, ethnicity, even retail spending figures on households — information that can be vital when deciding whether to start a new business and where it might be most successful.

“I already have a (Pasco library) card, I just didn’t know these services were available,” said Roslyn Yee, founder of Vibrant Life International, a wellness consulting company in Lutz. “I like to be able to research companies. Now, it looks like I can do this from the comfort of my own home.”

Another invaluable tool in Pasco County Libraries’ online arsenal is access to Lynda.com, a popular online training company that offers more than 6,000 video courses on business, technology, software and marketing, to name just a few.

Users can access videos teaching Adobe products like Photoshop or Creative Suite, and other programs. You can learn how to shoot better photos with your DSLR camera, or how to how to master WordPress.

The site boasts more than 1,200 design courses, and over 700 web development and design courses. Lynda.com was acquired by LinkedIn, and typically requires a monthly fee.

However, with a library card, users can access the premium version through the library website. All library cardholders need is their online access password, and they can even use the service from their home or office computers.

It’s all part of Pasco County Libraries’ vision for the future.

“We see a future for the county library system being heavy on tech and all community-driven,” Harrison said.

That includes things like a Community Garden Maker Space at the New River branch, a new sound studio being built at the Hudson branch and a woodworking shop at the Land O’ Lakes branch.

Volunteers help staff the spaces and libraries are always seeking more volunteers. The ideas for new services are generated by feedback from the community.

“We want residents to drive it,” said Harrison. “We want the library to be more than a knowledge center, we want it to be a hub for the community.”

During the WCCC workshop, Harrison said that Pasco’s libraries spend only $12 per person per year, while the average spent by the rest of the state’s counties is $26 per person.

“We are good stewards of your tax dollars,” Harrison said. “But, as the county grows, we expect to be able to offer additional services as demand grows.”

Southern Pasco County, especially the Wesley Chapel area, is booming with growth. A growing property tax base, along with a 501 (c)(3) Friends of the Library charitable organization, are primarily responsible for funding the library’s current leap into the 21st Century.

For additional information, visit PascoLibraries.org

libraries Pasco

Pasco OKs School Impact Fee Increase

Once the increases are all rolled in over the next three years, these will be the school impact fees in Pasco County.

As expected, and facing a dire need to build more schools in the quickly growing parts of the Pasco County — particularly Wesley Chapel — the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted Aug. 15 to raise school impact fees on new homes.

The unanimous decision by the BCC was no surprise. Prior to the BCC’s last board meeting on July 13, the Pasco County School District and the Tampa Bay Builders Association (TBBA) had forged a deal to phase in an impact fee increase of roughly $3,500 over three years — $2,252 on Jan. 1, 2018, and $600 on Jan. 1 in 2019 and 2020.

The commissioners all signaled their support for the increase at that meeting, but were unable to vote on the ordinance at the time because it had changed significantly from what was originally advertised.

The delay was to allow for further public comment, but there was only one speaker, who actually spoke in favor of the increase, at the Aug. 15 meeting.

The impact fee on a new single-family home, currently $4,828, will be bumped to $7,128 beginning in January. For any applications filed after Dec. 31, 2019, the last year of the phased-in increase, the impact fee on a new single-family home will be $8,328.

Impact fees are charges assessed on new construction to pay for other infrastructure needed to accommodate growth. In Wesley Chapel for example, homes are continuing to be built and the area continues to grow so rapidly that most of the elementary, middle and high schools have been over capacity (see story on page 13).

Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) has been on a 10-period schedule for the last two years, and while the rezoning will alleviate some overcrowding, the school still has no room. Cypress Creek, which opened Aug. 14 as a combined middle/high school, has roughly 1,900 students, which also is near its capacity.

Combining a middle and high school is not ideal. Pasco County Superintendent of Schools Kurt Browning said he hopes to have a separate middle school built in four years on the Cypress Creek campus, as the new fees are expected to raise more than $200 million over the next decade for school construction.

The school district had formed a School Impact Fee Committee (SIFC) to study the issue, which hadn’t been done since a 2007 study that never went to a BCC vote. The SIFC met four times between March and April of this year and looked at a dozen options to raise enough funds for new schools to accommodate an expected increase over the next 10 years of 7,500 students. The members of the committee decided that the best way to raise the funds without requiring a referendum was the increase in home impact fees.

District staff recommended an increase to $9,028, or an 85 percent increase that it said would pay for four or five new schools those 10 years.

The TBBA was hoping to keep the increase to $7,176, or a 48-percent raise, which means that the school district got 92 percent of the increase it was seeking.

Pasco school impact fees