Enter Our FREE, Online-Only ‘Oscars’ Contest; Plus, Just How ‘Chicken’ Are You?! 

Oscar nominees Monica Barbaro & Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown” (Photo: IMDB)

We’ve only been able to even have an Academy Awards/ “Oscars” contest a few times in the past because of the timing of when the nominees are announced to when the annual Academy Awards are held vs. our deadlines for our print issues of the Neighborhood News.. 

As devastating as the uncontrolled wild fires in California have been, the fires caused both the announcement of this year’s nominees and the televised red carpet gala itself to be delayed — so much so that we actually have time to finally include this FREE contest again this year — and you could win some great prizes. 

If you’re a movie buff, you probably have seen many of the films included in this year’s list of finalists/nominees. 

But, even if you’re more like me — the only nominated films I’ve seen are “Wicked,” the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” and Best Animated Film nominee “Inside Out 2” (the latter thanks to mine and Jannah’s granddaughter Rosie) — you have a chance to win some great prizes by simply telling us which films and actors YOU think will win the coveted gold statuettes. 

Here’s How The Contest Works: 

CLICK HERE and provide us with your REAL (you’d be surprised how many entries with fake names we receive in our contests every year — I know I’m always surprised) first AND last name, the community you live in, email address and daytime phone number. In addition, we ask each entrant in this contest to please pick the winner in each of the following major Oscars categories: 

1. Best Picture 

2. Best Actress 

3. Best Actor 

4. Best Supporting Actress 

5. Best Supporting Actor 

6. Best Director 

7. Best Animated Feature Film 

If only one entrant picks the most winners in those seven categories, that person will win a prize package to the B&B Theatres at The Grove, which could include movie tickets, popcorn, dinner and drinks, valued at about $200. 

However, if more than one entry has the same number of correct picks, the winner will be drawn at random from all tied entries. Each of the other tied entries will receive two top-level B&B movie passes. 

That’s all you need to do/know. Please note that we already have posted a link to the contest page on our “Neighborhood News” Facebook page and will do so again at least once each of the two weeks between when you receive this issue in your mailbox and the ABC-TV telecast of the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2. 

At our press time, we only received a little more than 20 entries, so the contest would appear to be wide open. But please, get your entry in no later than Saturday, March 1, at 11:59:59 p.m., to be eligible! 

Please note that B&B Theatres at The Grove is not affiliated with this contest. 

So, Just How ‘Chicken’ Are You? 

Despite all of the nasty online comments about the sheer number of chicken places now located in or adjacent to Wesley Chapel, the fact is that we probably wouldn’t have so many chicken-only (or predominantly chicken) places if there wasn’t a demand for them and, it seems, that most locals have both their favorites and least favorites among the following (in alphabetical order): 

Chicken Guy! 

Chick-fil-A 

Chick’n Fun 

Dave’s Hot Chicken 

Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken 

PDQ 

Popeye’s 

Raising Cane’s 

Slim Chickens 

Sweet Krunch Korean Fried Chicken 

Zaxby’s 

Since I am not the biggest “fast food” chicken enthusiast myself, I decided to give those of you who claim to be true lovers of fried chicken an opportunity to be judges in a Neighborhood News-sponsored contest to find Wesley Chapel’s favorite fast-casual chicken place! 

I haven’t figured out all of the details yet of how it will work or when it will be (or if any of the places listed will agree to be part of it), but if you’re interested in being one of the judges, please email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com with your contact info (name, daytime phone number & community you live in) and “I want to be a chicken contest judge” in the subject line! 

‘We Didn’t Lose Our Father. He Was Taken From Us.’ 

Steven Alan Glantz 
August 23, 1957-December 18, 2024 

On Dec. 18, Gabriel Glantz, who had been living in his mom Marcia’s homeland of Brazil, was staying at his childhood home in Kingshyre at Cross Creek, awaiting the impending birth of his sister Isabel’s baby. 

Gabe says there was a knock at the door, and since he was making dinner, his father, Steve, went to see who was there. 

Seconds later, Gabe heard multiple gunshots fired and minutes later, ambulance and law enforcement vehicles arrived on the scene and sped Steve away to a hospital. But tragically, Steve passed away shortly after reaching the hospital. 

Not long after his father had been shot, Gabe, 37, heard one additional shot fired, which was apparently the gunman — the Glantzes’ Kingshyre neighbor Timothy Lobianco, 66 — taking his own life. Gabe says that Lobianco apparently walked back to his own house, told his wife “I did something…and don’t follow me,” before walking back outside and shooting himself. 

Although the Glantz family doesn’t fully know why Lobianco killed this beloved husband, father and grandfather, Gabe’s brother Kyle, 34, said that Steve, Lobianco and another long-time Kingshyre neighbor had done quite a bit of motorcycle riding together. But, several years ago, Lobianco suffered a head injury in a serious accident on his bike and his demeanor definitely grew angrier in the years that followed. 

“We don’t know why our dad became the focal point of [Lobianco’s] anger,” Kyle told me a week or so after Steve was laid to rest on Dec. 22 at the Gan Shalom Cemetery on County Line Rd. in Lutz. “All we know is that we didn’t lose our father. He was taken from us.” And, as if the shooting wasn’t tragic enough, Steve was killed the same night Isabel, 28, gave birth to a baby girl. Marcia, Steve’s wife of 40 years, was already at the hospital with their daughter when Steve was shot. 

Although Steve and I never really “hung out” together much, we became close friends during his several-year stint as the volunteer president of what was then called the New Tampa Little League (NTLL), when we both had sons playing ball at what is now called Eber Field on Kinnan St., just north of Cross Creek Blvd. Steve was completely dedicated to not only running the league, but also expertly handling the inevitable squabbles between parents, as well as always making sure the fields were kept perfectly manicured. He loved the field maintenance so much, he kept handling it long after he was no longer running the league. 

Seemingly always smiling, always personable, the one-time All-American high school springboard diver and barefoot waterskier was, “an amazing husband, father and friend,” according to Hazzan Jodi Sered-Lever of Congregation Mekhor Shalom, who presided over Steve’s burial, which was attended by more than 200 people (including yours truly), the vast majority being New Tampa neighbors who came to support and pay their respects to the Glantz family, who buried Steve only four days after he was killed. 

Kyle was the first to speak at the funeral. “From our family to everybody here,” he said, “the amount of support, the outpouring of love and prayers and thoughts …you don’t understand how much it has helped us trying to traverse through these last few days. This crowd is a testament to who our father was and the impact that he left on not only our family but on this entire community, from Little League to running into him at Publix, I just want to say a most sincere ‘thank you.’ It truly means a lot and it’s just fulfilling to know how much my father meant to so many people.” 

To that sentiment, Gabe then added, “I think everyone here will take how [our dad] viewed life with them into the future. He was a wonderful father, but I don’t think we realized just how blessed we really were. He was always there for us, and myself in particular, to where I knew that I could take much larger risks than I should because I knew he was always there, no matter what.” 

He added, “Everyone knows he was a community guy…friends with and always keeping up with everyone. He was involved in the Little League for a long time. Even after Kyle and I stopped playing, he stuck around for 5 or 6 more years just because he liked riding around on that lawn mower. He put our grandfather Arnold up in that hot dog truck, selling burgers and hot dogs at the fields on the weekends, just so they could be closer together. I don’t know which he loved more — meeting up with people at Publix or sitting in Section 116 at the Lightning games.” 

Gabe also noted, “The last time we went to Publix together was after he picked me up at the airport and he took me to a specific line just to show me off to one of my high school friends’ mothers.” 

He then closed by saying, “In light of recent events, just be nice…love thy neighbor…and if you come across anything you find unusual in the community that you think someone needs to know about, don’t hesitate because…you just never know.” 

After Steve’s sons were finished speaking, Hazzan Sered-Lever named all of Steve’s relatives and then turned her attention to his passing. 

“Tragically, we are all here today because of evil. Evil has touched Steven’s family, his friends and this community and all who knew and loved him.” 

She continued, “Why did this destruction and devastation take place? Where was God? Why didn’t God protect Steven? As painful and as heartbreaking as it is to take in, I submit that God can not stop human acts of evil from happening. The prayers in my prayer book describe God as ‘gracious and compassionate.’ If God could have stopped this, God would have, but God couldn’t. So, where is God in this unmitigated tragedy? God is the source of comfort who is with us as we take the necessary steps to continue living in the face of our heartbreak. And, through this heartbreak, we remember, we honor, and we pay tribute to Steven.” 

And finally, Hazzan Shered-Lever said, “Steven was compassionate, dedicated, committed, a hard worker and a planner. He was a people person, which also made him so successful in sales. But, it was never transactional [with him]. It was always [about] relationships. He loved to talk to people and was an extraordinary listener. People would open up to him like magic. He knew everyone’s life story, taking after his dad. He always wanted to help anybody and everybody. His friendship was legendary and he sought to solve any problem someone was experiencing.” (Note-As one of those friends Steve helped back when he was the president of the Little League, I can attest first-hand to the truth of this statement). “He experienced such joy in interacting with people that he was the mayor of wherever he went, including the Little League, and one of the fields was named in his honor.” 

Steven was a consummate family man. His family was more important to him than anything else in the world. 

“To the entire Glantz family, we can not take away your pain, but we are holding each one of you in our hearts. The love you have for Steven and his love for each one of you endures forever.” 

Rest in peace, Steve. You are sorely missed. 

2024 In The Rear View — Downtowns, Chicken Places, Kelly Gilroy & More!

There’s no doubt that 2024 was an amazing and crazy year in Wesley Chapel. One supposed “downtown” began building early in the year, while another just got approval to begin building near the end of the year. A seemingly never ending supply of hot chicken sandwich places either opened or were ready to open as the year ended. New road projects finally got started and Wesley Chapel continued to see explosive growth — much of which was chronicled not only in these pages, but in the seemingly magical Pasco County Development & Growth Updates Facebook page. But, its usual leader, Kelly Gilroy, admitted to yours truly that she hasn’t been using her real name on her wildly popular Facebook page. So, here are some highlights of the year that was, 2024 in Wesley Chapel:

Road Projects — With both Old Pasco Rd. and Wesley Chapel Blvd. beginning to be widened, the traffic will get worse for two or three (or more) years on each before it gets better.

Chicken Wars — It’s hard for some of us who aren’t big fans of spicy chicken to believe we really need ten or more of these chains (the left photo above is the ribbon cutting of the Wesley Chapel Hangry Joe’s chicken), but we’re still getting them anyway! It looks like Raising Cane’s will be the last to open, in January (Chicken Guy! should be open as you’re reading this), and when it does, the Neighborhood News will sponsor a contest to find the favorite of them all, as selected by a panel of hot chicken lovers — and no, I won’t be one of those judges!

Dueling Downtowns — Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli believes that the opening of his first mixed-use downtown building in Sept. (center photo) was the official launch of Wesley Chapel’s official downtown. But, Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter says his Legacy Downtown, which just had its development plan approved earlier this month, will prove to be The Chap’s true downtown when it begins building next year.

Kilroy, er Gilroy, Was Here! — Taking all of Pasco County, but especially Wesley Chapel, by storm in 2024 was the Pasco County Development & Growth Updates Facebook page, which went from 0 to tens of thousands of ardent admirers in just a few months. Page admin Kelly Gilroy has become something of a cult figure, even though it seems a large percentage of the people who respond to the page’s literally hundreds of posts only want to make jokes about car washes and storage facilities. The fact that Ms. Gilroy has gotten some Pasco officials to question whether or not she’s a real person is reason enough for me to name her Wesley Chapel’s “Person of the Year.” Will we ever find out her real name? Do we even want to know it?

And Then There’s…Some of the incredible and sometimes unexpected things that happened in our area in 2024 include: the opening in November of Cooper’s Hawk; the announcement in October that Cheesecake Factory was coming to a portion of the already stressed parking lot at the Tampa Premium Outlets; the new Publix at Innovation Springs
(in front of Epperson on Curley Rd.) included a beer-and-wine bar; the long-awaited Whole Foods announced it was coming to Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Meadow Pointe, then took it back and said it wasn’t, then re-announced that it was; people on every Wesley Chapel community Facebook page complained vehemently about the Pasco Board of County Commissioners and vowed to vote them all out, but all four running for reelection won by landslides; Orlando Health began building Wesley Chapel’s third hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital officially announced that it will build a children’s hospital near Overpass Rd.; and finally, two New Tampa kids stunned the world, as 12-year-old Bruhat Soma won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June and 16-year-old Adwaith Praveen who achieved perfect scores on the PSAT, SAT and ACT exams! We’ll tell you what to expect in 2025 in Wesley Chapel in our next issue!

Hurricane Milton Aftermath — Of Tornado Near Misses & What You’re Dealing With Here

As I reflect on the horror that was — and still is for many people — Hurricane Milton, I am both happy and a little guilty to report that our power is back on (at the Silversaw Apartments on the north side of S.R. 56, west of I-75), our complex seemingly suffered little to no structural damage, the traffic signals are working and many of the stores and restaurants have been able to reopen in our area.
 
But, believe me, I know this is not the case for a large number of our readers and the State of Florida in general. And, I once again feel powerless to help, other than maybe to donate money to disaster relief, which won’t necessarily benefit the local residents in need.


Jannah and I went to stay with her daughter in Port Saint Lucie — yes, the same Port Saint Lucie (and St. Lucie County) that took the brunt of the 126 tornado warnings and nearly 40 verified tornado touchdowns as Milton’s outer bands were first reaching the “Sunshine State” early on Thursday afternoon. One of those tornadoes, which touched down less than five miles from where we were hunkered down, tore the roof off the city’s Police Department and another that hit Ft. Pierce (only 12 miles from us) is responsible for the deaths of at least five people in one subdivision — the Spanish Lakes Country Club. 
 
Scary stuff, to be sure, but those near misses were the worst we dealt with from the storm and we got an email that the power had somehow already been restored at Silversaw on Thursday night. We definitely saw less rain and wind in Port Saint Lucie than pretty much anywhere other than Miami and other areas in the southeastern corner of the state.
 
My mom, who lives in downtown Sarasota, made the decision to stay in her high-rise apartment building, which did lose power but had a backup generator that kicked in and her hurricane windows held up just fine. Even so, she was alone with her cat in her apartment and said that the winds — which exceeded 100 mph upon Milton’s landfall in nearby Siesta Key (which already had been devastated by storm surge from Hurricane Helene) — never seemed to let up from what she could only describe as a high-speed train sound right outside those windows for more than six hours. I’ve seen comments on local Facebook community pages that tell a similar story about the conditions here for those who didn’t evacuate.
 
On our drive back yesterday, which included passing through the “war zone” that is now Ft. Pierce, we saw dozens of downed power lines, non-working traffic signals and tons of damage. We felt even more fortunate — but maybe also even more guilty — to have a place to return to that has electricity and running water with our lives pretty much able to resume back to “normal.”


 
But, I know that simply isn’t true for everyone who receives our publications. Photographer Charmaine George and freelance writers Celeste McLaughlin and Iris Vitelli still have no power and TECO (Tampa Electric Co.) has told its many thousands of customers that they “hope” all power will be restored by next Thursday. That would be almost an entire week with no electricity, which is horrible to think about until you consider those who lost their homes completely and whose lives are changed forever.  
 
We have seen the buckling of a portion of Curley Rd., the flooding of the Shoppes at New Tampa plaza (BBD Blvd. at S.R. 56), trees that fell on people’s houses and many more truly frightening things that have happened since Thursday night. 
 
And, the effects of Milton clearly haven’t left us yet entirely, either. Just today, the National Guard and other military and law enforcement personnel had to help evacuate the Enclave development on Wesley Chapel Blvd.(not to be confused with The Enclave subdivision of Meadow Pointe or The Enclave Apartments on S.R. 56) because of the flooding of the nearby Cypress Creek. Flooding continues to be an issue for a lot of our other readers, too, and many have structural damage to their homes and what could be long waits for insurance claims to be processed and paid, while also having to find temporary shelter.


 
In other words, just because you and I don’t have the same full-fledged disaster on our hands doesn’t mean your neighbors are all OK. I have seen some of the nastiest comments back and forth on local Facebook communities and have seen and heard of people being nasty to workers at Costco, local restaurants and especially, at local gas stations, many of which weren’t able to replenish their supplies until this morning. It’s obvious that many people do still have to fill gas cans because they do still need to run their generators because they still don’t have power. Please try to avoid getting gas right now if you already have more than half a tank, in order to let those who desperately need it now get it. We all hate waiting on lines for things, but we don’t need to hate or fight or threaten each other because we have to do so.
 
I am praying for a speedy recovery for everyone from this but sadly, I know that many have a lot of “bad road” ahead of them. Please email me at ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com (mailto:ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com) if you have ideas about what those of us who are already recovering from Milton can do to help those who aren’t. Also feel free to send me a note about what you or someone you know are going through and please let me know if you want me to share that information with our readers, even if you want it to remain anonymous.

Hurricane Horrors & Feelings Of Helplessness; Plus, Teeghan Brightens My Day! 

As I am writing this, Category 5 Hurricane Milton is bearing down on Florida, but I was still two+ days from knowing exactly where it would hit and how bad things might get in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and my apartment near I-75 in Lutz. 

What I do know is that although Milton is taking a completely different track towards Florida than Hurricane Helene did, there is no doubt that another large swath of the Florida peninsula is about to take another direct hit from Mother Nature. 

And, based on what we saw with Helene, which devastated the Gulf coast from Ft. Myers to the Big Bend, that is just terrifying. 

The thing is, by the time you receive this issue in your mailbox, you’ll already know who got hit with the worst of Milton and what is being done to help those in that direct path survive and recover from what could be the strongest-ever hurricane to make landfall in U.S. history. 

And this time, folks like us who are 30 miles inland aren’t safe either. No, we won’t have to deal with storm surge, but we could certainly have localized flooding, possible long-term power outages, downed power lines, flying debris, etc. 

Even so, we probably will still be better off than those who live along either coast of the “Sunshine” State. Hopefully, our homes, apartments and businesses will hold up under a day or more of heavy wind and rain. This is not a case of “run from the water” for us; it’s a case of “hide from the wind.” 

But, that doesn’t mean that the uncertainty of it all isn’t still scary for us — especially anyone with young children or older relatives who end up in the teeth of the storm. 

After Helene — as I’m sure many of you did — I had these horrible feelings of both guilt and helplessness. I wanted to help those impacted by that brutal storm surge, but instead, I continued to do what I had to do to make a living, take care of my wife and make sure my kids were OK. 

And, while I hope to be in the same position after Milton is gone, I also desperately do not want to see those who already lost everything have to go through it all again. With so much debris already strewn all over Florida’s Gulf coast, to have to see that debris picked up by even stronger winds and turned into projectiles hitting the few coastal homes that made it through Helene without having to be torn down, is too horrifying for words. 

Although Jannah and I never lost power and had no damage or flooding from Helene, we saw a number of people lament on Facebook, especially in Wesley Chapel, that they did lose power for a few hours or even days. I also saw people who said those folks had no right to feel sorry for themselves, considering what people who live near the Gulf were going through. 

It’s always easy for anonymous people on social media to tell other people what they have a right to feel. If you’re safe and sound, despite losing power, it’s still scary until the lights come back on, especially if it’s your first time experiencing a major storm. And, if someone in your home is on dialysis or needs to have their CPAP machine working in order for them to sleep properly, that fear is compounded. In other words, while I feel horrible for everyone who is still suffering from Helene and whoever ends up going through that horror again with Milton, I would never tell someone who only lost power for a few days that they didn’t have the right to feel badly for themselves. 

But, while I felt guilty for not doing anything to help anyone else after Helene, I know there will be even more people needing even more help once Milton has left the building. 

Feel free to let me know what you or anyone you know did to help people during Helene’s aftermath and I would be happy to relay those stories to our readers so they can perhaps figure out for themselves what to do if and when the latest major storm is gone, the lights come back on and our homes and offices are still standing. 

One thing State Senator Danny Burgess (see story on pg. 8) says we can do is call 1-(833)-GET-HOPE to reach Hope Florida, which provides assistance to those in need and which facilitates the opportunity for those who can offer their assistance to do so. I plan to call immediately after I finish this issue because I am tired of feeling guilty and helpless when there probably are things I could be doing to help those who truly need it most right now. 

Thank You, Teeghan! 

On Oct. 2, a week after Helene hit, I received the sweetest email from a Wesley Chapel reader that truly brightened my day. 

The subject line read, “Everyone loves the Neighborhood News!” and the email said, “Hello Gary: My 8 year old granddaughter Teeghan put all our 2023/2024 issues in chronological order and I thought you might enjoy this pic from a pint-sized fan! — Sandy Carney 

Sometimes, the smallest things — like Teegan’s sweet smile as she posed with her chronologically-ordered copies of the Neighborhood News — can give you the biggest lift. 

I have thought about asking people to send me pictures with their copies of the paper so I could publish them, but for Teeghan and her grandmother to send this picture and email to me unsolicited truly touched my heart at a time when I really needed to smile. Thank you!