Jannah and I had both been to Las Vegas before, but never together, so when it was announced that one of our favorite live bands — The Killers — was having a residency at Caesar’s Palace in “Sin City,” we knew we had to go see them again, despite the 105º heat.
Frontman Brandon Flowers and his crew (top photo) did not disappoint. From the Grammy-winning “Mr. Brightside” to more recent hits like “Caution” and “Boy,” it was a great night for us that started with dinner at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse (bottom left photo), the Brooklyn institution best renowned for its bone-in porterhouse steaks. The reviews say that the Caesar’s Palace version is even better than the original. Maybe…but the meal was amazing.
We also got to see comedian Taylor Tomlinson during her two-night stop on her “Have It All” tour. Taylor, the host of the current TV show “After Midnight,” is known for her views on growing up in a church family and she recently came out as queer. Opening act Zach Noe Towers was super-funny, too.
Our first night in Vegas, we saw Kyle Martin (left), who starred in the Billy Joel musical “Movin’ Out” on Broadway, and his show “Piano Man,” a multimedia tribute performance to both Joel and Elton John. Martin said he recently broke Elvis’ record for the most Vegas shows with more than 650. I can see why — he does an awesome job.
We also made a visit to the Mob Museum downtown (bottom right), where the history of the mob’s influence in both Vegas and the U.S. (including the JFK assassination), features the recreation of the actual wall where Chicago’s “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” took place. The tour ends with a visit to the museum’s 1920s-style speakeasy.
As for other food we enjoyed, while at the Wynn (one of the most beautiful casinos on the Strip) for Taylor’s set, we ate at a great Japanese place called Mizumi, where we scarfed down Japanese snapper tempura and a king crab hand roll. We closed out our four-day stay with yummy quiche and French toast for brunch at “Mon Ami Gabi” (below left), an authentic French bistro in the Paris Casino.
We didn’t get to go to the Sphere (which looks truly amazing from the outside) to see its super-pricy “Postcard from Earth” IMAX movie and I didn’t win at the tables, but we had a blast! — GN
As I told you last issue, my 30th anniversary of owning and being the editor of the Neighborhood News is February 25 and we will be celebrating with a big, by-invitation-only party on “Leap Day” — Thursday, February 29 — at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center.
The event will be called “Leaping Into Gary’s Next 30 Years Of Neighborhood News” and will feature “A Taste of the Neighborhood News,” which means that several of my Favorite Restaurants from our last issue will be providing samples that will show everyone in attendance why I actually do love all of them.
Another really cool thing about the upcoming anniversary party is that the 325-350 theater seats (right photo) used for performances of “Grease,” “Shrek the Musical” and “Dreamgirls” will magically disappear and be replaced with cabaret-style table seating for about 150 people (left photo), which means that seating for this event will be extremely limited, considering how many people in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel I’ve gotten to know and have come to consider to be friends over the past 30 years. And, that’s not to mention so many of my amazing advertisers who have kept — and continue to keep — me in business where too many other publications, including daily newspapers, have gone the way of the dinosaur.
And, if you attended my 25th anniversary party at Bayscape Bistro at the Heritage Isles Golf Club five years ago, you know that there will be entertainment again for this year’s bash — and yes, that entertainment will again be karaoke, this time provided by mine and Jannah’s friend Tabitha Pollard of Luna Tunes, LLC. Tabitha not only has most, if not all of the songs that Jannah and I like to sing, she also is a bit of a Broadway buff who will surely be providing lots of opportunity for those who want to belt out a hit from anything from “Grease” to “Sweeney Todd.”
The only thing that will cost anyone any money at the party is the alcohol, which will be a cash bar because of the PAC’s rules. The good news, however, is that we get to select the premium adult beverages that will be offered for sale.
In other words, it’s going to be a blast!
Here’s How You Can Attend!
Despite the fact that there will be plenty of invited guests, one of the things that isn’t lost on me is that I wouldn’t still be doing what I do 30 years later if not for all of you — our loyal readers!
To that end, if you’re interested in getting your name on the guest list for the “Leaping Into Gary’s Next 30 Years” party, send me an email to ads@ntneighborhoodnews.com with 50 words or less (and yes, that is a hard limit) as to why you want to or should be included, by no later than Friday, February 23. Please include your name, the community you live in (Tampa Palms, Pebble Creek, etc.) and your daytime phone number from your valid email address. I will read all of the emails and choose as many people as I have seats left for, whether that’s two or 22, by no later than Monday, February 26. Please put “I Want To Leap!” in the subject line!
And here’s the thing — you Gary haters out there are invited to send me an email, too. If I get any good hater emails, I will likely invite those folks to attend because I prefer to meet my haters in person than to allow them to remain anonymous. See (some of) you on the 29th!
Over the past nearly 30 years, the Neighborhood News has faced more challenges than I even care to remember — including new competition, the growth of online communities, paper shortages, Covid-19 and many more.
When you’ve been doing what I have done for as long as I have, there also are likely to be at least a few health-related issues, but I’m appreciative I’ve been fortunate enough to not have to deal with any long-term complications.
A few weeks before the Covid pandemic shut everything down, I had the second of two cataract surgeries at the St. Luke’s Eye Center in Tarpon Springs. On my follow-up appointment with my optometrist, David Scamard , O.D., of Excellence in Eye Care, a few months later, Dr. Dave asked me if I was having any “floaters” in either of my surgically-repaired eyes and I emphatically and happily told him “No.”
That response continued to be true until less than four weeks before this issue was supposed to go to press, when I finally understood what he meant by “floaters.” I visited Dr. Dave at the Costco south of S.R. 56, where he took digital photos of my eyes and said he saw the likely source of my floaters. He told me to come back a few days later for a full eye exam.
It was at that appointment, at about 11 a.m., with my vision in my left eye suddenly blurry, that he determined that I had a detached retina. He immediately set up an appointment for 2-1/2 hours later with retinal specialist Alfred White, M.D., of Retina Vitreous Associates of Florida, which has an office on the north side of S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel.
Dr. White, who combines a great bedside manner with being super matter-of-factly about what I was about to go through, confirmed the detached retina and scheduled me for emergency reattachment surgery the next day. I had two questions about this — could I hold off the surgery for a week or two so Jannah and I could go to North Carolina to visit her daughter and her family and see a concert we had been planning to attend for more than six months, and of course, how would I get the Oct 3 Wesley Chapel issue done if I had to keep my head in a face-down position in a massage chair donut hole for 45 minutes of every hour after surgery for at least the next 5-7 days?
Dr. White told me that if I didn’t have the surgery, my detached retina could get worse and make the recovery from the surgery more difficult. And, whether I had it or not, the pressure in that eye could get so bad that the plane we planned to fly in to NC could have had to have made an emergency landing on my behalf.
So of course, I had the surgery the next day. And, while keeping my head down for that many hours and that many days — and having to sleep face-down until my follow-up appointment a week later — was anything but easy, Jannah did everything for me to make sure I got through these difficulties by driving and doing most everything else for me during my recovery.
For the few minutes each hour that I wasn’t looking down, I was at my computer working to finish that Oct 3 issue, which went to press just three days after our usual deadline — and arrived in mailboxes just two days after its planned Oct. 3 cover date. I was so thankful it wasn’t any more delayed than that.
I also am sorry that we don’t have quite as many news stories in this New Tampa issue as we usually do. I was so far behind with the Wesley Chapel issue that I couldn’t get as many stories researched and done for this Oct. 17 issue.
Even so, I appreciate the efforts of not only Drs. White and Scamard, but also of our editorial research specialist Joel Provenzano, who helped me get as much info as possible for the story on pages 12-14 of this issue about the two different approaches to determining the boundaries of Wesley Chapel; to our amazing primary graphic designer Valerie Wegeman, for getting the maps for that story and all of our ads done; and especially, to Jannah for doing pretty much everything else that I normally do to complete an issue and for making sure both editions are chock full of ads so I had less space to fill than usual.
I also am equally appreciative for all of you — our amazing readers — who continue to give me a reason to do what I have done for nearly three decades.
As to what caused my retinal detachment, Dr. White said that people who have been extremely nearsighted for most of their lives — as I was until I had my cataract surgeries in 2020 — are more prone to this problem because being nearsighted constantly stretches your retinas as you age. Other possible causes are actually having had cataract surgeries (but that would normally have happened sooner), being diabetic (which I’m not), injuries to the eye (which I haven’t had) and, as often as not, bad luck.
So, while getting a detached retina may just have been bad luck, I am going to recover my eyesight, which actually makes me feel pretty lucky.
To me, the story of my relationship with the former Jannah Johnson McDonald is so much more than just your usual case of boy-meets-girl, boy and girl fall in love and live happily ever after.
Ours is the story of two people who have been through a lot in their lives — although not nearly as much as some people we know and love — but who somehow figured out how to be there for each other and became two stronger, better people because of our mutual respect for and support of each other.
This marriage may not be the first rodeo for either of us — and, quite honestly, neither one of us thought we’d ever get married again — but after knowing each other for as many as eight years and being together for more than four, we both just knew it was the right time for us to make this thing official.
Although we actually met when Jannah was working for the American Cancer Society and was putting on the Wesley Chapel Relay for Life and I was covering it for the Neighborhood News, we first got together when I walked into the now-defunct Stage Left (the music venue on S.R. 54 in Lutz), the night of my birthday in 2015.
The place was packed. Jannah and I were both members of the Rotary Cub of Wesley Chapel, so when I heard and then saw a group of women, all of whom also were members of that same Rotary Club, invite me, rather loudly, to join them at their table, I didn’t refuse.
So yes, ours is a match made in Rotary heaven, and we know a few other couples who also met through the world’s largest service organization.
But, enough of that mushy stuff. Because we decided to put on our wedding ourselves, I knew I would have to pull together a lot of the contacts I’ve made through the Neighborhood News in order to put on the kind of wedding we wanted.
I owe these businesses and business owners a lot because only with all of their help, could we have the wedding of our dreams. So, the story that follows is my way of thanking them.
The Business Side of Gary and Jannah’s wedding
So, when you decide you’re going to get married, the first thing you have to do is pick a location, then set a date that your chosen venue has available. Jannah and I wanted to get married around Valentine’s Day, but once we decided we were getting married at the St. Pete Beach Community Center on Boca Ciega Dr., the closest dates they had to Valentine’s Day were March 24…and sometime in June. Guess which one we picked.
We wanted the band that was playing the night we got engaged — Restless Soul — to play at our wedding, but when front man James Shepherd was going to be out of town that day, we quickly decided on our second favorite “party” band we had seen at Jimmy B’s at the Beachcomber Resort (where Jannah and I have spent many a night dancing). That band is called New Divide, featuring lead singer/guitarist Colin Hughes.
The third thing we decided was to hire the folks who own our favorite affordable restaurant on Gulf Blvd. — Skidder’s — to cater the event. We also were fortunate to have the Fratelli brothers John and Mario from Fratelli’s Pizza & Café in the Village Market plaza (see ad on pg 38) offer to provide a tray of my favorite broccoli rabe and a tray of penne alla vodka as our amazing side dishes.
And, none of our choices let us down. People who attended our wedding raved about our venue, the food (grouper Francaise, chicken Marsala and rib lamb chops were the main events from Skidder’s) and the music. New Divide played everything from Cheap Trick and Tom Petty to Bruno Mars and Amy Winehouse and the band agreed to learn two of mine and Jannah’s favorite Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats tunes so we could sing (and she could play the tambourine) along with them.
But, as we soon figured out, a wedding is about much more than just those things. Even if you think you can do everything yourself — and Jannah’s job the last four years at the Pasco Education Foundation is largely about putting on events and I’ve been hosting parties for our office for a quarter-century (see page 3) — you still need a wedding planner. We were blessed to have attended our friends’ Torrie and Keith Weinstein’s wedding in December and long story short, Torrie agreed to help us do our party right.
So, in addition to all of Torrie and Keith’s help, here are some of the Neighborhood News advertisers who provided all of the little touches that made our wedding so special for us:
The Rings: Leiva’s Jewelers, New Tampa — Jonathan and his father Transito Leiva have been customers of mine for years and “Pop” (as I affectionately call him) is a true craftsman who first designed Jannah’s garnet (my birthstone) and diamond engagement ring, then created a diamond “jacket” for that ring as her wedding band. My picture of our rings above left really doesn’t do them any justice at all.
Getting in Shape: Samantha Taylor Fitness (her) and Fit 4 Life and the Advent Health Wesley Chapel Wellness Center (me) — Jannah started working out 2-3 days a week at the Samantha Taylor studio in Wesley Chapel in November. She’s lost 17 pounds. I’ve been working out at Fit 4 Life in Tampa Palms with my friends Travis and Fiona Monday for years and also stepped up my saltwater kayaking and swimming at the Wellness Center to drop almost 20 lbs., although you may not be able to tell it from these pics, but Jannah says she can tell and that’s what matters most to me.
Hair & Makeup: New Identities Salon and Facial Accents by Leanne Carter — Although Jannah’s daughter Lauren curled her hair and did her makeup for the wedding, Jannah has been getting her hair styled and cut by Tara at New Identities (see ad on next page) for over a year and she always looks great.
Leanne, who is getting ready to open a new studio near the Fetcher Ave. exit off I-75, is an eyebrow expert who did an amazing job with Jannah’s brows.
Manicures & Pedicures: Touch Nail Spa — I figured I needed a manicure for the wedding and Jannah and Torrie both got perfect pedicures from our friend Timmy Pham and his amazing staff at Touch Nail Spa (see pg. 29).
Spray Tans By Lulu — Jannah and Torrie also had our friend Luisa give them that perfect glow for our pictures.
Smiles: Pasco Dental — Our friend and dentist Dr. Daniel Hwang at Pasco Dental (below left) has worked on not only myself and Jannah, but also her daughter Kristen and we can all vouch for what an outstanding and gentle dentist he is.
Flowers: A Special Rose Florist — We didn’t go all out for flowers, as some folks do, but every bouquet and arrangement from A Special Rose was more than special.
Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes — O.K., so they’ve never advertised with me, but Jannah and I have loved Nothing Bundt Cakes since the first time they gave samples out at the Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel (see pages 37-39) three years ago. And, after we priced cakes from other wedding cake folks, we knew we made the right decision.
Videography & Editing: Gavin Olsen & Charmaine George — Gavin, my senior Neighborhood News Online video producer, shot the entire wedding and Charmaine edited two videos that we showed during the event. You can’t do better than these two. Check out Charmaine’s photos from the Taste (pgs. 37-39).
Photography: Jillian Joseph Photography — I have to tell you that Jillian and her husband Joe are consummate professionals who shoot what you ask and then go above and beyond, and their work — as you can tell from just these few pics — is outstanding, And ladies, if you want boudoir photos (see ad below left), I know she’ll make you look and feel beautiful.
Thanks also to the Wesley Chapel residents who attended, to my sons Jared and Jake, Jared’s wife Mary and Jake’s fiancée Meghan, and my mom Marilyn for making it so special for us.
Check out the Premiere Episode of WCNT-tv Now at WCNeighborhoodNews.com!
If you somehow haven’t already seen the first-ever episode of WCNT-tv, I suggest visiting our website — WCNeighborhoodNews.com — right now, even before you read this article. The photos on this page and on page 3 are from the incredible Premiere Party we hosted at our Neighborhood News offices on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel on June 23 for the first-ever webcast dedicated to the residents and businesses in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area and there’s no doubt the premiere episode of our bi-weekly webcast has already captured the attention — and the imagination — of a pretty impressive list of major business owners and representatives who were on hand at the Premiere Party.
Among the people already talking about WCNT-tv — which has its own Youtube channel, but also can be accessed from the front page of our website, our Facebook page and/or by clicking on the “WCNT-tv” tab on the front page of WesleyChapelChamber.com — included our Premiere Party attendees Gordie Zimmerman of ZMitch, LLC, the developers of Florida Hospital Center Ice, our first video news feature; Tampa Premium Outlets GM Stacey Nance; marketing director Tracy Clouser of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, which is
Left to right: FHWC’s Tracy Clouser, Susanna Martinez, Gary Nager, Vicki Hutto (VIP Pest Control), Craig Miller & Dirson & Ana De Mesquita of OTB Café.
the studio sponsor of WCNT-tv’s news segment; WCCC CEO Hope Allen and membership coordinator Jennifer Reightler; Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore; New Tampa’s State Rep. Shawn Harrison; Peter Gambacorta of the Private Chef of Tampa, which provided some of the food for the event (as did Little’s Italy’s Family Restaurant);and Troy Stevenson of Wesley Chapel Nissan and his Acme On the Go Movies (which provided the amazing 17’x9’ screen) technician Harry Wilkins, as well as many WCCC business owners & New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Rotary Club members.
Also special thanks to our first chamber-featured business sponsor, VIP Pest Control, and restaurant sponsor, OTB Café.
Special thanks also goes out to John Fisher of The Polar Pod, which provided 50º comfort on a hot and humid night for all of our attendees, to my WCNT-tv co-anchor Susanna Martinez; Mike McDonald, who provided the entertainment; WCCC Featured Business host Jill Reilly (who also is my Neighborhood News billing manager), my WCNT-tv sales & production assistant Lauren McDonald, as well as asst. editor John Cotey (who took these great pictures at the event) and my entire staff at Neighborhood News, which have allowed me the freedom to pursue a dream; cameraman Brad Hall and especially, my partner and WCNT-tv executive producer Craig Miller of Full Throttle Intermedia.
Look for new episodes of WCNT-tv every two weeks and more to come!
Check out the Premiere Episode of WCNT-tv Now at WCNeighborhoodNews.com!