Saturday, May 17, 2008

Alessi Clears Property In Seminole Heights

By KATHY STEELE
The Tampa Tribune

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - A boarded-up store at Nebraska and Louisiana avenues came tumbling down in about three hours Tuesday.

But the plot of dirt isn't being developed right away.

"The building was unsafe," said owner and restaurateur Phil Alessi Jr. "A car hit it about six months ago."

Property records show the building, which Alessi sometimes used for storage, was built in 1928.
Alessi said he is exploring possible development projects at the site but has no immediate plans.
"It's just something in discussion," he said.

In 2006, Alessi listed the property for sale at about $1.2 million. The real estate includes three parcels stretching along Nebraska between Louisiana and New Orleans Avenue.

Initial discussions focused on a range of developments including shops, a restaurant and apartments.

The Alessi family owns Alessi's Bakery in West Tampa, and Alessi Jr. and his father opened Alessi Woodstone Oven on North Dale Mabry Highway in 2006.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bungalow Bistro Owner Explains Request for 4-Cop Incidental Wet Zoning

From Elizabeth:

Thank you for giving me the ability to explain our request. There have been several misconceptions as to what we are requesting including several misconceptions on the redeveloping and potential for future use of the property.

The request being made to Tampa City Council is for a 4-COP incidental wet zoning. The emphasis is on the "incidental."

Hotels often have this same type of wet zoning because it is incidental to the rental of rooms also including movie theaters, spas, bouquets, bowling alleys, tea rooms, jewelry stores, art galleries and other business where the sale and consumption is incidental to the business have this type of wet zoning.

Both businesses are proposed to be operated as a single entity still requiring the incidental provision to the wet zoning.

Will a 4-COP incidental allow for a package or liquor store? The answer is NO.

The sale of alcohol would have to be incidental to the nature of the other business a package store is a principal use for the sale of alcohol not incidental so it would not be allowed, as for the convenience store, a condition can be placed on the property to prohibit a convenience store. We would agree to such a condition.

Can the site be a bar or lounge? Again, the answer is NO.

The use of the site as a bar or lounge is a principle is for the sale of alcohol and would not be allowed.

I think you and most of the neighborhood know us by now, us people who are only trying to improve Seminole Heights for the present and in the future.

We would like to invite you and everyone to the Bistro on Sunday May 18, 2008 at 3:00pm to answer any questions or concerns.

We look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Graham

Come join the fun

Thursday, May 08, 2008

At last, at last, at last ....


Bye -bye ugly Alessi building (on Nebraska Ave. by Osbourne)! But hello ????



I don't know why, but I have a funny premonition it may be a Beef O'Brady's.

(Hey -- at least I'm not falling for the Panera Bread rumor again :)

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

MERINOS DELI NOW DELIVERS FOR FREE!!!

Gas prices are outrageous!!!

And Merinos, your neighborhood deli at 6428 Florida Ave feels your pain.

We are now available to deliver your next deli sub, Hot Steak N Cheese, salad or even our hot daily special right to your door. No delivery charge, just a $10.00 minimum please. Our delivery hours are Mon. thru. Fri. 11 am to 7 pm and on Saturday 11 am till 4 pm.

Call us at 236-3354 or fax that order in at 232-3354.

Need to look over the menu? Go to www.merinosdeli.com

Lost Cat


Our names are Andy and Janet Alwood and we live on South Ave. Our cat, Imhotep, ran out the front door on the morning of Wednesday, April 30. We have not seen him since and we are worried sick.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

WMNF & Clip Event, May 7

From a reader:



MERINOS DELI NOW DELIVERS FOR FREE!!!

Posting per a reader's request:

Gas prices are outrageous!!! And parking can be tough at our location so, Merinos, your neighborhood deli at 6428 Florida Ave feels the pain with you and wants to help!!

We are now available to deliver your next deli sub, Hot Steak N Cheese, salad or even our hot daily special right to your door.

No delivery charge, just a $10.00 minimum please.

Our delivery hours are Mon. thru. Fri. 11 am to 7 pm and on Saturday 11 am till 4 pm. We accept all major credit cards.

Call us at 236-3354 or fax that order in at 232-3354.

Need to look over the menu? Go to www.merinosdeli.com

Sunday, April 27, 2008

The City of Tampa Public Art Program


City of Tampa logo CITY OF TAMPA

Pam Iorio, Mayor
Art Programs Division Public Art Program

Request for Qualifications

Seminole Garden Center

Art Allocation: $10,000

Application deadline (postmarked or hand-delivered):
Friday, May 16, 2008 at 5 p.m.


The City of Tampa Public Art Program is seeking artwork for the grounds of the Seminole Garden Center. This artwork can be existing or it can be a commissioned work. The intent of this project is to recognize the richness of the Seminole Heights identity and culture and to fulfill Mayor Iorio's initiatives that include focusing on investing in neighborhoods and recognizing the City As Art.


Site Description and Background:
Seminole Garden Center is located at 5800 Central Avenue in the neighborhood of Old Seminole Heights in Tampa. Old Seminole Heights is Tampa's first suburb which was developed in 1911 three miles north of downtown and encompasses all of the property north of Hillsborough Avenue to the Hillsborough River; east of the river to 22nd Street and south of Hillsborough Avenue to Martin Luther King Boulevard between Florida Avenue and I-275. Old Seminole Heights is a tree-shaded community, with stately bungalows maintained and restored from their origin in the early 1900's. Some of the homes are included in the National Register and local Historic Districts to ensure their preservation for generations to come. The neighborhood attracts residents of all ages and diverse cultural backgrounds. For more information on the neighborhood, please visit www.oldseminoleheights.com


The Seminole Garden Center is operated by the City of Tampa Parks & Recreation Department. Originally built in 1939, the Garden Club and the grounds of the Seminole Garden Center are being renovated by the city beginning April 2008. The renovations are projected to be complete by spring of 2009.

Project Description:

The Art Selection Committee is seeking artwork for the grounds of the Seminole Garden Center. This artwork can be existing or it can be a commissioned work. Commissioned or existing, the committee has expressed interest that the work be site-sensitive to the Old Seminole Heights neighborhood. The Committee is seeking to select an artist to work with the neighborhood through at least one community workshop. Because of its historic nature, the artwork cannot be a permanent fixture in or on the facility itself.



Eligibility:

Open to visual artists with experience executing their ideas from concept to completion and working in the public realm with public agencies. Regional artists encouraged to apply. The artist will be working closely with the City's Public Art Program and the Parks & Recreation Department to determine the best opportunity for the public art installation.



Budget:

The amount of the commission is $10,000. This is to include all expenses such as materials, travel, accommodations, insurance, equipment, etc.

Insurance Requirements:

General Liability Insurance for the Artist and the Artist's subcontractors (if any) shall be provided with a limit of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence with a general aggregate of $2,000,000.The policy shall provide that the City is an additional insured as to the activities of the Artist under this Contract, and also shall provide the severability of interest provision.

Submissions:
To be considered, a complete application, consisting of the following, must be submitted. Incomplete submissions cannot be considered.

Ö Six (6) copies of written statement regarding how you envision approaching the project. Length should be no less than one paragraph, no more than one page.

Ö Six copies of a current professional resume, emphasizing Public Art experience.

Ö Visual examples of past work on CD-ROM.

o CD-Rom: 20 images of completed art works or projects. Images can be displayed as a Microsoft power point presentation, or just as JPG files. Must be compatible with Windows XP. CD must be labeled with artist's name. Images must be 1920 pixels on the longest side and "high quality" JPG file format. Do not submit TIFFs, PDFs, Word or any other non-JPG formats.

o Please save your image to be no more than 1.5 MB in file size. On average, your image will fall below the maximum requirement of 1.5MB.

Ö ID Sheet: An identification sheet that includes:

o The name of the project for which you are applying, the artist's name, address, email, website (if applicable) and phone number. Also, for each image include: the corresponding number, a thumbnail image (if digital submission), title of work, medium, dimensions, date of work, and budget of project or price of work. You may choose the option of adding a sentence or two of additional explanatory text about specific artworks.

Ö SASE: A self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of slides. Resumes will be kept on file. Please note on your application if you are requesting that all of your materials (slides, etc.) be retained in the City of Tampa's Artists Registry. This registry serves as a frequent resource for potential Public Art projects within the City of Tampa (this includes local separate authorities).



NOTE: Artists already on file in the City of Tampa Artists Registry are requested to update their file according to the above stated criteria. It is the artist's responsibility to make sure their file is updated.

Artist Selection Process:
The Art Selection Committee, comprised of Public Art Committee representatives, and stakeholders relevant to the project (community representative, parks representative, visual arts representative, etc.) will conduct a blind review of the images submitted. The Committee will then review artist resumes, their statements regarding how they would approach this project, and what would be their preferred design. The Committee may opt to choose a finalist, or select multiple finalists to submit refined proposals. The artist/s will work with the Committee if any adjustments to the concept/proposal are needed.

Working Project Schedule:

Call to Artists deadline: Friday, May 16, 2008

(postmarked or hand-delivered)

Artist selected / design concepts finalized: Summer 2008

Fabrication: Fall 2008

Target Installation date: January 2009
Questions? Email: publicart@tampagov.net


Mail/Deliver Submissions to:

Public Art Program:

Seminole Garden Center project

City of Tampa, Art Programs Division

306 East Jackson Street, 7N

Tampa, Florida 33602

The City of Tampa's Public Art Program promotes the involvement of artists in projects throughout the city that enhance the physical environment and celebrate Tampa's unique character and identity.


Doreen Di Bona, Trustee
OSHNA

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Verizon requests to Pollute Seminole Heights

The following comes from a reader. I saw what he's talking about too, but (to date) have been unable to learn anything more about it. Please chime in if you know more:

-----------------------
I wanted to get something out there on the blog. Has anyone seen the big yellow sign on the side of the Verizon building at the corner of Hillsborough and Florida Ave? I have tried to read it driving by and it says something about an application to build an “air pollution source”. Sounds like something we should get some more details on.

Charles Haynie
Tampa Street Market

Sunday, April 20, 2008

What is this?


I have searched the Internet for plums, cherries and fruits but I can not find this plant. Does anyone know what it is and are the berries poison?

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Seminole Heights Documentary Sold Out!

From the Times:

Seminole Heights: An Intimate Look at the Early Years sold out. More than 100 people lingered on the sidewalk, without tickets.

Suzanne Prieur, who spearheaded the project, came outside to tell the crowd there would be no second showing that night. No way she or resident filmmakers Gene and Krissy Howes could've anticipated the interest in Seminole Heights history.

"Stunned is how I'm feeling," she said. "Completely stunned."

and

"Among those who didn't get in was 84-year-old Anne Ramsey, who lived in the neighborhood in the 1930s."
That's my grandma! So how was it? Any reviews? Opinions? Thoughtful critiques?

Household Chemical and Electronics Collection Day

Take advantage of Tampa's Solid Waste Department’s upcoming Household Chemical and Electronics Collection Day on April 26, 2008 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 4010 W. Spruce Street, to safely dispose of your old televisions and computers (in addition to many other materials – visit the web site at www.tampagov.net/dept_Solid_Waste for more information on materials accepted. (by the way...all those compact flourescent bulbs contain mercury and are toxic and should be recycled this way and not thrown in the trash)

Electronic waste accounts for 70 percent of the overall toxic waste currently found in landfills. In addition to valuable metals like aluminum, electronics often contain hazardous materials like lead and mercury. In just 2005, almost two million tons of e-waste ended up in landfills.

While toxic materials comprise only a small amount of this volume, it doesn’t take much lead or mercury to contaminate an area’s soil or water supply.

Televisions Back before there were plasma screen and liquid crystal display (LCD) tubes, we were all watching our Super Bowls and sitcoms on cathode ray tubes (CRT). The CRT model provided room for all your switches and wires in a box behind the screen, but it also stored a lot of lead. Approximately 20 percent of CRTs are comprised of lead, equivalent to between four and eight pounds per unit.

Combine this with the fact that the FCC is going to require all televisions to run a digital signal by February 19, 2009, and we could be looking at a lot of lead headed for landfills. Even the smallest amounts of lead can be a serious issue, and we’re talking about eight pounds per unit.

Computers Many laptops have a small fluorescent lamp in the screen that contains mercury, a toxic material when inhaled or digested. Mercury is also contained in computer circuit boards, which also include lead and cadmium. Circuit boards can also feature batteries made of mercury, as well as mercury switches*.

So please consider this information and be sure to dispose of your e-waste at a local Household Chemical and Electronics site. Call Nina Stokes, Recycling Coordinator at (813) 348-6515 for more information.

*Material adapted from EARTH911.

Friday, April 18, 2008

A Rival for Taco Bus?

From Jill, a reader ...

Los Tucanes Restaurant
1235 E Hillsborough Ave
813-232-5084

Los Tucanes, which recently was a different Mexican eatery, switched to new ownership last January and the food is vastly improved. The new owner makes homemade tortillas, fries his tortilla chips daily, and has some of the best salsa in the area. Highlights include whole tilapia and traditional barbacoa tacos where the meat manages to be rich without being greasy. Business is slow due to the reputation of the past owner, but it's a great time to give the restaurant a new chance to make a good impression.