Thursday, December 27, 2007

Tampa Heights: house for rent

Looking for a great rental house?

It's a 3-bedroom, 1-1/2 bathroom. It's got an outdoor shower, big shed, fenced yard, wrap-around front porch, a great "dog yard" etc.

The rent on the house is $1300 which includes security alarm and lawn maintenance. Pets are okay.

It's in the Northern area of Tampa Heights (Arlington Heights).

Please contact me if interested and I can pass you on to the appropriate folks!

New Bleu Acier show

Opening Reception: Friday, December 28, 6-9pm

Bleu Acier is pleased to present The Greatest, three works by three New York-based artists – Ain Cocke, Chantel Foretich, and Trong G. Nguyen. The exhibition is guest-curated by Carrie Mackin, former director of Covivant Gallery, who chose simply to adorn two walls with a spare selection of small works that invite close engagement.

Ain Cocke’s paintings and drawings question the masculine mold that he and most men were socialized and assimilated into. Using the standard-bearer of testosterone, the military man as his model, Cocke romanticizes the soldier not as an aggressive combatant in the field of battle, but rather an effeminate figure who is seemingly in touch with other “natural orders” of the male mystique.

Chantel Foretich’s miniatures and dioramas recreate memories that, though they may not be so distant, exude the presence of a long, lost bygone era. Their intimate scale allows the viewer an opportunity to experience more fully with contemplation and nostalgia what might have escaped them in real scale and actual time.

Trong G. Nguyen’s contribution to the show is the complete text of Mallarme’s Igitur written word for word on individual grains of rice. The story itself opens with a pure encounter of the reader and his text, in which the mysteries of both open one another to revelation. Perhaps going against the grain of the digitized library, Nguyen’s “book” complicates the relationship of the book as object as knowledge.

Bleu Acier will also be closing Marie Yoho Dorsey’s show: Tales of Old Japan and Other Stories and will be presenting works by gallery artists in the main gallery.

BLEU ACIER INC. is an active fine art print publisher, print atelier, gallery and live-in loft that functions at the intersection of private and public space where art and the city keep company. Bleu Acier exhibits works in all disciplines by emerging, mid-career and established artists from the U.S. and Europe.

BLEU ACIER
109 West Columbus Drive, Tampa, Florida 33602
813.272.9746 | erika@bleuacier.com | www.bleuacier.com
Gallery hours: by appointment.

Friday, December 21, 2007

Metropolitan Ministries still needs your help!

Over 22,000 families will seek assistance from Metropolitan Ministries this holiday season. They need your help!

Critical Needs:
  • Turkeys
  • Cereal
  • Cookies/Cake Mix
  • Infant Toys
  • Teen Gifts
  • Monetary Donations

Boxes of Hope
Help feed hungry and homeless people in our community by conducting a Food Drive. Boxes of Hope provide enough food to feed a family of four for three days.

Bags of Joy
Bags of Joy provide toys for children and needed personal items for adults. Please donate new, unwrapped gifts and bring joy to a disadvantaged child.


You can drive by the tent anytime now through Monday afternoon to make a real difference for a family this Christmas.

This is the only faith-based charity I donate to, which may seem out of form for me, but this group really does tremendous good in this community. We usually make a point of donating cash around Easter and Thanksgiving to feed families, and this year we donated twelve new toys for teenagers. It's often most difficult for them to find enough gifts for teenage boys and girls and infants.

There is still time!!!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Live music will mark hostel owner's passing

TAMPA HEIGHTS - Almost three weeks after the suicide of Gram's Place hostel owner Mark Holland, family and friends are busy planning a memorial. Of course, it will include live music.
Holland, 56, spent his childhood inviting friends over to listen to music.

He grew up and opened a music-themed hostel, named after country roots singer Gram Parsons, his idol.

Impromptu jam sessions filled his two patios - named "Little Amsterdam" and "Little Montreal" - with music. On Dec. 1 at 2 p.m., his friends will do the same across the street at Plymouth Park, 3100 N Ola Ave.

Along with the music, they plan to speak about Holland and showcase his mementos.
Backpackers will travel from across the country for it, said Holland's friend and neighbor, Marlene Dusz.

"We plan to make this a Mark Holland day," she said.
For more information, contact Dusz at (321) 544-6518.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Tampa Heights Updates 12/17

Tampa Heights Civic Association Holiday Social will be held on Thursday 12-20-07 at Stetson University in room 136. Please come out and bring a dish for the event.

Arlington Avenue Crime Watch will be hosting a Crime Watch Meeting at 6:30 pm, immediately prior to the Holiday Social - Stetson University, room 136.

Please remember Tampa Heights Civic Association election of officers will be at the January 24, 2008, meeting at Stetson University. Names of Candidates for office can be submitted at the meeting.

Residents, Civic Leaders Fighting Fuel Pipeline Plan

TAMPA - More than 100 people have signed petitions opposing construction of an underground jet fuel pipeline through central city neighborhoods to Tampa International Airport.

Dozens of other residents have called the city to voice opposition to the 9-mile pipeline, which would originate at the Port of Tampa, southeast of downtown.

Nine pages of petition signatures were received Nov. 26 at Mayor Pam Iorio's office. Many petitioners listed West Tampa addresses north and south of the proposed pipeline route.

Tampa Homeowners, an Association of Neighborhoods, an umbrella organization of civic groups known as THAN, also sent a letter to Iorio in late November expressing "deep concern" about the proposed pipeline.

A consortium of airlines at TIA hired Houston-based Kinder Morgan to build the underground pipeline. In October, Kinder Morgan unveiled a proposed route that cuts through portions of Ybor City and West Tampa historical districts, as well as parts of Tampa Heights and Macfarlane Park.

A Kinder Morgan spokeswoman said the company will submit a new route proposal to the city early next year.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Who's watching your Pet as you shop/vacation?

An email from a Neighborhood Business:

Christmas is almost here are you ready!!!

We are Insured, Bonded, Pet Cpr & Lic and we live in Seminole Heights!

813-932-5075 * 813-900-7085



Tampa Heights holiday lawn/light displays submissions wanted!

Send in your photos of Tampa Heights holiday displays here! Businesses, residences, churches or what have you - we want to see them!

If we get enough (read: any) entries, we'll post them here. Feel free to also send the address (or not) of the property so that folks may be able to drive by and see it themselves.

Elaborate, traditional, gorgeous, retro, modern, eccentric or gaudy - we want to see them all!

And yet more on Cafe "Happiness"

TAMPA HEIGHTS - For the three thirtysomething owners of Cafe Hey, the recently opened coffee shop is an opportunity to re-create the artsy, engaging and warm atmosphere they have experienced in other cities in the United States and abroad.

They also see a chance to contribute to the city that helped raise them and perhaps transform an area on the edge of downtown that, while undefined, screams potential.

"When you go away and come back, you make the comparison," said co-owner Anne Vela, who has lived in Baltimore, New York, Washington and Savannah, Ga. "You look at what the potential might be.

"You want to contribute to your environment rather than bemoan what is lacking," said Vela, 30, who has a bachelor's in liberal arts from St. John's College in Annapolis, Md.

Her business partners are her husband, Chris, an architect at PBS&J in Tampa, and S. Cheong Choi, manager of Oceanic Restaurant Equipment. Cafe Hey, 1540 N. Franklin St., is located on Oceanic Supermarket property; Choi's family owns the business.

The three met when they attended Plant High and got reacquainted in 2005.

They started rehabilitating the 800-square-foot storefront two years ago during weekends and evenings. They opened in October.

The cafe sells coffee - latte, cappuccino, iced coffee, espresso, Cafe Cubano, cafe con leche and a regular cup of Joe - teas, sandwiches, salads, soups, muffins, scones, brownies and cookies.

The name Hey means happiness in Cantonese, said Choi, who was born in Malaysia and raised in Tampa.

The owners want to do more than just serve customers. They want people to gather, meet and connect at the cafe. They plan to hold coffee tastings, art shows and music performances, and hope to expand by about 300 square feet.

"There is a certain energy in a coffee shop that is very different from a restaurant," said Choi, 32.

"It is not just a meeting place for people, it is a meeting place for ideas," said Choi, who has a bachelor's in political science from the University of Georgia and a master's in European studies from Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.

"You feel a certain loyalty for your hometown and seeing it do well," he said.
The partners also want to boost the area's business potential.

"Doing this is adding to the urban fabric that the city needs," said Chris Vela, 30, who holds a bachelor's in arts and a master's in architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Tampa Heights resident Heather Frankel is a Cafe Hey regular. She enjoys the coffee, the food and the owners. She said the cafe is exactly what the area needs.

"We have over 2,000 homes in Tampa Heights," said Frankel, a real estate agent. "We need food, cafes and places to go."

Anne Vela said she is enjoying interacting with customers and seeing the area slowly transform. Soon the Bush Ross law firm and the Hillsborough County Bar Association and its nonprofit foundation will open across the street.

"The community is forming," she said. "It can only get better."

Monday, December 10, 2007

Support the Heights, Earn Cash

New Heights Magazine is set to profile our neighborhoods in the positive manner they deserve. All stories are being written by residents to inform tourists, as well as residents of other areas (i.e., New Tampa, Westchase, Hyde Park, etc.) about the great people, places and events that make Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights, downtown Tampa and Ybor City great places to visit and spend their time and money.

The magazine will also serve as a catalyst to bring the people of our local neighborhoods together and to remind them that there are great businesses and sites to visit nearby – which means there’s no reason to drive far for goods, services and things to see/do.

Supporting New Heights is supporting your neighborhood. Contact us today about our Ad Commission Program and we’ll set you up (as an authorized representative) to receive a commission from every ad you refer that sells.

Advertising from within and from outside our core neighborhoods (i.e., other areas investing in our communities) is highly encouraged!

Contact Jay McGee, editor of New Heights, at (813) 389-8116 or editor@newheightsmag.com for more information. Learn more about the publication at the website or blog.

Call or email today! The ad deadline is Jan. 3, 2008 for the Jan/Feb 2008 issue.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Disable Vets Club - something's happening

Drove by what I think is called the Tampa Chapter of Disable Vets Club, just north of the new Family Dollar. something is going on there.

I saw several people outside of the building planting landscape around the structures perimeter. I also saw some people in the group walking in and out of the building's front door.

Frankly, I'm betting it's being turned into a church. Has anybody heard otherwise?

Sorry for no picture. I was in a hurry to get to work.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Lost dog

A boy here in the Arlington Heights area came to my door with a flyer showing him holding a very cute 4 month old Pekingese puppy. If anyone finds him, contact me and I'll pass on the phone number.