Six men were charged in Tampa today as members of the Gambino crime family. According to the indictment, these six comprised a criminal enterprise that operated in New York, New Jersey, mid and south Florida, and elsewhere under the influence and control of the Gambino Organized Crime Family.
If you want to read more information about the history of organized crime in Tampa, check out Cigar City Mafia by Scott Deitche.
It’s over. The 2004 hurricane season ends today, and not a minute too soon. It was a rough year for many in Florida, and some folks are still in limbo. The Snowbirds are just now realizing the extent of what happened. Like many tourists, Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne came to visit and left the locals to clean up the mess. At least now we can be fairly certain to have no more scares for six or seven months. Maybe.
I find myself drawn to local history. Whenever I see an old building, especially a grand old building, I have to check it out. I’ll get inside, look in every nook and cranny - I just love touring them. Walking around these places, I often wonder what kind of important, as well as mundane, conversations have taken place there.
About two months ago, I had the fortune of visiting the Belleview Biltmore. My first impression of the Belleview was that it very well could have been the Overlook Hotel from The Shining. The resort has a long history, built in 1897 by Henry Plant (he also built the Tampa Bay Hotel, now the University of Tampa). I would come to find out that many of the employees believe the Biltmore is haunted. The entire 5th floor is cordoned off. The staff will tell you it’s because of the haunting, although it’s probably due to its state of disrepair. There is an unused cellar at the hotel. It is highly unusual for South Florida properties to include a basement, but it was constructed so the staff could move about the hotel, and not be seen by the guests. The cellar (it looks more like a tunnel system, really) is also supposedly haunted. I wish I could have checked it more thoroughly for myself, but I was pressed for time.
Anyway, I read with dismay that there are plans to raze the place and create more condominiums. The developers say the hotel is dilapidated, but historians say the developers are exaggerating. I’m no expert, but when I was there the place didn’t look bad at all, and there were lots of people enjoying the lounge and the shops inside. The Belleview Biltmore is the world’s largest continuously occupied wooden structure, so I am sure there are spots of it that could use some fixing up, but again – I didn’t see it. I hope they can save the old thing.
Good morning!
I hope all of you had a good holiday. Long weekends sometimes make for long weekends, if you know what I mean. I am pretty worn out, even though I avoided the shopping mall madness. Of course, the schedule doesn’t slow down around here – birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s are all coming. And next thing you know, it will be time to “Party With The Pirates” for Gasparilla.
Thanks to Martin Collapsica, we can safely ignore the Buccaneers for the rest of this year, and it seems the NHL and the Lightning won’t be distracting us any time soon, either. But I’m sure we can look to your elected officials to keep things hopping.
At any rate, I thought I’d take this time to wish all of you a happy holiday season, and good luck / best wishes / good fortune for the rest of the year.
Julie Moos (Mom in the Mirror) writes the nationwide LifeFiles columns. She also created DotMoms, a motherhood collaborative weblog. She works at the Poynter Institute (parent company of the St. Pete Times). Most recently she took her DotMoms idea local and sold it to the St. Pete Times, under their tbt* banner.
Moos got a few local bloggers to write for the new venture including Tampa Mom Bloggers CJ (Field Family News), and Robyn from Shutterblog. Others include St. Pete’s Shirl Kennedy, the Uncaged Librarian, and Ellen of Ellen’s Dryer. Congrats to all of you for getting some good pub. If you are a Mom, and want to see your writing on a MSM-owned website, visit Tampa Bay Dot Moms for further details.
Another local blogger also has some good news to share. Sarah Perez, the Sarah of Sarah in Tampa was asked a couple questions by the Weekly Planet in last week’s issue. Check out her picture at the bottom of page 36 of the print copy. Nice. Sarah, I hope you get a bunch of new readers through the mention.
I got the who-ole wor-ld in my hands…
I got the who-ole wor-ld in my hands…
I got the who-ole wor-ld in my hands…
I got the whole world in my hands.
Yard Boy is visiting Tampa with his friend Karthik, and it looks like they are having a good time.
Poor Richard calls the Crosstown construction woes “sad’” and the Addled Brain says the entire episode is reminiscent of Monty Python.
I wondered what the political blogs would do after November 2. This is about what I expected.
Robert C. says USF will soon have a permanent school in Polk County.
Boltsmag John is looking for photos taken during construction of the Ice Palace.
Recent mentions of the phrase “sticks of fire,” that have nothing to do with Tampa or Sticks of Fire:
Norwood was recently suspended from community radio WMNF. His show, Morning Wood ran from 4-6am, and (like his blog) was very political, and not politically correct (thank goodness). Norwood says he unintentionally broke a rule, and feels he may have broadcast his last show there. Good luck, Norwood.
Sticks of Fire proudly supports local businesses. When you choose to spend locally, more of your money stays right here in Tampa Bay. Check out these local sponsors:
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