By Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Today

'Arsenic and Old Lace': Drama critic Mortimer Brewster learns on his wedding day that his beloved aunts are homicidal maniacs and that insanity runs in the family. 2 p.m. $15 adults, $8 students 17 and under. Stage West Community Playhouse, 8390 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill. (352) 683-5113. stagewest.net.

Citrus Stamp Show: Stamps will be bought, sold and appraised at this show with exhibits, door prizes, free stamps for kids, covers, supplies, picture postcards and more. 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Free admission. VFW Post 4252, 3190 N Carl G. Rose Highway, Hernando. (727) 364-6897. floridastampdealers.org.

High Point Volunteer Library Book Sale: The sale will include hardcovers for 75 cents each and paperbacks for 25 cents each. Profits go toward the purchase of new books. 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. No charge for admission. High Point Community Center, 12249 Club House Road, High Point. (352) 596-8485.

Hudson Seafest: Fresh seafood and fair-style foods; a carnival; live entertainment including Suite Caroline, the Hudson Middle School Band, Cajun Dave Becnet and the N'awlin's Po Boyz, and arts and crafts vendors. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $3 per carload (rides, games, food additional). USA Fleamarket, 11721 U.S. 19, Port Richey. (727) 847-8887. hudsonseafest.org.

Riverhawk Music Festival: Featuring three stages with bands playing a variety of folk, bluegrass, country, Americana, Celtic and roots rock music. Also includes a carnival, vendors and youth events. 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Prices vary. Sertoma Youth Ranch, 85 Myers Road, south of Spring Lake. (863) 984-8445. riverhawkmusic.com

West Hernando Coin Club Coin Show: The event features more than 30 vendors selling, buying and appraising coins, including gold, silver, U.S. and foreign coins, and paper money. Food and drinks will be available. Free hourly door prizes, and a free gold drawing will be held. Professional numismatist Randy Campbell will offer coin and currency grading and appraising. Free. 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Hernando County Fairgrounds, 6436 Broad St, Brooksville. (352) 678-7769.

Monday

Academia Hernando presents 'Hernando County Today and Tomorrow': Presented by Hernando County Administrator David Hamilton. 10 a.m.-noon. $7. Nativity Lutheran Church, 6363 Commercial Way, Weeki Wachee. (352) 597-0158.

Celebrity Tip Night with Hernando Harmonizers: Members of the Hernando Harmonizers chorus and quartets will be singing waiters. Guests will be serenaded while eating their meals. This is a fundraiser to help defray the cost of the group's annual shows and competitions, with a portion going to a local charity. The Harmonizers are a men's barbershop chorus. 4-7 p.m. Tips appreciated. Pizza Hut Spring Hill, 2903 Commercial Way, Spring Hill. (352) 556-3936.

Christmas For The Troops: Receive a haircut for a donation. Also, donations of Christmas candy, cookies, stockings, unbreakable ornaments and decorations will be accepted. All cash donations and items collected will benefit Lea's Prayers & Postage and Gifts From Home. 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Vicki's Haircuts, 12551 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill. (352) 688-5992.

'Growing and Caring for Citrus' horticulture class: Presented by urban horticulture agent Jim Moll. Participants will learn common problems and how to keep trees healthy and protected from the cold. 5:30 p.m. Free. Hernando County Cooperative Extension Service, 1653 Blaise Drive, Brooksville. (352) 754-4433.

Tuesday

Introductory Tatting Class: Taught by Robin McAndrew. Participants are to bring their own tatting needles and thread. 10 a.m.-noon. Free. Chinsegut Nature Center, 23212 Lake Lindsey Road, north of Brooksville. (352) 754-6722.

Holocaust survivor discusses 'Surviving Auschwitz and the Mengele Experiments': Eva Mozes Kor will talk about her experiences as part of PHCC's Peace Week. Kor, who survived the Holocaust with her twin sister, manages the Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors Museum. 7:15 p.m. Free. Pasco-Hernando Community College, West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road, New Port Richey. 1-877-879-7422. phcc.edu/peace.

"Retirement Planning" Financial Management Class: Participants learn steps to ensure their bank accounts match their planned lifestyles. Offered by the Hernando County Cooperative Extension Service. 6:30 p.m. Free. East Hernando Branch Library, 6457 Windmere Road, Ridge Manor West. (352) 540-6391 or (352) 754-4433.

Wednesday

Decorative Painting Exhibit Reception: The exhibit features selected works from the Nature Coast Decorative Artists in the Art Gallery at Alric Pottberg Library. Opening reception for the exhibit, 3-7 p.m. Free admission. Pasco-Hernando Community College, West Campus, 10230 Ridge Road, New Port Richey. (727) 816-3329.

Master Gardeners' Weekly Plant Sale: Plants for shade and sun are available, including flowering plants, ground covers, shrubs and trees. Funds raised benefit the Hernando County Master Gardener Program. 8:30-10:30 a.m. Prices vary. Master Gardener Nursery, 19490 Oliver St., Brooksville (352) 754-4433.

Time for Remembrance: Hospice chaplains, along with bereavement counselors, will lead the hour-long services, which allow the community to remember and honor loved ones who have died. These will be outdoor events, rain or shine, under a canopy. Those attending may participate in group readings and share memories, if they wish. Children are welcome. Two services: 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Free. HPH Hospice Spring Hill, 12260 Cortez Blvd., Spring Hill. 1-800-486-8784.

By Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

HERNANDO BEACH

Class to focus on new technology for water safety

Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 15-8, 4340 Calienta St., will offer a free program, Radio/Digital Selective Calling, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The class will cover new technology for safety on the water. Those attending will learn about DSC radios, new Coast Guard Rescue 21 procedures and the Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon. For information or to reserve a seat, call Jeff at (352) 397-5417.

Volunteers sought for income tax program

The United Way of Hernando County, in partnership with the Internal Revenue Service, will offer the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program during the upcoming tax season. Volunteers are needed and will receive a free IRS-certified training session that will be offered on Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 15. Volunteers can work as greeters, return preparers and quality reviewers. Those interested should be computer literate and have good communication skills. For information or to sign up as a VITA volunteer, call the United Way at (352) 688-2026 or visit unitedwayhernando.net.

COUNTYWIDE

Drivers needed for cancer patients

The American Cancer Society is in need of volunteers for its Road to Recovery program to drive Hernando County cancer patients to their chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Schedules are flexible, and training is provided. Requirements include having a good driving record, a valid driver's license, insurance and a smoke-free vehicle in good running condition. Those wishing to help may call Joan at (352) 799-9078.

Today's picks

'Arsenic and Old Lace': 2 p.m., Stage West Community Playhouse, 8390 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill. $15 adults, $8 students. (352) 683-5113.

Riverhawk Music Festival: 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Sertoma Youth Ranch, 85 Myers Road, south of Spring Lake. Prices vary. (863) 984-8445.

West Hernando Coin Club Coin Show: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Hernando County Fairgrounds, 6436 Broad St., Brooksville. Free parking and admission. (352) 678-7769.

Hernando deaths

A detailed list of obituaries is published in Section B.

By Lorri Helfand, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010

CLEARWATER — The prospect of an International Baccalaureate program at Countryside High is extremely unlikely.

But district leaders are still searching for an academically rigorous program for the only mainstream, north county high school without a magnet or career academy.

"More and more students are opting not to go to Countryside because there's nothing special there," said Linda Serim, vice president of membership for Countryside's Parent Teacher Student Association.

At the last Pinellas County School Board workshop, board members told district leaders they wanted to cap the number of IB programs at three, said deputy superintendent Jim Madden. There are already IB programs at Palm Harbor University and St. Petersburg high schools. That means a third IB program would end up at Largo, he said.

After passionate protests from Palm Harbor IB parents, the district dropped a previous proposal to move the IB program from Palm Harbor to Countryside. Superintendent Julie Janssen then proposed adding two IB programs. But the latest plan is to shrink Palm Harbor's IB program and add another in mid county.

The School Board will take a preliminary vote on current proposals Tuesday. A final vote is scheduled Dec. 7.

District officials want feedback from Countryside and plan to meet with School Advisory Council members at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Madden said officials don't plan to present an array of options.

"We don't want to go in and lead them," Madden said. "We want to hear from them first."

But SAC member Michael Pate said he'd like the district to offer a variety of quality choices because most parents don't have the time or expertise to study the success of programs elsewhere.

So far, Bill Lawrence, the district's director of advanced studies and academic excellence, said he's heard a variety of suggestions from parents and educators.

Many still favor an IB program at Countryside. Other suggestions include a program like Lakewood High's Center for Advanced Technologies or Cambridge's Advanced International Certificate of Education, an internationally recognized honors curriculum.

But one of the programs on the wish list is too expensive, some fear. And other programs, like the AICE and IB, have been proposed elsewhere.

Stephanie Brown is among those who would still like to see an IB program at Countryside.

She thinks the well-known, highly respected program would have broad appeal and serve the community better than something like Lakewood's CAT program.

"My worry about AICE is that parents are not going to buy into it because they don't know anything about it," said Brown, whose son graduated from Countryside and whose daughter is a 10th-grader there.

Others say their children's needs are being met through honors, AP and college courses, but they want to raise the bar at Countryside. Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test high school grades won't be released until later this year. But last year, Countryside earned a D.

"Some students are falling through the cracks, and I don't think we're doing enough to address that," said Serim, whose son and daughter attend Countryside.

Parents who would like to see an advanced technology program like Lakewood's are concerned that it's so expensive it will never come to fruition.

Janssen has said starting a CAT program is cost-prohibitive now. Start-up costs at Lakewood were about $4 million. But a majority of board members directed her to research the matter further.

The original proposal to move the IB program from Palm Harbor to Countryside created a divisive atmosphere in the community.

Some Countryside parents feel their interests were overshadowed by those of Palm Harbor parents.

Greg Hicks, a Countryside SAC member, thinks a lot of parents at Countryside weren't vocal at first because they thought moving the IB to their school was a done deal.

Then it wasn't.

At a forum in October, Palm Harbor IB parents showed up with navy blue T-shirts that said: "Leave PHUHS alone. Replicate it. Don't decimate it."

"There was no way I was going to speak with that sea of blue in front of me," Brown said.

Now, they're ready to step up and share their opinions. But it's not just Countryside parents who have strong feelings about an attractor there.

Lorrie Kohli lives close to Countryside, but her son attends East Lake High's engineering academy.

"I would just like to see academic programs be offered closer to home so we don't have to send kids across the county to meet their academic needs," said Kohli, whose younger children attend Ridgecrest Elementary and Safety Harbor Middle.

And Connie Lapujade, whose daughter attends Safety Harbor Middle School, said Countryside needs something to attract children in the community.

"People I know are not happy with what's available at Countryside," she said. "They want to send their kids to East Lake or Palm Harbor."

Lorri Helfand can be reached at lorri@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4155.

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Jonathan Pelham of Clearwater buffs the showroom floor at Jeff Rhoads Sr.’s powersports sales location at 2316 State Road 580 in Dunedin.

DUNEDIN

In 2008, two weeks after a rally for then-Sen. Barack Obama packed the stands of Knology Park, the baseball stadium's naming rights expired.

The cable and phone company decided to not renew its deal, killing the name — and the $350,000 it had paid to coin it.

City officials mounted a two-year effort to relabel the interim Dunedin Stadium, sending letters to hundreds of local businesses with a plea to "name our game."

On Thursday, the search finally ended.

Baseball fans — welcome to Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.

Wait. Huh?

"That's an odd one," said Mitch Tucker, who lives across Beltrees Street from the field on Douglas Avenue. "I guess they could call it anything they want — they need the money. It just doesn't sound right."

It sounds good enough to the City Commission, which approved the naming rights Thursday night. The used car lot on Main Street and Belcher Road will pay $181,000 over seven years to flash its name in lights across the stadium, most often used as the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays.

City parks director Vince Gizzi said that's a steal for what will amount to an estimated $300,000 in television, newspaper and radio advertisements. The used-car lot will get promotions, plus a few skybox tickets; the city will get money toward stadium roofing, fencing and grandstand work.

It may not be the strangest venue name — you might have to Ask Gary for that one — but it does raise some questions. Like, why would the Canadian baseball junkies who fill the stadium every spring want to buy a used car?

Owner Jeff Rhoads Sr., who also runs an Isuzu dealership, a used-car rental store and a auto repair shop, said he knows it might seem a little . . . different, at first. "We thought it would add a little zing to the stadium," he said.

He had even, early in the negotiations, suggested something stranger: Dr. Credit Stadium, named after his company mascot and alter ego, an incongruous superhero in a lab coat, pink scrubs and a scuba mask.

Although Dr. Credit's zany adventures saving forlorn drivers were the basis for five low-budget cable commercials, Rhoads ultimately decided against it. (Probably a good idea, given there was a Dr. Credit Finance Centre, no relation, in Toronto.)

But in time, Rhoads said, it could become a great investment in the city where he has run his companies for 22 years.

"I'm a big Dunedin fan," he said. "I'm proud to live here, and I'm proud to have my name on that stadium."

The 5,500-seat open-air stadium, home of the Jays, the minor-league Dunedin Blue Jays and the Dunedin High Falcons, will get three new signs by next month. Where they play, on Grant Field — named after Albert J. Grant, a former mayor who deeded the land to the city in the 1930s — will keep its name.

Many baseball stadiums are known for their brands — everything from insurance (Safeco Field, Progressive Field) to banks (Citi Field, Comerica Park) to beers (Coors Field, Busch Stadium) to juices (Tropicana Field, Minute Maid Park) have been stamped in neon on the side of sports venues.

Music venues took the idea to a whole new level of crazy. Examples: Colorado's Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, California's Sleep Train Pavilion, Virginia's Jiffy Lube Live and Tampa's very own 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre.

But spring training fields are a little different. The Florida Auto Exchange Stadium will join only two other current, corporate- branded ballparks, all within Florida's Grapefruit League: Bright House Field, in Clearwater, home of the Philadelphia Phillies; and Digital Domain Park, named after a visual effects studio, where the New York Mets train in Port St. Lucie. (The Tampa Bay Rays are expected to play some spring exhibition games next year at their former Al Lang Field training grounds in Progress Energy Park.)

Shelby Nelson, the Jays' Florida general manager, said he doesn't expect any backlash from the new name. He remembers when Canadian telecom giant Rogers Communications renamed the Toronto team's SkyDome to Rogers Centre.

"People resist at first," Nelson said. "Then it sort of grows on you."

Still, it's anybody's guess how long that might take.

"I don't like it," said Indrani Troconis, who was walking her son Sebastian on Friday along the outfield fence. "It just sounds weird. Like a car dealership."

Contact Drew Harwell at dharwell@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4170.

By Demorris A. Lee, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Vincent Talenti, 24, directs on the set of his winning Go Daddy commercial at a high school in Van Nuys, Calif., in September.

Vincent Talenti, a 2004 graduate of Tarpon Springs High School, applied to film school at Florida State University, was rejected, applied again, and was rejected again.

Now, he has 250,000 reasons to argue FSU made a mistake.

Talenti did attend the university. But when he graduated in 2008, he was awarded a degree in business, not filmmaking.

"I have a conflict in my brain," Talenti said during a phone interview from Burbank, Calif. "I have a business side and a creative side, and they are always battling it out."

The creative side paid off first.

Talenti, 24, won $250,000 last month for creating the best 30-second commercial for the website GoDaddy.com. Go Daddy registers Internet domain names and some related services and is known for its racy Super Bowl commercials. Talenti's commercial can be found on GoDaddy.com's website and will air on ABC, ESPN and other stations.

"It's amazing," Talenti said. "Ultimately, it would be great to use this as part of my (portfolio)."

The commercial is called Russell's Notebook. It stars a character named Russell, a student who describes himself as "a no one, a nerd, a dork, a dweeb."

With a catchy tune in the background, the character Russell creates a website on GoDaddy.com and starts charging students for using his study notes.

"So thanks to a bright idea and a couple of clicks I got my ball rolling," Russell sings. "Now, I'm a household name and I owe it all to Go Daddy."

Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons was the sole judge for the contest.

"Bob really liked the way 'Russell's Notebook' told a clever story about a young man who leverages a Go Daddy website and domain name to transform himself from the 'class nerd' into a wildly successful entrepreneur," said company spokeswoman Marianne Curran. "It's a fun story."

Out of 800 entries, Talenti and three others who took part in the effort won first place and $250,000.

Talenti said he was awakened by a call from Go Daddy at about 8 a.m. on Oct. 19.

"'We just want to call you and say congratulations,'" Talenti recalls being told. "Then there was this long awkward pause. They then said 'Russell's Notebook won first place.'

"I said, 'Are you serious, is this a joke?'"

It only took about $1,000 to make the commercial. The actors worked for free and the equipment was donated.

Talenti, the commercial's director and executive producer, said the plan is to pay the folks who helped at union wages. The bulk of the earnings will be used on a future feature film project.

"We decided to pay the entire cast and crew," Talenti said. "It's a great victory for us, but the idea is to move everyone's career forward."

Talenti has always wanted to make movies. But since FSU rejected his film school applications, he's had to learn the craft by trial and error. Over the years, he's made nearly 30 short films. He moved to Burbank shortly after graduating from FSU in 2008.

"I have a bunch of failures before I make something," he said, laughing.

Making films caters to Talenti's nonbusiness side.

"It's like an excuse to be creative and have fun in your adult years," Talenti said. "It's also an excuse to escape from me and to do a lot of things that you normally wouldn't do, go places that you normally wouldn't go and tell stories that you normally wouldn't tell."

Philip and Christine Talenti, who still live in Tarpon Springs, are happy with their son's accomplishment. Philip said for as long as he can remember, his son has had a camera in his hands.

Because Vincent Talenti was so "driven," Philip knew his son had to make it out to California to give movie-making a try. But the father said getting the business degree is going to benefit his son just as much.

"That's probably one of the best things he could have done," Philip Talenti said. "When he really becomes successful, and he will, that degree is going to help him manage his business."

Contact Demorris A. Lee at dalee@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4174.

Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Feister

NEW PORT RICHEY

A home health nurse went on an $1,838 spending spree with her 86-year-old patient's debit card and stole three of the woman's gold rings and a diamond pendant, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

Because the patient trusted her nurse — Barbara M. Feister, 37 — she asked her to take her debit card and bring her back cash in August. The victim got the cash she requested, a report states, but later got a call from the fraud department at her bank, alerting her to unusual purchases — at a McDonald's, Winn-Dixie, several gas stations. The woman, who lives on Woodbridge Drive in New Port Richey, contacted authorities.

Feister, of 5121 Hemlock Drive in New Port Richey, was arrested Thursday. She is charged with exploitation of the elderly. Feister admitted to the crime, according to the Sheriff's Office. She was released Friday from the Pasco County jail on $5,000 bail.

According to authorities, Feister was employed by Home Helpers when the theft occurred.

Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Guyette

LUTZ

A mother is accused of defrauding her 6-year-old daughter by setting up a credit card, a cell phone and cable television and Internet in the child's name.

Brandi M. Guyette, 29, was arrested Thursday. She is charged with three counts of fraudulently using the personal identification of a victim younger than 12.

Guyette's landlord at 20266 Lake's Edge Lane called authorities after he evicted Guyette, now of New Port Richey, and found bills in the girl's name, a report states. The bills were more than $1,400 overdue, authorities said.

Guyette was in the Pasco County jail Friday in lieu of $1,500 bail.

By Drew Harwell, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010

PORT RICHEY — Last November, City Manager Ellen Posivach accomplished the implausible: a 25-hour workday.

Logging billable time from a conference in San Antonio, Texas, Posivach recorded 15 hours of travel and work on top of 10 hours of Veterans Day pay. Over the next two days, when she was scheduled to board a tour barge cruising the San Antonio River, she logged 30 more hours of work time — all more than 1,100 miles away from City Hall.

The hours, as unusual as they may seem, have become pivotal to Posivach's work schedule. Since taking over as the city's top official last year, Posivach has run her own calendar and clock, deciding when, where and for how long she'd like to devote her taxpayer-funded time.

She credits that flexibility with allowing her to work "the hours I think are best for the city," saying the city has run better than it has in years.

"The purpose of what we're doing was not for me to sit in a chair," Posivach said. "The point was to show projects and results."

But some council members say Posivach's contract is too lenient, and her time too sparse and scattered, to ensure she works what her contract says is six jobs in one: managing the city, managing growth and directing utilities, finance, purchasing and public works.

"You can't be a manager in absentia — it just doesn't work," council member Terry Rowe said. "I'm from the old school. I like the hands-on manager. You like to be there, and you like to see someone running the thing."

• • •

Posivach, her contract states, must work 2,080 hours a year, or 40 hours a week. But 16 months of time sheets provided to the Times show her work is far from 9-to-5.

The regular schedule for City Hall employees includes 10-hour work days, Mondays through Thursdays. But invoices show Posivach worked short days about half of the time. She worked a less-than-half day, under five hours, every week. And she took seven weeks off of work — all without filing for a day of vacation.

To explain that, city officials pointed to Posivach's compensatory time, an overage pool she adds into when her work hours edge over the limit. Time sheets show she regularly deposits and draws from that pool as she sees fit.

In October 2009, two weeks after returning from a weeklong, city-sponsored trip to Montreal, Posivach logged an 11-hour week followed by a seven-hour week. That month, to meet the requirement, Posivach drew 56 hours of comp time.

A third of Posivach's days were spent in overwork, recording about 100 days where she worked longer than 10 hours. Many of those fell on Tuesdays, when the council often leads city meetings late into the night. Other long days were logged during trips she was scheduled to attend in San Antonio, Orlando, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.

What Posivach's time sheets don't show: vacation. Though her contract grants her more than nine weeks a year in vacation, sick and personal leave, Posivach has yet to use any of it. By September, she had accrued about $33,000 in unpaid time, which she's due after her last day on the job.

The time sheets also don't show where the work was done. Posivach doesn't keep a public calendar, and city officials said there are no public records to clarify when Posivach was working at home or out of town.

Posivach writes and signs her own time sheets before submitting them to Mayor Richard Rober, one of her most vocal supporters on the council, for verification.

But the process is not perfect. On nine different invoices, Posivach was listed as accruing comp time on the imaginary day of Feb. 30. Posivach and Rober signed anyway.

"I sign the time sheets, but since I'm not there every day, I have to rely on the fact that she's giving me my 40 hours a week," Rober said Wednesday. "I haven't felt compelled at this point to feel like I'm being misled in any way."

"It comes down to two things: Do you want to micromanage it or do you want to trust it," he added. "We don't want to get ripped off, but Ellen doesn't strike me as that type."

• • •

Posivach has been with the city for two years, starting as an assistant to former City Manager Richard Reade.

She resigned in 2008 as city manager of Tarpon Springs under pressure from commissioners like Chris Alahouzos, who had balked at her comp time requests and criticized her "disconnect with the staff, non-involvement with the community (and) disconnect with the residents."

Rober, council members Steven O'Neill and Bill Colombo and former council member Perry Bean approved Posivach's contract to become Port Richey's city manager June 2009, granting her a salary-and-benefits package of $132,000 and full discretion to work hours "as she deems most beneficial."

Her contract also states she can travel, eat, order a hotel room and charge "professional development" expenses to the city without first seeking council approval. It allows her to work for other clients in the public and private sectors without disclosing who's paying. It even includes a nondisparagement clause, a staple of divorce and settlement agreements, banning the city from saying or writing "negative, critical or disparaging" comments about her or the city itself.

Rober defended Posivach's contract, saying she is a "high-order delegator" whose management style has been unfairly slammed.

"Things are certainly happening and they continue to happen," Rober said. "There are some folks who feel her accomplishments … are still not enough."

At most meetings, Posivach points to an ongoing list of projects she said marks her accomplishments: a water/sewer rate study and increase, a restructuring of the budget, progress on dredge permitting, upgrades to the utility system and new city vehicles.

"You can look at the hours as much as you want," she said. "But in all reality, the results are what the people on council at that time felt the citizens deserved."

But Rowe and Nancy Britton, who joined the council after Posivach's contract was approved, said her contract and off-time needs another look.

"It's not working," Britton said. "It's time to find someone who's willing to be there on a regular basis."

Posivach's contract states the council has the right to discontinue it once it expires Nov. 15. To suspend Posivach, the council would need three out of five votes, city code states. To remove her, it would need four.

"She has the work schedule we all wish we had," Rowe said with a laugh. "She has claimed she'll work from her kitchen table at 2 o'clock in the morning. Who's there to refute that?"

Contact Drew Harwell at dharwell@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6244.

Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Garcia

DADE CITY

A 48-year-old man parked his car in the front row facing the courthouse midday Thursday, pulled down his shorts in front of a Pasco County Sheriff's Office detective and began masturbating, according to a report.

When arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in public, the man — Richard M. Garcia of San Antonio — proclaimed his innocence and said he was just applying hemorrhoid cream to himself, authorities said.

"Upon looking at the bottle the defendant was holding, it was not hemorrhoid cream, but K-Y Warming Jelly," the report states.

Garcia was released later that day from the Pasco County jail on $150 bail.

Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Oshell

NEW PORT RICHEY

A 31-year-old woman drained a dying woman's savings of $72,159 — and even tried to withdraw more money after the woman was dead, authorities said.

Cheryl Ann Oshell, of 6930 Menifee Court, was arrested Thursday. She is charged with exploitation of the elderly and being in contempt of court for not paying child support, which is unrelated to this case.

The victim had cancer and died in June.

Oshell was not related to the victim, but the victim and Oshell's father had once been married, authorities said. The victim told her landlord several times that she worried about Oshell's drug use and misuse of money — but the victim said she was too afraid to leave, a report states.

Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

TAMPA — Two eastbound lanes of Hillsborough Avenue were closed after a man was hit by a vehicle during a police chase Saturday afternoon.

Officers were investigating a drug complaint near the 4900 block of Hillsborough Avenue when Vincent Eugene Grubbs, 39, took off on his bicycle, Tampa police said.

Officers used a Taser on Grubbs. A car headed east on Hillsborough then hit his bicycle, leaving Grubbs with cuts on his face and one hand.

Officers found a vial of crack cocaine and a razor blade at the scene, police said.

By Kim Wilmath and Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writers
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Authorities called Joe Ynocencio a hero for saving residents at the Thatcher Avenue home.

TAMPA — A blood-curdling scream echoed through the normally quiet 4300 block of S Thatcher Avenue Saturday morning.

Joe Ynocencio, 31, a senior technician with an air-conditioning company, dropped his tools and ran out of the house where he was working to find out where it came from.

"If somebody screams 'Help me,' you go help them," he later said. "That's just what you're supposed to do."

Tampa Fire Rescue said what he did next was remarkable. Ynocencio pulled two people from a burning house at 4319 S Thatcher Ave., scorching his arm in the process.

Firefighters are calling him a hero.

He said he's just a regular guy. "Everyone's making a big deal about it. It's just what we do," he said.

The fire broke out about 10 a.m. Ynocencio was working on a heater two doors down when he heard the scream and ran to help, said Tampa Fire Rescue.

He knocked on the door. When no one answered he forced his way in, tying a shirt around his face so he could breathe, he said.

Though he has never been in a fire before, the former Marine said he was trained to help extract people from dangerous situations. But he could barely see. "Everything from the waist up was smoke," he said. "The flames were on the ceiling."

He found 56-year-old Graciela Verdugo inside the front door and helped her to safety, rescuers said. She said her "babies'' were inside, and the "old man" was in the back.

Ynocencio said he thought of his three elementary school-age daughters and went back inside.

He helped Verdugo's 22-year-old son, Mario Verdugo, and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Stephanie O'Keefe, find their way out.

Then he went back a third time and opened French doors at the back of the house to find the last person. The doors burned his arm, he said.

There he found 60-year-old Joel Henderson, who uses a walker. He slipped Henderson's arm around his neck, grabbed his waistband and pulled him toward the front door.

Firefighters arrived soon after and put the fire out in about 20 minutes. Ynocencio stayed with the family for 45 minutes and then returned to his repair jobs — delayed but determined to finish them all Saturday.

Verdugo, her son and Ynocencio had minor burns but were not hospitalized.

A fire marshal's investigator said the blaze began on a sofa on the back porch, where someone had been smoking. Saturday's brisk winds seemed to have fanned the flames.

The American Red Cross was helping the family find a temporary place to stay.

Damage was estimated at about $70,000

Ynocencio of Tampa said his wife asked him why he had done it. The Brandon native and 1997 Bloomingdale High School graduate said it's just a part of who he is. Before he joined the Marines in 1998, he wanted to be a firefighter.

"It's why I do air conditioning. I love helping people," he said.

By Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Mayor Pam Iorio says that in most cities with light rail, ballot initiatives to pay for it failed on the first try. She expects it will someday pass.

TAMPA — Pipes, a park and museums. Now that the transportation tax issue has failed in Hillsborough County, that's Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio's legacy.

They are no small accomplishments. The $100 million pipes projects replace crumbling, century-old water delivery and sewage systems.

And the $42 million redevelopment of Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park that includes a new Tampa Museum of Art and Glazer Children's Museum have changed the face of downtown.

But the multibillion-dollar transportation initiative that would have transformed the city and county will not happen on Iorio's watch.

Iorio made a referendum on a 1-cent sales tax to build light rail and expand the county bus system a top priority during her second term in office, which ends in the spring. It had almost her full focus for the past eight months.

So how stinging of a defeat was its failure on Election Day?

"You never lose when you are fighting for something you believe in," Iorio said. "And I very firmly believe in it. I'm disappointed, but it's not a loss as far as I'm concerned."

In most cities with light rail, she pointed out, ballot initiatives to pay for it failed on the first try.

"One day, even though I'll be long out of office, when there is a successful referendum, everyone will point to the effort in 2010 as the critical building block," she said. "I firmly put that down as an accomplishment, not a negative."

Others agree.

"She'll be remembered for having tried to do that. Tried and failed," Scott Paine, a University of Tampa government professor, said of Iorio's rail effort. "One can say of that, and I think city voters might say it, that she didn't fail. The referendum didn't pass, but she was doing what the folks in the city wanted."

Although the tax tanked in the unincorporated parts of the county, many Tampa voters along the proposed rail line voted in favor of it.

"In history, she will be looked back at as the person who tried to push the envelope on this," said Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida. "She will be judged positively for trying to do it, and the reality is that people are not going to fault her for the failure."

Without the rail, Iorio's legacy will be the park and pipes, just as previous mayors have left their marks.

For Bob Martinez, it's the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and the Tampa Convention Center, and annexation of land that became New Tampa.

For Sandy Freedman, it's the distinction of being the city's first female mayor, the Florida Aquarium and the tearing down of crack houses.

For Dick Greco, it's Centro Ybor, the Marriott Waterside Hotel and Raymond James Stadium, built with a community investment tax he supported.

Iorio presided over the city during a real estate boom that saw the construction of condo towers downtown and a bust that forced her to trim hundreds of jobs from the city payroll. Despite the turbulence, she made Hixon Park and the nearby museums a reality.

"That's going to be the visible signature of her term of office, and I think it's going to be perceived over time as just a wonderful reinvestment in the waterfront," Paine said. "That's huge. It's a very positive, very visible legacy."

All summer, crowds of kids from throughout the county splashed in the fountains at the park's edge, and some days a line extends outside the entrance to the children's museum. The art museum opened with a Henri Matisse exhibit, and an Edgar Degas show opens this spring.

"The biggest thing is, she finally got the art museum built and the park was redesigned. Those are big projects," said political consultant Vic DiMaio. "She's had probably the toughest legacy because she's had to cut as much as build."

And then there are the pipes, which anyone who has navigated construction sites on city streets in the past two years knows well.

"Those are unglamorous projects that nobody likes to point to and nobody sees but are necessary to get done," DiMaio said.

Ask Iorio what she believes her legacy will be, and she talks about neighborhood improvements, the Riverwalk, reconstruction of 40th Street, downtown redevelopment and the city's plunging crime rate.

But the park, she said, can actually bring tears to her eyes.

"When I go there sometimes and I see it full of people, kicking the soccer ball, throwing Frisbees. People with their blankets on the grass, children playing in the fountain. People stop me and say, 'Thank you,' " she said.

It wasn't a project that came easy. It evolved from plans for a massive new art museum conceived by Greco and squashed by Iorio amid bitter squabbling with art museum leaders.

"It's a little bit of a story about resilience. I've shown it to my children as an example of that," Iorio said. "I haven't had a single person say to me, 'I went to that park and, boy, what a disappointment.' It's a lasting gift to the community, and the community deserves it."

As for rail, Iorio said she's happy to be the person who revived a decades-old discussion of regional rail in 2006 by sending a "white paper" to hundreds of political and business leaders. "One day when there is a successful referendum and we do start building a successful transportation system, I will be right there as a private citizen fighting for it," she said.

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3401.

By Ileana Morales, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Alan Snel, center, talks to a group of around 60 bicyclists before a ride through Tampa last month in honor of bicyclists who had been killed. Several more died since the Oct. 1 vigil. Snel is the head of a Tampa Bay bicycling advocacy group.

TAMPA — As people gather this morning at Flatwoods Park to celebrate biking, they'll remember the eight who are gone.

Anthony G. Weeks, 33. Diane Vega, 53. Kayoko Ishizuka, 30. Neil Alan Smith, 48. Stephen Allen Ivey, 52. Joe Dyals, 46. LeRoy "Roy" Collins Jr., 75. Brad Ash, 41.

All were killed in recent months bicycling in the Tampa Bay area.

Volunteers at today's fifth annual Bicycle Bash will hand out and fit helmets for children. Other safety equipment will be on sale.

But even on a day of celebration, the string of fatal bike crashes since July calls for an emphasis on awareness. Ishizuka, for example, was wearing a helmet, had lights on her bike and was riding in the bicycle lane when she was killed.

That's one reason bicycling advocates think it's time for action.

Alan Snel, director of South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers, an association hosting the bike event, pitched the development of a bike safety action plan to the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough County Commission. They approved it last month.

Bike advocates and law enforcement agencies said protecting bicyclists on the road comes down to what they call the three E's — education, enforcement and engineering, which means road infrastructure.

"They're starting to wake up a little bit now that the body count has risen to such a high level," said Ed Collins, whose father, LeRoy Collins Jr., died in July while biking.

Since then, Collins said, he's much more vigilant when he trades in his four wheels for two. Sometimes he's scared to ride. He and his family recently moved from Tampa to a more bike-friendly area in Hernando County.

Snel wears a reflective vest when the sun is out. He doesn't wear headphones while riding. He rides on the road because he said crash risks are higher on the sidewalk where someone pulling out from a driveway or turning the corner may not expect a bicyclist.

Snel and Collins said changing the attitudes of drivers is one of the biggest challenges in making Tampa Bay more bicycle-friendly. They said better enforcement of bike safety laws is key in making drivers share the road.

In Florida, cars have to be at least 3 feet away when passing a bicyclist.

Tampa police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said they're working together to better enforce bicycle safety laws with the help of federal grants.

Representatives from both agencies say the number of citations are up but exact numbers aren't available.

During morning and evening rush hours, there are now 24 Tampa police officers looking for violators.

Members of both agencies will be at today's bicycle celebration.

Collins will be there, too.

"It's gotten to be almost like death watch recently," he said. "Like, which one of my friends is going to die next?"

By Waveney Ann Moore, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Former St. Petersburg City Council member Earnest Williams has fought a few battles in his 64 years. He helped desegregate lunch counters, became one of the first African-Americans to attend a Panhandle community college and has run for public office six times, twice successfully.

Now Williams is fighting for breath. He has sarcoidosis, an abnormal inflammation that can affect any part of the body. Williams' lungs are affected, making it impossible for him to breathe without assistance.

"The only out for me is a transplant," he said recently, as he drew breaths with the help of tubes threaded through his nostrils and trailing to an oxygen machine yards away.

"I can't leave the house without portable oxygen," he said.

Williams is on the waiting list for a double lung transplant at Tampa General Hospital. He hopes the call to cross the bridge will come soon.

"We keep phones everywhere," he said, adding that he has two hours to get to the hospital when a lung becomes available.

He was in good spirits and spoke knowledgeably about the disease that has disrupted his life. It often affects African-Americans and people of Asian, German, Irish, Puerto Rican and Scandinavian descent, he said. And, anticipating the inevitable question, he mentioned that he has never smoked.

The exact cause of sarcoidosis is unknown, though medical professionals think it occurs when a person's immune system overreacts to a foreign substance, said Tarik Haddad, a transplant pulmonologist at Tampa General and Williams' physician.

He specializes in patients with advanced lung diseases like Williams'. He said mild cases of the disease can go away without treatment.

"Rarely does it progress to the stage where Mr. Williams is at, and when it does, it is fatal without a lung transplant," Haddad said.

Chances of survival after a lung transplant are 92 percent after one year, 86 percent after three years and 60 percent after year five at Tampa General, the doctor said. He said the rates are higher than current national statistics.

Haddad said the survival rate drops so low after the fifth year because of rejection caused by chronic inflammation, "because the lungs are typically exposed to the everyday environment."

Williams has had the disease for a while.

"It didn't affect me that much until about two months ago, when I had difficulty breathing," he said. "I just couldn't get my breath. My wife called the paramedics."

He was rushed to St. Anthony's Hospital and remained there for three days. He is now undergoing physical therapy to build up stamina for the transplant.

He is grateful for the support of his wife, Armetha, their two adult daughters and two grandchildren. He relishes visits from friends and said a prayer circle at City Hall is one of the many ways people are showing concern.

"I recognize that once a person is ill how wonderful it is to hear from other people," he said. "I understand that there are people out there who may not have that support."

He's resolved to help change that when he's better.

His daughter, Tacilya, is running the State Farm Insurance business he started in 1985.

In his down time, he's become a keen observer of the local and national political landscape.

What happened in the mid-term elections, he said, "was that many of the people who are not satisfied with the way the economy is going showed up to let people know how discontented they were."

"Don't get him talking about politics or education or you'll be there forever," joked longtime friend Watson Haynes. "When you start him talking about that, he forgets that he's waiting for a donor."

There's no question where his political allegiance lies. A photograph of President Barack Obama sits on an easel in his foyer, a present from his wife.

Williams, who first sought public office in 1993, said those days are behind him. "Let some of these younger people come in," he said.

Born in Marianna, Williams is proud of his heritage, which includes Cherokee ancestors on his mother's side and Seminoles on his father's. His grandfather ran a pool room and various businesses, an uncle was successful in real estate and his great-grandfather, who was born in slavery, was the first African-American to get a federal land grant in Jackson County. His great-great-grandfather fought for the Union in the Civil War.

He himself was part of an NAACP youth group that helped desegregate lunch counters in the Panhandle.

Williams moved to St. Petersburg in 1973. Haynes has known him since then. The two are members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Haynes, a minister, is the group's assistant chaplain. The men have talked and prayed about Williams' illness.

"God sometimes has something happen not just for the person, but for the people around," Haynes said.

"Every life that Earnest has touched, there is a message in this and there is hope, not only his hope, but the hope of somebody who carries that donor card in their wallet who could say, when I die, I will be able to give life to somebody else. So that person, even through Earnest, never dies."

Waveney Ann Moore can be reached at wmoore@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2283.

Times staff
Saturday, November 6, 2010

Melvin Brown, 18, of Largo performs with the group Dundu Dole at the Waterfront Parks centennial celebration on Saturday. The event had dancing, food, art and music for all tastes at all 12 of St. Petersburg’s downtown waterfront parks.

Crowds of people gathered downtown Saturday for the sunshine and cool breezes, and to celebrate the 100th birthday of St. Petersburg's waterfront parks. From Coffee Pot Bayou to Albert Whitted Airport, people strolled and enjoyed the free festivities. Local bands were positioned throughout the "Party in the Parks" event, which also featured dance performances, arts and crafts, food vendors and the dedication of the North Bay Trail and human sundial. "I love this," said Dawn Overton of Clearwater, who brought her two children to the event. "I plan on being here most of the day."

By Kim Wilmath and Erin Sullivan, Times Staff Writers
Saturday, November 6, 2010

In a family photo, Victoria Morgan, left, stands with her little sisters, from left, Delaney, Isabella and Gabrielle Rossman.

HUDSON — Danielle Malm was in her kitchen Friday evening, icing a birthday cake, when she heard a loud noise.

"Did you hear that?" she asked her husband.

Before he could answer, there was a second, louder bang.

Malm ran outside and saw a Jeep crunched against her van in the driveway. She looked across the street, to where her four daughters had just been playing with a friend.

It was nearly 8 p.m. and dark, but the yard was illuminated by a street light. Malm could see that the Jeep had cut through the yard.

She screamed and ran.

Two of her 5-year-old triplets were lying on the ground, motionless.

Saturday morning at 8:40, Delaney Rossman was declared dead at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Her sister Gabrielle Rossman was in a medically induced coma with two broken clavicles, a broken pelvis, several broken ribs, a broken right leg, a collapsed lung and internal bleeding, her mother said.

The Jeep had run over them and a 9-year-old neighbor, Marissa Manuli, who escaped with minor injuries. Isabella Rossman, the third triplet, was scraped and bruised in the commotion.

Big sister Victoria Morgan, 10, who saw the Jeep strike her sisters, was in shock.

"My sisters are dead," she cried, according to Marissa's grandmother, Nancy Wyatt. "My sisters are dead."

Meanwhile, the girls' stepfather, Eric Malm, and their mother began CPR on Delaney while they waited for the medical helicopter to arrive. Wyatt knelt with Gabrielle, but the little girl was bleeding so much she didn't know where to touch her to comfort her. "Try not to move," she said.

• • •

Moments before the crash, Betty-Jo Tagerson got into her Jeep, just about 50 paces up King Manor Avenue from the scene in this north Pasco community. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, she swerved sharply left and drove over the curb. She flattened a mailbox, missed a light pole, crashed into a pickup parked in a yard, and ran into the little girls playing on the lawn.

The Jeep kept moving, and Tagerson fell out the driver's-side door, landing onto Marissa Manuli's driveway.

The empty Jeep rolled back onto King Manor Avenue, crossed the street, and rammed into Mrs. Malm's van.

That was the second crash Mrs. Malm heard as she was spreading green icing on her niece's birthday cake for a party that was supposed to be on Saturday.

• • •

A check of area court records showed no driving infractions for Tagerson. Driving histories from the state department of motor vehicles are not available on weekends. She has one arrest in Florida — a 2007 Pasco charge of scheming to defraud — according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Tagerson was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in serious condition after the crash.

A man who said he is her ex-husband, Rick Tagerson, answered the door of her home Saturday afternoon. He said she was still in the hospital. He didn't want to talk.

"It was an accident," he said.

Sgt. Larry Kraus of the Florida Highway Patrol said the agency is investigating to determine if she will be charged.

"I know people want swift action," he said, but added it's important to proceed carefully. "We don't want something to go wrong that could cause us to lose a case," he said.

Asked about reports from neighbors that Tagerson was speeding and that she was fiddling with a bungee cord that held her driver's side door shut, he declined to comment on that. "We don't want to speculate," Kraus said.

• • •

Saturday afternoon, Danielle and Eric Malm were at St. Joseph's Hospital visiting Gabrielle. They had just come from the medical examiner's office, having identified Delaney.

"My 10-year-old daughter saw it coming. She told them to get out of the way," Mrs. Malm said.

Minutes before the crash, the couple talked about bringing the girls in for the night.

"Let them play," she told her husband. "There's no school tomorrow."

It had been such a routine day at the Malm house. The girls got home from school, each grabbed a snack and sat down at the table.

Gabrielle was especially excited, telling her mom she'd had "the best day ever" because her kindergarten class at Hudson Elementary was given popcorn balls as a treat.

As Mrs. Malm began work on the cake, the girls went out to play. Every so often, they ran back in to dip a finger in the frosting, their mother laughing at their little green-stained hands.

If it had been a normal night, the girls might have played dress-up — they went trick-or-treating as a trio of fairies. Then they would have had their bedtime story from their parents. They would have fallen asleep, the triplets in their room and Victoria in a new room of her own.

Now, the parents don't know what to say to Gabrielle when she wakes up. They've talked to Isabella, but she has only asked about Gabrielle — not Delaney.

"I don't know what to think about it," Mrs. Malm said. "I'm assuming she knows something. I don't know how to tell her."

Times researcher Shirl Kennedy contributed to this report. Kim Wilmath can be reached at kwilmath@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3386. Erin Sullivan can be reached at esullivan@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6229.

By Lorri Helfand, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, November 7, 2010

LEALMAN — The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an accident that sent two people to the hospital early Sunday.

The crash happened shortly after midnight at Interstate 275 and 54th Avenue N. The driver is in critical condition and the passenger is stable, the Lealman Fire District said. A third person fled the scene before rescue crews arrived.

Lealman firefighters extricated one of the victims who was pinned inside the car and transported him to Bayfront Medical Center.

By Lorri Helfand, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, November 7, 2010

ST. PETERSBURG — Deputies are investigating an incident that led to a driver fleeing authorities before crashing Saturday night.

According to deputies, two people entered a convenience store at 100th Way N near Bay Pines Boulevard around 9 p.m. and acted suspiciously. Deputies were called after a witness reportedly saw a gun.

The vehicle driven by one of the suspects, a Chevrolet Blazer, failed to stop when deputies tried to pull it over and crashed into a utility pole near 13th Avenue and Tyrone Boulevard. The Blazer, which was not owned by the suspects, sideswiped a deputy's cruiser during the pursuit.

No one was injured, and no gun was found.

Tyree Dudley, 18, was arrested on numerous charges, including aggravated assault with a vehicle, felony fleeing and eluding, failure to appear and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

Authorities detained a 17-year-old man while investigating his degree of involvement.

By Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, November 7, 2010

CLEARWATER — An Apollo Beach woman died early Sunday morning after she lost control of her vehicle, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Silvia Ratton, 21, was driving a Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle east at about 2:45 a.m. on Ulmerton Road approaching 40th Street N when, for an unknown reason, she lost control, the patrol said. The SUV began to rotate, overturned several times and left the roadway, striking a sign and then a light pole.

Ratton, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle during the crash, the patrol said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident is under investigation.