Bob Deakin Short Stories

Tag sales are a tedious event for the homeowner but without the shoppers, it doesn’t work. Most tag salers make a stop a couple times a year but some are professionals known as “taggers” for their years of dedication to the craft.

One glowing example is Tony “Tony the Tagger” Corso of Canton, CT. He earned his nickname by virtue of decades as a familiar face at tag sales and for being featured on both Good Morning America and Hoarders.

Corso comes off as a know-it-all talking about all things, and as cocky as a football player in a night club he explains his strategy for every sale he approaches.

“First thing I do at every sale is back my truck up the driveway. Right away they start showing me around and the prices drop like dollar bills at the strip club.”

Even those that don’t know him quickly notice the tall man in denim strolling arrogantly through the throngs of shoppers with his trademark fedora tilted slightly to the left.

He’s been attending sales throughout the Connecticut-Massachusetts-New York area since Nixon was president and is known for his penchant for late 19^th Century furniture and golden-age Hollywood memorabilia. He not only longs for artifacts but genuinely believes he is entitled to them. Whether it’s an oak cabinet Thomas Edison might have owned or a poster of Betty Grable, Tony the Tagger is determined to call it his own.

He says one of the most memorable tag sales was held by a legend of stage, screen and television. Employing a dramatic pause and taunting this reporter with his good fortune, he elaborated with the tale of rubbing elbows with a star before divulging her name.

“Valerie Harper,” he said, slowly and deliberately, leaning forward in his chair with a wry grin, as if announcing the name of the first lady. He went on to detail the day spent at the star’s home examining items for sale and the cozy conversation he struck up with her. He claims he spent several hours at the swanky estate and ended up rubbing a little more than elbows with the married actress.

Tony "the Tagger" recounts a romantic rendezvous. Photo by Bob Deakin

It all began, he says, with a few innocent questions about her Victorian-era armoire, which led to a personal tour of her movie memorabilia collection from the 40s and before he knew it, they’d locked eyes, both leaning over a vintage cocktail table from the 50s when their hands touched for the first time.

“You can’t put a price tag on what I walked away with that day,” Corso says, smiling, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands behind his head.

Asked if he was alleging to have slept with Ms. Harper – made famous by her role as next-door neighbor ‘Rhoda’ on the Mary Tyler Moore Show – Corso asked with a wink, “Who said anything about sleeping?”

While Corso is well-known amongst tag sale hosts it doesn’t always equate to admiration.

“He’s a jerk,” says Helen Fink, owner of a palatial estate in Greenwich, CT, worthy of Bruce Wayne and his ward. “He walks in like he owns the place and makes low-ball offers on authentic hand-made pieces from the 1800s like they’re cheap TVs. He’s married and spends more time hitting on me and the shoppers like he’s at a strip club.”

Complimented for the coincidental strip club analogy she doesn’t bite on an offer for further comment.

“My next door neighbor, Jean, hosts estate sales for homeowners every summer and this guy’s been showing up for years,” says Carol Showalter of Norwalk, CT. “He’s so full of himself he even gave himself a nick-name; ‘T-Tag.’ Jean refers to him as ‘D-Bag.’”

Told of what the estate sale hosts said of him Corso doesn’t even blink, choosing instead to explain the difference between an authentic Universal Studios poster and a fake. Asked what motivates him to continue his week-to-week performance attending sales year after year he conceitedly repeats a quote by baseball great, Joe DiMaggio.

“There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time and I owe him my best.”

Confronted with the fact that very few children go to tag sales and even fewer show up to see him, he downplays his role as a local celebrity.

“Ah, I’m just a simple man with simple tastes,” he states, again with a wink and a grin. “Who can resist a 19^th Century gem or an authentic framed Casablanca promo? I also can’t help it if the ladies can’t resist a tall, confident, handsome man in a fedora.”

Perhaps they can’t, but when it comes time to get rid of an old relic, a warm body with a wallet often seems irresistible.

Tony who?

Mrs. Showalter was later asked if any of Jean’s clients, by coincidence, were TV stars in the 1970s and said no, then looked up, curiously.

“You know,” she remembered, “everybody always tells Jean she looks just like the next-door neighbor on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Originally published on Greg Van Antwerp’s Video Martyr blog in October 2011

Copyright 2011

Pinellas County Sheriff's Communications Center, 10750 Ulmerton Road, Largo Credit Cherlene Willis

For the past year, Gulfport city leaders have discussed the possibility of outsourcing the city’s police dispatch to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). It would be a cost-saving measure as the city’s budget continues to grow and officials search for ways to make cuts while maintaining essential emergency services.

Savings could be significant – as much as $147,677 for the first year and an annual savings of as much as $305,226 thereafter, according to an estimate obtained by Gulfport Police Chief Robert Vincent in September 2010. There is debate as to whether the city’s needs would be sufficiently met, since the dispatchers outside the city might not be as familiar with Gulfport’s geography.

The initial estimate that Chief Vincent received from PCSO to begin full-time dispatch coverage in Gulfport was $115,000 with an annual fee of $85,000.

PCSO provides dispatch and police patrol for 12 municipalities:

• Belleair Beach
• Belleair Bluffs
• Belleair Shore
• Dunedin
• Indian Rocks Beach
• Madeira Beach
• North Redington Beach
• Oldsmar
• Redington Beach
• Safety Harbor
• Seminole
• South Pasadena

It provides part-time police dispatch for three county municipalities that have their own police departments:

• Indian Shores
• Belleair
• Kenneth City

Indian Shores

“We’re kind of a hybrid,” said Indian Shores Mayor James Lawrence, who has been involved with city government for 12 years. “We have dispatch at certain hours, and the rest of the time we rent that service from the sheriff’s office.”

Indian Shores Police Department mans its own police dispatch from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday through Sunday. PCSO takes over all police dispatch for all remaining hours yet still takes all 911 emergency calls 24/7 and dispatches patrol officers directly.

“At one time, it saved us quite a bit of money by not having to keep a full-time dispatch,” Lawrence said, adding that the PCSO’s rate used to be in the neighborhood of $120 per month (approximately $1,400 per year) until rates went way up several years ago. For the 2010-11 fiscal year, the annual rate had increased to $21,600.

As far as a regional dispatcher’s familiarity with a separate municipality, Indian Shores encompasses only one main stretch of Gulf Boulevard without a lot of side streets.

“We’re essentially one street,” Lawrence said, “so there aren’t any intricate street patterns to make things more confusing.”

Lawrence said Indian Shores intends to continue with the arrangement with PCSO considering the additional cost of salary and benefits for full-time coverage.

“We would like to have our own dispatch 24/7, but even at the higher rate ($21,000) it’s still cheaper for us to limit our dispatch hours.”

Belleair

Belleair also has its own police department and uses PCSO on a full-time basis for emergency calls yet mans its non-emergency calls from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m on weekends, according to Town Manager, Micah Maxwell.

“We use [PCSO] after hours,” Mayor Gary Katica says. “That works really well for us.”

The dispatch arrangement has been going on for about four years and saves the town money, he says, but he couldn’t speculate how much. Nonetheless, he thinks it’s much more efficient.

“It works really well. If you’ve been through a big dispatch like Pinellas County, you have people there and there are constantly calls,” he said, noting the difficulty of overnight dispatch in a small town. “I used to be an air traffic controller many years ago, and midnight shifts were always difficult because there’s little action. It just works well that way with the PCSO dispatch.”

He said there may occasionally be a problem with a regional dispatcher not knowing particular areas of town but not to the point of concern.

“Once in a while but not any big deal,” he said. “When you’re dealing with the public, there will always be somebody that says you should do this or that. You’re never going to make everybody happy. We do the best with what we have.”

According to Belleair Town Manager Micah Maxwell, Belleair police dispatch answers the phone from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends with PCSO handling the rest of the hours.

Kenneth City

Kenneth City is the other municipality in Pinellas County that has its own police department yet directs all police calls, including non-emergency, to PCSO, on nights and weekends while maintaining routine dispatch during the day.

Town Clerk Susan Scrogham confirmed that the Kenneth City Police Department operates its dispatch from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. During nights, weekends and holidays, its non-emergency number is forwarded to the PCSO Communications Center.

Clearwater

Clearwater has its own police department and has considered outsourcing its dispatch services as part of discussion in budget hearings, but it has no current plans under consideration.

According to Joelle Castelli, a spokeswoman for the Clearwater Police Department, a proposal had been made to eliminate its police dispatch and go with the county, but the idea never went beyond discussion.

“It would be a lot of staff reduction as well as technology reduction,” she said. “It’s not on the front burner right now. It came up in the budget hearings a year ago.”

She figures technological compatibility would be a concern.

“I think the biggest issue we would have is the radio compatibility,” she said, and “the delay, if there was any delay in time.”

Pinellas Park

Pinellas Park has a budget of $604,000 for salaries and benefits of 15 employees in the dispatch unit (14 dispatchers and one supervisor) for the 2011-12 fiscal year. Although there has been discussion of reducing the budget, it plans to maintain its police dispatch while the county looks at ways to reduce the number of EMS staff.

“We haven’t had any consideration as far as the sheriff’s department” dispatch, said Tim Caddell, government relations administrator for Pinellas Park. “There’s been a lot in the news lately about EMS and fire service. The town is trying to save money by consolidating some of that.”

Caddell echoes the sentiments of many city, police and fire officials throughout the county when it comes to discussion of reducing staff in emergency services.

“We haven’t really taken a stand on it,” he says. “We’re trying to be pragmatic about it and to do what’s best for the county as a whole.”

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center

Communications Division Commander Lt. James Bordner says county dispatchers answer calls and 911 calls that are transferred from the Emergency Communications Call Center in Clearwater from Belleair, Kenneth City and Indian Shores 24 hours a day, seven days a week (in addition to other city agreements).

Bordner says according to records, the PCSO began billing Indian Shores and Kenneth City in January 1977 for dispatch services. Bordner says services for Belleair began more recently, but he did not have the exact date.

*****

The Gulfport City Council is slated to vote Wednesday on the second reading of the operating budget for fiscal 2012, which includes outsourcing Gulfport Police dispatch full-time. The special meeting is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gulfport City Hall.

Originally published on Patch.com in September 2011

Copyright 2011

Sandy Sullivan inventor (L) and John McQueen, president and owner of Anderson-McQueen, in front of the Resomator. Credit Anderson-McQueen

ST. PETERSBURG – The traditional methods for disposing of human remains are to bury or burn.

Now Anderson-McQueen in St. Petersburg is about the introduce a third: Resomation.

This month the 60-year-old St. Petersburg funeral home will be the first in North America to use a pioneering technique developed by a Scottish biochemist that is gaining recognition as environmentally friendly.

Dubbed “Resomation,” the process involves using a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide while increasing the air pressure inside a steel chamber to chemically break down the body.

The result is a small amount of sterile liquid and soft bones that are crushed and placed in an urn for loved ones.

There is no fire, ashes, smoke or pollutants, as there is with cremation.

The new alternative can reduce a funeral home’s greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 35 percent, end mercury emissions into the air from burning tooth fillings, and remove DNA traces from wastewater.

The process takes approximately 2-3 hours, which is about the average time of a traditional cremation.

Resomation was invented by biochemist Sandy Sullivan, who is assisting Anderson-McQueen in the start up.

Sullivan’s Resomation, Ltd. has been developing the system since 2007, and it is distributed by Matthews Cremation of Orlando. Sullivan has a patent pending on the process.

Chambers sell for approximately $400,000 and the cost to clients is slightly more than a typical cremation.

Nikki McQueen, vice president of Anderson-McQueen, offers insight into the cutting-edge process.

Q: Why the move to the new technology?

A: We’ve always been a leader in the funeral industry throughout the nation so we wanted to take this step forward. It’s a huge commitmen,t but we felt it was worthwhile and something we wanted to bring to the community.

Q: You are the first in the U.S. to offer it to the public?

A: Currently we’re the only one in the world that has this Resomation unit. The alkaline hydrolysis process has been in use by the University of Florida and the Mayo Clinic for some years. This is the first time it’s being offered to the public. Behind us the next funeral home to offer this will be Bradshaw Funeral Home (in Minnesota) late this year.

Q: What approvals were you required to abide by?

A: We had to go through the State of Florida for approval as a form of cremation then we had to go through local authorities for the permitting process. We also had to add to our existing cremation tribute center to house some of the equipment.

Q: How is the preparation different?

A: In traditional flame cremation anything like pacemakers could explode. It’s very dangerous for the crematory operator. In this case they do not have to be removed ahead of time.

Q: What is the dress code?

A: With flame [cremation] the deceased can wear clothing and with Resomation they must be in 100 percent silk. All the materials have to be green (environmentally speaking). There is also a container that goes in the unit made of cornstarch.

Q: The family receives the traditional urn?

A: That’s been the question families have asked: Am I still going to get back cremated remains? They do get the remains back in an urn. Typically it can be about 20 percent more [ashes].

Q: What was the motivation to bring the technology to St. Petersburg?

A: At Anderson-McQueen we have 60 years of serving the St. Petersburg community. One thing with cremation, it’s been around for so long but there’s never been a choice. When the opportunity came and Matthews asked us to partner in the first one, we wanted to give St. Petersburg and the surrounding areas this choice.

Q: Has there been a demand for “green” cremation?

A: Families have asked about it. When the opportunity came to be able to offer something they say leaves less of a carbon footprint, we wanted to be able to provide for families that wanted that service.

Resomation Slide Show

Originally published on Patch.com in September 2011

Copyright 2011

The front facade of Orangetheory Fitness near Fishbone Grill on 4th St. N. in St. Petersburg, FL. Credit: Orangetheory Fitness

ST. PETERSBURG – Motorists along 4th Street North could not help but notice the fluorescent orange bicycles parked sporadically along the road in recent weeks.

No, these were not free bikes to promote energy efficiency. The visual stunt was just one of the unconventional tactics Orangetheory Fitness to create a buzz about its new-fangled gym that purports to offer “the best one-hour workout” in the country.

The first Orangetheory franchise opened in Fort Lauderdale in 2010 and now sports eight locations in Florida and Arizona combined, and expects to have as many as 20 by the end of this year.

The idea is to make personal training affordable by offering it in groups with high energy sessions that push members to the utmost of their capacity for the greatest possible results.

Members wear heart-rate monitors. In one-hour workouts, they can on large HDTV monitors just how hard they’re pushing themselves. The desire is to experience the “orange effect,” or being in the upper heart rate zone for maximum benefit.

Patrons receive a readout of their heart rates after they work out to track their progress. Members are screened beforehand to assure they are physically able to participate.

Orangetheory St. Pete opened July 15. It already has 400 members.

The owner of the St. Pete franchise is Terry Blachek, a veteran of the fitness industry. He is one of four founders of the Orangetheory franchise. He talked with Patch about this most unusual idea.

Q: Who came up with the concept?

A: Ellen (Latham) is the exercise physiologist, the exercise science person behind it. She originated the actual workout. She had her own studio that had Pilates, yoga, spinning and what she calls the “Ultimate Workout.” We kind of pulled that out, created a partnership and created Orangetheory, and it’s based on that ultimate workout.

Q: What’s with the name?

A: It’s based on a color concept where blue is cool, red is hot and orange is an energy color. We opened the Ft. Lauderdale facility and had all white lights, put an orange film over, and it looked pretty cool. We created a name around that, then wrapped the energy color around that, and of course we’re from Florida.

Q: Explain the business model?

A: Orange Theory is affordable group personal training. If you went to any [other] fitness, club you’re probably going to pay for one hour, anywhere from $50 to $75 one-on-one. We take the concept and put you in a group of 20 to 24 people with two trainers and you can do it for $10 to $15 per session.

Q: What makes it the “ultimate” workout?

A: Every person wears a heart-rate monitor so that during the workout you can see your heart rate up on the big screen. That’s really the science behind the Orange Theory. If we get your heart rate to 85 percent in that target zone for 12 to 20 minutes during a 60-minute workout, you’re going to have an increased metabolic range for the next 36 hours or an increased caloric burn. We call that the orange effect.

Q: What is a typical session like?

A: The class is one hour long. We use suspension training, free weights, benches, elastic straps, dumbbells. Twenty-five minutes of strength, twenty-five of cardio, about a five-minute warmup and a five-minute stretch and cool down.

Q: Why join?

A: You’ve got 24 people in a class, the music’s booming and you’ve got two trainers, and people are laughing and having fun. What’s most important is it’s an engaging class and people are bonding with their peer group… We’ve been called the best one-hour workout in the country. If you’re looking to change your body and be engaged and make some friends, this is the best workout for you.

Orangetheory St. Pete is located at 5032 4^th St. N., next to Bonefish Grill, and can be reached at 727-897-5566, or through Facebook or Twitter.

Orangetheory St. Pete Slide Show

Originally published on Patch.com in August 2011

Copyright 2011

Cars heading to the Davenport tag sale clog traffic.

Police responded to a disturbance at 111 Northrup Street early Saturday morning when a traffic jam formed in front of the Davenport home as dozens of people showed up for a much-anticipated tag sale. Police were called by the homeowner, who claimed he had announced no such event.

“I never arranged for a tag sale for today or any day,” said angry homeowner Vincent Davenport to police, who were forced to direct traffic in the rural neighborhood for several hours. “Why would I invite a bunch of strangers to my house on a Saturday morning?”

Davenport was initially awakened by knocks on his door and startled to find several dozen people milling about in front of his house. When they refused to leave he grew angry and returned with a baseball bat to scare them away, only to receive several offers for the bat.

Respondents produced an ad in the local newspaper showing a tag sale slated for 7 am at that address on that day, which police took into evidence. Several attendees also produced a printout of the notice posted on Craigslist for the same event, which police quickly discarded as fraud.

The disturbance erupted at approximately 6:55 am when a prompt group of veteran tag sale aficionados, or ‘taggers’ as they are known in the trade, arrived to peruse the wares at his home at the start of their well organized day.

Mr. Davenport awakens early to find 'taggers' in front of his home.

Tagger Hank Zeppo was typical of those who showed up.

“We were following our itinerary through the southeastern quadrant of town – based on the rising sun – before moving on to northeast quadrant number two at 41°31′33″N 73°21′39″W. From here we move on to central sectors one and two, then to the north and west, as is normal for our coverage pattern launch at dawn on Saturdays.”

These experts come well prepared for the weekend missions armed with food, water and generic soda rations, GPS devices, dubiously-claimed amounts of cash (depending on the item discovered) and small slips of paper known as ‘checks,’ formerly used as a form of currency now used only by women over 50 at grocery stores.

Veteran tagger Ray Hornig was none too pleased with the goings on at 111 Northrup.

“Jannie and I were all set to start here as part of a busy day of tagging and we get this,” he said, incredulously. “I don’t know what’s going on but we were going to designate 20 to 30 minutes to this place and 15 to the next and now we’ve got to make adjustments on the fly all day. This world is going to hell in a hen basket.”

The analogy was later corrected to ‘hell in a hand basket,’ which still makes no sense, but his point was made.

Tagger Justin Mitchell, whose first name belies his age – estimated in his late 60s – intends to approach city hall to crack down on the tag sale ordinance in Springfield.

Mr. Davenport takes a stronger stance against the uninvited guests.

“We must have an ordinance for police to identify permitted tag sales,” he stressed. “My wife and I came here looking for Wacky Packages, Partridge Family and M*A*S*H memorabilia, as any tagger worth his salt would expect to find in a neighborhood like this. We just heard a minute ago he didn’t plan this sale but since we’re all here and traffic’s backed up can’t he just pop open the garage door and let us have a quick look around?”

The ad printed in the local newspaper welcomed early birds and boasted of vintage clothing, Hammond organs, HDTVs, cocktail glass sets, 1970s memorabilia, classic furniture from the 1960s and much more.

All anyone got was disappointment.

“I’ve been searching for a Hammond B-3 organ for the last ten years and I thought today might be my lucky day,” said Troy Dufiss, oblivious to the fact that there was in fact, no tag sale at the house. “Is he going to open that garage or am I going to have to open it for him?”

Davenport continues to guard the home throughout the day.

After several hours of research police determined that the announcement of the tag sale was a hoax concocted by an acquaintance of the homeowner. It turns out Ed Maloney, bartender at the local tavern, “One For The Road,” submitted the advertisements as an act of revenge on the part of Mr. Davenport.

Davenport and his wife – both regulars at the tavern – were there earlier in the week and gave Maloney yet another in a series of extremely poor tips after spending several hours at the establishment.

“What comes around goes around,” is all Maloney is reported to have said to police during questioning.

Mr. Davenport declined to press charges but Springfield Police Sargent Duke Morris confirmed that several of the taggers filed complaints. Asked how residents can prevent such scams in the future, Sargent Morris gave only one bit of advice.

“Tip your bartender.”

This story was originally written as a guest blog piece for Greg Van Antwerp’s Video Martyr Blog.

Copyright 2011

Southbury resident Jon Norris speaks to the board of selectmen Thursday night. Photo by Bob Deakin

The Southbury Board of Selectmen took on a light agenda Thursday, discussing the promptness of police reports from the resident trooper supervisor, a proposal to enter into an agreement with the Greater Waterbury Transit District (GWTD) for senior transportation and whether or not to change the locations of some of the voting areas during elections.

Police reports from the resident trooper supervisor have allegedly not been promptly filed with the town according to selectmen. The issue was initially addressed by Selectwoman Carol Hubert and the first selectman concurred.

“That has been brought to my attention before and I told them that they had to get these reports [to the town] in a timely manner and I haven’t heard anything since so I assumed it was being done,” said First Selectman, William Davis. “The resident trooper isn’t at my beck and call – he’s not at anybody’s beck and call – he’s not a town employee.”

Selectmen discussed ways in which to rectify the problem or perhaps go to a higher-ranking member of the state police to do so. They also questioned whether the town is getting the service that it needs from the resident state trooper program.

“Are we getting what we’re paying for?” Ms. Hubert asked, “and is the contract being fulfilled?”

“Yes,” Mr. Davis replied, later stating that the issue of whether the town is getting its money’s worth is a “whole other ball of wax.”

Mr. Davis stated that he has not been in regular contact with Resident Trooper Supervisor, Michael O’Donnell, but that he had a meeting with him planned for the following day and that he would address the issue.

Selectmen discussed joining the GWTD for the Dial-a-Ride between Southbury and Waterbury funded by the New Freedom Initiative. The program provides low-cost rides, door-to-door for elderly or disabled residents. The annual dues the town would pay for the program is $250, which selectmen expected would be covered by a nonprofit group associated with the Southbury Senior Center.

The district currently includes the municipalities of Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Prospect, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown and Wolcott. Selectmen were prepared to vote to join the GWTD until a number of questions came up concerning potential unexpected costs and liability. Selectmen eventually decided to invite Director of Elderly services, Sharon Gesek, to the next Board of Selectmen meeting to answer questions about the program before proceeding further.

Selectwoman Hubert brought up voting sites around town and said she’d received some complaints about voting irregularities. She suggested that all voting sites should be on town-owned properties for better enforcement of rules.

The First Selectman said he asked for input from the registrars.

“Carol and I have asked the registrars to make a report to the Board of Selectmen stating the reasons why they feel these polling places should be changed or why they shouldn’t be changed if that’s the conclusion they come up with,” he said. “Hopefully we can get all of the polling places back under town properties.”

He speculated that polls on town properties may even reduce labor costs for the town.

“It was our perception that most of these polling sites were underutilized,” the first selectman added, saying a consolidation to three voting sites (from the current five) might be ideal.

In the only public comment, Southbury resident Jon Norris asked what progress has been made with regards to promotion of a corporal in relieving some of the trooper overtime and if any effort had been made to prepare for the supply of salt for the roads during the winter.

“Are we going to wait until winter or [is there] some move in that regard to be made now,” Mr. Norris asked. He did not receive a reply to either of the questions.

Selectmen also approved the Road Foreman job description, which will be utilized in the search for a new foreman to replace the retiring Ronnie Metcalf. The position will be publicly advertised in the near future. Mr. Metcalf is slated to retire on August 12, 2011.

Originally published on Patch.com in July 2011

Copyright 2011

Lori Rosso worked for years in Washington D.C. for numerous organizations arranging tours for diplomats before landing in Gulfport as the owner of a B&B. Photo courtesy of Sea Breeze Manor.

Lori Rosso stumbled upon a gem of an opportunity nine years ago in acquiring the Sea Breeze Manor Bed & Breakfast. She didn’t have much time to ponder the opportunity but took it and ran with it and continues on a fast pace, getting more involved with her community as she goes.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Rosso worked hard to develop a successful career arranging delegation tours for Washington diplomats throughout the 1980s and 90s, ascending to the level of arranging trips for President George Bush (senior). In that role she acquired one of the all-time intricate titles bestowed upon a person: Special Assistant to the Assistant to the President for Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.

After 20 years she tired of the atmosphere in Washington and discovered the availability of a newly refurbished bed & breakfast in Gulfport. She made the plunge without knowing the community.

“I literally stumbled across it,” she says. “I didn’t see the town or know anybody here. I just felt it was time for a change. I was 34 and all things kind of aligned.”

She had 25 days to make a decision to stay in Washington or become the owner of a B&B in a small Florida city on the water and chose the latter. She doesn’t regret the decision.

The Sea Breeze Manor building was built in 1923 and was a private residence until 1996 when Lawrence and Patty Burke acquired the property and did a complete restoration, preserving the original elegance of the building and opening it as a B&B.

In 2002 Lori Rosso found out about it and made the move to purchase the building and property and make a go of it herself and ever since has been “chief, cook and bottle washer.” The only thing she doesn’t do is housekeeping, which she leaves – on her own account – to those better at it than her. She also has loyal family and friends who cover for her in the event she is tied up with other responsibilities.

She has grown the original idea into a successful business and along the way developed friendships and a lifestyle that she longed for, whether she realized it or not.

“I compare it to a walking anonymous resume for twenty years where the first question out of somebody’s mouth is what do you do?” she says, “to being an integral part of a community and you can see the contributions that you make.”

Throughout that time she has grown roots in the community. She is the president of the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce, Chairperson of the Gulfport Waterfront Redevelopment Advisory Board, on the board of the Gulfport Merchants Association and the board of the Gulfport Senior Center Foundation.

There are two dog-friendly cottages at the Sea Breeze in addition to seven suites in the home, each with a private bath, seating area with patio or balcony and wireless Internet. Guests share in a common living room area stocked with port wine, sherry, soft drinks, snacks and a kitchen.

“It’s just like going to your favorite aunts house,” she says. “It’s been a real adventure. You hear a lot of interesting stories.”

She displays Christmas cards from U.S. presidents and other artifacts at the Sea Breeze from her days in Washington and prepares breakfast for guests each morning but otherwise lets them be.

“For me, it’s about respecting your privacy but also being out there to open myself up to you,” she says.

Her repeat guests know not to call her but to email her. She can also count on help from family and friends when she needs it, as she did recently when the Best of the Road team from Rand McNally and USA Today came to town to judge local restaurants for Gulfport as a finalist in its Best for Food competition.

“I love to see when my guests have been here [in town] for a couple of hours and they come back and they’re like ‘everybody says hello and they’re so nice,’” she says. “They’re amazed that this still exists, especially in Florida in a beach community.”

The Sea Breeze Manor is, of course, busier in the winter months but always active and still young in building its reputation as a destination. The owner has the advantage of being able to promote it by being such a visible presence in the community but promotes the city and its other businesses with the same vigor, referring to herself as a walking, talking commercial for Gulfport wherever she goes.

As for being the owner of a B&B, she appreciates being the host after being the guest in her line of work for so many years. She also places a priority in helping her guests feel grounded and not lose sight of who they are and not what they do for a living.

“When you walk through that door I want you to throw all of that out and just relax and reconfigure and get back to who you are as a human being and just understand the joy of time spent together without those other stresses.”

The Sea Breeze Manor is open year round and located at 5701 Shore Blvd. in Gulfport. Contact Lori Rosso through her Facebook page or at 727-343-4445.

Originally published on Patch.com in July 2011

Copyright 2011

Paul Bailey, co-owner with wife Joan of the Savory Spice Shop in St. Petersburg, FL. Photo by Bob Deakin

ST. PETERSBURG – Joan and Paul Bailey opened the Savory Spice Shop on Beach Drive eight months ago, inspired by a visit to the original store in Denver and appearances by the franchise founders on the Food Network.

Paul, a veteran of the banking industry, was ready for a change and had a passion for cooking, so he and his wife did some research and eventually made the choice to open last year.

Savory Spice Shop was founded by Mike and Janet Johnston in 2004 and now boasts 11 locations in six states. Janet Johnston has hosted her own show, Spice & Easy on the Food Network, and the couple appears on other Food Network shows from time to time.

The sparkling new store is well-stocked with 400 spices and 140 blends, all packaged and mixed at the Denver location to maintain consistency and freshness. The products are shipped each week in small batches to assure the stock remains fresh.

The shop contains dozens of chiles and chile powders, even more curries and everything from vanilla bean sugar to Dutch cocoa, black truffle sea salt, honey powder, cinnamon, herbs and teas – all free of gluten and MSG.

Prices are reasonable and customers are able to taste samples and purchase very small quantities. On a recent visit Paul opened a bottle of chives displaying a shocking bright green hue and a strong aroma, both testaments to the freshness.

Q. What’s unique about the Savory Spice Shop business model?

A. One of the things we like to do with our customers is when they come in we’ll give them a little orientation and then we have these little tasting jars. Most shops will let you smell, but we like to have them experience the actual taste. In addition to that we sell as little as a half-ounce.

Q. Why not buy spices at the grocery store?

A. They are fresher than what you would find at the grocery store. One of the things about a growing company is we’re moving them off the shelves so everything stays fresh. What you’ll see is our prices are comparable, if not less than, to what you get in a grocery store, and I would challenge anyone to find better paprika, especially the Spanish.

Q. What’s popular in the shop right now?

A. One of the most versatile products that we have is the Capital Hill Seasoning, which is dill-based with shallots. It goes with a salad dressing recipe, chicken salad, anything like that. You can put it on chicken. It makes a really nice herb butter. This sort of just flies off the shelves.

Q. Do you recommend a good curry blend?

A. It depends if they want Thai, which tends to be a little warmer. There is a wide variety of Indian, we have Asian curries, we even have a Spanish curry. The people that are really into curry know just about every one of these. We’ve got Asian, Chinese, Japanese and Ethiopian, which is extremely hot. We’ve also got Cambodian lemongrass, Vindaloo, Tikka Masala; those are the things that people are picking up on.

Q. How about sea salt?

A. We’ve got one sea salt that is smoked over chardonnay oak barrels, and we have a hickory-smoked sea salt. We also have the Pink Himalayan, which is the oldest salt in the world. It’s got more minerals than most other salts and is still harvested – for lack of a better word – from the Himalayan mountains. When they were covered with sea water it left the deposits and they’re still brought down on the backs of yaks… just really fine salts.

Q. How’s business?

A. It’s going very well. Very well received. We get a lot of repeat customers and are doing restaurants now – supplying here and there. We’re finding that some of the restaurants, if they’re doing something a little unusual, they’ll contact us.

Q. How did you decide on the location?

A. I looked at about eight different locations. Mike Johnston came down and I took him all over. I wanted to be downtown. I brought him down on a Tuesday morning in July and he looked around and was like “where are the people?” As it turned out we had the largest opening day of any of the franchises.

If you go

The Savory Spice Shop is at 400 Beach Dr. NE, No. 173; call 727-290-9893. Visit the Facebook page.

Originally published on Patch.com in July 2011

Copyright 2011

Southbury Commons under re-construction. Photo by Bob Deakin

The Southbury Board of Selectmen opted not to grant tax abatement to business owners of Southbury Commons who lost their businesses when the plaza was destroyed by fire early this year.

Selectman Edward Gittines III, a member of the subcommittee reviewing requests by the businesses for abatement of personal property taxes, said that although state statute allows such abatement it would be a bad precedent for the town to set.

“Ultimately our recommendation from the subcommittee to the board of selectmen is to not move forward with the tax abatements for the businesses affected at the Commons,” Mr. Gittines stated at Tuesday’s meeting, citing three reasons.

“First is some of these businesses that have applied for abatements are back up and operating, and it was our feeling that this would provide a tax holiday for businesses that were back in operation for a period of time that other businesses wouldn’t be able to enjoy.”

The second reason, he said, was that if another business in town went bankrupt or out of business that it wouldn’t be given the same privilege of being able to request an abatement of personal property tax. The third was fear of setting a precedent.

Selectwoman Carol Hubert said the amount of taxes that would have been forgiven to the five businesses that applied for abatement amounted to a combined total of approximately $615 prorated for the year.

“We felt too that the numbers weren’t that great [and wouldn't be] that great a help to these businesses,” she said.

“To reiterate, the reason the EDC [Economic Development Commission] brought this forward was to show spirit and caring for the businesses in town,” explained Selectman John O. Turk, also the chairman of the EDC.

The subcommittee was formed in June to address the possibility of giving tax abatement to those businesses destroyed by the fire. Five of the businesses applied for the abatement, which was intended to help them through the difficult time, prorated from the time of the fire through the end of this fiscal year.

The town has assisted some of the business owners in applying for loans and finding new locations to run their businesses. The only motion necessary at Tuesday’s meeting was to accept the recommendation of the subcommittee.

Originally published on Patch.com in July 2011

Copyright 2011

Rhino Film Studios logo. Image courtesy of Rhino Film Studios.

St. Petersburg filmmakers, musicians and video artists are discovering an affordable option for studio space at Rhino Film Studios on Central Avenue.

Sean Michael Davis, Tom DeMint, Cliff Gephart and Paul Kubala opened Rhino 18 months ago, offering affordable services, equipment and a surprising amount of space in an eclectic setting.

They have rented out the space for shooting political advertisements, work for independent film projects and local colleges and demo tracks for music recording. The owners have made themselves a presence in the neighborhood with a little advertising and word of mouth; they have become one of the few places to rent a professional studio at $50 per hour.

The primary attraction is the space itself. The main section includes a green room for video effects as well as a separate area for in-studio interviews and other uses with a full complement of lights, stands, microphones, cameras and accessories.

For music, it includes a fully-equipped Pro Tools digital audio suite with the studio on the other side of the glass. The studio will provide directors, producers, editors and engineers upon request.

Rhino Film Studios’ space is unique, with a large bar and lounge area set up at the front of the house complete with stools, couches and a large conference table. Interspersed throughout the space are antique cameras, movie posters, several individual writing and editing areas and a makeup room. Although “film” is in the name, it’s more a reference to projects as opposed to film technology. Many of the projects shot are in digital formats, including high definition.

One of their clients, HD Interactive of St. Petersburg, recently recorded the music to their newly created iPad game and game apps at Rhino in preparation for a product unveiling in Times Square in New York. Other clients include student producers and directors from Eckerd College and the University of South Florida, including Corey Horton, who recently won several film and video awards.

Tom DeMint plays the role of business manager for strategic development at Rhino Film Studios, and he took some time to show the facility and answer a few questions last week.

Q. Who is your target audience?

A. We’re directly targeting the smaller, artistic producers and directors that want to make smaller (budget) productions. The studio’s main objective is to rent to other producers, directors, talent, photographers and various productions. We also rent it for events with photo shoots, red carpet, etc.

Q. Why Central Avenue?

A. We had been involved in political circles doing some video and other things and we had gotten wind that the 600 block was going to be converted to an artists’ block. We were actually the first ones to sign a lease, and we’ve been here since. We came in, looked at it and it looked like a good idea – a good concept to put a studio right here to kind of embrace the whole artistic community downtown.

Q. What would you like it to become?

A. We thought this would be something unique, and if it gets some traction and the local producers and directors kind of make it their home, so to speak, this would be a fun, interactive place where the film communities can mingle and talk and produce projects.

Q. Any new developments?

A. We’re in talks with a 3-D company to do 3-D productions and make this one of the few sites in the state of Florida that would have a 3-D HD production site. It’s a piece of equipment that actually holds the cameras in a way that produces the 3-D effect. This has been designated as a site by that company to do some 3-D HD shooting.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish?

A. One of our goals is to do a YouTube program such as a “Thursday Night Live,” right out of here with music and skits. We want to have fun, too. It’s a business, but we kind of feel like we’re giving back to St. Petersburg in a way. We could do productions ourselves and just have the studio, but this business model is basically to help St. Pete as an artistic community and try to get some liftoff in the Tampa Bay area for production as a whole.

Originally published on Patch.com in July 2011

Copyright 2011

Rick Smith at the film transfer machine. Photo by Bob Deakin

It all started in 1974 when John P. Gallagher and Bob Skidmore, two broadcast veterans in New York, came to Florida to sell in-room, closed-circuit movie systems to local hotels. The idea was a hit and eventually led to renting movie videos, which led to a video production facility, and the business continues to evolve to this day.

Media Concepts is now owned by Scott Richardson and Rick Smith, who both worked for the original owners and continue to roll with the punches in the media business. Located at 559 49^th St. the building is well marked but but well hidden at the same time. Few probably realize how much equipment and history is steeped inside the three structures that house the business.

Media Concepts is a full-service media production facility offering in-studio and remote broadcast-quality digital video, editing, duplication, film transfer and more. It sells the latest in audio/video equipment – consumer and pro – and rents gear and with a consignment shop selling vintage and modern equipment.

Rick Smith led a tour of the facility last week and it is a sight to behold for any audiophile. There are vocal booths, editing suites, studios, a repair shop, and a showroom.

He was hired by Gallagher and Skidmore in 1978 and his job was to keep the closed-circuit movie systems maintained.

“We would go to the hotel and put these two humongous – I’m talking 80-pound machines – specially modified, into the hotels. We’d tap into their antennae system and it could feed each room,” he explains.

“It was a unique situation because you had a two-hour movie and unfortunately it had to be on two (¾ inch) tapes. We had to modify the machines to play to the end of tape one and then trigger machine number two to start, and then have them both rewind and reset themselves for the next on-demand play time.”

VHS became popular soon after and Media Concepts started producing industrial videos and commercials taking advantage of the demand for the new technology.

“The two original owners had a production background so they had the recording equipment and we did production for local business and industry, people like Honeywell and Sperry,” Smith remembers. “These industries had the need for video but didn’t have their own video departments. Back in 1978 it wasn’t like it is today when you can pick up a phone book and there are ten pages of video guys.”

In the early 1980s they started renting movie videos when no one else did.

“At one time we were the largest movie rental facility in Pinellas County. We had ten thousand movies in here. This was before Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, before any of those guys came out. This room was filled, wall to wall, with VHS movies.”

The mom and pop video stores started popping up in the Tampa Bay area and most of them bought movies from Media Concepts. When Blockbuster and the others crept in, Media Concepts crept out ahead of the curve.

Smith and Richardson purchased the business in 2008 and both of the original owners still live in South Pasadena. The business continues to work with individuals, local hospitals, the Dali Museum and large corporations dealing with anything video. The staff of five is constantly moving and visitors are best advised not to stand in one place too long.

It used to make mass duplications for Tony Little, the well-recognized TV exercise instructor (with pony tail) in his early days. At the time they were buying tape from Sony, Fuji and others in standard lengths but decided it would be cheaper to load their own tapes at lengths of their choice so they developed a system and were soon running VHS tape copies, as many as 200 machines at a time, 24/7.

Media Concepts maintains most of the old equipment including one-inch and two-inch video machines for clients who still need it. Formats include M2, ¾ inch, Betacam, Betacam SP and even those in European formats, all of which can still be transferred to digital.

Through all of the changes in formats over the years, the business keeps a step ahead of competition.

“They all moved in and decided they were going to try their hand at the same thing and we have seen them all come and go,” Smith says. “It’s only because we weren’t doing just one thing – equipment rentals, editing, duplication, sales, service, engineering, on and on.”

Media Concepts offers a valuable list of services from shooting pro-quality digital video to transferring old super 8 films to making mass CD copies of the latest music demo.

“One of the most unique things we do is film transfer,” Smith says. “Old 8 mm film, Super 8, 16 mm film. We’ve got a film chain, known as a multiplexer, for film transfers right here.”

It is a service usually farmed out to a distant facility.

“There are some precious memories there that you are putting in the hands of some clerk,” he says of chain stores. “Scary. So we do a lot of film transfer. A lot of transfer of old format to the new format – VHS tapes, Beta tapes. We had a guy come in here yesterday with 39 old Betamax tapes he wants us to transfer to DVD. Old videos of his family that he wants to preserve.”

What is the next popular format?

“The industry really wants to move to solid state,” Smith explains. “Hard drive is still a platter, Disc is still a platter; moving parts. We want to get to the thumb drive; the SD card. That’s where most of the camera technology is moving now is into solid state recording media.”

Media Concepts also provides writing, music, producers, voice talent and any other aspect of a project with the many contacts they have nurtured over the years.

Smith is on the board of the 49^th St. South Business Association and secure at the current location and hoping to improve the area and make the corridor more appealing to new businesses.

“No radical changes, just trying to stay ahead of that curve,” he says of the future. “It’s all about reading, talking to people, trade shows, getting out and getting a feel for what’s going to be the next big thing. Right now we’re in a state of limbo. We’re really in between that transition from analog to digital and marrying the video side with the television side with the computer side.”

Borrowing a line from the Media Concepts web site, “If the past is any indication of the future, then they have just begun…”

Originally published on Patch.com in June 2011

Copyright 2011

Veterans from all over the Tampa Bay area will fly to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday in honor of their military service.