Category: Uncategorized

BY ABDUL SAHLY

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Al Sunnah Islamic Center this year hosted its first Islamic studies and Arabic classes for the Islamic community at St. Petersburg, which began last Sunday.

The Islamic center, located at 2400 S. 6th St., St. Petersburg, Fla., provides Islamic studies, Quran studies, and Arabic language classes for about 60 students from different ages.

Mohammed Khalid, Imam of  Al Sunnah Islamic Center in St. Petersburg, said that most families were born here in the U.S. “The parents know how to speak Arabic and are educated about rules and teachings of Islam but their children don’t know as much about Arabic culture and language.”

The Islamic center administration discussed this problem and started to think about establishing an Islamic school.

The administration decided to organize an education program including three classes this year as the kernel for starting an integrated Islamic school that will begin in the coming years.

“We are working hard in cooperation with Islamic organizations and Islamic schools in the Tampa Bay area to help us to establish an integrated Islamic school in St. Petersburg and we try to get their experience,” he said.

Khalid explained that the school funding comes from the efforts of members of the Islamic society in the city to teach their children about their religion, which is not usually offered in public schools.

“Through generous donations, we were able to offer the basic facilities for classrooms and we are working to finish the entire school by the end of this year,” he said.

Seven volunteer teachers teach the classes that starts at 10:30 a.m. and last until 1:30 p.m every Sunday.

Before 2009, the Islamic Center was originally a church, few Muslim families in St. Petersburg area felt the desire for a mosque to serve the needs of the community.

To this cause, the church was leased for one year to be a mosque with fees paid in advance in goals that funds could be raised from the local Muslim community to purchase the mosque.

In March, 2009, the Muslim community was able to purchase the church.

Nowadays the Islamic center contains mosque, classrooms, restaurant and kitchen, and day care. The Islamic Center serves about 90 families in St. Petersburg.

The students are from different backgrounds and races. They are from Egypt, Morocco, India, Bangladesh, Jordan, Spain, and Native Americans.

Badiah Benuor, an Arabic class teacher, said that most students have difficulty in speaking Arabic because they have not done any Arabic classes in their regular school.

Benuor said  that students don’t speak Arabic at home and with friends before they began attending these classes.

“They are excited and  quick learners in speaking Arabic. I love their accent,” she said.

Khalid said the curriculum of Islamic studies is still taught in English because it is hard for students to understand the subject in Arabic.

He said that classes accept students from 3 years old to 16, boys and girls divided into classes regarding to their ages.

“I want to communicate with my friends in Jordan. I usually don’t understand them because I don’t speak Arabic very well,” said Ahmed Omer, a 12 -year-old student whose parents are originally from Jordan.

“Now, I’m excited about enhancing my Arabic and learning how to read the Quran. Also, I enjoy meeting with my friends every Sunday.”

BY SAMANTHA MESERVEY

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services almost 30 percent of America’s pregnant women do not receive first trimester prenatal care. Pinellas County is trying to reduce this number with a program called MomCare. The brochures for the program describe it as “health insurance for pregnant women” but MomCare community liaison, Cindy McNulty, would tell you it is much more than that.

“We are working to break down barriers for these women,” McNulty explains.

MomCare is a program that is sponsored by the Florida Department of Health and Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. It was created in 2001 to link pregnant women to various prenatal care resources. The program is geared toward low-income women, and once accepted into the program medical care and hospitalization during pregnancy is covered.

Application forms for MomCare are dispersed throughout the county and can be found in various places.

“I take them all over town!” McNulty declares, “I bring them to doctors’ offices, schools, and even faith based programs.”

Some of the places that these applications can be found include the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center and Women’s Care Florida locations.

McNulty says that in order for women to be aware of the program, the applications need to be readily offered to them. She describes Midtown as a faith-based community and makes sure the applications are available in locations frequently visited by expectant mothers.

McNulty is quick to explain that MomCare is “no medical model” but that it takes the guess work away from pregnant women by providing resources including names of doctors who accept MomCare, child care providers, and informational courses.

MomCare Maternity Advisor, Maria Dacosta, explains how the program even provides post-pregnancy help.

“When the women are around seven months along we send them post-care information,” Dacosta says.

This information usually contains step-by-step instructions for getting your baby on Medicaid.

“Even moms who have healthy pregnancies get anxious once the baby is born,” Dacosta explains. “They want to get them covered by Medicaid quickly and we help them do that.”

McNulty is in charge of reaching out to women throughout the community and remembers one newspaper ad that really reached Midtown women.

“It was a young pregnant woman and across the top it read ‘pregnant with no insurance?’” she explains. “We got a lot of phone calls from Midtown women looking for help.”

She sees that families “step-up” to take care of their children and are actually “pretty savvy.”

“Many Midtown women are already receiving Medicaid, they are educated about the programs,” she says. “They just have to make the simple switch to MomCare when they find out they’re expecting.”

Although the program does make every effort to contact women who are eligible for MomCare, especially those with high-risk pregnancies, McNulty says that about 30 percent of the women do not respond to contact efforts and require a home-visit.

“Our program is based on mommy’s wanting our help,” McNulty declares.

Dacosta, an advisor, reaches out to Midtown women in need. She explains how although the women are usually happy to receive the help it is the time frame in which they receive it that really matters.

“Many women wait four to five months before receiving any type of pregnancy care or insurance,” she says.

McNulty agrees and, as a former medical assistant and employee at the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center in Midtown, has seen the problem first-hand.

“Many Midtown women have such a tight family-trusted support system,” McNulty explains.

She adds that although this is an amazing thing to have, medical support is also very important during early pregnancy. Through MomCare, McNulty urges women to receive prenatal care as soon as possible.

With both the support of tight-knit families as well as the resources provided by MomCare, pregnant Midtown women are able to fully dedicate themselves to keeping their baby healthy.

MomCare is prevalent in the Midtown community and is consistently trying to break down barriers for pregnant women by providing them with information on resources that will allow them to maintain a healthy pregnancy.

“Midtown girls are lucky,” McNulty beams. “They have so much support and resources right in their backyards.”

BY TRÉ LITTLEFIELD

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Lightning struck Tuesday outside Community Action Stops Abuse (CASA), as a storm passed over the Midtown area. Inside the nonprofit that serves survivors of domestic violence, another charge filled the air.

Linda Osmundson is the 64-year-old executive director for CASA and she is also a survivor of domestic violence. She has been at the helm of CASA for 24 years and is now taking the nonprofit into uncharted waters.

“We are in the silent part of a campaign but that does not mean I am not talking about it,” Osumundson said.

It is tough to be hush-hush about an opportunity that could be the solution for their greatest need.

“The biggest challenge we are facing today is that we are turning away approximately 1,400 people a year and that is not okay. It just isn’t,” Osmundson said.

Her estimates are based on about 700 women and an equal number of children who come to the center seeking shelter when it is already at maximum capacity. The CASA executive director said the current 30 bed shelter is simply not large enough to handle the needs of the community.

According to a press release by the Department of Children and Families, a settlement agreement with national mortgage lenders and the Attorney General’s Office for the state of Florida resulted in funding that provided a $10 million grant for the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

The coalition is comprised of 42 nonprofits in Florida who provide services for victims of domestic violence. In a competitive bidding process CASA was awarded $2.5 million to build a new shelter but the total cost to fully fund the project is approximately $12 million according the nonprofit’s estimation.

Osmundson said the award for CASA comes with strings attached. She called them tug ropes. The proposed 100 bed shelter must be built by July 15, 2015 and while the executive director is confident that they will meet their fundraising goals, it does make the campaign challenging.

Several components need to occur concurrently for the $12 million fundraising goal to be reached. Osmundson said that typically a feasibility study would occur before the campaign started, but because of the limited amount of time the study is happening along with other important components for a successful campaign.

Stuart Berger, 51, director of development said, “The feasibility study gives development efforts an idea of how the community will back the project and where to focus fundraising efforts.”

Berger said that even in the early stages, before the official kickoff, there has been great feedback from the community.

CASA’s Peace Breakfast is the annual fundraiser for the organization and it draws approximately 600 supporters. The event will raise money for day-to-day operations, but it will also be an opportunity to share the full vision of the new shelter with the public – including all of the donors and volunteers who will be needed for the project.

Sheryl Zeitler is the coordinator for the volunteers. The 43-year-old estimates that for the month of September she has approximately 120 volunteers that are working in some capacity, and she expects these numbers to grow as development efforts ramp up for the new shelter.

“We will need a lot of volunteers to help out along the way,” Zeitler said.

The organization is also taking advantage of federal and state tax credits in their lending agreement with, what Osmundson called, new market tax credit financing. She said the savings for CASA could be as much as $4 million over the term of a 7-year, $10 million loan.

A bigger shelter was not always in the strategic plan for CASA. For many years the organization put its emphasis into expanding community programs.

“When the bottom fell out the market we noticed we were housing fewer people for longer periods of time,” Osmundson said. CASA’s leader said the average stay for an individual or family went from 28 to 40 days.

“The sad irony is we are also serving fewer survivors with children,” Osmundson said. The organization could find room for one more person but a family of three was not always an option.

The existing shelter serves its purpose well but privacy is very limited. Six people share a room and bunk beds are the most efficient way to accommodate the women and children seeking a safe place to live. Osmundson is excited about the design for the new shelter, which will have smaller rooms and multiple family-style kitchens.

Berger is looking forward to the effective design of the proposed shelter.

“We have the opportunity to build a green, energy efficient home,” he said.

Berger said that even though CASA is tripling capacity, the expenses per person will come down.

Osmundson said, “Our time is now. We can do this. Our community is ready to do this.”

BY COURTNEY PARISH

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Marina Williams, local artist and owner of ARTpool Gallery/Café/Vintage Shop has always been different. Williams is a St. Petersburg, Fla. native and has made herself irreplaceable in the St. Petersburg Art Scene. She graduated from New College, with a B.F.A and received a M.A. in Photography from the University of East London.

Williams worked as a photographer, traveling some of Europe’s famous artistic cities. She searched for a gallery to showcase her work, but could not find one that was a good fit. Upon returning home to St. Petersburg, Williams decided to address the problem head on.

Armed with $1,000 a Fine Arts Degree and vision, Williams returned to St. Petersburg bringing the indie art scene with her. In 2008, Williams and her partner Evan Williams opened their art gallery, ARTpool. The money was just enough to buy some paint and planks to build a picture hanging system.

Williams’ vision was to have an artistic space that fostered a creative and cooperative, forward thinking environment. This isn’t your typical palm trees and beach art Florida gallery. Artists, pay to rent wall space in the gallery, and they are allowed to keep 100 percent of the profit when a piece sells.

Williams’s passion for vintage, oddities and Mid Century Dutch Modern furniture started at a young age and was encouraged by her mother. Working as a photographer, Williams loved organizing vintage photo shoots. Arranging the clothes and wearable art on the models lead her to start experimenting with up cycling, putting new touches on vintage clothes, and designing her own wearable art and street attire. It has always been a dream of hers to own a vintage store. When she earned enough money to expand ARTpool, adding a vintage clothing store seemed like the logical next step.

ARTpool reopened in a mechanic shop off Central Ave. near Haslam’s Book Store. Williams transformed her business from a gallery to a destination. In addition to a vintage shop, she and Evan added a record store and café. The new space allows them to host a fashion show/ art party once a month. Each show features a different theme. The artist and designers all work together to set up the event and create themed pieces to sell.

In six years, Williams has established a niche in the community. Some of her fashion shows have turned into an annual tradition. Trashion Fashion is inspired by Williams’s passion for preservation of the environment. The show features clothing made form recycled materials.

Another trend that Williams made popular in the St. Petersburg area is body paint shows. Muse is a body paint fashion show that is held in February. Anyone from the community can participate in the fashion show or volunteer for the event. This month, the theme is Space Odyssey; the event takes place on Sept.14, 2013 from 8 p.m. to midnight. It will be held at ARTpool, tickets are $10.00 at the door.

By hosting these events, Williams is encouraging and directing attention to the St. Petersburg art scene, which has really taken off over the past few years.

“The art scene has grown and gotten a lot of momentum and it facilitates growth for more. Each neighborhood like Kenwood and Central got settled and grew and they feed off of each other, which led to the Warehouse Arts District. I think that uniformity and support for one another is key for the continual growth of the art community,” Williams said.

BY ANDREW KRAMER

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One by one, the cars line up in the drive thru to fulfill their occupants’ cravings for gyros, when suddenly, it hits them – the sweetest scent imaginable – the smoke pouring out of the barbeque joint next door.

“People go to Salem’s and smell the smoke,” says Melvin Hall, owner of Connie’s BBQ in Midtown.

Shortly after smelling the smoke, they find themselves inside of a quaint little space filled with wood paneling and icons from yesteryear. Ms. Pacman sits patiently along the right wall awaiting quarters – a Coca-Cola machine keeps her company, and four gumball machines serve as her competition; on the left wall – a Creative Loafing Tampa Bay award for the best sweet potato pie of 2006.

Where the wood paneling shies away, a beige concrete wall takes its place. Ironically, as nice as the beige looks, the wall is actually white. Hall says the smoke from the barbeque pits causes the walls to darken over time, which requires them to be repainted every few years.

Hall, 65, has been working with the same smoky ingredient since Connie’s opened in 1986. His mother, Connie, ran things back then. Eventually, Hall, who drove trucks at the time, took the reigns of the family business. Needless to say, beyond the name, there are still various reminders of the way things were in the past – namely, the “Super Connie Burger,” which resides as the lone hamburger on the menu.

However, Connie’s is primarily known for its ribs, chicken, and sweet potato pie, which, like mostly everything within Connie’s, has not had single ingredient changed since the beginning and are still made from scratch by hand each day –  Hall wouldn’t want it any other way.

Hall said the key to being successful in barbeque is to stick with one type of sauce, one method of cooking, and that practice makes perfect. With the only change to the menu being an addition of a few more items, his strategy has proved successful through the years, and competition does not concern him at all.

Surprisingly, Hall routinely visits other barbeque restaurants in the area, where sometimes his customers see him and ask why he would stray from his own delicious offerings.

Even if he is somewhat supporting his potential competition, customers (even the competition) flock into Connie’s daily – which never fails to put a smile on his face.

Hall says his favorite part of each day is, “When new customers rush back and say, ‘that was so good!”

Connie’s co-pitmaster, Geno Harold, agrees wholeheartedly. Harold, 58, has worked at Connie’s for about 20 years and says his job is to do everything.

It is clear to customers new and old that both men work together in perfect harmony, similar to the ingredients and recipes they cling to so dearly. Some customers drive from as far as Brandon and Cocoa Beach, Fla. nearly every week, while others have been coming back regularly since 1986. Hall says he has seen countless customers grow up through the years as they stopped by each day.

Barbeque was not always such an easy business for Hall and Harold. For years they needed to wake up around 3-4 a.m. to tend to the barbeque pits. But recently they discovered they can sleep in much later due to one method of their entire process changing – a method that they cannot even control: hog farmers cut the fattening time in half from roughly eight months to four, which allows the meat to be more tender and require less cooking time – just another reason for that smile on Hall’s and Harold’s faces.

BY JENNA SHAW

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Sanderlin Center has been providing Midtown residents and other Pinellas County Fla. residents with free recreation activities for more than 20 years now.

The Sanderlin Center provides people of all ages with a wide range of activities. Some of which include “Be True to You,” “Real Men,” a children’s program, community workshops, tax assistance, computer classes, dress for success, cooking classes, summer camp, karate, and dance.

Lounell Britt, Executive Director at the Sanderlin Center, says the center “gives kids a home away from home.”

“Be True to You” is a program available for young ladies from the ages of 9-14 in a single parent home, foster, or kinship; experiencing academic and/or behavioral challenges; and who are not currently in a gender specific program. It is devised to inspire and lead girls down the right path to success. They build character and strengthen the lives of the young ladies.

“Real Men” is the boy’s version of the girls group and always accepting new members. “The boys spend time outside and then do math and reading,” explains Britt.

The facilities available for children have been provided by both the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas and the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. There is a Kool Kids room for the youngest children in the program with toys and shelves made and provided by Greg Jennings. The jungle gym was built in one day by the entire Rays team and their families in 2010.

There are multiple study rooms with computers the children can access for homework, a basketball court, and even tutors to aid the children in successfully making it through the school year. A library provides a quiet place to read according to reading level. All the books are separated by bins with different colored stickers on them so children are not aware of difficulty levels, only what color sticker matches theirs.

All of these things are free of cost with no income qualifications as long as the kids have a way there. Children 6 and up do not have to be in a specific program to use the facilities.

Every year the Center provides a program called VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) where they prepare and file income tax forms for the community residents. In 2012 they brought more money back to the community than any other center in the area totaling $1.3 million.

November 2 will be the next community workshop. It is called “Celebrate You” and is a women only event featuring speakers who uplift and empower the female community in St. Petersburg. Ronnell Montgomery, the Sanderlin Center’s outreach specialist, says it is an event for whatever your hopes and dreams are.

Clothing will be demonstrated and discussed on how to dress like a fabulous diva on a budget, Montgomery said. Clothing which is professional and appropriate per situation will be presented. One of the guest speakers will be Danielle Finley, owner of Florida Print Solutions of St. Petersburg, Fla.. Finley will discuss how she came about making the purchase and acquiring the position.

Free computer classes are offered to adults of any age.

“Dress For Success” provides a closet of fashionable business wear for people to shop from. The clothing is appropriate and available for anyone to browse through.

The center has a full sized kitchen and dining room complete with everything you could possibly need for practicing the culinary arts. They provide free cooking classes and even allow the area to be rented out for private events such as baby showers, receptions, birthdays and more.

The Sanderlin Center is always coming up with new ways to provide the Midtown residents with recreational activities free of charge.

BY ALEXA NEWSOME

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Joel Marantz is an optometrist who has provided services to Midtown for almost 50 years. He is willing to see anyone and also treats some of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball players.

Marantz began treating the players from the Rays in 1996, before they were an official team. Mike Riley, head of the Rays medical staff at the time, asked Marantz to be one of the official optometrists for the players. He treated every major league and minor league player and conducted complete exams for each player throughout the year. He saw the major league players during spring training.

“Most of the players don’t even realize that they need their vision corrected,” Marantz said. “But once they put in their new contacts, they notice a huge difference.”

Because he was an official optometrist for the players, he was constantly out of his office. He stayed on the official medical staff until 2004, because he didn’t like spending that much time away from his practice. Now, he sees only 5 to 10 players each year. Patient confidentiality restricts the mentioning of any names.

“I think the worst vision a player had was 20/60 vision, which means you have to be 20 feet away from an object to see it clearly, while a person with 20/20 vision could see that object clearly from 60 feet away,” he said. “He was a pitcher who never had contacts or had his vision tested and couldn’t read the hand signals from the catcher. The catcher had to paint his fingernails white, so that the pitcher could see the signals.”

Marantz said that the catcher was relieved when the pitcher finally went to get corrective lenses.

Marantz is a major Rays fan and has been a season ticket holder from the beginning, in 1998. He is passionate about his business.

“Seeing is a big part of anything you do,” he said. “You need it to drive, to read important documents, to study, and to catch a baseball that is coming at you from across the field.”

Marantz started his business in 1966 and has been in the same building at 929 First Ave. N., St. Petersburg, Fla. He always tries to give back to the community and donates to multiple charities in the area. His practice accepts multiple vision insurance plans, including Medicaid, and also offers a 10 percent discount to patients who have vision insurance that they do not accept. He carries a wide variety of glasses and contact lenses at his location to cater to each of his patients’ wants and needs. Patients are able to stop in without an appointment if they need their glasses adjusted or have any questions.

A majority of his patients live and work in Midtown. Kathy Bellas has been one of his patients since 1981. When she started seeing him, she worked at Florida National Bank, which is now Wells Fargo, in Midtown.

“I’ve been a loyal patient for 32 years,” Bellas said. “At first, it was just convenient to go there.”

After becoming self-employed and moving out of the Midtown area to Pinellas Park, Fla., she refuses to see anyone else.

“It’s a lot farther away,” she said. “But I don’t care about convenience anymore. I really like his personality and he is so thorough in his examinations, so I refuse to see anyone else. I’ve been sending my three kids to see him since they were little. They’re now in their 20s and still see him.”

Bellas recommends Marantz to anyone who is in need of an optometrist.

Routine eye exams are important for everyone, especially for professional athletes. Besides finding out your prescription for contact lenses or glasses, the optometrist can determine whether you have any common eye diseases. Marantz will continue to serve Midtown and give back to the community.

BY LORI CASTELLANO

NNB Student Reporter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In St. Petersburg, Fla.’s Midtown neighborhood the windows of the old Sweetbay Supermarket remain boarded up with black plywood over them, and the parking lot is still empty with just a few cars that visit the existing stores at the Tangerine Plaza.

In February of this year, Sweetbay, the Belgium-based corporate parent of a U.S. subsidiary of multiple supermarket chains, closed 33 of the 100-plus store chain in west central Florida taking the much-heralded Midtown location with them.

Nearby businesses in the plaza still continue to feel the loss from the grocery store chain’s sudden departure less than a year ago.

Ying Wu is an employee at Orient China Star, a restaurant that still is surviving, would like to see another grocery store. Their business has declined, and they are feeling the loss of Sweetbay. “We are a lot slower now,” Wu said.

The desire for another grocery store is on the wish list of not only the business owners but many of the residents who live close to this shopping center and now have to travel farther distances to get their groceries.

According to a study conducted in Philadelphia by the Journal of Marketing, “researchers found that 92% of the families interviewed did their main grocery shopping outside their neighborhood, going to larger stores and getting better prices.” Accessibility to grocery stores in Midtown is an issue to a lot of residents who don’t have access to a car and have to rely on a bus for their groceries.

Shakeenda Simmons is a Midtown resident lives two blocks away from the old site, and she would like to see a new grocery store. She misses having one so close to her home.

“It’s a big inconvenience to travel to Dollar General,” she said. “And it’s tough with the smaller variety.”

The cost of visiting the neighborhood or corner stores also plays a factor because of price.

“A box of grits at the corner store is $5, but I can get a five-pound bag at Sweetbay for the same price,” Simmons said. “I hope Walmart is coming. I’ll be happy.”

Gretchen Calhoun is a Midtown resident who lives close to the shopping center. She was devastated when Sweetbay left. Her family now has to travel to Save-A-Lot and Walmart to get their groceries and has to take the bus to get there.

“Transportation is tough getting rides on the bus, and it’s not as convenient,” she said.

Rudolph Sweet, Sr., is a student and Midtown resident who is excited with all the redevelopment going on in Midtown. He cites the recent makeover of the Manhattan Casino and the expansion of St. Petersburg College’s Midtown campus as proof that a new grocery store will move in, and he hopes that store will be a Neighborhood Walmart.

“Someone told me they were turning the Sweetbay into a Neighborhood Walmart,” he said. “I usually go to the Walmart on 34^th St. S., which is a lot farther away.”

“The store staff needs to reflect the neighborhood customers,” Sweet said. He is skeptical and thinks that Walmart will bring employees from within.

“We need fresh produce and at a reasonable cost,” Calhoun said.

By Kiefer Woods

Sidereal, a reggae-rock band hailing from Jacksonville, plays shows all over the Southeast, but they still cherish St. Petersburg as one of their favorite cities to perform.

Sidereal was founded in May 2009 by Niko Costas, Lukas Costas, and Colin Paterson. Since then, the trio has also picked up Kevin Beaugrand, a talented bass player, to complete the band.

In 2010, Sidereal released their first EP with their single “My Hydro” which received air time on Jacksonville’s 107.3 Planet Radio station. Later that year, in September, the band released their first full-length self-titled album. Everything involved with making the album was done by members of the band. They produced, recorded and mastered the songs.

The success of their album and growing popularity at local shows in 2010 helped the band start developing a fan base in other Florida cities. In 2011, the band started touring Florida with one of their stops being St. Petersburg. They played at the State Theater and the Local 662 during tours that year. Both places are popular Midtown venues found on Central Avenue near Seventh Street.

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