Neighborhood News Bureau

Tag: midtown

Local artists revive the Deuces

REPORTING BY KATIE CALLIHAN AND MARLA KORENICH
PHOTOS BY KATIE CALLIHAN
NNB Reporters

MIDTOWN – On Saturday, February 27th, Midtown hosted St. Petersburg’s first Black Arts Festival. This event pulled various vendors from across the world into one vacant, grass lot at the corner of 9th Avenue South and 22nd Street South.

The owner of Gallerie 909, Carla Bristol, curated and hosted the community event.

Carla Bristol stops to speak with one of her many visitors gazing at the various collections of artwork located at 909 22nd street south.

“I decided to do this event as a culmination for black history month,” said Bristol.

The Southside Blues Brothers were playing live facing 22nd street south. You could hear the combination of the piano, guitar, and deep, soul-filled vocals from a mile away.

Bristol selected this particular band to attract and to remind the community members of the momentum that the Deuces could still carry once again.

The Southside Blues Brothers added energy and soul to the Black Arts Festival.

“I wanted to see the energy on the corner again – to see what the corner would be like,” said Bristol.

The weather was cool, the sun was shining. By 11am, the layers of sweaters and jackets started to peel off and the venders were adding their final touches to their displays.

A stimulating energy was in the air and the community started to trickle in just as Bristol had hoped.

Across long, rectangular tables and under the roof of white, square tents, each artist displayed great spectrums of bold colors and textures; you knew that there was a story behind everything.

Handmade jewelry with large stones, paintings with texture, lotions imported from Africa, and other goods were all being sold at fair prices.

In the middle of all the vendors, three art stations catered a variety of crafts for children. You could catch them zipping through and winding between booths playing tag with decorated masks on their faces; colorful feathers falling from them.

Artist, Ramel Jasir demonstrated his unique painting style that consisted of smooth lines of collected dots – his own spin off of pointillism. Jasir said that he used to be a musician. Without prior sketching or making outlines, he says, “The music takes the line in different directions.”

A few artists, “Freddy Fred” and “Zulu Painter” from the Bloom Art Center participated in their first art show. “Zulu Painter” was painting live against his easel. He said that he finds inspiration by first looking at magazines. When he finds certain images that he likes, he then paints them together as one collective image.

Sehou Saho from Senegal imports shea butter from his homeland in Africa to make and sell. “The shea butter helps people and I like to help people,” said Saho.

Another contributor in the festival was traveling Folk Artist, Sandy Hall.

Hall, mother of six, stood in the middle of a small, shaded tent that stretched about as far as both of her fingers could point.

“This is my life,” she said as she directed her guest’s eyes across her display of paintings that varied in different rectangular shapes and sizes.

Hall shared that growing up, her family loved to tell stories.

“Our stories kept us together as a family. I can’t tell the stories, but I can paint them,” said Hall.

When asked how she learned to paint, Hall’s story began to unfold.
In 2001, TV show ‘Bob Ross’ was playing in the background of a hospital room.

Hall was diagnosed with cancer.

Her mobility and her creativity were limited to the stark walls of the hospital that seemed to be closing in.

One day, Hall’s nurse explained that she would soon be expecting a visitor, Hall’s mother. This was the last thing that Hall was emotionally prepared for.

Folk artist, Sandy Hall.

Hall was faced with a deep trance that forced a paralyzing apathy that had taken over her mind and body. She had no desire to do anything.

“The nurse kept trying to get me to crochet or do puzzles,” Hall said.

To make her mother happy, Hall decided that she would try to look busy, try to look entertained and try to hide the pain.

“It wasn’t until my mother came and I had to be on my best behavior,” said Hall.

For the first time in her life, Hall picked up a paintbrush and an empty canvas.

Out of desperation, she began to paint.

Since that day, for Hall, everything changed. Hall succeeded in beating cancer and her newly discovered talent put all six of her children through school.

Traveling in a passenger van, Hall said, “I used to line up my kids in an assembly line and have them help me with picture framing.”

They say that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.

Today, Hall still makes a living selling her paintings online and in various art festivals across the country.

Overall, St. Petersburg’s first Black Arts Festival was a great success and it inspired all ages to find and maintain their creativity.

From Gainsville, Jordahn-Syhmone & Giahnna Nicholé demonstrate making their custom, copper jewelry pieces.

The duo hopes to soon find a storefront here in St. Petersburg. “We started experimenting with friends and making jewelry and thought, we can sell this,” they said.

Bristol plans on putting together more community events like this.

For more information about Bristol’s gallery, Gallerie 909, stop by at 909 22nd St. South.

Gallerie 909 is a stop on St. Petersburg’s Second Saturday Artwalk. The next art walk will be on March, 12th. There is free parking and entry into all participating galleries and studios.

Artist, Fanta Celah from Chicago explained that her jewelry pieces take from 30 minutes up to 18 hours. She started designing and making her own pieces around 1990 when she saw her friends doing it first – so she picked it up herself.

For more information about the art walk, please contact the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance at 727.518.5142 or email them at info@stpeteartsalliance.org.

March 26, 2016
Historic buildings with a hopeful future
BY MIRANDA BORCHARDT AND BRIANNA ENDERS
NNB Reporters

MIDTOWN — Teresa Williams stood on the balcony of the historic Swain Apartments looking out onto The Deuces, 22nd Street South.

Before the interstate, the desolate street was a hub of activity.

“They say it used to be hopping back then,” she said.

The interstate was built through the community in the late 1960s, forcing residents to relocate, “it became a dead area,” Williams said.

Williams is the property manager of the business and apartments at the corner of 22nd Street and 15th Avenue South. She inherited this responsibility from her parents, William and Annette Howard, the current owners who are no longer able to maintain the buildings due to health conditions.

Annette, a member of the 22nd Street Redevelopment Corporation, suffered a stroke in 2010.

“(The community group’s) goal was to revitalize, make it functional, utilize it better,” Williams said.

The commercial building was originally constructed in 1954 by Dr. Robert James Swain, a progressive dentist. He established his practice in 1954 and continued to practice dentistry in St. Pete until his death in 1996, according to StPete.org.

Swain was an influential figure in the community, known for pressing for equal opportunity during the segregation era.

He challenged Section 3 of the City of St. Petersburg’s Charter, which established separate residential and commercial areas for whites and African Americans in 1931, according to StPete.org.

The state-of-the-art Swain Dental Office was built on the opposite side of 15th Avenue, impeding on the government allocated “white” territory, and was the first dental office for African Americans in the area at the time.

Two years later, in 1956, Swain appended the residential apartment building behind his office to house African American Major League baseball players who were denied the right to stay with their white teammates during spring training.

Annette Howard converted the Swain Dental Office building, which had previously been transformed into a doctor’s office years earlier, into the Golden Shears hair salon. Williams transitioned from her nursing career as an LPN at Bay Pines Medical after her divorce to being a hairstylist in order to “take advantage of what was here (her parent’s property),” she said. It also allowed her to have a more flexible schedule while she was raising her daughter.

Her parent’s health issues in recent years caused Williams to re-direct her focus from being a full time stylist to tending to the well-being of her family members as their primary caregiver and managing the residential property to generate income for the family.

Williams, along with her parents and 99-year-old grandmother, live in the three ground level apartment units and rent out the top three.

“Everything’s so scattered,” she said. “Everything’s like… My life’s like a tossed salad.”

The three one-bedroom units are rented for $600 a month and have original cabinetry with updated flooring, fans and appliances. Williams works to enhance each apartment as tenants cycle through.

William’s dream for the business is a boutique-style salon where stylists would rent their own stations and bring in their own customers.

Making that dream come true could help make this area come alive again.

Photos: Historic buildings with a hopeful future
February 25, 2016
Campbell Park, a community building block
BY CATHERINE KOURETSOS AND JADE ISAACS

NNB Reporters

MIDTOWN — To Verline Moore, Campbell Park is a community building block.

Moore, the park’s supervisor for the last 26 years, grew up playing in the park.

“Much of the community has moved, but it’s still just as strong as ever,” said Moore. “We use the park for events, summer programs, and community leisurement. People always come back here.”

Campbell Park provides recreational activities for children and adults. There is a playground, recreation center, outdoor fitness zone, football and soccer fields, outdoor and indoor basketball courts, softball fields, tennis courts, racquetball courts, a picnic shelter, and a lounge with a patio for grilling.

The park was originally owned by Thomas C. Campbell until 1943 when he sold the land to the city, giving the community a place “where people could come and have fun,” according to the park’s official documented history “A Tribute to Thomas C. Campbell,” written by Thomas P. Zurflieh, Campbell’s great grandson.

Under Moore’s supervision, the park has undergone several renovations since 1996. Improvements include a new kids room, a teen room, an extension to the lounge and kitchen, and the relocation of the bathrooms.

“They do a very good job in upkeeping the park and maintaining it. Having more upkeep allows for more people, which then allows diversity,”said Moore. “The Juvenile Welfare Board also contributes in donations to help keep programs running.”

The park is also special to St. Petersburg’s history.

According to Moore, the park’s baseball fields were used for African-American Major League Baseball players for spring training during the era of segregation.

Rosa L. Jackson, a prominent community member, also used the park’s lounge kitchen to feed the homeless every Thanksgiving, a tradition that is still upheld by Jackson’s daughter, Eloise Jones. The kitchen is now named in Jackson’s honor.

“The history of the park doesn’t just stop there,” Zurflieh wrore. “It’s history lies with the people of the community.”
February 25, 2016
Through Our Eyes: Midtown and Beyond 2015
February 1, 2016
A Walk Through Midtown

BY CARLY ROMANO
NNB REPORTER

Use this map as your guide to take a walk through historic Midtown of St. Petersburg.

The marked destinations highlight thriving places, attractions, and restaurants within the progressing area.

Click on each hot spot for pictures and information, including addresses!

Note: Zoom in for larger view.

December 9, 2015
The making of an election coverage: NNB reporters tell the stories behind the story

BY SAMANTHA PRITZLAFF AND CHOYA RANDOLPH
NNB Reporters

ST. PETERSBURG – The Neighborhood News Bureau (NNB) reporters successfully participated in reporting the 2015 Municipal Election in Midtown, the first NNB Special Project since launching the new website in September 2015. This project was a collaboration with Creative Loafing in which USFSP students enrolled in NNB provided stories and information to Creative Loafing news and politics blog Political Animal.

The collaboration began with a USFSP professor who wanted his NNB class to have more hands-on experience in live reporting. Bernardo Motta, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, met in September with David Warner, Creative Loafing’s editor in chief and news and politics editor, Kate Bradshaw, about covering the upcoming elections. After some planning, Motta, Bradshaw, and Jared Leone, a graduate student at USFSP who also works as an editor for NNB, organized the students in the class to cover the essential parts of the elections.

Leone played the role of section editor for the project while each student-reporter was in charge of a different aspect of the election. Topics ranged from City Council candidates, referendum questions, talking to different groups of people throughout Midtown about their concerns and elections issues, covering the polls during voting day and promoting the stories on social media.

“[Students] had obstacles but almost all got their stories in,” Motta said. “I’m really proud of what the students produced,” he added.

Obstacles to reporting

Lorien Mattiacci chose to talk to two teachers at Melrose Elementary School, Kelly Milnes and Ashli Doss, about what they saw as important issues the candidates needed to address if elected.

She did run into some obstacles on the way when one of the teachers didn’t have much information on the candidates due to the fact that she didn’t live in the district, but she did have enforcement ideas.

One teacher did mention that the council used to work with the school. Students were able to take field trips to see and ask the city council questions. Sometimes the council would come to the school. According to Mattiacci, the council stopped coming because of a series of investigative articles published by the Tampa Bay Times as a special investigative project named “Failure Factories.”

Mattiacci planned to meet up with Milnes and Doss. She knew the two from a previous story she wrote. Milnes and Doss are journalism teachers in the “Journeys in Journalism“ program. Mattiacci did admit that she learned that she shouldn’t combine too many stories. However; she took multiple photos of the classroom, students and even helped with a lesson.

Other NNB reporters also revealed difficulty in finding people willing to talk about the elections. Some City Council candidates took days to return phone calls asking for interviews. One candidate even refused to talk to an NNB reporter.

“Most of my potential sources were too busy to talk or said they ‘didn’t want to get political,’” NNB reporter Danielle Von Dreele said. Von Dreele covered the first referendum question on the ballot concerning seagrass protection in the Tampa Bay and the St. Petersburg’s water supply.

Another student, Brigitte Toulon, had a few more obstacles than Mattiacci had. Toulon was assigned to interview event planners/organizers and people who head nonprofit organizations. She reached out to 3-4 people and only one got back with her. After many unanswered emails and voicemails, Toulon finally was able to get into touch with Susan Ajoc, the Director of Community Services for the City of St. Petersburg. Ajoc chose to not comment at all on the candidates. Toulon found herself with less amount of time to write and no one willing to talk. It wasn’t until a classmate suggested a name that Toulon was back on track with her story.

She was able to speak to Paul Wilborn, the Executive Director at the Palladium Theater. Toulon learned that responses about the election would vary because some knew more than others. According to Toulon, Wilborn didn’t know the candidates but was leaning towards Lisa Wheeler-Brown because of the issues involving the Tampa Bay Rays and Tropicana Field. Wilborn also mentioned that if he were to interview the candidates he’d ask them if they were able to give up their biases for the community.

Finding a way

Once the reporters got past their struggles, they produced results. Although some sources were difficult to get in contact with, they became fun to work with and contributed greatly to the stories.

City Council candidates District 5 candidate Steve Kornell and District 7 candidate Will Newton were among those who played a big role in helping shape their stories.

“I think the easiest part of the assignment, which wasn’t originally mine, was to cover Will Newton’s watch party,” said Toulon.

Toulon was encouraged by other journalists, and even Newton, when her camera battery died. According to Toulon, Newton was very calm at every aspect of the watch party. When Wheeler-Brown was announced for the winner, “the entire mood changed,” Toulon said. “You could tell that people were a disappointed,” Toulon added.

After learning about the result, Newton called Wheeler-Brown before anyone else just to congratulate her. According to Toulon, Newton was upbeat and calm after the winners were announced. He calmed Toulon’s nerves which made her comfortable to stay longer than she needed to.

Zenena Moguel covered Steve Kornell. Although she struggled at first, her story came through in the end.

“Once I was able to get to him, he’s actually a friendly guy,” Moguel said. “He contributed a lot to the profile. He wasn’t afraid to share his plans.”

Moguel also played a big role in helping advertise student’s election stories on social media.

“I think NNB deserves a lot more publicity about what we’re doing, so anything I can do to help, to get people to know how important this class is and how the students are really making a difference in this class for future journalism. That’s what I enjoy the most,” she added.

Overall, the entire process of completing this project, from scheduling interviews to writing the actual stories, was a learning experience in and of itself.

“This entire project, it takes a lot of teamwork. I don’t think it would have been so great with just a couple of us covering elections. We got point of views from people that were in the precincts, people that were at the candidate parties, we got an inside look at the entire election, and I think teamwork is the biggest thing here,” Moguel said.

“It’s like a beautiful symphony of musicians, tuning up and working together,” said Jared Leone, the Graduate Assistant who oversaw the project. “It all comes together at the end with beautiful music.”

Stay tuned at nnbnews.com for future, in-depth projects, including “Voices of Midtown,” coming in late November.

November 20, 2015
Times Talk: Building an eye for photojournalism

Award-winning Tampa Bay Times photojournalist Lara Cerri. Photo by Eric Vaughan.

St. Petersburg, Fla. (Oct. 2, 2015) – Student journalists with the Neighborhood News Bureau got the chance to learn photojournalism techniques and skills from a professional Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Lara Cerri, Tampa Bay Times photojournalist, shared her years of knowledge and experience with these students at the USFSP campus. With these tips, NNB will continue its mission to serve the Midtown area and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg through the practice of journalism.

‘Times Talk’ is what these students call it, and photojournalism was the topic of the week.

Photojournalism is the practice of communicating the news by the use of photographs and images. Photojournalists are the visual storytellers of the story, and Cerri was more than happy to express the important and impactful role photojournalists play.

“I have wanderlust,” said Cerri. “I have always had wanderlust.”

According to Cerri, it’s that curiosity that makes for a great photojournalist. She stresses the importance of trying to get the essence of what the story is about. The job is more than just taking photos. It is finding the story, writing the captions, and getting to know the sources.

“Part of the joy of my job is getting to know these people. If you got time, show an interest,” said Cerri. “It is first about human relationships.”

Lara Cerri discussing tools and techniques needed to become successful as a photojournalist. Photo by Eric Vaughan.

Photojournalists must be confident, patient, and compassionate. Being able to put yourself in the shoes of the another person and share a part of yourself builds trust and relationships. Any and every situation can be an opportunity for a great story, so always be ready for the unexpected.

Cerri’s Times Talk inspired these future journalists. View the entire ‘Times Talk with Lara Cerri’ video provided where she touches on topics including photographing children and funerals, how to approach people and finding story-telling moments.

The full video of the talk can be found here: http://www.nnbnews.com/2015/10/02/video-lara-cerri-tampa-bay-times-photojournalist/

About Neighborhood News Bureau

Neighborhood News Bureau is a working newsroom, staffed by University of South Florida St. Petersburg undergraduate and graduate students under the guidance of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies faculty members. The newsroom opened in Midtown, St. Petersburg March 2006. Its mission is to serve the Midtown and surrounding communities of St. Petersburg. For more information, visit http://www.nnbnews.com/ or email nnb@usfsp.edu.

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October 2, 2015