By Yvette C. Hammett Anne Via Myers’ mother framed her first piece of art – a bowl of fruit Myers had colored, complete with highlighted shading on the grapes. She was three years old. “I have been drawing my whole life,” the Riverview portrait artist…
Read More Riverview Artist Had an Eye for Art Since Childhood
Photos and Story by Geoff Fox Tammy Holt said she was shocked when she and several friends recently walked into The Vineyards Trattoria and Pizzeria for the first time. The location at 250 Apollo Beach Blvd. has been home to several restaurants over the years,…
Read More The Vineyards brings authentic Italian cuisine to Apollo Beach
By PAUL CATALA Since 1961, something fishy has been going on at this Gibsonton business. On about five acres off Big Bend Road, tens of thousands of fish are kept in tanks before they are sent to more permanent housing in aquariums around the world.…
Read More Gibsonton’s Segrest Farms has provided an array of fish species for homeowners, public aquariums
By GEOFF FOX RUSKIN – I’m not a foodie, but I know what I like. And I like Cuban food. Of course, in Florida, it’s practically un-American to dislike Cuban food. That affinity for Cuban cuisine is what first lured me into Ybor Grille last…
Read More Restaurant Review: Ybor Grille won’t leave you disappointed or hungry
By YVETTE C. HAMMETT SUN CITY CENTER − Tim and Kris Neldner met in the band at the University of Tampa about 40 years ago. These days, they spend some of their leisure time performing with dozens of others in the South Shore Community Chorus…
Read More South Shore Community Chorus begins another season of singing open to all
BY GEOFF FOX APOLLO BEACH – Jill Scott shook her head and laughed softly as Zelda, a 5-year-old tuxedo cat, splayed herself horizontally near the cash register at Bark & Purr Persnickety Emporium and began licking her paws. Scott scratched Zelda’s head and the two…
Read More Bark & Purr owner promotes healthy pet care, economic development
By GEOFF FOX APOLLO BEACH – There was a multi-colored, psychedelic-looking upright piano on one side of The Vibe Music Store’s front door. On the other side were a pair of electric guitars, both custom-painted to look like instruments straight out of the 1960s. Doti…
Read More At The Vibe Music Store, everything’s laid back and sounding sweet
By YVETTE C. HAMMETT For 21 years, the Riverview community has come together to host hundreds of lonely seniors who might otherwise go through the holidays with little or no festivities. Each year, volunteers would come up with a location, theme, menu and gifts for…
Read More Riverview holiday dinner for seniors needs a new chair
By RICK MAYER APOLLO BEACH − Shelly Molter says her South Shore Boutique specializes in personalization. The stylish clothing and gift shop includes a three-letter embroidered monogram in the price of purchases. “Just about everything in here can be monogrammed,” says Molter. “It’s all done…
Read More South Shore Boutique’s personalization takes flight with monograms, service
By YVETTE C. HAMMETT A no-kill animal shelter in Ruskin needs help with volunteers and funding. CARE Animal Shelter, which takes in orphaned animals, those surrendered by their elderly owners and others found in deplorable conditions, immediately needs 15 to 20 volunteers to commit to…
Read More CARE Animal Shelter in Ruskin seeks volunteers, funds for new facility