TARPON SPRINGS - Coast Guard crews continue to monitor the pollution cleanup Thursday from a boat that caught fire near the Sponge Docks in Tarpon Springs.
Roughly 4,500 gallons of water, diesel mix from the vessel Skye Marie, which caught fire at approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, has been collected by SWS Environmental Services. Approximately 500 feet of boom has been deployed to contain spread of pollution.
The Coast Guard continues to send out a Safety Marine Information Broadcast informing mariners to take caution when transiting the area. At this time, there is minimal environmental damage and no affected wildlife has been reported.
The Coast Guard continues to work with state and local agencies to cleanup any pollution.
PALM HARBOR - In the music world, a common joke is, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice.” For Nadia Azzi, all of her practicing paid off and she made her Carnegie Hall debut at age 11. Now, at 14 years old, she is making her third Carnegie performance on May 19.
This talented teen is a Palm Harbor and Dunedin native and recently won first place in the 2013 Bradshaw & Bruno International Piano Competition. The prestige and chance to play at Carnegie Hall as her prize.
PALM HARBOR - Board members of the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency began to consider May 15 how the agency’s role might change if county commissioners approve a new Municipal Services Taxing Unit for East Lake library.
“We need to identify early what their intent is,” said board member Marcus Harrison, pointing out that the change could dramatically affect how the agency operates.
The agency was designed to oversee a special taxing district in Palm Harbor that funds the Palm Harbor Library and recreation services in the absence of a city government. East Lake Community Library was built as a non-independent unit of Palm Harbor Library, supported only by funds from the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative and the Pinellas County government. Since then, the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency - commonly referred to as PHCSA, pronounced “fix-sa” - has overseen the East Lake library as well as its own public services on behalf of the county.
CLEARWATER - Pinellas County Commissioners will consider an ordinance May 21 that would create a separate Municipal Services Taxing Unit for the East Lake Library.
Assistant County Attorney Dennis Long said the ordinance addresses levying taxes for a new MSTU of .25 mils for fiscal year 2014. A mill represents $1 of tax assessment per $1,000 of assessed property value.
A discussion about the possibility of changing the funding formula for East Lake Library, which currently is a sub-unit of the Palm Harbor Library, came up when Mary Brown, executive director for the Pinellas County Public Library Cooperative, presented the organization’s proposed budget May 9.
PALM HARBOR - A group of teens from Lutheran Church of the Palms recently sacrificed a weekend during Lent to participate in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine - an event where teenagers fast for 30 hours, learn about global hunger and raise funds to feed and care for hungry children in their community and around the world.
The group of 19 teenagers from the Fellowship of Christian Teens and five adult chaperones - pastor Neil Brady, Gayle Austad, Laurie Clark, Florence Salamak and Roberta Nilsson - participated in the event March 2-3. The Lutheran Church of the Palms sponsored it.
PALM HARBOR - The family of Elberta Pictor gathered April 15 at Tiffany’s Restaurant in Palm Harbor in honor of her 100th birthday.
Pictor, who moved to the area in 1995, was an elementary school teacher for many years. She earned degrees from Eastern Illinois University and Valpariso University.
Her teaching career began in 1931 in a one-room classroom in Jasper County, Ill., where she occasionally rode a horse to work.
PALM HARBOR - Reaping the benefits of studying hard is nothing new for Aadith Moorthy, a junior at Palm Harbor University High School.
In 2010, as an eighth-grader, Moorthy learned 20 new facts about the world each day. That preparation resulted in him winning the National Geographic Bee and a $25,000 college scholarship.
Now at age 16, he has a cell phone, but only uses it for emergencies and seldom watches television. But he still sets goals. Moorthy wanted to make a perfect score on the SAT. He studied hard. He took more than 20 SAT practice test before attempting the test for the first time in March. He researched the origins and meanings of more than 5,000 new words.
Sweet Caroline’s opens café PALM HARBOR - Sweet Caroline’s Bakery, now in its fourth year of providing delightful “made from scratch” treats to Bay area residents, has opened Sweet Caroline’s Café adjacent to the bakery at 3347 Tampa Road.
A grand opening celebration and open house is scheduled Wednesday, May 22, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at the bakery/café. Entertainment will be provided as well as the opportunity to sample a variety of treats from the bakery and café menus.
Sweet Caroline’s opened in November 2009. The vision of the owner and staff was to establish a community oriented neighborhood bakery dedicated to baking with classic and timeless formulas.
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