The LAKER
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EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
APRIL 1, 2015
Holy Week ushers in celebrations By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Tampa Premium Outlets won approval from a development review panel for a wide-range of internal signage that will brand the retail complex. But a 90-foot pylon sign beckoning to motorists as they whiz down Interstate 75 is one landmark the mall’s developers might have to redesign or do without. It is well above the county’s 30-foot height limit. And Pasco Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein said the sign also wouldn’t meet regulations of the Florida Department of Transportation and could affect Pasco’s share of highway funds. “Our office is going to object,” he said. Goldstein did, however, suggest that developers explore a compromise of a smaller, clock tower. It is not clear if that type of structure would clear state department of transportation hurdles or fit in with Pasco’s new ordinance to encourage developers to create unified signage for their projects that enhances architectural styles and establishes a sense of place. The outlet mall’s application is an early test of the county’s new sign plan. The Pasco County Commission will have the final word. Visibility is a critical issue for the outlet mall, said John Dionis, senior director of development for New-Jersey-based Simon Property Group. “We’re looking to have a national advertising marketing campaign to draw people to the center,” Dionos said. “We like to dovetail that with visibility, with branding so people know how to get to the center from
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Tampa Premium Outlets wants a 90-foot sign
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Developers of Tampa Premium Outlets want to build a 90-foot sign near Interstate 75 to catch the attention of passing motorists.
the outside.” As a regional mall, about 75 percent to 80 percent of customers are expected to come from outside the area, Dionos said. It is too easy for motorists, especially those unfamiliar with I-75 and State Road 56, to zip past the off ramps funneling traffic toward the mall, he said. Developers are in the process of seeking the state transportation department’s approval for identifying signs at highway See OUTLETS, page 9A
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Churches across Pasco and Hillsborough counties are gearing up for a wide array of Holy Week events and Easter celebrations. Some churches will do re-enactments of the Last Supper and Good Friday, while others will include egg hunts, pancake breakfasts, barbecue meals and other festivities. Whatever they’re doing, churches are ready to greet regulars and visitors alike, as they commemorate the last days of Jesus’ life and celebrate his resCOURTESY OF NEW WALK CHURCH urrection. Our Lady of the Rosary Church, at New Walk Church brings in a helicopter for an Easter egg 2348 Collier Parkway, expects about drop to help call attention to its Easter services.
twice as many people at its Easter services as normally attend its weekend Masses, said the Rev. Ron Aubin, the church’s pastor. “A normal Sunday, it would be about 3,000 to 3,500. Easter, it will be over 7,000,” the pastor said. Aubin said the Easter message, in part, will be this: “He (God) sends his son (Jesus) as savior of the world, and that we who believe in him and die in the waters of baptism and rise with him in the waters of baptism, will also rise to the eternal life. “I have the hope of one day rising from the dead. And hope is not wishing. Hope is believing. It is something
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Local computer whiz spins success By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Friends and family knew about his geeky side long before he took the leap into computers and web design as a full-time job. As a teenager, Thomas Giella Jr., built his own computer. “I always helped out people on the side with their computer issues,” he said. He launched his web design and marketing business, Gear Spinners, more than a year ago. Now he has two offshoot companies, Techsoft Academy and i-gent, and a $1,000 check pinned to a calendar in his office with a paper clip. “I plan to get a frame for it,” Giella said. The check is his prize for winning third place in the inaugural SMARTstart Business Challenge on Jan. 29. The Pasco Economic Development Council, the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce, the New Port Richey Economic Development Department and SCORE sponsored the contest to celebrate Business Development Week. The SMARTstart incubator program is an initiative of the Pasco EDC, with locations in Dade City and New Port Richey. About 20 businesses, both on and off site, are members of SMARTstart. They include technology companies, sales and marketing, and new attorneys. One company completes personal assessments to reduce company turnover. “We have a pretty diverse membership,” said Krista Covey, the managing program director at Pasco EDC and director of SMARTstart. Giella competed against about 20 companies to earn one of five spots in the finals
Electric Cooperative and Pasco-Hernando State College. Judges then had 10 minutes to quiz Giella. “I tried to think like a customer,” he said. “I thought about all the stories I’ve heard from my clients. It was an awesome learning experience.” Giella earned office space at SMARTstart’s incubator site in Dade City about five months ago. He works out of a small office at the Dade City Business Center, at 15000 Citrus KATHY STEELE/STAFF PHOTO Country Drive, Suite 103. Thomas Giella Jr., is building his businesses, Gear Spinners, iHis services with Gear gent, and Techsoft Academy at SMARTstart’s incubator site in Spinners include web dethe Dade City Business Center. sign and web hosting. Techsoft Academy can that were held at the SMARTstart incubator help bloggers and businesses go a step fursite in New Port Richey. Judges included ther by offering classes that teach more representatives from Pasco’s business and advanced skills. And i-gent caters to Realtors academic community. who need website management. First place winners were Brian Anderson “Some people are go, go, go,” said Giella, and Janel Norton of Veterans Alternative and they likely don’t have time to spend on Therapy Center in Holiday. Second place a website. But others, he said, want to do went to Greg Smith of Savealator in New more of the work themselves. Port Richey. Giella also helps organize Tampa Bay The competition was modeled after Word Camp, a group that offers conferences Shark Tank, the television show where con- to teach skills in Word Press for blogging, testants make a pitch to a panel of investors. business and social media. The pitch can be a nerve jangling trial, Recent clients include the owners of the but Giella kept it simple. Yeoman’s Cask & Lion, a British-style pub He had 10 minutes to “sell” Techsoft that will open soon on Morgan Street in Academy to a panel of judges including repSee COMPUTER, page 9A resentatives from Withlacoochee River