GAINSWave Therapy in Palm Harbor, FL

The National Weather Service said Hurricane Agatha has a 70 percent chance of developing when it emerges in the Gulf of Mexico this week.

PALM HARBOR, FL — A strong storm system pounded parts of Florida on Tuesday evening, spawning water spouts off the coasts of Pinellas and Sarasota counties. And with the storm came at least two weak tornadoes which touched down near Palm Harbor and New Port Richey, according to the National Weather Service's Tampa Bay office in Ruskin.

Pasco County Fire Rescue confirmed that homes sustained minor damage in the Belvedere Terrace area of New Port Richey when trees were blown down, but firefighters said no injuries were reported.

In addition to the two weak tornadoes, the NWS said the storms:

The storms began rolling into Tampa Bay at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday and by 7:58 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a severe storm alert as it tracked a line of storms extending from near Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County to near Ellenton and Myakka City in Manatee County, producing wind gusts of up to 50 mph and half-inch hail.

In between, severe storm warnings were issued from Sanibel Island in southwest Florida to the Suwanee River in northwest Florida, including Hardee, Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough, DeSoto, Sarasota and Pasco counties.

At the same time, the NWS said it tracked thunderstorms in the Gulf of Mexico from Englewood to Tarpon Springs and from Tarpon Springs to the Suwanee River that produced "waterspouts along a line extending from near Sarasota Bay to near Gasparilla Island and Bonita Beach, and from Port Richey to the Courtney Campbell Causeway and Terra Ceia Bay."

The storms were accompanied by high waves, rough seas and 50 mph wind gusts.

The NWS warned boaters to get off the water as quickly as possible, since water spouts can form quickly, producing waves that can easily capsize boats and damage vessels.

AccuWeather meteorologists a budding tropical storm is expected to slice across the Florida Peninsula with torrential rain and produce building seas and rough surf in the region. There is already some risk that the burgeoning tropical rainstorm, which would be named Alex once it hits the 39-mph maximum sustained winds threshold for a tropical storm, could cross Florida at the end of this week and then the northern Bahamas this weekend.

NWS Ruskin meteorologists said Tampa Bay residents can expect more of the same conditions Wednesday night, which coincidentally is the first official day of the Atlantic Basin hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

"Right on cue, we are watching the tropics as what is left of Hurricane #Agatha will emerge in the southeast Gulf of Mexico late in the week with a 70 percent chance of development," said Daniel Noah, warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS Tampa Bay in Ruskin. "It is too early to tell what impacts it will have on the west coast of Florida, but it is a great reminder to review your hurricane kits."

Fairfax, VA –The Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) Association has announced that it is hosting a Winter Forum, January 31 – February 2, 2023? at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor (Greater Tampa), FL.

SUE is a professional service that combines, civil engineering, geophysics and surveying. It utilizes several technologies, including vacuum excavation, ground penetrating radar, surface geophysics, and others. Since the early 1990s, SUE has become a valuable and widely-used pre-design process that enables engineering judgment, designating, locating, surveying of positioning, data management, and conflict analysis as a deliverable to help minimize or eliminate many of the utility problems typically encountered on infrastructure projects. SUE applies ASCE 38 standards of care to avoid many utility relocations before construction and many unexpected underground utility encounters during construction, thereby eliminating many costly, time-consuming project delays.

“The Winter Forum is a conference focusing on the latest in policy, standard guidelines, technology, practice issues, and markets. An outstanding line up of presenters will inform and educate on a variety of timely topics that will enhance the knowledge of SUE practitioners with actionable information and intelligence that can be applied in their business or organization,” said Andrew Sylvest, Director of Utilities at Lamb-Star Engineering, Golden, Colorado, President of the SUE Association.

Ryan Bean, PE, ROW/Utility Department Manager, Kiewit will discuss utility issues and design build procurements. Ryan will share his experience with the good, bad, and unknown utility information provided during design build pursuits. He will discuss how important it is for early partnering with utility owners, enhancing utility information, partnering with potential SUE firms, utility relocations, how to deal with 3D information, one call mark, and the importance of great utility coordinators.

Kirk Hoosac, RLA, KCI Technologies, will examine how landscape and utilities share the always crowded right of way, giving a perspective from a registered landscape architect on local signature projects that are currently being designed and how his team handles identifying, confirming, and resolving the right of way and existing utility infrastructure puzzle.

Santosh Saride, PE, Prism Technologies, will present the latest in Gyroscopic Mapping Technology. To prevent accidents from happening, it is crucial to get better underground utility mapping solutions that can give accurate maps to rely on. Prism Technology provides better underground mapping, with technology and tools that are not limited by ground conditions, duct material type or satellite connections. Their technology provides; accurate mapping of underground assets for verification and future reference and a revised set of as-built drawings to be recorded and submitted by the contractor upon completion of a construction project.

Jim Anspach, PG, will update on professional certification efforts in development for multiple utility related professional disciplines from a field designator to office utility technician and utility coordination, sharing a summary of the current status and the future of these positions.

Nick Zembillas, SUE, LLC, has been involved in efforts to strengthen SUE requirements under Pennsylvania state law. He will provide an update on a proposal to further the application of SUE in Pennsylvania that could be a model for use in other states.

Matt Wolfe, Impulse Radar, will lead a discussion on the technology behind the PinPointR ground penetrating radar (GPR), the Raptor GPR array, and Condor software.

Dan Colby, UMS, will present a case study on a comprehensive SUE effort under way in New York City.

Linda Foster, PLS, GISP, will discuss how data collected through SUE field activities can be integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) for future utilization, reference, and application.

Barb Ryan, Executive Director of the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) will report on how Underground Digital Twins are being implemented in projects in the U.S. and abroad.

A SUE Roundtable, moderated by SUE Association Executive Director John Palatiello will lead an interactive session in which the audience explores hot topics affecting what members of the SUE profession can do to improve the SUE process, how the SUE community of consultants and agencies can collectively implement changes to ensure that SUE investigations and deliverables are being performed by reputable and legitimate subsurface utility engineering providers, technology and workforce balance and challenges, and how the community can continue to provide quality SUE investigations.

About SUE

The SUE Association is a 501(c)(6) trade association of firms involved in providing SUE services, as well as firms engaged in the manufacturing and/or supplying of subsurface utility engineering equipment, supplies, hardware, software or services that support SUE service providers, as well as government agencies, universities and other institutions of higher learning, non-profit organizations, and other entities not engaged in but with an interest in subsurface utility engineering. For information on the SUE Association, as well as additional conference information, registration, and hotel reservations, visit www.sueassociation.

The traditional gemstone to commemorate a 40th anniversary or birthday is the vibrant red ruby, which represents devotion and passion. In January of 1983, 40 years ago this month, a small group of devoted and passionate Palm Harbor residents who wanted to preserve the history of this area succeeded in officially incorporating the Palm Harbor Historical Society, which operates the museum.

“2023 is an exciting year for the Palm Harbor Historical Society,” said the Rev. Bob Fortner, current president of the organization. “Even as we celebrate the past forty years, we look toward the future to do everything in our power to ensure the Palm Harbor History Museum will continue to be a valuable asset for our community for generations to come.”

MMATM makes a change

In 2023, the museum’s Meet Me at the Museum programs have become Palm Harbor Museum Presents and will be offered at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month in the Community Room at the Palm Harbor Library, 2330 Nebraska Ave. Admission is free and all are welcome. Please register at Eventbrite, but walk-ins are also welcome. The programs will last, on average with questions and answers, approximately one hour to 90 minutes, with time afterward for meeting the presenter and book signings when applicable.

The museum has been presenting MMATM in the museum and simultaneously on Zoom as hybrid programs, but as audiences have increased, the move to the library will allow organizers to reach out to the larger community. Each Palm Harbor Museum Presents program will be recorded and uploaded to the museum’s Zoom portal as well as to YouTube.

“The programs will resume in March and will continue to provide entertaining and educational presentations along with museum updates, with the added benefit of the spacious and well-equipped community room at the Palm Harbor Library,” Fortner said. “Our thanks go out to Gene Coppola and the library staff. We are excited about this new collaborative arrangement.”

The museum’s annual membership meeting is at the library at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 1. It is open to the community. There will be opportunities to not only learn about the museum’s past and present but also to help envision its future.

“Remember, in order to preserve the past and protect the future, those who care must be present,” Fortner said.

Museum’s early days

The following description of the PHHS’s beginning was compiled by a museum volunteer from various historical documents and photos.

On Jan. 22, 1983, a gathering took place in a store at the newly-opened Fountains Shopping Center on U.S. Highway 19, just south of Alderman Road. A few old-timers assembled at Cobb's Collectors Emporium, an antiques store started by Jane Cobb Shelnutt. Two days later, the state officially accepted the paperwork creating the Palm Harbor Historical Society.

A corner of Shelnutt's store became a place where pioneers and long-time residents gathered, shared stories, planned reunions, and collected artifacts. By the late 1980s, the society's small-but-growing collection moved to space provided by the Florida Bank of Commerce at 1026 Florida Ave., a well-known address in the heart of historic Old Palm Harbor.

The bank occupied a building originally built in the 1890s that had served as Adair's Grocery from the late 1930s until 1980. The bank offered the historical society a place to store and show items from the collection, even partnering with the society for the first-ever Pioneer Days gathering in June 1989. Horseshoes and a watermelon-eating contest were among the events.

The historical society had to find a new home in May 1991 as the bank's services expanded. Unable to secure a location to replace their home of four years, historical society board members placed some of the smaller artifacts in their homes, with larger items locked away in a facility closed to the public.

The Palm Harbor Historical Society's fate seemed uncertain 30 years ago, but members continued to work on important initiatives even as the collections sat in storage. Led by Winona Jones, the organization worked with businesses and leaders in Palm Harbor in a quest to create the first “historic district” designation for an unincorporated community in Pinellas County.

Their efforts occurred at a time when many historic landmarks had disappeared from the landscape and only a few acres of citrus trees remained in the area. As new businesses continued to appear on formerly undeveloped land along U.S. 19, and architects began to design Palm Harbor University High School, society members focused on restoration projects and the creation of the historic district.

Their persistence paid off. In August 1994, county commissioners approved the Palm Harbor Historic District designation. The historical society gained tax-exempt status in January 1995, allowing the organization to engage in more extensive fundraising. That same month, the society received a 1962 fire truck from the Palm Harbor Special Fire Control District that became a popular sight at local parades and community events.

A major fundraising drive began in May 1995, during the Palm Harbor Days annual event. As Charley Jones, Wallace Sutton and Eddie Vought played country tunes as a band known as the Palm Harbor Pioneers, the organization tried to find a home for its archives and collections, still in storage for nearly five years.

Plans for the expansion of Belcher Road created a new opportunity for the Palm Harbor Historical Society to show and preserve its treasures. Next month, we learn how the Hartley House at Belcher and Curlew roads became the historical society's home.

Share your stories

If you have Palm Harbor memories to share, let us know! Visit the museum for more information or to join. Active membership entitles you to free museum admission, quarterly e-newsletters, programs and events.

Visiting the museum

The Palm Harbor Museum is open for self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Children are welcome. Admission is free but donations are gratefully accepted. Masks are encouraged inside the buildings and hand sanitizer is available. Call 727-724-3054 for more information.

The Palm Harbor Historical Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and presentation of the rich historical heritage of the Palm Harbor Area including Crystal Beach, Curlew, East Lake, Ozona and Wall Springs. The Museum is located at 2043 Curlew Road (at Belcher Road). Visit the museum website at www.palmharbormuseum.com or email at palmharbormuseum@outlook.com.

In December 2022, the Palm Coast City Council approved a food and beverage concession agreement with Loopers, a full-service restaurant, for the eatery space at the Palm Harbor Golf Club, which is owned and operated by the city of Palm Coast.

The contract with the current food and beverage provider, Green Lion Café, will expire on Jan. 15, 2023. Food and beverage service will end on the afternoon of Jan. 14.

Food trucks will be on site at the golf course to provide food services to patrons beginning on Jan. 15. Ramon Personal Chef Food Truck and Cajun Cravins’ 2 Go will rotate every four days. The food trucks will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., serving grab-and-go handheld offerings, including coffee.

The truck will be stationed in the main parking lot near the bag drop. While most of the patio will be closed for renovations, a portion of the patio will remain open for diners to enjoy their meal at the available tables.

Loopers intends to provide alcohol service utilizing a portion of the current restaurant. They will begin serving limited food and drink as soon as practical while construction is in progress.

Construction to the interior of the building will commence on Jan. 16. The city of Palm Coast will perform routine maintenance on the building, and the new tenants will construct a bar area and a larger kitchen at their own expense.

During construction, there will be no access to the building from the restaurant side. All guests must enter the building through the pro shop doors. Ample signage will be displayed.

Loopers is expected to open for full service on or around March 1. The restaurant will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and will offer an assortment of breakfast sandwiches and classic breakfast dishes in the morning. Lunch will feature sandwich specials that will change daily. Dinner will feature weekly specials of fresh fish, prime rib, and barbeque options. A full bar will provide specialty drinks, craft beer, and assorted wines. Grab-and-go options will be available for golfers for breakfast and lunch.

Palm Harbor Golf Club is a public course open seven days a week. The golf club features a full-service practice facility with a driving range, putting green, and chipping green.

The pro shop, which carries both men’s and women’s name-brand apparel and equipment, is a shared space with the food and beverage concession provider.

To discover more about the Palm Harbor Golf Club, visit palmcoastgov.com/parks/palm-harbor-golf-club.

Copy This Embed Code:

Ad

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. (WFTS) — The businesses in Safety Harbor are like family. Right now, that family-like relationship is coming in handy. Business owners are leaning on one another as they mourn the loss of Whistle Stop Grill and Bar owner Louis Kinney.

Just two weeks ago, ABC Action News spoke to Kinney. He, along with others in the community, were hard at work preparing for the Rock and Soul Charity Concert.

That was one of the last times Dave Lagree, owner of Tiki Tavern, got the chance to see Kinney.

On Christmas Eve, the 42-year-old passed away. He left behind a wife and two children.

"I stopped in myself and supported the event and saw him that night as did everybody else. And that's the shocker of all this. Just everybody saw him recently," Lagree recalled.

Just weeks later, they're organizing fundraisers they never imagined they would have to.

"The whole town is on its knees. The minute we all heard the news that we lost him, there was a collective bawling of every single person that is in this town. He's that special," Lagree said.

More than a dozen restaurants have vowed to help the Kinney and Whistle Stop family in some way, either by donating proceeds from their shops or just helping his family.

"There's a food train going on that has every single merchant, every restaurant in town, picking a day of the month to put together a meal for the family," Lagree explained. "And I don't know how long that will roll over. But we're certainly willing to roll it over as long as we have to here at the Tiki Tavern."

Lagree said this willingness to help is just what the community does.

"Even though it's sandwiched between Tampa and Clearwater, it's like its own entity and nothing surprises me with how everybody comes together here," he said."This isn't just anybody in town that we're coming together for."

There's a GoFundMe available to help the Kinney family. We'll also update this story with more fundraising opportunities as they become available.

Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.