Opportunities
The University of Tampa’s Office of Career Services and University of South Florida Career Center are thrilled to have nationally recognized speaker and researcher Dr. Phil Gardner, Director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute (CERI) at Michigan State University, participate in a conversation on Recruiting Trends 2010: Talent Management and Survival in Today’s Economy. Following the keynote speaker, a reaction panel and discussion will be led by representatives from GEICO, Target Corporation and The Coca-Cola Company on this important topic. This event is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the University of Tampa’s Vaughn Center, 9th Floor. Event Details and Registration Information is available at www.ut.edu/career/employerservices/
Studies and Reviews
Did you know that there are 68 restaurants serving dinner in downtown Tampa? This is the latest figure from the updating of Tampa’s Downtown Guide Book, set to hit the streets on December 30th. To view the list of restaurants serving dinner, click here.
Speaking of restaurants, Café Dufrain received a great review by the St. Peterburg Times food critic. Check out what the restaurant has done in recent months to make their menu more inviting. Click here to read the story.
Tampa Water Taxi reports that it is celebrating its 10,000 passenger! For the past year the waters of Tampa have hosted the expanded fleet of boats operated by The Tampa Water Taxi Company LLC. With headquarters located in the Sheraton Riverwalk Hotel, this month is the first anniversary of operations offering a variety of tours and water taxi services. With daily operating hours from 10:00 a.m. to midnight 7 days a week , Tampa Water Taxi has continued this schedule since the start of operations. Guests on the sunset tour on Friday nights enjoy a live musician singer serenading them as the sky displays its prism colors. New tours included daily Tampa Harbor History Tour, Canal Tour of Davis Islands, and Eco Tour to Lowry park Zoo. Find out more by visiting www.tampawatertaxico.com.
Congratulations to this year’s employees of the year for Tampa’s Downtown Guides and Clean Team! Who won? Take a look:
Seeing is Believing
This is the Tampa UCAP Downtown Water Pipeline Replacement Project update for the week of December 21st.
- Florida Avenue: The two lanes on the west side of Florida Avenue, starting at Kennedy Street north to Polk Street, are closed.
- Polk Street: All westbound travel lanes will be closed to thru traffic from Morgan Street to Florida Avenue. Local access only will be maintained. Motorists traveling west in the southern lane will be detoured south on Morgan Street to Twiggs Street. Motorists traveling west in the northern lane will be detoured north on Morgan Street to Tyler Street.
- Nebraska Avenue: The northbound eastern travel lane from Cumberland Street to Whiting Street is closed. There will be one lane open for south bound traffic only on the west side of the street. There will be no street parking available in this area.
- Cass Street:The eastbound travel lane from Jefferson Street to Nebraska Street will be closed. Eastbound motorists will be detoured south on Pierce Street to Twiggs Street. The westbound travel lane will be closed to thru traffic from Nebraska Street to Jefferson Street (open for local access only). Westbound motorists will be detoured south on Nebraska to Twiggs Street.
- Jackson Street: The northern parking and travel lane closed. The center and south lane will remain open to traffic. There will be no parking on the north side of the street. The parking spaces on the south side will be available.
- East Street: The southbound lanes will be closed to thru traffic from Kennedy Boulevard to Jackson Street. This section of East St. will be open for local access only
Additional information about this project can be found on the Tampa UCAP website at www.tampa-ucap.com. For the latest map, click here.
Special Services District
Tampa’s Downtown Guides and Clean Team are here to serve this holiday season! Here are both teams’ hours of operation through New Year’s Day:
Tampa’s Downtown Guides:
- Thursday, December 24th – 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Friday, December 25th – Closed
- Thursday, December 31st – 7:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
- Friday, January 1st – Closed
Tampa’s Downtown Clean Team:
- Thursday, December 24th – 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Friday, December 25th – Closed
- Thursday, December 31st – 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Friday, January 1st - Closed
The Tampa Downtown Partnership has loaded a list of holiday specials from various downtown restaurants, retailers, service providers and arts & entertainment venues on its website. Check out what deals are out there waiting for you to take advantage of by clicking here.
This past week the Tampa Downtown Partnership held its annual holiday celebration with Tampa’s Downtown Guides and Clean Team. During the event, downtown merchants had supplied to both teams a variety of gifts to show their appreciation for the hard work done throughout the year. Thank you to all of those who helped make the Guides and Clean Team feel appreciated! For a list of who provided an item, click here.
As we enter the final months and weeks of decision making on the Federal High Speed Rail dollars it is essential that we continue to stay informed and stay active on this issue. Please visit the Connect Us website at www.fastrailconnectus.com and join the mailing list. This site is the best source for information on Florida's application for High Speed Rail funds. Additionally, you are invited to join a series of three Regional Calls to share the latest information on High Speed Rail, to discuss necessary actions and to ask questions. The calls will occur:
- Monday, December 21st at 1:00pm
- Wednesday, January 6th at 1:00pm
- Wednesday, January 13th at 1:00pm
To join the calls please dial 1-888-537-7715 and use the pass code 15296250#. These calls are open and we encourage you to share this information and invite others to join.
Downtown, are you ready for some football? Outback Bowl fans will begin prowling around downtown starting Saturday (12/26). The teams this year are the Northwestern Wildcats and the Auburn Tigers. The “cat fight” will be held at Raymond James Stadium on January 1st. Much of the action prior to the game takes place in and around downtown. Get your Outback Bowl info by clicking here.
Creative Urban Core
Exciting news! StageWorks Theater announces that they will be breaking ground on their new theater at Grand Central at Kennedy on January 27th! The ceremonial groundbreaking will take place at 4:00 p.m. Come and celebrate this exciting news!
The Tampa Bay Businesses for the Culture and the Arts is excited to announce that they are only $700 away from fully funding the 2009-2010 High School Art Stars Scholarship program. Over the past two years TBBCA has awarded $32,500 to Bay area students to continue their education in the arts. If you are able to assist with this effort, make sure to complete the scholarship form.
After the resounding success of the inaugural Chalk Walk Festival this past March, Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts (TBBCA) has announced the second annual event will take place May 7-9, 2010 in Hyde Park Village. The Chalk Walk is a public art display of chalk drawings that cover the sidewalks in Tampa’s Hyde Park Village. Chalk Walk will also have a plein air element allowing artists to capture what they see during the festivities of event. Artists are encouraged to apply; early applications are due February 11th. Applications can be found at www.tbbca.org. This year, artists have the opportunity to compete to win $2,600 in prize money. If you’re interested in participating as an artist, vendor, business band or sponsor, please contact Christina Cook at Christina.cook@tbbca.org. Proceeds from the event help further the mission of the TBBCA, supporting and advocating for artistic and cultural endeavors in the greater Tampa Bay area.
Cash awards are being offered at the 8th Annual Ybor Festival of the Moving Image set for February 17-21th, 2010. Deadline for entries is January 12th and entry fees are $18 and $25 for student and independent filmmakers respectively. The top film in each category will earn $500 with the best Tampa Bay area independent film worth $300. For complete rules visit www.yborfilmfestival.com.
Downtown Happenings
When our homeless neighbors pass away, their deaths usually go unnoticed. The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County’s members and partners, board and staff along with concerned citizens will gather on Monday, December 21 to remember our homeless neighbors who died in 2009. The annual Homeless Persons' Memorial Day Candle Light service will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, December 21 in Joe Chillura Courthouse Square, (across from County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd). The Coalition will be remembering the lives of 47 homeless men and women who have died while living on the streets of our community this year. And these are just the ones we know. Please join in remembering our neighbors and to show our community's compassion towards our homeless neighbors. Also, both the Hillsborough County Commission and Mayor Iorio have declared Monday, December 21st as Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day in both Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa respectfully. Commissioner Ken Hagan will be presenting the County’s proclamation as part of the memorial service.
Ah, the holidays!
- Most major buildings in downtown are doing some sort of toy drive. Make sure to stop by your concierge or building information office to find out if your building is participating. If your building is not participating, then stop by one of the other downtown office towers to find out how you can help bring happiness to a child this holiday!
- Come experience the innocence and charm of a Victorian Christmas. Escape the commercialism and stress of a modern Christmas and capture the warmth and joy of an old-fashioned holiday with your loved ones. The Henry B. Plant Museum presents the 28th annual Victorian Christmas Stroll now to December 23rd, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily.
- Santa Claus is coming to the Victorian Christmas Stroll on Wednesday, December 23rd from 10am-1pm. Complimentary with your Stroll admission, Santa will sit in the authentic Writing and Reading Room of the Tampa Bay Hotel and listen to children's requests. You may bring a camera to commemorate this unique occasion, but remember no "flash photography" in the Museum. There are 100 Christmas trees placed throughout the decorated halls, rooms, mantels and display cases during the Victorian Stroll. 67 of the trees are very small, one is 15 feet tall. Can you find every one?
- Family coming to town for the holidays and you want a place to escape to? Fly Bar & Restaurant is open late on the holidays to serve you! Or, bring the family and friends along and have a great time at one of downtown’s coolest places. Click here for details.
- Ring in the New Year at The Florida Aquarium’s “Claws for Celebration” event taking place December 31st. Yes, even they admit it’s a terrible pun. But, the event is going to be great! Click here for details.
- That’s Amore Ristorante Italiano is offering a New Year’s Eve Celebration menu! If you have not made your plans as where you will celebrate the arrival of 2010, then take a look at what That’s Amore has to offer by clicking here.