Special to The Laker/Lutz News

 

 

By B.C. Manion

 

Margarita Romo will be the first to tell you that she is a flawed woman and that some people simply do not like her.

But the path she’s traveled led her to advocating for farm workers, immigrants and the poor. Her work has been recognized by Gov. Rick Scott, who selected her to be inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

The honor goes to people who have made significant contributions to improving the lives of minorities and all Florida citizens.

Romo, 76, founded Farmworkers Self-Help in Dade City, a nonprofit organization that has focused on education, advocacy and addressing the needs of migrant farmworkers and immigrants for more than three decades.

The organization helps with immigration issues, gives bread to the poor, advocates for legislative changes and seeks to improve conditions for the impoverished. It has been particularly active in seeking improvements for Tommytown, a community northwest of downtown Dade City.

“It wasn’t anything that I purposely went out to do,” Romo said. Her involvement began when she was asked to translate church services at migrant camps.

Her commitment grew from there.

Romo said she didn’t have a strategic or systematic method for helping people. She said they came to her with a need and she explored ways to help them.

As time went on, Romo became more knowledgeable and established more relationships — making it possible for her to help more people.

“In my wildest dreams I never thought I’d be doing this, especially with the history that I had. It seemed like there was just disaster after disaster,” Romo said.

***

Romo was born in Texas, and at age 3, her mother died. Her father placed her in an orphanage and sent her three brothers to another orphanage. They stayed there a couple of years until he remarried.

“I went in as Margarita and I came out as Margaret,” Romo said, and she was no longer speaking Spanish.

She joined the convent when she was 15 and left two years later with the hopes of mending a strained relationship with her stepmother, which never happened.

Romo has been divorced three times, and along the way she had six children.

She believes her personal failings and the challenges she’s faced have helped her become more compassionate.

“We all have issues, and we’ll always have issues. There’s no one who is ever going to be perfect, but I think knowing your own imperfections causes you to be more understanding about others,” Romo said.

She also understands despair.

She was so despondent after her first divorce that she attempted to take her own life, she said. She’d taken some pills and someone found her — otherwise, her life would have ended then, she said.

“I’m a real miracle, walking,” Romo said.

That experience made her realize how important it is for people to seek counseling when they need it, Romo said. “I’m a real champion about mental health.”

She also understands poverty.

***

Romo needed help after one of her divorces, and a woman from a migrant camp understood that need.

“I’ll never forget — she gave me some of her food stamps,” Romo said.

While she is being honored for her work, Romo is quick to give credit to those who have helped her to help others.

“It’s not about me,” Romo said. “If it hadn’t been for those undocumented farmworkers, we wouldn’t be here. They’re the ones who walked with me. They went to Washington, D.C. They went to Tallahassee.”

She also said mentors she’s met have helped her to be more effective.

Romo views herself as an activist, but uses a different approach than many young organizers whom she sees as being more aggressive and eager to take on the world.

When she goes to Tallahassee to advocate for changes, she said she reads scripture to lawmakers and prays for God to guide them.

“We need God to go in front of us,” Romo said. “We need to do battle with the Bible in our hand. I really believe that God has to be called in, and I believe God hasn’t been called into the middle of all of the crises. God has got to be in the middle of everything we do.”

Sometimes, she feels conflicted.

“Being a pastor and being an activist organizer is just a real difficult place. You have to constantly forgive, and at the same time you’re in the middle of a battle,” said Romo, who became an ordained minister 10 years ago.

She was reaching out spiritually to children in her community even before she was ordained: “I started telling parents, if you want to bring me your children, we’re going to have children’s church on Sunday morning. You can go wash. You can go to the flea market. We’ll take care of the children.”

***

Romo is being inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame on April 24

alongside Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore and Judge James B. Sanderlin.

They were among the nominees the Florida Commission on Human Relations recommended to Scott.

“As Florida marks its 500 year anniversary, we want to honor individuals who have stood for equality in our state’s history even in the face of adversity. These champions of freedom have paved the way for equal rights among all Floridians,” Scott said, in a Feb. 27 release.

Romo said she’s not really sure what the induction means.

“If they really want to do something, then give us (Florida) KidCare (low-cost or free health insurance) for legal immigrant children,” she said.

She’d also like to have a conversation with lawmakers about the negative impacts she believes zero tolerance has on kids. She also thinks the state should allow immigrants who arrived here before age 16 and who have no criminal record to attend Florida colleges at in-state tuition rates.

“You can pick enough oranges to pay in-state tuition, but you cannot pick enough oranges to pay out-of-state tuition,” Romo said. “That’s just the bottom line.”

Romo could go on and on about injustices that need to be addressed and opportunities that need to be offered.

She tackles what she can in Tallahassee, in the community and her office, a humble white house on Lock Street.

***

Photographs on the walls of her office serve as constant reminders of the work that remains.

One photo shows a smiling girl who died before she reached age 5 because she could not get the medical care she needed quickly enough.

Another photo shows an old man standing in a dumpster. He’d rummage around wherever he could to find cans he could sell, Romo said. When he died, it cost $800 to buy his ashes so his life could be honored.

There’s also a photo of a young man who died from AIDS and another of a man who died from prostate cancer.

Romo said she remembers those people when she thinks about the work she needs to do.

She also thinks about tragic things that have happened because of dangerous working conditions. She thinks of workers who have “lost their eyesight because of pesticide” or “fallen off ladders and broke their back and got no compensation.”

Romo aims to help people help themselves.

“We need to think for ourselves,” Romo said. “If we’re really about teaching people to be free, then you’ve got to give them the tools to do that. … To help us learn to think for ourselves is where the real work comes in and the real love,” said Romo, whose organization encourages students to attain their GED, enroll in college and seek job training.

She said she feels blessed to do the work she does.

“When you’re a community organizer and you help organize your community, then that community grows and it becomes a whole different place and everybody who received the benefit of that growth takes it with them and plants it somewhere else, and it never stops growing.”

No matter how dark things can get at times, Romo hangs on.

“Thirty-three years and we’re still here.”

 

 

 

By Kyle LoJacono

 

Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART) finds itself in a bit of a quandary.

HART has set ridership records each year since 2010, up to 14.2 million people using the authority’s fleet of buses and vans to get around the county in 2012, according to public information officer Sandra Pinto.

But while ridership continues to grow, the funding has started lagging behind the increasing demand.

HART planned to replace 91 buses and 76 other vehicles between this year and 2018, but questions about funding sources have put that timeframe in doubt, Pinto said. Early estimations have the authority coming between $8.3 million and $24.7 million short of that goal.

Pinto said HART still plans to replace 11 buses and 13 vans this year. The $11.3 million price tag of those new vehicles will be paid for during the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years.

Ridership on the 20X Pasco/Lutz Express line, which runs between downtown Tampa and Lutz, and 51X New Tampa/Pasco Express, which connects downtown with Wesley Chapel, has also increased the last few years.

The 20X line has seen a 2 percent increase from 2011 to 2012, up to 19,678 riders. The 51X route grew by 9 percent during that same time, up to 15,549.

HART’s Northdale Flex program, which runs between Carrollwood and Lutz, had a ridership of 47,105 in 2012, its first full year of operation.

Pinto credits the rise in ridership the last few years in part to increased public awareness about HART’s services while gas prices go up.

“Plus, HART has had a program of reducing or eliminating poorly producing services and segments and reinvesting operating dollars in areas that provide a better return on investment,” Pinto said.

Pinto said HART still plans to roll out its Metro Rapid service in late May or early June. The line will allow faster access between the 17.5-miles between Tampa and Fletcher Avenue along Nebraska Avenue.

HART will add 12 new buses to its fleet for Metro Rapid, which does not include the 11 used to replace old vehicles serving other lines.

Pinto said the authority will look to add Metro Rapid lines in the future, including one that would service New Tampa along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. She said the new concept is just one of several things HART is doing to offer better transportation in the area.

“Record ridership for the third straight year in a row shows that the community has noticed HART’s transformation from the bus system of an earlier time,” Pinto said. “We have numerous capital projects going on, and we’re moving forward with significant transit system improvements.”

For more information about HART and its services, visit www.gohart.org.

—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker

 

HART Ridership

2010: 12,264,357

2011: 13,702,653

2012: 14,218,868

 

 

 

By Andy Warrener

The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

 

For the last 12 years, Splash in Lutz has weathered the changing economic climate while continuing to serve up oceanic delicacies.

The local restaurant offers a unique dining experience for anyone looking to break from the monotonous, assembly-line corporate places, and has events and specials that cater to a multitude of people and palates.

Co-owners Tom Perkins and Chip Roehl have their roots in seafood dining and hospitality.

They both helped the Shells franchise grow in Tampa. Perkins was the director of operations for 15 years, while Roehl had a few positions, including vice president.

Perkins is a Leto High graduate who flipped hamburgers in his first job out of school.

Roehl grew up in the hospitality business and ventured into advertising. It’s what took Roehl to New York and then brought him back to Tampa again in 1982. Just three years later, Roehl started with Shells, and that’s where he met Perkins and the concept for Splash was born.

“There are myriad of landmines in this business,” Roehl said. “It’s always a battle.”

Roehl and Perkins wanted to carve out something different for themselves — something that didn’t hem them in the way a corporate place like Shells did.

“We wanted to create better, chef-driven food,” Roehl said. “You don’t have that flexibility with a corporate restaurant.”

Roehl was disappointed when a great idea for a dish would come out, and then they would “dumb down” the recipe to make is easier for a chef of lesser skill.

Enter chef Lenny Terlaje, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York.

Perkins and Roehl met Terlaje when they tried to expand into an Italian seafood restaurant they called Paesans. It didn’t work out, but the connection with Terlaje was cemented, and after four years he went to work at Splash.

The mother ship at Splash nearly got pulled under the waves, too.

“The first few months we were open, business was great,” Roehl said. “That was three months prior to 9/11.”

The restaurant industry, especially the fine dining one, took a huge hit. As Roehl put it, “people started cocooning.

“But we knew we had the right product, the right experience,” Roehl said.

 

So they hung on. Then the crash in the late 2000s served another blow.

“Before, people would go out to eat once a week; now they would go out once a month,” Roehl said. “We had to start looking at some promotions to bring people in.”

Roehl figured out that the most expensive thing in a restaurant was “an empty seat” and he and Perkins set about creating some options to bring diners into the restaurant.

Outside of the original menu, designed by Perkins and Roehl, Terlaje began coming up with his own daily or weekly specials.

Then the creativity with pricing set in.

“Whatever inspires the chef that week, we make changes as long as it is culinarily appropriate,” Roehl said.

The promotions extend beyond the food as well.

On weekends, a baby grand piano in the corner of the main dining room provides entertainment. On Thursdays, Splash has an open mic night on their outdoor patio.

“People come here three, four, five nights a week,” server Emily Spak said. “I’ve come here on a Saturday and had to wait to get a seat.”

The promotions and slight uptick in the economy have Splash back sailing on smooth waters, and the food is as top notch as it has ever been.

“The prices are pretty fair, especially for lunch,” said Land O’ Lakes resident Mary Ann Fullerton. “I had the lobster bisque and it was awesome.”

Fellow diner Dianne Dlouhy of Lutz was complimentary of the wait staff, citing their “nonstop” service.

Splash fancies itself on building regular clientele.

“We have customers come in that ask for specific servers,” hostess Rebecca Galloway said.

Impossible to miss are the caricatures done by Dan Smith.

Some lean toward portraits, but none are of celebrities or sports figures. They are all portraits of diners who frequent the restaurant.

The small business model is finally starting to help instead of hinder Splash.

“People’s appreciation of small business is on the rise,” Roehl said.

 

Students appear in the Wiregrass Ranch High production of Bye Bye Birdie. From left Chelsea Davis, Nicolette Doria, Abrayle Coe, Gabby Dion and Taylor Jenniges. (Photo courtesy of Wiregrass Ranch High)

 

Bye Bye Birdie

Wiregrass Ranch High is presenting Bye Bye Birdie April 11 through 14 at the Center for the Arts, 30651 Wells Road in Wesley Chapel.

Curtain time is 7 p.m. April 11 through 13 and 2 p.m. April 14.

Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for students and $5 for children younger than 12. Tickets can be purchased online at www.seatyourself.biz/wrhs.

For more information, call the school at (813) 346-6000.

 

Cultural center classes

The Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Road in Tampa, will offer classes this spring and summer, including introductory courses in Italian and Spanish. To view a class schedule, visit www.CarrollwoodCenter.org/classes or call (813) 269-1310 for more information. The Carrollwood Cultural Center is a partnership between Hillsborough County and the Friends of Carrollwood Cultural Center.

 

Moore Mickens students of the month

These Moore Mickens Education Center students were chosen as student of the month for January: Dustin Chancey, Derrik Holley, Tyler Bedell and Maria Montes. Amber Denney was selected as the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce student of the month.

These students were chosen as student of the month for February: Shay Cook, Chad McGahan, Ambar Moreno and Maribel Guerrero. Heather Mitchell was selected as the chamber student of the month.

 

MOSI summer camps

Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry is offering Forward Thinking Initiatives’ (FTI) Teen Business and Innovation Camps.

FTI, a Tampa Bay nonprofit, teaches entrepreneurship, innovation and creative thinking to teenagers. The camps are designed for kids entering grades six through 12.

FTI’s camps will focus on two different themes.

The theme for Week 1, June 17 through June 21, is Toys and Games: Serious Business. The theme for the second week, June 24 through June 28, is Hockey Business, The Business and Science Behind the Sport.

For more information or to register, contact Debra Campbell at or call (813) 760-7860. For more information about Forward Thinking Initiatives, visit www.forwardthinkinginitiatives.com.

 

Steinbrenner wrestling team yard sale

Steinbrenner High’s wrestling team is having a yard sale, with proceeds helping to cover travel expenses to an Oklahoma State University Wrestling Camp in June. The yard sale will be from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. on April 20 at the masonic lodge at the northwest corner of W. Lutz Lake Fern Road and Sunlake Boulevard.

 

Lutz student named to dean’s list

Kathryn Holliday, of Lutz, has achieved the dean’s list at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga.

 

Pasco Education Foundation scholarships

The Pasco Education Foundation awarded scholarships valued at more than $730,000 at its March 21 ceremony at Spartan Manor in New Port Richey. The event was presented by Bright House Networks, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union Foundation and Will Weatherford, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.

In total, 117 Pasco County Schools seniors were recognized for their achievements, with more than 400 guests in attendance. Pasco superintendent Kurt Browning congratulated the students and thanked sponsors for making the scholarships possible.

To learn more about the Pasco Education Foundation’s scholarship programs, contact Stacey Capogrosso, associate director, at (813) 794-2705 or visitwww.pascoeducationfoundation.org

 

Wesley Chapel Chamber seeks sponsors`

The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce is seeking sponsors for an event that honors the community’s top students. This year’s event is April 30 at the Wesley Chapel High Performing Arts Center. Superintendent Kurt Browning will be the master of ceremonies. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact the chamber for more information at (813) 994-8534.

 

Veterans Elementary golf tournament

Veterans Elementary’s Parent-Teacher Association will have its third annual golf tournament April 20 at Lexington Oaks Golf Club. The proceeds will be used to help provide a playground shade covering, new technology, classroom supplies and equipment for the school.

The tournament is open to adults of all skill levels up to a maximum of 144 participants. Entries will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Registration and payment may be completed online at www.veteranspta.com or may be mailed in to: Veterans Elementary School, attention: PTA, 26940 Progress Parkway, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544.

Registration must be received no later than April 16. Checks should be made payable to VES PTA. Local businesses and individuals may also support the tournament through hole sponsorships and raffle prize donations. For more information about the tournament, email .

 

FEMA seeks youth leaders

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is looking for young leaders to become national advocates for youth disaster preparedness.

Those between the ages of 12 and 17 who are interested in serving on FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council should apply now. They will represent the youth perspective on emergency planning and share that information with their communities.

Youths can apply themselves or be nominated by adults. The deadline is midnight April 18.

To obtain application materials and instructions, visit www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness.