Julie Garisto is a maven of Tampa Bay culture. She has written about local music, restaurants, film, retail and personalities by way of writer/editor/freelance positions at Weekly Planet, tbt*, St. Petersburg Times, America Online, Tampa Bay Newspapers and a slew of other media outlets. A Largo High and USF grad — and first-generation Italian-American — she’s that rare bird who hasn’t flown the coop except to travel throughout North America and Europe. Julie goes on record to muzzle the naysayers who moan about the lack of anything to do in our area. If it weren’t for the multitudinous nooks and crannies of our cities and beach communities, Ms. Garisto would have been forced to work a boring 9-to-5 job more often than she would have cared to.
email: julie.garisto@cln.com
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2010.