Our new feature, "The Influencers," drew favorable e-mail and Web responses from fans of interviewees Jason Busto and Karl Nurse. An aficionado of local hip-hop expressed appreciation for Wade Tatangelo's cover story on the Umbrella Corporation. But another reader objected to a phrase in Brian Ries' review of fast-food chicken.
Great article! [Interview with Jason Busto by Wayne Garcia, Sept. 19]: Jason has been a wonderful influence in the Architectural Heritage Committee helping us achieve our dreams. The City needs more young leaders like him.
Thanks for all you do Jason!
Gus Paras
One of the new crop of Hispanic leaders: I've known Jason for a couple of years, and the first time I got an e-mail with census statistics from a plumbing company I thought it was a joke! Alas, he is ... a hard-working guy who has a vision. I have to confess I've been contaminated by his enthusiasm in certain projects and hope he keeps pushing the envelope until we achieve some change. He is the face of our new Hispanic leadership. I only wish we had more like him stepping up!
Orlando
Awesome interview! Thanks Jason. There's no shortage of people pointing out Tampa's faults (including me), particularly those in our generation who've lived elsewhere and know what we COULD be with a little effort and commitment. It's refreshing and inspiring to see someone acting on it, working to improve our quality of life and celebrating our strengths as a community.
Darren
We should clone Jason and drop him strategically across the nation.
Marquez Bela
Re: "Lobbyist for good things" [Interview with Karl Nurse by Alex Pickett, Sept. 26]: This article was a refreshing read and brought to mind the saying "It's not what the country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Thank you, Mr. Nurse, for being a spokesman and bringing life and preservation into an area that sometimes forgets about the ecoflow.
Kathy Gustafson
Via e-mail
Good Article ["United Front," by Wade Tatangelo, Sept. 12]: I am glad to see some local artists getting some shine on your cover. It's good for hip-hop and lets everyone know that hard work doesn't get overlooked. I saw the link to your site on www.tampahiphop.com. If you have never been there, you should check it out. They have a lot of talented artists that I see and listen to on there.
Paul Nice
Redneck? How did a story about chicken ["Pecking Order," by Brian Ries, Sept. 26] end up using "redneck" in it, esp. pertaining to Col. Sanders, who, just because he's a Southern icon, gets branded with "redneck"? Why is it that Southerners are the last bastion of the population that gets labeled like this? Go back home, Yankee.
Richard
Editor's Note: Brian goes back home all the time. He grew up in Sarasota.
ON THE BLOGS
On blurbex.com: Rob Cossack of The Stick Martin Show (2007 Readers' Poll winner for Best Local Hip-Hop Act) tells us he took some swell pics at The Loafies, the Best of the Bay awards show at Tampa Theatre. That's the band in the photo reprinted here, and you can see more at Rob's website, devastationmotorsports.com.
On politicalwhore.com: Wayne Garcia's post about a recent controversy in St. Pete provokes some interesting comments about blacks, gays and Republicans.
On tampacalling.com: Wade Tatangelo shows us what Amy Winehouse requires in her dressing room (Smirnoff, Jack Daniels, Veuve Cliquot are all essential!) — more proof that she really should go to rehab.
On eatmyflorida.com: Brian Ries kisses up to grits.
CORRECTIONS
Our proofing was not always at its best in our Best of the Bay issue (Sept. 19). Corrections from the issue are as follows:
The award for Best Vegetarian Grease Bomb ran with an incorrectly captioned photo. The photo showed Augie DiRusso and his mozza-pies, not Gregory Jones' Veggie Burgers (which won the award).
The phone number for Best New Restaurant, Savannah's Café in St. Pete, was listed incorrectly. The correct number is 727-388-4371.
Bruce Wright, named Most Polarizing Figure, is 46 years old, not 57.
The phone number was incorrect for the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (named Best Local Film Festival). The correct phone number is 813-879-4220.
The URL for the website of Bob Ross (named Best Laid-Off Movie Critic) was listed incorrectly. It is bobrossmovies.com, not bobross.com.
In the letters section, the URL for Wade Tatangelo's music blog, Tampa Calling, was listed incorrectly. The correct address is tampacalling.com.
In the issue of Sept. 26, a photo in the Loafies wrap-up was captioned incorrectly. The interviewer in the foreground is Holley Sinn of Studio 10, not Katrina Stevenson.
In "Influencers," the photo of Karl Nurse was incorrectly credited. The photo was taken by Lori Ballard, not by Alex Pickett.
And this from a reader re: Mark Leib's review (Sept. 26) of Hat Trick Theatre's production of Incorruptible:
Priests wear cassocks. Monks wear robes. Cassocks are usually the black, close-fitting, almost floor-length outerwear. I know. I used to be a Catholic.
Theresa Knapik
