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Grand Central A new column's brewing
By PATTY RYAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 4, 2003
IN A PART of my brain where words are kept, "caffeine," "energy" and "Susan Thurston" all share a cubbyhole.
It's not that Susan's a coffee junkie.
I just think of her as the buzz beneath the surface of City Times.
FOURTEEN months ago, her stories, about issues great and small, graced the very first issue.
Some of the news on Day 1: Old Meeting House planned an outdoor cafe. We denizens of SoHo cheered.
In later weeks, Susan took us to Harbour Island, for a sneak peek of a posh new mansion. She profiled plant guru Earl Garland, executive chef Jeannie Pierola and Channel District booster Kim Markham, among others.
She was first to report that Publix was eyeing Old Hyde Park Village, and she kept constant watch on the proposed Gandy Connector.
LAST WEEK, Susan took over as editor of City Times, so that I might explore a new challenge at the Times.
Next week, the transition continues: Grand Central leaves this spot for a wider audience in the daily newspaper (location soon to be announced), and Susan launches a new column.
My guess is her column will affect you like a cup of java.
Appropriately, it will be called "What's Brewing."
YOU WONDER: Who is this person, Susan Thurston?
Like nearly everyone in Florida, she came from someplace else.
She grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and went to school in Ohio. She's lived in Colorado, Minnesota, Puerto Rico and California.
But she found her way to Tampa and quickly became one of us.
"It doesn't take long to feel like you're a native," she says.
SHE'S a cat person who sometimes yearns for a dog.
She's a third-generation Days of Our Lives fan. She tapes the show then watches after work with her cats. "It's my favorite time of the day," she says.
She's well-schooled in Spanish. For six months in 1996, she toured South America with a backpack.
She also reads like a fiend.
POOL PLAYERS fear her. Once, the two of us ran a doubles table at Mac's, leaving challengers in a pile at the door.
She makes time to go to church on Sundays.
When she leaves town, it's often to be close to family. Photos of nephews warm her desk.
She's often seen pedaling a bicycle or racing along Bayshore Boulevard, her favorite place to run.
Local haunts include Cellini restaurant in Ballast Point, Panera in SoHo and Demmi's Market in Ybor City.
Of covering South Tampa, she says, "You never know what you're going to run into and you never get bored."
SHE INHERITS a dedicated staff that includes social columnist Amy Scherzer, writer Ron Matus, photographer Stefanie Boyar and other contributors, including a new reporter, yet to be named.
Part of my new job is to keep an eye on City Times and its new sibling, Brandon Times, coordinating efforts with a similar section, North of Tampa.
I must confess I'm a bit sentimental about City Times.
But I'm not at all worried. Leaving it in Susan's hands is like finding someone with a lush green back yard to adopt the last puppy in a litter.
You get the feeling everything will be just fine.
-- Patty Ryan is a senior editor in the Tampa office of the Times. She can be reached at 226-3382 or pryan@sptimes.com
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