By ROB BRANNON, RON MATUS and BABITA PERSAUD
Published September 5, 2003
DOWNTOWN - Bicycling to the city center might still be a chore, but if you make it, your odds of finding a parking space just got better.
Thirty new bike racks were recently installed throughout the central business district, thanks to a federal grant pursued by the Tampa Downtown Partnership. Downtown now boasts 60 racks.
Supporters hope the racks will encourage more workers and visitors to bicycle downtown.
The partnership is trying to "bring awareness to the many different ways people can get to downtown Tampa," said Jim Shimberg, the group's chairman, in a news release.
The new racks are shaped to look like the mathematical symbol "pi," which allows them to take up less space than traditional bike racks and add a little style to the streetscape.
For information about the racks' locations, call the partnership at 221-3686.
TGH nurse recognized for diabetes education
DAVIS ISLANDS - Renee Meehan, a nurse at Tampa General Hospital, was recently named the first runner up as the National Diabetes Educator of the Year at the American Association of Diabetes Educators' 20th Annual Meeting.
"I was surprised to even be nominated," Meehan said. "I'm very passionate about diabetes education. ... When you put that much effort into something and you get recognized for it, it makes it even more worthwhile."
Meehan, who has been a nurse for 32 years, is a diabetes expert who teaches a monthly class that covers "everything diabetes from head to toe." She also teaches patients how to live with and control the disease.
Meehan began her career in neonatal intensive care. In 1993, she began TGH's diabetes program. That program, under Meehan's direction, has grown to garner national recognition.
Egypt Shrine to honor Bayshore Patriots
BAYSHORE - More kudos to those Bayshore Patriots.
Egypt Shrine will honor them as the Community Service winners for 2003.
"This group has shown the public as to what being patriotic citizens is all about," said Tom Vann, service chairman at the Shrine, a community service organization known for its work with burn victims.
The brass and wood plaque will be presented to about 30 Bayshore Patriots before the Shrine's regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at 4050 Dana Shores Drive.
About 30 Bayshore Patriots - many who still wave the flag every Friday at 5 p.m. at Bay to Bay and Bayshore boulevards - plan to attend, said Vann.
The program also includes Shrine member Joe Peel's speech, "I am the Flag," and Edyth Roberts, the 2001 service award winner, singing God Bless America and the Star Spangle Banner.
The public is invited to attend.
For information, call Vann at 978-1803.
Museum to feature historical productions
DOWNTOWN - Starting Sunday, a step across the threshold of the Henry B. Plant Museum will be a step more than a century in the past.
The museum, in the former Tampa Bay Hotel on the campus of the University of Tampa, will produce a 30-minute theatrical performance of single-character vignettes representing the building's original 1891 occupants. The characters are based in part on actual hotel guests and employees.
Performers will rotate each week. The productions will be at 2 p.m. every Sunday through May, with the exception of a few weekends. Reservations are not necessary, and all performances are open to the public with a museum donation.
For information, call Amy Franklin David at 254-1891, ext. 7304.
