Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
TIFFANI SHERMANA renamed Web site, e-mail newsletter and local news cablecast aim at getting Clearwater folks involved.
CLEARWATER - In the past, Clearwater mom Nancy Andrejack used to drive around town looking for signs about where, how and when to sign her kids up for local baseball leagues.
Learning what was available required persistence, experience and perhaps a bit of luck.
"You have to know where to look," Andrejack, 45, said during a recent trip to the Long Center.
Not any more.
Information about Clearwater events and services is now available at the click of a mouse, in your e-mail inbox and on your TV.
"We're trying to take a little more proactive role" to get information to the public, said Doug Matthews, 31, director of public communications for the city of Clearwater.
Since he left a similar job in Largo eight months ago to take the position in Clearwater, Matthews has made sweeping changes about how City Hall keeps in touch with people who live and work here.
For starters, a new city Web site made its debut in September. Gone is the difficult-to-remember Clearwater-fl.com, replaced by the catchier myClearwater.com.
The fact myClearwater.com sounds like the state's site, myFlorida.com, is no accident.
"There's no shame in using somebody else's success and feeding off it," Matthews said.
The site prominently features a "How do I . . . " section on the front page above a city services link. Residents can use the feature to find out how to get a library card, arrange for trash pickup or pay a parking ticket. Business owners can learn about getting a building permit or an occupational license. Visitors can find out about beach parking, local restaurants and sports events.
Next to the "How do I . . . " links, there are listings for special events, such as the Sunsets at Pier 60 festivals on Clearwater Beach, the downtown farmer's market or the illuminated holiday parade on Cleveland Street on Dec. 12.
That's a part of the city's Web site that resident Kathy Santoro said she may visit.
"We like to take the kids to things that, frankly, we don't have to pay a lot for," Santoro, 35, said as she watched her sons play outside the Long Center.
The city also rolled out a program in September to send residents e-mailed newsletters. With just a few mouse clicks, anybody can sign up to receive periodic information about city events, the library, parks and recreation, and more.
"What e-mail offers is it's the one thing that's delivered right to their desk," Matthews said.
The Web site and e-mail newsletters seem simple compared to another ambitious project. A new monthly newscast called C-News began this month on C-View, Clearwater's cable television Channel 15. Matthews said the cablecast is designed to cover local stories commercial TV stations don't.
"We're trying to provide a news program for our residents," he said.
"That would be nice," said Clearwater resident Wendy Nipper, 34. On other news programs, she said, "you have to get through all the Tampa news before you get to our side of the bay."
Four producers, two interns, and one TV production supervisor help find the stories, shoot the video, write the copy, and create the graphics for the half-hour cablecasts.
Even though there is only one new newscast a month, C-News airs the same program several times each week. The program guide appears monthly in the St. Petersburg Times and on www.myclearwater.com
Matthews said all the changes he's making have one purpose.
"We realize we're not in the situation we were in 50 years ago when people were more civic-minded," Matthews said. "The ultimate goal is to make people more aware and hopefully get them more involved."