Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
In Tallahassee, Sen. King is a direct reference to the state Senate president from Jacksonville, Jim King.
Someday, however, it could very well be the calling card of former Bucs quarterback Shaun King. Don't laugh. On Tuesday, King met with Gov. Jeb Bush in Tallahassee. The meeting was originally scheduled for 20 minutes but stretched to 45 as King and Bush shared thoughts about youth outreach programs.
"It was good to see a lot of the ideas he has for young people match my ideas," King said. "It was really encouraging. We actually set up a golf outing in early April."
A spokesperson for the governor said he was equally impressed with King. Clearly, the St. Petersburg native and Tulane graduate handled himself well, but of course, you wouldn't expect someone who started in an NFC Championship game to be anxious.
Or would you?
"I was a bit nervous," King said. "It was a tremendous opportunity to meet the governor, something most people haven't done."
For Bush to set aside time to meet with King during the session says a lot, but King deserves the attention because of his latest community efforts. Kimberly Dale, Bush's special assistant in Tampa Bay, helped arrange the meeting after she learned King was going to be the keynote speaker at a State Farm event in Tallahassee Tuesday night.
King credited Dale for being a tremendous asset to his charitable foundation, which has set up a three-year program aimed at helping middle and high school students at St. Petersburg's Northside Boys & Girls Club learn more about the political process.
And it will continue even though King has now signed to play with Arizona.
The program will include trips at the end of each year: Tallahassee, Washington and, in the third year, the United Nations headquarters in New York and the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. King's foundation will handle all expenses, but he's getting plenty in return.
"When you hear kids talk about their dreams and ambitions, there's something so genuine about it," King explained.
"Their dreams aren't tainted. When they talk about what they want to do, it just encourages me to do even more."
NEARLY 200,000Hispanics live in Hillsborough County, making the group a viable target for big banks and mortgage executives. But language and cultural barriers and financial concerns can create a difficult road for first-time Hispanic home buyers.
Following in the footsteps of other companies such as Latino Mortgage, Market Street Mortgage now has its own radio show on WQBN-AM 1300. Real Estate Hoy airs today and every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and will run through May 12. Market Street loan officers Gustavo Rodriguez and Ricardo Aleman discuss various real estate topics and approaches to home ownership.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY and unlucky number 13 seem like an unholy match, but the 13 Ugly Men are hoping to change that with a special St. Paddy's party at Whiskey Park SOHO starting at 6 tonight.
The motley not-for-profit organization, which set out to have parties with a purpose in the early '90s, reports that it has donated more than $125,000 to charitable organizations in the past two years. Admission for this party is $10 and proceeds benefit the Academy Prep Center of Tampa.
FORMER BUCS COACH Tony Dungy may not have delivered the Bucs to the Super Bowl promised land, but he and former general manager Rich McKay did deliver a number of high character players who continually reach out to the community.
Some, like King and Warrick Dunn, do so even though they are no longer with the Bucs. That's what you get with players who are as principled as they are talented.
I do hope this new set of players coach Jon Gruden has brought to town continues the tradition. The bar has been raised.
That's all I'm saying.
- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com