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Channel Drive regains its dignity, reopens

DAVIS ISLANDS - Channel Drive is free again.

After more than a year of being blocked because of problems with the city's STAR project, the scenic road reopened Friday.

Channel Drive was closed in February 2003 after a contractor reportedly damaged a massive sewage line while trying to lay a wastewater pipeline beneath Seddon Channel. The wastewater pipe is a key component for the South Tampa Area Reclaimed water project.

In response, the city built a temporary bypass system along Channel Drive for the sewage.

The wastewater pipeline was finally put in place last fall, paving the way for the removal of the sewage bypass.

Cayuga Avenue is open again, too. And the staging area next to the fire station on Cayuga should be cleaned up in about two weeks, the city says.

HISTORIC HYDE PARK - The Bayshore Task Force will hold a meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Kate Jackson Center, 821 S Rome Ave., to gather additional public opinions about improving the safety of pedestrians and drivers along Bayshore Boulevard.

The task force is examining speeding problems on Bayshore and plans to make recommendations to the city of Tampa. For information, call Steve Daignault at 274-7883.

TAMPA - Volunteers will converge on a half-dozen sites in and near South Tampa on April 17 to pick up trash as part of the 11th Annual Great American Cleanup.

More than 1,000 volunteers coordinated by Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful are expected at 28 locations countywide. Last year, they picked up more than 81,000 pounds of trash.

Sites in and near South Tampa include Ballast Point Park, Cypress Point Park and the 22nd Street Causeway.

Trash bags and disposable gloves are provided. So are free T-shirts and refreshments while supplies last.

Check-in is at 8:30 a.m. Cleanup is from 9 a.m. to noon.

To register, call 960-5121 or go to www.khcbonline.org

GOLFVIEW - Morrison Avenue between MacDill and Himes avenues didn't become what one city official called a mini roller coaster overnight.

It won't get fixed overnight, either.

Work to repair the street and the sewer pipes beneath it began last month and is expected to take about a year, said Ralph Metcalf, the city's wastewater director.

That means dust, detours and heavy equipment. Morrison Park, at Morrison and Glen avenues, has become a staging area.

"I'm just hoping the end results will make it worth it," said resident Missy Steadman, city liaison for the Golfview Civic and Garden Association. "I think it will be."

The problem: old sewer pipes.

They haven't been replaced in 50 years and in places have collapsed, allowing the road to cave in on top of them.

"It's like a sinkhole but it's not God," Metcalf said.

A few years ago, a contractor repaired the portion of Morrison between Howard and MacDill avenues.

The cost - about $1.2-million - includes replacing pipes, repaving the road, installing new curbs and fixing driveways.

So far, complaints have been minimal, Steadman said.

DOWNTOWN - The Henry B. Plant Museum has opened a new exhibit, "Cabinet of Curiosities," which explores a 19th century home library with bookcases and elaborate cabinets filled with exceptional and rare nature and art.

The exhibit focuses on ancient Roman and Greek coins, butterflies, shrunken monkey heads, and other unusual objects gathered from travel across the continents. Uncommon botanical prints, an African mask, a Raj-period Thomas Daniell aquatint, a Napoleonic engraving of the pyramids and a sphinx at sunset embellish the walls.

Cabinets are crammed with oddities, such as a crumb from Thomas Edison's birthday cake and an armadillo basket. Shelves have ivory, fossils, and mineral and shell collections.

The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 31. Cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children ages 3 to 12. For information, call 258-7302.

HISTORIC EAST YBOR - Tampa Street School is hosting a benefit motorcycle ride Saturday from Tampa to East Pasco County, ending at 5 p.m. for a barbecue dinner and prizes at the San Antonio Restaurant.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. at the school's Ybor campus, 1108 N 28th St. Cost is $10 per card hand. All proceeds will benefit the school, which serves students who haven't succeeded at traditional schools.

For information, call Scott "Bonz" Roe at 352 303-5299 or e-mail roebonz@earthlink.net

CARVER CITY/LINCOLN GARDENS - African Ambassadors Inc., a nonprofit group that provides medical, legal and social services for the underprivileged, will have its 2004 Spring Gala at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Tampa Marriott Westshore, 1001 N West Shore Blvd. A jazz saxophonist and the Kumba Dancers will perform.

Cost is $40 per person in advance, $45 at the door, or $75 per couple in advance, $80 at the door; or $20 after 9 p.m. For tickets, call Frank at 855-3401, Julia at 334-7246 or David at 495-2234.