Tampa couples to visit... Tampa
By ERNEST HOOPER
Published February 4, 2005
If all goes as planned, the mayor of Tampa will say hello to the mayor of Tampa next weekend.
No, Pam Iorio won't have an out-of-body experience. Thanks to a promotion from WFLA-AM 970, the mayor of Tampa, Kan., will come to our fair city in a rather odd exchange program.
Jim Clemmer, mayor of the Kansas city with the same name as our town, will come here with his wife. And Brandon resident Jim Allen and his wife will visit Tampa, Kan. Allen won the trip by coming up with a new slogan for our city: Tampa - Paradise Under Construction.
The residents of Tampa, Kan., population 150, chose the Clemmers as the winners of the trip.
WFLA morning co-host Jack Harris said he crafted the idea after stumbling upon Tampa, Kan., on the Internet. He's been trying for a year and a half to get the promotion off the ground.
The contest might not register on the radar here, but in Kansas, it's big. The Salina Journal, which covers Tampa, Kan., made the contest front page news last week.
The townsfolk have a full itinerary for the Allens, including a night at the Centre High homecoming game, the social event of the season. The Allens also will visit a dairy farm and possibly see a calf born.
"It's like Green Acres," Harris said. "The city slickers head to Hooterville."
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau has all kinds of events lined up for the Clemmers. However, I don't think taking them to the night parade in Ybor City would be a good idea.
No one seems to know how the Kansas edition of Tampa got its name, but there's also a Hillsboro, Kan. Could it be some local folks decided to relocate?
Can you finish out of the money on Jeopardy! and still impress viewers? After watching Orlando Zambrano's performance Wednesday night, I would have to say yes.
Zambrano reached the semifinals of the teen tournament on Jeopardy! as a wild card choice, thanks to his Monday night score. After a roller coaster performance Monday, he promptly got off to another dubious start Wednesday: minus $1,200.
But Zambrano bounced back with more calm this time. He didn't answer a lot of questions, but rallied by delivering on several big-money responses. At the end of Double Jeopardy, he was tied for second with $12,200.
Final Jeopardy, however, was not kind to our native son. The category was "In The News," and the answer was Launched in 2004, a spacecraft named Messenger is on a mission to study this planet.
The correct response is "What is Mercury?" - Mercury being the mythical messenger to the gods. But Zambrano guessed Jupiter. If he had been right, he would have made the finals, because the gutsy kid bet it all. Instead, Anne Shivers of Peotone, Ill., answered correctly and advanced.
Still, Zambrano pocketed $5,000 for making the semifinals. And in my eyes, he also earned a degree of respect.
The Columbia Restaurant is taking its flavorful blend of Spanish and Cuban food south, just a little closer to Havana. The Gonzmart family opens its seventh restaurant Tuesday in West Palm Beach's CityPlace with a special grand opening. West Palm Mayor Lois Frankel will do the ribbon cutting. No word on a possible appearance by the Beach's most popular resident, Donald Trump.
Still, it appears the Gonzmarts have picked an ideal location. CityPlace is a 72-acre, $600-million development that features a mix of retail, restaurants, residential units, a theater within a 79-year-old church and a cinema complex.
It sounds a lot like Ybor City. Or at least what we hope Ybor City will be someday.
That's all I'm saying.
Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com