Kathleen Ford is crossing the bay to do battle in the courthouse

Tampa columnist HOOPER E-mail: Click here Archive

By ERNEST HOOPER

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 1, 2001

Kathleen Ford may not be able to display the histrionics in court that she did during her four years as a St. Petersburg City Council member, but Ogden & Sullivan has hired the former St. Pete mayoral candidate.

Ford, who lost to Rick Baker in March, now is working for the personal injury law firm in its new office on the corner of Cleveland Street and Armenia Avenue, the old Jimmy Mac's location.

"Obviously with my medical background, this is a good fit," says Ford, who worked as a nurse. She got her law degree from Houston's South Texas College of Law.

The bet here is those who face off against Ford in court should not expect a walk in the park.

Florida's junior U.S. senator, Bill Nelson, spoke to the Tiger Bay Club Wednesday. His basic message was predictable: tax cut bad, me good.

But Nelson did elaborate on the role he played in James Jeffords' decision to leave the Republican Party, saying he helped the Vermont senator draw a parallel with Alabama Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, who abandoned the Democrats in 1994.

Seeking a favor from my wife is a tricky proposition these days. If I ask her to pick up my dry cleaning, she might peck me on the cheek and say, "Sure honey." Or, she might go into a 10-minute rebuke that begins, "Do you realize I'm pregnant?"

The dilemma makes Jodi Lattarulo's business all the more intriguing. Since January, Lattarulo has been operating Just Ask Jodi, offering a variety of personal services. For $25 to $35 an hour, Lattarulo will buy groceries, pick up dry cleaning, make a run to the post office. Or do even more. The former Coleman Middle School physical education teacher also can serve as personal fitness trainer, organize a wedding or party, or help remodel your home.

Lattarulo says customers range from single men to stay-at-home moms, but my question is, how does this self-described "life coach" balance her own life, which includes helping her husband, Dan, run a wholesale cigar company?

"I have to-do lists, and I always try to have lunch or dinner with a friend," Lattarulo says. "There has to be Jodi time."

Bill Palmer, who is waiting for a heart transplant at Tampa General, thought he would have to go high-tech to be a part of his daughter's wedding in Chicago on Saturday. With the help of the hospital and a donation from Picturetel, the wedding was going to be video-conferenced into his room.

It would have been a first for Tampa General, but miraculously, Palmer's condition improved enough for him to be released last week for the time being. Palmer, a 55-year-old administrator at James A. Haley VA Hospital, flew to Chicago Thursday for the wedding.

Bill Nelson also announced he now has an office at the federal courthouse. Ana Cruz will run the office, and she promises they won't try to convert Republicans into Democrats.

Charles Manly II was heralded for his ability to attract business as a sales manager for the Tampa Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau and lauded for his participation in Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Manly will be mourned today by friends and family in an 11 a.m. memorial service at Oak Grove United Methodist Church on Waters Avenue. Manly, an insulin-dependent diabetic, died Sunday when he drowned in his home pool.

- Ernest Hooper can be reached at (813) 226-3406 or hooper@sptimes.com.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright