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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 28, 2001
Looking back on 2001, we remember huge international stories and not-so-huge local ones.
We introduced you to a church that met at a movie house. You met the "Cichlid King" of Keystone.
We started the year with a tour of Intermedia Corp.'s high-tech headquarters in New Tampa.
Then we watched as World Com Inc. bought out the Internet and telecommunications company.
Despite the layoffs that followed, and a national recession, growth continued throughout New Tampa. Traffic got so bad, in fact, that we found several families moving from northern New Tampa to the Tampa Palms area to cut down on their commute.
Moving west, Carrollwood had several reasons to celebrate.
Gaither High School journalism teacher Christie Gold beat out 180 nominees for the title of Hillsborough County Teacher of the Year.
A new public library opened on Bearss Avenue and the County Commission said yes to a new community center. The board also greenlighted a planned development in the Keystone area called Highland Park, although not everybody there was celebrating.
In Plantation, the Boys & Girls Club lost an opportunity to build a permanent center, in a power struggle that laid the groundwork for a volatile homeowners' race.
GreatStone Mortgage started the year with a bang, but ended with a whimper and a lot of speculation. The company, which came under federal scrutiny, had to stop underwriting government-backed mortgage loans. As a result, most of its work force wound up out of work.
These are some of the stories we followed steadily.
Others appeared once or twice, then vanished as we turned our thoughts to weightier matters.
And so, as we do every year at Christmastime, we asked our reporters: Whatever happened to the Westchase roundabout? The Keystone card-trick novelist? The Countryway neighbors who went on the Judge Judy show? The chicken who assumed guard duty in Cheval?
Today and Sunday, we take a second look at these and other stories that kept us informed and entertained in an unforgettable year.
Happy Holidays!