Water Restrictions

The City of Tampa wants everyone to remember the tighter water restrictions. The Water Police are out looking for you! Need some tips to save water? Read this.

Tampa Water Department is also asking residents to cut back watering their lawns.

HART Bus Rapid Transit coming to Tampa

I attended an information session about the plans for HART's new BRT. The first bus route to take effect will run from downtown, north/south on Nebraska Ave, and east/west on Fletcher Ave to I-75. Fortunately, it runs straight through our neighborhood. Another great aspect is the creation of much needed bus shelters. Proposed locations for the stops/shelters in V.M. Ybor are at Columbus, 21st Ave, and just outside, Lake Ave. Operations are planned to begin April 2011.

Code Enforcement Update!

I would like all of you to know that on Monday, February 9th, a team of people from Code Enforcement will be performing a thorough look at our neighborhood. It includes officers from other areas as well as our own, and also those up the chain of command.

We are hoping that this attention gets the ball moving to rid us of unnecessary problems. Thanks to Pete Johnson for pushing so hard for this to happen.

New Heights Magazine - Jan/Feb 2009 Edition

Just Released!

The Jan/Feb 2009 Edition of:
New Heights Magazine
Highlighting Tampa's Historic Urban Corridor

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*** Check Out The New Online Format ***

Health & Wellness: Posed for Greatness

Home & Family: A Gothic Tampa Romance

Neighborhood Spotlight: Downtown Tampa

Heights Heighlights: A Taste of Tampa -and- Devilishly Delicious

Food & Drink: Cafe con Lech -and- Drowning with Flavor

Green & Earth: Revelations in Insulation

Arts & Events: Gasparilla Festival of Arts

News & Rumors: Hear it through the Grapevine.

Urban Corridor = Seminole Heights, Downtown, Hyde Park, Channel District, West Tampa, Riverside Heights, Ybor City, Ybor Heights, Davis Islands, Tampa Heights, The Heights, VM Ybor & surrounding areas.

First Neighborhood Clean Up

On Saturday, January 10th, the V.M. Ybor Neighborhood Association held its first neighborhood clean up. Five of us picked up trash on Nebraksa Ave and Columbus Drive, as well as many residential blocks. We received a very encouraging response from the public and hopefully recruited more people to help in the future. We also took note of multiple code violations. Thanks to Kim & Richard Headland, Barbara Robinson, and Pete Johnson for their help!

Code Enforcement

Just the other day, our neighborhood activist friend Pete Johnson, stirred up some city officials about the number of code violations within our boundaries. Since then, some of these officials have driven around here to witness the problems we face. Right now, as much as ever, is a key time to submit code violations. The more we inundate Code Enforcement with our concerns, the more the city will be pressured to change. Please keep up the pressure.

Links to Some Recent Prostitution Stories

12/30/08 208 E Columbus Drive: Tampa Prostitution Sting Ends With Gunfire
11/18/08: Tampa prostitution sting nets 52 arrests
11/12/08 26th Ave & Nebraska: Tampa Woman With HIV Charged With Prostitution
10/28/08: Tampa prostitution sting nets five adults, rescues six juveniles