Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 137

NTP TIMES FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2002 9 NEW TAMPA WEST SHORE fields may be open by new year To my fans, with love A local company promises personalized, autographed photographs of celebrities for a fee. Hie softball and soccer complex on Commerce Park Boulevard will be shared between the parks department and Freedom High and Liberty Middle. JOELPOILEY Time Correspondent rent plans for the $5-million complex include four adult softball fields, two youth and two adult soccer fields, a jogging trail, a playground and lighting for all of the fields. Lights have been ordered but will not be ready for use until January, said Wayne Papi, director of Tampa Recreation and Parks. Plans call for a concession stand and restrooms, but funds are currently not available.

Jim Johannessen, project coordinator with the Hillsborough County school district recently received a quote of $438,000 for a concession stand. Johannessen said tennis and basketball courts were scratched from the original plan because the city plans to build a two-story joint recreation and satellite business office on the complex. Papi and New Tampa youth leagues are discussing the possibility of converting two of the adult softball fields for youth softball and Little League baseball for ages 11-13. Portable fences would be used to convert the adult fields for youth play. "We can't do any scheduling until the lights are in," Papi said.

"Looking at the time it takes to order and receive them, we're looking at January. I've had discussions with (New Tampa Little League President) Steve Glantz about using one of the fields. That works for the Little League season because they don't start until late January, early February." Gymnasiums for each school will also be available for use by the city for its recreational programs. Both schools will use the soccer fields. The school system is paying for a baseball and softball field at Freedom, as well as a football stadium.

Bleachers and lights are expected in place by next season. The site will include retention and wetland areas. But there will not be a park shelter, as detailed in the master plan. By CARY L. WILLIAMS Times Correspondent TAMPA PALMS Softball and soccer fields may be ready for recreational league play by January at the 40-acre complex being built in Tampa Palms located at Commerce Park Boulevard.

Plans for the complex, to be used jointly between the city parks department, Freedom High and Liberty Middle School, have changed several times because of funding issues. Cur- WEST WEST SHORE Fans of famous entertainers and athletes have a new way to snare personalized autographs, without leaving home. If made possible by a Tampa company staking a new claim on the Internet frontier. The company, Autographed To You, or ATY, touts itself as an electronic conduit between celebrities and their fans. Lef say you're a longtime admirer of NFL Hall of Fame great Paul Hornung.

But you've never seen him in person and probably never will. You'd like to have his autograph, but how? By going to autographedtoyou.com. Once there, youll find a roster of celebrities ranging from film and recording stars to famous athletes, including Hornung. The site offers four publicity-style photographs. For a fee, you pick your favorite picture, choose from a list of personalized statements and fill in your name.

In one to six weeks, the company says, you receive an 8- by 10-inch photo, signed and personalized by Hornung. Each celebrity sets the price for his or her photo, typically ranging from $30 to $75. Payment is by credit card. The fee is divided three ways: A third goes to the celebrity, a third to ATY and a third to charity. "Ifs a real win-win," said ATY spokesman Ron Jackson, a former television sports anchor who lives in Citrus Park.

"Everyone goes away with something. In fact some celebrities are simply donating their piece of the pie to charitable causes." All of the back-office work takes place at the company's facility on Lois Avenue. Once an order is received over the Internet the appropriate photo is shipped to the celebrity, signed, sent back to the Tampa office, and then forwarded to the customer. Jackson says the company was conceived two years ago by co-founders Byron Lancaster of Odessa and J.B. Seligman of Bayside Village.

The two also own a business called the Message On Hold Network, which provides audio material for telephone waiting times. Seligman and Lancaster introduced a mutual friend to the auction Web site eBay. Their friend happened to be a big fan of TV actor Farrah Faw-cett He wondered if there might be any of her memorabilia on eBay. There was, and lots of it He then asked if he could get a personalized autograph of Fawcett through eBay. The answer was no.

That got Lancaster thinking, and a few weeks later, AutographedToYou.com was born. The company began its rollout in mid July with a publicity party at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, followed by a second soiree this month in Miami. Jackson says ATY is donating $10,000 to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, founded by former Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti. Similar events are planned for Las Vegas and Tampa Still, some questions remain. How does ATY guarantee the autographs are genuine and not signed by a machine? "AD of our celebrities are under contract" Jackson says.

"There is a clause that specifically requires them to personally sign the photos." Staying power is another issue. This is, after all, a dot-com Are there enough autograph collectors out there to support the site? Jackson says no, not really which is why his company places a heavy emphasis on personalized photos as gifts for special occasions and holidays. The site also offers gift certificates. Then, there is the actual Web site. There's a definite tilt toward sports figures, with only a sprinkling of movie and recording stars.

It doesn't even include Farrah Fawcett Not to worry, Jackson said: Recent developments, including a deal with Hollywood promoter David Mirisch, will boost the entertainment roster. Including Fawcett? "We're working that too," Jackson said. 1 1 Times photos LANCE A. ROTHSTEIN Carmen Cartaya Diaz joins a Saturday night crowd dancing to the beat of a band from Colombia at the West Tampa Convention Center. Under Diaz's direction, the Convention Center draws a steady parade of popular Latin performers and serves as a cultural crossroads.

TAMPA said with a laugh. "When the cemetery fills up, basically all that will be left of Centra Espanol will be the West Tampa Convention Center," she said. In the past year, the center's three halls have drawn about 25 wedding parties, nearly 15 quinces (a coming of age for Hispanic girls) and dozens of dinner dances and seminars. People gather to watch boxing matches, attend bird shows or sit through church services. They chuckle at Candy Caramelo, a burlesque queen from Miami who mixes spicy comedy with her interpretations of Cuban boleros from the 1950s.

In a sense, the center's most important role is to promote West Tampa's renaissance, Diaz said. "The West Tampa Convention Center brings people who might not have ventured here otherwise," she said. More than just an entertainment venue, it is a cultural crossroads. The Brazilian community threw a big New earlier that they were subject to "removal without cause," but nobody seemed serious about following through on the sanction. Voting members overwhelmingly decided to retain Stein and Thomas.

Two other community association directors, Harold Hackney and Harriet Meier, face removal "with cause." Voting member Linda Walker initially called for the foursome's impeachment in September in light of what she terms their poor track record as community leaders. Walker said at the time that the directors showed little respect for one another and allowed personal conflicts to interfere with The life of the party When she's not booking Carmen Cartaya Diaz keeps die West Tampa Convention Center hopping with Latin music, dances and more. By LISSETTE CORSA Jimes Correspondent Before Carmen Cartaya Diaz stepped in, the West Tampa Convention Center's chief mission was to arrange for the burials of El Centra Espanol's aging members. As the business arm of the former Ybor City mutual aid society, it continues to administer Centra Espanol's remaining assets: two cemeteries. But, under Diaz, the halls have found life.

The Convention Center, on Columbus Drive in Tampa, now draws a steady parade of popular Latin performers. Two years ago, when the Convention Center's former office manager quit, Centra Espanol president Dennis Alfonso turned to his friend Diaz for help. What began as a part-time job sorting through paperwork became a full-time commitment to turn rthe center into a top entertainment venue. "When I first got here, I was told don't book recalled Diaz, 55, a of Cuba who grew up in West Tampa jand remembers when Columbus Drive was one-way street "Now we don't even close our doors for Llunch." I Under her direction, Latin performers such as Cuba's two-time Latin Grammy nominee Issac Delgado and Miami salsero Willy jChirino have lit up the West Tampa Conven-, tion Center stage, to the delight of audiences. This past summer, Delgado's concert was lannounced on Spanish-language radio sta tions, advertised on glossy fliers posted at Latin businesses, promoted by local Cubans and sponsored by Pipo's Cafe.

Tickets were sold at La Teresita Grocery and Las Americas Supermarket The Havana singer and his 15-piece salsa ensemble played songs from his latest pro duction as part of a six-week tour of the United States and Canada. About 800 Cuban-Americans and other devotees showed up, some in guayabera shirts, singing as they danced. Two weeks later, Chirino and his band the Convention Center before heading off to the venerable House of Blues in New Orleans. And a recent Saturday night brought the sounds of Los Hermanos Rosario, an acclaimed Dominican merengue group. "If one of the best places in town to do a $how," said Carlos Martinez, a Cuban-American salsa promoter who invited Delgado to town.

They're very open-minded about providing the space for any type of event The Soundproof quality is excellent The location Is excellent because if surrounded by a large Hispanic community. The environment is great And nothing compares to the attitude and treatment from the staff Everything is upfront" I The building, originally constructed for the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce, once housed the MacFarlane Optimist Club, the West Tampa Optimist Club and the West Tampa Business Alliance. NEIGHBORHOOD NOTEBOOK Hearing set for revised Grand Hampton plan The Tampa City Council has scheduled a public hearing on Nov. 7 about the revised development agreement for Grand Hampton in New Tampa. Under the terms of a lawsuit recently settled by the Sierra Club and Grand Hampton's developer, the community will no longer include a golf course.

Instead, wider buffer zones will sur Victor Rodriguez and his sister Cecilia Wilson are among a crowd of hundreds dancing the night away at the Convention Center. About El Centra Espanol In 1891, Hispanic immigrants who had hopped from Havana to Florida to work in the cigar industry formed El Centra Espanol in Tampa. Over the years, the social club blossomed into a mutual aid society, one built on camaraderie and a need for health care. About 150 members remain. Their club, which must one day bury them, now fights for its own survival.

Year's Eve bash at the center. Colombians celebrated independence there. So did Dominicans, who danced the merengue, ate native foods and sold arts and crafts to the public. Even non-Hispanic artists like the space, which has drawn singers from Jamaica to Vietnam. Local Pakistanis celebrated a Muslim holiday at West Tampa.

"If a good location and especially His-panics feel at home here," said promoter and radio host Victor Zapata. He was among those at the recent Los Hermanos Rosario concert which offered a porthole into Tampa's Latin nightlife. It started as a quiet evening, with guests lounging near a wood dance floor, a few slow-dancing to romantic bachata CDs. Disco balls twirled above their heads. Others lingered at a discreet bar near the exit nursing rum and downing Presidente beers.

When Los Hermanos Rosario hit the stage near midnight the dance floor beckoned and everyone grabbed a partner. Not Diaz. Outside, she had just arrived in her car with coffee and doughnuts for police officers hired as security. When she was 14, she worked selling tickets at Centra Espanol's old Casino Theater in Ybor City. Today she's responsible for keeping the historic institution alive through the success of the West Tampa Convention Center.

"How ironic," Diaz mused. "But I suppose thaf life. "I've come full circle. Now I feel young again." community business. Hackney and Meier, because they face removal for specific reasons, will be given a chance to respond to any grievances presented to them in advance.

They drew more attention from voting members because of their actions surrounding a search for a property manager. The two contacted a bidder for the job after the deadline had passed, which some voting members viewed as inappropriate. The date for their impeachment meeting has not been set JOHN BALZ, LOGAN D. MABE El Centra Espanol bought it in 1991, abandoning former headquarters at Howard Avenue and Cherry Street Even downsized and relocated, El Centra Espanol languished for several years. When Diaz took the helm, the main office was falling apart a musty smell permeated the air, and the few remaining workers didn't know how to use the computer.

"It was so depressing," she said. Pastora Riveiro, 79, a longtime Centra Espanol member and volunteer, recalls the club's glory days, when it was a vital part of Tampa's Latin culture. She knows the mutual aid society has outlived its usefulness; still, she is heartened by the revival. "Carmen was heaven sent" Riveiro said. These days, amid arranging burials, Diaz rents out party halls and plans dances, shows, meetings, weddings and receptions.

"I always joke with people and tell them, "We can put you to dance and then when the time comes, we can put you to rest' Diaz round waterways and more land will be devoted to conservation areas. The hearing will take place at 9:30 a.m. in the council's 315 Kennedy Blvd. chambers. Westchase community board retains directors facing removal WESTCHASE Facing removal from the Westchase Community Association board, directors Jon Stein and Kathy Thomas were able to laugh and joke together Monday night before voting members decided their fate.

Stein and Thomas were notified six weeks CARROLLWOOD Upgrades to make intersection safer By LOGAN D. MABE Times Staff Writer CARROLLWOOD Getting through the intersection of Casey Road and Ehrlich Road will be a little less dicey once county crews finish revamping the crossroads. With work already under way, Hillsborough County plans to add a southbound right-turn lane on Casey Road. This will allow motorists on Casey to turn west onto Ehrlich without having to wait for a green light Workers are also installing a 6-inch high concrete divider in the center of Casey Road that will keep northbound drivers from turning left into a convenience store on the northwest corner of the intersection. The divider replaces a row of plastic stanchions, which didn't deter more aggressive drivers from turning into the store's parking lot county spokesman Steve Valdez said.

The project is expected to be completed by mid December, Valdez said, at a cost of about $437,000. Hillsborough County sheriffs Deputy Jerry Stramiello, a community resource officer in North-dale, said he drives through the intersection about six to eight times a day. "Ifs such a pain in the neck," Stramiello said. Most of the problems he sees stem from motorists trying to turn from Casey Road's northbound lanes into the convenience store lot Ifs not uncommon, he said, to see someone drive over the stanchions or, more commonly, make a U-turn in the parking lot of a nearby business complex. Logan D.

Mabe can be reached at 269-5304 or at mabesptimes.com..