Rotarians Hear Plug for Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

Stacey Efaw talked about the May 11 food drive at a meeting hosted by the FishHawk Riverview Rotary Club.

  Stacey Efaw, the executive director of the Emergency Care Help Organization (ECHO) in Brandon, spoke to the FishHawk Riverview Rotary Club on April 29 to discuss the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive set for May 11. "We need volunteers at the Seffner, Valrico, Brandon and Riverview post offices," she said. The food drive, she added, "gives us about at least half of the food we need for the year." Last year, about 80,000 pounds of food was collected locally during the one-day food drive, which is billed as "the largest one-day food drive in the nation and probably the world," according to notice of the event on the United States Postal Service's Web site. Every second Saturday in May, letter carriers when they deliver the mail volunteer to pick…

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What's Brewing at Regency Square

Construction is under way at the Regency Square shopping center in Brandon. Here's what's coming.

  Construction is under way at the Regency Square shopping center, where a free-standing Starbucks soon will be taking shape just west of the center's section that includes Moe's Southwest Grill, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Mattress Firm. Construction plans for the 5,000-square-foot, free-standing Starbucks are online at LDI-Line. The site plan for Regency Square Brandon retail space, at RegencyCenters.com, shows the Starbucks logo attached to the spot designated as No. 2200. The spot is designated to be 1,840 square feet. The upcoming Starbucks has frontage along State Road 60, across the street from the entrance to the Westfield Brandon shopping mall, and just east of the Interstate 75 and Brandon Boulevard intersection. Anchored by AMC …

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Kiwanis Benefit: Charity Poker Run at Uncle Mike's Today

The April 6 "Kickstands for Kids" fundraiser at Uncle Mike's Smokehouse Grill aims to benefit Kiwanis youth programs in local schools and the Joshua House. The Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon event is not just for motorcycle riders.

  The Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon is gearing up for the April 6 "Kickstands for Kids" fundraiser for Kiwanis youth programs in local schools and the Joshua House, a safe haven for absused, neglected and abandoned children in the Tampa Bay area. The local club's inaugural poker run kicks off with registration at 10 a.m. at Uncle Mike's Smokehouse Grill in Brandon, at 9847 East Adamo Drive, indside the Old Town Brandon Harley Davidson on State Road 60. "You can walk it, you can bike it, you can drive it," said event organizer Dustie Amatangelo, about the poker run. "Nobody is excluded." Proceeds from the event — which includes vendors, "a table full of raffle prizes," a 50-50 drawing and a scavenger hunt — will benefit Kiwanis club youth…

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Update: Power Restored For Most Bell Shoals Area TECO Customers

A power outage struck more than 3,300 TECO customers in the Valrico and Riverview areas late Thursday afternoon.

The power went out for more than 3,300 TECO customers in the Valrico and Riverview areas late Thursday afternoon. About half of those customers in the Bell Shoals area had their power restored by 6 p.m., said TECO spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs, and the rest were expected to regain power soon. A look at the energy company's real-time outage map at 6:30 p.m. showed 268 homes in the area still without power. A substation fire was the likely cause, Jacobs said. Earlier Thursday, another 1,400 customers in the Providence Road area in Brandon were without power. The cause was a bad underground cable, according to Jacobs.

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Local Diver Colwill Earns Second Trip to Olympics

Chris Colwill, who grew up in Brandon and whose parents reside in the South Oak neighborhood, qualified for the 2012 London Olympics on Sunday.

Chris Colwill is going to London. The Brandon area native earned a spot in the 2012 Olympic Games on Sunday, rallying to win the men's 3-meter springboard at the U.S. Olympic diving trials in Federal Way, WA, The Associated Press reports. It's the second Olympic trip for Colwill, 27, who finished 12th in the same event at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Colwill rallied from third place entering Sunday's finals, more than 42 points behind the leader, the AP reports. "I kind of went with a no fear approach and just tried to do the best that I could and have fun with it, and it seemed to work at the right time," Colwill said in an interview with NBC Sports' Alex Flanagan that aired live after Sunday's event. "You’re going to London, dude!" the …

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Teen Killed When SUV Overturns on Kings Ave.

A Ford Explorer carrying seven people overturned on Kings Avenue south of Bloomingdale Avenue on Friday afternoon, and one teen was ejected and died at the scene, officials said.

Bloomingdale High Grad Heading Off to Wilderness

Chuck Baird is planning to spend a year in isolation on a remote island in Alaska.

A Bloomingdale High graduate and former Brandon resident is heading off to the wilderness. Chuck Baird is planning to spend a year alone on a remote island in Alaska, TBO.com reports. It's just the latest adventure for Baird, a member of Bloomingdale High's Class of 1990 who has lived in Anchorage for five years. "In high school, I used to run cross country and ultra-marathons, and that was really the part of pushing myself to the limit," Baird, 40, told TBO. "I ran a 50K and tried to run 50 miles but never made that. That was really the genesis of my thrill-seeking." CNN and other national media outlets are covering Baird's journey into isolation. He also plans to document the adventure in a blog and on his Facebook fan page, although he'…

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