Mike Hamson

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: March 2, 2016 TBO.com Where will you and the family be on St. Patrick’s Day? Whether enjoying Irish pub grub at one of several Irish sports bars or dining on corned beef and cabbage at home, people in the Brandon area celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with family and friends. Hector Pescio, one of the managing partners for O’Brien’s Irish Pub, 701 W. Lumsden Road, said the restaurant has its largest lineup of bands and entertainment for this St. Patrick’s Day since opening 15 years ago. Pescio said the fun begins March 5 with a kilt party featuring the New World Celts. “Wear your kilts and cheer on Conor McGregor as he defends his UFC Title,” Pescio said. He said the St. Patrick’s Day events continue March 13 from 3 to 7 p.m. with “St. Puppy’s Day,” which benefits the Second Chance Boxer Rescue and Four Lucky Dogs Pet Rescue. He encourages families to bring their puppies and compete for best dressed female/male pet, best owner/pet...

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: March 2, 2016 TBO.com Humble and reliable are a few words others use to describe Kavita Marballi of Valrico, the associate membership director for the Campo YMCA. Marballi, who wakes up before dawn to open the Campo YMCA, received The Community Roundtable’s “Citizen of the Year” award on Feb. 17 during their Community Affairs dinner at Center Place in Brandon. Aaron Walters, Campo YMCA’s executive director, said he was elated to see Marballi recognized for exceptional community service that includes working with the Silver Sneaker program. “She is very humble,” Walters said. “She never mentioned she was nominated or that she received the award. They recognized her as someone who tirelessly gives of herself and gives of her time.” He said Marballi takes extra time with the active older adults, often reaching out to them with phone calls or emails if she doesn’t see them at the YMCA for a few days. “She opens four days a week,...

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: March 2, 2016 TBO.com Billy Helms, the head girls’ soccer coach for Robinson High School, encourages the Lady Knights to treat their opponents with respect and refrain from gloating over a victory. “Work hard, train hard and prepare yourself mentally for the last 10 minutes of the game because we find that’s when games are usually won or lost,” he said. Helms took his team to the regional semi-finals for the second year in a row where they lost in a double overtime against the Largo Packers soccer team. “Our team has been on the losing end of a lot of games and we have to remember how it felt, how other teams may have showboated,” Helms said. “We show every team, win or lose, with the respect they deserve.” Helms, who recently wrapped up the soccer season, coached for HCU (Hillsborough County United) in North Tampa before landing the head soccer coach post at Robinson. “Our goal for the season was to make it to the regional s...

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: March 2, 2016 TBO.com Artists don’t need to wear black or always feel melancholic or somber, according to art teacher Tim Gibbons of Seminole Heights. He said students in his adult drawing and painting class at the Hyde Park Art Studio, 702 S. Albany Ave., Tampa, discover the fun and humorous side of art. “I make everything fun,” Gibbons said. “I make learning an experience that is fun and enjoyable. Most people think you have to suffer for your art. In my point of view of the world, get fun out of life. The most fun you could ever have is being creative. If you find your creative juice, to me that’s all the joy you can ever have.” Gibbons will host the studio’s fourth annual exhibit, “Blazing Brushes, Pencils and Charcoal Pastels” at The Bunker, 1907 N. 19th St., Ybor City, through March 27. A “meet and greet” reception is planned for 7 p.m. Thursday. He said his 18 adult students have been together for three years. “The stu...

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: February 24, 2016 TBO.com LITHIA — After working with a young team last year, Newsome Wolves baseball head coach Dick Rohrberg said he is ready to mold a more advanced group of players. Before coming to Newsome High, Rohrberg coached at Robinson and Chamberlain. He led Chamberlain to the state playoffs five times. “Last year was my first year here, and we had a pretty young team,” Rohrberg said. “We had a couple of seniors and we finished 14 and 11. We won some big games. We beat Alonso. We beat Bloomingdale twice.” A former coach in Pasco County at Sunlake High, Rohrberg replaced Bill Highsmith at Newsome. He said he worked for Hillsborough County for 13 years before coaching in Pasco for six years. He returned to Hillsborough County to lead the Wolves. “We are a brand new staff as of last year,” he said. “We assembled some guys from the area that were not affiliated with the program. It’s been a big learning process, trying t...

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: February 3, 2016 TBO.com Although there aren’t any frozen ponds for playing ice hockey in sunny Tampa, NHL veterans would like to see the sport grow. Mathieu Garon , a former goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning, recently introduced ice hockey to children during a YMCA after school-program at Alafia Elementary in Valrico. “It’s one of the things we do,” said Garon, who is from Quebec City. “We go into schools and try to teach the game of hockey. The kids are very happy. Sometimes when we show up, they don’t know exactly what they are doing. By the end of the hour, they don’t want to stop playing.” Lalita Llerena, the communications director for the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, said Alafia Elementary and the YMCA partnered with the Tampa Bay Lightning and JP Morgan Chase to educate local children about the game on Jan. 20. Josh Dreith , community hockey coordinator for the Lightning, said the Street Lightning program helps p...

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: February 3, 2016 TBO.com BLOOMINGDALE — When some people think Philly, they visualize Santa Claus being bombarded with snowballs at Veterans Stadium, Rocky Balboa or the Broad Street Bullies. Benjamin Coia, the owner of Philly Phlava, said the city where he grew up is best known for cheesesteaks. “What makes it authentic, No. 1, is Amoroso rolls we bring in from home, Philly,” said Coia, who is expanding with a food truck to serve the Brandon area. “We have all the authentic cheeses that are offered — white American, provolone, mozzarella and Cheese Whiz. We don’t do Swiss. We don’t do Pepper jack.” “We try to keep it the way it is supposed to be, nothing fancy, just real. We say the cheesesteak is not supposed to be pretty. It is supposed to be good.” He leaves it up to his customers using his catch phrase, “build your own Philly Phlava cheesesteak.” Pick your cheese. Pick your veggies. There are no “mis-steaks.” Coia of Tam...

By Mike Hamson Special Correspondent Published: January 27, 2016 TBO.com VALRICO — After rebranding their café, Brandon next-door neighbors Elia Kallas and Norman Harris plan to franchise their Cuban and Greek fusion concept. They recently remodeled Café Cuba, an eatery whose design now features modern exposed ceilings, in the Royal Oaks Plaza in Valrico. They also brought in contemporary art, wall sconces and granite table tops. Besides the remodel, their goal is to open a second location in the Riverview area within the next year. Harris calls his business partner Kallas the “secret sauce” to their success, thanks to the Greek and Cuban family recipes Kallas has been using since 1997. After selling his original establishments in Brandon and New Tampa, Kallas decided to team up with Harris, who has a business and sales background. Café Cuba, formerly called La Cubanita, has been in Brandon for more than a decade. “We decided to rebrand this into a different name, Café Cuba,...