Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018 21

Local Crime WatchA sampling of police reports from December 15

to December 20 in Gulfport.Source: Gulfport Police Department

Gulfport12/15 – Stolen vehicle in the 5500 block of 20th Avenue South. A vehicle was left unlocked with the keys in it. When the resident woke up in the morning the vehicle was gone.

12/15 – Warrant arrest in the 5800 block of 13th Avenue South. Laura Wimmer was arrested on an outstanding warrant for possession of cocaine.

12/16 – Fraud information report was taken in the 2600 block of Tifton Street South. A resident reported that several people had stopped by his residence claiming that they had applied to rent the house. The homeowner found out that his house had been listed on Craigslist by an unknown person as being “For Rent” using the photos that were posted on his real estate website when he listed the house for sale. So far no one has lost money or followed through with the transaction and there is no way to identify the suspect.

12/16 – Emotionally disturbed person in the 6000 block of Shore Boulevard. Officers responded to a residence in reference an elderly female threatening to jump off a balcony. A relative was on scene and advised he pulled the female back when she threw a leg over the ledge. The female was taken to the hospital

under a Baker Act.

12/16 – Warrant arrest in the 5100 block 14th Avenue South. A victim in an unrelated case notified an officer, via telephone, and said his wife had returned home and she had a warrant. Police responded to the residence and made contact with the wife. The warrant was confirmed and Stacy Rodriguez was arrested. The outstanding warrant was for failure to appear for driving while license suspended or revoked.

12/17 – Burglary to a residence in the 2600 block of 49th Street South. A resident reported that she accidentally left a window open while she was away from her residence. When she returned, she noticed that her iPad was missing but went to sleep anyway. When she woke up, she realized that someone had broken into the house and stole two iPads, an Apple watch, money and a small revolver.

12/17 – Burglary/battery in the 1300 block of 51st Street South. A woman called to report that her ex-boyfriend, Octavius Milton, had arrived at her sister’s house to pick up their daughter for her birthday. The woman refused to let the daughter go with him because he was with his new girlfriend. Octavius became irate and jumped over the front fence and forced his way into the residence, beating the victim with a diaper bag. He then dragged her outside and body slammed her in the front yard and continued beating her. Neighbors witnessed all this. During the course of the battery, Octavius also knocked down his two-year-old daughter. He left the scene in the new girlfriend’s car before police arrived. Probable cause affidavits have been entered in the Virtual Inmate Processing and Receiving program for charges of burglary/battery, battery – domestic related, and child abuse.

12/17 – Warrant arrest in the 6300 block of Gulfport Boulevard South. Officer Palazzolo and Field Training Officer Kellington conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle for speeding on

Gulfport Boulevard South. It was determined that the driver of the vehicle, Lazaro Oviedo, had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear for marijuana possession. He was arrested.

12/18 – Burglary to a vehicle in the 5600 block of 16th Avenue South. A resident report that someone broke into his work van in front of his house and stole his work iPad from the vehicle.

12/18 – Burglary to a vehicle in the 5600 block of 16th Avenue South. A resident reported that someone entered their unlocked vehicle and stole a purse from within.

12/18 – Battery at the Town Shores condominium complex. The building president reported that she had accompanied a plumber to unit 202 for a scheduled appointment to fix a clogged drain. The resident, George Goodenough, did not like the way the plumber looked and began harassing the plumber. He then walked up to the president and pushed her so hard she almost fell down. Goodenough was very uncooperative and belligerent. He was arrested for battery on a person over 65 and transported to jail.

12/18 – Theft in the 5100 block of Gulfport Boulevard South. A male left his bicycle unsecured along the walkway railing at the business and went inside. Someone took the bicycle while the man was inside the business.

12/18 – Burglary to a residence in the 5300 block of 18th Avenue South. Two bicycles were stolen from a resident’s property. One bike was recovered from the 4500 block of 12th Avenue South. The other stolen bicycle is described as purple in color with a female frame and it has not been located.

12/20 – Burglary to a vehicle in the 5800 block of 27th Avenue South. Someone entered an unlocked vehicle overnight and took a school backpack containing books and a laptop. A neighborhood canvass revealed that a resident saw two people in the area that resembled the subjects of an earlier suspicious person call a few blocks away. The backpack was discovered thrown over a fence in Wood Ibis Park. Laptop and all contents were recovered.

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22 Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018

Free Medicare Counseling Offered Medicare beneficiaries, their caregivers, and family members who have questions or concerns about Medicare and related health insurance topics have a new place to turn. The Area Agency on Aging will be partnering with the Sunshine Center in St. Petersburg to provide Medicare counseling through the SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) Program. On January 9 and 23, specially-trained volunteers of the SHINE Program will begin offering Medicare counseling at the Sunshine Center, 330 5th St. N. by appointment. For appointments call 727-893-7102. Because service hours vary, please make an appointment for counseling by calling 727-893-7102. For more information, you may also call 1-800-96-ELDER (1-800-963-5337), or visit floridashine.org.

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Zumba with Magda at the Rec Center Zumba exercise classes are “fitness parties” that blend upbeat Latin rhythms with easy-to-follow choreography for a total body workout. Wear comfortable clothes and bring water. Classes are on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. at Gulfport Recreation Center. Please contact Magda at 727-214-7868 for more information. No experience needed.

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K-5th Grade Science Club at Gulfport Library Attention young scientists! Do you love exploring the world around you through hands-on activities? Gulfport Library Science Club is back. Drop by the Gulfport Library on Mondays from 3 to 4 p.m. They meet weekly and try a fun new activity, explore engineering through building with Legos, and meet other young scientists and engineers in the community. Parents get to join in on the fun too. Let Cailey know if you and your young scientist plan on attending. Contact cklasson@mygulfport.us or call 727-893-1074.

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Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018 23

'Tis the SeasonCrossword Puzzle Solution on Page 14

24 Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018

How Should My Business Be Set Up? (Part I)

Our office has had the pleasure of advising and counseling numerous clients concerning how to legally set up a new business venture. As a result, five different choices of the types of business entities that may be utilized will be presented in this article and our next article. The five basic choices which an entrepreneur or new business owner may wish to consider are: Sole Proprietorship; General Partnership; Limited Partnership; Corporation; and "S" Corporation. In this article, we will examine the general legal requirements of a sole proprietorship and a general partnership.Sole Proprietorship 1 A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business owned by a single individual. A sole proprietorship is not a legal entity separate from its owner. 2. The owner of a sole proprietorship has unlimited liability for the debts and obligations of the business. The owner, therefore, must rely

on personal assets or insurance for protection against creditors. 3. For income tax purposes, income and loss of the sole proprietorship passes directly to the sole proprietor and is reported on his individual income tax return. 4 No special organizational documents are necessary to begin business as a sole proprietorship. 5. The advantage of a sole proprietorship is that it is a simple means of beginning a business. 6. In Florida, an individual who engages in business has a sole proprietorship under a fictitious name must register the fictitious name with the Florida Secretary of State's office in Tallahassee.B. General Partnership 1. A partnership is an unincorporated association of two or more individuals, corporations, or other entities engaging in business for a profit. 2. Like a sole proprietorship, a general partnership is not a separate legal entity. Each partner in a general partnership is personally liable for the partnership liabilities. 3. A general partnership must file a separate income tax return for federal income tax purposes. However, this

YOUAND THE LAW

This column outlines general legal principles and is not intended to give you legal advice. If you have a specific question about the law, please consult an attorney.

By Robert J. Myers, Esq.

is merely an information return. Generally, all income passes to the general partners and is reported on their individual income tax returns. Losses are also passed through, subject to limitations, which will be made stricter if proposed changes in the tax laws are implemented. 4. Although no written documentation is necessary to form a general partnership, normally the rights and obligations of the various partners (including their shares of income, losses, and cash distributed by the partnership) are specified in a written partnership agreement. The partnership agreement may also specify the manner in which the business is to be operated, and may designate a managing general partner who serves the function of a chief executive officer. Generally, in the absence of contrary provisions in the partnership agreement, the business affairs of the partnership are governed by a majority vote of the partners. 5. Generally, the transfer of a partnership interest is more difficult than a transfer of corporate stock. Restrictions on the transferability of a partnership interest may be specified in the partnership agreement, and transfers normally require the consent of the other partners. 6. In Florida, a general partnership is required to file a fictitious name registration. 7. Generally, the death, insanity, or withdrawal of a general partner from the partnership "dissolves" the partnership, although the remaining partners may elect to continue the partnership business in a new partnership. 8. Generally, each general partner is an agent of the partnership and has the power to bind the partnership.

••Mr. Myers is the owner of Akerson Law Offices which is located at 535 49th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL. The phone number is 727-347-5131. Mr. Myers welcomes calls regarding this article and other related legal topics. This column outlines general legal principles. If you have a specific question about the law, please consult an attorney.

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Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018 25

Historic Gulfport Walking Tour St. Petersburg Preservation will host a walking tour of Historic Gulfport on Saturday, January 20. The tours start at 3 p.m. at the Gulfport Historical Museum, 5301 28th Ave. S. The tour offers a stroll in the “suburbs” of funky and artsy Gulfport. Tour participants will get a look at this former fishing village on Boca Ciega Bay and its historic commercial and residential structures, including the National Register-listed Gulfport Casino. The tour will be led by Gulfport resident Cathy Salustri, author and Arts and Entertainment Editor for Creative Loafing. Walking tours are free to SPP members and just $10 for non-members. For more information visit info@stpetepreservation.org.

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Keep St. Pete Lit Offers $10 Writing Classes $10 writing classes for beginners and pros are being offered at the Morean Arts Center, 719 Central Ave. The classes are part of Keep St. Pete Lit’s LitSpace Literary Art Institute, offering dozens of affordable, practical and fun classes on a wide range of topics taught by local authors, teachers, and bloggers. More than 600 students since 2015 have honed their skills with LitSpace. Offerings include: Writers’ Gym Storytelling: The Art of Creating Fiction The Secrets of Selling Your Essays Memoir Workshops The Art of the Interview Seeing Image: Using Art to Inspire Your Poetry How to Publish A Book: A Beginners Guide to Self Publishing Consider the Orange: Food Writing Workshop Full Moon Beach Journaling Walk on Pass-a-Grille Beach with the St. Petersburg Audubon Society For specific dates, details and to reserve your seat, visit LitSpace at keepstpetelit.org. Classes are two hours and start times vary.

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26 Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018

Traditionally people in the southeastern United States have collard greens and black-eyed peas to ring in a prosperous and lucky new year, the greens representing cash and the peas representing coins. Collards, a cool weather crop, are one of the easiest plants to grow here in Florida, as they can even survive the summer heat if there is enough shade. If you buy collard greens that are still attached to the stalk, it is easy to grow a new plant by taking the core of the stem and planting it into the ground. Just give it water and sun and watch it grow! A handful of collard plants can produce an abundance of highly nutritious and tasty dark green leaves. The plants can withstand many trimmings of their outer leaves. The nutrients found in collards have been associated with many health benefits such as strong bones, lowered blood sugar in diabetes, cancer resistance, stronger immunity, anti-inflammation and healthy skin. I personally enjoy walking out my door and trimming a few collard leaves to include in my omelets and other dishes. In addition to being easy to grow they are also very affordable at produce stores, farmers' markets and supermarkets. We have them growing here at our community garden along with many other nutritious greens.

MLK Day of Service The Gulfport Community Garden serves the community in many ways. On Saturday, January 13 from 9 a.m. till noon, we will have an open house with tours and gardening advice. In addition we will have free Longan tree seedlings and samples of our garden produce. The Longan is a medium-sized tree similar to the Lychee tree but easier to grow. It is drought-resistant, fast growing and can begin to produce fruit in just a few years. Please join us!

Dance for Plants Mark your calendars! Our third annual Dance for Plants will take place at the Gulfport Casino Ballroom on Friday, March 2, from 6:30 till 11 p.m. This event will include a silent auction of gifts and services from local artists and businesses, a plant-inspired costume contest, a Carolina Shag dance lesson from 7 to 8 p.m. with Renee Lipman and dancing to a mix of music with DJ Cheryl Wheeler of WMNF's Saturday Soulful Soiree. We will be giving away milkweed and other plants to help support the local pollinator populations, and there will be gardening experts on hand to answer your questions. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door, or $10 at the door with plant-inspired costume or attire. The event is our primary fundraising effort for the year. It will be educational and fun, and we hope you will come by and support us. The Gulfport Community Garden is located on a small plot of land owned by the city of Gulfport on Preston Avenue. Our mission is to grow and share food and knowledge for our community and each other in an open, creative and supportive environment. We presently have 14 chemical-free raised beds, 12 using succession planting methods to maximize our yields and each devoted to permaculture, a small shaded pavilion for meetings, resting and camaraderie and a three-chamber bamboo compost bin for recycling our garden and kitchen waste into rich new soil. The range of foods we cultivate is broad, from the traditional garden vegetables like collards, broccoli, eggplant, lettuce, beans and tomatoes, to tropical plants that produce fruits and vegetables, such as papaya, guava, bananas and cranberry hibiscus. The garden has been prolific. Everyone shares in the bounty and our surplus is donated to the Gulfport Senior Center Food Pantry.

Everyone is welcome and there are no membership fees or individual plots. Our philosophy is to encourage participants to contribute in ways they are able, including gardening, technical support, organizing and community events. We provide a shared learning environment for making the most of the challenging and rewarding growing conditions in our unique corner of Florida. If you would like to learn more, participate or contribute, our gardening together times are Saturdays starting at 10 a.m., and Tuesdays starting at 5 p.m. You can like us on Facebook, check out gulfportcommunitygarden.org or call George Zarillo at 845-242-7452.

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Collards for the New Year and Special EventsBy George Zarillo

Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018 27

Places of Worship

28 Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018

ARIES (March 21-April 19). To be bold and in charge feels powerful, but you can also be just as effective, if not more so this week, by coming from a smaller, more curious place. A little compromise and humility will go a long way. Genuine friendliness will be disarming. A soft voice will cause others to bend and lean into your ideas. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You're honing in on your own thing, and you're going to make yourself proud this week -- which is way more important to you than making other people proud. You've learned that other people can be unpredictable in their preferences, and they often want you to go in a direction you have no desire to go. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The advent of digital culture is eroding away the mainstream, as there are so many more choices and ways to do things that there is no longer a general consensus about what to like. You'll use to your advantage in some way this week. You'll derive

much satisfaction from digging into a very specific niche. CANCER (June 22-July 22). The difference between being "basic," which is an adjective used as an insult, and being "normcore," which is not an insult, is that the first way is done unconsciously and isn't concerned about being unique, and the second way is done consciously to enjoy fitting into the flow of things. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You'll do what's important. Keep in mind that it will probably not be the most fun way to spend your time, but later you'll feel good about the accomplishment. So often, the important thing is something that everyone wants to have done but no one wants to do. Anyway, it's what's right and, ultimately, what's rewarding. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). People are better in groups. Being a part of a group will make you feel healthier, happier and more centered this week. If you don't already have a role in a group that meets regularly, this is an

excellent week to find your tribe and fortify your sense of community. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You go into the week feeling like you've got something figured out. This will change as you realize that situations are far more complex than you thought. This is good news, actually, because you'll be engaged in this for a while. Solving the problems will bring you together with interesting people. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You have no problem admitting your flaws, if that's what's called for. Though it so rarely is. Talking about what you're bad at or what displeases you will do nothing for you this week. But as you draw attention to the lighter, brighter, stronger part of you, a change for the better will begin to take hold. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Thoughts are seeds. Not all of them are fertile. Some have been roasted and salted and are only good for consumption, if that. No amount of tending or water could ever make them grow, and that's probably for the best. Concentrate on the thoughts with real potential, and they'll build on each other. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Intelligence is not the same thing as critical thinking. That's why you know some very smart people who have done some really dumb things. Choose your company carefully and your leaders even more carefully this week. Only follow people who seem to have excellent common sense. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). People are born with innate differences in respect to their senses. For instance, there are chemical substances that only certain people can taste while others report no flavor at all. It's wonderful that everyone is different, and you benefit greatly from that today as you cater to a very specific audience. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your thoughts have impact -- some more than others. It will help you to rate this impact. How loud would the thought be if it were a sound? How does it make you feel? What action does it inspire? You'll be pruning some of your thoughts this week with the goal of keeping only the ones that serve you best.

Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018 29

Retention Pond’s Vegetation Growth is ‘Routine’By Debbie Wolfe

Though subject to periodic vegeta-tion blooms due to storm water runoff, the Tomlinson Park Complex retention pond is working according to plan, said Gulfport City Manager Jim O’Reilly. The park, located at the corner of 54th Street South and 19th Avenue South, is not a naturally occurring body of water. “It is a retention pond,” he said. “And, it’s serving its purpose.” After a rain event, it’s common for the area’s geography to have storm water runoff that drains into the pond, he said. “Periodically, there is a flush of high nutrients” and then the “algae and vegetation blooms,” said O’Reilly. “Sometimes, it’s exceptional so then we go in and treat it as part of a process.”

The first part of the treatment workflow consists of a licensed spray company coming in to apply a specific chemical, he said. “After a two- to three-week dying off period, then city staff will go in and do some labor-intensive work to try to thin some of the vegetation out. It won’t all be removed but we’ll get out as much as we can,” said O’Reilly. “Some vegetation is routine. The greenery or vegetation serves as part of the filtering system. After treatment, a lot of it will fall to the bottom and deteriorate.” Storm water entering the pond from surrounding areas is designed to then go into the Tangerine Greenway located along Tangerine Avenue South between 54th Street South and 49th Street South, said O’Reilly.

From there, it percolates and dries up before it making its way to Boca Ciega Bay. After treatment, in several weeks the pond is back to normal, he said.

After treatment from an “exceptional bloom,” the Tomlinson Park Complex retention pond shows a routine amount of vegetation, said City Manager Jim O’Reilly.

Tomlinson Park Complex pond displayed little open surface water after nutrient rich storm water runoff from the surrounding watershed caused an algae and vegetation bloom at the end of November.

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36 Gabber December 28, 2017 - January 3, 2018