Living in Kings Point, the gated community within Sun City Center Florida, can have some rewarding consequences. A few weeks ago while going to visit a client in Kings Point, I came across a sight I have seen on a few occasions. Unfortunately, on those past occasions, I never had my camera available. I was lucky on this day. As I turned to go to their home, there in the road were 3 Sandhill Cranes. Just strolling along at their leisure. In Florida, you bcome accustomed to such events and quietly sit and wait for the local wildlife to move on. It's also fun to just watch them when you have the opportunity. I happened to have my camera on this particulat day, and clicked away. I stayed in my car for fear that if I got out, it would scare them away. Although they didn't seem to be in a hu... 02/01/2009

Last week winter came to Sun City Center.  We had been expecting it, and the forecast had even warned of snow but later changed the snow forecast because they said it would be too cold for snow.  The storm that blew through before the front hit, tore a section of my screening away from our pool cage, but it was easily fixed.  The frost on the roofs and ground across the lake really surprised me when I awoke.  The cold didn't seem to bother the family of ducks that have taken up residence on our lake this year. The gulls didn't seem to mind the cold either. I only stayed outside a few minutes, to get these pictures.  Having lived in Florida now for over 15 years, I don't have the tolerance for cold like I did when I lived in the Buffalo, NY area.Fortunately for us, winter doesn't last ve... 02/01/2009

South Shore Regional County Library will be holding their Giant Book Sale this Saturday, January 17, 2009. Once again they will be offering the Buck a bag deal. All the books you can stuff in a bag for only one buck. The selection includes paper backs and hard covers. In addition, all the books normally on sale for $2.00 will be sold for half price during this sale event. Don't wait, arrive early. Doors will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. South Shore Regional County Library is located on 19th Avenue. 01/14/2009

Sun City Center Shriners Club will host their semi-annual Pancake Brunch on Sunday, February 1, 2009 All you can eat Pancake and sausage Brunch will be held from 9:00 am through 1:30 pm at Community Hall, located on South Pebble Beach Blvd., Sun City Center. Pancakes and sausage, coffee, and orange juice all for the admission price of $5.00 per person. Tickets available at the door. For the first time an Art Auction will also be held from 11:00 am and 2:00 pm in the Community Hall side rooms. The event is open to all Sun City residents as well as the general public. 01/14/2009

Residence of Sun City Center and Kings Point enjoy many benefits living in their retirement community. One benefit that many, if any, don't enjoy is Free Ambulance Service! Sun City Center Emergency Squad offers Ambulance transportation to local hospitals free of charge to residents. They also provide EMT services and other medical related transportation to those in need. For example, Sun City Center resident patients that have recovered enough to be transferred from a hospital to a rehabilitation facility can call the Emergency Squad and arrange for transportation. Yes, Free of charge. Recently a resident, confined to a wheelchair needed to under go radiation treatment. Her program called for 30 daily treatments. The Emergency Squad provided wheelchair accessible transportation to and ... 10/30/2008

The 20th Annual Ruskin Seafood Festival welcomes you to E.G. Simmons pristine waterfront park right on Tampa Bay featuring Sun, Fun & Seafood! The Seafood Festival is South Hillsborough County's largest community event with over 18,000 in attendance in 2007! Fabulous Seafood & More! Feast on savory seafood fare, sway to the rhythm of live island music and dive into the action of activities... featuring a boat show, arts & crafts, educational displays, commercial exhibits, strolling entertainment and the kid's area with rides, games & activities.The sunlit array of natural amenities nestle you while your indulging on nature's culinary delights... lobster, oyster, clams, grouper, mullet, shrimp and much more mouth-watering crustaceans cuisine. Festival filled fun featured in a tropical p... 10/24/2008

Homeowners who harden their homes against storm damage are realizing a substantial premium reduction on their Homeowners Insurance. We had hurricane shutters installed on our windows, doors and sliding glass doors two years ago. When our Insurance police renewed we were given a credit of over $500.00 because of the additions. Citizens Insurance, the insure of last resort in the State of Florida, has credited 470 million dollars to 46% of their policy holders. These policy holders hardened their homes and applied for the mitigation credit. Citizens expect to credit back more then 640 million to policy holders in 2009. At the outset homeowners may consider the hardening expenditures to be too costly, however the premium savings alone will cover the expenditure in most cases in less then f... 10/24/2008

The Board of Directors of Hope Fund for Children are sponsoring their Fall Omelet Breakfast and Bingo Saturday, November 8, 2008. The event will be held in the Florida Room of Sun City Center's Main Campus, located on North Pebble Beach Blvd. from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM. Attendance by Sun City Residents and the General public have made these events a huge success in the past. Tickets, priced at $6.00 are available at the door. 10/23/2008

In today's volatile financial market we in Sun City Center are fortunate to have the presence of RCB, Royal Bank of Canada. RCB, a well positioned financial institution, maintains an office locally. In addition to traditional banking services, RCB offers a variety of mortgage products to local as well as foreign buyers. Their local mortgage representative recently gave us his assurance their mortgage department readily process and close mortgages financing a primary residence and/or a second home. Qualified buyers can be citizens of the United States or a foreign country. RCB services many buyers local buyers with citizenship's in Canada, England, Scotland as well as other countries. Mortgages from inception to close normally take four weeks, however in some cases with a cooperative, we... 10/20/2008

I spent a good portion of last week calling owners of properties I have listed, many of which live out of town. The calls were to maintain contact and to up-date them on the happenings over the last month. I regularly appraise them of current market conditions, showing activities, etc. Conveying less then positive news can be challenging. You have to keep your focus on the positive and your tone up-beat so as not to discourage property owner. This past week was no exception. Buyer activity has slowed drastically over the past few weeks and understandably so. With the financial goings on and the up coming election buyers are skeptical and tend to be very cautious. Offers from those that are looking have been few and far between. There have been a few though and that is encouraging. Nonet... 10/19/2008

The third annual Taste Of South Shore will be held from 5 pm to 8 pm on Monday, October 27 in the Main Banquet Room of the Resort and Club at Little Harbor, 611 Destiny Drive, Ruskin, Florida. Once again, The Resort & Club at Little Harbor has generously donated full use of their facilities for the event. The public is invited to sample the best of area restaurants specialties. There will also be wine tasting and music. Enjoy food, friends, fun and a beautiful sunset at the beach. Tickets are $20.00. All proceeds will benefit The Mary & Martha House. The Mary & Martha House, Inc. is a shelter for women and children in crisis. They support two emergency shelters as well as transitional housing in Hillsborough County. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Mary & Martha Ho... 10/15/2008

The Friends of the South Shore Library will hold a Giant Book Sale at the South Shore Library on Saturday, November 1st. The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a large selection of books sold in the "Buck A Bag" sale format. You can fill a bag with your choice of books for $1.00! The sale also includes a Silent Auction. About ten unique literary items; including a set of 10 North American Biographies and several copies of books from the 1928 edition of the "My BOOKHOUSE" series will be included in the auction. Funds from the sale will help provide free literacy, art and environmental programs for children and adults at the South Shore Regional Library. 10/11/2008

Sun City Center Realtors meet twice a month, on the second and fourth Friday, to network. The events are hosted by local businesses such as Assisted living facilities, local builders, etc. The host provides a breakfast, which could be a light continental or a full course meal. We usually have a guest speaker, followed by an open discussion period and a listing presentation segment where new or special listing are presented and reviewed. Following the meeting the group caravans new listings, usually previewing 8 or more homes. In that we have a Gated Community within our community the caravan alternates between the two areas. One week the caravan will tour homes outside the gated area and the next meeting week the gated area is toured. The meeting, which begins at 8 a m, usually last a t... 10/08/2008

Pinch A Penny, the largest franchised retail pool supply company has opened their newest store in the Sun City Center. Located at 1505 Sun City Center Plaza. Pinch A Penny opened their first family owned discount pool supply store in 1975 and has become the largest franchised retail pool, patio and spa company. Their stores are staffed with fully trained personnel and they boast to having more Certified Pool Operators then any other like company. They carry a wide variety of swimming pool supplies, chemicals and equipment, patio furniture and floats for the pool. Store hours are Monday - Friday 9 to 6, Saturday 9 to 5, Sunday 10 to 3   10/08/2008

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about Murphy Oil Company opening a gasoline station on the new Wal Mart Super Store property. Today I will share the positive effect it has had on our community. Less then a month ago gasoline prices in our community were $.15 to $.30 per gallon higher then the neighboring communities some at a high of $3.89 per gallon. While there has been a recent adjustment in the price of a barrel of oil, I believe the greatest impact on our pricing is Competition. Locally, a large gasoline franchise has their product priced at more then $.55 per gallon less then it was just ten days ago. Notably, they are priced at two cents per gallon less then Murphy Oil. That in itself tells the story. All of the other local retailers are matching Murphy's prices. Competition... 10/06/2008

The Consumer Affairs Office announced that their Contractor & Vendor list is now available online. www.Suncitycenter.org , click on "Consumer Affairs" then on "Contractor & Vendors" for an alphabetical listing of the various categories. Clicking on a category will take you to the appropriate page of contractors. A current version of Adobe Reader is required in order to read the pages and is available free. Just click on the "Get Adobe Reader" box on the left side of the Consumer Affairs page. The Consumer Affairs Register will continue to be available in the Community Association Office, but with a new look. It had been updated to match the new web site. 10/04/2008

A new restaurant is coming to town. Game Stop will be locating in the building previously occupied by Hungry Howie's Pizza. Hungry Howie's downsized their operation relocating next door to a smaller store front. Located on State Road #674, the new Sports Bar will have a full liquor license and offer a complete Lunch and Dinner menu in a family setting. Grand opening date has not been announced , however their opening is anticipated to coincide with the influx of our seasonal Sno-Birds. Benderson Development has completed several new store fronts on the site that previously housed Wal-Mart's garden Center which became available when  Wal Mart moved to their Super Center earlier this year. Bells Department store remolded the vacated retail space and relocated to the larger, more up to dat... 10/04/2008

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE WILL HOST A HOME SECURITY SEMINAR:  On October 7 at 9:00 a.m. the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will host a Scam and Home Security Seminar in the  Atrium's Florida Room. The seminar will focus on how to make your house safer and to prevent crime from occurring to you and your property. Deputy Bill Sarver from the Crime Prevention Unit will present a brief Power Point presentation and speak on the recent trends in burglaries. SCC's Deputy Sheriff Rob Thornton will remind residents of local scam trends that have been happening within the SCC area. The seminar is open to all residents of the Sun City Center area. No registration is needed. Refreshments will be served. 10/03/2008

The Community Foundation of Greater Sun City Center will sponsor the Florida Orchestra in concert at Simmons Park on October 12, 4:30 -6:30 p.m. There is no charge, but a donation of canned or packaged food to benefit Tampa Harvest is appreciated. Food donations will be distributed to nonprofits for distribution in South Hillsborough County. Come early, bring chairs or blankets for seating. There will be a local business on site to provide light refreshments. Coolers are permitted, however alcohol is prohibited in the park. An Art Show and other Musical performances will be scheduled earlier in the day. There is plenty of free parking. 10/03/2008

SCC Performing Arts Presents: Merrick: The Brilliant Beast of Broadway The Performing Arts Club of Sun City Center will present "Merrick: The Brilliant Beast of Broadway" with nine performances scheduled to run beginning October 23 in The Rollins Theatre. Producer David Merrick dominated the Broadway scene for nearly a quarter century with musicals such as "Gypsy" and "Hello, Dolly!" Multi-talented actor, singer, writer and narrator Ed Brown wrote the script, this being one of the numerous plays he has written for The Performing Arts Club. Barbara Brtva, long-time PAC producer is this play's producer and Lew Resseguie, who toured in Merrick's "42nd Street" will direct. Robert Lockwood Mills, who appeared a year ago in "Ghosts of Tin Pan Alley," stars as Merrick. A diverse cast of adults... 10/03/2008