Archive for August, 2009

August NEPNA Monthly Meeting Summary

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

NEPNA Focus on Neighborhood Crime and Safety.

The August meeting featured discussions with Officer Ray Merritt (24-year veteran of the St. Petersburg police) and William Jolley (Assistant Chief, St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue) regarding neighborhood crime and safety. 

St. Petersburg Police
Officer Merritt noted that burglaries and thefts have recently increased in Northeast Park as part of a rising trend throughout St. Petersburg. Major discussion points included:
  • Lock your cars and homes. Crimes of opportunity are often preventable by securing your possessions. Keep valuable possessions out of sight if possible.
  • Be a good neighbor. Do not hesitate to call the police (911) if you suspect that something unusual is happening. Police are typically called during or after a crime has taken place. Our neighbors know when activities are suspicious – and can help prevent a crime just by paying attention and making a call to the police.
  • Many crimes happen during the day. Officer Merritt estimated that over 90 percent of burglaries and thefts happen during the day when many of us are at work.
  • Maintain the appearance of occupancy. Arrange to have newspaper and mail delivery suspended while on vacation. Consider motion lights or light timers.
Neighborhood Crime Watch
Northeast Park does not currently have a formal Neighborhood Crime Watch program. A successful program will involve the participation of many of our neighbors and an effective means of communication among our neighbors. NEPNA Leadership has established a foundation for communication, which will serve as one component of the program. Neighborhood interest and a discussion with the St. Petersburg Police Crime Prevention group will be the focus of an upcoming NEPNA Monthly Meeting.

St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue
Assistant Chief Jolley summarized several of the programs that SPFR provides – most of which are free to St. Petersburg residents. Among the programs are free child car seat installations, free smoke alarms and installation (up to three per house – the SPFR will come to your house in an engine, which is an added bonus), fire extinguisher use training, and discounted CPR courses. All of these programs are summarized on the SPFR Website (www.stpete.org/fire).

An active neighborhood is a safer neighborhood. Let’s work to continue to make Northeast Park a great place to live.

- Darren Bishop

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Bowled Restaurant – August NEPNA Business

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Bowled

The August NEPNA Neighborhood Business of the Month is one of our independently owned eateries: Bowled Restaurant

Not only is Bowled Restaurant receiving rave acclaim from our neighbors (Lunch, Dinner, Saturday and Sunday Brunch), it is also garnering regional recognition as being one of the best casual restaurants in the Tampa Bay area. This is no surprise to anyone that has been to Bowled – it’s really one of those restaurants where you could close your eyes and point to anything on the menu, and end up being blown away by your random choice (I’ve done this). But don’t take my word for it, check out the reviews from our local media outlets:

  • The St. Petersburg Times named Bowled the #1 Best Comfort Food in their list of 100 Best of Tampa Bay Restaurants;
  • A separate review by the St. Petersburg Times further praises the value and outstanding-ness (is that a word? even if it’s not, it applies here.)
  • The Creative Loafing review will more than whet your appetite.

The Bowled website (Link) provides links to interviews and other reviews. Suffice it to say that our neighborhood restaurant’s outstanding-ness is not a secret. Owner Michael Cecere and Lesa Gigante are true friends of NEPNA. We all can walk, ride bikes, or take a nice ride to Bowled (3451 4th Street North). But wait there’s more …

NEPNA Special

Sunday nights in August have officially been declared NEPNA Family Nights at Bowled Restaurant! NEPNA Neighbors will receive an email coupon for $5 off of $25 or more, or $10 off of $50 or more on any Sunday night in August. Nice!

NEPNA Neighbors – Supporting Our Neighborhood Businesses.

Bowled Restaurant      .     www.bowledrestaurant.com .     727.895.BOWL

- Darren Bishop

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