Author Archives: Justine88

Posted on by

Tampa Bay Times: See what it’s like to operate one of the 300-foot tall cranes at Port Tampa Bay (w/video)

TAMPA — If you can play a video game, you can operate one of the two $24 million cranes at Port Tampa Bay.

At least that’s what Deitmar Reuten says, the engineering department manager for Ports America, the company that operates the two new cranes recently purchased and assembled at Port Tampa Bay.

The 300-foot tall Post-Panamax gantry cranes allow Port Tampa Bay to unload larger cargo containers from ships. Port officials hope they ultimately help attract bigger ships to Tampa.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

Posted on by

Tampa Bay Times: Not every beach community in Pinellas County wants to be like Clearwater Beach

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times. Aug. 5, 2016.

beach

Longtime residents of Madeira Beach remember when they affectionately referred to their sleepy gulfside community as a “fishing town with a drinking problem.”

But then came the condominium towers. And now some say two proposed projects valued at a combined $200 million threaten to change the landscape of Madeira’s quaint, beachy atmosphere.

“That old quaintness has somewhat gone away already and probably will never come back” said Joe Jorgensen, who has lived on Madeira Beach since 1984. He and other residents started a petition to fight against the development, which generated more than 1,000 signatures in two weeks. “I’m not against all development. I just want to see something that is conducive to our lifestyle. We don’t want to turn into Clearwater Beach.”

Tourism has boomed in Pinellas County since 2011, shattering records set before the recession and driving up hotel room rates from St. Pete Beach to Clearwater Beach. Mom and pop motels that have operated along Pinellas County’s “middle beaches” in Treasure Island and Madeira Beach since the 1950s could face new competition as local municipalities tweak ordinances to attract new development.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

Posted on by

Tampa Bay Times: What’s next for Tampa International Airport and CEO Joe Lopano?

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times.

lopano

Joe Lopano has checked off nearly every item on his to-do list.

Since taking over as chief executive of the Tampa International Airport in 2011, he and his team have landed more than a dozen new flights, including a handful of high-profile international routes to Frankfurt, Panama City and most recently to Havana, Cuba. Lopano has also spearheaded the single largest renovation — a $1 billion overhaul — at the airport since the terminal was built in 1971.

The question now is what’s next, for the Tampa airport and for Lopano?

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

Posted on by

Tampa Bay Times: Virtual reality headsets and video games could be the hottest gifts this holiday season

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times. July 6, 2016.

For the first time, Alex Yparraguirre felt like he was actually in a video game.

He could look up, down and behind him and still be sitting in the passenger seat of a getaway car in the London Heist Getaway game for Playstation 4’s new virtual reality system. Using motion sensing controllers, he could reach out to grab a gun or take hold of the car’s steering wheel. He could punch with his hand to break the glass windows.

One five-minute demo of the new Playstation virtual reality system, which will be released Oct. 13, wasn’t enough to satisfy his curiosity. So Yparraguirre, 28, got in line to try it again at the GameStop store on Causeway Boulevard in Brandon.

After all, he drove all the way from Fort Myers just for this.

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.