So Local Pasco

If I was really self indulgent, I would sit down and record an hour of conversation, every day, with Travis Morehead and Corey Cottrell.  This morning I had the pleasure of their company for over an hour.  The three of us…Heck, any TWO of us is an amazing conversation.  But all three?  Hoo boy! We spent our hour talking about service, community, charity, art, culture, and growth.  At the end of the hour, We went around and expressed our gratitude for each other.  Totally lame.  Not even awesome.  No YOU’RE crying. Anyway, just listen.  This is what our friendships can be.  They can be funny, and weird, and honest, and a little scary.  We can support each other, understand each other, work for each other.  It felt weird to say nice things about my friends, and to have them do the same.  Why? We hope you’ll join us for any and all of the Great Spirit Farm Goals and Gratitude Weekend, Saturday and Sunday.  I cannot wait to be out in the forest with you folks. Here’s the info: Goals and Gratitude Retreat at Great Spirit Farm Oh, hey….Happy Thanksgiving.  I don’t have a LOT of closely held Thanksgiving traditions…My family has traveled, lived and ventured very far.  We’ve celebrated in a great many places and ways, over the decades.  But one thing I always try to do, is play “Alice’s Restaurant”, by Arlo Guthrie.  It’s an actual Thanksgiving song, about protest, and goodness, and peace and togetherness. So, if you’re like me, and have the same tradition, I’ll save you a trip to YouTube.  Here is Arlo’s holiday masterpiece: Next So Local Pasco podcast will be Saturday, November 26th, 2016. ~Greg

Today’s So Local Pasco Podcast was recorded LIVE at the Westside Deli on Little Road.  Please watch the VIDEO version on Facebook for photos, links, and more! The post EcoFest, Christmas in November, and Much More! So Local Pasco, November 16th, 2016. appeared first on So Local Pasco.

I’m not going to mince words, here.  I paid for this space, and you pay ME to fill it.  So let me say this, right at the top: I am extremely uncomfortable with the outcome of our Presidential election.  I think our President elect represents a departure from even conservative norms, and may usher in an era where great damage is allowed to occur to natural environments, from waterways and wetlands to other sensitive habitats.  Don’t believe me?  Here are a few things Trump has said and Tweeted about environmental policy: * Trump warns Obama: “EPA is an impediment to both growth and jobs.” * He discounts the “negative impact of natural gas, oil, and coal.” * Loves Big Oil: “No Cap-and-Tax: Oil is this country’s lifeblood” * “Jobs will slump until our lifeblood, oil, is cheap again.” * Criticized Obama for “the billions he pissed away on ‘green energy’ failures” “Same old climate change bullshit”,  he says.  There is CLEAR consensus among climate scientists, and a mountain of evidence:  Global Climate Change is a real thing, that is happening now, in the actual world around you. So, it seems that more and more, you and I are going to be responsible for slowing and halting the damage being done.  We will have to directly counter the rampant greed and destruction of the Earth that nourishes and sustains us. Fortunately, there are folks right here in town that are working to do just that, and we got to interview a few of them, last week. In the podcast, you find interviews with Pete Kanaris, owner and operator of GreenDreams, A Sustainable Systems Landscaping Company. Here are some photos of Pete and his work: Also joining us today:  Lia, Kacey and Kira from Rock the Boat Productions, the masterminds behind the Pasco EcoFest, which takes place the weekend of November 19th and 20th. Click the image below to reach the Pasco Ecofest 2016 website Finally, I’d like to that Adam Dubbin from Save Florida Waters Now, for coming to join us on a great day!  We kayaked five miles down the Cotee River, and he taught us so much about this beautiful river system! For information on GreenDreams, click the green text, or the image below:  

First thing: I want to thank Bob, Deb, Kim and Ella from the Westside Deli for their continued enthusiasm and support for So Local Pasco.  We’ve been doing our show interviews (and more recently, the whole show) from there, every Tuesday, for four months! We’re really grateful for all they’ve done for us, from sandwiches to introductions.  We are lucky to have community minded business folks like Deb and Bob in our community! So stop in to see them, and make sure and tell them you like that they support us. Getting right to it, links to info about events covered in the podcast.  Click images and green text to learn more:     Coming up on the Friday podcast:  Pete Kanaris from Green Dream Landscaping, and the ladies from Rock the Boat Productions will be by to talk about EcoFest! ~Greg

There just is not much to write that is not expressed in the podcast.  I left it all on the field, today.  I’m,  going to put a couple of links in the post to get you to more information about Great Spirit Farm, and Melanie Curtis’s astonishingly cool website full of inspirational, funny, awesome blog posts and articles. Click the green text to listen to the very first So Local Pasco Podcast: December 1st, 2015 So Local Pasco Podcast Click the image below to visit MelanieCurtis.com No link, here…Just a picture of Carolyn, making new friends. The So Local Pasco Marine Science Camp Boat Day for Grownups is maybe the most important thing that happened in my life in 2016: Relive the day here: These are days to remember #onehundredpercentreal http://www.bfro.net/avevid/sierrasounds/911.asp

Today marks the beginning of a new phase of the So Local Pasco Podcast.  We will have more details in the Friday podcast…But from here forward, you can expect two So Local Pasco casts per week…On Wednesday, and Friday. The Wednesday cast will continue to be the place to get information and links to local events:  Music, art, culture, charity.  The Friday casts will now be more issues focused.  I have a ‘big five’ topic list, and we’ll be diving a little deeper for content. Make sure you catch the Friday podcast, this week, it will be worth your time! Today, though, Laura brings us a full slate of community activities, including an interview with Dawn Daniels Hahn from the Pasco County Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk, happening this Saturday at Starkey Wilderness Park. Our friend Corey Cottrell will be having a podcast listening event on Facebook Live, tomorrow night. These are FUN!  Listen to the podcast, and message Corey and the hosts of R.O. with any questions or comments…Click the nifty Baboon Room banner for more information!   Our friends Stephanie Sky and Queen Kavanaugh will be putting on another “Ancient Apothecary” lecture and class at the IDR Center, tomorrow…Attend and learn to make an organic boo boo salve! Click the image to go to the information page on Facebook:   I will be shooting Facebook Live videos every day, for at least the next 30 days…Make sure and like the So Local Pasco Facebook page, and send me a friend request! (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.8"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); So Local Pasco LIVE from Westside Deli #baboonroomchallenge Posted by Greg Smithwick on Tuesday, November 1, 2016  

Gonna keep it short and sweet: Fact: Randy and his Renee are sweet folks, and we had a great few hours, today…Talking about music, and the water, and manatees and hurricanes.  And really…Isn’t that EXACTLY the kind of things you’d talk about, if you were having a great and meaningful day? Fact: Randy wrote a song, this week, that celebrates OUR waterfront…Our mangrove, estuary, oyster bar, barrier island, stilt house waterfront.  That has hardly ever happened, before.  Sensing the great things about a place is what feeling people do.  Writing it down, bringing it to us, so we can say “Yes!  That right there!!”  is what poets do. Fact:  Randy was a poet, today. You can check out Randy’s excellent music by clicking the image below…And you can come down and experience it IN PERSON, Saturday, right here at Gill Dawg.  Yes, I am still here at 11:30 at night. So…Come on out and see Randy perform.  Buy his music online.  Come out and support him at his upcoming local gigs…Because he is, now, So Local Pasco.| I’ll be here first, on Saturday…I guarantee it! ~Greg

Randy Knight, the Emcee for Saturday’s MASSIVE Pit Stop One Concert is here early…He brought along a song that mentions Port Richey, and Gill Dawg.  I can’t think of a single song that has ever mentioned Port Richey, so I feel like I must share it with my listeners and readers. In case you missed it, there is a MASSIVE show coming up at Gill Dawg Saturday:  Jimmy Buffett fans are called “Parrotheads“, and they are organized into massive clubs.  Many of these clubs make an annual ‘pilgrimage’ to Key West, every year, for a fan convention called Meeting of the Minds.  On the way, they “phlock” to a few choice spots, as they make their way south to Key West.  These stops are called “Pit Stops”. This year, Pit Stop One is RIGHT HERE, in West Pasco County.  It makes me proud…I’ve been listening to Buffett since before there were Parrotheads.  I cut my teeth on A1A, Livin’ and Dyin’ in 3/4 Time, Changes in Lattitudes, and Coconut Telegraph.  Jimmy wrote songs about places and people I knew!  I seem to have come full circle, along with a ton of other folks with a rich sense of romance and a love of Boats, Beaches, Bars and Ballads. There is a whole genre of music, now, called Trop Rock.  If you like the style of Randy’s song, you should definitely check out Trop Rock!  A great place to start would be by listening to the Trop Rock Top 40, hosted by Radio A1A…Click the image below to learn more about that (or, just come to the show!  Radio A1A will be there!) This year, Pit Stop One is at Gill Dawg, right here in So Local Pasco country!  This is a big deal…Kenny and Lisa Burke, and Colleen and Erik from Gill Dawg should be really proud of this event.  A TON of folks are expected, and if you like “Trop Rock”, you should not miss this event! Randy will join me on the podcast tomorrow to talk more about it…He’s meeting me at Gill Dawg today to record an interview. So click the file at the top, and check out “Phollow the Phlock” by Randy Knight…Commence day drinking, because it’s Five O Clock Somewhere! ~Greg P.S.: He even invited Jimmy!

We finally got out to the Tasty Tuesdays Market, in downtown New Port Richey!  We’ve wanted to get there for quite awhile, but our commitment to the Westside Deli competes with the time.  So, this week, we simply went to the deli after the market, and have no idea why we didn’t think of that … Continue reading Tasty Tuesdays Market…Now With 100% More Podcast! OCtober 27th, 2016 → The post Tasty Tuesdays Market…Now With 100% More Podcast! OCtober 27th, 2016 appeared first on So Local Pasco.

So Much To Do! Well, we promised you a massive list of event links and info, today…And Laura Sherrod Pence delivers. In the nearly 11 months we’ve been on, I am SURE we have not seen a weekend with this much going on…Much of it put on by our friends, partners, and listeners.  I feel … Continue reading HUGE Halloween Event Weekend Extravaganza! October 26th, 2016. HUGE! → The post HUGE Halloween Event Weekend Extravaganza! October 26th, 2016. HUGE! appeared first on So Local Pasco.

I had a great day on the water, today.  We rented a pontoon from Gill Dawg, and Anita and I spent a few magical hours…Floating, drifting, dreaming.  I even caught a nice little speckled trout. It got me primed to answer an email from Adam Dubbin.  Adam is the mind behind Save Florida Waters Now…A … Continue reading Save Florida Waters Now Kayak Tour, and Listener Mail. October 25th, 2016 → The post Save Florida Waters Now Kayak Tour, and Listener Mail. October 25th, 2016 appeared first on So Local Pasco.

Postcard weather.  Manatees are back.  A thousand fun things to do. Halloween is days away.  This is my favorite time of year. As far as the SHOW goes, everything is still our “first”, since we didn’t go live til December 1st, 2015.  So this will be our first Halloween on So Local Pasco.  I’ve got … Continue reading Dawg O Ween, Pit Stop One, Hacienda Tours…An Amazing Halloween Weekend Approaches. October 24th, 2016. → The post Dawg O Ween, Pit Stop One, Hacienda Tours…An Amazing Halloween Weekend Approaches. October 24th, 2016. appeared first on So Local Pasco.

Erik Soujanen almost never slows down.  I’ve realized since I started spending part of my Thursdays there…Even though Thursday is his golf day…He is often found at Gill Dawg.  Fixing. Tweaking. Changing. Building. Modifying.  He just keeps digging. Thursday, I found him camped out at the barn bar (his favorite spot), so we recorded a … Continue reading Possible Port Richey Hotel in the Works. Eco Dawgs Youth Marine Science Program. Big Upcoming Events. Erik Soujanen from Gill Dawg. October 21st, 2016. → The post Possible Port Richey Hotel in the Works. Eco Dawgs Youth Marine Science Program. Big Upcoming Events. Erik Soujanen from Gill Dawg. October 21st, 2016. appeared first on So Local Pasco.

I’m feeling the excitement of the season coming on.  What season?  Christmas?  Halloween?  Pumpkin Spice Everything Season?  Definitely NOT that last one. It seems like October starts a giving project season…Even though we know and cover MANY giving events throughout the year, it seems to really ramp up this month.  Last year, I really wanted … Continue reading Hacienda Hotel Tour Info! Also, How to Get Away With Not Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner. October 20th, 2016 → The post Hacienda Hotel Tour Info! Also, How to Get Away With Not Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner. October 20th, 2016 appeared first on So Local Pasco.

It’s Wednesday, and time to spend the show with Laura Sherrod Pence.  You’ll notice the difference in audio…We are now recording the Wednesday show at the Westside Deli, on  Tuesdays.  You can come out and see us any Tuesday from 10 to noon! The Deli is open Monday thru Friday, 7:30-3:30, and serves some fantastic … Continue reading Entertainment, Music & Events, with Laura Sherrod Pence. Wednesday, October 19th, 2016. → The post Entertainment, Music & Events, with Laura Sherrod Pence. Wednesday, October 19th, 2016. appeared first on So Local Pasco.

Way back in March, we got to know Dell DeChant and Travis Morehead, who were then working hard to promote urban agriculture, and encourage people to grow their own food…Those projects now continue under the direction of our guest, today, Sylvia Spencer. GRAND GARDEN FACEBOOK PAGE MANY people in our community pointed me their way, … Continue reading Sylvia Spencer, Manager, Grand Garden and Habitat for Humanity Community Gardens. October 18th, 2016. → The post Sylvia Spencer, Manager, Grand Garden and Habitat for Humanity Community Gardens. October 18th, 2016. appeared first on So Local Pasco.

Community: a unified body of individuals the people with common interests living in a particular area; broadly, the area itself an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society a group linked by a common policy … Continue reading Hands of the Goddess Show Us What Community CAN Be. So Local Pasco, October 17th, 2016 → The post Hands of the Goddess Show Us What Community CAN Be. So Local Pasco, October 17th, 2016 appeared first on So Local Pasco.

Casie grabbed the mic and recorded the show open…But I didn’t have a fresh interview (what I did today stays off the record for a bit, yet)…So, I am re-airing the interview we did with Tessie, Katie and Gary from Nature Coast Paddle and Fitness.  They are instructors and AVID paddle sports enthusiasts who are … Continue reading Nature Coast Paddle and Fitness, So Local Pasco, October 14th, 2016. → The post Nature Coast Paddle and Fitness, So Local Pasco, October 14th, 2016. appeared first on So Local Pasco.

Not much writing, tonight. We get about ten emails, messages, or voice mails per week.  I try to answer them as we get them, but I also like to share them with you. Only 25 days til the election, which I am sure MANY of you are looking forward to…And, for Janae…Only SEVENTY TWO days … Continue reading Listener Mail! So Local Pasco, Thursday, October 13th, 2016. → The post Listener Mail! So Local Pasco, Thursday, October 13th, 2016. appeared first on So Local Pasco.

Hey, we did something different, today.  Actually, we did it yesterday. We recorded the podcast at a live remote location…We’ve done this with interviews, but this may be the first time we’ve recorded an entire podcast outside the studio.  It’s a little noisy…We recorded the show during the lunch rush at the Westside Deli. Laura … Continue reading Music, Entertainment and Events, with Laura Sherrod Pence. So Local Pasco, October 12th, 2016 → The post Music, Entertainment and Events, with Laura Sherrod Pence. So Local Pasco, October 12th, 2016 appeared first on So Local Pasco.