Spring is in The Air

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THE SKINNY

• The Spring Bling Giveaway

• Ask an Attorney

• Flying Friends on The Way to Apollo Beach

• What in The World

Featured Story

The Spring Bling Giveaway is Here

The Southshore Circle launches its Spring Bling Giveaway with over $1,000 in gift cards

Alright, we’ve been teasing this one for a minute… and now it’s finally here.

The Southshore Circle Spring Bling Giveaway has officially launched, and one lucky reader is going to walk away with $1,000 in gift cards to kick off the spring season in style.

From now until midnight on April 15, you can earn points by participating in a few fun challenges we’ve built into the newsletter and our Facebook page. The person with the most points when the contest ends will be crowned the Spring Bling Champion.

The prize is a mix of prepaid cards and gift cards to some of our favorite Southshore businesses, and we’ll announce the winner on April 20. Participation is free and open to anyone.

You can also read the official contest announcement on our Facebook page.

So, How Do You Earn Points?

The biggest opportunity comes from referrals.

Every reader has a unique referral link at the bottom of the newsletter. Share that link with friends, neighbors, or coworkers who live in the Southshore area and earn 15 points for every confirmed local subscriber who signs up.

New subscribers also get 5 bonus points when they join, which means they can jump into the competition right away. Because this is a local publication, we do ask that referrals be local readers within the Southshore community.

We’ll also be hiding trivia questions inside the newsletter from time to time. Get the answer right before the deadline, and you’ll earn 25 points. On top of that, every Friday we’ll post a Facebook trivia question. (So make sure you Follow Us) Correct answers submitted before midnight earn 20 points, and if the post gets enough engagement (25 shares or 50 likes and 50 comments), everyone who answered correctly gets another 20 bonus points.

Then there’s the Partner Photo Challenge, which is where the big points come in. Take a photo with one of our local partners or in front of their storefront or logo, post it on Facebook, and tag both The Southshore Circle and the business. Each post earns 100 points, and we may award extra points for especially creative photos or videos.

Our partners: Back 2 Back Travels, DVD Syn Turf, Eggs Up Grill Riverview, Keeler Notary & Fingerprinting, Kuma Plumbing & Drain, LLT Destinations, Most Insurance, MAQ Travels, Marcos Pizza Apollo Beach, Mcbreen & Nowak, NBS Esthetics, Osgood Mental Health, Rae’s Accounting, Rising Phoenix Bookkeeping Solutions, Roots Southern BBQ, SDS Auto Detailing, Square One Garage Solutions, Steadfast Roofing, Stellar Notary Services, Vibe Music Store, Wellness Vitalized.

If you reach 100 points, you’ll also be entered into a separate $100 gift card drawing, so even if you don’t end up on top of the leaderboard, you still have a chance to win.

And speaking of competition, we’ll periodically publish a Spring Bling Leaderboard so you can see who’s climbing toward that $1,000 prize.

The contest runs now through midnight April 15, and the reader with the most points at the end will be crowned the Spring Bling Champion.

So start sharing those links, brushing up on your trivia, and maybe snapping a few photos around town.

After all… $1,000 in gift cards is a pretty nice way to start spring. 🌴

Ask a Personal Injury Attorney

Common personal injury questions with McBreeen & Nowak

Today’s question: Should I call the police after a car accident?

Answer: After most car accidents, you should call the police (city police, county sheriff or highway patrol). When you call the police, usually an officer will come to the scene, obtain statements from the parties involved in the accident and any witnesses to the accident, and investigate the crash.

The officer will have the parties involved exchange identification and insurance information. The officer will usually provide the parties involved with a copy of the “drivers’ exchange of information” form at the scene of the accident. Later, the officer will usually complete a traffic crash report that you can obtain from the law enforcement agency. Depending on the law enforcement agency, the traffic crash report is usually available 1-3 days after the accident, but can take longer depending on the circumstances.

If it is a very minor accident where you do not think that there is any possibility that you will be making any type of property damage claim or personal injury claim in the future, you may not need to call the police.  If a law enforcement officer does not come to the scene either because you chose not to call or the department refused to send an officer for some reason, which does happen sometimes, you should exchange identification and insurance information with the other driver. I recommend exchanging pictures of driver’s licenses and insurance cards.

The foregoing does not constitute legal advice, and this Q and A does not create an attorney-client relationship.  We recommend that you speak to an attorney ASAP if you think you may have been injured in an automobile collision. 

Talons Over Apollo Beach

Massive birds of prey will soar over Apollo Beach during a free raptor demonstration this April

Residents in Apollo Beach are used to seeing pelicans glide across Tampa Bay or ospreys circling overhead. But this spring, the skies over Southshore are expected to host something a little more dramatic. On Saturday, April 11, some of the world’s most impressive birds of prey will take to the air during Talons Over Apollo Beach, a live raptor demonstration at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center.

The event will feature two flying demonstrations scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., giving visitors the chance to watch massive birds soar overhead while trainers explain how they hunt, fly, and survive in the wild. These are not the everyday birds you see cruising the shoreline. The demonstration will include species like the African Black Eagle, Harris’s Hawk, Great Horned Owl, and the lightning-fast Aplomado Falcon. Each bird has its own hunting style, wingspan, and personality, and seeing them fly up close is a completely different experience than spotting one perched on a power line.

The program is presented by Earthquest, a wildlife education organization known for its traveling birds of prey demonstrations. The birds involved in the program are non-releasable, meaning they cannot survive in the wild and now serve as ambassadors to help educate people about wildlife and conservation.

Talons Over Apollo Beach is part of the Florida Birding and Nature Festival’s Nature Expo, which runs April 10 and 11 and will include nature exhibits, conservation groups, and activities for families. Best of all, the demonstrations are free to attend, making it a great opportunity for families to see animals that most people only encounter on nature documentaries.

Southshore may be growing quickly, but events like this are a reminder that we are still surrounded by some pretty remarkable wildlife. And next month, a few of the most impressive hunters in the sky will be putting on a show right here in Apollo Beach.

Things to do

What’s Washing Up on The Shore This Week

Your Weekly What in the World

Proposal for a million satellites and mirrors in the sky

You ever seen things happening and just wondered, who on Earth thought this was a good idea? This is one of those.

The FCC is reviewing two proposals that sound like they came straight out of a sci-fi comedy sketch. One is from a California space start-up called Reflect Orbital, which wants to launch satellites equipped with giant mirrors designed to reflect sunlight back down to Earth. Their dream is to provide “sunlight after dark,” lighting up areas that are normally pitch black. Their first satellite, Earendil-1, could launch as early as April, and the mirrors are supposed to beam light comparable to a full moon back at us.

The other comes from SpaceX, the private rocket company led by Elon Musk. SpaceX is asking the FCC for permission to eventually put up to one million satellites into orbit as part of a plan to build space-based data centers.

None of this sounds good. Night and day exist for reasons. The planet has operated on that rhythm long before any of us showed up. It’s nothing short of the arrogance of man to look at that balance and think, “We’ll fix it.” We’ve done that all over this planet, and now we’re taking our hold my beer attitude intergalactic.

I’m not sure how many people are lining up asking for orbiting mirrors to brighten their backyard at 10 p.m. And I’m pretty certain most people are not on board with Elon launching a million satellites to clutter up the heavens. Although judging on his past performance with the cyber truck and the roadster, it might be 200 years before any of those satellites get off the ground.

Whether you love the idea or think it’s cosmic insanity, you don’t have to sit on the sidelines. The FCC has opened a public comment period where you can weigh in before decisions are made. Anyone can submit a comment through the FCC’s online portal. You don’t need a PhD in astronomy or a rocket scientist badge. Just say what you think about preserving the natural night sky versus turning it into a canvas of man-made light.

More Information Here

Southshore Spotlight

The Mabel & Ellsworth Simmons Charitable Foundation, INC

The Simmons Foundation is a nonprofit committed to supporting children, families, and educational opportunities across the Tampa Bay region. Through a mix of scholarships, community grants, and partnerships with local organizations, the foundation works to expand access to education and improve the quality of life for young people. Its programs focus on empowerment, resources for underserved communities, and long-term investment in the success of local students and families.

Nominate your local hero by emailing us at [email protected]

We Know a Guy…or Girl

Southshore Services

Need a painter? A plumber? Someone brave enough to tackle that lightbulb orbiting 30 feet above your living room? We’ve got you. And the best part, they’re all right here in our community.

Interested in joining the list? Shoot us an email to [email protected]

“Keep it Local!”

Foodies Only

Eggs Up Grill

If you’ve got a restaurant, food truck, or even a lemonade stand, it could be featured here. Email us at [email protected]

Local Sports

Our area high schools boast state champions and multiple division titleists. Come out and show your support for these teams and for our community.

Got news, events, or press releases that the Southshore needs to know about? Submit them here. (We’ll do our best to add press releases in our regular rotation.) If you’re looking to run an actual ad, go here instead.

Until next time,

Keep It Local.