Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 68

Sunday, May 10, 2009 St. Petersburg Times PAS OPINION tampabay.comopinion for those preferring CrematiOIl Next summer, a sequel Trinity Memorial Gardens offers you a full-service facility that gives you and your loved one dignity and respect. We offer an on-site state-of the-art cremation facility. Your loved one will never leave our caring team of professional, certified and licensed staff. Cremations performed for "OUR" families only.

E3-27I-5320 727-375-7324 TRINITY Funeral Home Cemetery Crematory to the belt tightening Irf The summer sequel season is upon us. Not movies, money. Two years ago, local govern 1 -V ments wrestled with state 2008, there was the onset of new property tax exemptions amid flat-lined growth and multimillion-dollar cuts to the county budget This year, the recession MS Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital UNrVtftSTTY Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital 1395 South Pinellas, AH. 19 South, Tarpon Springs Community HULTIj and falling property values has Pasco County searching for up to $30 million worth of spending cuts andor new revenue. Already library services are cut, parks are charging new fees, recreation centers are closed on Sundays.

Get used to it A $30 million hole means mean service cuts, layoffs and higher property tax bills. Now, herefc the scary part. There will be yet another sequel in the summer of 2010. County budget director Mike May Reservations Information: Call 9433600, anytime. 20 Urinary Leakage There are Solutions Time: 5 p.m.

Call (727) 943-3600 anytime for a reservation. Free Dr. Christopher Shiepis, Urologist, will discuss urinary leakage (incontinence) including the symptoms, causes and latest treatment. Treatments to be discussed include exercises, medications and the new InterStim therapy. Questions from the audience will be welcome.

22 Sleep Apnea: The Threat to Your Health Time: 12:30 p.m. Call (727) 943-3600 anytime for a reservation. Amir A. Noorani, M.D., will be the expert speaker on Sleep Apnea, a specialist in pulmonary disease and sleep medicine. Apnea is the cessation of breathing.

If you have sleep apnea, you may stop breathing many times during sleep. The most common result of sleep apnea is excessive daytime drowsiness, although much more serious health consequences can occur. Your questions are welcome. 2 8 Lunch Learn: Stress Relief for Heart Health Time: 121 :30 p.m. Call (727) 943-3600 for a reservation.

Free Enjoy a "heart healthy" lunch and an informative seminar on how Stress Reduction and Relaxation lead to better health. Our expert oh "Stress Relief Relaxation" is Nancy Vilomar, RN, Director of Cardiovascular Critical Care Services. Nancy gives a dynamic and informative presentation You'll leave feeling better just for attending this seminar! Nurrenbrock flashed that pre view to commissioners five days dential property values will continue to fall. As indicators, Wells pointed to the empty store fronts in strip centers, a shuttered cement factory south of Dade City and, here's one you probably hadn't thought of, self-storage units. In normal circumstances, storage unit business might have a 2 to 3 percent vacancy rate, but now those numbers might be 10 times that high.

A spot check confirmed the trend. The owner of one location in Hudson with 240 units said typically his vacancy rate is less than 1 percent, but he won't even calculate the number now, saying it was too depressing. Another said her 502 units usually run 95 percent full, but the number is down to 85 percent Families cutting expenses decide a storage unit is a luxury they can no longer afford and either dump the contents or store them in their garages at home. Likewise, sole proprietors and tradesmen have given up their spaces as their businesses declined or folded. Sadly, business is booming for auction companies disposing of property abandoned in storage units, the Associated Press reported last month.

If you're looking for something upbeat here are two items that might help you stomach the coming sequels. Wells said he believes the continued fall of property values will be exclusive of residential. Those prices will hit bottom in 2009, he predicted. And one storage business reported flat numbers for the 2009, meaning the decline of the occupancy rate had ended. It's not much, but it's a start.

For every unit being emptied, at least there is a new customer willing to fill it ago amid a Power Point filled with forlorn numbers. Foreclosure filings in Pasco CT.BOWEN Editor of Editorials to grow, reaching 90,000 people, a 50 percent jump since the 2000 census. Nurrenbrock also laid the groundwork for his bosses to consider a property tax increase to the rollback rate the amount needed to raise the same revenue as the current year. Traditionally, that tax rate is a reduction from the previous year. In 2009-10, it will be an increase because of the drop in value of the property rolls.

He even provided political cover for commissioners, two of whom face voters in 2010. They won't have to advertise the rate as a tax increase and, if they do bump the tax rate to 6.7 mills, it will still be the lower than the millage charged every year since 1995 except for this year. Then the kicker, presuming an additional 10 percent decline in property values this year and a 6 percent increase in costs in 2010, the county is again looking at a $30 million shortfall next summer. That 6 percent figure isn't unrealistic, Nurrenbrock cautioned, because of expense increases beyond the county's control: pension payments, health insurance, fuel and energy costs. And real estate values falling another 10 percent? "That number might be pretty accurate," said Property Appraiser Mike Wells.

Commercial and non-resi County are on pace to reach 10,000 cases this year, a fivefold increase since 2006. New construction is just a quarter of what it was two years ago contributing to an unemployment rate above the state and national averages. Declining property values and new exemptions account for a $9 billion decrease in the tax rolls, or the equivalent of all that had been gained by new construction over the past nine years. Other department heads are just as gloomy. The coun ty's five-year capital improve ment program is going to be close to $200 million short, an increase in utility rates is likely, and homegrown employment remains elusive.

The number of people who leave Pasco every day to work elsewhere continues "Lumbar Spinal Stenosis" Presented by: Guest column I Dr. Rao Musuniiru Every day should be Mother's Day 2 Then you will not want to miss this Free seminar. Back pain is a common concern affecting more than 90 of Americans in their lifetime. Dr. Giannakopoulos will be discussing minimally invasive options now available.

This presentation is sponsored by The Spine Care Centers of West Florida at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point. George Giannakopoulos, M.D. Neurosugeon WHEN: Thursday, May 21st at 4:00 p.m. WHERE: Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point Conference Center 14000 Fivay Road, Hudson, FL 34667 "My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." Leave it to Mark Twain to say something simple, elegant and accurate about a mother's linrnnHitinnal i love and com- f--' mitment I I 'Physicians are independent practitioners and not employed by -i Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point Mother's Day is celebrated in the United States on the second SPINECARECENTERS W3 Musunuru www.rmchealth.com 1-877-ONESPINE 1-877-663-7746 OF WEST FLORIDA at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point each way across the fields every day to attend school in the nearest town, even though I would have been just as happy hanging around with my grandfather all day on the farm. My grandmother knew enough about the world.

She decided that I should come to the United States for advanced education. She thought that there was a better life in the distant land. It was definitely not for financial reasons. Even though I was born in a small rural village in India, we were well-to-do, being a part of the farming community in the serene suburbs. I already finished medical school in India.

In those days, the practice of medicine was the most respected profession with guaranteed success in life, by any measure. That was a big sacrifice for my mother and grandmother to send me away. I was the only son to my father, who was the only son to my grandmother. They knew very well that they would not be able to enjoy raising my son and I would not be there when they needed me. More importantly, I would not be there when they died.

(Both of them eventually We give you pCCtCCy of mind with Do you think that it ever bothered any mother when her children were doing exactly the same things as they grew up? Like Mark Twain said, she probably enjoyed all those annoyances immensely. Shouldn't the children be returning the favor, out of responsibility, if not respect and affection? Don't forget grandmothers, Godmothers, adoptive mothers, stepmothers and second mothers. The dictionary definition of mother includes a female who has adopted a child or otherwise established a maternal relationship with another person. Growing up, the first few years of life, I always thought that I had two mothers. Later I found out, one was my birth mother and the other was my grandmother.

I used to call both "mother." If I called for mother, when both of them were in the same room, they knew exactly which one I was calling depending on my need. They divided up responsibilities among themselves. Like all other happy families in the village, four generations of us lived in the same big, sturdy house. My grandmother was the matriarch. I never heard of the word "divorce," until I went to the city at 16, to attend medical school.

Until I came to the United States, I always took my grandmother's advice for all the critical decisions of my life. Not because I was dumb or controlled, but because I was smart enough to respect the wisdom of my elders, taking advantage of their life experiences. My grandmother did not have a formal education (there was no school or library in the village). But she had her own human Internet of concerned mothers and grandmothers. She made me walk or bike 2 miles SEDATION DENTISTRY and LASER Sunday in May, but actually, every day should be Mother's Day.

Mother is everything. Life does not exist or propagate without a mother. Nothing in this universe is greater than a mother's love. A mother provides and protects. A mother will fight any element to death, to protect her child.

A mother nurtures not only physical but emotional health. She is the custodian of moral, ethical, cultural and spiritual growth. A mother is the best mentor and most influential person for any individual. "All I am, or can be, I owe it to my angel mother," said Abraham Lincoln. The only advice I gave my 16-year-old son when he left home for Harvard University was to "call your mother every single day? He did and still does at age 32.

I often hear people express frustration about how their elderly mother does not understand what they are saying, cannot or does not follow their instructions, does not make any sense when she is talking, does not eat right or take her medications, stays up all night, tends to fall and break things, becomes irritable for no good reason, or becomes sick too often. GUM TREATMENT. tr passed away, ana as expected, i could not get flights in time.) That kind of sacrifice can come only out of a mother's love. I hope my mother and grandmother approve of what I did with my life and more importantly, how much I try to improve the lives of others in the community that I call my home. I sincerely hope that their sacrifice helped some people in some small way.

Dr. RaoMusunurupractices cardiology inBayonetPoint He is the recipient of 2008 Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award from West Pasco Chamber of Commerce. When have you ever been this relaxed about your dental visit? We can help you relax. We take extra measures to make sure each visit is a positive one. Now that is something to smile about! make an appointment 727-862-8513 David Klmmel, d.m.d.

12124 Cobble Stone Drive Bayonet Point, FL www.cosmeticsniile.net The Florida centerfor Laser Dentistry Share yOUT Letters for publication should be addressed to Letters to Editor, St. Petersburg Times, 11321 U.S. Opinions 19' Port RicheV' FL 3668. They can be sent by fax to (727) 869-6233 or through our Web site at wvne.tampabay.comletters. They should be brief and must include the writer's name, address and telephone number.

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