Justine Griffin won first place in the Florida Society of News Editors 2015 Journalism Contest in the multimedia category for The Cost of Life. She also placed third in the beat reporting – consumer issues category and third in the online package category of the 2015 Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine State Awards.
Category Archives: Blog roll
Bealls is going after millennials with new Bunulu store
Bealls Inc. wants shoppers to think of its stores as more than just a place where grandma likes to shop.
Tampa Bay tech entrepreneurs say Amazon workplace is more the norm
By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times
A recent New York Times report about the workplace culture of online retail giant Amazon sparked intense debate about the Seattle-based company’s cultlike enterprise.
As Tampa Bay contractors seek skilled workers, program trains women in construction
By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times
Blanca Caudillo is good at math.
She’s the first to raise her hand with an answer in a carpentry class at the Helen Gordon Davis Centre for Women in Tampa. She lights up with a smile every time she’s right.
Caudillo recently separated from her husband. On a desperate quest to find a job, she found the Women Building Futures program, a free 10-week training course hosted by the center in Hillsborough County that teaches women the skills to work in construction. She is one of 40 women who make up the program’s inaugural class, which began last month.
“Right after my husband left, everything started falling apart. My a/c broke, my car started breaking down,” said Caudillo, who lives in Plant City. It’s tough to afford these costly repairs. “I need to learn to do these things for myself.”
The construction classes aren’t easy, Caudillo said, but she’s learning. On Tuesday night, she spent three hours building the wood frame of a wall. She had to calculate and measure the proper distances to include a window and a door. The week before, she learned how to hang dry wall.
Read more here.
Bonefish Grill struggling as diners’ preferences change
By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times
Bonefish Grill — intended to be the engine powering the growth of Bloomin’ Brands restaurant portfolio — is in dire need of a tune up.
CEO Liz Smith acknowledged Tuesday an alarming second quarter drop in Bonefish sales, down 4.6 percent, and traffic, down 7.8 percent.
Smith blamed an expanded menu at the seafood restaurant chain that added “too much complexity” and ultimately “compromised the core dining experience and service suffered.”
She said the company plans to focus on what made Bonefish Grill successful in the first place: the chain’s “polished casual heritage,” and its “fish expertise.” And the Bang Bang Shrimp isn’t going anywhere.
Outside experts say Tampa’s homegrown seafood chain faces bigger problems than its menu.
Read more here.