Community Corner
An Introduction from Your New Seminole Heights Patch Editor
Greetings from Alessandra Da Pra, your new editor.
Hello Patch readers. My name is Alessandra Da Pra.
I am thrilled to introduce myself as your new Seminole Heights Patch editor, and I am looking forward to covering the Seminole Heights and Central Tampa communities and bringing you the stories that matter to you, from small business features and crime coverage to the many neighborhood revitalization projects that make Seminole Heights and Central Tampa such dynamic and thriving places to live.
You probably want to know a little bit about me.
Find out what's happening in Seminole Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
I was born and raised in a small town in northern Italy, just a short train ride from Venice. As a teenager, I often wandered the narrow streets and canals of this beautiful and unique city instead of going to school.
Until I heard that there was another Venice on the other side of the world.
Find out what's happening in Seminole Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Feeling curious (and a bit suspicious), I bought a flight ticket to Florida. It was winter and I was 17 years old.
When I emerged from Tampa International Airport, I immediately fell in love with the weather, so I decided to stay here. I never went to Venice. I had no idea that the weather was similar everywhere else in Florida. (Have I mentioned the fact that I am blonde?)
And that's how, almost 15 years later, I am still in Tampa.
I am happy I’ve never made it to Venice, FL. It gave me the chance to fall in love with our city, too.
Before leaving my town in Italy, my mom made me promise not to fall for an American stallion because she wanted me back home. But she never made me promise to not fall in love with the place.
So here I am.
Before joining Patch, I covered community news for the Tampa Bay Times after graduating from the University of South Florida with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
More recently, I wrote for the Jerusalem Post and the Palestine-Israel Journal while traveling in the Middle East. But I didn’t find a Venice there.
Feel free to share your comments, announcements, questions, events, photos and videos on Seminole Heights Patch.
Do you have a news tip? Please drop me a line.
I can be reached at alessandra.dapra@patch.com or 813-326-4164.
Be sure to stay connected via Facebook and Twitter, too.
Looking forward to seeing you around town!