Breast Cancer 3-Day
By: Charles Gallagher
You might have seen a wave of pink this past weekend all over the bay area. For the fifth year, St. Petersburg hosted the Tampa Bay stop on the Breast Cancer 3 Day tour. The "3 Day" is put on by Komen for the Cure and visits fifteen cities from July-November.
Over 2000 walkers trekked 60 miles over three days to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. Opening ceremonies were held at Sand Key Park in Clearwater where the walkers began their weekend long journey. Fuller Park in St. Petersburg served as the base camp where walkers returned each evening for rest, nourishment and sleep.
After two additional days on the road, closing ceremonies were held at Spa Beach adjacent to The Pier. There the walkers and crew celebrated their achievement. One of the most somber moments from closing ceremonies occurred when the survivors marched into the park and the crew, walkers and spectators saluted their battle by holding one of their shoe in the air.
A number of local lawyers were involved in walking or crewing the 3-Day. Tracy Leduc, Amy Drushal, the St. Petersburg Bar's Kathy Parker and I were involved in the 3 Day. |
Art Around St. Pete
By Alison Parker
St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Art is currently featuring a fantastic exhibition that you cannot miss. The MFA's Folk Art Collection is available for viewing until December 20, 2009. You can see the works of self-taught artists, including Mose Tolliver, Purvis Young, Ruby Williams, and Mary Proctor, which are huge names in the folk art circuit. An art aficionado may fail to see the intrinsic value of the oft-colorful yet beautifully simplistic art created by those who have never had formal art education or training, but to hastily dismiss these works would cause one to miss out on a great slice of unadulterated Americana culture. Go with an open mind, and you will have a great time. You can find out more about the exhibition, upcoming exhibitions, or just general information about the museum at www.fine-arts.org.
The other art gallery I cannot get enough lately is The ARTpool, located in downtown St Pete, and opens Tuesday through Saturday at noon. I really believe it has the most innovatively brilliant events in St. Pete. Recent gatherings include an aquamarine-themed ball, a comic book heroes and heroines-themed bash, and a trashion-fashion show. They tout themselves not only as a co-op art gallery, but as a vintage boutique. Go by their 919 1st Ave North location, meet the lovely owner Marina, look through the vintage wares, flip through the vinyl (I got a fairly rare Bowie LP the last time I visited) and check out their gallery - featuring local artists. Their next event is on November 14th: ARTpool's 1st Annual Juried ART competition. They are currently accepting 2D, 3D and video art for the show.
For more information, call 727.324.3878. You can also find The ARTpool online at: www.artpoolrules.com. |
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Wealthy Germans Want Higher Taxes
By Erika Mariz
In a time when people are cutting expenses and trying to find creative ways to make it through the global recession, a group of wealthy Germans is trying to find a way to pay more taxes. The group is concerned with the increase in unemployment and poverty stemming from the financial crisis. Group members are worried about the rising inequalities between the rich and poor in Germany and want to stop the inequalities from continuing. Accordingly, they started a petition to ask the German government to make rich Germans pay more in taxes.
They believe that as they already have more money than they need to live comfortably, higher taxes on them would lead to extra revenue. The group hopes the additional revenue would go into economic and social programs to help Germany recover from the recession. The group wants the additional funds raised by higher taxes to be earmarked for specific projects in environmental protection, education, and social services rather than going to the general budget. The group does not believe donating money is enough to cure the current crisis. Instead, they favor more drastic measures in order to effect change, which is why they believe additional taxes should be imposed upon themselves.
The person behind the petition is Mr. Dieter Lehmkuhl, a retired doctor and heir to a brewery, who stated that there are 2.2 million people in Germany who have a fortune of more than 500,000 euros ($750,000). If all of these affluent Germans paid a 5% wealth tax for only two years, Germany could raise 100 billion euros. After two years, the wealth tax would be reduced to one percent.
Mr. Lehmkuhl came up with the idea of higher taxes after seeing the banks being bailed out in Germany. He was quoted as saying, "It made me mad to think that we suddenly found all this money for the banks, money that we did not have before for urgent programs like education and the environment."
The group held a demonstration in Berlin to bring attention to their cause. One of the signatories to the petition, Peter Vollmer, was surprised that "so few people came." Mr. Vollmer supports the petition as he inherited "a lot of money that I do not need."
The group will present the petition to Chancellor Angela Merkel. It will be interesting to see how the new German government will react to the group's petition.
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Average Family Photo
By: Ginny Keeter-Bodkin
For their official family portrait taken this month, the Obama family chose photographer Annie Liebovitz, most well known for her rock star and celebrity portfolio. She was with the Obama family on the campaign trail and spent some time at the White House this summer.
Ms. Liebovitz, who turned 60 this year, was studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute in her early 20's when she traveled to Japan with her mother in the summer of her sophomore year. She purchased a camera for the trip and discovered a love of photography, jumping right into night classes upon returning to the States that fall.
She eventually showed her portfolio to Jann Wenner, the founding editor of the then new born Rolling Stone magazine in 1970. Impressed, he hired her and her first assignment was photographing John Lennon. One infamous black and white portrait appeared on the cover of January 21, 1971 issue. She later became Rolling Stone's chief photographer. Vanity Fair and Vogue were later venues for her talent.
Over the years Ms. Leibovitz has aimed her lens at many famous faces from Queen Elizabeth and Madeline Albright to Bob Dylan and Hunter S. Thompson. She's pointed it at a few bodies as well. Some of her famous nude portraits include the memorable Demi Moore Vanity Fair cover, Scarlett Johannson, Keira Knightley, John and Yoko's Double Fantasy album cover and Whoopi Goldberg unwinding in a bathtub full of milk.
Her work is taken seriously -- Leibovitz has exhibited at the International Center of Photography in New York and at both the National Portrait Gallery and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Her honors include the Barnard College Medal of Distinction; the French Minister of Culture's Commandeur dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettresz and the Library of Congress' Living Legend Award.
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Attorney Spotlight
Erika Mariz, Esq.
Erika T. Mariz has been with the firm for a year. After graduating magna cum laude with her college degree from USF, she attended Stetson University College of Law and graduated cum laude with her J.D. in 2006. Before attending law school, Erika worked in the financial services industry.
Erika is a longtime Tampa Bay resident, but is originally from Brazil. Erika has a prowess for languages, and speaks Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and even a little Italian. She loves to travel, especially to the northern part of Italy, and to the south of France, where she spent a semester of college. Food is one aspect of traveling that Erika loves; she has a penchant for trying new foods and has a special fondness for French cuisine.
On the weekends, you can find Erika kayaking in the intercoastal waterways, enjoying time with family and friends, and playing with her energetic German Shepherd, Sasha.
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Paralegal Spotlight
Cindy Corder
Cindy has been with the firm for a year. She graduated from St. Petersburg College with a degree in Paralegal Studies. Currently, she is studying to pass the CLE Exam in December. In the future, she plans on obtaining her B.S. in Paralegal Studies.
Married for 26 years, she has five children, including three sons in college and fraternal twin daughters. She enjoys traveling, reading, and watching college football.
Besides being responsible for client relations, document and pleading preparation, and litigation support, Cindy is our organization czar. Her diligence helps ensure that we meet deadlines, respond to clients in a timely manner, and communicate effectively with opposing counsel.
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G&A News & Notes
*Erika Mariz & Alison Parker presented a talk on Estate Planning and Probate issues to the City of St. Petersburg's Leisure Services Department.
*Charles Gallagher presented a talk on Bad Faith Insurance Litigation for the National Business Institute in Tampa.
*Alison Parker and Charles Gallagher served as Judges for Stetson College of Law's Opening Statements Competition.
*G&A fielded a team for the Susan Komen Race for the Cure.
*Charles Gallagher was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors for the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce. |
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G&A Email Directory
Erika Mariz
Joseph F. Milligan
Jason A. Cox
Cynthia Corder
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| About Our Firm
Gallagher & Associates Law Firm, P.A. accepts cases throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Our main practice areas include: insurance litigation (including toxic mold, sinkholes, hurricane claims and denied insurance claims), real estate & business litigation (including foreclosure defense and lender mortgage fraud), accident/injury litigation, consumer law, and employment litigation.
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