What’s What: “The real facts about a situation that are important to know.”
(Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)
What’s What New Port Richey is a community-based online publication. Its mission is to provide essential information, online links, and local feature stories to help build and strengthen ties between residents and their communiy.
What’s What New Port Richey was created by Michele Miller, a former reporter for the St. Petersburg Times/Tampa Bay Times. For this effort, she puts to use 25 years of writing about, photographing and immersing herself in the Pasco County community.
Whether your interest is in the arts, joining a civic organization, knowing where to vote, supporting a local business or cause, reading some light community news, or perusing some uplifting photos, the intention of What’s What New Port Richey is to help get you there.
About the Editor/Creator
MICHELE MILLER | EDITOR
The short of it: I’m a mom, grandmother, wife, gardener, writer, news reporter, photographer, and most recently, a website creator and editor of the community blog/magazine, What’s What New Port Richey.
Background: I was born and raised in a blue-collar household in Weymouth, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb located on the “South Shore,” pronounced something along the lines of “South Shoaahh.” I moved to Florida on St. Patrick’s Day of 1991 with my husband, 8-year-old son, and infant daughter, after the death of our eldest daughter, Danielle, to ALL leukemia.
Professional: I attended but never graduated college. Worked the kind of jobs that serve to shape you over years – YMCA camp counselor, swim instructor, convenience store clerk, waitress, bartender, health retreat cook, department store plant buyer, and newspaper reporter/photographer. And yeah, I did some of that while raising kids, too.
Becoming a writer: I honed my editorial skills by penning letters to the editor in the late 1980s while protesting the operation of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power plant in Plymouth, Mass. I also poured an abundance of grief and whatever was ailing me or bringing joy, into countless journal entries. (Advice to budding writers – writing for yourself is the best practice.)
In 1992 I submitted a readers’ essay on Mother’s Day to the Pasco Times, a regional section of the St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay Times. That led to freelance work, a staff position and a whole lot of on-the-job- training at the Times. I covered what higher-ups called the “lighter side” of local news in Pasco County for about 25 years until my position was eliminated on May 1, 2020.
NOW: I’m parlaying my skills into this new venture called What’s What New Port Richey. My hope is that the stories, photographs and local resources found on this platform will resonate in ways that help strengthen the community and connect us to the place we call home.
About the Logo
It’s what you see first. What draws you in. I couldn’t be happier with the What’s What New Port Richey logo created by the very talented graphic artist and photographer, Joni Tantillo.
When I first started this gig, I knew I wanted something that would stand out. I reached out to Joni, an old acquaintance and proprietor of a one-woman operation called, D & J Associates Commercial Design Studio, located in Middleboro, Mass.
Since 1996, Joni has been producing original designs for publishers, small businesses, large businesses, colleges and universities and people like me just starting out. Take a ride through the suburbs of Boston, and you’re likely to see one of her logos somewhere.
We collaborated long-distance for this logo. My input was minimal. I emailed her a few photos; and told her about New Port Richey’s unique shoreline and the birds that frequent the estuary habitat. She came back with several options to choose from using a palette that was perfect for New Port Richey. She nailed it. The experience was seamless, and fun and really helped kick-start the launch.
When all was said and done, she wouldn’t take any money for her services because she really digs being a part of this community concept. Like the white heron in the logo she created, she wants to see this thing fly.
For more on Joni, check out her commercial art and photo portfolio at JoniTantillo.com.
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