Welcome to Safety Harbor Connect!
By 
Hello, Harborites, and welcome to Safety Harbor Connect, your new source for news and information about everything that’s going on in the City of Safety Harbor.
You might remember me as the former editor of Safety Harbor Patch. During my year in that position, I got to know many of the business owners, city officials and residents that help make the Harbor such a special place to live and work.
While I was covering the city, I realized there was a great desire to stay informed about what was happening in this bustling community, appropriately designated as “The Hidden Jewel of Tampa Bay.”
I can’t tell you how many times I was told, “You need to start your own site and report about what’s going on in the Harbor!”
Well, you asked, and now you shall receive.
Let me start by saying this endeavor is not my own doing; Safety Harbor Connect is the result of much planning and preparation by local businessman, City Commissioner and resident Richard “Rick” Blake.
Rick strongly believes in the need to keep residents of the community informed; when he learned I was no longer covering the city, he contacted me and asked if I would like to be the editor for a local news site he was creating.
Although I had my reservations, I was intrigued by the idea of being on the ground floor of something that could grow into “the next big thing” when it comes to local news coverage.
But one of my main reservations was the potential conflict of interest issue.
As editor of the site, I will be reporting on the decisions, words and actions of the very person who is supporting this outlet; obviously this could cause people to doubt the accuracy and/or veracity of my reporting.
I want to state that I plan to bring the same fair and balanced reporting style I employed in my previous position to Safety Harbor Connect, and I have been given unequivocal approval to do so.
Some will believe and accept that, others will doubt and discount it. That’s fine. I can only do the best job I can possibly do and hope readers realize there will be no biased coverage just because the site is owned and operated by a city official.
That being said, I am excited to start covering the people, events and issues that make Safety Harbor such a newsworthy community, again.
Safety Harbor Connect will concentrate on the stories that make this city such a special place, without out-of-town reports and negative news that populate other sites.
With some local news websites adopting a ‘pay-to-read’ policy and others unsure of their future, we hope Safety Harbor Connect becomes your number one source for news and information in town.
Being a startup, we recognize the success of this site will wholly depend on you, the engaged and passionate citizens of Safety Harbor. So please feel free to contact us with any comments, suggestions or story ideas you may have.
We are excited to see what the future holds, both for this site and for the city itself!
Regards,
Jeff Rosenfield
Editor, Safety Harbor Connect.com
Can someone tell me why you advertis events going on and when people show up you have no event going on. If this is a way to get tourists and residents to show up and spend money this won’t work, all this does is make people want to never come back. Your event for your farmers market that was to be done today never happened, I saw it in your event section but neve saw a cancellation. Myself friends and family that showed up were so disappointed the we never want to come back or spend any money that has to do with your area. Please remember the word of mouth goes a long way and we have other towns that we can be giving money to.
I feel so out of the loop. After you left the patch I stopped going to read it and just recently found out about this site! So happy to get the news on SH again! Great Job, Jeff!!
Thank you Wendy! I appreciate the love!
Also glad to have you back.
Are you the one to keep Blake informed? Last time I looked he had no clue unless it was build, build build, Richman Group!
I’m so happy to see you reporting on our “Harbor Happenings” again!!! You were missed, I’m a huge fan, congrats Jeff!!
Thanks, Christina! Glad you found me again!
Better late than never, David! Glad you found us!
Slow to get the good news here. It’s November 23 and I just discovered this great site. Good luck, Jeff! This looks great.
Thanks Valerie and Ron! It’s good to be back!
Sooo glad you are back. The site is far better than the Patch and the info is what we all liked so much before.
It was great seeing you at the Veterans Day ceremony at the Marina yesterday. I can’t tell you how excited I am to hear about your newsletter. I just posted your link on my Facebook page and will do the same on the “I grew up in Safety Harbor” site. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help make this a success!
Thank you Joel, Michael and John. I appreciate your encouraging words of support!
Jeff,
Content more than any other aspect of a web site determines if a website is worthwhile and likely to succeed. Your departure from the Patch was their loss. Having you at this new site reintroduces Safey Harbor to a source that was missed. Glad you are back!
Welcome back and good luck.
Hey Jeff, Glad to see that you’re back in the saddle! Nice website. -Joel
I want to thank all of you for your kind words. I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for all the love and support I have received from the community. It’s great to be back covering all the happenings in the Harbor!
Welcome back, Jeff. We’ve missed you, your articles, your pictures etc.
Glad to have you back Jeff! Let the good times roll and may the news be uplifting!
This is awesome news! Thanks for providing this much-needed resource for our community. Looking forward to reading about what is going on in Safety Harbor.
So Happy!!!!! Jeff is back in action!!!!!