“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

Welcome to this week’s Riverview Weekly Compass.

August has arrived with plenty of Florida heat, afternoon storms and the beginning of another school year. Across Southern Hillsborough County, families are getting back into their routines while our communities continue to grow and change.

This week, we're taking a look at some of the people, places and everyday experiences that make this area special—from a homegrown seafood business in Ruskin to local markets, community activities and a reminder about something as basic as drinking enough water.

We’ll also take another practical step into the world of AI and look at ways you can actually use it in everyday life.

As always, the goal of the Compass is simple: to help you discover something useful, interesting or worthwhile right here in our own backyard.

A Taste of the Bay, Right Here in Ruskin

There is something special about walking into a local seafood market and seeing the day's selection right in front of you. At Ruskin Seafood Company, the display case is filled with fresh seafood, prepared items and plenty of choices for taking home.

During my visit, I watched customers make their selections and had one of those spontaneous conversations that make local reporting so much fun.

One customer was picking out blue crabs and shared that he was originally from Maryland. For him, finding fresh blue crabs locally isn't always easy. He told me that Ruskin Seafood Shack was the only place he had found where he could get them fresh.

That little conversation said a lot about what makes a neighborhood seafood shop valuable. It's not just about buying dinner. It's about finding the foods you know and love, talking with people who understand seafood, and discovering something new while you're there.

And that's one of the things I enjoy most about exploring Southern Hillsborough County: you never quite know what story you're going to find when you stop and talk to somebody.

Ruskin Seafood Company
701 U.S. 41 S.
Ruskin, FL

A Wake-Up Call: When Dehydration Becomes Serious

The symptoms came on gradually. She began experiencing nausea, vomiting and weakness. After spending a night and day in and out of the bathroom, she decided to call 911 and was transported to the hospital, where she was admitted.

Her situation was serious and potentially life-threatening. She was diagnosed with severe dehydration and immediately given fluids through an IV.

Doctors also ran tests to determine whether her kidneys or liver had been affected. Fortunately, because she was in fairly good health, there were no serious complications.

The experience changed the way she thinks about something most of us take for granted: water.

Today, she drinks more water and has received help from her family in establishing a regular hydration routine. She didn't realize how important hydration was until this experience.

“I never knew how important water was to my overall health,” she says. “I will definitely drink more water every day. I can't ignore what my body is telling me.”

Her experience is a reminder that our bodies often give us signals before a problem becomes an emergency. In the Florida heat, paying attention to those signals—and making hydration part of the daily routine—can be especially important.

Sometimes the simplest things we do for our health can make the biggest difference.

Back to School, Back to Routines

The afternoon storms have wreaked havoc across the region, but a new weather pattern is beginning to develop.

At the same time, school has started in most communities, and the safety of our children is first and foremost in the minds of parents.

For families, the return to school means more than new teachers and new schedules. It means getting back into routines—morning commutes, school buses, after-school activities and children spending more time outside.

And Florida weather doesn't always cooperate.

Afternoon thunderstorms can develop quickly, bringing heavy rain, lightning and reduced visibility to roads that may have been dry just minutes earlier.

As we settle into the new school year, it's a good time to slow down, leave a little extra time for the morning commute and remember that conditions can change quickly.

The school year is underway. The storms are still with us. A little extra attention can go a long way toward keeping everyone safe.

Your Community Connection

Back to school means back to community.

With school now underway, families across Southern Hillsborough County are settling into new routines. But there are plenty of ways to stay active, connected and involved beyond the classroom.

📚 Put the Library on Your List

The Riverview Public Library is more than a place to check out a book. It's a community resource with programs, technology, learning opportunities and activities for children, families and adults.

🏊 The YMCA Is More Than a Gym

The local YMCA offers another way for families to stay active and connected, with swimming, fitness, youth activities and programs for different ages.

⚽ Fall Sports Are Getting Underway

This is the time of year when families start thinking about soccer, flag football, swimming and other fall activities. If your children haven't found an activity yet, now is a good time to see what's available locally.

🌅 A Little Time to Unwind

If you're looking for something different, the Sunset Flow Experience in Apollo Beach offers an opportunity to get outside, move a little and enjoy the waterfront as the sun goes down.

🚚 And Don't Forget the Food Trucks

Keep an eye out for local food trucks at community gatherings and neighborhood events. They're another small-business connection worth discovering—and sometimes the best meal you'll find is served from a window on wheels.

The point isn't to fill every weekend. It's to find something that gets you out, keeps you active and connects you with the people and places around you.

AI for Me: You Don't Have to Be a Tech Expert

If you've been hearing about ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or other AI tools and wondering, “What would I actually use that for?”—you're not alone.

The good news is that you don't need to understand how artificial intelligence works to get something useful from it.

Think of AI as a helper you can talk to.

You can ask it to:

• Explain something you don't understand.
• Help plan a trip.
• Turn a pile of notes into a shopping list.
• Help organize a busy week.
• Suggest meals based on what you already have.
• Explain a confusing letter or document in plain English.
• Help you learn something you've always wanted to understand.
• Brainstorm ideas for a project or hobby.

You don't need a fancy prompt.

Instead of trying to figure out the perfect words, simply tell AI what you're trying to accomplish.

Try this:

“I have chicken, rice, broccoli and eggs. What can I make for dinner?”

That's it.

AI is particularly useful when you start with a real problem instead of trying to figure out what AI is supposed to do.

Pick one small problem you've been putting off.

Ask AI to help.

You might be surprised by the answer.

One final reminder: AI can be very helpful, but it can also make mistakes. For medical, financial, legal or other important decisions, use AI as a starting point—not the final authority.

Ask the Person Who Grows It

The next time you're at a farmers market or roadside produce stand, try something simple:

Ask the person selling the vegetables how they cook them.

You may be surprised by what happens.

That question can turn a quick purchase into a conversation. The grower may tell you how their family prepares it, what seasonings they use, whether it should be roasted, grilled, sautéed or eaten fresh—and maybe even what not to do.

And you'll probably walk away with more than a bag of vegetables.

You'll have a new idea for dinner.

Florida's markets are filled with familiar favorites, but there's always something you've probably walked past because you weren't sure what to do with it.

Next time, pick one.

Buy it. Ask how to prepare it. Take the advice home and try it.

You might discover a new favorite—and you've just had a conversation with someone who knows their product better than anyone else.

That's one of the things I enjoy most about our local markets.

The food is fresh. The people know their stuff. And they're usually happy to share what they know.

A Few Stops Worth Making

I've been making my way around Southern Hillsborough County's local markets, and one thing keeps becoming clearer:

You don't have to drive far to find good food, interesting people and businesses that care about what they're doing.

My recent visit to Ruskin Fresh Market gave me another look at what happens when someone takes a simple idea and keeps building on it.

Nicole Ferreira has created more than a place to buy produce. It's becoming a gathering point for people who want fresh food and a connection to the people selling it.

And there's an interesting connection to this week's seafood story: Ruskin Seafood Company buys produce from Nicole's market.

That's the kind of local connection I want the Compass to keep finding.

At Ruskin Seafood Company, I watched a customer select fresh blue crabs and explain how he prepares them at home. He was from Maryland—and told me this was the only place he'd found where he could get fresh blue crab.

That's a market doing something more than selling food.

It's helping people find a taste of home.

The next time you're at a local market, don't just shop.

Talk to the person behind the table.

Ask where the food came from. Ask what's freshest. Ask how they cook it.

You might leave with dinner.

You might leave with a recipe.

You might even leave with a new friend.

This week’s issue has taken us from seafood markets to summer weather, from back-to-school routines to a lesson about dehydration—and even to learning how AI can become an everyday tool.

But there is a common thread running through all of it:

Pay attention to what's around you.

The people who grow our food.
The businesses serving our neighborhoods.
The weather outside our windows.
The signals our bodies send us.
The opportunities to learn something new.

Sometimes the best discoveries aren't far away.

They're right here in our own community.

That's the idea behind the Riverview Weekly Compass.

See you next week. 🧭