BUSINESS BRIEFS
Shoreline Foods opens Gulf Breeze location

For over three generations the Vatsolakis family has been tending to some of the world's finest olive groves in Crete Greece, producing a worldwide recognized Extra Virgin Olive Oil known as Shoreline Olive Oil. Shoreline's Olive Oil is cold pressed with a low acidity rate of less than 1 percent and expiration date. Shoreline's promise is to provide the freshest Extra Virgin Olive Oil and was voted "Best Olive Oil" by the Pensacola News Journal in 2004.

As a way of life, Stelios (Steve) and his family exhibited a Cretan lifestyle: a perfect balance between work and leisure while incorporating the Cretan (Mediterranean) diet based on whole grains, vegetables, fruits, wild greens, fish, cheese, poultry, a little red wine and most importantly olive oil. In July of 1998, the Vatsolakis family bought the established Shoreline Food Store on Main Street in Pensacola with the intent of sharing a healthier way of living with the family's production of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. In 2000 the first shipment of two pallets of Olive Oil was imported from Greece to Pensacola and today half of the people in Pensacola that use olive oil buy it from Shoreline. Shoreline's olive oil is now sold all over the United States including locally at Apple Market, Everman's Joe Patties and Ebay. Today the "holy gift" (Greek olive oil from Crete) can be found in our own Gulf Breeze backyard.

On February 7, Shoreline expanded and opened the new Shoreline International Market & Deli in the Parkway Plaza Shopping Center, formerly known as the Internet Café, located one block west of Barnhills. Shoreline International Market & Deli offers an array of imported Mediterranean/Middle Eastern goods in addition to a deli offering of Greek salads, Gyro's, specialty sandwiches, Muffuletta, fresh cut steaks and a fine assortment of cheeses & wine. Additional services offered are sit-down bistro seating; take out menu, Florida lottery and ATM & Internet services.

Oracle exec will speak to ITGULFCOAST

ITGULFCOAST, an Information Technology Association for the Gulf Coast, will meet on Wednesday March 28. The guest speaker will be Sean Donahue, Oracle Solutions Architect, to discuss security in Oracle databases and applications. Oracle has offered to do several technical sessions for ITGULFCOAST this year.

Please note that the location of this meeting has been changed to New World Landing, in the Marseilles Room.

The meeting will be from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. The cost will be $15 per person including a buffet lunch. Please make a reservation by sending an email to rsvp@itgulfcoast.org. Noshows will be billed.

The meeting is open to all ITGULFCOAST and ASQ members, guests and to the public. For more information call 850-932-4713 or visit the organization's website at www.itgulfcoast.org.

United Way urges residents to claim Telephone Excise Tax Refund

United Way of Escambia County wants to make sure Pensacola Area residents take advantage of a one-time tax refund that could put $30 or more back into their pocketbooks - the Telephone Excise Tax Refund.

Nationwide, approximately $13 billion in telephone excise taxes will be refunded to more than 159 million taxpayers. In Escambia County, United Way and the Financial Literacy Coalition have teamed up to provide two Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Centers where qualified residents can receive free tax help and prep.

In 1898, the federal government imposed a "luxury" tax on United States long-distance telephone users. In 2006, the United States Department of the Treasury determined that this tax is history. As a result, the IRS will issue a one-time payment that eligible taxpayers can request on their 2006 federal income tax returns. The refund gives back federal excise taxes paid in previous years.

Individuals or businesses who paid for long-distance phone service on a land line, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol service, or bundled services at any time from March 2003 through July 2006 most likely paid the telephone excise tax and are eligible for the Telephone Excise Tax Refund. The standard refund is 30 to 60 dollars. Residents can request the refund even if they are not required to file a regular tax return.

To get help claiming the refund, visit one of two Volunteer Income Tax Assistance centers in Escambia County:

Pensacola Junior College, Bldg. 96 on College Boulevard; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday- Friday through April 13.

Catholic Charities, 1815 N. Sixth Ave.; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Call 308-5452 for appointment.

You can also visit www.unitedwayescambia. org or call 595- 5905 to get help claiming the refund. For more information, call Susan Senkarik at 444-7124.