Projections released last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center predict a near-normal hurricane season. NOAA forecasters predict a 40% […]
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This Week
This handy guide aims to help you in Hurricane Season 2023
It’s a perennial plea by emergency management experts — and yet, a certain percentage of people never seem to believe that a hurricane can strike where they live. Until, of course, it does. This list of tips is intended to help our readers to be prepared for Hurricane Season 2023, which begins June 1 and […]
Weightman Middle School gym named for revered coach
The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, when the Pasco County School Board voted to name the gym at Thomas E. Weightman Middle School (TEMS), in honor of Thomas Mine, a longtime coach at the school. The request for the honor came from Weightman’s Principal Donna Gricoski and the Weightman school community. The school is […]
She wrote her way to an all-expenses paid trip to the Netherlands
Amy Lewis initially noticed the AAA contest on her Facebook feed. Then, the Land O’ Lakes woman saw it again, about a month before the contest’s deadline, in AAA’s magazine. She encouraged her 14-year-old daughter, Sky, to give it a try. The eighth-grader, who attends Pasco eSchool, got busy doing her research and composing her […]
Guv’na candidates launch campaigns
Campaign season has begun. And, the three candidates vying to become Lutz’s newest Guv’na are revving up their campaign promises, their playful mudslinging and, of course, their fundraising skills in an effort to raise the most money to help various local causes. “It’s a community event that means so much to Lutz and is so […]
Planning board recommends OK for Plantation Palms cell tower
The Pasco County Planning Commission has recommended approval of a 195-foot cell tower to be erected on land at the Plantation Palms Golf Club, 23253 Plantation Palms Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes. That decision came after the planning board’s second hearing on the request. Planning commissioners delayed action on the request at their April 6 […]
Starkey Ranch families prevail in cell tower fight
First, families from Starkey Ranch battled the Pasco County School Board over a proposed easement that would grant access to a proposed cell tower. After they lost that battle, they set their sights on the Pasco County Commission, which was considering the actual lease for the tower, at the county board’s May 23 meeting. Cell […]
Higher Pasco park impact fees expected to be approved this summer
The Pasco County Commission has signaled its intention to increase its park impact fees to $3,450.15 per residential dwelling, whether single-family or multi-family. That’s a whopping increase from the current rates of $891.82 per single-family unit and $627 per multi-family unit. Impact fees are charged to new construction to address new demands caused by growth. […]
Pasco School Board pays tribute to Dennis Alfonso
At the Pasco County School Board meeting on May 16, there were flowers on the school board’s dais, in front of the seat where the board’s attorney, Dennis Alfonso, normally sat. Alfonso, the board’s attorney for a quarter-century, lost his longterm battle with cancer, on the weekend before the board’s meeting. Pasco County Schools Superintendent […]
This Week (cont)
Pasco code officers to expand roles during emergencies
Pasco County’s code compliance officers are undergoing training to be able to medically assist people who may need emergency help, as the officers encounter them during their rounds in the community. The training will prepare the officers to administer Narcan, apply Auto External Defibrillators (AED) and to properly perform CPR, according to a county news […]
Connerton Elementary competes at world finals
They’re set to take a real odyssey — not just one of the mind. Connerton Elementary School’s Odyssey of the Mind team is competing at the World Finals, from May 24 and through May 27 at Michigan State University in East Lansing. It’s a major accomplishment for a relatively new team. Team members collaborated to […]
U.S. 301 logjam in Pasco prompts priority switch
The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization has decided to shuffle the order on its priority project list to take aim at congestion problems on U.S. 301, near State Road 56, a few years earlier. That decision came during the Pasco MPO board’s meeting on May 11. Carl Mikyska, executive director of the transportation planning organization, […]
Community dedication recognized
Gulfside Hospice Thrift Shoppes recently recognized its volunteers for their time and dedication. Two volunteers received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, an award that is given to individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take […]
Local Sports
2022-2023 Sunshine Athletic Conference Winter Awards
The Sunshine Athletic Conference, which is made up of the 14 public high school athletic programs in Pasco County, announced its 2023 Spring All-Conference Teams and Players, voted on by the sports’ respective coaches. The awards are split into East and West divisions of the county. Here are the East Division first teams and the […]
Hitting the gym — and the century mark
Roy Caldwood is a risk taker — a rebel. And, a humanitarian. The 100-year-old veteran — who regularly stays fit and active by working out with a trainer at AdventHealth Wellness Center in Wesley Chapel — served as a Buffalo Soldier in World War II, encountering German infantry and Third Reich soldiers in Italy. He […]
Sports – Check This Out
Local pitcher honored
Saint Leo University (SLU) baseball relief pitcher Nick Jennings was named to the All-South Region Second Team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) on May 17. Jennings, a former Land O’ Lakes High ballplayer who graduated from SLU on May 13, finished fourth in saves for the season, with a 1.42 ERA […]
Outdoor Adventures Challenge
The Pasco County Parks, Recreation, & Natural Resources Department will begin its Summer Outdoor Adventures Challenge on June 1 and run through Aug. 31 for participants to earn a Blazin’ Hot Summer Challenge patch. Cost is $20 for those who sign up to complete 75 miles of any combination of biking, hiking, paddling or swimming. […]
Football camps
The Steinbrenner High Football Program will host its Elite Warrior Football Camps from June 19 to June 23 and July 17 to July 21 for boys and girls ages 6 to 14 years old, at Oscar Cooler Sports Complex, 656 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road. Cost is $150 per player and camps will run from […]
Reasons To Smile
Deputies rescue dolphin
The mission of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO) Maritime Operations Unit (MAROPS) is to make sure all are safe on the water. In early May, MAROPS corporals were called to assist a different resident: a dolphin calf that was days- or hours-old, alone and in distress. An off-duty PSO deputy was fishing off the coast […]
