The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Michael Hinman

New road budget funds State Road 54 expansion

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Cars traveling between the Suncoast Parkway and Land O’ Lakes Boulevard will find a wider road in their future.

Florida’s $8.8 billion transportation budget offered by Gov. Rick Scott includes an $18.2 million carve-out for State Road 54 that will allow the road to expand from its existing four lanes to six.

That will bring the four-mile stretch of State Road 54 in line with the rest of the route west of the Suncoast Parkway, which connects U.S. 19 in New Port Richey to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills.

Of the nearly $280 million in transportation improvements earmarked for West Central Florida, just a little more than $79 million directly affect Pasco County. The state also plans to add the Sugarwood stretch of Veterans Expressway to that road’s overall reconstruction project, adding lanes and removing tollbooths between the Sugarwood toll plaza north of Gunn Highway and Van Dyke Road.

“The stretch of Veterans between Sugarwood and Van Dyke was always planned as part of the original widening,” said Christa Deason, public information officer for Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise. “The start time was just staggered so that the entire Veterans wasn’t under construction at one time.”

The expansion of the road there will link it up with a $386 million project already taking place south as part of the road that connects Tampa’s busy Westshore business district with Pasco County. Just like the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, tollbooths will be replaced with all-electronic tolling.

The State Road 54 expansion won’t affect any plans to build an elevated express road, which was proposed last year by a private developer. Such a project would utilize existing rights of way already secured by the Florida Department of Transportation. But even if an agreement was struck soon, construction of such a road is still years off.

Hernando County will receive one-third of the money earmarked for the region, however, claiming $110.2 million. That will expand Interstate 75, providing what officials describe as “interregional connectivity” between the Tampa Bay region and the Georgia state line.

While the nearly $280 million planned for road projects in the region is more than rural parts, both the Miami and Orlando areas will split $1.1 billion, mainly for expansion of Interstate 95 on the eastern side of the state.

Road projects in the area won’t end anytime soon. In addition to current projects and those planned to start in the near future, the FDOT has another $262 million on the drawing board for Pasco County alone.

That work overall includes ongoing I-75 expansion north of State Road 54, the four-laning of State Road 52 west of Interstate 75, and completing the four-lane work of State Road 54 east of Wesley Chapel leading into Zephyrhills.

Other projects, like the $39 million expansion of State Road 56 from Meadow Point Boulevard to U.S. 301 won’t be addressed until 2017 at the earliest.

Published Feb. 12, 2014

Tucker Carlson headlines business conference at Saint Leo

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Love him or hate him, organizers of this year’s International Business Conference at Saint Leo University are only asking people give Tucker Carlson a chance.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush is one of many widely known speakers that have addressed the crowds at Saint Leo University’s International Business Conference over the years. This year’s keynote speaker is another popular conservative, television pundit Tucker Carlson. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)
Former Gov. Jeb Bush is one of many widely known speakers that have addressed the crowds at Saint Leo University’s International Business Conference over the years. This year’s keynote speaker is another popular conservative, television pundit Tucker Carlson. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Carlson, a popular conservative commentator who hosts the weekend version of “Fox & Friends” on the Fox News Channel, is the keynote speaker for the International Business Conference when it kicks off Feb. 19. He will headline a conference focused on innovation and globalism, key components to a business environment connected worldwide by the Internet.

“Tucker is a great personality,” said Adam Shoemaker, an assistant professor in Saint Leo’s School of Business, and the organizer of the conference. “He is very divisive, and people will want to at least hear what he has to say. So we’re asking people to come and decide.”

Carlson is slated to take the podium at the university’s student community center beginning at 7:30 p.m., for a talk that is open to the public whether they’re attending the conference or not.

Shoemaker, however, hopes people do stay the rest of the week, because there’s a lot to learn from panelists who have traveled from around the world to attend.

“We are becoming a global economy, and people have to be ready for it,” the assistant professor said. “If it’s not happening now, then it’s happening in the near future. You can’t count on just your local markets or your national markets anymore.”

Even areas of Africa are finding ways to connect to the Internet, many times building a Wi-Fi infrastructure in places where there isn’t even a way to produce clean water.

“Just the fact they can communicate across the world is helping to change their situation and get their basic needs,” Shoemaker said.

And that market continues to change, where even the dollar is not always the preferred currency. The Saint Leo conference also will feature panel discussions on new ways to trade, like bitcoins. Introduced in 2009, bitcoins are found solely in the digital realm and are created through digital mining.

“It’s an international currency that is not regulated by any country,” Shoemaker said. “We go into how it works and how it’s affecting different global economies.”

Joining the expected 150 attendees is a small delegation from Brazil, a country quickly growing into an economic power because of its increasing exports and viable labor force.

These speakers are involved in a partnership between Saint Leo and Pontifical Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro, designed to try to bring the South American country up to par with others in the global economy, such as the United States and the European Union.

“They’ll explore the parallels and differences in how they teach about business in their country, and how it’s taught up here,” Shoemaker said.

This is the first year Shoemaker has organized the International Business Conference, although he’s worked on the team in the past. The school prefers to rotate chairs, especially since they are taking on the responsibilities while still facing a full workload at the busy school.

Yet, the work is satisfying to Shoemaker, because finding a way to grow in a world business market is the best way to thrive in a world business market.

“It certainly helps to understand different cultures, and at least have an open mind about different cultures,” he said. “You have to have that infrastructure in place, because even if you’re a small company with a Web presence, you could quickly become overwhelmed when the world comes knocking.”

Carlson isn’t the only featured speaker during the event. On Thursday, David Harmon, deputy director and chief human capital officer of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors will be at the podium. Later on, during lunch, Maxwell Stewart of Enterprise Florida will talk about his organization’s efforts in bringing businesses — and jobs — to not just the region, but to the state.

Bill Zobrist will lead Friday’s lunch likely sharing his experiences around a startup he’s invested in. Zobrist works on online and emerging product strategy for Pearson Embanet, an online learning services company that has offices in Orlando, Chicago and Toronto.

The speakers schedule will close Friday afternoon with U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, who will talk about his work on helping businesses in Washington, D.C.

For more information on the conference and how to attend, call Amanda Laffin at (352) 588-8837, or email her at . Cost to attend ranges from $150 to $400, but is free to Saint Leo students.

Saint Leo is located at 33701 State Road 52 in St. Leo.

Published Feb. 12, 2014

Business Digest 02-12-14

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Community Business Expo coming
The Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce will host its 2014 Community Business Expo March 14 and March 15 at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes.

The event runs from 4 p.m. to 7 pm., March 14, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on March 15, with the theme “The Price is Right – Shop Local.”

Sponsorships and booth space remain available, but are limited.

For more information, visit CentralPascoChamber.com, or call (813) 909-2722.

RadioShack mum about store closings
Not long after it impressed Super Bowl viewers with its commercial featuring a number of 1980s pop culture icons, retail chain RadioShack Corp., won’t address a published report that it plans to close 500 of its more than 4,400 stores nationwide.

The Fort Worth, Texas-based company has been remodeling stores as a way to reinvent itself. Yet, the store has continued to suffer losses, most recently $208.8 million through the first nine months of 2013, compared to a $76.1 million loss the year before, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

RadioShack operates two stores in the area, according to its company website, at 23012 State Road 54 in Lutz, as well as at the Shops at Pebble Creek at 19416 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in New Tampa.

March meeting for Women-n-Charge
Women-n-Charge will meet March 7 beginning at 11:30 a.m., at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive in Tampa.

Speaking is Debra Lombardozzi, who will talk about how to identify personality types so that people can communicate more effectively.

Cost is $15 for members ahead of the meeting, and $18 for all guests and those who haven’t prepaid by March 5.

For more information, call (813) 600-9849, or email .

Denny’s to help families of fallen officers
Denny’s restaurants will raise money for a Florida organization that provides financial support to families of law enforcement officers when killed in the line of duty throughout February.

More than 140 Denny’s locations will take part in the campaign for Tour de Force, with a goal to raise $75,000 for the nonprofit organization.

Visitors to the restaurants can pledge $3, and receive $9 worth of Denny’s coupons in return, with 100 percent of all proceeds being donated to the families of fallen heroes.

“We hope our support of this wonderful organization will help to make a continued difference in the lives of the families of those brave men and women who were taken from us too soon,” said Denise Gaines, senior manager of field marketing for Denny’s, in a release.

In 2013, four Florida officers were killed in the line of duty in Broward, Charlotte, Polk and St. Lucie counties.

To also help raise money, police officers throughout the area will sell the 2014 Tour de Force charity bike ride patches for $5 that honors the four officers killed. Denny’s serves as the title sponsor for the bike ride, a five-day, 270-mile ride from North Miami Beach to Daytona Beach in April.

Since its inaugural ride in 1997, Tour de Force has raised more than $300,000 for the families of fallen officers and law enforcement-related organizations.

For more information on the group, visit FloridaTourdeForce.org.

Denny’s has a location at the Flying J Travel Plaza at 29933 State Road 52 in San Antonio. Other locations are in Tampa, Brooksville and New Port Richey.

Law book publishers settle with state
West Publishing Corp. and Thomson Reuters Tax Accounting Inc., has agreed to provide up to $6 million in restitution to consumers who received law books, newsletters and other publications that the consumers had not intended to order.

Automatic subscription renewals and automatic product shipments are known as “negative option plans,” and consumers must be told clearly about the terms of such plans, and agree to the terms, in order for plans to be lawful under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, according to state attorney general Pam Bondi.

The two companies allegedly placed customers into automatic subscription renewals and automated shipment plans for their publications without adequate disclosures, according to Bondi.

Refunds will be offered to all Florida customers who, after Jan. 31, 2010, unknowingly paid for certain publications that were automatically shipped, or for subscriptions that were automatically renewed.

The two publishers also have agreed to modify their business practices to ensure that automatic shipment plans and automatic renewal of subscriptions are put in place only after all appropriate disclosures have been provided to customers, and the customers have provided affirmative consent to the terms.

Democrats claim flood insurance bill has stalled in House

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When U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis pulled hundreds of angry residents into a crowded council chambers in New Port Richey last December, he vowed to make changes at the federal level to alleviate massive flood insurance hikes.

Flood insurance reform passed in 2012 hasn’t rolled out the way lawmakers had hoped, with many homeowners — especially living in high-risk flood zones — facing premium increases of thousands of dollars. An effort to fix the bill in Washington, D.C., could be blocked by House Speaker John Boehner some Florida Democrats say. (File Photo)
Flood insurance reform passed in 2012 hasn’t rolled out the way lawmakers had hoped, with many homeowners — especially living in high-risk flood zones — facing premium increases of thousands of dollars. An effort to fix the bill in Washington, D.C., could be blocked by House Speaker John Boehner some Florida Democrats say. (File Photo)

But it looks like the Palm Harbor Republican’s efforts are being stopped in their tracks — by his own party’s Congressional leader.

At least that’s what the Florida delegation of Democrats in Congress are claiming in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner in Washington, D.C. That letter, signed by all eight Florida Democrats serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, urges Boehner to allow the bill to move forward “on behalf the millions of families and small business owners” they represent.

“The unreasonable flood insurance increases are particularly harmful to middle class families across Florida,” the letter said, adding that 180 Congressional members from both the Democratic and Republican side of the aisle have co-sponsored the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013.

“Expeditious action is necessary because huge flood insurance bills are now coming due,” the letter continued. “We share the frustration of our neighbors that many of the changes adopted by FEMA are outside the original intent of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Unless you take up a solution now, greater economic harm will be inflicted in Florida and around the country.”

Since it suffered major losses from storms like Katrina and Sandy, the National Flood Insurance Program — a federal insurance plan administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency — have raised premiums considerably since October, when Biggert-Waters took effect. One Pasco County homeowner told Bilirakis and other government leaders in December that his insurance had grown to $2,000 a month, close to the cost of his $2,500 monthly mortgage.

“If we don’t get a fix, they are going to foreclose on my property,” the resident said at the time. “I cannot physically make my payment.”

In a statement to The Laker/Lutz News, Bilirakis didn’t address the Democratic claim that the Speaker is tabling the bill, but did say that he wasn’t giving up.

“I have been working diligently to address the astronomical flood insurance rate increases homeowners across the country are experiencing, and I remain committed to finding a long-term solution,” Bilirakis said. “These rate increases will have grave financial impacts on current and future homeowners and could threaten our housing market’s recovery.”

Bilirakis said he remains “hopeful and confident” that an agreement can be reached to address the flood insurance system’s solvency and affordability.

The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act passed Congress and was signed by President Obama in 2012. The bill phases out government subsidies for premiums in long-standing policies, but caps the annual increases at 25 percent.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, who has been championing flood insurance reform from the county level, says she’s surprised if the bill in Congress did indeed stall, but she can also understand why.

“It doesn’t affect a lot of people in the country, and I think a lot of people don’t understand it,” she said. “I hear it all the time. ‘I don’t want to subsidize them. They should be paying their fair share.’ I think people on the water would agree on that. What’s going on here, however, is that they need this program to be implemented fairly and wisely, and it’s just not happening.”

Somehow, the idea of reforming flood insurance is becoming a partisan issue, and it shouldn’t be, Starkey said.

“Something’s gone awry, and it’s not a political thing,” she said. “They need to look at their science and their math, and help these poor people.”

State Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, is not waiting for the federal government to take action. He’s already a co-sponsor for S.B. 542, which is set to go before an appropriations subcommittee on Feb. 6.

The bill, according to Simpson, creates flexible options for policyholders to choose from so that they can reach an affordable level of coverage. The hallmark of the bill allows policyholders the option of covering either the outstanding balance of their mortgage, or the replacement cost of their property.

Through his spokesperson, Simpson reiterated his position that the U.S. Congress “must work together, regardless of party affiliation, to fix this serious issue” for his constituents.

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Wilson not convinced Pasco needs elevated road

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It’s no secret Pasco County Commissioner Henry Wilson doesn’t put a lot of faith into studies, statistics or consultants. And that’s not changing at all when it comes to the proposed elevated road for the State Road 54/56 corridor.

Pasco County officials have used a series of diagrams, like this cutaway, that show how an elevated road over the State Road 54/56 corridor could expand the existing highway from six lanes to 10. (Courtesy of Pasco County Commission)
Pasco County officials have used a series of diagrams, like this cutaway, that show how an elevated road over the State Road 54/56 corridor could expand the existing highway from six lanes to 10.
(Courtesy of Pasco County Commission)

In fact, he told the Republican Club of Central Pasco last week that if county planning and development administrator Richard Gehring can sell the privately proposed toll road he advocates to the public, he’d buy him dinner at the pricey Bern’s Steak House in Tampa.

“I want to put out this disclaimer right now,” Wilson told the group. “I was the only one of the five commissioners that has opposed this from the beginning, because I don’t think we need it.”

County officials have talked about how future growth in Pasco and the rest of the region will create significant congestion on the existing State Road 54 and State Road 56 in coming years, but that’s congestion Wilson says he hasn’t seen.

“Before I was in office, I spent 14 years travelling from New Port Richey to Tampa, and the only time I hit congestion was in Hillsborough County,” he said. “This is something that will help Hillsborough, not Pasco.”

Yet, county officials have warned against comparing current traffic issues to those that might happen in the future. In a recent meeting with the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, Pasco County administrator Michele Baker credited forward thinking that expanded the lanes in the State Road 54/56 corridor for keeping congestion under control in the present.

“We know we’ll never build enough roads to prevent congestion from occurring,” Baker said last month. Places to build east-west roads in the county are limited because of the amount of preservation land and planned development that exists, especially in the central part of the county. That limits most of the talk to both the State Road 54/56 corridor in the southern part of the county, and State Road 52 and the county line road bordering Hernando County to the north.

“When you look at all the entitlements out there, even if we didn’t approve one new development again, we’re going to need at least 20 east-west lanes,” Baker said. The two major roads have between six and eight lanes, but officials have to ask themselves, “where are the rest of those lanes going to come from?”

Wilson, however, said the idea of needing a 20-lane road in the State Road 54/56 corridor is wrong. Very few places in the country have roads that large, and nearly all of them serve populations counted in the millions, like Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It’s nearly impossible to imagine the need for it here.

And the fear of such a large road is driving the support behind the elevated road, Wilson said.

“Since I have been in office, we try to say that we are business friendly,” he said. The elevated road “is probably the least business-friendly thing we could do.”

How the elevated road would move forward is based on studies conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation, Wilson said.

“It doesn’t say anything about it being determined by Pasco County needs, or Pasco County wants, or Pasco County anything,” he said. “And we know that a government study can say anything we want it to say. Just like statistics. We can make it say anything you want it to say.”

A private road development group, International Infrastructure Partners Inc., has asked the FDOT to give up key right-of-way along the State Road 54/56 corridor to build an elevated toll road that would connect Zephyrhills at U.S. 301, and New Port Richey at U.S. 19. The 33-mile project would be constructed through private money, with returns coming from toll revenue.

Although the project is commonly known as an elevated road, Baker said no one should expect every mile of it will be above the ground. Some pieces could be much lower.

“Are they going to build an elevated road from U.S. 19 to U.S. 301? There’s no reason to,” Baker said. “The whole road doesn’t require that, and it doesn’t make sense.”

Flyovers would have to occur at major intersections, however, like where State Road 54 and Land O’ Lakes Boulevard meet, an intersection that already draws 100,000 cars a day, according to the county. And the goal would be to prevent flyovers similar to what’s found on U.S. 19 in Pinellas County, splitting entire areas in half, and forcing many businesses to face a giant wall where the road elevates, Baker said.

Yet, the need for such a structure is at least a decade away, if not more, Wilson said. And that means the county can convince the FDOT to slow down a bit on the project.

“If we don’t need it for 15 to 20 years, then there is probably going to be a better option in the next few years,” he said.

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Latest industrial construction to boost area jobs profile

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Central Pasco County continues its bid to become the high-technology hub of the Tampa Bay region with the start of a 135,000-square-foot office center at ComPark 75. And last week, development owner Larry Morgan welcomed Gov. Rick Scott and other dignitaries for a ceremonial groundbreaking at his latest $15 million effort.

Larry Morgan, center, chief executive of Morgan Family Ventures, stands with Gov. Rick Scott, left, and Ross Kirk, executive managing director of Cassidy Turley, in front of Building C at ComPark in Lutz. Lawmakers labeled the construction off Wesley Chapel Boulevard the first major commercial construction in Pasco County since the start of the economic recession. (Photo by Michael Hinman)
Larry Morgan, center, chief executive of Morgan Family Ventures, stands with Gov. Rick Scott, left, and Ross Kirk, executive managing director of Cassidy Turley, in front of Building C at ComPark in Lutz. Lawmakers labeled the construction off Wesley Chapel Boulevard the first major commercial construction in Pasco County since the start of the economic recession. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

“There is something else much more important going on here than just the construction of these buildings,” Morgan, chief executive of Morgan Family Ventures and former owner of Tires Plus, told the crowd outside of his Building C on the chilly, damp morning. “The American way is for the people to have the opportunity to invest their money and time and things of that nature, and that entrepreneurial spirit certainly exists here at ComPark.”

The walls for Building C are already up, with the larger Building D planned to be built not far behind it on Pet Lane. Both buildings will offer more than 30 office units ranging in size from 3,030 square feet to 5,175 square feet. Three of the units in Building C have already been leased, including the Pasco County Tax Collector’s office, which signed on after a Wesley Chapel location at The Grove fell through.

Getting the building off the ground required more than 30 permits, but the bureaucratic red tape has not been as restrictive as it once was, Morgan said. The county has come a long way.

“I have been a critic of regulation my whole business life, but things are definitely getting better in Pasco,” he said. “The whole county organization is getting better.”

The construction project has employed nearly 600 people, and will create more than 250 jobs once the units start filling up. Many of those jobs, Morgan said, would be high-waged.

And that could give a local boost to Scott, who is facing a tough re-election this year potentially against his predecessor, Charlie Crist, and working to raise what has been consistently low approval ratings.

“We all care about what happens to you,” Scott said. “We want jobs. The most important thing we can do is create an environment that will get to work.”

Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, says he can only see growth in Wesley Chapel’s future thanks to projects like ComPark.

“Wesley Chapel is the hotbed of economic opportunities in the state of Florida,” he said, adding that government can help developers by getting “out of the way.”

“It’s an honor to get out of your way and let you do your job,” Legg said.

ComPark 75 is 60 acres of developable land just off Wesley Chapel Boulevard to the west of Tampa North Aero Park.

Only three units remain available in the first phase of ComPark’s construction of two nearby buildings that total a little more than 100,000 square feet. Morgan also hopes to build a four-story office building on the eastern side of the property fronting Interstate 75.

New State Rep. Amanda Murphy, who succeeded Mike Fasano in the Florida Legislature, was the only Democratic lawmaker on hand at the ceremony. She said the ComPark project would help the entire county, although she did wish it was in her district.

“I am a little jealous because the other side of the county doesn’t get something as wonderful and beautiful as this,” said Murphy, who is based in New Port Richey. “But it benefits all of Pasco County, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Political Agenda 02-05-14

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Ross officially running again
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, officially announced the start of his re-election campaign on Jan. 21 at events in Lakeland and Plant City.

Ross, currently in his second term, is a conservative Republican with a platform to lower taxes, protect individual freedoms, and reduce government mandates.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work on behalf of the good people of Polk and Hillsborough (counties) these past three years in Congress,” Ross said in a release. “I care deeply about our community, and I have been tirelessly fighting for families across the 15th District to ensure that they can keep more of their hard-earned money and maintain their freedoms. I will continue to do all that I can to promote job growth and certainty for the future.”

Ross has already raised more than $380,000, and so far would face former television journalist Alan Cohn in the general election if no one else files to run.

Littlefield won’t seek endorsements
Former State Rep. Ken Littlefield knows his main primary opponent in the Pasco County Commission race has some major endorsements from other local leaders, but he isn’t looking for any himself.

“I will be asking you for your vote because you like me, and because I’ve been able to explain to you” my experience, Littlefield told the Republican Club of Central Pasco last week. “Rather, I will never come to you and say, ‘Vote for me’ because there’s another elected official that thinks I’m pretty cool. I will never come to you and say ‘Vote for me’ because there is another leader in our county who thinks I’m pretty good.”

Littlefield is referring to one of his Republican primary challengers, Mike Moore, who already touts nine endorsements on his campaign website. They are from people like Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, Pasco County Schools superintendent Kurt Browning, and two mayors — Tim Newlon of San Antonio, and Danny Burgess of Zephyrhills.

Littlefield entered the race Jan. 16, and has yet to file campaign finance reports. Moore, however, is leading the money pack with just under $41,000 raised. The third Republican in the race, Bob Robertson, has raised a little more than $10,000 since announcing his candidacy last summer.

Business Digest 02-05-14

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St. Luke’s welcomes Glass
Dr. Paul Glass has joined St. Luke’s Cataract & Laser Institute as an optometrist.

He will work in conjunction with many St. Luke’s specialties, including cataract, retina, and glaucoma.

Glass previously led an optometry practice at Sam’s Club in Wesley Chapel. He attended the University of Miami before transferring on an accelerated path to Nova Southeastern University’s College of Optometry.

Glass will work out of St. Luke’s Tarpon Springs, Tampa and St. Petersburg offices.

For more information, call (800) 282-9905, or visit StLukesEye.com.

New name for Gulfside Hospice
Gulfside Hospice now has a new name: Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care.

The new name, according to a release, highlights care across the spectrum for patients facing both end-of-life and chronic illness. Gulfside Hospice provides care to Pasco County residents facing a terminal illness with six months or less to live. Pasco Palliative Care patients can receive care at any stage of a chronic sickness, and can continue seeking curative treatment for their illness.

Gulfside Hospice was initially licensed in 1989, and serves more than 375 patients daily. The company employs 250 professionals, and has more than 550 volunteers.

For more information, call (800) 561-4883, or visit GHPPC.org.

Campaign starts for Bayfront Health
Bayfront Health Dade City has launched a multi-media campaign to help spread the word of not only the hospital’s new name, but also what it describes as multiple benefits of having access to its Bayfront Health network.

That network is comprised of seven hospitals and more than 6,000 professionals serving the central Gulf Coast.

The campaign has already launched in January with billboards, and will move into print, radio and television advertising by the middle of February.

“This network gives us the ability to offer a broader range of expertise and services to the community we serve, and it creates tremendous opportunities for our dedicated staff and physicians,” said Shauna McKinnon, chief executive of Bayfront Health Dade City, in a release.

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg will be the flagship hospital for the new network, with other facilities located in Brooksville, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Spring Hill and Venice.

Retail jobs grow by 5.5 percent
Florida retailers added 55,000 jobs between December 2012 and last December — an annual growth rate of 5.5 percent, according to the January release of employment numbers from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

From that, retail trade accounted for nearly a third of the 192,900 jobs created in Florida in 2013, and topped the statewide job growth rate of 2.6 percent, according to the Florida Retail Federation.

The growth of retail in Florida has fueled an increase in sales tax collections, which account for approximately $21 billion of the state budget, the group added.

Overall, the greater Tampa Bay area led all Florida metropolitan areas in over-the-year job growth, according to Gov. Rick Scott’s office, gaining 35,400 new jobs. Unemployment during that period also dropped from 7.9 percent in December 2012 to 5.9 percent last December.

The biggest gains in the area came in trade, transportation and utilities with 9,500 jobs. Close behind was education and health services with 8,500 jobs, followed by professional and business services with 7,900 jobs.

More than 5,700 construction jobs were created compared to the year before, while financial activities added 4,000 jobs.

In December, Florida’s 24 regional workforce boards reported more than 40,800 Floridians were placed in jobs. This represents anyone who receives employment and training assistance through a One-Stop Career Center, and finds a job within 180 days. Florida requires those receiving unemployment benefits to find assistance through a One-Stop Career Center.

For the state as a whole, unemployment dipped from 6.4 percent in November to 6.2 percent in December. Florida has remained below the national unemployment rate average since last April.

Eastern Time, Central Time … Florida Time?

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Spring forward. Fall back.

Using the seasons as a guide, Americans have used those expressions to figure out when they should set their clocks back an hour, or forward an hour, to switch between standard time and daylight saving time.

Cars line up outside of Steinbrenner High School in Lutz shortly before sunrise this week. Daylight saving time ensures it’s not completely dark when these students go to school, and some lawmakers want to make that time permanent. (Photo by Michael Hinman)
Cars line up outside of Steinbrenner High School in Lutz shortly before sunrise this week. Standard time allows more light in the morning for many students going to school, and some lawmakers want to make daylight saving time permanent. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

The debate over whether to continue this decades-old tradition has raged probably as long as it’s existed. And there have been numerous attempts to abolish it in the past.

None of those attempts have come from State Rep. Mark Danish, however. The New Tampa Democrat is leading the House push to make daylight saving time permanent in Florida. If successful, that would mean no more springing forward and falling back, and could encourage other states to follow suit.

“We keep calling ourselves the ‘Sunshine State,’ yet we cut ourselves off,” Danish said. “I hate the idea that it gets dark so early throughout the whole winter. We’re losing out on the light, and we could use it later in the day.”

Clocks typically fall back an hour in November, and stay that way until the second week of March. That allows the sun to rise just after 7 a.m., this time of year, instead of just after 8 a.m., during standard time.

The extra sunlight has to go somewhere, however. Right now, the sun is setting around 6 p.m., instead of 7 p.m.

It does mean more light for people on their way to work, and means bus stops aren’t cloaked in darkness for school children. But Danish’s bill — along with a sister bill in the State Senate — would change that.

Daylight saving time dates back to World War I as an effort to conserve fuel, according to some historical publications. It didn’t become formalized in the United States until 1966, which originally started daylight saving time in April, and ended it in October. States were allowed to exempt themselves from daylight savings, but only if the entire state did it. In the last nearly 50 years, only Arizona and Hawaii have opted out.

But those states don’t have the population Florida does, and such a change could have lasting regional impact.

Primarily, Florida would be in virtually its own time zone for half the year. When the rest of the country switches back to standard time, Florida would still be in daylight saving time. That would align the state with Eastern Time in the winter months, and Atlantic Time in the summer months.

Danish suggested the state could market it as “Florida Time.”

“It would be terrific for tourism,” he said. “When you have people coming from the Central Time zone like up in Chicago for vacation, they can get here and wouldn’t even have to change their clocks.”

Florida has tried to pull out of the time change several times in the past, including an effort last year by State Sen. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, who introduced a similar bill in the Senate again this year as a companion to Danish’s bill. Last year’s bill, which would’ve simply exempted Florida from daylight saving time, was withdrawn before a committee ever considered it.

What’s different this time around is that Florida isn’t looking to stay on standard time. Instead, it wants daylight savings to be the state’s new standard time — and that might cause problems.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966, which established daylight saving time for the country, allows states to exempt themselves only if they stay on standard time. The act was modified nearly 40 years later with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which adjusted when in the year clocks would be changed. However, it didn’t remove the requirement of standard time or bust.

Even if the bill could not take full legal effect, if it did pass, it could send a message to other states, possibly leading to a full repeal of the 1966 act.

“There are some federal rules, but it might encourage other states to go along with it,” Danish said. “We are a big state that keeps getting bigger, and when a big state like ours makes a move, other people are definitely going to be looking at it.”

Note: This story was updated to clarify that Florida is in standard time during the winter months, and daylight saving time during the rest of the year. It was further updated to correct which time zones the main part of the state would be in while others are still shifting clocks.

Published Jan. 29, 2014

Outlet mall completion pushed to July 2015, officials say

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Dirt could turn soon for a planned outlet mall on State Road 56 near its junction with Interstate 75. But the final product will look quite different from the original designs when it was announced more than seven years ago.

This undeveloped land was once slated for a big box mall, but is now the subject of a planned outlet mall. Site plans have yet to be submitted to Pasco County, however, meaning the project may not be complete until the middle of next year. (File photo)
This undeveloped land was once slated for a big box mall, but is now the subject of a planned outlet mall. Site plans have yet to be submitted to Pasco County, however, meaning the project may not be complete until the middle of next year. (File photo)

“It was supposed to be a big box mall,” Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker recently told an economic development committee of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “Obviously, during that period, many of those (originally announced) tenants had to go elsewhere, so they have a new plan on how they want to be out in the marketplace.”

A lot of that is to move toward an outlet mall concept, which was part of developer Simon Property Group’s and landowner Richard E. Jacobs Group’s unofficial announcement last November when news the mall was back on track first started to leak.

Although the plans have been in the works for years, the modifications are taking a little more time since the project will essentially be redesigned, Baker said. And “presuming nothing really crazy happens in the economy,” the new Tampa Premium Outlets should be on track.

Whether it will actually open by the end of this year, as Simon told The Laker/Lutz News last November, is a big question mark at this point. Amanda Boone, development review manager for Pasco County, said her department is still waiting for a site plan.

“I’m not really sure of what their timetable is, because they control when they submit (their site plan) to us,” Boone said. “I did hear July of next year.”

Simon Property Group itself has remained mum on the mall outside of its initial statement in November. The mall has received barely a mention in public filings with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission since 2012. However, Simon has not released any public filings on its financials since August, and isn’t expected to do it again until the end of January.

When the mall does open, roads surrounding it will have to carry a lot more traffic. That could mean the widening of Wesley Chapel Boulevard leading into the mall is back on the fast track.

“That particular piece of road, down to State Road 54, is already designed,” Baker said. “When we balance our capital improvement budget, we look at the needs for the what and where, and we balance that. The road got pushed out because we didn’t have a mall there that needed it.”

In fact, the county had not planned to begin work on the road until 2022 at the earliest. With a mall now in play, however, it’s likely Simon and Jacobs will want that road operating at higher capacities, and will push for a start date to occur much sooner.

But that depends on what the developers are willing to contribute. The mall developers have around $46 million in unused proportionate share money that was supposed to be used to extend Wesley Chapel Boulevard south through their development, Baker said.

“We have been exploring on whether we can widen Wesley Chapel Boulevard instead, and we might be able to move that forward in our capital plan,” she said. “That’s, of course, depending on how negotiations go with the mall.”

Published Jan. 29, 2014