Special to The Laker/Lutz News

TAMPA – Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with government, interfaith and community leaders, gathered Aug. 23 for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Tampa Florida Temple. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, presided at the event and Elder Brook P. Hales, General Authority Seventy, conducted. The Apostle and longtime Tampa resident offered a dedicatory prayer over the land and all who will be influenced by it.

“We ask that Thou might bless this land and this sacred house once constructed, that it might be a light and strength to the Latter-day Saints and to all the community,” Elder Andersen prayed. “Let our friends and neighbors feel Thy Spirit and increase their faith in Thy Son as they sense what has come to this place.”

The Andersens have deep roots in the Tampa area. Elder Andersen’s wife, Kathy, was born and raised in Florida, much of it in Hillsborough County. They lived in the Tampa area from 1977 to 1993 raising their family, until church service moved them elsewhere.

Sister Andersen reflected on the growth of the church in the Tampa area since she was a young girl where she was taught about Jesus Christ. “I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. I love to listen to His words. ‘Come follow me,’ he said.”

Five hundred members and friends gathered at the 12-acre site at 9445 Camden Field Parkway in Riverview. Among the honored guests were Florida State Representative Michele Rayner, the Rev. Glenn Dames of AME Church and leaders from Metropolitan Ministries.

“The temple is going to touch the lives of tens of thousands of people,” said Patrick Davis, Associate Director of Development at Metropolitan Ministries. “I understand the importance of the temple in the community. I do feel very blessed, because we all bring our blessings to this temple.”

Florida is currently home to more than 176,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 280 congregations. The first congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ was created in 1897. The Tampa Florida Temple will serve more than 27,000 members in and around the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast.

Local members Ikwo and Dinah Ibiam explained that having a temple in the area sends a message that this is a place where people strive to be good.

Latter-day Saints consider each temple a house of the Lord and the most sacred place of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.

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LUTZ – St. Joseph’s Hospital-North is performing an innovative procedure that can lower patients’ blood pressure with less medication or no medication at all.

The procedure is called a “renal denervation” and performed by a specialist in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology.

“Patients with resistant hypertension defined as blood pressure over 130 systolic or 80 diastolic on three medications or higher are candidates for renal denervation,” said Dr. Muthusamy Velusamy, a cardiologist who performs the procedure at the Lutz hospital.

Renal denervation is a one-time procedure that targets nerves near the kidneys that can become overactive and cause elevated blood pressure. During the minimally invasive procedure, the doctor inserts a thin tube into the renal arteries and applies thermal energy to disrupt the nerves. The tube is removed, leaving no implant behind. The patient is under mild sedation during the procedure and expected to go home the same day.

“Renal denervation can be very effective, the outcomes can be good in managing blood pressure resulting in less medications or no medications for some patients,” Velusamy said. “It is nice to have this treatment locally and make it available to patients to help achieve good control of blood pressure.”

High blood pressure is a common condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly half of all adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure and only about one in four have it under control.

The prevalence of the condition makes the innovative solution of renal denervation all the more compelling.

“Renal denervation is a proven approach to lower blood pressure and reduce the amount of medications patients need to have,” said Kimberly Wright, manager of interventional services and noninvasive cardiology at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North.

Clearwater’s Morton Plant Hospital, Safety Harbor’s Mease Countryside Hospital, Tampa’s St. 

Joseph’s Hospital and Winter Haven Hospital are also performing this procedure. 

Other BayCare hospitals will offer renal denervation in the future.

APOLLO BEACH – A coral baby boom is underway at The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation and Research Center, where biologists are spawning thousands of new symmetrical brain coral and boulder brain coral. 

The aquarium is bringing new life to Florida’s Coral Reef through an effort to grow 5,000 baby corals over the next two years and produce hundreds of thousands of coral larvae for partners. The aquarium received funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection through Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery Initiative grant program.

The juvenile corals will be shared with partners like I.CARE to support coral restoration efforts in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the Kristin Jacobs Coral Aquatic Preserve in Southeast Florida. The spawning parent corals were originally rescued from the reef to protect them from the devastating effects of stony coral tissue loss disease.

“These new corals represent a lifeline for Florida’s reef,” said Keri O’Neil, director of the coral conservation program for The Florida Aquarium. “We’re thankful to the Florida DEP for making this work possible. Their support is helping us not only spawn more corals – we’re building hope for the reef and for future generations.”

Florida’s Coral Reef is an essential part of the state’s environmental and economic health. Rising ocean temperatures are putting stress on corals, making them more vulnerable to disease and bleaching, which can kill the coral.

Reefs provide a home for more than a quarter of all marine life, support Florida’s multibillion-dollar tourism and fishing industries, and serve as natural barriers that protect our coastlines from storms and erosion. 

Without thriving coral reefs, marine biodiversity declines and so do the protections and economic benefits that reefs provide to millions of Floridians.

The grant is also supporting the development of a hands-on training curriculum and the design of a new classroom lab that will expand The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation and Research Center. The expansion, now in the design phase, will serve as a hub for training the next generation of coral scientists and restoration professionals.

“By sharing our methods, data, and coral offspring with partners, we’re creating a ripple effect that will help strengthen reef restoration around the world,” said Debborah Luke, senior vice president of conservation.

TAMPA – For two hardworking single moms, the dream of a safe, stable home had always felt out of reach. Cheetare Bennett and Dawn Johnson have both shouldered the weight of caring for multiple children and older loved ones while facing rising rent and unsafe living conditions. That all changed Aug. 28 when the two women became neighbors on the same block in East Tampa.

Surrounded by family, friends and community supporters, they received the keys to their new Habitat for Humanity homes during a joint dedication celebration.

Cheetare, a certified nursing assistant, is raising seven children, including a son with special needs, while also caring for her bedridden godfather.

“Home to me is never moving again,” Cheetare said. “It means your kids always having somewhere to call home.”

Dawn, who works for an independent contractor, has five children, two with disabilities. She also cares for her mother, who is partially paralyzed from a stroke and once worked two jobs to raise her own family.

“Without all of you, this dream, this blessing, wouldn’t be possible,” Dawn told volunteers.

Both families have invested hundreds of sweat equity hours building Habitat homes and volunteering at events. In return, they’ll get an affordable mortgage with payments capped at no more than 30% of their income, making homeownership a reality that once felt impossible.

“Habitat homes don’t just change lives today,” said Tina Forcier, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Tampa Bay Hillsborough. “They change the trajectory of families for generations. Seeing moms, children and grandparents all able to put down roots is what this work is all about.”

ST. PETERSBURG – Rondé Barber has held some serious hardware during his 16-year career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including a Super Bowl trophy, but on Aug. 25, the Pro Football Hall of Famer held the keys to homeownership. And he gave them to Ja’Myra Walker, a hardworking mother of four. 

Barber serves as general chairman of Copperhead Charities, the charitable arm of the Valspar Championship. The organization sponsored the latest home built by Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside. 

The tournament has been a dedicated supporter of the Habitat affiliate for many years, and this home marked the 10th that the organization has partnered to sponsor. In recognition of the partnership, one of the home’s rooms has been painted with Valspar’s Color of the Year for 2026: Warm Eucalyptus.

“On behalf of Valspar and Sherwin-Williams, their parent company, this is something that we love to do. Not something that we have to do,” Barber said before handing over the keys to Ja’Myra.

For Ja’Myra, homeownership hasn’t been easy. She has been raising her children – Brooklyn (9), Brazill (2), and twins Brandon and Breon (1) – in a cramped two-bedroom apartment.

Ja’Myra has long dreamed of having a safe, stable home.

“When I found out I was accepted into the Habitat program, I was in a state of shock,” Ja’Myra said. “I am so thankful! This really is a start to something beautiful for me and my children.”

She is most excited for her children to finally have a safe place to play. 

“I can’t wait to see my children have a backyard where they can play, build childhood memories, and feel safe and secure,” Ja’Myra said.

 Valspar Tournament Director Tracy West said it was an honor to be part of Habitat. 

“Habitat is, as we say, giving a hand up, not a hand out,” West said. “We are very honored to be a part of this community and take some of the proceeds from the Valspar Championship and help wonderful families like the Walker family.”