The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Flood warning for Hillsborough River, Cypress Creek

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Heavy rains have brought flooding to parts of eastern and central Pasco County, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning for the Hillsborough River and Cypress Creek.

Those two waterways at Hillsborough River State Park and Worthington Gardens are expected to rise above flood stage by the weekend, officials said. Up to 5 inches of rain is expected to fall in a short period of time, creating more water than the area can handle.

At Worthington Gardens, Cypress Creek was reported at a depth of 4.5 feet. However, the river is expected to rise above its flood stage of 8 feet by early Friday morning, and could rise as high as 10.3 feet by Sunday morning. Depending on what happens with the weather, there is a chance it could rise even more before it starts to drop back down.

At the 8-foot flood stage, the recreation area on State Road 54 near the creek would flood. At 11 feet, however, flooding would begin to threaten homes on State Road 54.

It’s the first time since August 2003 Cypress Creek has been this high, where at the time, it crested at 10.3 feet.

A flood warning means that flooding is imminent or already occurring along larger streams that is causing a serious threat to life or property. Officials warn residents and others in the area to not drive through any bodies of water.

Worthington Gardens is the area of central Pasco County near Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes where State Road 56 meets Interstate 75, not far from where the new outlet mall has begun construction. Hillsborough River State Park is located on U.S. 301, just south of Zephyrhills.

Pasco, Hillsborough under flood watch advisories

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Deep tropical moisture is streaming into the central part of Florida, creating the potential of flooding throughout the region — including parts of Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch through Wednesday morning, with rainfall in the amounts of 2 to 4 inches expected for most parts, but up to 6 inches in others.

A flood watch means that flooding is possible during the next 24 to 36 hours, and that residents living in flood-prone areas should take action to protect their property.

The moisture is being exacerbated by what weather observers are calling an upper-level trough moving east across the northern Gulf of Mexico, with low pressure bringing widespread areas of rain with embedded storms into the region.

Those rains will likely lead to flooding of low-lying and poor drainage areas, as well as the ponding of water on roadways, weather officials said. People living in flood-prone areas, or along rivers or faster-flowing streams, should monitor water levels and be ready to move to higher ground if flooding is observed.

Roadways and low-lying areas may become quickly flooded with the heavy rainfall. Because of that weather service officials warn drivers not to traverse flooded roadways, as it might be difficult or impossible to tell how deep the water truly is.

 

Pasco government offices to close over holidays

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Most Pasco County government offices will be closed Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 27, as well as the Friday afterward on Nov. 28. Most will reopen on Dec. 1, if not the Saturday before.

The Pasco County Tax Collector’s office, however, will also be closed Nov. 29, and not reopen until Dec. 1. The Pasco County libraries, however, will reopen that Saturday.

Although parks and recreation centers will be closed Thursday and Friday, parks and beaches will be open both days from dawn to dusk.

The shelter at Pasco County Animal Services will be closed Nov. 27 and Nov. 28, however an animal control officer will be available for emergencies. The shelter will reopen Nov. 29 at noon, and stay open until 6:30 p.m.

Buses will not run on Thursday or Friday, but will resume on Nov. 29.

The Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility as well as the East Pasco Transfer Station will be closed to both the public and commercial haulers on Nov. 27, but will reopen to licensed commercial haulers on Nov. 28. They will full reopen to the public on Nov. 29.

Unlicensed contractor sting comes with warning from deputies

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A two-day sting between the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and some state regulatory agencies have put 11 people behind bars they say were unlicensed contractors in the county.

Of those 11 arrested, seven had previous criminal histories with charges that included robbery, vehicle theft, grant theft, forgery and drugs, sheriff’s deputies said. And with some looking to get some quick home construction work done as the holiday season approaches, the sheriff’s office is warning people against using unlicensed contractors.

Some of the problems that might come from using someone without a license, according the deputies, include:

• Poor qualifications — Unlicensed individuals have not demonstrated the education, insurance or qualification required of a licensed contractor. This can leave customers with poor quality work or unfinished projects, which means spending more money to hire another contractor to repair and finish.

• Possible criminal background — Unlicensed individuals often have criminal background that include fraud, theft, violent crimes, sexual offenses and substance abuse.

• Likelihood of being the victim of a scam — Unlicensed individuals often disappear with people’s money, leaving them with very few options to get the money back or the work completed.

• No coverage under homeowner policy — Most homeowner policies require that work be done by a licensed contractor, and provide no coverage for work that is not.

• Noncompliance with building codes — Most projects, even small ones, require permits and inspections that unlicensed contractors ignore, or are unfamiliar with. If a project is not permitted, or it does not comply with building codes, the work may have to be repaired or even removed, and the entire project could be subject to fines.

Customers looking to hire contractors can verify whether or not they are licensed by visiting MyFloridaLicense.com.

Bilirakis wants incentives to treat rare diseases

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U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis has introduced H.R. 5750 to Congress, known as the Orphan Product Extensions Now Accelerating Cures & Treatment — or the OPEN ACT.

The bill would incentivize drug makers and innovators to repurpose major market drugs for life-threatening, rare diseases and pediatric cancers, the Palm Harbor Republican said, which would open the door to development of hundreds of treatments for rare disease patients.

“There are over 7,000 rare diseases, impacting 40 million Americans — that is nearly 1 in 10 people,” Bilirakis said in a statement. More than 95 percent of those diseases have no treatments, because each rare disease impacts just a small number of patients.

“My bill will leverage the free market to incentivize drugs to be repurposed to treat rare diseases,” Bilirakis said. “The OPEN ACT has the potential to result in hundreds of new drugs and treatments for individuals with rare diseases, as well as a new surge in biotechnology jobs and investments.

“This bill can help millions of people by ensuring medications are safe and effective for rare conditions, and can be reimbursed through insurance coverage.”

The inspiration for the bill on the importance of repurposing drugs came during his 21st Century Cures Roundtable he hosted last summer.

Thanksgiving traveling like it’s 2009

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It’s just five years ago, but 2009 is not too hard to remember. The Black Eyed Peas had a hit in “Boom Boom Pow.” At movie theaters, “Avatar” was breaking every record imaginable. And at the gas pump, drivers were paying less than $2.70 at the pump.

Hit songs and blockbuster movies from five years ago will likely stay there, but cheap gas? It’s back, as the national average for a galling of regular unleaded gas was $2.82 heading into the busy Thanksgiving week.

“Travelers are thankful to have more money  in their pockets due to falling gas prices,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins, in a release. “The good news is gas should continue falling through the rest of the year. Cheaper gasoline has helped boost disposable income and consumer spending, which encourages more people to travel.”

The state average in Florida Sunday matched the national average at $2.82, down 6 cents from a week ago, and off 64 cents a gallon from the $3.46 prices the state saw just over Thanksgiving weekend a year ago. State prices also are down 27 cents from a month ago.

The best prices in Land O’ Lakes over the weekend were found as usual at two stations on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard and State Road 52 — Both the RaceTrac and Hess station there reported $2.65 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy. The most expensive gas, on the other hand, was $2.83 reported at the Sunoco at Land O’ Lakes and Causeway boulevards.

Lutz drivers also found $2.65 gas at the Circle K on Van Dyke and Old Tobacco roads. The most expensive in that area was $2.89 at the Shell station on North Dale Mabry Highway and Van Dyke.

Six different gas stations in Wesley Chapel advertised prices of $2.69 over the weekend, competing for the cheapest gas there, while the most expensive was reported to be $2.79 at the Shell station on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near State Road 56, as well as the BP station on Willow Oaks Drive and State Road 56.

In Zephyrhills, gas prices ranged from $2.69 at the Marathon on Eiland Boulevard and Geiger Road, as well as the Murphy USA on Gall Boulevard, to $2.76 at the Sunoco on County Road 54 and Wire Road. Dade City’s cheapest gas was $2.63 at both the Clark on U.S. 301 near Long Avenue, and D&D on U.S. 98 and U.S. 301.

 

Gainesville bumps Sunlake from postseason … again

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The rivalry between Sunlake and Land O’ Lakes high schools is obvious because of the close proximity of the two schools. But the Seahawks may have found a new rival in the Gainesville Hurricanes, which for the second year in a row, knocked them out of the state football playoffs.

Gainesville used two quick scores at the start of the game to cement what would become a 27-19 win Friday night in front of its home crowd. That finishes Sunlake’s season at 9-3 with the Class 6A-District 6 title.

Mitchell High School, the 6A-6 runner-up, also lost to Gainesville the previous week, giving the Hurricanes a clean sweep of the district as they ready for a tough regional finals matchup against Armwood High School.

In other games, according to published reports, Sickles fell to Tampa Bay Tech 20-16 in Class 7A, allowing the Titans a chance to face Osceola in the regional finals. That team out of Kissimmee beat Lakeland 35-28 in overtime to get there.

Lakewood topped River Ridge 26-3 in Class 5A action, while Suwannee — which beat Zephyrhills in a come-from-behind win last week — upset South Sumter 24-22.

Sunlake principal Steve Williams live-tweeted the game from his spot in Gainesville, and had nothing but good things to say about the Seahawks as they wrap up a strong season.

Sunlake also got kudos from elected officials as well, including new Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, and state Rep. Richard Corcoran.

Florida job growth continues through October

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Private-sector businesses in Florida added 32,000 jobs in October, dropping unemployment slightly in the state to 6.0 percent.

That still remains slightly above the national unemployment rate of 5.8 percent with the creation of 214,000 jobs across the country. That marks the nation’s lowest unemployment levels since July 2008 when President George W. Bush was in office.

“As the state’s primary economic indicators continue to improve month after month, Florida is showing the nation that low tax, pro-growth policies make a difference for families,” said Jesse Panuccio, the executive director of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity, in a release from the governor’s office. “The 32,000 new private sector jobs, the 268,m000 job openings, and an unemployment rate down to 6.0 percent mean that Florida is getting back to work.”

Florida’s labor force has increased for the past 56 months, the governor’s office said. This economic indicator can be a sign of optimism as more people are entering the labor force with confidence in their prospects for finding employment.

Job postings compiled from Help Wanted OnLine data by the governor’s office showed 268,453 openings in October.  The state’s 24 regional work force boards reported more than 39,200 people were placed in jobs, which counts for employment and training assistance through a CareerSource Center that places someone within 180 days of seeking help. Of those people, more than 8.300 of them had previously received unemployment benefits.

Home flipping down nationally, but not locally

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Observers are happy with some of the positive indicators they are seeing in the housing market on a national scale, but the greater Tampa Bay area — including Pasco and Hillsborough counties — continues to struggle to keep up.

House flipping — homes that are bought and resold within 12 months — dropped to 4 percent of all national single-family home sales in the third quarter, according to a new report from RealtyTrac, but actually rose in the Tampa area. That has kept the Tampa metropolitan market on the list of the top five most-flipped markets in the nation with 789 flips behind Miami (1,190 flips), Los Angeles (1,170), Phoenix (1,147) and New York (1,070).

Flipping was down in all the top five markets except Tampa, helping to bring the level of home-flipping to its “historic norm,” according to RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist. And a lot of that is because home appreciation rates have slowed a bit in those markets to more normal levels.

“Meanwhile, the record-high average profits per flip in the quarter demonstrate that flippers are still filling an important niche in an aging housing market with historically low levels of new homes being built,” Blomquist said, in a release. “The most successful flippers are buying older, outdated homes in established neighborhoods, and rehabbing them extensively to appeal to modern tastes.”

Flipping is not always bad. From the investment side, those who bought and flipped were seeing profits of just under $76,000 per flip in the third quarter, a return of 36 percent on their initial investment — not including rehab costs and other expenses — Blomquist said. That is up from 35 percent in the second quarter, but down from 37 percent a year ago.

“Those discounted distressed properties have become harder to find,” he said, “but a recent jump in scheduled foreclosure auctions could provide more fodder for flippers in the next three to six months.”

Most of the flipping activity at the national level have been among homes priced between $100,000 and $400,000, while just 20 percent involve homes less than $100,000. However, RealtyTrac analysts say the best returns in flipping come on homes above $1 million, which has an average gross return of 45 percent, but make up less than 4 percent of all flips.

Cheaper gas means more cars on road for Thanksgiving

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Travelers will be out in abundance over the Thanksgiving holiday next weekend, but many more will be in cars than in previous years thanks to the massive drop in gasoline prices.

AAA Travel projects that 46.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the holiday weekend, the highest volume since 2007.

Even more, 90 percent of them will take to the road, including 2.1 million in Florida alone.

The nationwide forecast is 4.2 percent higher than last year, and will include gas prices at lowest levels since 2010.

That doesn’t mean people won’t be flying. In fact, the 3.6 million booking plane tickets also is the highest since 2007, despite airfares increasing by 1 percent, mid-range hotels up 8 percent, and car rentals costing 10 percent more.

“The rise in travelers comes as Americans grow more optimistic about the future,” said AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins, in a release. “Falling gas prices and improvements in several key economic factors — including employment, GDP and disposable income — are boosting consumer confidence and the desire to travel.”

This will be the first time drivers have had gas under $3 over Thanksgiving since 2010, when national averages were at $2.86. Last year, the cost of a gallon of gas over the November holiday was $3.28.

“The dramatic discount at the pump is a welcome gift for travelers as they head into the busy holiday travel season,” Jenkins said. “Lower prices mean increased disposable income enabling families to carve out more money from household budgets for travel this Thanksgiving.”

Travelers are expected to spend an average of $573 over the holiday weekend, with 31 percent going to fuel, AAA officials said. Dining and shopping will account for 42 percent of it.