Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By B.C. Manion

Boundary changes are in store for some Pasco County public schools, while transportation adjustments could affect some northern Hillsborough County public schools.

Those are just two of the issues that school boards in those districts will face during 2011.
The Pasco County school district is shifting school boundaries to relieve overcrowding at Dr. John Long Middle School and Wiregrass Ranch High. Some of the proposed changes have drawn opposition by parents. The Pasco School Board is scheduled to take a final vote on the issue Jan. 18.
The Hillsborough County school district is preparing to reorganize its transportation plan for Area 3, which includes Gaither and Freedom high schools, Buchanan Middle School, Learning Gate Community Middle and Elementary schools and Lutz and Maniscalco elementary schools.
George Gaffney, general director of the county’s Area 3 schools, said that generally students who are entitled to public transportation to school will not be affected, except that some bus stops may be moved for efficient operations.
If history is any indication, however, the relocation of any bus stop could become a source of objections by parents who typically do not wish to lose a bus stop their child has been using unless it is a change that will make the bus stop more convenient for the child, which usually upsets someone else.
In Pasco County, district employees will have a new option for some healthcare services.
The district is opening three Health Wellness Clinics, including one at the district office in Land O’ Lakes.
The clinics will offer a number of healthcare services at no cost to employees. Use of the clinic is voluntary and employees will be able to continue to see their own physicians.
However, any employee enrolled in a district health plan can use the clinics to get free blood work, free women wellness exams and free medications as long as they are seen by a Health Wellness Clinic physician.
Pasco Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said the district expects the clinics to lead to $3 million in district savings.
Pasco also has a $6 million construction project underway to build the Culinary Arts Academy at Land O’ Lakes High.
The 18,000-square-foot center includes three kitchens, commercial equipment, a theater-style classroom, a demonstration station and other high technology features. It is expected to open in fall 2011.
Meanwhile, the Hillsborough school district will launch a massive renovation at Gaither High in January. The $17.3 million makeover, which will take about 18 months to complete, will be done in five phases.
The school’s mechanical systems will be replaced, which means removing the big chillers and air handlers. The work also will require removing the ceiling and lighting. The school will get a new roof.
The project calls for adding a stairwell at the front of the building to meet current safety codes. The restrooms will be updated to adhere to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

By Kyle LoJacono

State Rep. Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel) has been named the redistricting committee chairman. The committee is responsible for redrawing the boundaries for the state’s legislative and congressional districts.

Weatherford was named to the position by House Speaker-Designate Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park).
“It’s a tremendous honor,” said Weatherford, who just won re-election for House District 61. “I’m happy Speaker-Designate Cannon put his faith in me. It’s a long process that is very complicated, but I’m up for it.”
Weatherford said he understands how important redistricting is to all of Florida’s elections and will make the process something its citizens can be proud of. Florida voters this year approved a pair of constitutional amendments that require districts to be drawn without favoring any particular candidate or party.
“My goal is to have the most open and transparent redistricting process ever,” Weatherford said. “We are looking for a lot of our citizens’ input while obviously following the law and constitution.”
The redistricting job recently got a little more complicated with the release of U.S. Census numbers that pushed Florida’s U.S. House seats to 27, the same number as New York. The Sunshine State now how 29 electoral votes.
Weatherford, who will become the next Speaker-Designate at a ceremony in March, is in the process of creating a website where people can get information on the redistricting, give opinions and even create their own district maps.
“It’s going to be very interactive,” Weatherford said. “We may get some very interesting looking maps by the end, but it will allow us to really see what the people are looking for and where their concerns are.”
District 61 currently covers Land O’ Lakes, Odessa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Dade City, San Antonio and the rest of east Pasco County along with portions of northern Hillsborough County.
Every 10 years after the federal census, the Florida Legislature redraws the state’s legislative and congressional districts. This redistricting will happen during the 2012 session after two years of hearing public testimony about the district lines.
“In addition to passing the budget, redistricting is the only other constitutional mandate the members of the Legislature must pass,” Cannon said. “Representative Weatherford’s hard work and proven leadership abilities make him a perfect fit for this important, but very challenging assignment.”
Along with redistricting, one of Weatherford’s main focuses in the future is to create an environment for jobs to come to Florida.
“We’re doing a lot of prep work for the coming months,” Weatherford said. “Creating jobs is going to be the key to making Florida more prosperous and we’ll be doing everything we can to do that.”

By B.C. Manion

Coming on the heels of a year that’s been dominated by news of double-digit unemployment and high foreclosure rates, leaders in Hillsborough and Pasco counties want to change the narrative.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan led the push to have a ballot measure placed on November’s ballot that allows commissioners to grant a property tax exemption to companies locating or expanding in the county.

In pushing the measure, Hagan argued the county needed another tool to help it spur the economy to create more jobs.
In Pasco County, numerous efforts are under way to lay the groundwork for companies to locate there and to help existing companies flourish and grow.
Pasco is paying attention to both the big picture and the small details, said John Hagen, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council.
Big things — like tax advantages and good accessibility — help make a community attractive to new businesses, Hagen said. But so do less obvious things like clear development codes and an efficient development process.
Pasco is rewriting its code to make it easier to understand, Hagen said. “It’s a process that’s kind of tedious,” he said.
But it goes to the heart of eliminating a complaint by developers, who frequently object to getting mired in a bureaucracy.
“I think they’ve made some real progress,” he said. “It makes us more competitive.”
Several other initiatives also are under way in Pasco County.
The PEDC plans to launch a website soon that will help both new and existing businesses. The website, which will known as the Pasco Economic Network, will pull together the chambers of commerce, SCORE, the PEDC and other economic development groups to help businesses seeking guidance.
The idea is to have a “virtual” place where someone can go to open any door and find someone on the other side that can help them find the resources they need, Hagen said.
Another initiative involves work to develop a strategic economic development plan, an effort being led by Bob Gray, Strategic Planning Group Inc., a consultant hired by the county.
Gray predicts that over the next 20-25 years everything in Pasco County will double, and the Pasco of the future will more closely mirror Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
Meanwhile, the city of Zephyrhills also hopes to improve its economic climate in the coming year. The city is considering an expansion of its community redevelopment areas, in an effort to fortify the city’s identity and to entice more businesses to set up shop near downtown.

The Economy: What’s in Store for the Year Ahead?
The Pasco Economic Development Council presents a forecast of the U.S. and Florida economies with a look into what the numbers mean locally
Jan. 28, 12-1:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club
$25
RSVP to (888) 60-PASCO by Jan. 24

By Kyle LoJacono

While growth in other industries stalled, healthcare across the region continues to expand.
In 2010, Lutz saw the opening of the first new full-service hospital in Hillsborough County in 30 years. In east Pasco County, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills opened a sleep center, while Pasco Regional Medical Center saw the completion of its wound center.
This year’s development trumps 2010’s, with construction of one new hospital in Wesley Chapel and the opening of another in Trinity, the expansion of an emergency room in Dade City, Florida Medical Clinic’s continued growth in east Pasco and the opening of new services in Lutz.

Wesley Chapel Medical Center
While it will not open until the end of 2012, the Wesley Chapel Medical Center’s construction illustrates the growth still present in healthcare in the region.

The facility, which will be located about one-half mile north of SR 56 on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, broke ground Dec. 14. It will take 18-24 months to build and will be the first full-service hospital in Wesley Chapel, according to John Harding, president and CEO of Adventist Health System’s (AHS) Tampa Bay Region. AHS is building the new hospital.
The project was originally a joint venture between AHS and University Community Health, but the two companies merged last September. It will open with three floors and 80 beds, but is built to easily expand to 300. Harding said he projects more floors will be added to make room shortly after its opening.
The project comes at a price of $121 million, according to AHS spokeswoman Christine Stewart. It will offer obstetrics, pediatrics, women’s and men’s services, general surgery, an emergency department with helicopter pad, a comprehensive medical fitness program, orthopedics and sports medicine.

Pasco Regional Medical Center
Dade City will see another healthcare expansion next year when Pasco Regional Medical Center begins work to double square footage of its emergency department.
Pasco Regional spokeswoman Katie Bryant said the hospital had planned to start work on the expansion last year, but permitting was delayed. A date for the start of the project is not yet set, but will likely be either at the end of January or the start of February.
“It’s just part of offering our patients faster access to care,” Bryant said. “We’ve already have a way for people to check the wait times at www.PascoRegionalmc.com to see a healthcare professional in our emergency department so people can decide when to get nonurgent treatment. That helps reduce wait times and obviously having a larger department will go even farther to cut wait times.”
Bryant said the emergency department at Pasco Regional is currently working at capacity most of the time. She did not have exact details because the design can change during permitting.
Pasco Regional will also renovate its waiting rooms and main lobby in 2011 after the emergency department project is started. The renovation will make those areas look less like a sterile hospital and more like a home, including the addition of artwork and a fresh coat of paint in soft colors such as mint green.

Florida Medical Clinic
Florida Medical Clinic will see at least three major additions to its healthcare offerings in Zephyrhills this year — expansions to its same-day surgery, clinical rheumatology and urgent care facilities.
“We need more space to meet the healthcare needs of our patients in east Pasco County,” said Florida Medical CEO Joe Delatorre.
Florida Medical’s same-day surgery facility will grow by 12,000 square foot. That project is set to start in the first half of 2011. The Rheumatology facilities will increase by 7,500 square feet, plus a tentative plan to make a 7,000-square-foot addition to urgent care.
Additionally, Delatorre said the company plans to add an 18,000-square-foot addition to its medical facility in Land O’ Lakes at some point.
“We can’t add any more physicians in Land O’ Lakes right now, but the demand for more healthcare services continues to grow,” Delatorre said. “We’ve got more plans for the future in Pasco and northern Hillsborough.”

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North
Last year, the opening of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz was one of the healthcare highlights, but the new facility is still making additions.
Besides adding many more doctors, several from Florida Medical Clinic, the Lutz facility just opened its own imaging center right next door — BayCare Outpatient Imaging Center, a full-service outpatient imaging center. It is located at 4211 Van Dyke Road in Lutz in front of Kohl’s.
“It has already starting seeing patients,” said hospital spokeswoman Jacqueline Farruggio. “It will cut down on patient diagnostic time.”
It offers services such as high-field MRI, multi-slice CT scans, digital mammography, digital X-rays and bone density scanning, according to Farruggio.

Medical Center of Trinity
In the west, the Medical Center of Trinity is set to open its doors in the fall.
The project, which comes with a $210 million price tag, has been delayed several times. It was originally planned to be finished in 2010, but issues with construction and permitting pushed the opening back.
The new hospital will replace Community Hospital in downtown New Port Richey.

By Tammy Sue Struble

Hans Geissler, founder of Morning Star Fishermen, an aquaponics training and research center located on 10 acres off Old Saint Joe Road, lost a lot of fish last year. Earlier in the year temperatures in the area took a nose dive and the agriculture industry was literally frozen.
“I’m not going to let it happen” again, Geissler exclaimed.

Now he has his green house covered with plastic and has made preventative measures with more insulation and filling cracks.
The nonprofit has more than 110,000 galloons of tank space and a solar-heated green house where tilapia are bred to feed a variety of plant species.
Morning Star’s main focus is education. Students come to learn how to create sustainable farming systems of their own. There are dormitories on site where people can live and study for up to three months. Morning Star offers courses lasting one day to 12 weeks.
In 2010, Geissler said he “Had more students than ever before.” He sees a movement of people wanting more and more to go back to the basics, “especially in this economy,” he stated.
Morning Star is run on a voluntary basis; for more information check his website at www.morningstarfishermen.org.
Tony Martin has been working at Shannon’s Produce in Zephyrhills for a little more than four years now. Hydroponic farming is becoming more popular with growers; Martin estimated that about 10 percent of the vegetables they get from wholesalers is grown hydroponically.
“A lot of peppers, tomatoes, and leaf lettuce are grown hydroponically,” he explained. In fact, Martin was recently planting swiss chard, parsley cilantro, kale, endive, dill and buttercruch lettuce hydroponically on the produce stand’s property.
“I think people are going to start eating healthier. The customers especially like the home grown swiss chard,” he said. They keep asking, and Tony keeps planting, increasing his rows every year for the past few years.
Martin also explained how recycling water helps keep from draining the groundwater; they us a lot of rainwater to irrigate their plants. It is helpful in reducing well water consumption or having to pay for county water.
In January 2010, the area felt a major cold spell, the worst since the 1989 freeze. Even the recent brush with cold air paled in comparison to early 2010.
“This is nothing like last winter!” George Neukom III, owner of Neukom’s Groves in Zephyrhills, said of the recent cold snap. “We hope we hope we don’t have another one like that. However, it is always a little scary to us citrus growers when we see a freeze coming.”
Although the Neukoms believe a little chill is just fine and, actually helps make the citrus a little sweeter.
For the citrus growers in our area of our last cold spell says George Neukom (George III’s father), “We were very fortunate.”

By B.C. Manion

The Shops at Wiregrass — a community gathering spot for area residents — recently added Fresh Market at Wiregrass, a farmer’s market offered once a month at the mall.
If the fresh market seems reminiscent of the one in downtown Tampa and in Seminole Heights, it may be because it has the same market manager as those other markets.
Those who enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables will likely enjoy the selection offered by more than 50 vendors who offer certified organic, hydroponic and conventional produce, as well as plants, herbs, flowers, organic garden food, locally-made jams, jellies, salsa, dips, seasonings, sauces and oils.
The market is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month.
That’s not the only new draw enticing patrons to drop in during 2011. Charming Charlie — at 8,586 square feet — is expected to open in the spring.

The store caters to women who like to accessorize, or for men who like to please women who like to accessorize. The stores are stocked with thousands of items, said Patty Fadhouli, the chain’s marketing director. Selections include handbags, hair accessories, purses, scarves, bracelets, earrings and other items.
Beyond shopping, there are lots of other things to do at The Shops at Wiregrass. A Battle of the Bands is set for Feb. 19 and the mall has scheduled its first parade for March 12.
The open-air retail and entertainment spot is at the corner of Bruce B. Downs and SR 56 in Wesley Chapel. It encompasses 642,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment. For additional information about The Shops at Wiregrass call (813) 994-4010 or visit www.theshopsatwiregrass.com