The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Joe Potter

Zephyrhills fields public input for Parks and Recreation amenities

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Numerous residents and business people made suggestions about adding to and improving the offerings of Zephyrhills’ Parks and Recreation Department while attending a community workshop on May 23 at City Hall.

GAI Consultants oversaw the 90-minute-long event regarding proposed changes to the city’s master plan.

(Lukas/Pexels)

There wasn’t any formal presentation during the open-house style workshop, as its purpose was to receive input from those attending on what the public wants compared to what the city currently has in its Parks and Recreation Department, said Kristin Caborn of GAI Consultants.

Caborn has more than 24 years of parks and recreation management and planning experience, has overseen several multimillion-dollar parks and recreation projects, and provided master plan implementation and phasing plans services for public-sector clients, according to the company’s website.

Various stations were set up in City Council chambers with displays of different programs and events currently not offered by the city.

At the workshop, attendees had the opportunity to make suggestions for changes they would like to see for both adults and children by placing brightly colored dots on the displays. The displays helped gauge interest in what the public might want to see the city offer, according to Caborn.

They also had opportunities to indicate which areas of the department they would like to see more money spent.

Several other members of GAI’s staff were present at the workshop, in addition to some city officials, including City Manager William C. “Billy” Poe Jr., Planning Director Todd Vande Berg and Community Redevelopment Agency Director Gail Hamilton.

GAI has already compiled a complete inventory of the condition of the amenities at the city’s many parks.

The input from the public that was obtained at the workshop will be evaluated by GAI Consultants and presented to the city later this year, according to Caborn.

Published June 05, 2024

Stacks of bills by Florida lawmakers await decisions by DeSantis

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(The Center Square) — The Florida Legislature finished a busy lawmaking season this year, and while a barrage of bills were signed, some are still awaiting a signature or a possible veto by the governor.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed 10 bills in the last week and has until June 5 to act on another 27 bills that he received from the Legislature on Tuesday.

House Bill 1305 would define a “Florida Financial Institution” for the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The change would expressly permit landlords to comply with the act by depositing a tenant’s security deposit into any qualifying bank in Florida.

(Scott Graham/Unsplash)

HB 1331 would prohibit the state from contracting with companies that use forced labor to produce their products. The Department of Management Services must create and maintain a forced labor vendor list, identifying companies disqualified from public contracting or purchasing for 365 days.

HB 415 would require the Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Children and Families and the Agency for Health Care Administration to maintain a specific website to provide information to expectant families and new parents. This includes educational materials on parenting and pregnancy, maternal health services, and prenatal and postnatal services.

HB 275 would provide criminal penalties for improperly tampering with critical infrastructure, resulting in damage or the cost of restoration. The bill further would provide civil liability upon conviction for violations, including trespassing on or around critical infrastructure.

HB 691 would require the Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco to issue special alcoholic beverage licenses to certain restaurants that meet minimum requirements in the town of Horseshoe Beach in Dixie County.

HB 191 would authorize the town of Orchid in Indian River County to hold public meetings within specified mileage of its jurisdictional boundary under certain circumstances.

HB 1025 would revise provisions relating to terms of office of District Trustees in the Municipal Service District of Ponte Vedra Beach in St. Johns County. The bill also would revise the capital expenditure amount required to be approved by voters.

Senate Bill 92 would revise the regulation of yacht and ship brokers and salespersons, deleting certain requirements, including that an applicant for a broker license must have been licensed as a salesperson for at least two years.

SB 892 would prohibit a contract between a health insurer and a dentist from restricting certain payment methods and from denying claims for procedures included in a prior authorization.

Published June 05, 2024

TV reviews: ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Doctor Who’ finally return

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New seasons of the two popular shows, which put their fandoms to the test with lengthy hiatuses, are now available on TV and streaming services.

Bridgerton (Courtesy of Netflix)

Bridgerton (Season 3, Part 1; Netflix)
It’s been a while since the bodice-clad antics of Netflix’s Bridgerton graced small screens, making romance fans and Regency-era aficionados swoon with delight. In its third season, the focus has turned to third son Colin (Luke Newton) and next-door neighbor Penelope (Nicola Coughlan) to get pulses racing.  After ending last season heartbroken after overhearing harsh words from crush Colin and harsher words from former best friend Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Penelope Featherington has decided it’s time for a change. Weary of wilting away in a corner, the former wallflower has decided it’s her turn in the sun, giving way to a much-needed glow-up and a newfound quest to find a husband. In an effort to make amends, Colin promises to help Penelope. But, being Bridgerton, hidden affections have a way of deterring best-laid schemes.

This is only the first part of the anxiously awaited third season, and Bridgerton continues to follow its tried-and-true template: Two fantastic-looking people with great hair resist their mutual attraction, but end up falling in love. But the actors, particularly Coughlan, keep the story fresh despite recycled formulas, while the series goes whole hog in fleshing out minor characters who had previously just adorned the parties.

Side stories are abundant, with so many additional plots that the new season feels more like an anthology than a drama. But it is not all for naught, as one of the offshoots provides an imperative (if not a shocking) revelation.

There is also plenty of humor this season. Nothing that would make a viewer guffaw, but a few chuckles among the pomp and circumstance of court life, thanks to the frankness of Eloise and the daftness of the elder Featherington sisters, who are now given more to do than just appear like vapid doilies.
For fans of Bridgerton, the drama was worth the wait. In addition to the romance that Penelope so rightfully deserves (just as Coughlan deserves the spotlight), the show also packs in twice as many tales of the Ton. This comes in handy when unveiling the season’s big twist, which will have fans clutching their pearls. 

Doctor Who (Season 14; BBC and Disney+)
After 60 years of bumping around time and space with spunky young companions, unbounded confidence, and questionable attire, the time-skipping Time Lord returns to the airwaves after a bit of stretch, which saw the goodbye of the first female Doctor, the return of a beloved Doctor, and the debut of a brand-new Doctor. Now settling into a swanky new T.A.R.D.I.S. and breaking in his new companion, the good Doctor (now played by Ncuti Gatwa) and his gal Friday, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), are ready to save the world. Again.
Welcome to a new season of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who (Courtesy of Disney+)

After a Christmas that got the Doctor a brand-new companion, the first adventure for the duo opts to attack the hearts of viewers, as the time-hopping alien from Gallifrey and Ruby find themselves taking care of space babies. But the tale takes an unexpected turn into the serious when it makes a statement regarding laws on reproduction.

But while the new season of Doctor Who has something to say about modern times, it also embraces a more flamboyant nature this time around. Sensing a loss of interest in the show of late, the 14th season swings for the fences with big ideas, interesting guest stars, and fun concepts in time travel, like visiting a version of the Beatles made abysmal thanks to the devious plans of Drag Race superstar Jinkx Monsoon as a musically minded villain.

As the new Doctor, Gatwa has all the components one needs in a planet-hopping Time Lord — he’s charismatic and absolutely entertaining to watch, injecting the proper amount of panache and cockiness we have come to expect from any Doctor. As his companion, Gibson expresses just the right amount of wide-eyed wonder and cheekiness into the role, though she tones down her natural sparkle so as to not outshine the Doc when they share scenes.

Though the new season might not capture the full glory of previously exalted seasons of Doctor Who, it does promise to be more entertaining than the previous house calls. The newest Doctor assures an injection of much-needed vigor, as these episodes promise to be more vivacious and slightly more demented than previous outings, with far more to say about the state of the world, without blatantly stating it. 

Published June 05, 2024

Florida regulators hold hearing on Duke’s request for storm recovery costs

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(The Center Square) — The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) held a hearing this week to oversee Duke Energy Florida’s storm recovery costs but didn’t issue an order.

Docket intervenor Walmart opted out of closing arguments on Tuesday and will instead submit a brief due June 14.

Duke Energy Florida (DEF) serves approximately 2 million customers across the state of Florida and sought cost recovery related to Hurricanes Elsa, Eta, Isaias, Ian and Nicole, and Tropical Storm Fred.

Crews work to restore power following Hurricane Ian. (Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA)

In September 2023, Duke Energy filed its petition to approve the actual storm-related costs, totaling $431.4 million. Then, in October 2023, the company filed another petition to implement an interim storm restoration recovery surcharge to recover $166.1 million in incremental storm restoration costs.

Approximately $73.9 million is related to uncollected restoration costs from the storms, and $91.9 million is related to Hurricane Idalia, which hit in late August 2023. Duke Energy requested that these costs be recovered over a 12-month period beginning January 2024.

Walmart submitted comments in response to Duke’s petition for recovery of storm restorations costs. While Walmart did not take a stance on other issues, Walmart objected to DEF’s recovery of storm costs through the energy charge for its demand-metered customers.

Instead, Walmart argued that this should be recovered through the demand-charge, because this approach would better align cost recovery with cost causation, since distribution costs are typically classified as demand-related because they do not vary with the amount of electricity provided.

Walmart had previously raised concerns about shifting cost responsibility from lower to higher load-factor customers.

The Office of the Public Counsel stated during the hearing that Duke had complied with all stipulations and added that it supports the company’s commitment to an ongoing continuous storm restoration process improvement plan to ensure customers are only paying for cost-effective storm restoration costs that have been incurred.

PSC staff questioned Christopher Menendez, director of Rates and Regulatory Planning at Duke Energy Florida, about the surcharges. Menendez stated that switching to a demand-based charge during a recovery cycle would likely lead to customer confusion and frustration.

“Customers who have been incurring the storm surcharge up to this point on an energy basis could be surprised, confused and frustrated if this were to switch towards the end of the recovery cycle,” Menendez told PSC staff.

Published June 05, 2024

Tampa Bay Sun home opener

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The Tampa Bay Sun FC will host the home opener of its first USL Super League season on Aug. 18, at the Riverfront Stadium in Tampa, against the newly formed Dallas Trinity FC, according to a news release. Kickoff time and the full season schedule will be announced in the near future. Five members of the Sun roster have been announced so far: midfielder Erika Tymrak, midfielder Jordyn Listro, midfielder Domi Richardson, forward Riley Parker and defender Vivianne Bessette. For tickets and more information, visit TampaBaySunFC.com.

(Courtesy of Tampa Bay Sun FC)

Florida best for golfers

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A golf shipping service called My Baggage has named Florida the best state for golfers, based on a study that “analyzed the distribution of golf courses, driving ranges, tournaments, and golf coaches per 100,000 residents in every state, alongside the number of platinum clubs,” according to a news release. The study reports Florida has the highest number of PGA coaches, platinum clubs and the most amount of courses with 1,131. The rest of the top 10 states are 2. Colorado, 3. Arizona, 4. South Carolina, 5. Wyoming, 6. Pennsylvania, 7. New York, 8. Minnesota, 9. Illinois and 10. Maryland. For more information, visit MyBaggage.com.

Tampa a top hockey city

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The personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on the Best Cities for Hockey Fans in 2024, comparing 76 U.S. cities across 31 key metrics, including performance level of the city’s professional and college teams, minimum season ticket prices and stadium capacity, according to a news release. Here are the top 20 cities: 

  1. Boston, Massachusetts
  2. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  3. Detroit, Michigan
  4. Denver, Colorado
  5. St. Louis, Missouri
  6. New York, New York
  7. Newark, New Jersey
  8. Tampa, Florida
  9. Raleigh, North Carolina
  10. Sunrise, Florida
  11. Buffalo, New York
  12. St. Paul, Minnesota
  13. Washington, D.C.
  14. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  15. Chicago, Illinois
  16. Anaheim, California
  17. Dallas, Texas
  18. Glendale, Arizona
  19. Las Vegas, Nevada
  20. Columbus, Ohio

For the full report, visit WalletHub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-for-hockey-fans/13283.

A long-awaited return to the ocean

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                       (Courtesy of the Florida Aquarium) 

After five months of care at The Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center, a juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtle named Sergeant is ready to return to its ocean home. Sergeant was stranded in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, and suffered from cold stunning — prolonged exposure to the cold that left the turtle with a serious bone infection in a front flipper.

Sergeant’s recovery is a collaborative effort among partners including the New England Aquarium, Turtles Fly Too, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Florida Aquarium’s rehabilitation center currently is rehabilitating 27 green sea turtles and at the peak of the season has 55 animals in its program.

Bob Seitz, veteran, innovator and community leader, will be well remembered

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Friends and family members will gather at Harvester Community Church in Land O’ Lakes on June 22 for a memorial service for Walter Robert Seitz.

He was known far and wide simply as “Bob” Seitz.

Seitz was born on Oct. 9, 1930, in Rochester, New York, and passed away on March 20 at 93 years of age.

Bob Seitz was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant when this photograph was taken while he was deployed during the Korean War. (Courtesy of Marine Forever Detachment #1440)

While in the service, Seitz was the recipient of the Navy Presidential Unit Citation and ribbons for National Defense Service, Korean Service and the United Nations Ribbon Duty Stations/Ships, and was a member of Marine Forever Detachment #1440 of the Marine Corps League based in Land O’ Lakes from 2017 to 2024.

But he is well-known for much more besides his military service.

Seitz was an author, artist and actor, and one of the most productive people who lived in the Tampa Bay area.

He began writing a novel in January 1987 called “Nora,” following visits with his wife, Dorothy “Dot” Seitz, to Cedar Key in 1986 and 1988 — the novel takes place in a thinly disguised setting of Cedar Key. It languished on his computer for 15 years before being published in 2012.

Bob Seitz salutes in this photograph taken of him while he was a member of Marine Forever Detachment #1440. (Courtesy of Marine Forever Detachment #1440)

Four more of his novels were published between 2018 and 2020. That was a time when he went on a writing spree, he said in “Bob’s One Man’s Journey,” a film he produced and narrated that provided information about 90 years of his life, that was shared on YouTube.

Those novels were “Return to Morgantown,” a sequel to “Nora;” “Good Company,” which was set in the Great Smokey Mountains, one of his favorite places to visit; “And it Came to This,” an account of the rise of Nazi Germany; and “Lucky,” about someone returning from World War II to find his niche in life. 

He did a sketch of a tree while he was in his teens and it remains framed and on display in Villa M. Ray’s home in the community of Weymouth in Pasco County.

Ray, who is a widow, became one of Seitz’s closest friends nearly four years after Dot, his wife of 55 years, passed away on July 31, 2006.

Bob Seitz, left, and Jim Knight, right, are shown with Ryan Gomez of Gordon Chevrolet when the dealership was honored in August 2018 by being presented with an American Patriot Award by Marine Forever Detachment #1440. (Courtesy of Gordon Chevrolet)

The Seitzes had moved from Tampa to Weymouth in 2003.

“He was an amazing man who was a thinker and a creator,” Ray said.

He made his debut as an actor while he attended Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

He portrayed a woman in a skit put on by an all-male cast of university students. Men played the roles of both men and women in the annual play. He received a standing ovation after his performance, which was the only one he ever had he said in “Bob’s One Man’s Journey.”

He also performed in two large productions at the Hollywood Little Theater in Hollywood, Florida. This was while he and Dot lived nearby in Hallandale, now known as Hallandale Beach. He said on YouTube that he decided to not pursue acting any further because of the amount of time and memorization that was required to do so.

Seitz put the Bachelor of Science degree he had earned at Wharton to good use for several years after having been discharged from the Marine Corps.

He worked for Travelers Insurance for seven years, first in Miami, and then in Tampa. He received a significant amount of training through trips to Travelers home office in Hartford, Connecticut, that resulted in him assisting other agents in making sales. 

Bob Seitz is shown recently with his longtime dear, close friend, Villa Ray. (Courtesy of Marine Forever Detachment #1440)

“I had to be the expert, so to speak, in all our products,” Seitz said in his film. Neither he nor his wife was especially happy being transferred to Tampa, but it was something that had to be done, Seitz said.

Seitz left Travelers in April 1963 and began working for IBM as a salesman. After a short time, he determined he wasn’t good as a salesman, but he was introduced to computer programming — something he was good at and he enjoyed.

In January 1965, he began working for the First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Tampa as its data processing manager. He helped them incorporate computing into their work and wrote the programs they used. He was promoted twice at First Federal — in March 1967 as vice president and in October 1975 as senior vice president.

In 1969 he was placed in charge of marketing for First Federal, responsible for being the spokesman for advertising and promotions, and personally read the advertisements on both radio and television.

“That went on for about four years. And I became well-known in downtown Tampa. Everyone knew me as ‘Bob the TV guy’ when I walked the streets,’” Seitz said.

One of his biggest accomplishments while at First Federal was to help that financial institution become the first in the state to have an ATM. 

“It was a great success,” said Seitz.

Savings and loans large and small were starting to fail in large numbers in the early 1980s when interest rates skyrocketed, so he left First Federal in March 1982.

He became self-employed as a data processing consultant and remained so until his retirement in March 1996. He wrote systems for several small businesses that used IBM personal computers. Seitz said his largest project was to build an entire corporate income tax package that consisted of more than 100 programs all tied together.

In April 2003, he and Dot moved to the community of Weymouth in Pasco County. While living there he served as president of the homeowners association for three different terms.

His was “a life well-lived,” Ray said.

Seitz’s survivors include his son, Gregory Seitz, granddaughter Amethyst Seitz, and great grandchildren Mavrik Coleman and Nora Coleman.

Published May 29, 2024

Lisa Yeager sworn in as commissioner

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Lisa Yeager was sworn in to represent District 4 during the May 21 meeting of the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).

She was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 16 to fill the seat that had been vacant since the death of former Commissioner Gary Bradford on April 21.

Commission District 4 is in part of west and central Pasco County. 

Lisa Yeager (Courtesy of Pasco County)

Yeager, of New Port Richey, is the wife of state Rep. Bradford Troy Yeager who was elected in 2022 to represent House District 56 on the west side of Pasco County.

She will stand as commissioner until a special election on Nov. 5 determines the candidate who will serve the remaining two years of Commissioner Bradford’s term. Bradford died in the middle of the four-year term to which he had been elected in November 2022.

Yeager is one of four Republican candidates seeking their party’s nomination for the District 4 commission seat in Pasco County’s Aug. 20 primary election. 

The three other GOP candidates who have filed for the primary are Paul T. Bybee of Land O’ Lakes, former District 4 Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick of New Port Richey, and Gabriel “Gabe” Papadopoulos of New Port Richey.

Fitzpatrick was elected in 2020 to serve the remaining two years of former District 4 Commissioner Mike Wells after he was elected as Pasco County’s property appraiser. She defeated Bradford in the 2020 primary election but he defeated her in the 2022 primary and went on to win the District 4 seat that year.

Daniel Ackroyd-Isales of Land O’ Lakes is the only Democrat who filed to run in the primary election as of May 22. 

The winner of the District 4 commissioner race will assume office on Nov. 19. Candidates must reside in that district but voters countywide may cast their votes in that election.

At the May 21 BOCC meeting, commissioners also unanimously approved a resolution to not exempt property under provisions of the Live Local Act Property Tax Exemption enacted by the Florida legislature and recently signed into law by Gov. DeSantis.

The act would grant tax exemptions to units in multifamily projects that are used to house natural persons or families whose annual household income is between 80% and 120% of the median annual adjusted gross income for households within Pasco County. 

Area median income (AMI) is a key metric in affordable housing. It is defined as the midpoint of a specific area’s income distribution and is calculated on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD refers to the figure as MFI, or median family income, based on a four-person household.

The commissioners’ action was taken as a result of the latest Shimberg Annual Report that says there is a surplus of affordable and available units in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan statistical area (MSA) that meet the income criteria for the 80 to 120 Tax Exemption. Pasco County is located within that MSA and it does have a surplus of rental housing in that range.

Chief Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein told commissioners the resolution they adopted only applies to county taxes. The Pasco County School District and cities in Pasco County would each have to enact their own resolutions in order to be able to not exempt property under provisions of the Live Local Act. Goldstein added he encourages the governmental bodies he just mentioned to enact their own resolutions.

The owners of two apartment complexes in the county have already applied to be exempted from 75% of the taxes they have to pay under provisions of the law, according to Goldstein. The county could lose out on $38 million in tax revenues over a 35-year period if both of those apartment complexes do receive the tax breaks.

Records show that only three counties in Southeast Florida — Miami-Dade, Monroe and Broward — have serious deficits in the 80-120 range, Goldstein said.

“In my opinion, the legislation should only apply to Southeast Florida and the rest of the state should be left out of it,” Goldstein said regarding the act.

The resolution the commissioners approved will take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, and will expire on Jan. 1, 2026, and it may be renewed prior to Jan. 1, 2026.

In other business on May 21, commissioners:

  • Approved the Recording of a Plat with Performance Guarantees for Brookfield Holdings, which plans to develop a subdivision with 100 residential lots on 111.6 acres on the east side of Two Rivers Boulevard approximately 0.1 mile south of State Road 56 on property located in Commission District 1 in southeast Pasco County. The county has received two surety bonds totaling $5,230,318.72 to cover the costs of necessary infrastructure and landscaping improvements. 
  • Approved establishing Magnolia Island Community Development District (CDD) and designating a 202.3 acre site in Commission District 1 where the applicant plans to develop 475 residential units and 70,000 square feet of retail/commercial that will be assessed by the CDD. The CDD site is located south of future Tyndall Road, north of future Kiefer Road, and between Handcart Road and Curley Road.
  • Approved an agreement with Consor Engineers, LLC to provide engineering services for the Chancey Road and Morris Bridge Road intersection improvements and the widening of Morris Bridge Road from south of Chancey Road to south of State Road 54 in an amount not to exceed $1,515,719.84 for fiscal year 2024. 

Published May 29, 2024