Local News

LAND O’ LAKES – Pasco County Schools Superintendent John Legg told members of the school board April 1 that the budget forecast for the district is “not looking favorable.”

“We’re heading into the peak legislative time of year,” Legg told the school board. “I want to say this delicately. I want to say for 48 out of the 52 weeks of the year, I don’t get wrapped up into the drama of what the legislature does.”

But Legg told school board members now is the time to pay close attention, particularly to bills that start to see action in those four specific weeks. 

“Over the next four weeks, there’s going to be a lot of action happening,” Legg said. “It will have an impact on our budget. It will have an impact on our policies. It will have an impact on our strategic planning on how we go forward on some of these initiatives.”

This budget cycle will be interesting because the district won’t have Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Funds. These federal dollars were distributed to overcome impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

District 4 representative Jessica Wright credited Legg with keeping the school board focused when it comes to legislation. She said one of her biggest frustrations is reading media coverage about issues that stress staff and families out that never make it to the governor’s desk. 

Wright and her colleagues were in Tallahassee during spring break for a conference of school board members. Being in the capital allowed them to have dialogue with Pasco County’s state legislators. 

“We were able to meet with almost everybody on our delegation and they really took the time to have authentic conversations with us and really understand the different barriers we face and what we can do to reduce some of those barriers so that our students have access to high quality education,” Wright said. 

District 5 rep Megan Harding said there were meaningful discussions on sidewalks, hazardous walkways, transportation and school safety issues in Tallahassee. 

Harding said board members have ongoing communication with the legislative delegation. She has updated state leaders on school openings during Hurricane Helene, invited them to district events and discussed issues that need fixing. 

Harding said legislators also reach out to the board to get feedback about issues that come across their desks. 

Legg also told the school board that staff is starting to look at planning for next year. Legg would like to start updating the district’s strategic plan and goals.

“This is not revamping what we already have established,” Legg said. “This is looking at updating our measurables.”

Staff will try to get feedback from school board members individually and collectively toward the end of the fourth quarter to have measurables in place by next school year, Legg said.

 

NEW PORT RICHEY – Pasco County is approaching budget season conservatively as staff projects modest revenue gains while dealing with must-pay expenses that put increased pressure on the general fund, according to Budget Director Amielee Farrell.

She led a discussion March 25 with county commissioners on revenue projections for the 2026 fiscal year. 

“We’re looking at a limited ability to increase or expand services going into the next fiscal year,” Farrell told them. “We’re going to be running a very lean budget.”

Ferell reviewed data and metrics that help the county predict taxable assessed values, such as new home permits and new construction. 

“What we’re kind of keeping an eye on right now is fourth quarter fiscal year 2024 and first quarter fiscal year 2025, where we’re seeing a slight drop,” Farrell said of new home permits. “We’re not sure yet if this is attributed to all of the hurricane-type stuff that’s been happening in this county, so we’re keeping an eye because that could potentially impact us about two years out.”

Not only are new home permits leveling off but staff believes commercial plus residential new construction will start leveling off as well. A slide showing the ebbs and flows of assessed values over the past 25 years noted that the county can’t expect assessed values to remain at this level. 

Farrell also points to revaluations over the past three fiscal years experiencing double digit growth, driven in part by a Northern migration. She believes the market conditions are starting to correct themselves and that the growth won’t be as high with the next budget cycle. 

Her office has been running financial models at 5%, 7% and 9% growth to help prepare for the release of preliminary assessed values in June. 

She also shared key expense drivers for the coming year, including the operational costs associated with the detention center expansion, constitutional budget increases, personnel increases related to workers comp and retirement, general inflation and government growth to keep pace with the demands for service. 

In the coming months, county staff will meet with commissioners for one-on-on briefings and hold board meetings to discuss departmental budgets. 

Commissioner Jack Mariano told Farrell that he’d like to focus during one-on-one meetings on the costs associated with the detention center as well as how the county is coming along on road paving projects. 

The county will receive preliminary and final taxable assessed values in June and July. The board will adopt tentative millage rates and a budget in July. After a pair of public hearings, commissioners will adopt final millage rates and a budget in September. 

 

HOLIDAY – Lennar Homes has received approval from Pasco County commissioners to develop 190 townhomes by Anclote High School and Paul R. Smith Middle School.

The company had to get the county to rezone the 46-acre site from agricultural uses to a master planned unit development district to move forward.
The future land use plan calls for residential uses to the tune of six units per acre. The site is just north of the Dominion Anclote affordable housing project approved last year for 220 multifamily units. 

“We’ve got a great plan here,” said Clarke Hobby, of Hobby & Hobby P.A., speaking on behalf of the applicant. “We’ve got really attractive townhouses that Lennar is building with a newer product style that they have just reworked their architecture on. I think it’s going to be a great credit to the community but this is ideally situated next to the Dominium site and right in the middle of all the schools. It should be really great for the area.”

Commissioner Lisa Yeager said the townhomes will be available at a great price point that will be affordable to teachers. 

Hobby described the Lennar Homes project as the first chance of homeownership for people in the area. 

“I have to credit Lennar for stepping up its game,” he said. “About five, 10 years ago, not all the townhouses were great. The newer ones are showing six or seven different architectural finishes on the front and they look completely different and a big step up from the old ones. I think it’ll be good for the community.”

To the north and east of the site is a Duke Energy easement. 

The project will connect to the Coastal Anclote Trail via a multi-use path, according to Pasco County senior planner Willaim Vermillion. He said this will allow pedestrians to access both school sites. 

 

While we see a lot of green this month, make note of the colors on your plate year-round.  

Hopefully it’s not just green (or any one color) because the more colorful your produce, the more nutrition you are getting.  

It’s recommended to “eat the rainbow” of fruits and vegetables.

That’s because of the health benefits from the different phytonutrients found in each pigment.  

These phytonutrients strengthen the plant’s immune system from various dangers, such as sun damage and diseases.  

And just as the phytonutrients protect the plant and keep it healthy, once we consume the plant, these phytonutrients keep us healthy, too.

Consequently, the more diverse colors you eat, the better.  

Here is a breakdown of how a colorful eating pattern can protect you from various diseases (Harvard Health Publishing, 2019):

• Red fruits and vegetables have lycopene: improves heart health, decreases prostate and breast cancer risks, helps prevent stroke, and is good for brain health. Tomatoes, radishes, cherries, strawberries, beets and red peppers are examples of high lycopene food.
• Orange and yellow have beta cryptothanxin, which plays a role in preventing heart disease. Find this in sweet potatoes, carrots, oranges, pineapple, mango, pumpkin, butternut squash, peaches and more.
• The green in fruits and vegetables have cancer-blocking chemicals that hinder carcinogens. These are in foods like spinach, kale, collard greens, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kiwi, avocado and green herbs, too, such as rosemary, basil, etc.  
• Blue and purple have antioxidants that slow down aging and prevent the formation of blood clots in the heart.  These antioxidants are in blueberries, blackberries, grapes, eggplant, plums, prunes, purple cabbage and more.
• The white and brown is the last subgroup of colors.  While these technically aren’t rainbow colors, they are still just as important to eat thanks to their antioxidants.  Foods in this group include onion, cauliflower, garlic, mushrooms, parsnips and potatoes.

So when you’re feeling hungry for a snack, you can see why choosing a peach over the cookies is a much better option.  

You don’t have to completely eliminate cookies, but only have it once in a while and only after you’ve reached your fruit and vegetable amount recommendations.  

Your body will thank you.

How can you make your meals more colorful?  Here are some tips:

• Instead of a side dish of French fries, order a side salad or soup.
• Make your pizza colorful with veggie toppings, such as spinach, tomato, mushroom, etc.
• For a snack or dessert, have fruit or a fruit smoothie
• Look at your shopping cart to make sure you have a variety of colors
• Frozen and canned produce count, too, which can help with your grocery budget.

While the exact amount of fruits and vegetables per day depend on factors such as gender and age, a general rule of thumb is to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.  

In one particular study that followed 2 million people over 30 years, those that had five servings (specifically, two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables per day), saw:

• A 13% lower risk of death from any cause.
• 12% lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke.
• 10% lower risk of death from cancer.
• 35% lower risk of death from respiratory disease.

Note that this is the average servings per day.  

So if you go all day without fruits and vegetables, you can make up for it for the next few days by increasing your intake (Harvard Health Publishing, 2021).

 

Eggplant Stir Fry (MyPlate.gov)

 

Ingredients

• 2 eggplants, cubed
• 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 cup green bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3 tablespoons Italian salad dressing, low fat
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups cooked brown rice

 

Directions

1. Wash hands with soap and water.
2. Place eggplant, zucchini, green bell pepper, onions and salad dressing into a skillet.
3. Stir lightly to combine and cook over low heat until tender.
4. Stir in cherry tomatoes and cook for 3-5 minutes. Serve over cooked brown rice. 

 

Shari Bresin is the Family & Consumer Science Agent for the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension Pasco County, An Equal Opportunity Institution.

The give and take of daily life can be so distracting that you look into the mirror one day and suddenly realize that you kind of look like your parents … when they were old. 

Or you may get caught off guard as the social media algorithm starts bringing to your attention videos with catchy titles like, “Don’t do this if you’re over 50” or “Do this before it’s too late.”

Whatever you do, don’t feel overwhelmed. 

The Laker/Lutz News invites you to the Thrive Over 55 Senior Expo, where we’ll have several companies that specialize in serving older adults – under the same roof.

We’re talking Medicare providers or companies that focus on health and wellness, financial services or travel agencies. In other words, you may come to get your Medicare questions answered but also leave with a next step in securing a sizable retirement nest egg, taking care of that nagging health concern or finally going on that cruise you always dreamed of. 

The Laker/Lutz News will host the Thrive Over 55 Senior Expo from 9 a.m. to noon April 25 at B&B Theatre, 6333 Wesley Grove Blvd., Wesley Chapel. The event is free. Register in advance at https://tinyurl.com/thriveFL to help us plan for your arrival. 

This is a great event for both people that make a plan before they leave the house or people who just want to get out of the house and see what the fuss is about. 

If you’re a social butterfly that likes to talk with everybody, there will be lots of people to meet. If you’re a stealthy person that likes to pick up brochures to read later, this event is for you, too.

We hope to see you there.