Local News

Pasco superintendent pushes for culture of caring

February 6, 2014 By B.C. Manion

Planning is underway for Pasco County Schools’ second youth summit aimed at reducing violence and creating more inclusive schools throughout the district.

Students gathered last year at the Pasco County school system’s first youth summit to talk about ways to take aim at problems of bullying and create a culture of caring in schools and offices around the district. (File Photo)

The Together We Stand Youth and Community Summit 2014 will be on June 10 at River Ridge Center for the Performing Arts at River Ridge High School.

The first planning session for this year’s event was on Jan. 21.

This year’s theme is “building safer, more inclusive schools and communities, and reducing violence,’’ according to school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe.

Speakers and guests have not yet been fully determined, but the event will include Roy Kaplan, last year’s keynote speaker, and Pasco County Schools superintendent Kurt Browning. The daylong seminar will include a keynote address, breakout sessions, networking, lunch and a panel discussion.

An online application will be available soon for speakers and exhibitors. Online registration for the free event will start in April.

The summit is one of the tangible ways that Browning is trying to promote an increased “culture of caring and respect” in the county’s public schools.

The lack of civility and lack of respect are issues that Browning has frequently discussed. He wrote about those concerns in an op-ed piece published last December in The Laker/Lutz News after the violent death of a 16-year-old. Another teenager was charged with the crime.

“When that op-ed was penned, I think it had a sense of frustration, desperation, in it,” Browning said.

“I know it will take deliberate and tough conversations within families and communities to help kids learn how to deal with conflict and cope with adversity appropriately. We must work together,” the superintendent wrote in the piece.

His words struck a chord with readers.

“I did get a number of emails, as well as people stopping me out in the community, when I’ve walked through schools, teachers have stopped me, administrators,” Browning said. “They agree. We’ve lost civility. We’ve lost respect. We have become, in my opinion, a society of entitlement — with no accountability, no responsibility.”

There are no easy answers, Browning said.

“This is like nailing Jell-O to a tree,” Browning said. “It’s such a pervasive, complex issue. It is a societal issue. It is a cultural issue. And yet, the school district is expected to fix it.”

Technology adds to the challenge.

“Technology is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because of the things that we can do with kids today in the classroom are incredible,” Browning said. “It’s a curse because we have technological advances in our school being used inappropriately.”

Photos taken with smart phones often end up in cyberspace. And once the images are circulating, they’re out there forever, Browning said.

Cyberbullying is an issue, too.

The district also must deal with electronic posts in which students threaten to harm others or themselves, Browning said. A student making a flippant remark can set off a whole chain reaction of activity.

“We’ve got to notify district staff, we’ve got to notify law enforcement, we reach out to moms and dads,” he said.

So how does this all get back to the culture of caring and respect?

“It starts at home. It starts at home,” Browning said. “These kids are sponges. They watch moms and dads. They watch neighborhood kids. They watch other adults. And these kids are going to model what they see.”

For his part, the superintendent sets a tone of high expectation for the district’s staff. When it comes to influencing student behavior on campus, Browning believes that students are key to elevating the standard of behavior among their peers.

This year, Browning wants middle school students to be involved in planning the youth summit. Behavior problems begin to develop when children are young, so the district needs to address them — and involve students at younger ages — in helping to find solutions.

In addition to supporting the youth summit, Browning encourages student initiatives aimed at building respect at schools throughout the district, and he wants district administrators to support the youth-led efforts.

Browning believes that, essentially, people have the same needs and desires.

“When you take our skin color off of us, we all look the same,” he said. “Our emotions are the same. We express them differently. Our desires are the same. We want to be successful. We want to be loved. We want to be cared for. We want to be respected.

“Even the hardest of hard kids want to be cared for, loved and respected. I’m convinced of that,” Browning said. “We need to be respectful. We need to be civil. We need to be caring.”

Browning welcomes suggestion and help from the community. Those who would like to help or have ideas can email him at .

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Local businesses reach out to help shooting victim’s family

February 6, 2014 By Michael Murillo

The management and employees at World of Beer and Moe’s Southwest Grill in Land O’Lakes hope that patrons spend a lot of money on Feb. 8. But it’s not an attempt to maximize profits.

Chad Oulson, right, was killed Jan. 13 during an altercation at Cobb Theatres Grove 16 & CineBistro, leaving behind his wife, Nicole, and daughter Alexis. A fundraiser is slated for Feb. 8 in Land O’ Lakes. (Courtesy of Oulson Family)

Instead, it’s a benefit event designed to help a local family after a horrific loss.

Chad Oulson was shot and killed Jan. 13 in a dispute at the Cobb Theatres Grove 16 & CineBistro movie theater in Wesley Chapel. The story made national news and a suspect is in custody. But now his widow, Nicole, and their young daughter, Alexis, must continue without him.

World of Beer and Moe’s, located on Collier Parkway, decided that hosting an event to raise money would be a good way to help.

“We want to be tied in with our community, and what better way than to help out in this tragic situation,” said Amanda Edwards, general manager at World of Beer Land O’Lakes. While the tavern has no direct ties to the Oulson family, they were enthusiastic to host the event when contacted by Edwards’ booking agent.

They hope to raise at least $5,000 for the family, Edwards said.

To reach that goal, World of Beer is donating $1 from every draft beer sold from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. that evening. They also will have an auction for a gift basket containing World of Beer and other brewery items.

In addition, there will be a raffle in which half the money will go to the winner and the other half to the Oulson family.

Moe’s Southwest Grill also is contributing to the event by pledging 25 percent of its sales for the entire day.

“I grew up in Lutz (and) Land O’Lakes my whole life. It’s such a small, tight-knit community. It’s all about family out here,” said Ryan Campbell, general manager of Moe’s. “We’ve always stuck together, so why not stick together in a time of hurt?” Campbell is the son of Guy Campbell, who owns both businesses involved in the event.

The benefit falls on a busy night for Moe’s, which should lead to a larger donation for the family, Campbell said. But his young employees also have helped get the word out to make sure the evening is as busy as possible.

“They’ve all been passing out flyers at school, trying to get people on board and trying to get people in so we can raise as much money as possible,” Campbell said.

While helping out is important to Edwards, as a member of the community it also hits close to home in other ways. Oulson left behind a daughter just shy of her second birthday. Edwards, a mother of two girls herself, delivered a son just last week. She said that the family’s loss made an impression on her, and it became important to help from a personal standpoint.

“Being a mother, I couldn’t imagine being left without a husband, and I know the monetary burden of a death in the family,” she said.

The event begins at 7 p.m., and patrons must be at least 21 to attend. Live music will be performed by Keko & Mo’ Gravy.

World of Beer is located at 2081 Collier Parkway, and Moe’s Southwest Grill is located at 2087 Collier Parkway.

For more information, call (813) 948-9400.

If you go
WHAT: Fundraiser for Oulson family
WHEN: Feb. 8, beginning at 7 p.m.
WHERE: World of Beer, 2081 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes; Moe’s Southwest Grill, 2087 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes
INFO: (813) 948-9400

Update: This story was clarified on 2/19/14 to identify the booking agent as belonging to Amanda Edwards.

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Wilson not convinced Pasco needs elevated road

February 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

It’s no secret Pasco County Commissioner Henry Wilson doesn’t put a lot of faith into studies, statistics or consultants. And that’s not changing at all when it comes to the proposed elevated road for the State Road 54/56 corridor.

Pasco County officials have used a series of diagrams, like this cutaway, that show how an elevated road over the State Road 54/56 corridor could expand the existing highway from six lanes to 10. (Courtesy of Pasco County Commission) — Pasco County officials have used a series of diagrams, like this cutaway, that show how an elevated road over the State Road 54/56 corridor could expand the existing highway from six lanes to 10.
(Courtesy of Pasco County Commission)

In fact, he told the Republican Club of Central Pasco last week that if county planning and development administrator Richard Gehring can sell the privately proposed toll road he advocates to the public, he’d buy him dinner at the pricey Bern’s Steak House in Tampa.

“I want to put out this disclaimer right now,” Wilson told the group. “I was the only one of the five commissioners that has opposed this from the beginning, because I don’t think we need it.”

County officials have talked about how future growth in Pasco and the rest of the region will create significant congestion on the existing State Road 54 and State Road 56 in coming years, but that’s congestion Wilson says he hasn’t seen.

“Before I was in office, I spent 14 years travelling from New Port Richey to Tampa, and the only time I hit congestion was in Hillsborough County,” he said. “This is something that will help Hillsborough, not Pasco.”

Yet, county officials have warned against comparing current traffic issues to those that might happen in the future. In a recent meeting with the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, Pasco County administrator Michele Baker credited forward thinking that expanded the lanes in the State Road 54/56 corridor for keeping congestion under control in the present.

“We know we’ll never build enough roads to prevent congestion from occurring,” Baker said last month. Places to build east-west roads in the county are limited because of the amount of preservation land and planned development that exists, especially in the central part of the county. That limits most of the talk to both the State Road 54/56 corridor in the southern part of the county, and State Road 52 and the county line road bordering Hernando County to the north.

“When you look at all the entitlements out there, even if we didn’t approve one new development again, we’re going to need at least 20 east-west lanes,” Baker said. The two major roads have between six and eight lanes, but officials have to ask themselves, “where are the rest of those lanes going to come from?”

Wilson, however, said the idea of needing a 20-lane road in the State Road 54/56 corridor is wrong. Very few places in the country have roads that large, and nearly all of them serve populations counted in the millions, like Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It’s nearly impossible to imagine the need for it here.

And the fear of such a large road is driving the support behind the elevated road, Wilson said.

“Since I have been in office, we try to say that we are business friendly,” he said. The elevated road “is probably the least business-friendly thing we could do.”

How the elevated road would move forward is based on studies conducted by the Florida Department of Transportation, Wilson said.

“It doesn’t say anything about it being determined by Pasco County needs, or Pasco County wants, or Pasco County anything,” he said. “And we know that a government study can say anything we want it to say. Just like statistics. We can make it say anything you want it to say.”

A private road development group, International Infrastructure Partners Inc., has asked the FDOT to give up key right-of-way along the State Road 54/56 corridor to build an elevated toll road that would connect Zephyrhills at U.S. 301, and New Port Richey at U.S. 19. The 33-mile project would be constructed through private money, with returns coming from toll revenue.

Although the project is commonly known as an elevated road, Baker said no one should expect every mile of it will be above the ground. Some pieces could be much lower.

“Are they going to build an elevated road from U.S. 19 to U.S. 301? There’s no reason to,” Baker said. “The whole road doesn’t require that, and it doesn’t make sense.”

Flyovers would have to occur at major intersections, however, like where State Road 54 and Land O’ Lakes Boulevard meet, an intersection that already draws 100,000 cars a day, according to the county. And the goal would be to prevent flyovers similar to what’s found on U.S. 19 in Pinellas County, splitting entire areas in half, and forcing many businesses to face a giant wall where the road elevates, Baker said.

Yet, the need for such a structure is at least a decade away, if not more, Wilson said. And that means the county can convince the FDOT to slow down a bit on the project.

“If we don’t need it for 15 to 20 years, then there is probably going to be a better option in the next few years,” he said.

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Wesley Chapel High senior ranks among state’s top 14

February 6, 2014 By B.C. Manion

She didn’t move on to the nationals, but Savannah Renberg was among 14 young women from across the state vying for that chance.

Renberg, a senior at Wesley Chapel High School, was one of 16 Distinguished Young Women in Florida selected to compete earlier this month in Winter Garden.

Distinguished Young Women is a national scholarship program in which high school seniors from across the country compete for scholarships. The competition requires contestants to interview effectively, demonstrate physical fitness, and perform on stage.

The young women first compete in local events to advance to the state competition, and then on to the national level.

While 16 qualified for the state contest, it turns out only 14 — including Renberg — made the trip to Winter Garden.

Renberg, who is a member of Suncoast Dance Theatre in Lutz and has been dancing since she was 1, showcased her dancing skills in the competition. While the 18-year-old wasn’t one of the top finishers, Renberg said she’s glad she took part.

“It was just a very unique experience,” said Renberg, who is the senior class president at her school. “Every day we would have rehearsal. I kept forgetting that there was a contest, that there was going to be a winner at the end because it just felt like, to me, like a performance.”

She also enjoyed meeting young women from across the state, and they became fast friends.

“There weren’t any cliques or anything. We all have the same desires,” Renberg said. The Distinguished Young Women requires its participants to be academically focused.

For her part, Renberg has a 3.9 unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale, and a 4.4 weighted GPA when college-level coursework is considered.

Renberg became aware of the program through a friend and decided to give it a shot. While she knows she eventually wants to be a college professor teaching literature classes, she’s not sure what college she’ll attend. So far, she’s been accepted to the University of North Florida and Winthrop University in South Carolina.

“I’m waiting for my acceptance to Troy University,” Renberg said about the college in Alabama. She wants to go there because it has a dance program, and she’d like to minor in dance.

Renberg credits her mom, Sharon Renberg — a first-grade teacher at Chester Taylor Elementary School outside of Zephyrhills — for helping to develop a love for teaching and learning. After volunteering in her mom’s class, Renberg said she thinks she would be suited for teaching older students.

She’s attracted to the university level because that would enable her to teach and to continue pursuing her love for learning at the same time.

The Winter Garden contest was friendly, Renberg said, and when it was over, the competitors planned to stay in touch.

“We all were swapping numbers and Instagrams and Twitters,” she said.

They’ve even talked of going on a road trip together to cheer on the young women who will represent Florida at the 57th Annual Distinguished Young Women National Finals this summer in Mobile, Ala.

The young women there will compete for more than $130,000 in cash scholarships.

Renberg hopes the Florida contestants make the trip to Mobile.

“I think it would be fun,” Renberg said.

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Program helps seniors get back to work

February 6, 2014 By B.C. Manion

Pasco County senior citizens who are 55 or older and have been out of work for a year or more may be able to benefit from The Experience Works Community Service Employment Program.

The program is reaching out to older residents in central and eastern Pasco County who need help getting back into the work force, said Dorothy Myles, state director for Experience Works. To be eligible, applicants must have an individual income of $14,588 year or less, or $19,663 or less for a family of two.

A limited number of slots are available, but there always is turnover as people land full-time jobs, move, or exit the program for other reasons, Myles said.

Participants work for 21 hours a week, receiving the minimum wage of $7.93 an hour. By handling community service jobs, participants can update their skills and use those new skills as a springboard to land permanent jobs.

The program also helps participants pursue jobs they are interested in, Myles said.

“We assist them. This is participant driven,” she said.

The worker indicates the kind of job they’re interested in and the program seeks to help them secure it, Myles said. Some workers who begin part-time positions are hired on to handle full-time roles by the organizations that participate in the program. There also are cases when the participating organization isn’t able to hire the employee, but can alert the worker to an opportunity elsewhere.

Besides providing opportunities for workers to enhance their skills, the program also can help them in their job search and offer referrals for other services, Myles said.

Some program participants were laid off and have been unable to find a job for more than a year, while others have been out of the workforce for years, she said. Some have encountered bias against older workers.

“We do realize, too, that there is some age discrimination out there,” Myles said.

She believes misperceptions about older workers often can be overcome when an employer is able to witness an experienced person’s work ethic in action.

The program is having an enrollment fair on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Career Central, Room A, 4440 Grand Blvd., in New Port Richey.

For additional information, call (888) 859-1051, or visit www.ExperienceWorks.org.

Latest industrial construction to boost area jobs profile

February 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Central Pasco County continues its bid to become the high-technology hub of the Tampa Bay region with the start of a 135,000-square-foot office center at ComPark 75. And last week, development owner Larry Morgan welcomed Gov. Rick Scott and other dignitaries for a ceremonial groundbreaking at his latest $15 million effort.

Larry Morgan, center, chief executive of Morgan Family Ventures, stands with Gov. Rick Scott, left, and Ross Kirk, executive managing director of Cassidy Turley, in front of Building C at ComPark in Lutz. Lawmakers labeled the construction off Wesley Chapel Boulevard the first major commercial construction in Pasco County since the start of the economic recession. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

“There is something else much more important going on here than just the construction of these buildings,” Morgan, chief executive of Morgan Family Ventures and former owner of Tires Plus, told the crowd outside of his Building C on the chilly, damp morning. “The American way is for the people to have the opportunity to invest their money and time and things of that nature, and that entrepreneurial spirit certainly exists here at ComPark.”

The walls for Building C are already up, with the larger Building D planned to be built not far behind it on Pet Lane. Both buildings will offer more than 30 office units ranging in size from 3,030 square feet to 5,175 square feet. Three of the units in Building C have already been leased, including the Pasco County Tax Collector’s office, which signed on after a Wesley Chapel location at The Grove fell through.

Getting the building off the ground required more than 30 permits, but the bureaucratic red tape has not been as restrictive as it once was, Morgan said. The county has come a long way.

“I have been a critic of regulation my whole business life, but things are definitely getting better in Pasco,” he said. “The whole county organization is getting better.”

The construction project has employed nearly 600 people, and will create more than 250 jobs once the units start filling up. Many of those jobs, Morgan said, would be high-waged.

And that could give a local boost to Scott, who is facing a tough re-election this year potentially against his predecessor, Charlie Crist, and working to raise what has been consistently low approval ratings.

“We all care about what happens to you,” Scott said. “We want jobs. The most important thing we can do is create an environment that will get to work.”

Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, says he can only see growth in Wesley Chapel’s future thanks to projects like ComPark.

“Wesley Chapel is the hotbed of economic opportunities in the state of Florida,” he said, adding that government can help developers by getting “out of the way.”

“It’s an honor to get out of your way and let you do your job,” Legg said.

ComPark 75 is 60 acres of developable land just off Wesley Chapel Boulevard to the west of Tampa North Aero Park.

Only three units remain available in the first phase of ComPark’s construction of two nearby buildings that total a little more than 100,000 square feet. Morgan also hopes to build a four-story office building on the eastern side of the property fronting Interstate 75.

New State Rep. Amanda Murphy, who succeeded Mike Fasano in the Florida Legislature, was the only Democratic lawmaker on hand at the ceremony. She said the ComPark project would help the entire county, although she did wish it was in her district.

“I am a little jealous because the other side of the county doesn’t get something as wonderful and beautiful as this,” said Murphy, who is based in New Port Richey. “But it benefits all of Pasco County, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Published Feb. 5, 2014

Political Agenda 02-05-14

February 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Ross officially running again
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, officially announced the start of his re-election campaign on Jan. 21 at events in Lakeland and Plant City.

Ross, currently in his second term, is a conservative Republican with a platform to lower taxes, protect individual freedoms, and reduce government mandates.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to work on behalf of the good people of Polk and Hillsborough (counties) these past three years in Congress,” Ross said in a release. “I care deeply about our community, and I have been tirelessly fighting for families across the 15th District to ensure that they can keep more of their hard-earned money and maintain their freedoms. I will continue to do all that I can to promote job growth and certainty for the future.”

Ross has already raised more than $380,000, and so far would face former television journalist Alan Cohn in the general election if no one else files to run.

Littlefield won’t seek endorsements
Former State Rep. Ken Littlefield knows his main primary opponent in the Pasco County Commission race has some major endorsements from other local leaders, but he isn’t looking for any himself.

“I will be asking you for your vote because you like me, and because I’ve been able to explain to you” my experience, Littlefield told the Republican Club of Central Pasco last week. “Rather, I will never come to you and say, ‘Vote for me’ because there’s another elected official that thinks I’m pretty cool. I will never come to you and say ‘Vote for me’ because there is another leader in our county who thinks I’m pretty good.”

Littlefield is referring to one of his Republican primary challengers, Mike Moore, who already touts nine endorsements on his campaign website. They are from people like Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, Pasco County Schools superintendent Kurt Browning, and two mayors — Tim Newlon of San Antonio, and Danny Burgess of Zephyrhills.

Littlefield entered the race Jan. 16, and has yet to file campaign finance reports. Moore, however, is leading the money pack with just under $41,000 raised. The third Republican in the race, Bob Robertson, has raised a little more than $10,000 since announcing his candidacy last summer.

Business Digest 02-05-14

February 6, 2014 By Michael Hinman

St. Luke’s welcomes Glass
Dr. Paul Glass has joined St. Luke’s Cataract & Laser Institute as an optometrist.

He will work in conjunction with many St. Luke’s specialties, including cataract, retina, and glaucoma.

Glass previously led an optometry practice at Sam’s Club in Wesley Chapel. He attended the University of Miami before transferring on an accelerated path to Nova Southeastern University’s College of Optometry.

Glass will work out of St. Luke’s Tarpon Springs, Tampa and St. Petersburg offices.

For more information, call (800) 282-9905, or visit StLukesEye.com.

New name for Gulfside Hospice
Gulfside Hospice now has a new name: Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care.

The new name, according to a release, highlights care across the spectrum for patients facing both end-of-life and chronic illness. Gulfside Hospice provides care to Pasco County residents facing a terminal illness with six months or less to live. Pasco Palliative Care patients can receive care at any stage of a chronic sickness, and can continue seeking curative treatment for their illness.

Gulfside Hospice was initially licensed in 1989, and serves more than 375 patients daily. The company employs 250 professionals, and has more than 550 volunteers.

For more information, call (800) 561-4883, or visit GHPPC.org.

Campaign starts for Bayfront Health
Bayfront Health Dade City has launched a multi-media campaign to help spread the word of not only the hospital’s new name, but also what it describes as multiple benefits of having access to its Bayfront Health network.

That network is comprised of seven hospitals and more than 6,000 professionals serving the central Gulf Coast.

The campaign has already launched in January with billboards, and will move into print, radio and television advertising by the middle of February.

“This network gives us the ability to offer a broader range of expertise and services to the community we serve, and it creates tremendous opportunities for our dedicated staff and physicians,” said Shauna McKinnon, chief executive of Bayfront Health Dade City, in a release.

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg will be the flagship hospital for the new network, with other facilities located in Brooksville, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Spring Hill and Venice.

Retail jobs grow by 5.5 percent
Florida retailers added 55,000 jobs between December 2012 and last December — an annual growth rate of 5.5 percent, according to the January release of employment numbers from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

From that, retail trade accounted for nearly a third of the 192,900 jobs created in Florida in 2013, and topped the statewide job growth rate of 2.6 percent, according to the Florida Retail Federation.

The growth of retail in Florida has fueled an increase in sales tax collections, which account for approximately $21 billion of the state budget, the group added.

Overall, the greater Tampa Bay area led all Florida metropolitan areas in over-the-year job growth, according to Gov. Rick Scott’s office, gaining 35,400 new jobs. Unemployment during that period also dropped from 7.9 percent in December 2012 to 5.9 percent last December.

The biggest gains in the area came in trade, transportation and utilities with 9,500 jobs. Close behind was education and health services with 8,500 jobs, followed by professional and business services with 7,900 jobs.

More than 5,700 construction jobs were created compared to the year before, while financial activities added 4,000 jobs.

In December, Florida’s 24 regional workforce boards reported more than 40,800 Floridians were placed in jobs. This represents anyone who receives employment and training assistance through a One-Stop Career Center, and finds a job within 180 days. Florida requires those receiving unemployment benefits to find assistance through a One-Stop Career Center.

For the state as a whole, unemployment dipped from 6.4 percent in November to 6.2 percent in December. Florida has remained below the national unemployment rate average since last April.

Eastern Time, Central Time … Florida Time?

January 30, 2014 By Michael Hinman

Spring forward. Fall back.

Using the seasons as a guide, Americans have used those expressions to figure out when they should set their clocks back an hour, or forward an hour, to switch between standard time and daylight saving time.

Cars line up outside of Steinbrenner High School in Lutz shortly before sunrise this week. Daylight saving time ensures it’s not completely dark when these students go to school, and some lawmakers want to make that time permanent. (Photo by Michael Hinman) — Cars line up outside of Steinbrenner High School in Lutz shortly before sunrise this week. Standard time allows more light in the morning for many students going to school, and some lawmakers want to make daylight saving time permanent. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

The debate over whether to continue this decades-old tradition has raged probably as long as it’s existed. And there have been numerous attempts to abolish it in the past.

None of those attempts have come from State Rep. Mark Danish, however. The New Tampa Democrat is leading the House push to make daylight saving time permanent in Florida. If successful, that would mean no more springing forward and falling back, and could encourage other states to follow suit.

“We keep calling ourselves the ‘Sunshine State,’ yet we cut ourselves off,” Danish said. “I hate the idea that it gets dark so early throughout the whole winter. We’re losing out on the light, and we could use it later in the day.”

Clocks typically fall back an hour in November, and stay that way until the second week of March. That allows the sun to rise just after 7 a.m., this time of year, instead of just after 8 a.m., during standard time.

The extra sunlight has to go somewhere, however. Right now, the sun is setting around 6 p.m., instead of 7 p.m.

It does mean more light for people on their way to work, and means bus stops aren’t cloaked in darkness for school children. But Danish’s bill — along with a sister bill in the State Senate — would change that.

Daylight saving time dates back to World War I as an effort to conserve fuel, according to some historical publications. It didn’t become formalized in the United States until 1966, which originally started daylight saving time in April, and ended it in October. States were allowed to exempt themselves from daylight savings, but only if the entire state did it. In the last nearly 50 years, only Arizona and Hawaii have opted out.

But those states don’t have the population Florida does, and such a change could have lasting regional impact.

Primarily, Florida would be in virtually its own time zone for half the year. When the rest of the country switches back to standard time, Florida would still be in daylight saving time. That would align the state with Eastern Time in the winter months, and Atlantic Time in the summer months.

Danish suggested the state could market it as “Florida Time.”

“It would be terrific for tourism,” he said. “When you have people coming from the Central Time zone like up in Chicago for vacation, they can get here and wouldn’t even have to change their clocks.”

Florida has tried to pull out of the time change several times in the past, including an effort last year by State Sen. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, who introduced a similar bill in the Senate again this year as a companion to Danish’s bill. Last year’s bill, which would’ve simply exempted Florida from daylight saving time, was withdrawn before a committee ever considered it.

What’s different this time around is that Florida isn’t looking to stay on standard time. Instead, it wants daylight savings to be the state’s new standard time — and that might cause problems.

The Uniform Time Act of 1966, which established daylight saving time for the country, allows states to exempt themselves only if they stay on standard time. The act was modified nearly 40 years later with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which adjusted when in the year clocks would be changed. However, it didn’t remove the requirement of standard time or bust.

Even if the bill could not take full legal effect, if it did pass, it could send a message to other states, possibly leading to a full repeal of the 1966 act.

“There are some federal rules, but it might encourage other states to go along with it,” Danish said. “We are a big state that keeps getting bigger, and when a big state like ours makes a move, other people are definitely going to be looking at it.”

Note: This story was updated to clarify that Florida is in standard time during the winter months, and daylight saving time during the rest of the year. It was further updated to correct which time zones the main part of the state would be in while others are still shifting clocks.

Published Jan. 29, 2014

Benedictine Sisters celebrate long history of service

January 30, 2014 By B.C. Manion

When the Benedictine Sisters of Florida came to San Antonio nearly 125 years ago, Pasco County was in its infancy.

The new Holy Name Monastery being built on the south side of State Road 52 will be the new home for the Benedictine Sisters of Florida. It’s expected to be completed by Fall 2014. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

“Truly, it was part of Hernando County when the sisters came,” said Sister Roberta Bailey, prioress of Holy Name Monastery.

There were five Benedictine Sisters and they came to the area from Elk County, Pa., Bailey said.

“They came by train to Jacksonville and by horse and carriage the rest of the way,” she added. Along the way, the sisters saw snakes, encountered Native Americans for the first time, and heard about alligators.

“It must have been a terrifying experience,” Bailey told a crowd gathered for a Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting on Jan. 21.

The Benedictine Sisters arrived on Feb. 28, 1899, and began their ministries on March 1.

To honor the sisters’ long tradition of service, a 125th Anniversary Gala Celebration is planned on the very same day that they arrived in the area — just 125 years after those first sisters arrived.

Besides the gala, the sisters also expect to mark the year by moving into their new home that’s now under construction on the south side of State Road 52 at Wichers Road. The sisters expect to make the move in the fall.

The sisters also have received a gift of $100,000 from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous toward their “Recall the Past, Celebrate the Present and Embrace the Future” campaign, which aims to raise $500,000 to ensure the completion of their new Holy Name Monastery.

Ground was broken for their new quarters in October, after the sisters sold 37 acres of land to Saint Leo University. The acreage included the site of the Holy Name Monastery on State Road 52, which is directly west of the university.

The sisters also sold some parcels on the south side of the road to the university. Saint Leo plans to use the land to accommodate enrollment growth.

The sisters decided to leave the monastery, where they’ve been living since it was completed in 1961, because the building had become too large for their current needs. It also had become both a financial and maintenance burden, Bailey said.

“In those days, we had the high school boarding school, plus 65 sisters that were housed in that building. Today, we have 15 sisters and we don’t have the high school,” Bailey said.

To make the move, the sisters will need to do a bit of downsizing, Bailey said. The new building will be one-third the size of the sisters’ current quarters.

If you go
WHAT: The Benedictine Sisters of Florida celebrate 125 years of service with a cocktail hour, a silent auction and dinner.
WHEN: Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club Ballroom, 10641 Old Tampa Bay Drive, San Antonio
COST: $50 per person
INFO: (352) 588-8320

Note: This story was updated to correct when Pasco County was incorporated.

Published Jan. 29, 2014