The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

Florida law would address ‘benefits cliff’ to promote self-sufficiency

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(The Center Square) — A bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis will help needy families receive additional help toward what the bill sponsor says will be self-sufficiency.

DeSantis signed House Bill 1267, which would revise the tenants of several commonly used public assistance programs in Florida. These programs include Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Temporary Cash Assistance.

(Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Adam Anderson, R-Tarpon Springs, and would address the “benefits cliff” that occurs when a household income slightly increases but results in the household losing its benefits. This can create a barrier to families and discourage financial self-sufficiency.

“The bill replaces handouts with handups, with the new School Readiness Plus program helping families get off these benefit programs completely,” Anderson said in a statement. “We want smooth transitions for those moving from public assistance to financial independence. No family should choose between a pay increase and receiving benefits.”

The bill’s analysis says the majority of program participants are children and adds that benefit cliffs “create a financial disincentive for low-income individuals to earn more income due to the destabilization and uncertainty that often results from a loss in benefits, especially when the benefit lost was essential to a parent’s ability to reliably work.”

The analysis further states that other barriers to financial independence for families include a lack of child care, education and intergenerational poverty. Provisions in the bill include creating a case management system for families transitioning out of the TANF program.

Those participating in the program must provide proof that they are working or looking for work, taking part in a vocational training program, or going to school. Adult general education and high school equivalency exam preparation will now count towards these work requirements.

The Florida Department of Children and Families will expand the mandatory SNAP Employment and Training participation for adults over 18 who do not have children under 18 in their household or qualify for an exemption.

The School Readiness Plus Program will also be created to provide financial assistance to families, allowing parents to maintain access to affordable child care. The bill appropriates $23 million to the Florida Department of Education to implement the School Readiness Subsidy Program that took effect July 1.

Published July 03, 2024

Florida’s Duke Energy customers again voice opposition to rate hike proposal

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(The Center Square) – Florida regulators have held four public meetings over the past several weeks to gather feedback from customers who will be affected by Duke Energy Florida’s proposed base rate hike.

In April, the company petitioned the Florida Public Service Commission to permanently increase its base rates beginning Jan. 1, with annual increases for at least the next three years.

Duke Energy Florida claims that it wants to get a fair rate of return on its investment after going without a rate increase since 2021. The company provides electricity to over 2 million customers and covers an area of 13,000 square miles.

If the rate hike proposal is approved, residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month can expect to pay $169.16, an increase from $157.47. Duke has further requested a minimum bill of $30 per month.

During the June 18 commission customer service hearing, Duke Energy Florida customers voiced their concerns, which centered around the increased cost of living and the price hike, which will put additional strain on families.

Chairman Mike La Rosa stated that the commission will hold a technical hearing in August, during which it will decide whether to approve base rate hikes.

Austin Watrous, an attorney with the Florida Office of Public Counsel, stated that if Duke Energy Florida approves its proposal, base rates will increase in 2025, 2026 and 2027. This would increase the company’s base rate revenue by $593 million for 2025, an additional $98 million the following Jan. 1, 2026, and then by another $129 million on Jan. 1, 2027.

Watrous said the counsel challenges the legality and lack of supporting evidence for these increases and also challenges the reliability and speculative nature of future cost projections. Watrous added that Duke is entitled to a reasonable return. However, in the opinion of the counsel, the proposed rates are an excessive return on equity.

Jordan Luebkemann, representing Florida Rising and the League of United Latin American Citizens, stated that Duke Energy Florida had the fifth-highest residential customer bills in the U.S. in 2023.

“Duke’s proposal includes a minimum bill, a substantial rate increase, and a big hike on the return on equity – essentially guaranteed profits which will be applied to a wave of construction projects that Duke hasn’t shown they needed,” Luebkemann said.

Published July 03, 2024

Pasco County lifts emergency burn ban

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Recent rains have helped lower the drought conditions, allowing Pasco County to lift the Emergency Burn Ban for all areas as of June 27, effective immediately, according to a news release.

While drought conditions improve, it’s important to remember the county is still drier than normal. Pasco County Fire Rescue urges everyone to prioritize safety while burning outdoors. Proper measures and precautions should be taken to protect people from fire danger.

Everyone living in unincorporated areas of Pasco County may resume outdoor burning, including:

  • Open burning
  • Campfires/bonfires
  • Burning yard waste

Anyone planning to conduct an open burn should comply with all Florida Forest Service permitting requirements.

For outdoor burning rules and safety tips, please visit MyPas.co/OutdoorBurning, or contact Pasco Fire Rescue’s Community Risk Reduction Division at 813-929-2750.

Bay scallop season returns

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The 2024 recreational bay scallop season in the Fenholloway-Suwannee River Zone is open through Labor Day, Sept. 2. This includes all state waters in Dixie County, a portion of Taylor County including the towns of Keaton Beach and Steinhatchee, and a portion of Levy County, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) news release.

This map shows the regional bay scallop season, including the Pasco County zone which starts July 10. (Courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)

From July 1 through Labor Day in this area, the recreational limits are 2 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or 1 pint of bay scallop meat per person, with a maximum of 10 gallons of whole bay scallops in the shell or half-gallon (4 pints) shucked bay scallop meat per vessel.

Harvest of bay scallops is permitted only by hand or by using a landing or dip net. Commercial harvest is prohibited, the release says.

Recreational harvesters need a Florida saltwater fishing license to harvest bay scallops unless they are exempt from needing a license or have a no-cost shoreline fishing license and are wading (no swimming, snorkeling or scuba or using a vessel to reach or return from harvest location) from shore to shore to collect scallops.

Scallopers should not discard scallop shells in inshore waters commonly used for recreational activities, such as near boat ramps or swimming areas. Piles of discarded shells can create hazards for swimmers and damage seagrass habitat.

Scallop shells should be discarded in a trash receptacle or in larger bodies of water where they are more likely to disperse. Trash on board a vessel should be secured so it doesn’t blow overboard.

To purchase a Saltwater fishing license, visit GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or call toll-free 888-347-4356.

For information about boater safety for diving for scallops, visit MyFWC.com/Boating, click on “Boating Regulations” and select “Divers-down Warning Devices.”

For more on seagrass awareness, visit MyFWC.com/Boating, click on “Boating Regulations” and select “Seagrass Awareness.”

Published June 26, 2024

Car tires on a gravel road

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Well, I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Probably die in a small town
Oh, those small communities
-John Mellencamp, “Small Town”

As I was driving through Lutz, on the six-lane divided highway that is now U.S. 41, past some newish storage buildings and a yet-to-be-built mega-7-Eleven, it really struck me how much Lutz has changed. 

I was born and raised here and my family has quite a history in Lutz. My Great-Uncle Matt was the game warden out here. He built and lived in the little house on the corner of 41 and County Line Road where Rogers Dirt is now located.  

My first gun that I learned to hunt squirrel with was a 20-gauge top-break single shot that Uncle Matt had confiscated from some duck poachers when they threw it down and ran away. Same gun my dad and his brothers learned with. I’ve still got it. 

(National Archives at College Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Dad used to ride his bicycle up from Seminole Heights to Uncle Matt’s. They would pull the little fishing boat over to where Dale Mabry is now and set up camp about where my office currently sits and then fish the lake to the immediate south. Dad swore that one night a big ole bass jumped in the boat while he and Uncle Matt were fishing by the light of a kerosene lantern. 

I’ve seen a lot of changes, but I think the clearing of that parcel on the east side of 41 by the Walgreens at Sunset made it more real to me than it has been in the past. I was just so used to having that patch of woods and swamp sitting in the middle of “downtown” Lutz. It reminded me of how Lutz has maintained its rural character despite all of the development occurring on all sides of us.  

US 41 was a two-lane, barely-paved road. Concrete poured over an old asphalt brick base. You’ve heard of some towns having a single stoplight? Well, in Lutz we didn’t even have that. We had a flashing light that hung down on US 41 in the middle of the intersection with Lutz Lake Fern Road. 

We had a Shop n’ Go where the Latin market is, a volunteer fire department and, get this, a band shell at Bullard Park, where the library is now. And we had our own pharmacy, but that is a whole ‘nother story in itself.  

But we had TWO gas stations: Donovan’s Phillips 66 and Steinke’s Dixie Station, run by Bill Steinke, the first Lutz fire chief. Steinke’s was much more than a gas station. It was the de

facto men’s social club. It had gas pumps, of course, but also cane poles, bait, beer and even a little bar. It is said it had a secret tunnel or hidey-hole, but I was too young to know for sure. 

Lutz was dry on Sunday, as was the rest of the county, but just about every Sunday, on the way home from church, we would stop by Steinke’s and Dad would go in and come back out with a brown paper bag containing a six-pack of Schlitz. I’m told Steinke also carried the harder stuff, or “spirits,” which made him right popular around town. 

As growth came, we got a Mr. Swiss and even a Whataburger for a while. My first real job, after working at the Shop n’ Go sweeping the mole crickets out of the parking lot at night, was at Eagle Army Navy in what is now the Winn Dixie Shopping Center. 

For the most part, this area has very little resemblance today to the Lutz of my youth.

Yet despite all of the population growth and development, and the loss of the groves and pastures I grew up with, Lutz is still an oasis of peace in the midst of traffic, turmoil and turbulence. 

Other than Gainesville for law school and a brief stint in Jacksonville as a young assistant public defender, I have lived my entire life in Lutz and I would have it no other way. Although I do miss the flashing light. 

(Randall C. Grantham is a lifelong resident of Lutz who practices law from his offices on Dale Mabry Highway. . Copyright 2024 RCG)

Published June 26, 2024

Preparing for and recovering from flooding

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With hurricane season upon us and heavy rain causing flooding in parts of Florida, many homeowners have to deal with flood damage. Quick action can minimize disastrous effects on businesses and homes. 

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), just 1 inch of water in a home can cost more than $25,000 in damage.

Flooding is the single-most common weather-related natural disaster and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) urges all homeowners to take care when choosing businesses and contractors to help with the cleanup work.

(Getty Image)

Water damage restoration: What to do when your house is flooded
To help property owners navigate the recovery and restoration process, BBB offers these tips:

  • Check your insurance policy. Flood damage is not covered by standard homeowners or renters insurance policies. Home and business owners in some high-risk flood areas may be required by law to carry flood insurance. Check with your state’s insurance commissioner on requirements.
  • Repairing the damage. Don’t make any permanent changes to your property until you get approval from your insurance provider, who may not fully reimburse you for repairs made without permission. Take photos of the storm damage to show the insurance company.
  • Get multiple opinions. Get at least three different estimates before deciding on a contractor and make sure the estimates are broken down in the same way. Be aware of high-pressure sales tactics and less-than-trustworthy businesses. Research company profiles at BBB.org.
  • Ask for proof of liability, workers compensation and licensing. Verify the contractor has the correct license to do work in the state, to protect yourself in case something happens while working on your property.
  • Get everything in writing. Demand a clearly written, detailed proposal contract broken down into separate line items, including but not limited to: the type of material being used; scope of work to be done; approximate start and finish dates; payment procedures; warranty; responsibility of repairing/replacing exterior landscape or interior finishes that are damaged during the work; and more.
  • Beware of scams. Look out for door-to-door workers who claim to have leftover materials; a contractor who shows up unannounced; a request for payment in full before repairs are done; and businesses without local addresses. Visit https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker.

Flood preparedness: How to prepare for a flood disaster

  • Take pictures/video of your home or business.
  • Back up critical digital files.
  • Properly anchor fuel and propane tanks.
  • Have copies of insurance policies.
  • Collect family photos or other mementos.
  • Keep medicines together.
  • Prepare an emergency kit.
  • Discuss an emergency plan with family.

For more tips about before and after flooding online at BBB.org/flood.

Published June 26, 2024

Commissioners settle lawsuit with county clerk

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The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently approved a settlement to a lawsuit filed against Pasco County by Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles over funding of technology that tracks criminal justice records.

Commissioners agreed on June 18 by a vote of 4-0 to pay $1,024,069 to reimburse the clerk’s office for monies spent on the Multiagency Criminal Justice Information System, according to Ryan P. Hughes, a Pasco County public information officer.

Their decision came after County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder told them an agreement had been reached between attorneys representing Alvarez-Sowles and Pasco County regarding the lawsuit that had been filed almost three years ago.

(Katrin Bolovtsova/Pexels)

Commissioners Kathryn Starkey, Seth Weightman and Lisa Yeager joined Commission Chairman Ron Oakley in approving the settlement. Commissioner Jack Mariano wasn’t present at the meeting.

In other business, commissioners:

  • Approved funding agreements for $4.1 million with the Pasco County Housing Authority for the construction of 77 units of new multifamily rental housing for homeless veterans and their families, and non-elderly disabled persons and their families. 

The units will be in an addition known as Magnolia Oaks, at 7338 Massachusetts Ave., in New Port Richey. 

It was anticipated in October 2021 that Pasco County’s cost for the project would be $2.1 million. However, delays in getting development of the project started due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with inflation, increased the cost to $4.1 million.

Plans call for 34 one-bedroom units, 33 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units to be constructed. Forty of the units will be for veterans, while the remaining 37 will be allocated for the non-elderly disabled. 

The project will be developed in phases with Phase One consisting of 30 units beginning in the summer of 2024. Funding for the construction of these units will be provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

  • Approved a revision to an agreement reached in 1980 that required low-income housing rental units to be constructed on 15.63 acres in Lacoochee. The property, which had been owned by the Pasco County Housing Authority, is bounded by Chapman Street to the north, Story Drive to the south, and Patti Lane and Dosha Drive in its interior.

Uradco Inc. acquired the property in July of 2019 and sold it to One Lacoochee Center Inc. in November of 2019. The site is now the subject of an economic incentive agreement and is under contract to be sold for an industrial project. The county needed to record an instrument terminating the clause listed in the deed in 1980 so One Lacoochee Center would have a clear title to the property. Development of the property for industrial use is anticipated to generate increased employment in the rural, unincorporated area of Lacoochee.

  • Adopted an ordinance establishing a Road Rehabilitation Services Municipal Service Taxing Unit to raise funds to make necessary improvements to county roads. Funds the county had been receiving from taxes on the sale of gasoline have not been sufficient to cover those costs according to Justin Grant, director of Pasco’s Public Infrastructure Financial Operations. Under conditions of the ordinance, the county will not continue to collect the remaining three years of a 10-year assessment residents have been required to pay because of road improvements in the areas where they live. County staff will need to prepare the first year’s Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) assessment for inclusion in the 2024 property tax bill. This will have to be done in time for a BOCC meeting in July during which the assessments must be adopted.
  • Agreed to the recording of a plat with performance guarantees for Pulte Home Company, LLC – Vida’s Way Legacy Phase 1A for the development of 167 residential lots on 94.985 acres on the east side of Watergrass Parkway, approximately 0.69 miles south of Overpass Road. The county received two Surety Bonds, totaling $8.255 million, to cover the cost of required infrastructure and landscaping improvements. The property is located in Commission District 1 in south central Pasco County.
  • Agreed to the recording of a plat with a performance guarantee for Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc. – Esplanade at Wiregrass Ranch Phases 4A & 4B for the development of 29 residential lots on 65.8 acres on the east side of Provinciale Parkway approximately 0.75 miles east of Wiregrass Ranch Boulevard. The county received a Surety Bond in the amount of $4,621,253.13 to cover the cost of required infrastructure improvements. The property is located in Commission District 2 in south central Pasco County.
  • Approved an ordinance that changed the zoning of 8.84 acres of property on the southern side of State Road 52, approximately 3,300 feet west of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, from RES-3 (Residential-3 DU/GA) to COM (Commercial), OF (Office), and CON (Conservation). Attorney Barbara Wilhite, who represented the applicant, informed commissioners it is planned to have the commercial portion of the property located at a frontage along SR 52. The parcel will contain 2.32 acres of OF to complement the 4-acre COM portion along SR 52. The remainder of the site can be considered as additional land for employment-generating uses.

Published June 26, 2024

These Girl Scouts are ready for a bright future

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The Girl Scouts of West Central Florida (GSWCF) bestowed Gold Awards on 28 inspiring, teen world-changers from across Tampa Bay — the young women earning the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting. 

Twenty-eight young women earned the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. (Courtesy of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida)

The Gold Award is available to girls in high school whose chosen project creates a significant and sustainable positive change in a community. From supporting pediatric cancer patients and their families to creating sustainable water conservation initiatives, the award-winners address the root cause of a problem, plan and implement innovative solutions to drive change, and lead a team of people to success, according to a news release.

The 2024 GSWCF invested more than 2,500 combined hours planning and implementing projects that tackled many pervasive issues throughout the council’s eight-county footprint and beyond, the release says.

Earning Gold Awards were: Phoebe Ancer, Macey Clay, Emma Clough, Prisha Deshmukh,

Alyssa Dufort, Maegan Heink, Jessica Hill, Molly Joiner, Kameryn Knowles, Millay Kral, Nevaeh Motes, Anneliese Murch, Olivia Ondash, Elle Orchard, Emersen Pilon, Lucia Popovich, Bianca Raises, Brynlee Rhodes, Isabel Santiago Reyes, Juliette Selman, Isabella Shafer, Grace

Siguenza, Gabriela Sosa, Josie Stromgren, Haley Thompson, Chloe Wilson, Laila Wood and Emilie Youmans.

The projects are evaluated by the High Awards Committee for scholarship opportunities, too. 

Maegan Heink’s period poverty project and Emily Connor’s artistic expression project earned each of them an Ann Hensler Scholarship.

In addition, a $5,000 GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship will be presented later this summer to a GSWCF Gold Award Girl Scout whose project exemplifies the core components of the Gold Award and demonstrates extraordinary leadership to drive lasting change in her community and beyond.

“Our Gold Award Girl Scouts have demonstrated they are ready for a future of their choosing,” said CEO Mary Pat King, in the release.

“Girl Scouts has prepared them to lead others courageously and confidently as they continue a lifetime of pursuing positive change,” said King.

To learn more about the achievements, visit GSWCF.org/gold.

Published June 26, 2024

DeSantis signs $116.5B state budget into law

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(The Center Square) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state budget during a news conference in Tampa on June 12.

The state budget, House Bill 5001, comes with a price tag of $116.5 billion but is less than what was allocated in the fiscal 2023-2024 budget. DeSantis said the bottom line is providing historic support for education, conservation efforts, transportation and infrastructure along with significant tax relief.

“We are proud to maintain a AAA credit rating,” DeSantis said. “Florida is rated higher than the federal government and we’re going to continue to keep it that way…Since taking office, largely because we’ve been prudent and we’ve been fiscally responsible.”

(Governor Ron DeSantis/Facebook)

DeSantis noted that Florida has the lowest debt-per-capita than any other state and added that it was important to keep spending in check, and one way he did that was by using his line-item veto authority.

The two-term Republican governor used his line-item veto pen to slash $949.6 million in spending from this year’s budget. 

“We did close to a billion dollars worth of line-item vetos and part of that is just a reflection of we wanted to keep the budget within a certain parameter, some of the stuff I don’t think was appropriate for state tax dollars,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis pointed out that he has no issue vetoing unnecessary appropriations because he wants to prioritize paying down state debt, having large surpluses and growing the “rainy day fund.”

“So, less spending than last year, record investments, this is the most we’ve ever spent for transportation and infrastructure, for building roads, for doing all the things that we need to do,” DeSantis said.

Since 2019, the state has provided over $6 billion in tax relief for Florida businesses and residents despite not having a state income tax. DeSantis noted this is because Florida has the best policies and added that job growth in the private sector has increased by almost 250,000 jobs from April 2023 to the present.

DeSantis noted that his administration is responsible for the largest amount of money ever provided for education, which includes scholarship programs and public universities. Environmental restoration and stewardship have also been top priorities for the Legislature.

“This budget will include $1.25 billion that can only be used to increase teacher salaries,” DeSantis said. “No money to unions, no money to bureaucracy, only for teacher salary and that is more than the state of Florida has ever done.”

Published June 26, 2024

Review: ‘Camp Snoopy’ brings pathos and joy to a boy and his dog tale

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Everything I know about summer camp I learned at the movies … and now from “Camp Snoopy,” the delightful new Apple TV series created, in part, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peanuts’ universe’s Beagle Scouts. Snoopy’s round-headed pal, Charlie Brown, is, of course, an old hand at summer camp fun (and its emotional complexities). He’s been going there since June 5, 1965, the day the late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz first placed a forlorn Charlie Brown at a bus window as it drove him away from home. In a follow-up strip, Charlie Brown wrote a letter home, saying, “My first day of camp is over. I lived through it.”

(Apple TV+)

In the first of the 13 20-minute “Camp Snoopy” episodes, all directed by Rob Boutilier, Snoopy, wearing his green Beagle Scout troop leader hat (with a yellow paw print as its center emblem), comes into the kitchen where Charlie Brown is preparing his little sister, Sally, for her first camp summer. Suddenly, the telephone rings. It’s Beagle Scout Headquarters with distressing news. Snoopy’s troop is on the verge of being kicked out for not having earned enough performance badges. Snoopy sputters in outrage but then does some quick arithmetic to calculate how many badges his troop has earned: 5 + (-5) = 0. To attain the necessary badges, Snoopy’s five-bird troop, which includes Woodstock, hurriedly prepares their own trip to Spring Lake. Charlie Brown and Sally take a bus. Snoopy calls a taxi.

This might be the moment to say that Spring Lake and the mountains that surround it have never been so artfully rendered. The Peanuts gang went to camp in some of the 1970s-era feature films and TV specials, but the color palettes of yesteryear pale considerably against the sweet vibrance of “Camp Snoopy.” The daytime skies over the camp are pastel blue and the verdant landscape below is darkened with a marker, as Schulz himself might do. At night, the moon shining down on the tents has rings radiating from it, like a child’s painting pinned to the refrigerator.

There are three segments in each episode, all of them jauntily scored by composer Jeff Morrow, who clearly keeps a reverent ear tuned to the original Vince Guaraldi Peanuts music. Morrow appears happiest when bringing to life the adventures of Snoopy and his Scouts, who demonstrate in each episode a key lesson from their Handbook, such as How to Pitch a Tent and the importance of being Trustworthy. They also steal all sorts of extra screen time. My favorite: Snoopy is sleeping atop his tent and his noisy snores are generating giant Zs that float up and over the tents of the bird troopers, one of whom gets so annoyed that he flies over with a butterfly net, captures Snoopy’s Zs and buries them.

Kids are sure to love the antic “Beagle vs. Bug” and relate to “Sally’s Tooth,” which finds her worried that the Tooth Fairy won’t be able to locate her at camp. Lucy is not sympathetic; she knows to always leave a forwarding address. Among the summer’s key events are a cardboard boat regatta, the presentation of the Piney Awards (Pigpen wins Tidiest Bunk), and a bonafide crisis when Linus’s blanket goes missing: “I guess I have to learn to live as one-eighth of myself.”

In the surprising “Leave It Like You Found It,” halfway through the season, the kids crash into an idyllic meadow the Beagle Scout troop has discovered and end up ruining it with loud music, trash and general disregard for the natural world. Snoopy is disgusted. The gang quickly sets things right, but the story remains jarring, one of the rare times Charlie Brown and his friends have acted rashly, and, worse, affected the world in a negative way.

The brilliant 2022 special “It’s the Small Things, Charlie Brown” finds Sally becoming the protector of a lone dandelion growing in the middle of Charlie Brown’s pitcher’s mound. Desperate to clear the field for a big game, Charlie Brown grabs at the flower and the dandelion is destroyed, devastating his little sister. Such moments, so unexpectedly fraught, confirm that the Apple TV Peanuts renaissance spearheaded by Charles Schulz’s son Craig is not only pleasing to the eye but thematically ambitious. And the filmmakers are quietly bringing joy into Charlie Brown’s life. It was there at the end of “The Peanuts Movie,” and it’s all through “Camp Snoopy.” He’s still a pessimist and still trips over his own feet (literally), but he also becomes something of a touchstone for his fellow campers. They continually turn to their friend Charlie Brown for insight when they feel down on themselves. Who better?

Snoopy loves Charlie Brown, too. He always has, of course, but in the emotionally evolved Peanuts animation of today, he’s more willing to show it. As summer ends, boy and dog get locked in a storage shed and end up playing astronaut, and they’re having a blast when rescued. Not long after, it’s time to head home. Charlie Brown climbs onto the bus. We don’t see him at the window, but we know he’s not sitting alone despairing at his summer failures. He’s sitting with his friends, sure as anything, and he’s smiling.

Published June 26, 2024