Fans of the “Back to the Future” trilogy know that by next year, we’ve been promised flying cars, self-drying clothes, instant pizza, and a 1980s-themed cafe.
OK, chances are, 2015 will bring none of that. But a retired Land O’ Lakes man is going one step better — a do-it-yourself all-electric car.
After six months of restoration, and then 18 months converting the original engine into an electric one, Steve Azzoli now has a car he already has driven nearly 6,000 miles without using a single drop of gasoline.
Azzoli invested about $23,000 in making his Saturn more environmentally friendly, but it’s still better than the cost of a Chevrolet Volt, and gets better mileage per charge — 120 miles — than a Nissan Leaf, he told reporter B.C. Manion.
While it might seem like a hobby for Azzoli, he does hope that it’s the start of a much larger trend, where people will give up fossil fuels for cleaner energy.
“There’s a demand for the product,” said Steve Messerschmidt, who works with two vehicle companies in St. Petersburg. “Municipalities, as time goes on, they’re going to demand that the carbon footprint go down. This business, in general, is really in its infancy.”
To learn more about what Azzoli and a few others did to make their cars more eco-friendly, check out this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News, or read our free e-edition online by clicking here.
Not everyone can have an electric car just yet, and flying cars are probably still deep in the future. So many who choose to live in Pasco County or north Tampa, and wish to commute to work downtown, look for options, like the bus.
Yet, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit might be making some big changes to its once-popular Route 51X, including the possibility of shutting down two Pasco-area park-and-rides.
“Yes, we are considering closing both, but not until a suitable replacement is found,” HART spokeswoman Sandra Morrison told reporter Michael Hinman. “We are trying to find sites closer to Bruce B. Downs” Boulevard.
But the HART board could also look at changing Route 51X completely, including taking out the express route itself. The idea is to open up localized bus service in New Tampa, something the area has never had. Part of the reason is because of lower ridership.
However, one rider blames that decline not on lower demand, but on the condition of the service.
“If this is your only mode of transportation into town, then you don’t have a choice,” said Beth Derby, who lives on Heather Sound Drive. “But you know a lot of us do, and if it comes between taking a bus that risks my job because I can’t make it on time to work, then I’ll drive. I’m not going to lose my job because HART can’t get its act together.”
For more on this story, check out the print edition of this week’s The Laker. Or read our free e-edition by clicking here.
Finally, do you remember the fun times you used to have at the Flapjack Festival? It was an annual must-attend event in Land O’ Lakes that tried and failed at a new location in Dade City a few years back.
The festival, which of course featured pancakes, returned — kind of — in the form of Swamp Fest, but just without the flapjacks.
One resident, however, thinks it’s time for the Flapjack Festival to return.
“If somebody came down there and took the Gasparilla parade away from Tampa and say they were going to move it to New Orleans, people would say ‘what’g going on there?'” Mark Ballard told reporter Michael Murillo.
Bringing the Flapjack Festival back is not the easiest of propositions, and Ballard has yet to assemble a group of people to try. But he hopes upcoming renovations at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, where the festival was held for so many years, might help encourage others to support its return as well.
What are the chances of it coming back? Read all about it in the full story found in this week’s print edition of The Laker. Or read our online e-edition for free right here.
All of these stories and more can be found in this week’s The Laker/Lutz News, available in newsstands throughout east and central Pasco County as well as northern Hillsborough County. Find out what has your community talking this week by getting your local news straight from the only source you need.
If The Laker/Lutz News is not coming to your door, call us to see where you can get your copy at (813) 909-2800, or read our free e-edition by clicking here.
