The Pasco County Commission decided it didn’t need to look beyond its current staff to fill the county’s top job. Board members took action at […]
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This Week

Basketball coach’s influence honored at Land O’ Lakes High
For over three decades, he ran basketball players up and down the court — getting them ready for big moments, in big games, in big seasons. On the evening of June 21, retired Land O’ Lakes High School basketball coach Dave Puhalski had a big moment of his own: That’s when the Pasco County School […]

Lutz parade back with a bang
The excitement is palpable — like waiting for a firework to illuminate the night sky. The annual Lutz Fourth of July Celebration and Parade is back on. Following a two-year COVID pandemic hiatus, the little town in northern Hillsborough County is ready to celebrate independence, and its citizens, once again. “We sure hope everyone is […]
Another Pasco deal expected to yield 2,400 jobs
The Pasco County Commission has approved another economic incentive deal — this one expected to yield 2,400 jobs when completed. The county board approved a $6.3 million incentive package for the project, to be funded through property tax rebates. In a separate action, the board approved a substantial modification to a previously approved master-planned unit […]

Hurricane Season begins ‘a little wonky’
This year’s hurricane season isn’t following the typical patterns of the past. “This year spun up a little, I’ll say it like this, ‘a little wonky,’” said Andy Fossa, director of emergency management for Pasco County. This hurricane season, Fossa said, “we were getting severe weather at a time of a year that we never […]

Prepare now, to avoid being sorry later
Of course, no one knows when or where the next hurricane or tropical storm will hit — but wherever you live, it’s a good idea to know whether you’ll need to evacuate, or whether you’ll stay in place. There are a lot of practical things you can do to increase your chances of weathering whatever […]

Dayspring Academy is planning a school in Angeline
The Pasco County School Board and Creation Foundation, doing business as Dayspring Academy, plan to work together on a new elementary charter school to serve an emerging community in Central Pasco. The Pasco County School Board approved an agreement at its June 21 meeting, which sets the stage for a new elementary school for 600 […]

Lightning fans taste the joy of victory, agony of defeat
The Colorado Avalanche ended the Tampa Bay Lightning’s bid to take home the Stanley Cup for the third consecutive time. Instead, the Avalanche clinched the best of seven games finals in Game 6, at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa. The Avalanche won 2-1, in a series that had a bit of everything. Each team had […]

Pasco Schools seek solutions for disrespect, disruption
An increasing number of fights in Pasco County Schools prompted Superintendent Kurt Browning to issue a warning to students and parents in March. In essence, that message was: Fighting will not be allowed in district schools. If it happens, principals should refer students engaged in fighting for expulsion. In a videotape announcing the crackdown, Browning […]
This Week (cont)

North Tampa Bay Chamber in running for being the nation’s best
By B.C. Manion
The North Tampa Bay Chamber is a finalist in the 2022 Chamber of the Year award, an honor presented by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). The ACCE, based in Alexandria, Virginia, has members affiliated with more than 1,600 chambers of commerce, and related business and economic development organizations. In total, it represents […]

This pitcher made history, and helped his hometown
By Doug Sanders
During Game 1 of the 1965 World Series, nearly everyone in Lacoochee was gathered around a TV set, wildly cheering for James Timothy “Mudcat” Grant, a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. The team was playing 1,553 miles north of this tiny community in northeast Pasco County, but that didn’t dim the crowd’s enthusiasm a bit. […]
Pasco is expected to gain 6,000 jobs
By B.C. Manion
A new development planned for 965 acres at the southeast corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 52 is expected to generate 6,000 jobs. The Pasco County Commission approved an incentive deal on June 7 to help pave the way for the development. The Pasco Town Center, as the proposed development is known, is expected […]
Local Sports

It’s all in the bag
By Mike Camunas
As long as the bags are flying, this league will continue to grow. Because for Chapel’s Baggers Cornhole League, it’s all about giving players in Central Pasco a place to play. “I mean, we only started about six months ago,” league founder and manager Jarrett Scheer, a Wesley Chapel resident, said. “We started with 32 […]

The strength of a mother
By Mike Camunas
If there’s anyone who knows what it’s like to exercise as a mother, and also while pregnant, it’s going to be Land O’ Lakes trainer Barb Ladimir. She does, after all, have five kids. “When you’re carrying a person, literally pushing on your abdomen, moving your pelvis, that’s going to put a strain on the […]
Sports – Check This Out

Teen golfer makes history
By Mike Camunas
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Dade City’s Bailey Shoemaker. Fresh off appearing in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open from June 2 through June 5, Shoemaker won the 93rd Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) Women’s Amateur Championship on June 19 at Streamsong Golf Resort. At 17, Shoemaker becomes the first junior golfer to […]

Tournament winners
By Mike Camunas
This month’s South Pasco Bassmasters (SPB) fishing tournament saw the group head to the Kissimmee chain of lakes, including Lake Hatchineha in Osceola County. Winners this month included Randy Hoedy, holding a big bass weighing 6.81 pounds. Hoedy teamed up with Paul Daniels, and the duo also snagged bass of a combined total of 18.23 […]
Reasons To Smile

Tax Collector’s Office raises $7,100 for Special Olympics
Donations adding up to $7,100 will benefit Special Olympics of Pasco, which was the Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office featured charitable organization for April. Special Olympics of Pasco is a sports and training program for people with intellectual disabilities. Fifteen hundred students participate in the program in Pasco, according to a news release from the […]