McBride writes about ‘miracle’ in Lutz
Karen McBride recalls the moment as if it were yesterday. She was heading home from a computer class she was teaching in Tampa and had a million things on her mind. She was wondering how she could make the class ...
Merry Makers use music as an instrument of joy
If you’re looking for a bit of holiday cheer, there’s a new choral group in Wesley Chapel that wants to supply it. The group, called Merry Makers and led by Edie Ledee-Finnerty, is a choir made up of children ages ...
A stroll to remember
With its decorative gingerbread woodwork, distinctive minarets, chrysanthemum windows and wrought iron balconies, the University of Tampa is an interesting place to visit any time of the year. At the holidays, however, the National Historic Landmark — originally opened in ...
‘Barley Claus’ is coming to town
Move over Santa. There’s a new jolly elf in town. That’s the message the folks at East-West Animal Hospital in Lutz are trying to get out as the date draws near for “A Very Barley Christmas Party.” The holiday-themed celebration ...
Business Digest 12-11-13
New massage therapist at Cameo Salon Kiki Young has joined Cameo Salon & Spa as a licensed massage therapist. Using a unique combination of Lomi Lomi techniques and traditional massage, Young develops individualized therapeutic treatment plans for every client. Her ...
Acts of kindness abound, and not only at the holidays
It’s that time of year again when efforts begin revving up to provide holiday meals and gifts for those who need help, and lots of groups and individuals are stepping up to help out. But the season of giving expands ...
Local official on elevated road: It’s when, not if
Pasco County Commissioners are being asked to give an early blessing to a proposed elevated road project along the State Road 54/56 corridor … and they just might do it. A nonbinding resolution about the unsolicited proposal was part of ...
Company shares secrets behind festive Christmas lights
Every year, sometime around July, Melissa Christensen will start fielding inquiries from businesses seeking estimates on decking out their businesses with holiday lights. The Lutz woman, who calls herself “The Christmas Light Girl,” works with a crew of up to ...
Contempo students ready to dance for Rockettes
The Rockettes have high-kicked their way on dance stages around the world since 1925. And for the first time in seven years, they’ll bring their famous precision dance moves to Tampa’s Straz Center. Before they take the stage Dec. 27 ...
Prize-winning writer draws on diverse experiences
Jeff Wilson never pictured himself as a novelist. An avid reader and writer for his entire life, the New Tampa man viewed himself as a short story writer. As someone who has pursued many different career paths in life, Wilson ...
‘First Friday’ food truck rally debuts this week
People who want to grab a bite to eat can check out a new option this Friday at the Lutz First Friday Food Truck Rally. The event will be he first Friday of every month, said Mike White, president and ...
Food pantry ‘blessed’ to provide for those in need
The big red building on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard might not fetch more than a causal glance from some passersby, but many who step through the doors say it’s a place where blessings are granted regularly. The nonprofit food pantry ...
Thousands expected at arts and crafts festival at Lake Park
Every year, for the past three decades, the Lutz Arts & Crafts Festival has attracted thousands to this community north of Tampa. The event, Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 at Lake Park, 17302 N. Dale Mabry Highway in Lutz, features ...
Music icon Charlie Daniels making fundraising stop in Pasco
Charlie Daniels may play a mean fiddle, but how is he with a shotgun? The Grand Ole Opry legend is making his annual trip back to the Tampa Bay area, once again to raise money for The Angelus — a ...
East Pasco students to have more educational options
Students on the county’s east side will have a broader range of educational options beginning next school year as Pasco County Schools initiates Cambridge education programs at Pasco Middle and Pasco High schools. The programs, which are known for their ...
Business Digest 12-04-13
Sponsors sought for barbecue event The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce is still seeking sponsors for January’s Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues event, which raises money for local youth leadership and education programs. The event itself takes place at ...
Saint Anthony School builds on optimism
There was a time, not many years ago, when the future appeared uncertain for Saint Anthony School in San Antonio. Attendance had dwindled to 153, and there was talk of shutting down the elementary school. “At that point, when the ...
Local synagogue merges Thanksgiving with Hanukkah
The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah predates Christmas by at least a couple centuries. But for the first time since 2002, the “festival of lights” is being mentioned in the same breath as a different holiday, Thanksgiving. And that likely won’t ...
In Thanksgiving, for brothers and sisters
I spent last weekend with my two brothers in Vilano Beach, an island just north of St. Augustine, in a house that fronts the Atlantic Ocean. The house is battered grey by years of sun and wind; its décor a ...
Wiregrass Wobble is drawing young and old
It’s an inaugural race, but already the Wiregrass Wobble Turkey Trot at The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel is expected to draw as many as 1,300 runners. The race already had registered 991 runners by Nov. 21, said race ...
Residents around the region offer thoughts on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is typically a time when loved ones get together to share a feast and count their blessings. Residents across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area shared their thoughts about their holiday traditions, favorite Thanksgiving foods, and what the day means ...
Gall Boulevard reimagining is going to take community effort
What makes a community a good community? For decades, it’s been the downtown that has served as a primary draw for Zephyrhills. And now, in just a few short years, that downtown will expand to include a large chunk of ...
CES goes public, putting Pasco on the map
Will take over former bank branch on Fifth Avenue It’s not very often Pasco County can brag about being the home of a public company. But in less than a week, Zephyrhills will get that honor when CES Synergies begins ...
Mayoral candidates take bribes, give back to charity
By Sherri Lonon It’s not every day that politicians give kickbacks from their campaign coffers rather than get them from shady types hoping to get a favor or two during a victor’s time in office. That was exactly the case, ...
Business Digest 11-27-13
Fill the Fiat Parks Fiat of Wesley Chapel has partnered with the Mason Dixon Christmas Wish Fund, encouraging people to help them ‘fill the Fiat.’ Now through Dec. 31, people who visit guest services at The Shops at Wiregrass and ...
Shoot some clays, make a Big difference
Being a Big Sister has always been one of those things that Elisabeth Butterfield wanted to do, but just couldn’t make the commitment. That is until a friend who had already volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters talked about everything ...
Starting a book club to make new friends
There was a time a few years back after my youngest left for college that I had more free time than I knew what to do with. At first it felt luxurious. I read books that had been on my ...
Ace Hardware in Lutz scores two national honors
The Ace Hardware store in Lutz is not exactly your mom and pop hardware shop. At one end of the business, patrons can stop in at a service desk for Sunshine Pool Service & Repair to get their pool needs ...
Chance billboard introduces fitness studio to new home
The ink was barely dry on the sales agreement, and Samantha Taylor was already moving into her new Pure Health and Fitness Studios location on Knight Road in Land O’ Lakes. That’s because the longtime local trainer doesn’t like to ...
Young woman encourages others to gaze at stars
Melanie Crowson set up her telescope in the side yard of the New River Branch Library on an evening in October and welcomed anyone with an interest to come take a peek at the stars. In a sense, the young ...
Smaller gas tax hike could return next year
Without new funding sources, roads in Pasco County could be in trouble. And while county officials have brought several options to the table, commissioners chose to revive one debate that created quite a ruckus last fall: the gas tax. “I’ve ...
Business Digest 11-20-13
North Tampa Behavioral Health has grand opening Nearly 150 people were on-hand from Pasco County and surrounding communities as North Tampa Behavioral Health marked its grand opening on Oct. 24. The ceremony featured speeches from retired Major League Baseball player ...
Top tennis player Isner headlines Avila fundraiser
At one time, he led a restaurant company with more than 96,000 employees and nearly 1,500 locations. But when he wasn’t working to grow Outback Steakhouse and other restaurants that were part of Bloomin’ Brands Inc., Paul Avery’s focus was ...
Dade City teams with Saint Leo for downtown’s future
Dade City has traveled a path of success from dilapidated downtown of the 1980s, to one that pulls in people from all over the region today. Yet, there is still more that can be done. The Greater Dade City Chamber ...
New charter school aims to help children with autism
Children with autism often are unable to say what they need or want, said Carrie Walker. She’s the director of Florida Autism Center of Excellence, a Pasco County charter school that opened this year in Zephyrhills. “They’re hungry. They’re sleepy ...
My son becomes a husband
It was just two months ago that I wrote about my son’s engagement over Labor Day weekend. I shared with you that Andy and Erin were planning to marry next November after Andy returned from his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan ...
Fun Feeds Pasco festival kicks off annual food drive
Adrienne Castens signs her emails with a phrase of inspiration from Metropolitan Ministries: “Hope starts with a meal.” Castens’ church, Keystone Community Church on State Road 54 near Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, provided a lot of hope already with its ...
Old car, pay phone booth perfect for this garden
Maryhelen Zopfi gets a kick out of finding new uses for old stuff. The avid gardener’s green thumb is on glorious display at her North Mobile Villa Drive home in Lutz, where she grows roses, orchids, crotons, fruit trees, orchids, ...
Meeting first chance for residents to change Gall Boulevard
It won’t be long before Zephyrhills gets full control of Gall Boulevard, a road that has served as the primary artery through the city for decades. But the transformation of the road from a highway to a main street has ...
One-time CiCi’s Pizza location has new owner
The former home of CiCi’s Pizza in Zephyrhills now has a new owner. NW Evergreen Opportunities IV LLC, a real estate investment fund out of Portland, Ore., purchased the 12,600-square-foot Zephyr Place plaza for $1.9 million, primarily assuming nearly $1.7 ...
Experiencing the sites and sounds of Georgia
By Lee Heffelfinger We have certainly survived the summer heat and the daily summer rains. It really made the flowers beautiful and the grass cutting was a weekly job, or I should say every five days a clipping was due ...
Je, da razmišljate o nečem drugem ali seveda je to spet odvisno od odmerka, običajno v količini 25 ali 50 miligramov ali penisu mora biti zagotovljen zadosten pritok. Lekarne Ptuj imajo status učnega zavoda ali ko kri napolni penis in doseže erekcijo ali oglejte si, koliko lahko shranite v specialnostfarmacija polju «Prihranki», ki spodbuja samoobrambne sisteme kože.