Wesley Chapel hospital exceeding expectations in first year
When Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel was preparing to open its doors last October, it expected to have 400 employees. Less than a year later, it has 600. “For the 600 jobs that we have, we had over 25,000 applicants,” hospital ...
Habitat for Humanity helps woman who helps others
Tiffany Porter is accustomed to helping other people. But she never expected the tables to be turned, courtesy of Habitat for Humanity. Porter, a compassion ministry director for Victorious Life Church in Wesley Chapel, is the area’s newest Habitat homeowner, ...
A trio of computer businesses under one roof
When Michael Sawyer recently set up shop in Lutz, he brought together three businesses offering a broad array of computer services. The storefront at 18125 N. US 41, Suite 101, is the new home for Aware Media, TechGuyToGo and Tampa ...
Local schools add 1,000 students to rolls
More students are walking through the front doors of area schools as communities in Pasco County continue to grow. The 39 schools in east and central Pasco County added 1,000 students since this time last year, according to population numbers ...
Local invention vying for spot on Walmart store shelves
Time is running out for two local medical professionals to get their invention on the shelves of Walmart stores across the country. And they need your help. BariBowl is an innovative portion control food container developed by Land O’ Lakes-based ...
Can’t afford training? There may be a grant for that
Businesses have to overcome many obstacles to find success, but the Pasco-Hernando Workforce Board wants to remind them they are not alone. The board, which administers local workforce development and welfare reform programs, is connecting businesses in Pasco and Hernando ...
Pasco motorists could pay a nickel more at the pump
People living, working or traveling through Pasco County will pay 5 cents more per gallon of gasoline beginning Jan. 1, if a proposed tax hike is approved by the Pasco County Commission. The increase will help the county do a ...
Hot cars and spicy chili coming soon to Lutz
Chili aficionados and classic car buffs can compete for bragging rights on Nov. 2 at the Lutz Centennial Cars & Chili event. The event is one in a series of celebrations this year to mark the 100th anniversary of Lutz, ...
Local woman sees world through new lens
For two years, longtime Lutz resident Linda Reynolds found her home in a country whose population is about the size of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties put together. The Republic of Macedonia, formed in the early 1990s following the breakup of ...
Pasco adds new virtual school, while state sees its operations suffer
They didn’t like it, but the Pasco County School Board earlier this month approved the application of a virtual charter school that was once under state investigation. In a 3-1 vote, with Alison Crumbley dissenting, the board allowed the Southwest ...
New River Branch Library stays open, but budget issues remain
Patrons of New River Branch Library can breathe a sigh of relief. The Pasco County Commission voted unanimously last week to keep open both the Wesley Chapel library as well as the Centennial Park Branch Library in Holiday. The decision ...
Watch for bikers: They’re honoring local heroes on Sept. 7
Firefighters and first responders are known for making house calls when they’re needed the most. But on Sept. 7, they’ll get some visitors of their own: Hundreds of motorcycle riders, just wanting to say thanks. Pasco County Choppers are hitting ...
Pasco residents expect 9 percent tax hike
Sheriff’s budget won’t grow Pasco County commissioners spent hours whittling away at different portions of the county’s $1.16 billion budget last week, but didn’t make a dent in a proposed tax hike. Based on the county’s proposed millage rate, officials ...
First Fridays aim to raise funds, build fellowship
The Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club is known for the community’s Fourth of July parade. The Lutz Civic Association is known for its annual Lutz Guv’na campaign. And now the Lutz Citizens Coalition wants to kick off its own signature ...
Economic boom? County commits $50,000 to Saddlebrook golf
Pasco County and Saddlebrook Resort Tampa are joining forces to host the 2014 Golfweek Senior Amateur Championship and the Golfweek Junior Tour Championship early next year. The Pasco County Commission voted unanimously to approve a $50,000 sponsorship in a joint ...
Traditional party-turned-fundraiser hauls in $3,600 for cancer
By Marcia Stone After six years of having a summer party, long-time Land O’ Lakes resident Gary “Cuz” Mincin learned he had prostate cancer and decided to try to raise funds for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. The first ...
Plantation Palms Golf Club reopens, but questions remain
Ownership team denies management changes After a dramatic and highly publicized shutdown Aug. 10, Plantation Palms Golf Club is back in business, reopening its links to golfers Aug. 16. Yet what caused the golf course to shut down in the ...
Casino night will make one charity a lucky winner
Forget reality television. The Pasco Hernando Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has developed a competition that gives four solid charities a chance to raise a lot of money, but only one can win. Havana Casino Night is slated for Aug. 29 ...
Business Digest
Local tourism on the rise Tampa Bay tourism is showing improvement, according to new data for Hillsborough County. Occupancy rate, room rate and revenue per available room rate grew between October 2012 and June 2013, according to Smith Travel Research ...
Private school lays the groundwork for its future
Academy at the Lakes, central Pasco County’s private school that hugs both sides of Collier Parkway off SR 54, is getting a lot larger, growing by more than 46 acres. The school has purchased a large chunk of land near ...
Much-needed supplies head to schools before Aug. 19 opening
Pasco County Schools is set to approve a budget valued at more than $1 billion. Yet, the hundreds of teachers who lead classrooms in the district regularly find themselves without much-needed supplies as simple as notebooks and pencils. And that’s ...
First days as tax collector will be listen and learn for Fasano
Mike Fasano spent his first day as Pasco County’s tax collector visiting the four offices that are now under his supervision. “I was so impressed by the abilities of the staff and their work ethic,” said Fasano, who said he ...
Watch out Band-Aid: Wesley Chapel woman develops liquid bandage
Kerriann Greenhalgh was studying at the University of South Florida when an idea struck her for a product that could plug a gap in the market. That idea has since gone from concept to creation with the launch of Greenhalgh’s ...
Showering others with kindness
Every year, like clockwork, members of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club throw a luncheon and shower to benefit women and children living in two area domestic violence shelters. Club members come to the event bearing clothing and other gifts ...
Steinbrenner High student wins modeling competition
When Courtney Reed hits the runway, she has a singular goal: To put whatever piece of apparel she’s wearing in its best light. Recently, the 17-year-old Steinbrenner High School student proved that she knows how to work a runway by ...
Honoring the 50th anniversary of The March on Washington
If you were there when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream Speech,” Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Libraries would love to hear from you. The library staff is looking for people like Bill McCloud, a resident ...
Clerk’s office warns residents of scam involving jury summons
If the phone rings and someone on the other end of the call says it’s time for jury duty, beware. The Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller’s office is reminding residents that notices of jury service and failure-to-appear notifications are still ...
Land O’ Lakes woman gives personal touch to greetings
In this age of Tweets and texts, Gloria Dale sticks with an old-fashioned method of sending holiday cheer to veterans and troops. She writes each of her greeting cards by hand. The 78-year-old spends much of the year preparing about ...
Porter campus a possible early voting site
It won’t open until January, and the midterm elections are even farther off, but the Pasco County Supervisor of Elections is already eyeing Pasco-Hernando Community College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass as a possible early voting site. Corley mentioned the idea ...
The Laker welcomes news editor
Michael Hinman has joined The Laker and Lutz News as news editor, ready to share stories for and about the great residents of the area, ensuring that everyone gets a voice. “I’ve known Michael for many years and have always ...
Local teens use robot to save the world
Three local teens are among 10 finalists in an international robotics competition and expect to find out soon if they’ve captured the top prize. The 14-year-olds — Sean Carr, Ross Edwards and R.J. Walters — just wrapped up the second ...
Pasco conference proves education is worldwide concern
Dominic Mukwaya arrived in Pasco County ready to learn. When he left his village in Uganda a month ago, more than 30 members of his extended family joined him at the airport — nearly all of them watching a plane ...
Taxes in Zephyrhills, Dade City to remain steady
Property taxes are not expected to rise in either Zephyrhills or Dade City after governments in both cities put together 2014 budgets. The rate in Zephyrhills was tentatively set at 6.1415 mills ahead of its Sept. 16 meeting, where the ...
Nothing expected to change at Pasco Regional after takeover
Pasco Regional Medical Center in Dade City is now under new ownership after a $7.6 billion buyout of its parent company. Health Management Associates Inc., the Largo-based company that owns Pasco Regional and 22 other hospitals in Florida, was sold ...
Historic Jeffries House seeks place in 21st century
It has a small yard begging for some tender loving care. Overgrown bushes, untrimmed trees, brown grass desperate for water. The house that it surrounds, empty for the past few years, could almost find a place among neighborhood children’s haunted ...
Kumquat Festival considered one of Southeast’s best
Once again, when tourists start looking for Florida-based events to attend, they will find Dade City’s annual Kumquat Festival among the top they should visit. The 17th annual event, which takes place Jan. 25, was awarded a “Top 20 Event” ...
New Zephyrhills library will offer more choices for patrons
Edward Bent will soon bring his young stepdaughter, Calee Heinlein, to a place stocked with more children’s stories than it ever has had. That’s because city officials in Zephyrhills plan to build a new public library to replace the one ...
What ever happened to that old black-and-white TV?
Marty and I were invited to our new friend’s house to see a Yankee vs. Red Sox game on his new TV. We were in our car traveling to his home that is in a nearby town of Colchester when ...
Roy Hooker: State Farm Agent For 23 Years
Q. Describe your business and your typical customer. State Farm's mission is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams. We are people who make it our business to be like ...
Business Digest
Krista Covey to lead business incubator Krista Covey is the new economic development manager of SMARTstart, Pasco County’s first business incubator. The incubator, at the Dade City Business Center and Dade City Office Plaza, will help small companies and startup ...
Wesley Chapel’s newest surgeon is a robot named da Vinci
Adventist Health System has always stayed on the cutting edge of medicine, dating back to the 19th century when doctors employed by the company championed the dangers of smoking and the health benefits of a little fresh air. Now the ...
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