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LAND O’ LAKES/LUTZ EDITION
JUNE 15, 2016
Bids come in too low for Eve’s Garden By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Auctioneer Marty Higgenbotham called a halt to the public auction of real estate at Eve’s Garden when it became clear the bids were too low. But, Higgenbotham and owner Evie Lynn say they will keep working to sell the property for the best price they can get. “It was too soon, too quick,” said Lynn of the auction’s scheduled date of June 10. Potential buyers didn’t have enough time to review the site’s commercial potential and make an offer, she said. Higgenbotham Auctioneers International handled the auction of real estate, plants and inventory at Eve’s Garden, 5602 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. After 33 years, Lynn is relocating her business to about 55 acres in Groveland in See EVE’S, page 11A
“I Will Aggressively Fight To Protect Your Legal Rights”
KATHY STEELE/STAFF PHOTOS
Auctioneer Marty Higgenbotham, left, and Evie Lynn, owner of Eve’s Garden, confer on price of a bonsai plant during public auction of real estate, plants and other inventory.
Summer programs feed hungry kids
18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 101 Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
Walk-Ins Welcome
By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
COURTESY OF RYAN PAUL JAMES
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Melissa Disney is married to Ryan Paul James, who grew up in Land O’ Lakes. He’s shopping a television pilot, ‘The Comeback Kids,’ and she’s an acclaimed voiceover artist. She’s also related to Walt Disney, although she never met him.
Land O’ Lakes native screening TV pilot By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
DennisRealty.com
DennisPM.com
Air Conditioning • Plumbing • Electrical
Way e h t e c i Serv e! B a t h g u
it O
Ryan Paul James’ first brush with fame came at the age of 6, when his name was listed in The Laker/Lutz News. “I was playing Little League there, with the Red Sox. All of the players were mentioned there in an article,” said James, a former Land O’ Lakes resident, now an actor and writer who lives in Los Angeles. Since moving to L.A., he’s performed in two dozen plays, has written 10 plays and is now shopping a pilot for a television show he’s written called “The Comeback Kids.” The show is about a pair of actors who were famous as children and are attempting a comeback, decades later. While no one has picked up the television show yet, it has been screened at film
festivals in such places as Los Angeles, Honolulu, Miami, Switzerland,Australia and London. It also has picked up a number of awards. It’s a project James has been working on for five years. He’s written eight episodes of the show and has casted most of them, with different stars who would be making appearances as themselves, or performing a role in the sitcom. The TV pilot most recently screened on June 10 at The Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. James said his desire to act began when he was a young boy, when his dad was a wildlife officer and the family lived on the grounds of Pine View Middle School in Land See PILOT, page 11A
Children who normally eat lunch at school when classes are in session have a free alternative during the summer months. Both Hillsborough and Pasco counties are participating in a summer food service program that provide free lunches and afternoon snacks at numerous sites around each county. The program begins on June 13 and concludes on Aug. 3. The sites are situated in areas where at least half of the children qualify for free or reduced price meals during the school year. The meals and snacks will be offered at local parks and other community locations to all children under 18 in the area. No applications are required and summer camp registration is not required. The Summer Food Service program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Hillsborough County
(PARTIAL LISTING): • Northdale Recreation, 15550 Spring Pine Drive • North Tampa Boys and Girls Club, 2313 Yukon St. • North Tampa Recreation Center, 8608 12th St. For more Hillsborough sites, go to HillsboroughCounty.org/SummerFood.
Pasco County
(PARTIAL LISTING): • Quail Hollow Elementary, 7050 Quail Hollow Blvd., Wesley Chapel • Thomas Weightman Middle School, 30649 Wells Road, Wesley Chapel • Watergrass Elementary, 32750 Overpass Road, Wesley Chapel • Wesley Chapel High, 30651 Wells Road, Wesley Chapel • Land O’ Lakes Recreational Complex, 3032 Collier Parkway, Land O’ Lakes • Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Land O’ Lakes • Odessa Park Community Center, 1627 Chesapeake Drive, Odessa For additional information, check the Pasco County Schools website at Pasco.k12.fl.us.
Famous Tate aiming for fall opening By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
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SUPER SERVICE AWARD 2012 ,2013, 2014, 2015
B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
A new Famous Tate could be open as soon as fall. Site preparation for the 13,700-squarefoot appliance store is underway off U.S. 41 in Lutz.The store will sit on an outparcel in front of the Walmart Supercenter, and will be Pasco County’s third Famous Tate. Famous Tate of New Tampa Inc., purchased the 1.5-acre vacant lot in March 2015. Owner John Horst said at the time that he wanted his company to be “a player” in the growth coming to the area. “We have a lot of customer base,” said Claude Ward, the company’s general manager. But, growth in the area also will bring more traffic, he said. “As traffic becomes a hardship, people only drive so far, so we have to be more centrally located for our customers.” Bulldozers recently cleared the land.The next step will be building permits to begin the store’s construction. It tentatively is set for a fall opening, said Ward. Famous Tate was founded in 1954. Its Pasco locations are 5419 Village Market in Wesley Chapel, and 8010 Grand Blvd., in Port Richey.
KATHY STEELE/STAFF PHOTO
A new Famous Tate off U.S. 41, in front of Walmart Supercenter, is expected to open by fall. It will be Pasco County’s third Famous Tate appliance store.
The store will have company, as developers are starting to buy more of the outparcels surrounding the Walmart location. The discount store and the County Line shopping plaza are located in a pie-shaped swath of land between U.S. 41 and North Dale Mabry Highway, with entrances off both roadways. New Port Richey Hospital Inc., a subsidiary of HCA Holdings Inc., recently
bought a 1.6-acre vacant lot, across from Famous Tate. Plans are to build a health care facility, according to a press release from The Land Sharks LLC, which brokered the sale. Another outparcel is slated for a StorKwik Self Storage. Mark Cooney of The Land Sharks also anticipates a restaurant and automobile store are potential new tenants on other outparcels.