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The LAKER LAND O’ LAKES EDITION
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Shopping centers coming soon By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
What the Great Recession took away, boom times are bringing back. Three properties in Land O’ Lakes, along U.S. 41 and State Road 54, are poised to deliver new restaurants, retail and offices. All three sites languished as the economy tanked. Now, Strategic Properties Group is ready to build the first of three new shopping centers on land that the real estate development firm held onto for nearly a decade. Two more centers are in planning stages.
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Camp Indianhead Crossings will open in early 2017 with Hungry Greek and OTB Delight Café among its tenants. An artist’s rendering shows the shopping center as a one-story building at State Road 54 and Camp Indianhead Road in Land O’ Lakes.
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Picnics, parades, fireworks and flag-waving are all a traditional part of Fourth of July celebrations. We, at The Laker/Lutz News, hope you had an enjoyable Independence Day holiday. Please check out our July 13 issues for coverage of Fourth of July festivities.
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Efforts continue to establish a Marine Corps League Detachment in Land O’ Lakes. Seventy-seven-year-old L. David Kirk is spearheading the quest. Kirk lives by the U.S. Marine Corps’ motto, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” He served in the Marine Corps from 1956 to 1964, completing two tours of duty in the Mediterranean, two tours of duty in Okinawa, and serving in Southeast Asia and California, as well. “It was the best eight B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO years I ever spent, because L. David Kirk, of Lutz, is spearheading an effort to establish a it took me from teenager Marine Corps League Detachment in Land O’ Lakes. to man,” said the retired Lutz business man. “I can never thank the Marine Corps more, for givThere’s a need for the new detachment ing me the discipline to make it where I am because there isn’t one nearby, Kirk said. today.” “We’ve got Marines here that travel 15 Even though he completed his service and 20 miles to belong to the League.Think more than half-century ago, Kirk’s fidelity to how many more that would join, if they didthe U.S. Marine Corps remains robust. n’t have to travel that far.And, there’s a lot of “Three years ago, two other Marines and Marines that live in this area.” myself, and our wives, we got together and Besides being more convenient, it would we thought it would be a good idea if we be less expensive to attend meetings in started a Marine group in Land O’ Lakes,” Land O’ Lakes, because it wouldn’t take as Kirk said. much gas to get to meetings, Kirk added. That group, named Marine Forever To launch a new charter, the group Veterans Group LLC, meets on Monday needs at least 20 members that do not beevenings at the Beef O’ Brady’s in the Village long to an existing detachment, Kirk said. Lakes Shopping Center, 21539 Village Lakes Once the new detachment is estabShopping Center Drive in Land O’ Lakes. lished, existing league members can The shopping center is on the north side of transfer, added Kirk, past commandant of State Road 54, slightly east of U.S. 41. the Angus R. Goss Detachment in Tampa. Kirk has been trying to drum up enough The Marine Corps League was founded support for a Marine Corps League in 1923 by World War I hero Major General Detachment that would likely meet at the Commandant John A. Lejeune, and its consame Beef O’ Brady’s restaurant. gressional charter was approved by an act The league is open to active duty, reserve of the 75th Congress, which was signed and and honorable discharged veterans of approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt Marine Corps and Navy FMF Corpsmen and on Aug. 4, 1937. Chaplains who live in Land O’ Lakes, Lutz, The league’s mission calls for its memOdessa, Wesley Chapel and surrounding See MARINES, page 11A areas.
Wesley Chapel: No. 1 job market By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Wesley Chapel is at the top of the list for “best job market” in Florida, according to a report from WalletHub on 2016’s Best & Worst Florida Cities for Finding a Job. The Washington D.C.-based financial website ranked 130 cities in the state in three categories: job market, socio-economic environment and overall. While Wesley Chapel came in first, Lutz and Land O’ Lakes ranked 16 and 17, respectively, as best job markets. In this category, reviewers looked at job opportunities, employment growth, starting salaries and unemployment rates. In ranking for socio-economic environment, they considered median annual income, average commute times, employee benefits, housing and transportation costs, crime rates and social life, such as things to do and places to go. Wesley Chapel scored second in affordable housing and third for lowest unemployment for high school graduates. Overall, Wesley Chapel’s scores earned a fourth place finish behind Sarasota in first place, Jacksonville Beach in second place and Pensacola in third place. Still, average workdays and commute times were factors working against Wesley Chapel, which mustered only a 66th place on socio-economic environment factors alone. Lutz ranked 27th on the socio-economic score and 11th overall, while Land O’ Lakes languished in 113th place in socio-economic rankings and 46th overall. Tampa ranked 15th in the job market, ninth in socio-economic environment and sixth overall. Brandon came in second behind Wesley Chapel in job market, 68th in socioeconomic environment and fifth overall. Spring Hill was 126th overall, 121st in the job market and 125th in socio-economic. Miami Gardens sat at the bottom of the list overall and in job market, and rose only to 124th spot on the socio-economic scale. The full WalletHub report is available at WalletHub.com/edu/best-cities-in-florida-forjobs/21610.