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Pasco County faces lean budget year
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County’s revenues are falling short of projections — in the wake of a flattened economy due to the impacts of COVID-19. Robert Goehig, budget director for Pasco County, presented an overview of the preliminary budget at the Pasco County Commission’s June 30 meeting. In essence, the county can afford just 11 of 115 business plan initiatives brought forth by its department heads, Goehig said. Among those initiatives is a 2% raise for
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county employees. The size of the proposed raise received pushback from County Commissioner Mike Wells. Wells told County Administrator Dan Biles:“You know the state is giving 3%. I believe almost all of the constitutionals (county constitutional officers) are doing 3%.There is nothing more important on this budget than taking care of our folks. We have to take care of our team. I would like to see that be 3%. I think that’s an extra halfmillion.” Biles explained:“The reason we stayed at
the 2% is because that basically matches the inflation rate, which was 2.1% last year. We also wanted to be mindful of what is going on in the rest of the community, as well.” Commission Chairman Mike Moore and Jack Mariano said they’re willing to keep the issue open for further discussion. Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, however, backed Biles’ approach. Starkey said she appreciates the staff’s efforts, but she added:“I am OK with the 2% for this year, and if things get better next See BUDGET, page 9A
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The LAKER WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
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FEBRUARY 3, 2016
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Auto Accident? Slip and Fall?
By Kathy Steele
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The site is located at the corner of of heading toward a construction start Magnolia Boulevard and Wesley Chapel Amici Plaza in spring with an opening likely Boulevard, which is also known as County ksteele@lakerlutznews.com by the end of 2016. Road 54. Pasco County records show a conceptual Pasco County is moving forward with acOwners of Amici Pizza & Deli are planthe plan with about 3,000 square feet for Road ning to build a new stand-alone restaurant, for quisition of right-of-way along County restaurant, and about 1,800 square feet 54 to prepare for the expansion of the twowith additional retail space, on Wesley retail. the lane road into a four-lane road at Chapel Boulevard. “We’d like to have our own building and 54 junction of State Road 56 and State Road The new restaurant is a short distance a bigger kitchen,” said Andrea Mannino. from the existing Amici restaurant in Grand No decisions have been made on the adSee PIZZA, page 13A Oaks Square, at Wesley Chapel and Pet Lane. ditional retail space, he said. Andrea and Josephine Mannino, are
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FLORIDA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
EDITION
JANUARY 27, 2016
Pasco administrator to retire in
By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker expects to be very busy over the next year and a half. She’ll be crossing off a to-do list, one by one, before leaving in 2017 to go on a lengthy road trip with her husband. The couple will hit the road with their recreational vehicle and their motorcycles, on a tour of as many baseball parks and national parks as they can squeeze into a year. “That’s been our dream,” Baker said, so letting her contract lapse in July 2017 makes sense. But, don’t expect a lame duck administrator. “There’s no kicking back here,” Baker said.“This isn’t me slowing down. ” Baker has told Pasco County commissioners she won’t seek renewal of her current two-year contract, which makes her
2017
last day July 9, 2017. the jail and construction of new fire stations By then, Baker will • Relocating have worked 35 years central Pasco more government offices to in public service, 24 Baker also plans to fill vacancies for a of those years with few key leadership positions that remain, Pasco County. cluding an assistant county administrator infor Her to-do list, in public safety and administration. short form, includes: Progress has been made, Baker said, but • Completing mas- government services still could be more ter plans and updates customer-friendly. for storm water, solid A culture that was decades in the waste and tourism making is being changed, she said.“You don’t • Funding and building a diverging get to dia- turn a canoe.You’re turning mond road design to ease traffic congestion a ship.” Public service wasn’t Baker’s first at State Road 56 and Interstate 75 career choice. • Completing the State Road 56 extenOver the years she worked sion as a waitress, • Nurturing SunWest Park, the county’s flight attendant and a theater manager. She also served in the U.S.Air Force Reserve. fledgling aqua park Her undergraduate degree was in • Replacing and repairing aging busiinfra- ness administration. structure and roads damaged by the It wasn’t until she accepted a secretarial summer flooding • Making progress on the expansion of See RETIRE, page 11A Michele Baker
Kumquats reign supreme at area festival By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
®
Saturday, January 30, 2016 9 AM - 5 PM Historic Downtown Dade City
FREE ADMISSION KATHY STEELE/STAFF PHOTOS
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WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA
Amici Pizza plans stand-alone location
Mark Pizzurro, Joe Traina and Peter Abreut
anticipate opening their craft brewery
in Land O’ Lakes in spring.
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The first kumquat tree in St. Joseph took root more than 100 years ago, when C.J. Nathe planted it in his backyard. He added a few more, and soon he had small grove on an acre of fertile ground. a The kumquat king, as Nathe was later dubbed, transformed a quiet back road community into the Kumquat Capital of the World. An open house will take place on Jan. and Jan. 29 at the Kumquat Growers 28 packi h d
Margie Neuhofer and her h
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This Lutz girl is wild about goats
Eleven-year-old Sophia Phillips first became acquainted with goats when she was just 2 years old, at the petting zoo at ZooTampa at Lowry Park. Now, she lives in Lutz and has three goats of her own and helps take care of 18 others. As her T-shirt says, Sophia Phillips, 11, is ‘Just a Girl Who Loves Goats.’ Lazar Wolf eyes Sophia, probably hoping for a snack. Find out more about her story on Page 1B.
Officials urge caution, as COVID-19 cases ramp up
Wiregrass Ranch High student wins honor for civil rights video By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Aimee Johnson is on track to become a nurse, a profession she loves. But, this 18-year-old senior at Wiregrass Ranch High School also is an award-winning videographer. Her 10-minute video on the St. Augustine civil rights movement won a first-place regional award in an annual competition that celebrates National History Day. It is featured at the ACCORD Civil Rights Museum in St.Augustine. Even though it was “a very prominent movement and had one of the most violent histories,” Johnson said, it also “was a hidden history people didn’t know about.” She compiled archival photographs and interviewed St.Augustine civil rights activists to tell the story of racial tension and hatred in the mid-1960s. She started her video journey with a visit to the ACCORD Civil Rights Museum, which holds artifacts from that period, including the fingerprints of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Police arrested the civil rights icon in June 1964 for trespassing when he and others tried to dine at a whites-only restaurant. It was King’s only arrest in Florida. Johnson held the document and touched King’s fingerprints. “It was very eye-opening, and I’m grateful that I got to do something like that,” she said. “It’s become something more to me. I’m very happy about that.” The museum is at the former office of dentist and civil rights activist Robert B. Hayling, who is considered the “father” of the St. Augustine civil rights movement. He headed the St.Augustine NAACP Youth Council before joining with King’s Southern Christian Leadership Council. In addition to her museum visit, Johnson interviewed Janie Price, 98, who first met King at Morehouse College in Atlanta. When King came to St. Augustine in the summer of 1964, he stayed at her house. Because of the threats from the Klu Klux Klan, King had to frequently move from one
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
house to another. Price is remembered as the “house mother” of the St.Augustine civil rights movement. Robert Batie, who grew up in St. Augustine, recounted an attack on his family. Someone, believed to be a Klan member, hurled a hub cap through a living room window. Later a soda bottle crashed through another window.The shattered glass wounded Batie, who was just 9 at the time. He later was among the first blacks to integrate schools in St.Augustine. The video highlights several historical events, including the sit-in at Woolworth’s lunch counter by 16 teenagers. Four teenagers later arrested and sent to reform school became known as the St.Augustine Four. In another confrontation, whites and blacks held a “wade-in” at a local motel pool to the dismay of the Klan. The white motel owner threw acid into the pool. The demonstrations played a pivotal role in the national movement which led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “I actually was always interested in the civil rights movement especially my being a black woman,” Johnson said. But, Florida often is left out because historians take a more national view of events, she said. Her interest in history is matched by her
Florida COVID-19 cases continue to rise, with 9,478 cases recorded on July 2, according to Florida Department of Health figures. The day before, 9,529 positive cases were reported. The surge in new cases has prompted additional measures to try to limit the spread, and has prompted cancellations of more planned events. As the Fourth of July weekend approached, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees asked Floridians to do their part. “As we head into this holiday weekend, I encourage all Floridians be diligent in avoiding closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings, and remember to wear a mask.Together, we must continue to take the appropriate steps to slow the spread of this virus,” DeSantis said, in a news release. They also reminded those at greatest risk of severe complications to avoid crowds and minimize contact. People over age 65 and those with underlying medical conditions are most vulnerable to serious consequences from the virus. “Many asymptomatic individuals are unknowingly carrying the COVID-19 virus in public,” Rivkees said, in the release. As the number of positive cases rises, local officials are taking actions aimed at reducing the spread. Local events continue to be scrapped. Both the traditional Fourth of July parade in Lutz, and the Rattlesnake Festival and Rattlesnake Run set for October at the Pasco County Fairgrounds were canceled. Pasco and Hillsborough public school districts also have dropped plans for traditional indoor commencement ceremonies, the districts initially had delayed. Instead,
See STUDENT, page 9A
See COVID-19, page 9A
COURTESY OF AIMEE JOHNSON
Aimee Johnson, who is graduating from Wiregrass Ranch High School, won a firstplace regional award in a competition about civil rights history.