The LAKER
ee r F
LAND O’ LAKES/LUTZ EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
Auto Accident? Slip and Fall? FREE CONSULTATION
No Fees Or Costs Unless You Win HOLLIDAY KARATINOS LAW FIRM, P.L. HelpingInjuredPeople.com Call Attorney
JIM HOLLIDAY 813-868-1887 “I Will Aggressively Fight To Protect Your Legal Rights” 18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 101 Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
Walk-Ins Welcome
COPPERSTONE EXECUTIVE SUITES Winning Award s Center Busines
O C TO B E R 1 , 2 0 1 4
Complex attracting baseball celebs By Michael Hinman
Could the Atlanta Braves someday call Wesley Chapel its home? PAGE 3A
mhinman@lakerlutznews.com
Has Gary Sheffield done something the late Hugh Culverhouse never could? The retired Major League Baseball star is excited about working with James Talton and Blue Marble Strategic in bringing a massive youth baseball complex to Wesley Chapel. But he is looking to bring in other big names too — especially those already associated with youth baseball — like former National Football League and professional baseball star Bo Jackson. The Culverhouse-owned Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Jackson, the 1985 Heisman Trophy winner, in 1986. But after a trip on Culverhouse’s private jet forced him to forfeit the rest of his collegiate baseball career, Jackson vowed he would never play a single down for the Buccaneers, and refused to sign when the team drafted him. But 28 years later, Jackson could end up in the Tampa Bay area after all, as one of several sports stars participating in Blue Marble’s proposed 20-field complex at
MICHAEL HINMAN/STAFF PHOTO
James Talton, the owner of Blue Marble Strategic, talks about his company’s idea to build a youth baseball complex in Wesley Chapel, while partner and retired Major League Baseball star Gary Sheffield listens in.
Wiregrass Ranch. “Bo Jackson wants to be involved,” Sheffield told business leaders at a recent economic development event of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “I just saw him two days ago,
and they came down and met with us. All ex-athletes want to do is give back to kids.” Jackson, who runs his own baseball program in Chicago, was one of several names Sheffield mentioned as interested in participating in some way or another at the $70 million complex, that will be built in part using $11 million in Pasco County tourist tax money.Another one tied to youth sports is former Baltimore Orioles shortstop and third basemen Cal Ripken, whose youth baseball program also has become quite popular in various parts of the country. “It won’t be a Cal Ripken facility, or a Bo Jackson facility, but we can always integrate See COMPLEX, page 11A
Big turnout reveals heavy interest in Pasco’s first magnet school By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Check out our single office suites for as little as
$450/month
PRIVATE OFFICES CONFERENCE ROOMS HOURLY OFFICE RENTALS EVENT ROOM VIDEO CONFERENCING VIRTUAL PHONE SERVICES
3632 Land O’ Lakes Boulevard Land O’ Lakes, FL 34639
813-298-7363 www.copperstone.info GIVE US A TRY & FIND OUT WHY WE ARE A TOP RATED CONTRACTOR. NEW LOOK
More than 200 parents and children turned out to a community meeting to find out more about Pasco County Schools’ plan to open the district’s first magnet school in Land O’ Lakes. Sanders Memorial Elementary School, scheduled to open next school year, will be known as a STEAM school, which stands for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. Unlike other district schools, this one won’t have an attendance boundary, Superintendent Kurt Browning said. Applications for the school will be accepted for students throughout the county, but the district is considering whether to give preferential admission to students living within one mile of the school — students now attending Connerton or Oakstead elementary schools — and those who have siblings that have been accepted. Both Connerton and Oakstead are overcrowded and need relief, Browning explained, so the district may use Sanders to
FRED BELLET/PHOTO
A workman scales scaffolding during construction of Sanders Memorial Elementary School, a Land O’ Lakes elementary school that will become Pasco County Schools’ first magnet school.
help address that issue. While Sanders will open next year, the district has not yet decided how it will handle transportation to the school, Browning said. It may continue to send buses through neighborhoods to pick up students in the morning and drop them off in the afternoon. Or, it may establish a hub system, where parents take children to a location
where district buses pick up and drop off children. The district hopes to have the principal for Sanders named by November and to have the teaching staff selected by February or March, Browning said. Sanders will be different from other See MAGNET, page 11A
SAME GREAT SERVICE COURTESY OF PASCO COUNTY SCHOOLS
A look at how Sanders Memorial Elementary is expected to look when it opens for the 2015-16 school year.
Hotels, population growth highlight Starkey town hall By Michael Hinman 24/7 Emergency A/C & Plumbing Service A/C LICENSE #CAC1816647
PLUMBING LIC. #CFC1428982
CornerstonePros.com
813-949-4445
B INSIDE PAGE 1B
mhinman@lakerlutznews.com
Florida is a destination for tourists worldwide, and Pasco County has worked hard to try and get a piece of the billions of dollars that industry creates each year. Some residents have been concerned the county is not keeping up — not just in providing attractions to bring tourist money here, but also amenities like hotels for those tourists to stay in. County commissioner Kathryn Starkey invited residents to come out to Seven Oaks Elementary School in Wesley Chapel last week, where she joined members of the county’s staff to talk about everything from new recreational development, to roads, to taxes. One highlighted project was the new 20field baseball complex planned for the Wiregrass Ranch area, which could bring in thousands of young baseball players and their families each year. One resident attending the meeting was worried where the hotels, motels, and other short-term stay facilities were. However, while the county can try and encourage hotel growth in the area, it’s still something totally left up to the private market, said Ed Caum, Pasco’s tourism manager. “There are certain triggers out there to bring in developers, and that is when your current hotel stock is 72 percent full,” he said. Once finding vacancy starts to become a problem — or it’s projected to become a
MICHAEL HINMAN/STAFF PHOTO
A few dozen residents made it out to Seven Oaks Elementary School last week to find out what the county has been up to when it comes to roads, taxes and more.
problem — developers feel more confident to build hotels, and will do just that. And hotels may be needed soon. Based on how much room tax is collected from the county’s hotels, they are having the best year since 2008, Caum said. At the same time, the average room rate has climbed $6, suggesting demand is starting to outpace supply.
“I talked to two developers that are bringing in hotels,” Caum said. “One is 72 rooms, and another one we just talked about is 75 rooms. We will start to see that carrying on.” Pasco already has a need for some more hotels, especially when tournaments come See STARKEY, page 11A