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DECEMBER 2, 2020
KRATE begins taking shape at the Grove
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
An attraction that will offer a new and unique retail and restaurant experience is beginning to take shape — as crews set down shipping containers that will house the businesses at KRATE, in the Grove at Wesley Chapel. While crews work at the site, the developers also are proceeding with a unified sign plan for the district, with the Pasco County Planning Commission reviewing
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See KRATE, page 9A
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COURTESY OF THE GROVE AT WESLEY CHAPEL
This shipping container is being maneuvered into place where a new shopping and restaurant experience will be arriving by the end of the year at the Grove at Wesley Chapel.
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Checking out a winter wonderland
Who says you have to go North to enjoy some wintry fun? Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park offers locals, and tourists alike, a chance to go snowtubing, have snowball fights and sip hot cocoa near a fire. To find out more, please turn to page 1B.
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Snowcat Ridge CEO Benjamin Nagengast speaks at the theme park’s Nov. 20 ribboncutting and grand opening ceremony in Dade City. The Nagengast family also owns nearby TreeHoppers Aerial Adventure and Scream-A-Geddon Horror Park.
KEVIN WEISS
This is the main entrance to Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park in Dade City. The 20-acre property is promoted as the first-ever snow park in Florida. The seasonal facility will generally be open between November and March each year.
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Florida is closing in on Commissioners 1 million COVID-19 cases reject process used to select lobbyist
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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The LAKER WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
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Auto Accident? Slip and Fall? FREE CONSULTATION
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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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813-868-1887 “I Will Aggressively Fight To Protect Your Legal Rights”
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)
101 18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
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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
©
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.
I th
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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KATHY STEELE/STAFF PHOTO
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Experts are predicting that Florida will hit the 1 million mark in positive COVID-19 cases this week, and there are concerns nationwide about the impacts from potential spread that may have occurred during the Thanksgiving holidays. The Florida Department of Health had recorded more than 992,660 positive cases of COVID-19, including 976,944 positive residents, according to health department figures available on the morning of Nov. 30. The death toll stood at 18,500 for Florida residents and 236 for non-residents, according to the same report. Hillsborough County had 57,673 positive cases, involving county residents, and 419 cases involving non-residents. The county has recorded 929 deaths related to COVID19. In Pasco County, there were 14,643 positive cases involving residents, and 140 involving non-residents.The death toll stood at 271. The latest figures for the Pasco and Hillsborough public school districts had not
Help prevent the spread of COVID-19 Avoid these high-risk activities: • Shopping in crowded stores • Attending large indoor gatherings with people from outside of your household • Using alcohol or drugs that may alter judgment and make it more difficult to practice COVID-19 safety measures.
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
yet been updated, since the districts were out for the Thanksgiving break. The most recent figures from those districts show that there had been 475 student cases and 177 staff cases in Pasco County
The Pasco County Commission has rejected the process used by county staff to recommend an outside lobbyist. Instead, commissioners want to hear a 10-minute presentation from each of the three firms vying for the work, before making their selection. The proposed contract calls for a maximum of $60,000 a year for the services, with the option of up to three one-year renewals. County Administrator Dan Biles would be designated to authorize the optional annual extensions. Initially, Corcoran and Associates, doing business as Corcoran Partners; Shawn Foster LLC, doing business as Sunrise Consulting Group; and Shumaker Advisers Florida LLC, responded to the request for qualifications to compete for the work. A four-member committee met and evaluated all of the proposals, they scored the
See COVID-19, page 9A
See LOBBYIST, page 9A
Follow these safety protocols: • Stay 6 feet away from others • Wear a mask when social distancing isn’t possible • Wash hands frequently
Source: Florida Department of Health