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County clears way for 350 apartments
Future Orange Belt Trail could attract small shops. By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The Pasco County Commission has approved a rezoning to allow an apartment development of up to 350 units at the southwest corner of State Road 52 and Old
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Pasco Road. The 23.1-acre site currently is occupied by pastureland, some residences and some outbuildings. It abuts the Mango Hills master-planned unit development district, which has been approved for a maximum of 415 single-family detached and singlefamily attached townhomes. Properties to the north and the northeast, adjacent to State Road 52, are zoned for general commercial, light industrial and
retail, office and residential land uses. In recommending approval of the request, county planners said the proposed apartments are a logical transition from general commercial and industrial uses. The request also received a recommendation for approval from the Pasco County Planning Commission. In addition to approving the rezoning, See APARTMENTS, page 11A
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Sixteen-year-old Devlin Frost, a junior, and 14-year-old Griffin Frost, a freshman, on their first day of the 2021-2022 school year at Cypress Creek High School.
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Julia O’Connor celebrates her first day of fourth grade at Sand Pine Elementary.
Back to school brings smiles The First Day of School Photos tradition stayed strong this year, even during a pandemic. Check out all the pics that families within our newspaper’s coverage area shared with us, inside on page 1B.
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SEASON 2 Twenty-one-month Cecilia Mathes, along with her 4-year-old brother Zachary and her 6-year-old brother Connor, on Connor’s first day of kindergarten. (They’re the children of Andy and Erin Mathes, of Appleton, Wisconsin, and the grandchildren of Diane Kortus, publisher of The Laker/Lutz News.)
Four-year-old Derek Fillingham heading to his first day of prekindergarten at KidsRKids, in Wesley Chapel’s Meadow Pointe community.
Fo o d i e Fr i d ay
Mask ruling has no immediate Pasco identifies spending plan impact in Pasco schools for ‘American The Pfizer vaccine gets final COVID Statistics FDA approval, which could Rescue’ dollars prompt more employers to
with ka at tie & kel lli
Week of Aug. 20 to Aug. 26
require vaccinations. By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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MARCH 31, 2021
Flurry of Pasco road projects underway
of Zoom — featuring Florida Department Once those projects are completed, Transportation Secretary Kevin Thibault and Pasco’s road network is expected to be betU.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis. ter able to handle the county’s considerable Thibault and Bilirakis touched on a numgrowth. ber of big-picture issues involving Projects under construction, or that soon transportation. will be, are expected to improve traffic flow Thibault talked about the expectation of at State Road 56 and Interstate 75; offer reduced gas tax revenues over time, as moBy B.C. Manion smoother travel through East Pasco County cars and bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com in- torists make the switch to electric on a new alignment for State Road 52; vehicles with higher fuel efficiency. crease access to Interstate 75 with a new Bilirakis talked about the proposed $2 Drive along nearly any major Pasco add cabe interchange at Overpass Road; and, trillion infrastructure package. County artery and you are likely to pacity at State Road 52 and U.S. 41. He said he doesn’t support the package. backed up in traffic — during rush hour. were discussed a transprojects Those moto obvious it’s At the same time, portation briefing hosted by the North See ROAD, page 9A torists that work is underway on numerous via Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce Pasco roadways.
A strong partnership between Pasco County and the Florida Department of Transportation has paved the way for the multitude of projects.
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Nine-year-old Jawaun Washington, FRED BELLET of Dade City, lowered his mask to munch on a hot dog at the Jelly Bean Fling.
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undreds turned out to the Jelly Bean Fling at the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village to take advantage of festivities that included free family photos, an Easter egg hunt, a petting zoo, live entertainment, games
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and crafts.
Event-goers could make Easter bonnets, too, enjoy a bite to eat, purchase items from vendors and check out the model train room. And, there were bubbles — showers and showers of bubbles —during the Sphere’s Bubble Magic Show.
Ty Seifert, of St. Petersburg, seems to be having as much fun as family friend 4-year old, Cami Brown, of St. Petersburg. They were enjoying the Sphere's Bubble Magic Show during the event.
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Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper has deemed unconstitutional the state’s order to ban local school districts from imposing mandatory facemasks. Cooper explained his decision in a twohour announcement from the bench on Aug. 27. Cooper ruled that school districts can impose mandatory mask mandates, and if challenged, must be granted due process to demonstrate their mask requirement is reasonable. Taryn Fenske, communications director for Gov. Ron DeSantis, issued this reaction to the ruling: “It’s not surprising that Judge Cooper would rule against parent’s rights and their ability to make the best educational and medical decisions for their family, but instead rule in favor of elected politicians. “This ruling was made with incoherent justifications, not based in science and facts – frankly not even remotely focused on the merits of the case presented.We are used to the Leon County Circuit Court not following the law and getting reversed on appeal, which is exactly what happened last year in
Florida
New cases: 151,749 Positivity rate: 16.8%
Pasco County
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
the school reopening case.We will continue to defend the law and parent’s rights in Florida, and will immediately appeal the ruling to the First District Court of Appeals, where we are confident we will prevail on the merits of the case.” Locally, Judge Cooper’s ruling will have no immediate impact in the Hillsborough or Pasco public school districts. Hillsborough already has adopted a temporary facemask mandate in its schools which remains in effect through Sept. 17. The Hillsborough board took that action, despite the governor’s executive order, and subsequent actions taken by the Florida Board of Education and the Florida Department of Education. DeSantis has stood firm in his position
The Pasco County Commission has approved a plan for how the county will spend $107.6 million in federal money intended to help local governments respond to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. County Administrator Dan Biles presented proposed projects and initiatives that would be supported by the funds, which the county board approved at its Aug. 24 meeting. The plan also must be approved by federal authorities. The county is proposing that about $98 million of the money be spent on these projects: • Acquisition of the Lindrick Utility system. Using the federal money will enable the county to acquire the system with a zero rate increase for county ratepayers as a whole, Biles said. • Wesley Chapel Library:This will build the next library that is needed in the county’s master plan, on land it already owns, in the fastest-growing area of the county, Biles said. • Jail construction: Will pay for changes
See MASK, page 11A
See RESCUE, page 11A
New cases: 4,433 Positivity rate: 21.2%
Hillsborough County New cases: 11,800 Positivity rate: 18.9%