The LAKER
ee r F
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
Auto Accident? Slip and Fall? FREE CONSULTATION
No Fees Or Costs Unless You Win HOLLIDAY KARATINOS
WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
O C TO B E R 2 7 , 2 0 2 1
Driver shortage causes disruptions
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
A change is being proposed that will shift starting and ending times for school days — to address a bus driver shortage in Pasco County Schools. The proposal, if approved, would take effect on Jan. 4. All schools would have some adjustment to their start and end times, with most shifts
being 30 minutes or less, according to school district officials. District staff addressed the issues and presented a proposed solution during a workshop with the Pasco County School Board on Oct. 19. Superintendent Kurt Browning also outlined the issues in two videos on YouTube. One video is addressed to families and the other to district staff. In essence, Browning noted that the dis-
trict struggles every year to hire and retain all of the bus drivers that it needs, but this year, the shortage is worse than ever. He noted that the district has tried different strategies to solve that, including financial incentives, job fairs, waiving background check fees and using an all-hands-on-deck approach. Those efforts have helped, but have not See DRIVER, page 13A
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 WE’RE THE TEAM YOU CAN COUNT ON
FRED BELLET
cornerstonepros.com CAC1816647 & CFC1428982 • EC0001103
FALL TUNE-UP SPECIAL
$29.95
Dade City site for new horror film Director Michael Malott, right, frames a view of a scene with actress Erin Pearl, of Fort Myers. Pearl plays the part of ‘Lisa’ in ‘Bed of Nails,’ being filmed at Dade City-area locations. See story, page 1B.
Valid for new customers only. Mon - Fri 8am-8pm. Not valid on pre-purchased plans. Exp 11/30/21.
AC OR PLUMBING SERVICE CALL
$29.95
FOR FIRST-TIME CUSTOMERS
Valid for new customers only. Mon - Fri 8am-8pm. Not valid on pre-purchased plans. Exp 11/30/21.
Same-Day Service Free 2nd Opinion* Free Estimates** 24/7 Emergency **Free estimates for new A/C, water heater, water treatment, whole home generators, whole home repipe and electrical panel upgrade. *Free second opinion with written diagnosis from another company.
813-990-0561 2012- 2020
Thursday, Oct. 28 5 pm to 8 pm THE BLOCK 14307 7th St, Dade City
Carson Carollo, a recent Hernando High School graduate, is a cast member in the horror film, 'Bed of Nails.'
Redistricting proposals Gov. DeSantis calls for special session advance for a vote By B.C. Manion
Superb Networking Opportunity MEET LOCAL DECISION MAKERS AND TALK WITH ELECTED STATE, COUNTY AND LOCAL OFFICIALS, COMMUNITY INFLUENCERS AND BUSINESS LEADERS
No speeches - Informal and Fun
$50.00 Tickets under events at
DadeCityChamber.org Media Sponsor:
There’s
no place
like
SPECIAL SECTION inside this week
Closer to Dade City, Director Michael Malott and a production crew member plan on several scenes at Bill Ryan Auto Sales, at 15838 U.S. 301.
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The Pasco County Commission has selected its preferred map for new voting districts for the five seats on its board. And, the Pasco County School Board is set to make a similar choice at its Nov. 2 meeting. Both government bodies also are planning public hearings on the issue. The county commission’s public hearing is being advertised for Dec. 7; the school board’s is expected on Nov. 16. The school board’s desire to weigh in on the redistricting discussion before the county board made a choice, however, didn’t happen. The school board had taken up the issue at its Oct. 5 meeting, addressed it again on Oct. 19. School board member Megan Harding thanked the district’s Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd for trying to arrange an opportunity for the school board and county board to work together on redistricting. The school board had hoped to establish the same district boundaries as the county commission.That’s what it did the last time redistricting occurred. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get to work with the county,” Harding said.“It’s unfortunate that we now have to have two separate maps.” Redistricting occurs every 10 years,
based on the population figures collected in the decennial census. The figures are used to apportion the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Florida Legislature redraws the districts from which Florida voters elect their members of their U.S. House of Representatives, state senators and state representatives. The Florida Constitution also requires county commissions to develop a redistricting plan every decennial census to keep commission districts as nearly as equal in population as practical. Political observers are keenly interested in the process because the way the lines are drawn can influence outcomes of elections. In the case of Pasco County’s proposed district lines, County Administrator Dan Biles told the county board at its Oct. 12 meeting: “After we sat down with each of you and each of you gave us feedback of what you’d like to see, with respect to your district, we kind of combined all of that and tried to come up with a compromise map.” His preferred option, was based on input from each commissioner, consideration of geographic boundaries and the goal of balancing population. “What we tried to do was follow major arterials, collectors, as best we could,” Biles said. “I know it’s not necessarily perfect, but See REDISTRICTING, page 13A
of the legislature
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session of the Florida Legislature to take aim at a federal plan to force businesses of 100 employees or more to require their workers to be vaccinated. “We have a situation in our country now, where very much, the federal government is trying to use the heavy hand of government to force a lot of these injections,” the governor said, during a news conference in Clearwater on Oct. 21. “And, you have a lot of folks that actually believe that decision should be theirs, and believe in having basic medical freedom and individual choice, and that your right to earn a living should not be contingent upon COVID shots,” he continued. “And so, attorney general (Ashley Moody) and I — we are working — we want to contest that contractor mandate in court, as well. We’ve got to make sure we’ve got the right plaintiff, in terms of what we can do. You know a lot of these contractors probably aren’t going to do it themselves because they know there will reprisals, if they do it. “But that has an impact on thousands and thousands of people in the state of Florida. “We’re also, when it comes out, going to contest the mandate they’re going to imSee LEGISLATURE, page 13A