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Historic election comes to a close By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Votes will be counted on Nov. 8 to determine which candidate will be the next president of the Unites States – Donald J. Trump or Hillary Clinton. But, voters also will choose candidates running for state and local office in Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Absentee and early voting ballots already are being stockpiled in election offices. On election day, both counties will offer free bus rides to people who can show a valid voter information card. In Pasco, early voting began on Oct. 29 at eight locations around the county. Voters
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Yards and rights-of-way are filling up with Trump and Clinton for president signs.
can cast ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., at any of those sites until early voting ends on Nov. 5 (Saturday) at 7 p.m. “We’re seeing a good, strong turnout,” said Brian Corley, Pasco’s supervisor of elections. “We’re seeing a lot of energy and
JIM HOLLIDAY
enthusiasm, which is what we expect in a presidential election.” More than 336,000 people are registered voters in Pasco, with nearly 131,000 regisSee ELECTION, page 13A
Bruce B. Downs widening gets underway
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By Kathy Steele
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around the world. Described as “chef-driven” and not the traditional barbecue, Union72’s dishes and sauces are the creation of the restaurant’s chef and pitmaster, Geoff Zukosky. “It’s global barbecue,” said Jeff Martin, co-
Construction is underway to widen Bruce B. Downs Boulevard from four lanes to eight lanes, from Pebble Creek Boulevard to County Line Road. It is the last of four phases of a multi-year project to ease traffic congestion on one of the county’s busiest thoroughfares. The $24.7 million project will add travel lanes, sidewalks and bicycle lanes, along about 1.5 miles of roadway. Completion on this segment is expected in late 2018. Area residents are hopeful that more lanes will ease traffic congestion along a corridor popping with new retail, apartments and houses. But, concerns remain among residents who drive the packed roadway daily for shopping errands, trips to Wharton High School and commutes to jobs. On Oct. 18, about 20 residents attended a pre-construction meeting at Wharton High School to get a look at the new road design, and pose questions to Hillsborough County planners and traffic engineers. Most expressed concerns about traffic lights, and how motorists and pedestrians will navigate a widened road with four lanes running in each direction. Some had a historical view of a road that, for years, was mostly empty of shops and residences. “I remember when it was the road to nowhere,” said Carlotta Bernard, who lives in the Meadow Pointe neighborhood, off Bruce B. Downs. Now, she said her neighborhood is in the midst of development all around, from The Shops at Wiregrass in Pasco County to the University of South Florida area in
See FLAVORS, page 13A
See WIDENING, page 13A
Get all your favorite local news stories online. COURTESY OF UNION72 BARBECUE
General Manager John Hanley, left, owner Jeff Martin, and chef Geoff Zukosky are getting ready to open Union72 Barbecue at The Shops at Wiregrass.
Bringing ‘world flavors’ to The Shops at Wiregrass lakerlutznews.com
NOVEMBER 2, 2016
By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
A new kind of barbecue experience is coming to The Shops at Wiregrass. Union72 Barbecue will open on Nov. 7 with a tantalizing menu of ribs and barbecue, infused with sauces and spices from
Hockey complex to open in December By Kevin Weiss
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Florida Hospital Center Ice Facility overview
It’s almost here. The highly-anticipated Florida Hospital Center Ice hockey complex is slated to open in mid-December. According to Gordie Zimmermann, a developer with Z Mitch, the complex’s “soft opening” may occur somewhere between Dec. 10 and Dec. 15. The facility’s grand opening, he said, will likely be held sometime in early January. In May, officials said the 150,500-squarefoot complex would open in late October. But, weather setbacks and technological hurdles has delayed the $20 million project, at 3173 Cypress Ridge Road in Wesley Chapel. Now, the complex is undergoing a “fourto-five week” project-commissioning period. “There’s a lot of things that have to happen,” Zimmermann said of the commissioning period. “There’s a lot of flushing of the big, main pipes.Then they’ve got to test all the controls, and all the motors and compressors.” The complex operates off a single refrigeration package, which also serves as a dehumidification system.The process is multifaceted, Zimmermann said. “The whole system is connected,” Zimmermann said,“so in order for it to be running like a charm, everything has to balance — the ice on all the rinks, (and) the dehumidifiers.” Zimmermann, who helped develop the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon, added it typically takes about three to four days to finish a sheet of ice for each rink. Described as the largest ice sports facility in the southeastern United States, the finished building will house five ice rinks, a
The 150,500-square-foot complex will be the largest ice sports facility in the southeastern United States.
COURTESY OF FLORIDA HOSPITAL CENTER ICE
The Florida Hospital Center Ice hockey complex is set to open in mid-December.
multipurpose sports floor, a 2,600-squarefoot fitness facility and an indoor sprint track. The multipurpose floor will be used for several sports, including roller hockey, volleyball, basketball, lacrosse and soccer. There also will be a full-service family restaurant on the second floor and five party rooms totaling 17,000 square feet. Once the facility opens to the public, Zimmermann said the “Learn to Skate” program will be offered first, followed by various recreational and in-house youth leagues. Registration for those programs will soon be available on the Center Ice website, Zimmermann said. Meanwhile, other activities — public skating and pickup hockey games — will take place. “The first thing that’s really going to happen in a big way here is the skating,” Zimmermann said.“We have some big group events that are scheduling with us, and then shortly into the February timeframe, we have a lot of tournaments starting up and running all the way through July.” While membership and league fees are See HOCKEY, page 13A
• One Olympic-size rink (200 feet by 100 feet) • Two North American standard-size rinks (200 feet by 85 feet) • One multipurpose sports floor/ice pad-multipurpose pad conversion • A 2,600-square-foot fitness facility • An indoor sprint track and conditioning area • An onsite athletic trainers and sports performance program • Five corporate/birthday party rooms • A family sports restaurant • Private and public locker rooms • A hockey skills training area • A revolving entrance door to control inside temperature environment Florida Hospital Center Ice will have numerous programs and uses, including: • Local, regional, national and international hockey tournaments • University and high school teams’ practices and games • Recreational leagues • Hockey development programs • Roller and street hockey • Camps, clinics, multisport training • Curling • Figure skating • Public skating, birthday parties • Sled hockey • Indoor sports: box lacrosse, volleyball, basketball • Sports Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention programs • Corporate events, public meetings