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Familiar faces win reelection in Pasco
Hillsborough County voters reject some incumbents, but grant others four more years. By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Voters across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area demonstrated their enthusiasm in Election 2020 — casting their ballots through Vote By Mail or in person at early voting sites or in their precincts on Election Day.
Pasco County reported a turnout of 77.8% of its 389,317 registered voters, with a total of 303,214 ballots cast, according to unofficial voting results. Hillsborough County reported a turnout of 76.45% of the county’s 934,346 registered voters, casting a total of 714,286 ballots. These are unofficial tallies for both counties. The final result must include overseas ballots, provisional ballots and ballots that had signature issues that were cured — before they are certified, which is when they become official. Visits by The Laker/Lutz News to polling lo-
cations during Early Voting and on Election Day revealed smooth operations at numerous sites across the newspaper’s coverage area in Lutz, Land O’ Lakes,Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills. Incumbents fared better in Pasco County than they did in Hillsborough County. Pasco County voters gave Kurt Browning four more years as superintendent of Pasco County Schools.They also reelected Kathryn Starkey in District 1 and Jack Mariano in District 5, on the Pasco County Commission. In Hillsborough County, voters reelected See REELECTION, page 11A
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USF urged to continue preparing teachers By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The Pasco County School Board has adopted a resolution urging the University of South Florida to continue teacher preparation programs at all of the university’s campuses. Board members adopted the resolution at their Nov. 3 meeting, after they and Superintendent Kurt Browning weighed in on the issue. “We think that it would just be devastating to our programs across the Tampa Bay area for them to close that program down,” Browning said, noting he had joined superintendents from Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee and Sarasota for a community conversation to discuss USF’s proposal to end the program. “I don’t think people on the outside of education fully understand the impact that this is going to have on our district,” Browning said.“We are direct recipients of great teachers who come out of USF.” School board member Alison Crumbley characterized USF’s decision as “shortsighted.” Like Browning, she said the district relies on USF’s program. “Thirty percent of our teachers come from USF,” she said.“It’s just a huge disappointment to me, and letdown for the school districts and taxpayers in the Tampa Bay area that this is the situation,” Crumbley said. Board Chairwoman Colleen Beaudoin, who herself is a teacher, added:“It’s unfortunate that there’s been a decline nationally, in the number of people pursuSee USF, page 11A
RANDY UNDERHILL
VW enthusiasts turn out in droves The weather was perfect for this gathering of Volkswagen lovers, and there was plenty to see and do, at the 32nd annual Bug Jam, at the Pasco County Fairgrounds, in Dade City. There was food and entertainment, as well as a VW car show and plenty of parts — and stories — to swap. Above, Rafael Correa, of Jacksonville, relaxes while waiting for judging of his 1966 Micro bus at the Florida Bug Jam. Check out more photos on page 1B.
This 1965 replica of Herbie the Love Bug was shown at the Florida Bug Jam. It is owned by Stephen Love, of Clermont.
Above, Carlos Arias, of Miami, poses with his 1966 Rat Rod (Elbicho). He’s been taking part in the Florida Bug Jam for three years. He doesn’t just show his car at car shows, he drives it every day.
This 1972 VW Karmann Ghia is owned by Jack Cook, of Brooksville.
Florida’s outlook bullish despite pandemic, legislators say By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Florida’s 2021 budget is expected to be lower than it was in 2020 — due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, but incoming Senate President Wilton Simpson remains optimistic about the state’s prospects. Those were two takeaways from Simpson’s remarks at the annual Zephyrhills Economic Summit held on Oct. 12, and organized by the Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce. Simpson, a Republican from Trilby, predicted that 2021 will be “a very challenging budget year.” He estimated that the state budget will be between $2 billion and $5 billion less in 2021 than its $93 billion budget last year. “We have a lot of work do this year,” said Simpson, who was first elected in 2012 and represents Florida’s 10th district, which includes Citrus, Hernando and a portion of Pasco County. He told those attending the summit that this will be the first time since he became a state lawmaker that the state’s budget will be lower in the coming year than in the previous year.
Despite the economic setback, Florida is well-positioned for the long-term because, for the past decade, it has been investing in infrastructure and cultivating a businessfriendly environment, Simpson said. For instance, the state has not skimped on investing in deepwater ports, and other transportation and roadway improvements. It also has slashed sales taxes on manufacturing equipment — to attract large firms and higher-wage jobs. The state has paid off about $10 billion in debt during the last decade, bringing total debt to around $20 billion. And, it has reduced taxes by a corresponding amount, he said. Moreover, the state boasts a AAA credit rating from all three credit reporting agencies - TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, he said. To put it into perspective, Simpson noted a similarly populated state like New York is “eight, nine notches down from a AAA credit rating. “When you think about Florida, we’re one of the lowest tax states in the union, and there’s certain states we could probably never win because we don’t have an oil reserve here to where we can give dollars
away, but other than that, we have no state income tax. From a regulatory structure, we have one of the best states to do business in,” explained Simpson. New York, which has a population of about 19.5 million, has a budget of about $200 billion, Simpson said. By comparison, Florida’s population is about 22 million, and its budget is less than $100 billion. “We extract half of the taxes that they extract from their system to run their government, versus our government,” Simpson said. On a related note, Simpson said about 1,000 people move into the Sunshine State every day.The state’s population is predicted to reach about 27 million by 2035. Taxes and regulations are two of the reasons people are moving here, Simpson said. He observed:“What’s happening is all of your high-tax states, all of your overregulated states, those folks are voting with their feet.They’re moving to Florida.” But, Florida has issues it must address, including the funding of the Florida Retirement System, he said.That system’s unfunded liability now stands at about $25 billion. That situation “will keep the state of
Florida restricted on how much dollars we can spend in the future,” Simpson said. On the topic of COVID-19, Simpson praised the country’s ever-improving therapeutic medicines and pharmaceutical industry for advancing with vaccine options and trials.The lawmaker hopes an approved vaccine is produced by the beginning of 2021, then widely available by the middle of the year. With health and safety guidelines now widely known and followed, Simpson said Florida “should not be in a situation where we have to re-shut down.The more serious we take it, the more our economy will flourish.” Meantime, Simpson said the state’s economy “is picking up,” and showing signs of recovery since about 30% of it was shut down for two-plus months in the wake of COVID-19. It could’ve been an even larger hit, Simpson said, if not for the state’s robust agriculture industry and other central businesses, including first responders, health care providers, education, and truck drivers and delivery services. See OUTLOOK, page 11A