FREE • THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024
VOLUME 11, NO. 30
LIVE LOCAL ACT AMENDMENT BILLS INTRODUCED MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
On Jan. 4, Representative Vicki Lopez and Senator Alexis Calatayud filed House Bill 1239 and Senate Bill 328, respectively, to amend the affordable housing land use
preemption and missing middle property tax exemption created by the Live Local Act. The bills, if passed, would exclude “industrial” zones from the preemption, amend the tool’s height allowances, establish several new exceptions and clarify
a number of outstanding implementation questions. It also provides $100 million in funding to the State Housing Trust Fund for use by Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) to implement the Florida Hometown Hero Program, that provides down payment and closing cost assistance
to first-time, income-qualified homebuyers so they can purchase a primary residence in the community where they work and serve. Both bills are expected to move through the Legislative process.
2024 FLORIDA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL LOCAL RESIDENTS MLK EVENTS A JUNIOR ROYALTY WINNERS CROWNED MAKE SUCCESS
THE QUEEN AND HER COURT CAN BE SEEN AT THE FLORIDA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL AS WELL AS OTHER COMMUNITY EVENTS HAPPENING AROUND TOWN THIS YEAR. MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
The Charlie Grimes Family Agricultural Center sparkled with glitz and glam Saturday night as 121 contestants vied for a title in the 2024 Junior Royalty Pageant sponsored by the Florida Strawberry Festival. The six judges had their work cut out for them as contestants as young as five years old walked the stage with grace, poise and plenty of personality. Contestants participated in one of four age categories including Baroness (5 to 6 years old), Duchess (7 to 9 years old), Princess (10 to 12 years old) and Queen (13 to 15 years old). The pageant, emceed by the mother/daughter duo of Dr. Tandria and Calaydria Callins, included a preliminary competition, where each contestant was introduced and walked the stage.
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EVENTS HONORED THE CIVIL RIGHTS ICON AND CELEBRATED COMMUNITY SPIRIT. MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
For Kamiyah Richardson, a third grade student at Lincoln Elementary Magnet School, being able to read a poem from a book her grandfather, Johnnie Lee Richardson Jr., gave her when she was five-years-old, at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration Monday at the Bing Rooming House Museum, was a special experience.
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