Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Both the Hillsborough County Commission and School Board have races next November.
Election Day 2014 is still a long ways away, but that doesn’t mean competition for local seats isn’t starting to develop. With three seats up for grabs on both the Hillsborough County Commission and Hillsborough School Board, Carrollwood area residents can anticipate some changes in those boards following the 2014 elections. Here’s a look at who’s filed for what races to date, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office: County Commission District 4 This district represents south and eastern Hillsborough Counties. The seat is currently held by Al Higginbotham. He’s running for an at-large seat in 2014. Here’s the lineup to date: Neither candidate has reported fundraising activities as of yet. No Democrats have filed…
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Hillsborough County is looking into local regulations that would put a lock on smiths that have less-than-reputable practices.
Hillsborough Commission Chairman Ken Hagan says it’s time for the county to clamp down on locksmiths that use deceptive practices and conduct bait-and-switch price quoting to bilk customers out of money. Hagan’s fellow board members agreed unanimously with his request for the county to begin looking into local legislation that would require licensing for locksmiths that operate in Hillsborough and also criminal background checks for employees. Hagan’s quest to have the county consider such local legislation began when a piece of mail arrived at his home, he told commissioners during the board’s April 17 meeting. The mail was addressed to “Clark Locksmith.” What Hagan thought was the mistaken arrival of a single piece of mail turned out to …
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Hillsborough County is looking into passing a local law that would regulate these establishments to discourage them from being used as fronts for prostitution and human trafficking. Do you think it’s necessary, Carrollwood and Northdale?
Recent allegations of human trafficking at a South Tampa massage parlor have Hillsborough County Commissioners taking notice. During its April 17 meeting, the board discussed creating local legislation that would limit the hours massage parlors can operate in the county. The law would also forbid parlors from letting employees live on site. Commissioner Sandra Murman brought up the proposal, she said, to give law enforcement another tool in its arsenal to crack down on trafficking and prostitution both. She wants the county to consider an ordinance that’s similar to what the City of Tampa has already put on its books. Florida alone is home to thousands of human trafficking victims, perhaps as many as 40,000, Murman said. Many of these …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Hillsborough County is exploring the idea of hiring a film commissioner. What Carrollwood locations would you like to see on film?
County Commissioners want to see Hillsborough’s name in lights – or at least written in movie and television credits. The county revealed plans recently to hire a film commissioner to help Hillsborough locations attract the kind of attention from Hollywood that nearby Pinellas has enjoyed in recent years. The new film commissioner would head up a nonprofit film commission that would fall under the auspices of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp, according to The Tampa Tribune. The idea behind the move is to make Hillsborough more attractive to movie and television makers not just to get the county’s name in lights, but also to attract the spending that major productions tend to bring with them. The Tribune says the county gets…
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Hillsborough Commissioners and the mayors of the county’s three cities have agreed to come together to hammer out solutions for the area’s transportation woes. Mass transit may or may not be part of the solution.
Does rush hour traffic along Dale Mabry Highway, Ehrlich Road or Fletcher Avenue have you down? Hillsborough County is ready to seek out solutions to fix the area’s transportation problems. The announcement that a policy-making group would soon form to explore transportation problems, potential solutions and possible funding sources came during the County Commission’s March 20 meeting. That group would include all seven of Hillsborough’s commissioners, a representative from the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit authority and the mayors of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City. Rather than start off meetings looking at potential solutions like light rail, which has been done in the past, this particular group of county movers and shakers …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The County Commissioner from East Hillsborough is running for a countywide seat in 2014, but some are saying his stand on two recent controversial issues will hurt him in the long run. We’d like to get your thoughts!
Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham is in for a fight in 2014 – one that some say he’s going to have an increasingly difficult time winning. The District 4 commissioner from East Hillsborough County is running for a countywide seat on the board. While his strong support base of Eastern Hillsborough Republicans has carried him through in the past, skeptics say Higginbotham is going to have a hard time overcoming his own voting record when residents countywide turn out to the polls in 2014. 2 Possible Sticking Points The Tampa Tribune calls into question Higginbotham’s ability to overcome two recent decisions it says have cast the commissioner in a less-than-positive light with those who don’t share his conservative views. They …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
A new building at the Hillsborough County Division of Children’s Services Lake Magdalene Campus will be named for former First Lady Mary Jane Martinez.
Mary Jane Martinez has dedicated her life to children. Even before her husband, former Gov. Bob Martinez, was elected to the state’s highest office, she was in the trenches helping students at King High School, serving as librarian for about 20 years. When she became Florida’s First Lady in the 1980s, she turned her attention toward helping youngsters on a statewide level. She is credited with helping the state bolster its Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, the umbrella organization for an estimated 30 shelters and crisis centers. The nonprofit represents agencies that serve homeless, runaway and troubled teens ages 10 and up and their families, according to its website. Hillsborough County Commissioners wanted to honor Mary …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
County Commissioner Les Miller, in speaking in favor of the ordinance, said it was time for Hillsborough to do something to stop the drugs that are “killing our kids. This will hopefully deter (them).”
Anyone caught selling, possessing, displaying or manufacturing synthetic drugs in Hillsborough County now faces a first-time fine of up to $500 per individually wrapped package. Hillsborough Commissioners unanimously voted Feb. 20 to approve a local law that outlaws synthetic drugs, including K2, Spice and bath salts. County Commissioner Les Miller, in speaking in favor of the ordinance, said it was time for Hillsborough to do something to stop the drugs that are “killing our kids. This will hopefully deter (them).” Miller said the new law specifically targets stores that sell the often colorful packages of chemical drugs and also those who manufacture them. “(We’re) hitting them in the pocket,” Miller said. Commissioner Sandra Murman …
The Hillsborough County Commission has agreed to set aside $6.25 million to repay developers for road construction projects that will ultimately serve customers of Bass Pro’s new location. We’d like to get your thoughts on the issue.
Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan says the math is simple. The county pays out up to $6.5 million to help a developer build roads that will benefit not only Bass Pro Shops, but also a number of other businesses. In return, it will get nearly $3 million in combined property and sales taxes collected on the Brandon area parcel each year. The land only generates about $800 a year in property tax revenues now. Based on those figures, the taxpayers will get their money back in only a few years while continuing to see a large increase in property and sales taxes thanks to the development. Commissioner Kevin Beckner opposed using county dollars to help pay for the road project. He said he fears the county is turning into a “…
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Expiration of the local tax could mean good news at the pumps, but don’t spend the extra cash just yet.
Carrollwood and Northdale residents hoping to save a little at the pumps could get a reprieve if Hillsborough County’s 6-cent local option gas tax is allowed to expire Aug. 31. Don’t go spending the extra cash just yet though. If the county allows the tax to sunset this summer, it could deliver a financial blow of about $22 million to Hillsborough’s budget, officials say. The County Commission meets Feb. 14 in a workshop where it will hear preliminary budget figures for Fiscal Year 2014, which begins on Oct. 1, 2013. That 6-cent gas tax is used by the county to fund road maintenance projects and transportation operations. Without the revenue stream, the county’s anticipated $3.2 million budget deficit would likely grow to about $25.2 …
Charles Eldredge
3:02 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
I agree with both posters Steve and Jeff Geis, but especially Steve...he made some excellent points. These so-called transportation groups keep dredging up this idea for trains....why? It's a bad idea...other cities have already made the mistake. If they want to make a go of mass transit put in a real bus system that works. Criss cross the entire city with bus lines with wait times at bus stops … more ›