Volume 18 Issue 2
WESLEY CHAPEL Inside:
Dempsey’s Is Still Gary’s Favorite!
NEWS
See page 26!
January 16, 2010
The Direct-Mail Newspaper Serving Wesley Chapel & New Tampa Since 1993! THIS INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER IS DIRECTLY MAILED TO: WESLEY CHAPEL: Aberdeen • Belle Chase • Brookside • Chapel Pines • Country Walk • Lexington Oaks • Meadow Pointe • New River • Northwood • Pinewalk • Pine Ridge • Saddlebrook • Saddleridge Estates • Saddlewood • Seven Oaks • Lakes at Northwood • The Villages of Wesley Chapel • Wesley Pointe • Westbrook Estates • Williamsburg NEW TAMPA: Arbor Greene • Cory Lake Isles • Cross Creek • Grand Hampton • Heritage Isles • Hunter’s Green • Hunter’s Key • K-Bar Ranch • Lake Forest • Live Oak Preserve • Pebble Creek • Richmond Place • Tampa Palms • West Meadows
2010 Presents A New Set Of Challenges For Our Area Economic Uncertainty Will Continue, But Road Building & Other Projects Will Pave The Way To The Future By Michael Smith Well, 2009 was a tough year, but thankfully, most of us have made it through, reasonably intact (or so I hope). Either way, here’s looking forward to a better 2010. Wesley Chapel was one of the communities that fared the best during what will henceforward be known as the great real estate boom of the early 2000s — among the fastest-growing areas in the country at one point — so it follows that we would also be among the hardest hit after the real estate bubble burst nationwide. Looking around, we definitely have seen some of the effects of that collapse and subsequent economic meltdown, with home after home standing empty and threatened by or already in foreclosure; many of our local businesses (and a few national companies, too) having gone out of business
forever and untold numbers of our friends and neighbors searching for work...many unable to find it. Pasco County as a whole, of course, also is feeling the crunch, with county officials scrambling to find ways to replace or do without lost tax revenue. Thanks to a huge drop in real estate values values countywide, combined with the ongoing effects of the passage of Amendment 1 to the state constitution (which raised the homeowner’s exemption and reduced property tax revenues statewide), the county’s General Fund revenues dropped by more than $8.3 billion from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2009. Other fund sources and revenue streams also have suffered similar losses or reductions. But, even though most forecasters are predicting that we likely will not see a full economic recovery this year, most of the pundits agree that things will eventually turn around again, and hav-
The widening of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. between S.R. 54 & County Line Rd. should be completed by the end of 2010. ing faced this crisis will hopefully make it easier for more of us to once again prosper when they do. That is one of the major objectives for the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), according to chairwoman Pat Mulieri, who also happens to be the representative for the BOCC’s District 2, which includes the Wesley Chapel area. “This isn’t going to be the easiest year,” Mulieri says, “but Pasco County
is positioning itself for the future.” Mulieri, who recently underwent knee replacement surgery, also is facing re-election later this year. The commissioner points to the continued success of the Shops at Wiregrass mall and the opening of the S.R. 56 extension to Mansfield Blvd. as probably the biggest two positive things that took place in Wesley Chapel over the past year. She also touts the ‘09 See “2010” on page 8.
Chamber Of Commerce Seeking A New Executive Director
NEIGHBORHOOD MAGAZINE!
Man Charged In 40-Year-Old Molestation Case, Cypress Creek Town Center News Teacher Of The Year Nominees From Wesley Chapel Schools & More!
Our Exclusive January Entertainment Calendar, Ways To Get Fit In The New Year, A Review Of Our Editor’s Local Dining Favorites & More!
See pages 3-19!
See pages 21-36!
See “News Briefs” on page 4.
ECRWSS
LOCAL NEWS, BUSINESS & SPORTS UPDATES
tion and time management skills. The last may be the most critical, however, based upon the growing number of community events that the Chamber either holds or participates in, which in recent months have included a Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting ceremony at the Shops at Wiregrass mall in December, a Family Health & Wellness Fair, and the Chamber’s well-attended Craft Show, which was held at The Grove shopping plaza in October. The Chamber also hosts a variety of other
Postal Customer
Also Inside This Issue!
Board of Directors, had received about a dozen resumes from people who are interested in the position. “Actually, though, we are seeking more (applicants) than Sheri Goldberg that, because we really don’t want to make a selection based on that small number of resumes,” Fleming says. According to the official call for applicants that the Chamber has issued, candidates for the position of executive director should have proven leadership skills, management and sales experience, proficient fiscal and budgeting skills, strong interpersonal skills, communica-
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The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) is now on the hunt for a new executive director. Sheri Goldberg, who had led the Chamber since 2008, when she took over for former executive director Jason Wilson, left in December.
Chamber president Cindy Fleming, who is overseeing the search for Goldberg’s replacement, wouldn’t comment on the reason for Goldberg’s departure, and we were unable to reach Goldberg herself for a comment. Fleming did say, however, that as of last week, the threeperson selection committee, which is made up of members of the Chamber’s
Dated Material Please Rush!
By Michael Smith
For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 18, Issue 2 • Januar y 16, 2010 • www.WCNeighborhoodNews.com
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