13-09 NTNN 1-48 web

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Volume 17 Issue 13

Inside:

Cerise Bistro & The Lodge: Mmmmm!

June 26, 2009

See pages 27 & 38!

The Direct-Mail Newspaper Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Since 1993! THIS INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER IS DIRECTLY MAILED TO: 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 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

Get Involved In Planning New Tampa’s Transportation Future! By Michael Smith If you’re interested in what’s in store for the future of our area’s transportation network (and if you live in New Tampa, how can you not be?), then now is your opportunity to play a part in planning that future. That’s because the Hillsborough County Transportation Task Force, along with the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) and the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) are in the process of completing a transportation plan for the entire Tampa Bay region that will include not only highway improvements, but also a range of transportation alternatives, such as buses and light rail, and they are asking for the public’s input on what residents think the plan should include and how it should be implemented. On June 5, representatives from

the three groups, as well as a spokesman for Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), held a public workshop at the New Tampa Regional Library, which attracted a crowd of about 50 area residents. Bob Campbell, director of the transportation division of Hillsborough County’s Planning & Growth Management department, said that the meeting was one of series of such meetings held around the county specifically to update citizens and get their comments on the transportation plans. Campbell explained that each of the different groups was working to coordinate their efforts to get things moving as quickly as possible. First of all, he said, TBARTA, which was created by the state legislature in 2007 to create a unified transportation plan for the entire Tampa Bay region, approved the final version of that plan earlier this year. Now, since the first phases of the regional plan will

This artist’s rendering is one vision of what Bruce B. Downs Blvd. could look like in 20-30 years. be implemented here in Hillsborough County, the MPO will have to update the county’s Long Range Transportation Plan to reflect the changes mandated by the regional plan. And finally, Campbell said that HART is in charge of analyzing the different alternatives for implementing light rail service. Hillsborough County

officials, meanwhile, also are contemplating a referendum to be added to the ballot in 2010 which will include a tax increase to generate some of the funding for the various projects. Campbell said that referendum was recommended to the Board of County Commissioners by the Transportation See “Transportation” on page 7.

Shelby Humbert would be replaced with a part-time teacher/administrator. “We do not see this change affecting your child’s preschool education or experience,” the letter continues. “Indeed, Grace Church is fully committed to support the program of Grace Preschool to the same high standards as you have come to expect.” However, on May 27, the day after Humbert was terminated, inspectors from the Hillsborough County Childcare Licensing Program paid a visit to the Grace preschool, and according to program manager Linda Stoller, the school was issued a citation because county and state rules require any childcare program to have a director on site “for the majority of the program’s operating hours.” Stoller says that the inspection was not brought on by the firing of Humbert, but was a part of the Grace pro-

gram’s annual recertification process. She said that although Grace was technically in violation of the requirement of having a full-time director, the school would be allowed to continue under a provisional license that would give church officials six months to hire a new director. In addition, Grace officials apparently did not anticipate the reaction from both parents and teachers at the school, many of whom were very upset over losing Humbert, who had guided the program for the past three years. Many of those parents decided to remove their children from the program, and, after a meeting with church

Grace Episcopal Church Preschool Closes Its Doors

NEIGHBORHOOD MAGAZINE!

Home Invasion Thieves Strike In New Tampa, Capturing Precious Moments With Matt Clark Photography, Lots Of New Tampa Little League & Lacrosse News & Much More !

A Review Of The New Ciccio’s & The Lodge Restaurant, Hunter’s Green Country Club’s 20th Anniversary, A Fourth Of July Entertainment Guide & Much More!

See pages 3-26!

See pages 27-48!

See “Grace” on page 4.

ECRWSS

LOCAL NEWS, BUSINESS, SPORTS & EDUCATION

Postal Customer

Also Inside This Issue!

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID TAMPA FL PERMIT 2801

Dozens of local parents have been sent scrambling to find new places for their children to attend preschool next year, after it was abruptly announced earlier this month that the pre-K program at Grace Episcopal Church in Tampa Palms will be closing its doors after this summer. According to a May 26 letter sent

from Grace pastor Rev. Benjamin Twinamaani to parents whose children were already enrolled for the 2009-10 school year, “Grace Church has been subsidizing the Grace Preschool and the budget deficit for the upcoming school year will be even greater than it has been in the past. Therefore, Grace Church has decided to reorganize.” The letter also says that as part of the reorganization, preschool director

Dated Material Please Rush!

By Michael Smith

For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 17, Issue 13 • June 26, 2009 • www.NTNeighborhoodNews.com

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