Volume 18 Issue 15
Inside: Check Out Aja & The New Bostonian Salon!
July 17, 2010
See Neighborhood Magazine!
The Direct-Mail News Magazines Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Since 1993! THIS INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWS MAGAZINE 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
Will The Transportation Tax Really Move New Tampa Forward? An editorial by Gary Nager I want to state up front that I am absolutely in favor of and will definitely both endorse and vote for myself the proposed one-cent transportation sales tax “surcharge” being billed as “Moving Hillsborough Forward (MHF),” even though I’m not sure I’m “on board” (from a New Tampa standpoint) with all of the facets of the plan — or the way the tax itself is being presented to the general public. The biggest problem for me is that I honestly don’t believe that I or the general public have enough information to really know what we’re voting for (or against) with regards to this tax, but the fact that it’s going to be on every New Tampa voter’s ballot in November has me feeling compelled to try to address both the facts and my feelings about the proposed sales tax and break it all down as directly as possible. Basically, the tax would increase your cost on most purchases by one
cent per dollar, although the additional surcharge would only be assessed on the first $5,000 of any purchase (so, for example, the surcharge wouldn’t be added after the first $5,000 of the cost of a new car). The funds to be raised, which I believe are estimated at $5 billion over the 30-year life of the tax, would include nearly $600 million for new and improved existing roads (including $18 million for the final phases of the widening of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD; and $4.5 million for the widening to four lanes of the eastern end of Cross Creek Blvd.). The bulk of the money raised will pay for a light commuter rail system, with one of the first segments of the county’s rail system to be built either in the median or on the east side of BBD. This light rail system is not to be confused (although it’s hard not to) with the high-speed rail system linking Miami, Tampa Bay and Orlando that Florida voters already have approved. Hillsborough County’s light rail system, which won’t be completed until
2018 if this referendum passes, would be the first such system that would connect commuters to that high-speed rail. I attended two meetings, both on June 23, where the proposed tax was not only discussed, but pushed fairly vehemently by two people for whom I have a lot of respect. Fewer than 30 people came to hear former U.S. Rep. Jim First, current countywide Hillsbor- Davis (right) and Ray Chiaramonte of the Tampa/Hillsborough MPO discuss the proposed one-cent transportation sales ough County comtax at the New Tampa Regional Library on June 23. missioner Mark Sharpe, a Republican, of the road projects we can’t otherself-avowed fiscal conservative and forwise afford; it also allows us to also mer military intelligence officer who afford a light commuter rail system spoke at my New Tampa Noon that will finally bring transportation in Rotary Club meeting at Circles New this county into the 21st century.” Tampa Bistro (see page 37), assured Sharpe also noted that he is not a us that the tax, “is the most fiscally See “Transportation” on page 30. conservative way to fund not only all
New Tampa’s Fire & Emergency Service Gets Another Upgrade
NEIGHBORHOOD MAGAZINE!
Judge Rules Against Cypress Creek Town Center Developer, Voting Information For The August 24 Primary Election & Much More!
Part Two Of Our Summer ‘Staycation’ Spectacular Features Saddlebrook Resort; Plus, Goodbye & Hello To Circles New Tampa Bistro & More !
See pages 3-34!
See pages 35-56!
ECRWSS
LOCAL NEWS, BUSINESS, SPORTS & EDUCATION
Creek Blvd. and Morris Bridge Rd., where new homes continue to be built and plans are in place for thousands more to be built in the future. “The city is trying to be proactive,” Spradlin says. “That’s where all the growth is in the city right now, and if you look at the coverage area for Station No. 21, it’s about quadruple that of most of our other stations.” According to data collected by TFR, Station 21 responded to 416 firerelated calls and 1,753 medical calls over a 12-month period between early See “News Briefs” on page 6.
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Also Inside This Issue!
ladder truck. Now, that vehicle will be used exclusively as a ladder truck, while the new truck will handle engine duties. In addition to fire response, the new vehicle also will be equipped and staffed to provide advanced life support. The new vehicle will be continually manned by a four-man crew, consisting of a captain, a driver and two firefighters. Fortunately, Spradlin says that most of the cost of their salaries will be covered by a $5-million, multi-year federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant that the department recently received, leaving the city to cover a total of about $70,000 this year. Spradlin says that the primary incentive for adding a new vehicle and crew at Station No. 21 was to improve response times in the areas of Cross
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID TAMPA FL PERMIT 2801
In response to current and expected future growth in the area, Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) recently added a second fire truck and crew to the roster at New Tampa’s Station #21 on Cross Creek Blvd. According to TFR spokesperson
Lt. Danielle Spradlin, the station’s new vehicle (it is new at Station 21, but was actually was already in service elsewhere in the city) and crew officially began service at 7:30 a.m. on July 4. Previously, Spradlin says, there was only one vehicle assigned to the station full time, that being a ladder truck that was being used as a dual-purpose fire engine and
Dated Material Please Rush!
By Michael Smith
For Advertising Information Call 813-910-2575 • Volume 18, Issue 15 • July 17, 2010 • www.NTNeighborhoodNews.com
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