Volume 24 Issue 26 December 16, 2016
Inside: What’s New At Cantina Laredo & Little Italy’s? See Neighborhood Magazine!
Named The 2014 ‘Small Business Of The Year’ By The Wesley Chapel Chamber Of Commerce! The Direct-Mail News Magazines Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Since 1993! For the complete list of neighborhoods that receive this publication by direct mail in Wesley Chapel (zip codes 33543, 33544 & 33545), see page 46!
School Boundary Committee’s About-Face Sets Wesley Chapel Ablaze...Again
By John C. Cotey With a smattering of black shirts with the crossed out number 12 — representing Option 12 — serving as a backdrop, the Pasco School Boundary Committee (SBC) surprised many in attendance and changed course on Dec. 2. The SBC unanimously rejected its initial recommendation of Option 12 for new school zones for all three Wesley Chapel high schools in order to populate Cypress Creek Middle & High School off Old Pasco Rd., choosing instead Option 20 to pass on to the Pasco County School Board for final approval. The vote wasn’t close, with 16 of the 21 voting members raising their hand for Option 20. Option 13 received five votes from the committee comprised of school principals, parents and county administrators, while Option 12 didn’t receive any. While Option 12 didn’t rezone the Seven Oaks community, the SBC’s new option (20) did, leaving dozens of residents of Seven Oaks as incensed as the residents of Meadow Pointe and Union Park were about Option 12. Option 20 will now be passed on to Superintendent Kurt Browning and his staff, and then to the School Board for public hearings at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 20, and Tuesday, January 17. “Our neighborhood was saved,’’ said Union Park representative Tom McClanahan, who was supporting Options 13 or 20, neither of which rezoned his community and kept their kids going to John Long Middle School and Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH). McClanahan had formed an alliance with Seven Oaks, as Option 13 didn’t rezone either of their neighborhoods. “We just wanted to come
Also Inside This Issue: News, Business & Sports Updates ‘Diverging Diamond’ Work Moved Up, ‘Connected City’ Pitches BCC For Transportation Credits, District 2 Commissioner Mike Moore To Chair BCC, Wawa Opens, WCNT-tv & Stevenson Win Chamber Awards, New Tampa Cultural Center To Partner With Straz & More Local Business Features!
Pages 3-30
Neighborhood Magazine
Former Wiregrass Ranch High Student Wins Big Street Fighter 5 Tourney, Little Italy’s Introduces New Lunch Items, Cantina Laredo Adds New Menu Items, Plus, More Neighborhood Nibbles & Business Bytes!
Pages 35-52
out against Option 12, that was the biggest issue,’’ he said. “I still think Option 13 makes more sense for the community, but 20 still makes sense for us.” Parents can attend and mount a challenge to Option 20 with the upcoming board members, which Seven Oaks intends on doing. But Linda Cobbe, the District spokesperson, said Browning told her “he doesn’t have any intention of changing any decisions made by the committees on the new boundaries.” The SBC’s 16-5-0 vote caused muffled rejoicing and a few silent high-fives from many of the 80 or so parents in attendance at the Wesley
Chapel High (WCH) gymnasium. Option 20 will keep Meadow Pointe III and IV, Country Walk and Union Park in their current feeder zone (Double Branch Elementary to John Long Middle to Wiregrass). While none of the SBC members said it had anything to do with their vote, the selection alleviates many parents’ fears of their kids being transported to school via Meadow Pointe Blvd. and S.R. 54, which was a prevalent theme of the Nov. 29 parent town hall that was attended by more than 1,000 people at WCH (photo above). “I’m glad the feeder patterns stay the way they are,’’ said Michael Degennaro, who has a
9th grade daughter at WRH. “Every other option broke them up. This keeps the communities intact. Really was no reason to take (us out). There’s 1,600 of us vs. 700 (in Seven Oaks). You displace too many students (with Option 12).” Residents of the Seven Oaks community, some of whom were in attendance, were not as happy. Students will now be zoned to attend Thomas E. Weightman Middle School and WCH, except for current juniors at WRH, who will be grandfathered in to graduate at the school they attended for three years. Seven Oaks Voice, the group that has been representing the community during the process, immediately scheduled a number of meetings to formulate a response, including one on Dec. 15 (a week after we went to press with this issue), where local media were invited to attend. We’ll update you on that meeting in our next issue. Option 20 was originally among the final three choices for the SBC, but was the first one dismissed for two reasons — it didn’t provide as much relief to the overcrowded schools as did Option 12, and it rezoned Seven Oaks, which could need to be rezoned again in four years. But, some eagle-eyed Meadow Pointe residents disputed the attendance numbers. Kevin Croswell, representing Meadow Pointe III, spoke at a School Board meeting on Nov. 15, saying the original enrollment numbers presented by the county to the SBC in Option 20 were incorrect. Their numbers — which turned out to be the correct numbers and were later adjusted by the district staff — showed that Option 20 offered almost the same relief as Option 12. “I think certainly the numbers helped,’’ said Chris Williams, the school district’s director
See “New School” on page 5.
‘Symphony In Lights’ Continues At The Shops At Wiregrass Through 12/31 If you haven’t yet seen this year’s “Symphony in Lights” at the Shops at Wiregrass mall, presented by CalAtlantic Homes, you have two more weeks to get out and enjoy the seasonal music, dazzling Christmas tree light show and yes, even snow. The Symphony in Lights has been presented at the Shops, located at 28211 Paseo Dr. (at the corner of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and S.R. 56), since the mall first opened in 2008. That makes this the ninth year of the holiday program. The choreographed light show is set to the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and is played every night, every hour on the hour, at 6, 7, 8, and 9 p.m. “Over the years, this community has really embraced the show,” says Shops at Wiregrass general manager Greg Lenners. “Some people see it 15 or 20 times during the holiday season. People like to show it off to their friends and family who visit. It’s something you can bring your families to that has become a tradition.” He explains that the original tree was replaced last year, due to technology evolving at
a lightning-fast pace and the wear and tear of taking the tree down and putting it up over many years. While he admits that last year’s shows had a few kinks, this year, a new programmer was hired to ensure everything runs smoothly. The presentations at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. uses the same music that has been played since the first show eight years ago. It’s been popular because it uses traditional holiday music and people seem to enjoy the music year after year. The 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows have been redesigned a few times, and they are brand new again this year, with different music (still by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and a light show that is customized and programmed, one CalAtlantic Homes presents a “Symphony in light at a time, based on the music chosen. Lights” four times a night, every night, through So, Lenners has advice for you. “If Dec. 31, at the Shops at Wiregrass mall. you’re coming out to see the Symphony in Lights again – if you’re a seasoned veteran – come to the 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. shows,” he says. “If you’re brand new, it doesn’t matter. Come on out, you won’t be disappointed.” — Celeste McLaughlin