Bloomingdale/FishHawk
32 C E L E B R A T I N G
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March 2020 Volume 19, Issue 3 Ph: 657-2418 1 8
Y E A R S
O F
P U B L I S H I N G
Long-Awaited Signal Coming To Lithia Pinecrest And FishHawk Trails Intersection
P O S I T I V E
C O M M U N I T Y
Dr. BBQ To Cook At Pinch A Penny Lithia EGGFest 2020 To Benefit Newsome ROTC
By Libby Hopkins
By Brad Stager
The 10th annual Lithia EGGFest will be held on Saturday, March 28 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Pinch A Penny Pool Patio Spa, located at 16715 FishHawk Blvd. in Lithia. This year’s EGGFest will also feature an appearance from local cooking celebrity Dr. BBQ.
Who doesn’t love food cooked on a grill? The smell of a good barbecue can waft for miles around. The only thing that can make barbecued food taste better is if it’s cooked in a Big Green Egg and helps out a local program. For those of you who would agree with me, you may want to attend the upcoming 10th annual Lithia EGGFest on Saturday, March 28 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. So what exactly is an EGGFest, you ask? According to FishHawk resident Jim Rutledge, who also owns Pinch A Penny Pool Patio Spa in Lithia, “It’s a party for people who love barbecue and who love to cook in a Big Green Egg while competing in teams against each other.” EGGFest is more than just a BBQ competition. It is designed to build the ‘EGGhead’ community by bringing teams together to create unique menus. Teams will try to outdo their competitors and the attendees are the judges. These EGGheads, who travel from all over the country, will show off their talents on a Big Green Egg, a complete outdoor cooking system that can grill, roast, smoke, bake and so much more. “Eggs used from EGGFest are available at a significant discount,” Rutledge said. “This is the best pricing of the year.” This year’s EGGFest will also feature an appearance and cooking demonstration from local cooking celebrity Dr. BBQ.
“Dr. BBQ will be at EGGFest doing a barbecue cooking demonstration,” Rutledge said. “There will also be various cooking sections going on during the event. Those sections include team competitions and culinary arts.” There will be up to 15 teams competing at this year’s EGGFest, and proceeds from the event will go to the ROTC program at Newsome High School. “The ROTC program is looking to build an obstacle course for their Ranger Division,” Rutledge said. To learn more about the 10th annual Lithia EGGFest, visit www.lithiaeggfest.com. The event is free to attend, but if you’d like to sample the food you will need to purchase a Taster Ticket for $10. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Pinch A Penny Pool Patio Spa in Lithia or by calling 655-3700. The store is located at 16715 FishHawk Blvd. EGGFest will be held in front of the store as well.
In This Issue NJHS SUPPORTS RESOURCE CENTER .PG 3 GIRL SCOUTS LUNCHEON ....................... 4 CALENDAR OF EVENTS.......................PG 5 RELAY FOR LIFE EVENTS.....................PG 7 FEED THE BAY ....................................PG 9
EYE ON BUSINESS....................PGS 25‐26 GRIFFIN & ASSOCIATES, P.A. ..........PG 28 CHALKLINES....................................PG 38
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Residents Programs in two estabdepartment, lished commuthe project will nities along yield many Lithia benefits for Pinecrest Rd. residents. in the “This projFishHawk ect is part of area of Lithia the intersection can expect to operation and see some road safety improvements enhancement and new infraprogram and structure to Lithia Pinecrest Rd. will get a new traffic signal and will provide improve their signalized other upgrades at its intersection with Fishhawk Trails Dr. and Hawkpark Blvd. traffic situation access for in the coming months. vehicles moving onto Lithia Pinecrest Hillsborough County is in the Rd. from Hawkpark Blvd. and process of installing a traffic signal on Fishhawk Trails Dr. In addition, the Lithia Pinecrest Rd. where it interproject will allow pedestrians to cross sects with Fishhawk Trails Dr. and Lithia Pinecrest Rd. safely utilizing Hawkpark Blvd. The two intersecting the pedestrian signal features. The roads provide access to Lithia project also provides sidewalk access Pinecrest Rd. for people living in the for pedestrians along the west side of Fish Hawk Trails and FishHawk Lithia Pinecrest Rd. from Hawkpark Ranch housing developments, Dr. to just south of Fishhawk Blvd.,” respectively. Gonzalez wrote in an email. During peak travel times, resiThe project is a Capital dents have difficulty exiting and enter- Improvement Project (CIP) of ing the two communities, which are Hillsborough County and has a price directly across from each other on tag of $1,261,534, with $304,534 of Lithia Pinecrest Rd. that amount allocated toward design Improvements include installing a and land costs, and construction signal at the intersection and improvcosts accounting for the balance of ing the roadways’ turn lanes. The $957,000. It is currently in the design county’s project plans, available for phase, with construction scheduled to viewing online, also call for improvestart in the next few months and conments to comply with traffic intersectinuing until early 2021. tion design standards of the Residents can follow the progress Americans with Disability Act and of this and other transportation and installing a roundabout at the nearby infrastructure projects by accessing Boyette Rd. and Dorman Rd. the Capital Improvement Projects According to Sondra Gonzalez, viewer via Hillsborough County’s webplanning and design manager for site at www.hillsboroughcounty.org, or Hillsborough County’s Capital can call 635-5400 to ask questions.
N E W S
A new AutoZone has broken ground for a 6,800 sq. ft. store in the former BB&T Bank Building at 16531 Fishhawk Blvd. AutoZone provides do-it-yourself repair advice and tools, includings free in-store battery testing, battery charging, oil recycling, Loan-A-Tool® Program and Fix Finder - a simple Check Engine Light tool. Opening date has yet to be announced. For more info, call (800)715-2650.
Hours: Sun-Thurs 5 am - 10 pm • Fri-Sat 5 am - 12 am
16645 Fishhawk Blvd, Lithia • (813) 381-3669