New Tampa Schoolsโ€™ FCAT Scores Exceed State & District Averages

By Matt Wiley

This yearโ€™s Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores are in, and New Tampaโ€™s schools clearly have been working hard.

According to the FCAT 2.0 test score reports released by the Florida Department of Education (DOE), the Hillsborough County School District (HCSD) performed well on the tests given in reading (grades 3-10), math (grades 3-8), science (grades 5 & 8) and writing (grades 4, 8 & 10).

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TPD/PCSO Seek โ€˜Person Of Interestโ€™ In Murder Case

By Matt Wiley

TPD ask for help identifying the pictured suspect.
TPD ask for help identifying the pictured suspect.

The Tampa Police Department (TPD) and Pasco County Sheriffโ€™s Office (PCSO) are seeking the publicโ€™s help in identifying and locating a man believed to have information about a recent homicide in the New Tampa area.

According to a news release from TPD, around 3:30 on May 31, following an altercation in the parking lot of the McDonaldโ€™s in the New Tampa Center shopping plaza, the victim, 20-year-old Reggie Reshawn Adams, was chased by the suspect or suspects about 2.5 miles south along Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., where he was shot in his black Dodge Magnum near I-75.

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Congrats To The 1,000+ Graduates Of Freedom & Wharton Highโ€™s Class Of 2013

By Matt Wiley

Valedictorian Allyson Bell
Valedictorian Allyson Bell

Congratulations to the Class of 2013 from Freedom and Paul R. Wharton High Schools, as you shift your tassels and move into the world after high school.

During graduation ceremonies on June 3 and 4 inside the Expo Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds (located off U.S. Hwy. 301), more than 1,000 New Tampa-area seniors crossed the stage to collect their respective diplomas.

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Editorial – If Anyone Tells You That Advertising With Us Doesnโ€™t Work…

An editorial by Gary Nager
An editorial by Gary Nager

One of the things Iโ€ˆhear all too often these days โ€” especially from people who have never advertised in the New Tampa or Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News โ€” is that advertising in local print media โ€œjust doesnโ€™t work anymore because of the internet.โ€

To all of those folks, all Iโ€ˆcan say is, โ€œYeah, right.โ€

First of all, Iโ€™m not naive. Iโ€ˆknow that more of our advertisers get far greater results from having business feature articles written about their businesses than they do from any ad in any print or online medium. Sadly, because of the number of advertisers we have (150-200 in every issue) and with a space limit of only four or five business profiles that can run in any issue, those features can only run in the print version of this publication once a year โ€” although those article and issue archives also are always available at NTNeighborhoodNews.com.

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Improvements Coming To Morris Bridge Water Pumping Station

By Matt Wiley

Water pressure could improve in the New Tampa area several months from now, as improvements are being planned for the North Tampa Potable Water System at the Morris Bridge Pumping Station (MBPS) off Bruce B. Downs (BBD)โ€ˆBlvd. and Doรฑa Michelle Dr, near I-75.

Also located next to the New Tampa Nature Park, MBPS may soon be getting some improvements, keeping water pressure steady in the area as the population grows, since two resolutions were passed at the June 6 Tampa City Council meeting, approving the design and construction of one project and the design and permitting phases of a second project.

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