New Tampa community leader and baseball legend backs award-winning journalist and civic advocate to succeed Councilman Luis Viera
(L.-r.) Aaron & Alan Cohn, Wade Boggs & Alan’s wife Patty Cohn. (Photo provided by Alan Cohn)
TAMPA, Fla. â Baseball Hall of Famer and longtime New Tampa resident Wade Boggs has endorsed Alan Cohn in his campaign for Tampa City Council District 7.
Boggs, one of the most celebrated players in Major League Baseball history, has deep roots in the New Tampa community. In addition to his Hall of Fame career with the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays, Boggs spent nearly two decades coaching baseball at Wharton High School and remains actively involved in community affairs.
âAlan Cohn has spent his career asking tough questions, standing up for ordinary people, and holding powerful interests accountable,â said Boggs. âThose are exactly the qualities we need on the Tampa City Council. Alan understands our community and will be a strong voice for the residents of District 7.â
Cohn said he is honored to receive Boggsâ endorsement.
âIâm grateful and honored to have Wade Boggsâ support,â said Cohn. âLike me, Wade raised his family in New Tampa and cares deeply about this community. He understands that our neighborhoods need a representative who will fight for the police, fire protection, infrastructure, and city services our residents deserve. He also knows the importance of having someone who isnât afraid to ask tough questions, get answers, and hold government accountable.â
District 7 stretches from New Tampa and North Tampa to Forest Hills and south to the Fowler Avenue corridor.
A Peabody Award and Emmy Award-winning investigative journalist, Cohn spent more than three decades uncovering public corruption, exposing defense contractors that supplied defective military equipment, helping veterans obtain long-overdue benefits, and assisting consumers who were victimized by dishonest businesses.
Cohn currently serves as Vice Chair of Tampaâs Charter Review Advisory Commission. He was nominated by Tampa City Councilmember Luis Viera and appointed by the Tampa City Council.
Councilmember Viera is term-limited and is running for the Florida House of Representatives.
About Alan Cohn
Alan Cohn is an award-winning investigative journalist, community advocate, and Vice Chair of Tampaâs Charter Review Advisory Commission. He is a candidate for Tampa City Council District 7, representing neighborhoods from New Tampa to Forest Hills. For more info, visit AlanCohnforTampa.squarespace.com/Â
2026 FIFA World Cup groupings (Source: stock.adobe.com)Â
As you’re reading this, the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights are tied 2-2 in their best-of-seven series to see which team will take home Lord Stanleyâs Cup.
That means mine and Jannahâs beloved Tampa Bay Lightning (obviously) didnât make it this far in the playoffs this year. It also means that we now have plenty of time for other pursuits.
For me, that means watching as much as possible of the 2026 World Cup â which kicks off tomorrow â Thursday, June 11. And, while I am hopeful that a much-improved U.S. National Team can advance out of its tough Group D (with Turkey, Paraguay and Australia) as one of the three host nations for the event, I think that the World Cup is amazing to watch no matter which country ends up bringing home the coveted trophy and which player wins the Gold Ball as the tournament’s most outstanding player.
I will watch most of the games (alone) at home, but Jannah and I will most likely plan to visit local restaurants and bars every time the U.S. team takes the pitch.
Oh, and because there are more teams than ever competing in the World Cup this year (48 vs. 32), there will be more futbol played than ever before â 104 total matches vs. 64 in years past.
Also for the first time, eight of the 12 third-place teams will advance out of the group stage into the first knockout round of 32 countries.
The Final match wonât be played until July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. In other words, even though the NFL preseason wonât start until August, there is still plenty of futbol to watch between now and then.
Speaking Of Seasons…
As much as I love both hockey and soccer, thatâs how much I actually dislike politics. As Iâve written many times before, Iâm a registered Republican who has never voted strictly along party lines â Iâve always voted for the candidates I felt most seemed to align with my views.
But, finding such candidates â whether federal, state or local â has gotten harder and harder to do for not only me but for anyone who feels they ride the middle between the two major political parties.
(l.-r.) Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, Gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds & Republican Party of Pasco (RPP) chair Troy Stevenson (Source: RPP).Â
The 2026 Midterm Election âseason,â which will begin with Primary elections on Tuesday, August 18, is coming up fast and Floridians will be voting for a new Governor, as well as a U.S. Senator, our area’s U.S. Representatives, plus State Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, Commissioner of Agriculture, State Senators, State Representatives (all districts) and Pasco also will be electing both a State Attorney and a Public Defender (both in the 20th Judicial Circuit).
Also in Pasco, where all County Commissioners and School Board members are elected countywide, itâs particularly difficult to get to know all of the candidates, which is one reason why so many Republican incumbents were reelected by such wide margins in 2024. Of course, the fact there are nearly twice as many registered Republicans as registered Democrats in Pasco also doesnât hurt the GOPâs chances in our county.
And, although School Board elections, which also are held in August, are non-partisan, the affiliations of these candidates are usually known, too.
At any rate, although I may not be a fan of election season, the Neighborhood News will be updating you about as many of the candidates as possible in our June 23 and July 21 New Tampa issues and our July 7 and August 4 Wesley Chapel editions.
And…Theyâre Off!
In the meantime, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco has announced that he will resign in November to run in the special election for the Florida Senate District 21 seat being vacated by Florida Sen. Ed Hooper, who is retiring.
Nocco, who has been Pascoâs Sheriff since 2011, is running as a Republican and did not yet, at our press time, have an opponent in that race. Wesley Chapel voters can not vote in Dist. 21, as our State Senator is Dist. 23âs Danny Burgess.
This map shows the planned location for the future magnet high school off Meadow Pointe Blvd., as well as the location of the future K-8 school planned for the Two Rivers community. (Image credit: Pasco County Schools)
Itâs still a couple of school years away, but Wesley Chapel will welcome another high school to address overcrowding concerns at two of its high schools â as well as help grow the areaâs healthcare workforce.
Set to open in August 2028, the new school will be a medical magnet high school with an opening-day capacity of 1,300 students and a heavy focus on health care and medical studies, including medical sciences, imaging and nursing.
Located on the west side of Meadow Pointe Blvd., north of Chancey Rd. (between C.R. 54/ Wesley Chapel Blvd. and S.R. 56; see map), the nearly 75-acre site is close to numerous hospitals, including AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel and especially, the coming-soon Florida Medical Clinic Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch Hospital.Â
âWe believe the market in that area would lend itself to that career cluster,â said Pasco County Superintendent of Schools John Legg, Ed.D., at the Sept. 9, 2025, Pasco School Board workshop regarding the proposed magnet school.
With it being situated between Wesley Chapel (WCH) and Wiregrass Ranch (WRH) high schools, the new school is expected to pull most of its student population from those currently attending WCH and WRH, both of which are over capacity. WCH is currently about 500 students over its capacity and WRH is 600- 700 students over its capacity.
The new school is part of a broader effort by the Pasco School District to partner with healthcare organizations and hospitals in order to expand the countyâs healthcare workforce.
In 2025, the district received a $500,000 planning grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, in partnership with AdventHealth, to build a healthcare-focused high school program, with an opportunity to secure a larger $25-million, five-year implementation grant in the future. We had no further information about that additional grant at our press time.
The school district also has a great partnership with Pasco Hernando State College (PHSC) through its nursing and health science programs. PHSC officials believe that this new magnet school will be a tremendous benefit to Pascoâs health care industry, as well as its residents.
âWe are proud to support the new medical magnet high school and help create a seamless pathway for students with an interest in health care to advance into our nursing and allied health programs,â says PHSC President Eric Hall, Ed. D. âThis partnership aligns with our commitment to preparing the next generation of health care professionals and complements the expanded educational opportunities available through our Institute for Nursing and Allied Health Advancement at [PHSCâs] Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch.â
District officials say the approximately $80-million school is primarily being funded by impact fees, which are one-time charges imposed by local municipalities on new residential developments in order to fund public projects like schools and infrastructure.
We hope to be able to update this story within the next few months.
Harmon Ashton Oaksâ âBuild-To-Rentâ Townhomes & Two Ridges Rd. Will Each Flank Established Community
The Google map above has been modified by Neighborhood News to show the locations of the portion of Two Ridges Rd. now under construction (upper Two Ridges Rd. label) & Harmon Ashton Oaks.
 Development to the left, development to the right. It doesnât take a genius to understand that Wesley Chapel is one hot area, quickly being shaped by one project after another, and the residents of the Ashton Oaks community off C.R. 54/Wesley Chapel Blvd. are seeing that first-hand â as their small neighborhood of 203 single-family homes and 70 villas is literally being surrounded on all sides by new construction.Â
About 1.5 miles east of Meadow Pointe Blvd. along C.R. 54 (which was called S.R. 54 until recently, when Pasco County took over the responsibility for the road from the state), two major projects are currently moving full steam ahead, flanking the established Ashton Oaks neighborhood and bringing both long-awaited infrastructure improvements and new residential growth to the area.
Two Ridges Rd. Extension Moving In The Right Direction
The first project will likely be something of a major relief for many Ashton Oaks residents, who have dealt with increasing cut-through traffic ever since the first leg of Two Ridges Rd. (see map) opened in early 2025.
That initial 1.3-mile segment connected S.R. 56 to Grecko Dr., which created a temporary route between C.R. 54 and S.R. 56 for drivers âin the know.â While some residents viewed the shortcut as an unexpected traffic burden, the corridor itself was always envisioned by county planners, long before the first homes in Ashton Oaks were ever built.
Looking south at the intersection of River Glen Blvd. & the new portion of Two Ridges Rd. (Photos by Joel Provenzano)
Now, the northern second leg of Two Ridges Rd. â approximately 0.7 miles in length â is rapidly taking shape (photo right). The extension will run north to the existing traffic signal at C.R. 54 and River Glen Blvd., across 54 from the main entrance to Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.
Crews are currently performing grading, drainage and landscaping work across the corridor, steadily preparing the site for curbs, paving and final roadway construction.
At the current pace, locals can likely expect the Two Ridges Rd. construction to be near or fully completed by the end of 2026.
Once finished, the new extension will become the southern leg of the existing C.R. 54/ River Glen Blvd. intersection, opening access to future development opportunities on the southwest corner of the intersection, including a planned commercial parcel and the anticipated second phase of the nearby Valencia Ridge 55+ community (again, see map).
According to county records, GL Homes â the developer of Valencia Ridge â is funding and constructing the extension of Two Ridges Rd. using developer dollars.
Beyond local traffic improvements, the project also represents another major step toward the completion of a larger regional north-south corridor first detailed in our â…Road with (Too) Many Names?!â article nearly two years ago.
That corridor, pieced together through multiple separately named roadway segments, is now quickly becoming reality:
⢠100% of the K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. segment in New Tampa is currently under construction
⢠Approximately 90% of the Wyndfields South segment is under construction
⢠Roughly 50% of Vidaâs Way has already been completed (with the other 50% to start along with a future phase)
However, one major section of this road with too many names will no longer move forward. As we reported last year, the entire Kirkland Ranch portion of the corridor was sold to the state for conservation purposes, removing that segment from future roadway plans.
Most of the roadway sections are being constructed privately by developers as part of their associated communities. The only publicly funded portion currently planned is the southernmost 10% of Wyndfields South, the section along the west side of Union Park Charter Academy, which is slated for completion by Pasco County.
Harmon Ashton Oaks Brings Build-To-Rent Trend To C.R. 54
The second major project under way, to the east of Ashton Oaks, is Harmon Ashton Oaks (see map above & photos below), the build-to-rent townhome community rising on the southeast corner of C.R. 54 and Ashton Oaks Blvd.
The signage for Harmon Ashton Oaks is visible from C.R. 54.
The 28-acre development will feature direct access from both roadways and represents another example of a rapidly growing housing trend across the Tampa Bay region: professionally managed rental home and townhome communities.
The project is being developed by DRB Group Florida in partnership with Crescent Communities, which has previously developed several apartment communities throughout Florida, including the well-rated Novel Beach Park overlooking Tampa Bay in the Westshore area of Tampa.
However, Harmon Ashton Oaks appears to be Crescent Communitiesâ first single-family-style rental community in Florida, despite the company already operating similar Harmon-branded communities in North and South Carolina, Texas and Arizona.
Unlike traditional apartments, build-to-rent communities are designed to offer many of the conveniences of apartment living while providing features more commonly associated with single-family homes.
That includes attached garages, private ground-floor patios opening onto lawns, larger floorplans, and increased privacy â all while still offering residents on-site leasing offices, professional property management and lease flexibility.
The concept has become increasingly popular in Wesley Chapel in recent years, joining communities such as Vireo Wesley Chapel in Meadow Pointe III and Skymor Wesley Chapel off the end of Caroline Dr.
According to the developerâs website:
âDesigned to blend the freedom of renting with the comfort and privacy of single-family living, Harmon Ashton Oaks will feature 115 thoughtfully designed 3- and 4-bedroom, 2-story townhomes averaging more than 1,800 sq. ft. Each residence will include modern finishes, spacious interiors, private yards and 2-car garages.â
The developerâs rendering of the Harmon Ashton Oaks build-to-rent townhome community.
Plans for the community also include a resort-style pool, leasing office, amenity center and an adjacent 10,000-sq.-ft. open lawn and play area. Notably, every unit in the development is expected to include a two-car garage â an uncommon feature for rental communities.
Harmon Ashton Oaks is currently expected to welcome its first residents in early 2027.
Interestingly, while promotional materials for the project reference a future dog park, we were unable to locate that feature on the approved site plans or amenity drawings submitted for the development.
Caught In The Middle
Whether itâs new roads, new rooftops, or entirely new ways of living, the area surrounding Ashton Oaks is rapidly transforming, as Wesley Chapelâs growth engine continues pushing eastward along CR 54.
While Ashton Oaks itself may not be the focus of the development boom, this established neighborhood now finds itself directly between two major projects that reflect the areaâs continued evolution â one aimed at improving regional connectivity, the other introducing another modern housing concept to one of Pascoâs fastest-growing corridors.
And with construction activity accelerating on both sides of the community, residents are getting a front-row seat to just how quickly Wesley Chapel continues to change.
Tyler Norman (photo) was riding east on County Line Rd., the road still quiet in the early morning hours, and the hum of his motorcycle steady beneath him as he approached the signal for the intersection of County Line Rd. and Grand Hampton Dr.
It was the kind of ride that feels routine â familiar roads, familiar turns â until, suddenly, it wasnât. Tylerâs life was cut short at age 19.
Five months later, two small matching roadside signs now stand along that same stretch of asphalt. Simple, temporary, easy to miss if youâre not looking. But, for those who know, it marks something permanent.
May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in Florida, and this year, those signs and their familiar message have taken on a deeper meaning across Wesley Chapel, New Tampa, and the surrounding areas.
As part of a statewide effort, Floridaâs Motorcycle Safety Coalition â also known as âRideSMART Floridaâ â and its partners announced the following at the end of April:
âRideSMART Florida and our statewide partners will begin placing hundreds of âWatch for Motorcycles!â signs throughout the state at the sites of 2025 motorcyclist fatalities. This powerful visual tribute aims to honor fallen riders and raise driver awareness leading up to the start of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month [which started] on May 1.â
After the initiative began, those signs (paid for by the Florida Department of Transportation, or FDOT) appeared locally â including the one placed along County Line Rd., in front of Grand Hampton (photo, right) â each one tied to a real story, a real life lost.
One of those lives lost was 19-year-old Tyler Norman.
According to investigators, Tyler was riding a 2012 Kawasaki motorcycle eastbound around 2:30 a.m., on Dec. 6, 2025, when a Nissan Rogue traveling westbound attempted to turn left onto Grand Hampton Dr. Authorities say the driver, 50-year-old Mauricus âRicoâ Labron Green, turned directly into Tylerâs path, violating his right of way. The motorcycle struck the front of the SUV.
Tyler (who was wearing a helmet) was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Green remained at the scene and was arrested, as police reported signs of impairment. Court records show he was charged with DUI manslaughter and refusal to submit to testing, along with a citation for an improper left turn. His case remains open and is scheduled to continue later this year. Records also indicate a prior DUI arrest in Lakeland in 2017.
Behind the legal process, though, is the reality those roadside signs are meant to convey.
Tylerâs family, like too many others, was devastated by the loss. And, across Florida, similar signs now stand for other riders â each representing family and friends navigating the same kind of grief, the same unanswered questions, the same sudden absence.
The goal of the campaign is not only remembrance, but prevention.
Above graphic source: RideSMART FloridaÂ
Motorcycle crashes often come down to a narrow margin â visibility, timing and judgment. In many cases, including this one, right-of-way violations and impairment play a role.
But, safety officials emphasize that responsibility for these crashes is shared. Drivers are urged to double-check intersections, especially before turning left, always use their turn signals, even if they think no one is nearby, and to remain alert for motorcycles â which can be harder to see and judge in distance.
Riders, in turn, are encouraged to stay visible, ride predictably and anticipate potential hazards at every intersection.
Those small signs along the roadside are easy to pass by without a second thought. But they are placed with intention â at the exact locations where moments like Tylerâs unfolded.
They are reminders that every commute, every late-night drive and every routine ride carry weight. And, that looking out for one another on the road isnât just a slogan â itâs what may one day separate a close call from a devastating loss.
State officials stated that due to safety and maintenance reasons, the temporary signs would only be placed on local roads, not interstates or limited access roadways.
