Theater lovers: mark your calendars for an afternoon of creativity, laughter, and powerful storytelling! The Wesley Chapel Theater Group (WCTG) is proud to present its “One-Act (Play) Festival” on Saturday & Sunday, July 12-13, 2 p.m., both days. The Festival will be a vibrant celebration of local talent that brings original one-act plays to life on stage.
This exciting event showcases the power of community-driven art, featuring short plays that have been written and will be directed and performed entirely by local artists. From heartfelt dramas to witty comedies, each one-act play promises a unique and captivating experience, all within a single afternoon.
The Festival performances will be held at the Starkey Ranch Theatre Library Cultural Center (12118 Lake Blanche Dr., in nearby Odessa). The doors will open at 1:40 p.m. both days, so arrive early to grab your seat and settle in for a memorable ride through the imaginations of our hometown playwrights.
“This festival is all about celebrating the incredible talent we have right here in our own backyard,” says WCTG Board member Samantha Grahn. “We’re giving local voices the spotlight and inviting the community to come together to laugh, feel and be inspired.”
Whether you’re a seasoned theatergoer or new to the stage, this is the perfect opportunity to support local artists, enjoy original performances and be part of something truly special. Gather your friends, grab your tickets and get ready to be swept away by the magic of live theater!
Featured Plays At WCTG’s ‘One-Act Festival’:
“A Rainy Night in Hollywood,” by Tom Erb
“Cliché,” by Keith Whalen
“Three Years,” by WCTG’s Samantha Sacasa
“Full Frontal Transparency,” by Jenna Jane
“The Oatmeal,” by Robert Grogan
“Love, Lost (Rings) & What We Wore,” by Jessica Burchfield
Although the Pebble Creek Golf Club has been closed for several years, members of the group called Save Pebble Creek, organized by long-time Pebble Creek resident Leslie Green, have been doing everything they could to have the golf club reopen, rather than become single-family homes.
Yesterday, the group and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) won a significant victory in their efforts to prevent golf course owner Bill Place and his Ace Golf from rezoning the 149-acre property and selling it to GL Homes, which was planning to build 250 single-family homes on the golf course site.
In July of 2023, the attempt to rezone the golf course property was denied 5-2 by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), after Comm. Hagan said he had received 1,800 letters from residents of the community, the vast majority of which were in opposition to the rezoning.
But, in October of last year, the home builder appealed the county commission’s denial of the rezoning request to Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Paul Huey and, on June 24, 2024, Judge Huey “quashed” the BOCC’s denial of the rezoning petition which means, in legal terms, “to set aside or void.” Judge Huey’s ruling on the developer’s appeal was that, “The court cannot find that the Board of County Commissioners relied on competent, substantial evidence when it denied GL Homes’ proposal.”
The county appealed Judge Huey’s decision to the Second District of the District Court of Appeal of Florida, which overturned that decision and quashed the lower court’s order that would have allowed the rezoning.
Commissioner Hagan said of yesterday’s ruling, “I am very pleased to report that the Second District Court of Appeal agreed with the County’s rezoning denial and overturned the Circuit Court’s decision. I would like to thank you for your support and vigilance throughout this difficult ordeal. We would not have won without you!” He also previously said that the county would consider buying the golf course “if the price were right.”
Green echoed Hagan’s sentiments regarding the latest decision: “Thanks to the rallying of the community and to our Commissioner Ken Hagan’s efforts, we have accomplished our goal of no rezoning that will keep the golf course land around which our entire neighborhood is based protected from development. I hope that we can now work with the landowner to find a more mutually agreeable solution. Ultimately, we would wish to have another golf course operator step in. Commissioner Hagan had mentioned in a Townhall meeting that the county would consider buying it for a municipal golf course. This would meet another goal of ours, which is to avoid having the toxins that lie under the ground dug up for remediation. Now, the land can be used for its intended purpose. I personally look forward to the next step.”
Place said that he would have no comment on the most recent ruling “until GL Homes reviews its options early next week.”
We also had not yet received comment from either of the homeowners associations in Pebble Creek.
(l-r) Pasco REC chair & vice chair Troy Stevenson & Walter Price and Pasco Republican Committeeman Shawn Foster.
Jim Cracchiolo has been the president of the Wesley Chapel Republlican Club (WCRC) since its founding a decade ago. During the last few years, Cracchiolo’s son Peter has been lining up guest speakers for the club’s meetings that have included many of the heaviest Republican hitters in the county and state. Peter currently is serving as the club’s vice president.
There’s only one problem — as of May 13, the WCRC no longer has a charter/stamp of approval from the Republican Party of Pasco’s Executive Committee (Pasco REC).
Individual Pasco Republican clubs, like the WCRC, which provide support for their party — which has dominated Pasco’s political elections for decades — have to renew their charters with the Pasco REC every year.
So, why was the WCRC’s charter not renewed? Cracchiolo, Pasco County’’s publicly elected Republican State Committeeman Shawn Foster and Pasco REC chair Troy Stevenson all agree that the reason the club’s charter was not renewed this year was because Peter Cracchiolo volunteered and/or worked for former Hillsborough State Attorney and 2024 Democratic candidate to win his job back Andrew Warren (who was removed from office by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis) and District 1 School Board member Nadia Combs, a known Democrat whom DeSantis sought to replace with known conservative Republican Layla Collins (the wife of Republican State Sen. Jay Collins), even though School Board elections are non-partisan.
“The Wesley Chapel Republican Club had a gentleman that was working for independents and Democrats and getting paid and volunteering [for them],” Foster said during the June 19 Pasco REC meeting attended by about 100 people at Grace Family Church on S.R. 54 in Lutz, where Dist. 2 Commissioner Seth Weightman was the featured speaker. “Several people have had to be removed and asked to leave [the Pasco REC] because they endorsed or supported independents and Democrats against Republicans in the general election.”
He added, “We can’t do that as members [of the REC]. We agree here by signing an oath. We have tried to work with the [WCRC] for nearly a year about this and we tried to suggest to just take that person and put them in another position, [because] they could not be in an administrative position of the club if they were going to work for Democrats or independents. We’re here for the Republican Party of Pasco. We’re here to get Republicans elected.”
But, Cracchiolo says that working to get Republicans elected is exactly what the WCRC has done since its inception. And, even though Peter has helped some non-Republican campaigns, “He has done an amazing job of getting our speakers for us,” Cracchiolo says. He is a registered Republican and a strong supporter of the Republican party and our entire club believes he should not have to be removed from our Board.”
Even so, Cracchiolo received a Cease & Desist letter from Benjamin J. Gibson of the Law Firm of Shutts & Bowen, LLC, the attorney for the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) on May 13 that says,
“On behalf of the RPOF, we write to demand that you immediately cease and desist your unauthorized usage of the Republican name in association with your organization ‘Wesley Chapel Republican Club,’ including your operation of the Facebook page available at Facebook.com.
Because your club’s charter was not renewed by RPOF, your use of the Republican name in the title of your organization and on Facebook is now without approval, permission or authorization of the RPOF.
Florida law is clear that a political party’s name, abbreviation, or symbol may not be used in connection with any club, group, association, or organization of any kind ‘unless approval and permission have been given in writing by the state executive committee of such party.’
Jim & Peter Cracchiolo of the WCRC, with former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (photo from Facebook.com/Wesley Chapel Republican Club, Inc.)
§ 103.081(2). Section 103.081(2) states:
(2) No person or group of persons shall use the name, abbreviation, or symbol of any political party, the name, abbreviation, or symbol of which is filed with the Department of State, in connection with any club, group, association, or organization of any kind unless approval and permission have been given in writing by the state executive committee of such party.”
Cracchiolo says that his club is not backing down. On May 21, Cracchiolo responded to Gibson’s Cease & Desist letter as follows:
“We decline to comply with RPOF’s demand, for the reasons outlined below:
1. Descriptive Use of ‘Republican’ and Legal Authority. The word ‘Republican’ is merely descriptive and not available for registration or common law right of exclusive use. The Club’s use of the word “Republican” is made solely in a descriptive and expressive capacity, to identify the general political viewpoint of its members and the nature of our discussions and events. The Club does not claim to be affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the RPOF or the Republican National Committee. This usage is protected under well-established First Amendment principles and the doctrine of nominative fair use. The use of such political identifiers by grassroots, unaffiliated community groups is a long-standing and widely accepted practice.
With respect to your citation, and misplaced analysis, of Florida law, the operative text in FL. Statute §103.082 (2) is ‘No person or group of persons shall use the name, abbreviation, or symbol of any political party, the name, abbreviation, or symbol of which is filed with the Department of State.’ As to the name, the restriction relates to the ‘Party’ name designation filed with the state. For example, the state party is the “Republican Party of Florida” (RPOF as we routinely refer to it) and is filed with the state. The term ‘Republican’ standing alone is not a party, and our club has made clear that it is not affiliated with the GOP, RNC, Florida or county Republican Party (each of which having their own distinctive name and symbol); but instead, is an independent organization and club for individual members of the public who personally identify as a Republican.”
Editor’s note – I only became aware of this situation because Jannah and I attended the June 12 WCRC meeting hoping to hear District 4 Pasco Commissioner Lisa Yeager speak, but when Yeager cancelled that appearance the same day, Cracchiolo brought an update on the battle to the more than 50 attendees. I told Cracchiolo that I would try to talk to both Foster and Stevenson at the Pasco REC meeting the following week to try to help iron out a solution, but both sides are standing firm.
So, the WCRC is still planning to continue to use the name “Republican” without a charter and the Pasco REC is deciding what to do next.
But, as Foster said at the Pasco REC meeting “This was not not the way I wanted it to be resolved, but I have a clear conscience.”
Although we post photos from North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting events pretty much every issue, the photos on this page are from the Chamber’s own ribbon-cutting event during the official Grand Opening Celebration at its office next to Dillard’s at The Shops at Wiregrass on June 26!
Yes, the office, which NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy says will be the Chamber’s last move for as long as she’s in charge, has been open for a few months, but Hope, office administrator Darlene Hill, Board chair Angelique Lenox and more than 100 people packed the Chamber office and enjoyed food from Chamber members Bubba’s 33, Texas Roadhouse, Jimmy John’s and 3 Natives. Dist. 2 Pasco Commissioner Seth Weightman talked about the days when the Chamber had a small office at the Brookside Prof. Park and Board past chair Roberto Hiller and Angelique gave Hope an award for her years of service and her impact on the Chamber and the community. — GN; some photos on this page by French Flare Photography
Located at 30120 S.R. 54 in the Freedom Plaza, between Bosco’s and the Smoke Shop, is The Secret Lounge, which is owned by Ahmed, who also owns the Smoke Shop. Former Bosco’s pizza guy Johnny (left) is among those serving up Halal hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hot dogs at The Secret Lounge, as well as French fries, onion rings, empanadas and tasty San Bernardo ice cream, all at great prices! For more info, call (813) 803-3463. — GN
