Zephyrhills Woman Dies In New Tampa Crash

By Matt Wiley,

A woman is dead following an early-morning head-on collision in New Tampa.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), just before 4 a.m. on September 20, Kunjummen Arun Babu, 18, of Zephyrhills, was driving north on Morris Bridge Rd. near Pictoral Park Dr., about half of a mile north of Cross Creek Blvd. in his 2010 Honda Accord. At the same time, Rita Marie Sutliff, 68, also of Zephyrhills, was driving south on Morris Bridge in her 2012 Ford Explorer. Both vehicles were traveling at about 50 m.p.h.

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Leukemia Society Fund Raiser For Marlana Draws A Crowd At The Palms

Busch Gardens Tampa dance captain Marlana Lacivita was on hand to enjoy the Leukemia Society fund raiser held in her honor at Peabody’s Palms Lounge on Sept. 28.
Busch Gardens Tampa dance captain Marlana Lacivita was on hand to enjoy the Leukemia Society fund raiser held in her honor at Peabody’s Palms Lounge on Sept. 28.

By Gary Nager

It was a great night for Peabody’s Palms Lounge in Tampa Palms, and an amazing feeling that still lingers today, as the Deacon Blues Band performed for nearly three hours at a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Tampa Bay fund raiser in honor of Marlana Lacivita, the Busch Gardens dance captain who refuses to let her own year-long battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma keep her from dancing — or enjoying an amazing evening with great friends, some of whom she had never met before the event on Sept. 28.

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Saddlebrook Hosts FHWC’s Successful Women’s Health & Wellness Day

By Matt Wiley

Complimentary health screenings, a keynote speech from breast cancer survivor, and Pasco clerk of court, Paula O’Neil at Wesley Chapel's Saddlebrook Resort.
Complimentary health screenings, a keynote speech from breast cancer survivor, and Pasco clerk of court, Paula O’Neil at Wesley Chapel’s Saddlebrook Resort.

Calm and collected, Pasco County clerk of Circuit Court & comptroller Paula O’Neil spoke about her recent diagnosis as if it were a faint memory from another life. Few would suspect that the popular public official is still actively battling the deadly disease, as she spoke to hundreds of women about her experience fighting breast cancer.

On September 21, more than 700 women from all over Tampa Bay attended the inaugural Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) Women’s Health & Wellness Day at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, taking part in breakout sessions with guest speakers and an exhibit room full of pampering and health screening opportunities, including mammogram registration, screenings for oral cancer, blood pressure and glucose, a grip strength test, a self-breast exam, as well as a balance test, body mass index (BMI) and body fat analysis from the FHWC Health & Wellness Center. The hospital also introduced its “Pink Army” campaign that encourages women to make sure that they get their annual breast cancer screenings.Continue reading

Bruce B. Downs ‘Segment D’ Widening Could Begin In 2017

By Matt Wiley

The portion of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in yellow (aka “Segment D”) above is the last phase of BBD to be widened. The project likely won’t begin before 2017.
The portion of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in yellow (aka “Segment D”) above is the last phase of BBD to be widened. The project likely won’t begin before 2017.

The previously unfunded final segment of the widening of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa could begin sometime in 2017.

According to the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), BBD “Segment D,” which will widen the road from four to eight lanes from Pebble Creek Dr. to County Line Rd. and is estimated to cost more than $11 million, is ranked second on the MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plan and is part of the MPO’s 2014-15 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

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Man Beats Minor With Motorcycle Helmet & Pencil

By Matt Wiley

Joseph Esgro, Jr.
Joseph Esgro, Jr.

A Wesley Chapel man has been released after a child abuse arrest involving the man’s fists, a motorcycle helmet and a pencil.

According to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO), Joseph George Esgro, Jr., of Meadow Pointe, was arrested on Oct. 11 for child abuse following multiple batteries against a 15-year-old boy. The relationship between the two was not disclosed at our press time.

The PCSO report states that the first abusive encounter took place after the unnamed victim admitted to stealing Esgro’s car, for which Esgro allegedly struck the victim in the mouth and temple with a closed fist. The report also states that the second encounter resulted in Esgro being charged with battery using a pencil. Esgro allegedly struck the boy with the pencil, which caused a cut to his bicep and also stabbed him in the shin, just below the knee. Esgro also reportedly struck the victim in the arm with a motorcycle helmet.

Esgro was charged with one count of child abuse and released from the Pasco County jail on a $5,000 bond.