By Matt Wiley
It’s easy to take going to the dentist for granted here in the US. However, in many other parts of the world, dental care is either extremely rare or, in many cases, nonexistent. The people of these countries must rely on missionary work to receive the care that they need.
By Matt Wiley
Sinkholes have been in the news more and more in recent weeks, and, at first, it looked as if one might have opened off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of New Tampa.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), around 5:30 p.m. on June 12, a hole opened up on westbound 138 Ave., just before Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. A Nissan Versa was stopped over the area that opened up, which has been measured to be six feet across and about 30 feet deep!
By Matt Wiley
Graduation ceremonies can be pretty similar to one another. The principal gives a welcome address, followed by either the salutatorian and valedictorian or vice-versa, before the graduating students cross the stage to collect their diplomas.
However, on June 3, during the graduation ceremony for New Tampa’s Paul R. Wharton High, something peculiar happened: the salutatorian’s microphone was turned off before the honoree had finished delivering his speech, and the reasons for doing so are still not completely clear.
Harold Shaw, Jr., a 17-year-old prospective University of Florida (UF) film student, approached the podium as Wharton’s salutatorian with a 7.31 GPA and began his speech. Before beginning, he removed his cap. The version of the speech that Shaw began to deliver to the crowd of classmates and their families inside the expo center at the Florida State Fairgrounds was the third draft he had been instructed to write and submit to the school for approval.
By Matt Wiley
The Tampa Police Department (TPD) and Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) are seeking the public’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 McDonald’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.
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) Blvd. and Doña 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.