Rep. Ross Tackles Tough Immigration Issues At Town Hall Meeting In Lutz

By Matt Wiley

New Tampa's U.S. Representative Dennis Ross took questions from the community during a town hall meeting in Lutz on July 2.
New Tampa’s U.S. Representative Dennis Ross took questions from the community during a town hall meeting in Lutz on July 2.

New Tampaโ€™s U.S. Representative Dennis Ross (R-Lakeland) has been making the rounds around the 15th Congressional District and getting an earful about tough issues, especially immigration.

During July 2 town hall meetings in both Lutz and Brandon, a total of more than 300 District 15 residents listened to and asked questions of their Congressman, many of which concerned student loans and the deficit. But, the topic that received the most attention at the Lutz-area meeting, by far, was immigration.Continue reading

Estancia Community Officially Approved For Wiregrass Ranch DRI

By Matt Wiley

Map source: PascoCountyFL.net, updated by New Tampa Neighborhood News
Map source: PascoCountyFL.net, updated by New Tampa Neighborhood News

At long last, homes will soon be going up inside the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI) in a newly formed Community Development District (CDD) called Estancia at Wiregrass, located north of the future Chancey Rd. extension and east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., between S.R.s 56 and 54.

In January, we reported that Standard Pacific Homes (SPH), a builder from Orange County, CA, had purchased 677 acres of land from the Porter family, who own the Wiregrass DRI, to build a then-unnamed community consisting of 1,181 single-family homes spread out across four gated and un-gated neighborhoods. The community will be named Estancia.Continue reading

Get Prepared, Stay Ahead Of The Storm With Our 2013 Hurricane Guide

By Matt Wiley

Hurricane Sandy spared Florida last season, but the superstorm wreaked havoc on the Northeastearn U.S. Experts are expecting 3-6 major storms this hurricane season. Photo: NOAA
Hurricane Sandy spared Florida last season, but the superstorm wreaked havoc on the Northeastearn U.S. Experts are expecting 3-6 major storms this hurricane season. Photo: NOAA

With the recent weather disaster in Oklahoma and Tropical Storm Andrea having already kicked off the season โ€” on the day it opened (June 1), โ€” the time to be prepared for the annual weather threat to our area, hurricane season, is now!

Following the 2012 season of 19 named storms, including Superstorm Sandy โ€” one of the most bizarre and destructive Atlantic basin storms since Katrina in 2004 โ€” NOAA (the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) predicts a 70-percent chance of 13-20 named storms during the 2013 season (which ends Nov. 30), with 7-11 potentially becoming hurricanes, of which 3-6 could be major storms of Category 3 (winds more than 111 mph) or greater.

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CityLife Church Brings Medical &โ€ˆDental Help To Nicaragua

By Matt Wiley

Dr. Rodney Holcombe and Timothy Muscaro spread dental help to patients in Nicaragua
Dr. Rodney Holcombe and Timothy Muscaro spread dental help to patients in Nicaragua

Itโ€™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.

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Hole Opens Off BBD, South Of New Tampa

By Matt Wiley

Opening on 138th Ave. Believed to be a sink hole, but determined to be a ruptured sewer pipe.
Opening on 138th Ave. Believed to be a sink hole, but determined to be a ruptured sewer pipe.

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)โ€ˆBlvd., just south of New Tampa.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriffโ€™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!

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