Sgt. Christopher Lawrence & his daughter DeliaMarie (both in red) pose with several of the 100+ volunteers who helped landscape (bottom pics) their future home in Wesley Chapel.
“We don’t have a lot of family or friends here in Florida,” said retired Marine Sgt. Christopher Lawrence during the super-hot “Volunteer Day” (July 26) at his family’s future “Homes for our Troops” (HFOT) home in Wesley Chapel, where about 10,000 sq. ft. (25 pallets) of sod was unloaded and dozens of plants were used to landscape the front and side yards at the home on Steeplechase Rd. “But today, we feel like we have a lot of new family members.”
You could see the appreciation and joy Sgt. Lawrence, his wife Michelle (Chelley) and daughters DeliaMarie and Cristiana felt as they helped more than 100 volunteers beautify the outside of the Kent Custom Home the family expects to move into by around the end of this month.
Sgt. Lawrence raised the HFOT flag during the volunteer event (above).
Partner Nathan Pratt explained how to place the sod and plant the plants and said how proud he was to have two more Kent Custom Homes — for Sgt. Lawrence and Army Sgt. Quincy Lopez, who, like Sgt. Lawrence, lost his right leg to an improvised explosive device blast in Iraq. (Note-Sgt. Lopez’s Volunteer Day will be this Saturday, August 9, at 9 a.m.) — in Wesley Chapel, bringing the total Kent has specially adapted and built for Post-911 recipients designated by Homes for our Troops here in Central Florida up to nine.
Homes for our Troops is a national 501(c) (3) military nonprofit that continues to spend 90 cents of every dollar the organization raises to build more than 400 custom homes (and growing) across the country since its inception in 2004.
In addition to the landscaping on July 26, volunteers also sold HFOT hats and accepted cash donations to help HFOT continue to provide these homes at no cost to our severely injured military men and women.
To make a donation or for more information about HFOT, visit hfotusa.org or call (866) 787-6877. — GN
The Lawrence family can’t wait to move into their new home. Nathan Pratt of Kent Custom Homes thanks the volunteers & gives them instructions.
This construction entrance on Elam Rd. for a new townhome community in Epperson North is now expected to become a full entrance for townhome residents once the development has been completed, which is a compromise for those living on Abby Brooks Cir. (homes in the distance) in Epperson Ranch II.
Although we hadn’t yet received, at our press time, confirmation that the deal has been finalized, it appears that Metro Development Group and Pasco County have come to an agreement that hopefully will help protect the safety of the residents of Abby Brooks Cir. (ABC), Lily Arbor Way and Swift Wind Dr. in the Epperson Ranch II Community Development District (CDD).
As we reported back in May, a new development of 186 townhomes in the Epperson North CDD is slated to open adjacent to those single-family homes in the Epperson Ranch II CDD — on property that was originally intended to be a school, with an entrance on Elam Rd.
When Pasco County rezoned the property for the townhomes, the entrance on Elam Rd., which currently is being used as a construction entrance (see photo), was eliminated, which meant the only entrance and exit to and from the new townhomnes would be from Epperson Blvd. through ABC, adding an estimated 400 daily trips through the quiet neighborhood by people who wouldn’t live in the neighborhood nor in Epperson II at all.
A large group of concerned Epperson II residents attended the May 6 Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting to complain, and the commissioners, to their credit, agreed that not having an Elam Rd. entrance for the townhomes was a mistake. They also said, however, that they didn’t think anything could be done about it, but had the group meet with the county’s Planning Dept. director David Engel and Development Services Dept. director David Allen while the May 6 BCC meeting was still in session. Engel and Allen said they would talk to Metro to see if the developer would agree to at least allow the entrance on Elam Rd. to be built as a full second entrance/exit, as an alternative to ABC.
On July 8, Metro VP of marketing & communications Lisa Gibbings sent me an email with the following update:
• Construction of the Elam Rd. entrance will begin when the county completes final review and approval of the plan modification.
• The entrance is expected to be completed at the same time as the completion of the overall townhome project, or by the end of 2025.
• While it is currently an active construction zone, access is not permitted for use by the public until the entrance and overall townhome project have been completed.
• To the best of our knowledge, there is no agreement in place nor one being discussed between Epperson Ranch II CDD and Epperson North CDD regarding the entrance. On May 13, 2025, the developer and Pasco County staff met with and shared the proposed (new) entrance plan to representatives of the Epperson Ranch II CDD and residents of the [Epperson II] neighborhood that attended. The proposed plan was well received, and the developer is currently working with the county for final construction plan review and approval.
• It is our understanding that during the Epperson Ranch II CDD meeting on July 3, 2025, the Chair of the Board of Supervisors indicated the entrance road matter is essentially resolved.
• “Metro is excited to partner with Pasco County to bring this entrance to the new townhome community within Epperson. We hope this adds another layer of convenience and safety for residents while reducing congestion within the [ABC] community.”
The Epperson II residents would not comment until the agreement was finalized.
As we all remember all too vividly, Hurricane Milton, which was a Category 5 tropical cyclone when it made landfall near Siesta Key on Oct. 9 of last year, was the first hurricane in decades (or maybe ever) to make a direct hit on the Wesley Chapel area later that day and cause widespread damage and flooding.
The after-effects of Milton continued to be felt for many weeks and, among the casualties of that storm were dozens of roadway signs that were knocked down and/or destroyed — some of which still have not been replaced now nearly 10 months later (highlighted in red in both pictures, above).
Pasco County Media Relations & Communications public information officer Sarah Andeara says, however, that the county’s Traffic Operations & Public Works departments, “have repaired all damages and replaced all signage on county roads that were damaged by Hurricane Milton. Traffic Operations replaced approximately 40 overhead signs and traffic signals, noting that each overhead illuminated street name sign costs approximately $3,700.”
At our press time, Andeara did not know how many post-mounted signs were fixed via the Public Works department, but said that for any missing signs on state roads — including S.R.s 56 and 54 — the Florida Department of Transportation (or FDOT)’s District 7 is ultimately responsible for the replacement of those signs.
It’s also important to note that, unlike traffic signal “heads,” each of the signs — which are important for tourism, emergency response and local businesses — has to be custom-designed.
FDOT transportation engineer Megan Arasteh says, “The Department has inventoried the damaged signs through field visits, and designed the new signs if as-builts were not available, and is in the process of securing the funds for manufacturing the signs.”
Arasteh also noted that, “The estimated timeframe to complete sign replacements throughout District 7 is approximately one year. It takes FDOT about one hour to design each sign if as-builts are not available. The manufacturing process requires a minimum lead time of four months, and each sign installation takes approximately three hours.”
As for how many signs FDOT needs to replace in our area, Arasteh says, “A minimum of 16 signs will be replaced in Wesley Chapel, nineteen signs total in Pasco County, and 203 signs total in all of District 7,” which also includes New Tampa.
Arasteh also notes that, “FDOT recently completed the process of acquiring federal funds to replace these signs. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires a Detailed Damage Inspection Report (DDIR) for approval of funding. FDOT began the process in December 2024. The report included details of the hurricane damage and pictures. FHWA approved the funds this month. As you can imagine with the extent of the damage due to Hurricane Milton, FHWA has had a very large number of DDIRs to review and approve, [and] they have been a great resource to work closely with the Department throughout this process. Dist. 7 Traffic Operations is now working on a new contract that will advertise for bids in about two months for sign replacement.”
As for cost, Arasteh says, “The cost varies to replace each sign. Based on FDOT’s statewide averages for signs, the cost is approximately $7,500, not including design, maintenance of traffic and mobilization. A vendor will manufacture the signs on behalf of FDOT and Pasco County will install the signs.
Now, two months into the 2025 hurricane season, the hope here is that the work will be completed before our area takes another major hit.
The memory board of Dave displayed during the celebration of Life
Join Us When The Former Proprietor Also Will Be Celebrated At Stonewood Grill On Monday, July 28, 1 P.M.-???
Even though I had met David (“Dave”) Rathbun when he managed the Carrabba’s Italian Grill on N. 56th St. in Temple Terrace, I didn’t really get to know him until 2002, when he opened the first Stonewood Grill & Tavern in the Tampa Bay area.
There weren’t a lot of great restaurants in our area at that time — heck, there weren’t a lot of restaurants, period — but Stonewood became New Tampa’s favorite restaurant pretty much from the day it opened and there’s no doubt that Dave had as much to do with it as the restaurant’s steaks and seafood.
The way Dave seemed to remember everyone’s name after one or, at the most, two times meeting them, the way he made sure his instant slew of regulars always got their favorite table or seat at the bar — literally everything about the guy was warm, funny and genuine. He was the very definition of the word “hospitable” in the hospitality industry.
(L.-r.) Emily Barreira, Gina & Dave Rathbun (Photo provided by Emily Barreira)
I didn’t know that Dave’s wife Gina was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, better known to many as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) for the first several years she was stricken with it, and it wasn’t because Dave didn’t talk about Gina. It was because he constantly talked about how wonderful she was, what a great mom she was to her daughter (and Dave’s beloved stepdaughter) Emily and what a talented artist Gina was. The first time I found out Gina was ill was when Dave asked if I could publish an article about her in the paper to show some of her art, which I did and I wish I could’ve found the issue with that story before I went to press with this issue.
Now, mind you, Dave Rathbun never asked me to write anything about Stonewood. He literally had never asked me for anything until that day. And, for the first time ever, I saw pain behind his ever-present, infectious smile.
When Dave left Stonewood, a lot of people were heartbroken. There were some who told me that they couldn’t keep going to their favorite place if Dave wasn’t there anymore.
The next time I heard from Dave was in 2023, when he had accepted a position as a manager at Bella Brava New World Trattoria in The Hub at Bexley (off S.R. 54 in Lutz) , which opened a few months later. He introduced me to general manager Tina Stormer and made sure the Neighborhood News was on-hand for Bella Brava’s “Friends & Family” pre-opening and introduced us to co-owner Thomas Sanborn, who was the original chef at Stonewood when Dave opened it.
Dave seemed to thrive in his new position at Bella Brava, but in April, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that affects the kidneys. Suddenly, after years as Gina’s primary caregiver, Dave was receiving dialysis treatments three days a week for several weeks.
In June, Dave decided to work a full shift at Bella Brava, even though Emily — who is a nurse with two degrees — was concerned that her stepdad wasn’t fully recovered from his weeks of dialysis treatment. He just loved the work.
But, when Dave got home, he told the caregiver that he wasn’t feeling well. He went to sleep…and never woke up.
At only age 69, the man who loved his wife for 28 years and had taken care of her for the last 17 years as she struggled with ALS, was gone.
Tiny quickly organized a Celebration of Life in Dave’s honor and memory on July 14 and an estimated crowd of 300-400 people showed up to hear his family and closest friends talk about what a wonderful husband, father, brother, friend and manager of people he was. Here are a few excerpts from the speeches given about Dave that day:
Dave’s stepdaughter Emily Barreira & her mom & Dave’s wife Gina Rathbun (Photos by Charmaine George)
Gina (Emily read a letter from her Mom to her husband Dave): “From the moment David came into our lives, he became a second father figure to Emily, loving her as if she were his own. He was endlessly dedicated and loyal not just to me, but to our whole family. He showed his love through his strength and unwavering support by always putting us first. David, you carried your confidence and kindness with you. Wherever you went, your compassion touched countless lives, and your love will always remain alive in the hearts of everyone who had the privilege to know you. But, you left me so fast and unexpectedly. I love you more than you will ever know, and I will miss your radiant smile everyday. Your love is the lasting legacy you left with me and your family. Your kindness was a true gift to everyone who had the chance to know you.”
Emily: “David always had a favorite story that he love to share. When I was four years old, I was sitting out in the living room with him watching TV. My mom came over and reminded me that it was time to go to bed. I looked up at her and said, ‘No, mommy, I can’t go to bed. I’m watching baseball with my ‘little stepdaddy.’ From that day on, that’s what he was to me… my little step daddy. He instantly became my bonus dad at a very young age and supported me throughout the rest of my life.”
Dave’s brother Paul Rathbun
Paul (Dave’s brother): “When I was 16 years old, and we lived in Boston. David, John myself and Dave’s friend Tim took us to see the Trammps, a disco band in the seventies, and they were pretty hot at the time. There were a lot of problems with that evening, not the least of which was that four of us were under age. The five of us were invited on stage to sing the finale, “Disco Inferno” with the group. It was amazing. Okay, it was the seventies. Dave loved his family, He loved the restaurant. He loved the people he worked with. He loved his customers. He just loved people.
“Dave loved reading his devotionals. A recent one he shared was, ‘He’s Preparing a Place for You.’ Jesus promised that he’s preparing a place for us, a place where we will be with him forever. It’s not the size of the room or how fancy it is. It’s about being in his presence, where there’s joy, peace and love that never ends. Dave, you have fought the good fight. You finished the race. You have kept the faith. Well done, my brother.”
Dave’s brother John Rathbun
John (Dave’s brother): “He and I talked about the power of positive thinking — in the things you do, the things you say, the things you think — it all determines your destiny and the energy you give off to people. Dave greatly valued his family, connecting with his creator, and mentoring his coworkers. He loved his customers and obviously, his friends, and many of his customers became his friends.
“The French have a phrase “‘Joie de vivre,’ which means “the joy of life.” I think Dave possessed that. He put a lot of effort into his relationships with his coworkers and his customers. and he brought a lot of joy to you guys and, to be honest, you brought a lot of joy to him, too.”
Dave’s close family friend Tim
Tim (Dave’s long-time friend): “Dave had gone to school for physical education but when he moved here, he was going to nursing school and he was working in an Italian restaurant (Lorenzo’s). And I would come down from Tennessee to visit and you could just tell that he loved it. I soon realized that he all the things that he could do as a P.E. teacher, he could do in the restaurant business.
“He mentored so many people and was a great coach. He was so inspirational to so many people. I’ll never forget that we were working on a paint crew here in Florida. I was going to school, and I’m borrowing money to go to school and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. And I was really beating myself up and I had one conversation with Dave and he said to me, ‘Timmy, don’t worry about it. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. You’re smart, you’re a hard worker and people like you. Just focus on doing the best that you can every day and treat people around you the way you want to be treated, and you’ll be successful.”
Dave’s friend Kelly Barnett
Kelly (another long-time friend): “I worked at the Olive Garden in New Tampa, right across the parking lot from Stonewood. Dave and I had worked together like 30 years before that, and we end up working right next to each other. So, one day I was eating there and I’m just watching him.
“I knew what he was like, but I never got old to watch him work a dining room. He knows everybody by name. And he knows something about each of them. It’s not like he’s just out there saying, ‘Hey, how’s your dinner?’ And the person I was with was also in the restaurant business. And they said, ‘Oh my God, he’s like the Mayor of Stonewood!”
Bella Brava Bexley GM Tina Stormer (with Emily & her husband Ryan Barreira)
Tina (Bella Brava GM): We closed the restaurant today so all of our employees could be here to celebrate Dave. He was the definition of hospitality at its best. They called him ‘Diamond Dave’ for a reason. If he didn’t know who you were when you walked in, he would definitely know you by the time you left.”
Please join us for a second Celebration of ‘Dimond Dave’ Rathbun’s life on Monday, July 28, 1 p.m., at Stonewood Grill & Tavern.
(l-r) Dave’s brother Mark Rathbun, his sister Martha Peddle (with Paul) & his sister Mary DeSantis
Editor’s note – Unfortunately, due to the timing of our issues, we were not able to get this recap of the extended Florida Legislative Session that finally ended on June 16 into the June 24 New Tampa issue, but I did sit down for a chat with District 67 State Representative and Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (photo) a little more than a week after that lengthy session ended to get her impressions of the hits, misses and what the people of her District, which includes all of New Tampa, can expect between now and the start of the 2026 Legislative Session next January. — GN
NN: First, give me your general impressions of this year’s session.
FD: To me, this felt like a session of missed opportunities, because the Speaker set a tone at the beginning of the session, that it was going to be a member-driven process and that we were going to focus on affordability issues, and basically there would be opportunities to collaborate on such issues. But in the end, this session was marked by, in-fighting amongst Republican leadership. The Speaker of the House, the Senate President and the Governor just could not seem to get on the same page, so what was supposed to be a 60-day session wound up being over a hundred days. And unfortunately, the budget was the biggest bargaining chip and the budget process was held up and it wasn’t as transparent as it typically is, meaning that there wasn’t really the opportunity for the public, I don’t think, to advocate, as much as they specifically would have for their budget appropriations. It was really tough — for the public and for lawmakers — because we also were kind of pretty much in the dark. It just seemed like they couldn’t even agree on even whether or not they were fighting, much less what they were fighting about. In spite of everything, though, I think, in the end, it was an O.K. budget. Definitely not an A+ budget, but it was an O.K. budget.
NN: What’s missing from the budget?
FD: What I would like to have seen that was missing were more funds for housing affordability. By my estimation, we actually reduced funds for affordable housing and this is not a time to do that. Especially here, when we know the Tampa Bay area is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and it’s becoming too expensive for locals to live here.
You’ll also notice that the Governor vetoed a number of water projects, just like he did last year. The problem with that, as we continue to endure stronger storms and flooding events, is that we need to have the right infrastructure to try to protect human life and property.
NN: What do you see as your caucus’ victories, despite the Republicans’ super-majority?
FD: In the end, they actually kept the funding for Advanced Placement courses and International Baccalaureate programs and certain certifications for students. And I think that was the right thing to do. And I give full credit, both to the Democratic caucus and to the public for really springing into action and embracing a lot of noise about that, so that they had to reverse course. I am really proud of our advocacy for students and families on the AP classes. We really hammered them on that, which was good.
NN: What about your own successes?
FD: I was really proud to secure some significant appropriations. For example, in a prior session, I helped sponsor legislation to establish what we believe are the first Sickle Cell Disease Centers of Excellence in the country.
So this year, we were able to secure $3.75 million for sickle cell disease projects — $1.25 million to establish a “cause of death initiative” aimed at addressing a long-standing gap in knowledge surrounding sickle cell disease mortality. There hasn’t been enough study and focus to understand the exact causes of death for many in the sickle cell population. We’re trying to understand more about what happens to sickle cell patients and try to strengthen advocacy efforts.
Then, there’s another $2.5 million that is going to help that population with non-emergency transportation access because what we found is that transportation is a huge obstacle to that patient population from getting consistent preventive care. They miss a lot of appointments. When that happens, you know, things that were preventable become real complications, and they have worse outcomes.
This is going to allow for two transportation vans at each of the 15 sickle cell centers, including the one in my District on E. Fletcher Ave.
The other thing that we did get was a $350,000 appropriation for the Hillel Jewish Student Center of Tampa on the USF Tampa campus. We’ve heard stories of students feeling threatened on campus. Probably like a month or two ago, there was a gentleman found with weapons on campus, who was not a student, and he had a copy of I believe it was Mein Kampf.
There’s been an uptick of anti-Semitism, so we’re very proud to help our students feel safe. The appropriation is for school “hardening” and some technology, plus educational and cultural programming to try to counter disinformation and anti-Semitic rhetoric. The daughter of one of my colleagues in the legislature is half-Jewish, half-Black, and she used to wear a Star of David at school. But, there were some things happening at school and now, she doesn’t even feel safe to wear to wear her star anymore. And, she’s only in middle school.
There also was some drama this year where the Senate’s Democratic leader — Jason Pizzo — resigned his leadership position part-way through session and announced that he’s becoming an NPA. It was very dramatic. I’ve been in this position now for about three years, and I’ll tell you that leadership is hard. There’s no glory in it. It sounds like a very nice title, but it’s tough. And, for whatever reason, he’d had enough. So then, the Senate elected Lori Berman unanimously as its new leader and I will tell you that Sen. Berman and I work together really well. And, from that point on, I’ve found that we’ve been very coordinated. The Senate and House Democrats are already working on a joint platform for next Legislative session, because we recognize that we’re stronger together.
And, we did have some platform bills that we worked together on this year, particularly related to housing affordability, expanding Medicaid, safe gun storage and universal background checks. These are things that are not easy to pass, but I do think it’s important to raise them so that we are a part of the conversation, and so that we keep trying to keep the conversation centered on affordability, because that’s what our constituents want. The most calls that we get are people worried about housing affordability and dealing with property insurance. And, even though we’re the minority party, I think it’s important that we uplift the voices of our constituents and our neighbors.
NN: Which bills of yours didn’t pass?
FD: I had a bill that was seeking to give clarity and direction to doctors with respect to the six-week abortion ban because we continue to hear reports of doctors being unsure of what they can do with respect to miscarriage management because, technically, that could be considered an abortion procedure sometimes. So, in consultation with physicians who practice in this area, we worked on a bill that would just give them some guidelines. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass.
Recently in the news, there was a Republican Congresswoman here in Florida who suffered an ectopic pregnancy, and she was having difficulties getting health care because the doctors weren’t sure what they could do. So, this is something that really has a need. That’s a dangerous thing to have an ectopic pregnancy and to have a doctor not know if he or she can provide care for that. I may not be the one who carries it, but we’ll definitely bring it up again next Session.
There was also a bill that I carried on water quality improvements. It actually was a platform bill for our caucus. I read a report that Florida is one of the states with the highest amount of lead in our drinking water. So, I was pushing for a study, so that we could better understand the issue and start to remedy this. The bill also is basically asking for the state to implement the recommendations that were made by the Red Tide Task Force that looked at that issue. But, when something is a big hot topic in the moment, the legislature will take action, but then, maybe once the news coverage dies down, they just put things on the back burner. But, our beaches are critical to our economy, so maybe we should be more preventive with it. That was a real disappointment that we couldn’t get that to go anywhere because environmental issues have been fairly bipartisan in recent years.
NN: So, you have one more legislative session in your current role before you’re term-limited out. What’s your next political move?
