Category: News

Support Comes In Many Different Forms…& T-Shirts

As the Pasco County Commissioner representing District 2, which encompasses most of Wesley Chapel, it is a big part of Mike Moore’s job to help local businesses that are struggling during the current Covid-19 pandemic in a variety of ways — from forming committees to find relief to helping engineer, and vote on, small business grants to making plans for an uncertain future.

But, one of the more unique and fun ways Moore is helping out is by giving social media shout-outs to local businesses with the requisite #SupportPasco hashtag.

Moore began encouraging area restaurants to send him their T-shirts — he promised to return them — so he could wear them in videos he has been posting on his Facebook and Twitter pages. Whatever shirt he is wearing that day, Moore shares a little about the business and encourages viewers to stop by and grab some takeout.

He started with Al’s Famous Pizza in San Antonio, and has also featured 900º Woodfired Pizza, Buttermilk Provisions and The Brass Tap.

Not only does Moore get to shine the spotlight on local businesses, it also gives him the chance to show off his new Grizzly Adams-style “quarantine beard.”

“It was just a fun thing that kind of started just to get the word out about these places,” Moore says. “It’s tough right now for them to spend money on advertising, so this is a big help. Every little bit you can do to help these small businesses is worth it.”

His videos generally receive more than 1,000 views, and he says his Facebook inbox is jammed with requests.

“I can’t even get to them all,” he says. “I sit there in bed at night trying to get through them.”

Moore’s video spotlights have been such a hit that he has opened it up to small businesses other than restaurants, and increased his output to two videos a day.

Social media has become a popular way to support local businesses, by sharing various specials and news about restaurants and other businesses. Moore has lots of company when it comes to promotion — the Wesley Chapel Community page on Facebook has open threads where small businesses can advertise, and here at the Neighborhood News (also promoted by Moore), we have done a series of videos and Facebook posts promoting local businesses, with more to come.

As businesses begin reopening under new rules and new hours, getting the word out will be more important than ever.

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Many Small Businesses In Wesley Chapel Hoping For Federal Aid

Derick Burgos and Natalie Manrique (photo) are the co-owners of Pure Florida Watersports off S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel. They are small business owners. They are the people that the grants and loans from the federal government, in response to the economic hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, were supposed to help.

Like many small businesses in Wesley Chapel, however, that help never came for the Meadow Pointe residents.

Despite applying for money through the Small Business Administration (SBA)’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Burgos and Manrique, who are engaged, received nothing. The first time. And, at our press time, they hadn’t heard anything yet about the second round.

“It’s hard,” Derick says. “We are a mom-and-pop, family-owned business. We’re pushing hard to make this work. That (PPP loan) would have helped. Our business is lucky to be alive still.”

When it came to getting an infusion of funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security (or CARES) Act, a glimmer of hope was snuffed out for many Wesley Chapel businesses.

The most coveted loan/grant sought was the PPP, which wouldn’t need to be paid back if the business showed that 75-percent of the funds were used to retain employees. But, that first $349 billion ran out quickly, and then news that bigger, well-known brands like Shake Shack, Ruth’s Hospitality Group (the parent company of Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse)Inc. and even the Los Angeles Lakers were among the businesses that received checks.

And, even though they eventually returned the money amid bad press, it did little to reduce the sting felt by area small businesses.

“It was a very confusing process,” says Hope Kennedy, the CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. “We heard from many of our members. They weren’t happy.”

Nyree Bland, the co-owner of PROtential Sports, says PROtential’s after-school sports programs for kids have been closed for six weeks. She is praying the company can still offer its popular summer camps, “but we haven’t received PPP for our staff yet,” she says.

To help fill the void for county businesses, the Pasco Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously on April 21 to approve $2 million for an aid package to help the county’s small businesses. The Pasco Economic Development Council (Pasco EDC) partnered with the county to get the $2 million in grants in the hands of as many as 400 area small businesses affected by Covid-19.

The vote was held at 11:20 a.m., and the website to apply went live a minute later. Luckily, says Pasco EDC CEO Bill Cronin, the county had purchased additional bandwidth to handle the crush, but even so, the EDC received 1,439 applications in 36 hours before cutting off the process.

“We (the county and the EDC) wanted to try and help and make sure there was some cash moving around in the economy,” Cronin says. “It went a little faster than we thought.”

The Pasco EDC has begun distributing the money, the limit of which was $5,000 per applicant. Some small businesses asked for less than that, so more than 400 applicants are receiving at least some assistance.

But, many others are still waiting for that federal help, and trying to decide if they can survive without it. Businesses throughout Florida were allowed to reopen on May 4, but social distancing guidelines and stringent rules limiting the number of customers inside restaurants and retail establishments may not provide the boost those businesses need to survive. A second round of PPP, and more aid down the road, will help — if it ever comes.

Burgos says he was “scared crapless” during the early stages of the coronavirus. He has a rosier outlook now that the quarantine restrictions have been eased.

“I had some insider scoop that businesses under 50 employees were just going to have to brace themselves,” Burgos says. “We don’t expect to get anything from PPP, but a lot of people are getting stir crazy from being inside. I know a lot of them are on the fence still, but I’m hoping they will be coming back out.”

Epperson Resident Frustrated With Florida’s Unemployment Failures

“The incompetence is literally off the charts,” said Epperson’s Glenn Barca, pictured here working on his petition that demands that Florida meet the needs of the state’s unemployed.

After waiting weeks for his application to receive unemployment to be approved, Epperson resident Glenn Barca couldn’t take it anymore.

So, he started an online petition, hoping to draw attention to his plight, as well as the plight of hundreds of thousands of others who have been waiting for assistance from the state.

“The main objective of the petition was that folks in Tallahassee would pay attention and take notice at how many people are upset out here,” Barca says. “They need to take the petition and the people that signed it seriously, and get to work.”

The petition demands that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department Of Economic Opportunity (FLDEO) fully implement the Federal CARES Act and “disperse without delay the monetary resources” the law is supposed to provide.

Barca, like many others, still hasn’t received a dime from the state, despite applying for unemployment on March 23, a day after his job as a self-employed driver for a luxury car service ended.

With most of his work for business people heading to corporate events at places like Saddlebrook Resort, Barca’s rides dried up due to coronavirus fears, as staying safe became his top priority.

“I didn’t want to end up with a tube down my throat,” Barca says. “It’s kind of hard to maintain social distancing when there is someone in the back seat.”

Now Barca, 53, worries about draining his nest egg.

His petition on Change.org has drawn nearly 10,000 signatures, with angry commentors criticizing Florida’s CONNECT website that has failed and has become a national laughingstock.

Even DeSantis called the system a “clunker” and “problematic,” as Florida has been overwhelmed with more than 700,000 claims while distributing money to barely 20 percent of those applying for unemployment benefits.

On April 27, Barca and roughly 200,000 others were deemed ineligible to receive unemployment funds, and have had to reapply.

Barca says he made 100-150 attempts over 12 straight hours to refile his claim on April 28, only to get to get booted off the system as he reached the final screen.

“This is so frustrating,” Barca says. “The level of incompetence is literally off the charts.”

His petition has been featured all over the country, thanks to a story by Spectrum News 13 in Orlando and the Associated Press, as well as on local television stations.

He estimates that the state owes him more than $5,000 and says that he “knows for a fact” he will get that money one day.

He also says he is not done fighting.

Barca also has signed on to the complaint filed April 24 by Tallahassee attorneys Marie Mattox and Gautier Kitchen accusing state officials of negligence. A hearing was scheduled for May 6 in Leon County, which was after we went to press with this issue.

“I kind of needed this money yesterday,” Barca says. “I have about 3-4 weeks of reserves left, but what about those people that didn’t have reserves? What’s happening to those people?”

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Work On Kinnan-Mansfield Under Way, Expected To Be Completed Soon

This is the view from the end of Kinnan St., which runs north from Cross Creek Blvd. Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe is on the other side of the barrier, about 40 feet away. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

For New Tampa residents hoping that one day Kinnan St. in New Tampa would be connected to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe at the southern county line of Pasco County — allowing locals an alternate route to Wesley Chapel — news that work has already begun on connecting the roads for emergency vehicles only might be a bit of a letdown.

Luis Viera, however, says he will take it. The Tampa District 7 City Council member (see pg. 6) and New Tampa resident likened the final result to “a single, maybe a double” but praised the decision to move forward and provide that emergency access.

“The firefighters at Station No. 23 (on Cross Creek Blvd.) that I’ve talked to are very excited about it,” Viera says. “This is something all of New Tampa should celebrate. The Kinnan-Mansfield stalemate literally hasn’t moved even an inch forward in two decades.”

The connection was orignally expected to be completed by the end of the summer, but a finishing date is unclear, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Viera says some final meetings between the City of Tampa and Hillsborough and Pasco counties to put the finishing touches on the agreement have been postponed, and may be rescheduled via phone.

The deal calls for the developer of K-Bar Ranch to pave the connection, while Hillsborough County addresses the design and construction of the remaining infrastructure, which will include an emergency access gate and paths for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“We want to have control over that,” said Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, a longtime opponent of connecting the two roads to through traffic.

Moore says that while the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has voted to grant access to first responders only, it remains opposed to ever opening to local traffic and that will be codified in an agreement coming before the Pasco County Board of Commissioners in the near future, where it also will vote on the maintenance agreement for the connection.

So, say goodbye to the most infamous patch of untended, overgrown, garbage-infested grass and bushes in our area, as the agreement ends years of bitter fighting between the two counties, with Hillsborough County and Tampa seeking numerous times to connect the road and Pasco County, which at one time wanted was the entity that wanted it connected, refusing to budge in its opposition.

Kinnan St. Mansfield blvd.

One Tampa Plan Unveiled, Will Assist Those Hurt By COVID-19

Center ice at Amalie Arena is usually the backdrop for thousands of cheering fans and thunderous ovations, but on Tuesday, it was empty.

That didn’t stop Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, however, from standing on the same spot usually reserved for the heroics of the Tampa Bay Lightning and doing something that is likely to earn her cheers from thousands as well.

As hurting Tampa residents await aid from the federal government, Castor unveiled details of the City of Tampa’s new “One Tampa: Relief Now, Rise Together” fund, a partnership with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce that will provide significant relief for many in the community.

The fund will cover up to $1,000 for rent or mortgage paid directly to the landlord or mortgagor, and up to $250 for essential utilities (water, gas and electric).

Small businesses that meet the criteria will have up to $4,000 for rent or mortgage covered, and up to $1,000 for utilities.

“As a lifelong Tampanian, I know one thing to be true: Tampa has grit,” Castor said. “When faced with challenges, our community always comes together to help our neighbors in need. One Tampa will provide critical financial support to those hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis.”

While the plan will effect the majority of those living in New Tampa, those who reside in the unincorporated sections — Cross Creek, Pebble Creek and Live Oak, primarily — are not eligible fro this funding.

Applicants will be able to apply online at OneTampa.org, by phone, or by mail by filling out an online qualifying questionnaire, which will be available Friday, April 17 at noon for individuals and families, and on Tuesday, April 21 for small businesses.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, Buccaneers, Rays and Rowdies have already donated $100,000 each to the One Tampa fund.

Anyone can be a part of the One Tampa project. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation, you can do so at the website.

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay will be responsible for ensuring the aid is reaching those who need it most, while the Tampa Bay Chamber will assist small businesses that qualify for these grants.

For more information and details about qualifying criteria, visit OneTampa.org. Residents also can call the Crisis Center hotline at 2-1-1 and dial 7 for more information or assistance with the application process.

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