Tampa City Council Approves Funding For K-Bar Park Design! 

As we reported last issue, K-Bar Ranch is getting a 60-acre City of Tampa park and one that District 7 Tampa City Council member (and New Tampa resident) Luis Viera (photo, left) has said he hopes will include a cricket pitch as one of its amenities. 

At that meeting with about 50-60 residents (most, but not all of whom live in K-Bar Ranch) on Aug. 7, Viera said that he hoped and expected that the funding for the design of the park to be included in the city’s Fiscal 2025 budget. 

Well, on Sept. 5, the City Council did approve the roughly $1 million needed for the park’s design upon first reading of the city’s budget and Viera is thankful not only for the item passing its first muster, but also for the support of District 67 State Representative and State House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (who also attended the resident meeting on Aug. 7). Leader Driskell wrote a letter (in the far right column) to the City Council members on Sept. 3 to let them know that she is “in strong support of the FY25 budget design money for the K-Bar Ranch Park.” 

Viera then went on his Facebook page to thank Driskell “for your advocacy in support” of the park design funding. “Rep. Driskell has been on the front line advocating not only for this park in the budget, but for a cricket component to this park…Thank you, Rep. Driskell for your advocacy for this budget item.” 

And of course, Viera also noted in his Facebook message that, “We have about 60 acres available — with a great deal of conservation space and a park, as well as potentially a fire-station long-term,” even though Tampa Fire Rescue Fire Chief Barbara Tripp has yet to express her support for a full fire station in K-Bar, at the park site or otherwise. 

At the Aug. 7 resident meeting, Brad Suder, the superintendent of the city’s planning design natural resources division, said that once the design money becomes available — most likely sometime in late November — the city will be able to hire a consultant to work with and the public participating in the design process could begin. The second reading of the budget is scheduled for Thursday, September 19 — or a couple of days (or so) after this issue arrives in your mailbox. 

Community Received Crime & City Budget Updates At Second Public Safety Meeting 

(l.-r.) State Rep. Fentrice Driskell, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, City Councilman Luis Viera, TPD Deputy Chief Brett Owen & TPD Maj. Les Richardson were in attendance at the Town Hall meeting in Tampa Palms on July 30. 

Thankfully, the short, but scary violent crime wave that rocked New Tampa in June has calmed down. 

That fact was evidenced by the much-lower attendance at the second New Tampa Public Safety Town Hall meeting held at Compton Park in Tampa Palms on July 30, nearly five weeks after District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and the Tampa Police Department (TPD) co-hosted the first New Tampa Public Safety Town Hall meeting at the New Tampa Recreation Center on June 24. 

As we reported in our July 23 issue, the first Town Hall was attended by about 200 people, many of whom expressed fear after three separate shooting incidents in four days that left four people dead and one seriously injured in zip code 33647. 

At the July 30 meeting, new TPD Deputy Chief Brett Owen and recently promoted TPD Dist. 2 Major Leslie “Les” Richardson provided an update on one of the three cases, while acknowledging that one case, which was being handled by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) because it took place on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (a county road), was still not resolved. An arrest had already been made in the third case, as we also reported last issue. 

Just to review: The case that is still open was the first one, on June 17, when 24-year-old Wesley Chapel resident Kyle Prisco was shot and killed in broad daylight on BBD at Regents Park Dr., in front of the Chase Bank. Sadly, just as at the June 24 meeting, no one from HCSO attended the July 30 meeting to answer questions about that case. 

“Unfortunately, the Sheriff’s Office has not yet made an arrest in that case,” Dep. Chief Owen said, “but they are diligently working on it and hopefully in the near future, we’ll be able to give you some positive information on that case.” 

The case where TPD made an arrest was the one we reported last issue, when the body of 35-year-old Andre Dyke was found riddled with bullets on the morning of June 21, near the Metro Self Storage adjacent to the New Tampa Nature Park. The man arrested was 29-year-old Andre Aris, who TPD said dumped Dyke’s body, and was charged with first-degree murder. 

Dep. Chief Owen said that the third case, which happened a little later on June 21, was “solved.” Although he didn’t identify any of the people involved, Dep. Chief Owen said that after a man’s body was found on the ground near the entrance to the Portofino Apartments on New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows, a suspect got into the back seat of the victim’s vehicle and pointed a gun at the driver. “They met up for a narcotics transaction and the two exchanged gunfire and ultimately the two suspects both succumbed to their injuries.” One suspect was pronounced dead at a crash site on Bearss Ave. near I-275, and the other later died after being transported to a hospital. 

Raquel Thompson (in tank top) asks for a crime update. 

One of the attendees at the July 30 Town Hall, Raquel Thompson, expressed her concern that even though she had scanned the QR code to receive TPD media releases in June, nothing had been reported about the “solved” case, “and I think people in this community have been so on edge about the recent crimes that I would think the police would want to let us know the case was resolved. But, why wasn’t that communicated to us?” Owen agreed and said he would look into why nothing was posted about it, but at our press time, no updated information had been released by TPD about the case. 

Owen did mention that, “we’ve had a lot of good work going on here in the neighborhood recently. Just in the last month, on June 26, we had five young men go into the parking lot at the Mezzo at Tampa Palms apartments. They were trying car door handles, but there was a citizen sitting in his car who blew his horn and scared them off, but not very far. They were at Building 3 when the citizen blew his horn, but they ran to Building 8, where our officers made contact with them responding to that call for service. It just goes to show that if you see something that looks out of place, call us and let us know and we can respond to it quickly and actually make something happen.” 

The new Deputy Chief also mentioned that on July 19, some suspects who came up from south Florida that were involved in a motorcycle theft ring, “stole two motorcycles up here in New Tampa and they were ultimately linked to a case that the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office had and another that Osceola County was working. Osceola had some good information that led to these suspects being arrested and the return of one of the motorcycles stolen from New Tampa.” 

He also mentioned that overall, “Our self-initiated activity is up over 55% year-to-date. Just in the last month alone, it’s up 66%, so that makes almost 7,000 calls year-to-date that were self-initiated, which means officers doing something in the community that weren’t called in by citizens. And, just this last month, we’re talking 1,000 self-initiated calls, so we are visible in the community and we’re working diligently to keep you all safe.” 

Next, Maj. Richardson said he just got promoted when Owen became Deputy Chief and he said, “I’m actually looking forward to working here in District 2. I’ve spent the majority of my career in East Tampa (TPD) District 3, which includes downtown and Ybor, and I’ve only been here about two weeks now. But, after looking at the numbers in District 2, I’m excited to be working here and I look forward to working with each and every one of you.” 

In response to a question from resident Al Fernandez about speeding on BBD, Owen said that, “Our traffic unit is doing an initiative on Bruce B. Downs in New Tampa this month because this is one of our problem areas.” 

Another local resident asked if the west side of Tampa Palms Blvd. could be repaved, now that the repaving on the east side of Tampa Palms Blvd. has been completed. Mayor Castor said she would have to look into it, and that passing the continuation of the half-cent Community Investment Tax would help, while Viera also mentioned that there is $550 million sitting in Tallahassee from the overturned Transportation Sales Tax referendum, “some of which will come back to the city, and zip code 33647 voted overwhelmingly for that tax.” Viera also noted that the city’s road repaving budget is only about $5 million a year, and “just to keep our roads the way they are now is about $16 million. That’s what that penny sales tax was for. But, Tampa Palms Blvd. and New Tampa Blvd. repaving are first in my mind for repaving, so we’ll get there eventually.” 

Mayor Castor added, “It’s important to get these repaving projects done as quickly as possible so you don’t have to tear the entire road up, which will cost three times as much as repaving.” 

About The Budget 

After Viera introduced everyone sitting in front of the 50 or so people (photo above) in attendance at the July 30 meeting, Mayor Castor provided an update on the City of Tampa’s Fiscal Year 2025 (which begins Oct. 1) budget. 

“We recently presented our 2025 budget to City Council, which is about $1.8 billion,” Mayor Castor said. “We very conservatively estimate what we are going to receive in property tax revenue, and that is the majority of our operating budget. But, where we’re at is sort of a status quo budget. We are maintaining our high level of service, we’re taking care of the issues that need to be taken care of, but there aren’t going to be any major projects (funded) that weren’t already on the boards. We’re in great shape financially; we have one of the best credit ratings for a city in the U.S. We have so many ‘As’ and ‘A+s’ on that credit rating that I wish I had those grades in high school.” She added that public hearings on the Mayor’s proposed 2025 budget will be held in September. 

She also mentioned that, based on a Community Values Survey the city conducts every year, “to ensure that we’re doing what you want, I’m very pleased to say that we have over a 90% approval rating on the citizens’ trust in city government.” 

At the end of the meeting, Mayor Castor lauded Councilman Viera for his efforts on New Tampa’s behalf. “This guy really fights for you,” she said. “Your needs in New Tampa are very well represented.”

Community Gives Blood In Memory Of Gabriel Hassan 

 Dozens Of Units Of Blood Were Donated To Honor The Wharton Grad Who Died From Leukemia 

Sophia, Mahmoud & Lily Carolyn Hassan, with Gabriel’s Boy Scout uniform at the OneBlood drive on May 10. 
(Photos by Charmaine George) 

 A little more than three months after he passed away from leukemia caused by a rare ailment he had from birth called Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (or SDS), the family of Wharton High graduate Gabriel “Gabe” Hassan held a community blood drive on what would have been Gabe’s 18th birthday — May 10 — at the Islamic Society of New Tampa’s Masjid Daarusalam on Morris Bridge Rd., just north of Cross Creek Blvd. 


Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera (above) & Florida House Minority leader Fentrice Driskell (right) at the blood drive. (Photos from Luis Viera’s Facebook page) 

There were three OneBlood Bloodmobiles on hand (photo) at the blood drive, which began a few hours before the regular services at the New Tampa Mosque. 

Dozens of Muslim worshipers, plus members of Gabe’s Boy Scout Troop 148 and fellow Wharton students, as well as District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and District 67 State Rep. (and House Minority Leader) Fentrice Driskell donated blood in Gabe’s honor and memory on his birthday. 

Gabe’s mom Lily Carolyn (below left photo) and dad, Mahmoud (right photo), were among the 65 people who donated blood on their son’s birthday. Lily Carolyn, who shared her private writings about Gabe and his favorite things with us (see below), said it was the first time she had ever donated blood. 

Lily Carolyn was appreciative of all of the support the blood drive received. “It’s been really difficult with the loss of Gabe,” she told me. “He was the little guy that knew how to light up the room.” 

She noted that the Wharton High PTSA also previously held its own OneBlood drive, where 40 units were donated. 

“My wish for his birthday was to equal or best it,” Lily Carolyn said. “God is great. We beat it by 25 units.” She also noted that the 65 units of blood collected could help save 195 adults or 390 babies. 

“I also ordered 18 mini red velvet bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes for those who came early to the blood drive to celebrate Gabe’s birthday. It was his favorite.” 

Speaking Of Favorites… 
The first page of the journal Lily Carolyn has been keeping in memory of her son and his favorite things. 

Since the day he passed, Lily Carolyn has been making entries in a journal to keep the memory of Gabe alive. “This journal has all your loves and dislikes,” she wrote. “You were supposed to bury me. You were becoming the young man your daddy and I were starting to see. You wanted to go to USF and go into the field of biomedical engineering and help daddy with billing on the side.” 

The next several pages are filled with Gabe’s loves and dislikes, including: 

Favorite Foods — Pad Thai noodles, sweet sticky rice, sushi and pokĂŠ bowls (especially from Bonefish), Ford’s Garage mushroom burger w/onion rings, calzones from Anthony’s NY Pizza, Panera tomato soup, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chick-fil-A spicy chicken sandwich, cinnamon bun w/ vanilla glaze, Mom’s pancet w/mushrooms, Star Wars edge of the galaxy green shakes from Luke’s aunt…and many more. 

Favorite Movie He Can Watch Over & Over Again — “Mario Bros. 2023” 

Something He Has Done With The Hassan Family That He Will Never Do Again — Scuba diving 

Other Favorites — Hanging with family & friends, eating at restaurants, hanging with his birds (Georgio, or “Gremlin,” Sim Sim & Flappy), going to Best Buy and going to movies with Popa Greg. He loved the Boy Scouts and hanging with his fellow Scouts, helping with service projects, food pantry/distribution… Gabe loved learning and was curious of the world. He loved life & his family. 

Least Liked Merit Badge He Completed — Fishing, “Which is funny, as he loves eating fish. He just didn’t like the process of gutting & cleaning it out.” 

Lily Carolyn also shared that SDS, which ultimately caused Gabe’s leukemia, afflicts only one person in 80,000. It also stunts normal growth as its victims age, “Even before he died, Gabe was only 4’-10” tall, shorter than his sister Sophia (Gabe called her ‘Soph Soph’), who is 5’-4” at only 12 years old.” 

She also noted that in the photo above she sent me, Gabe and Sophia volunteered at Ronald McDonald House, “Not knowing we were going to be on the other side…the recipients. We taught them young the important value of giving back to the community.” 

Thank you for this info, Lily Carolyn. 

Masjid Daarusalam Hosts Blood Drive For Gabe Hassan

The parents of Gabriel (Gabe) Hassan, the Wharton High graduate who passed away on Feb. 6 of this year from a rare form of leukemia, shortly after receiving his diploma, held a blood donation drive at the Islamic Society of New Tampa’s Masjid Daarusalam on May 10, in honor of what would have been their son’s 18th birthday.

There were three OneBlood Bloodmobiles on hand at the blood drive, which began a few hours before the regular services at the New Tampa Mosque, located just north of Cross Creek Blvd., at 15830 Morris Bridge Rd.

Hundreds of worshipers, as well as District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and State House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Dist. 67), donated blood in Gabe’s honor and memory on his birthday. Gabe’s mom and dad, Carolyn & Mahmoud, were among those who donated blood in their son’s honor. Carolyn, who shared her private writings about Gabe and his favorite things with the Neighborhood News (look for them in our May 28 New Tampa issue), said it was the first time she had ever donated blood.

The Neighborhood News story in the May 28 New Tampa issue will provide additional pictures and information for this story.

Rep. Driskell Looks Back At The Legislative Session & Ahead To November 

District 67 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell (photo) is in an unenviable position — but it’s a position she handles with class and dignity. 

As the Minority Leader in the Florida House of Representatives — where her Democratic party faces a Republican super-majority of 84 Republican to 36 Democratic seats held — Rep. Driskell says she is still encouraged by the most recent State Legislative session, which ended in March. 

She also is gearing up for her fourth (and she says final, at least for her current position) legislative campaign — since first winning election to State House District 63 over then-incumbent Shawn Harrison by more than 4,500 votes in 2018. Rep. Driskell was reelected to the Dist. 63 seat in 2020 (when she was unopposed and did not have to appear on the ballot) and, in 2022, she defeated Lisette Bonano (R-New Tampa) by just under 3,700 votes to win the re-drawn Dist. 67 seat. Bonano is again on the ballot against Rep. Driskell for the Dist. 67 seat in November. At our press time, neither candidate was set to face a Primary Election opponent in August. 

Rep. Driskell, who earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Harvard University in 2001 and her Juris Doctor (law) degree from Georgetown University in 2004, was elected by her Democratic colleagues to serve as the State House Minority Leader and was named by new House Speaker Paul Renner to be the Democratic Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee in 2023, so she serves an important role in the House’s state budget process. 

“It is a thankless job, but it’s an important one,” she says of being the Minority Leader against a Republican super majority. “We face a lot of pressure from the other side of the aisle. But, I have tried to lead my caucus in such a way that we put forward policies that any family in Florida would appreciate. Every Floridian deserves the chance to be healthy, prosperous and safe. What I have found is that my constituents are tired of the culture wars — they don’t want book bans and attacks on history.” 

When asked whether or not the culture wars have been fought by both sides, Rep. Driskell responded, “We have to remember that the Republicans have been in charge in the legislature and the governor’s mansion for years and they pushed the culture wars. The legislature has been pushed by Governor (Ron) DeSantis to ban Critical Race Theory, which is not taught in our schools. I view it as my job to say, ‘What’s going on here? What’s O.K. and what’s not?’ I don’t care about the parties, I care about the people. I can work with anybody. But, you have to pick your battles carefully because the other side, in most cases, doesn’t need our votes.” 

She added that there were very few of what she calls “Jump Balls” in this year’s session. “They only need us when their caucus is split on an issue, like the bill to regulate short-term rentals, like Airbnbs (Senate Bill 280 passed both houses and is waiting for Gov. DeSantis’ signature). There were legislators pushing in both caucuses on both sides of that issue.” 

Despite her party’s disadvantage in the State House, Rep. Driskell is still proud of the bills she either sponsored, co-sponsored or supported. 

“I was able to secure $10 million for sickle cell disease (House Bill 7085, which creates a Sickle Cell Disease Research & Treatment Grant Program within the Department of Health),” she says. “It’s the first such program in the U.S., as Florida has close to 8,000 people afflicted with sickle cell disease, one of the biggest populations in the country.” 

Other successes she points to in this year’s legislative session include: 

• A $250,000 grant to study infant health and mortality. “There’s a consortium of universities studying that together,” she says. “It could save some lives.” 

•$1 million for a historic cemeteries program in the Dept. of State. “The grants are open now,” she says. “I designed the bill so the state works with USF and its black cemetery network…so it helps USF, too.” 

• She also advocated for (but didn’t sponsor) $1.7 million in USF funding, including USF’s Florida Mental Health Institute’s autism program. 

• $14,000 for the New Tampa Players, as part of the cultural & museum grants program. “There are institutions across the state who get money from that program,” she says. 

• Helped get $1 million for the Ronald McDonald House, here in Tampa Bay. “There is a need for a new house,” she says. “The current one is on Columbia Dr. on Davis Islands, but this will help them put one a new house in a more central location.” 

• $1 million for SOF (Special Operations Forces) Missions, which helps veterans with PTSD. “I helped them get their first state appropriation a few years ago,” she says. “I am honored to have helped support that, too.” 

Rep. Driskell also is proud to have advocated “for reducing the waiting list for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. We have 22,000 people in Florida waiting for their benefits. But, Senate Bill 58 provides funding to move some people off that wait list.” 

No Help On Transportation Tax $ 

As for some results she wasn’t happy with this year, Rep. Driskell mentioned the $570 million raised by the most recently passed (and overturned) Hillsborough Transportation Tax. 

“Unfortunately, it’s not coming back to the community in the form of funding for transportation projects that we voted for,” she says. “About $256 million is coming back in the form of road resurfacing and about $162 million will go towards a Sales Tax Holiday that we haven’t fully flushed out as to what that’s going to look like. I pushed for it come back for transportation projects, but at least we got the resurfacing.” She added that the remainder of the money — close to $170 million — will be used to pay for legal fees associated with the case and to pay expenses and for valid tax refund claims. 

“It’s outrageous that it’s going for something other than what we voted for,” she says. “I worked with my committee’s Republican vice chair Lawrence McClure to come up with a plan for it. But, it’s a done deal; it’s just waiting for the Governor’s signature on the entire budget.” 

She adds, “We’re sent to Tallahassee to do serious work and I take it very seriously. We have to put aside partisan differences to get work done. We don’t abandon our values but you have to be willing to work in a collaborative way.” 

As for what’s coming up in November, she says, “We are working hard on elections. My job as leader is to lead the strategy and raise the resources necessary to win the five seats we need to get out of the super minority. It’s a tall order — five is a lot to win. But, my team and I think we have a strategy to do it. In January, I led the effort to win a special election in Central Florida — 70% of voters voted for our candidate — by focusing on things like property insurance rates and abortion access.” 

On Abortion Access & More 

Speaking of abortion access, Rep. Driskell says, “I never thought we would live in a time where the U.S. Supreme Court would take rights away…their job is to protect them. Florida’s six-week ban takes effect at the end of next month. We have the ability to vote on Amendment 4 in November and the legislature also can overturn it — seven Republicans voted against it. We need people to get out and vote, however they feel about it.” 

Other bills that passed that she wasn’t happy about include House Bill 49, which weakens protections on child labor. 

“My caucus and I at least got it watered down. The bill would have allowed kids under age 18 to work overnight shifts — treating them like adults. Now, they will have breaks and no overnight shifts.” 

She also had a problem with House Bill 433, which preempts local governments from passing heat stress ordinances. “There were workers in South Florida who died from heat stress,” she says, “so Miami put a new ordinance into effect. But this law, which the Gov. already signed, overturns any local laws.” 

And finally, she says she is trying to find new ways to stay in touch. “So, every Tuesday at 8 p.m., I do a live stream, where I talk about what’s happening in Tallahassee, politics and more.” For more info, visit FentriceforFlorida.com or @FentriceForFL on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or X.Â