District 67 State Representative and State House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell is already up in Tallahassee, awaiting tomorrow’s start of the Regular 2025 Session of the Florida Legislature.
But, on Feb. 26, Rep. Driskell was at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, in front of 50-60 New Tampa residents (there may have been a few people from outside of our area, too), discussing that upcoming session.
Rep. Driskell said that serving in the State House, “has been the greatest honor of my life, but as you know, we are living in some heavy political times and there is a lot going on.”
She noted that Florida’s state government is somewhat mimicking the federal government, in that all four legislative houses have a Republican majority (a super majority here in Florida), and both chief executives — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. President Donald Trump — also are Republicans.
“It’s going to be challenging,” Rep. Driskell said of the upcoming legislative session, “especially when it’s already obvious that the State Legislature is in a posture to support the agenda of President Trump.”
Rep. Driskell said the state legislature already has held three special sessions on immigration. “We learned a lot from that,” she said. “There were two immigration bills that passed and I believe both are unconstitutional on their face, which I why I voted against both of them. But, I do urge the U.S. Congress to pass some meaningful legislation on immigration in its upcoming session.” She also noted that the bipartisan immigration bill that was on the table last year, “was effectively killed by then-candidate Donald Trump and I believe we need to get back to that (bill).”
As for the bills she plans to sponsor in this year’s regular session, Rep. Driskell said, “I’ll be carrying two bills with respect to the challenges we’re facing with governmental interference in health care, particularly with abortion. The first bill would kill the 6-week abortion ban and take us back to a time when patients and their doctors and families made those decisions. That would take politicians out of the exam rooms.”
She added that the second bill she’s bringing to session says that, “If we’re continuing to have this (six-week) ban, we need doctors to understand what the limitations are. We have heard stories about women getting to the point where they have sepsis because doctors are afraid to treat them because they don’t want to face criminal liability. This bill will provide clarity so health care professional can treat women. We don’t want women dying because doctors are afraid to treat them.”
Rep. Driskell also is carrying a bill about water quality, both with regards to drinking water and with red tide. “It’s shocking how much lead is in our drinking water,” she says. “We know there is lead in the water fountains at our schools.” She also mentioned that there was a red tide task force that worked on that issue two years ago, “but the recommendations have just sat there and have not been implemented. We are pushing to adopt those recommendations to protect our water.”
The State House Minority Leader also plans to work on tweaking the cemetery legislation she previously passed to help honor those buried in abandoned cemeteries, another to have a court reporter present during child custody hearings, “which can often get contentious,” to preserve the record of what is said during those proceedings, and more.
Rep. Driskell says she knows that nothing will come easy for her minority party this year, “But I have never been afraid to call out my fellow legislators or the governor when I feel they are moving in the wrong direction, focusing on the wrong things and not prioritizing you.”
We plan to receive additional updates from Leader Driskell after this year’s session ends, which is scheduled to be on May 2.
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.
(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.”
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 poké 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.”
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.
