Walden Lake Rezoning Open House Scheduled By Development Team
Residents interested in learning more about the latest plan before the City of Plant City to redevelop the former golf course acreage throughout the Walden Lake community can attend an open house on Thursday, June 8 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. at Walden Lake Elementary School, located at 2800 Turkey Creek Road. Representatives of the Walden Lake development team including engineers, land planners and environmental, traffic and stormwater experts will be available to answer questions about the most recent revisions to the plan, which includes new recreational amenities, new buffering commitments, additional architectural design requirements, limited building heights and additional development restrictions for new homes adjacent to existing homes.
The open house precedes a hearing before the City Commission, scheduled for June 15 from 5:30 p.m. – 10:45 p.m. at Hillsborough Community College’s Trinkle Center, located at 1206 North Park Road. If a continuance is needed, a second hearing will be held on June 22.
Get In On the Python Hunt
The 2023 Florida Python Challenge, allowing folks to participate firsthand in Everglades restoration efforts, is now open. Participants this year will have a chance to win a share of more than $30,000 in prizes while removing invasive Burmese pythons from the wild. Novice and professional participants must complete the required online training to compete in the 10-day competition which runs August 4 – 13.
“Since day one, we’ve prioritized Everglades restoration by investing record funding for conservation projects and increasing resources for the removal of invasive Burmese pythons that harm this treasured ecosystem,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Because of this focused commitment, my tenure in office has accounted for more than half of the 18,000 pythons removed from the Everglades since 2000.”
Burmese pythons are not native to Florida and they negatively impact native wildlife. The invasive species is found primarily in and around the Everglades ecosystem where they prey on birds, mammals and other reptiles. A female Burmese python can lay 50 to 100 eggs at a time.
Register for the competition at www.flpythonchallenge.org.
Get Kids Reading This Summer
Summer isn’t just a time for sleeping in and binge-watching TikTok videos. Summer reading is critical for a child’s development because, according to the Northwest Evaluation Association, school-year gains in reading may decrease by 20 to 50% during the summer months. Join the Reading Challenge, a summer reading program, hosted by Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library, complete with interactive events, reading challenges and prizes for all ages. Participants log reading and activities to unlock digital badges and fun prizes like Apple Air Pods and tickets to ZooTampa. The registration portal, www.hcplc.beanstack.org, includes themed-reading suggestions for kids, tweens, teens and adults.
Children can participate simultaneously in the Reading with the Rays program this summer. Pick up your Reading with the Rays game card at the Bruton Memorial Library to be eligible for more prizes. Youth keep track of their hours read on the Rays card. After it’s completed, it can be returned to the library for a chance to win Tampa Bay Rays prizes, including tickets to a Rays home game. Last summer, approximately 2,500 tickets went to Hillsborough County readers.
Operation Safe and Sober Sees Plenty of Results
Operation Safe and Sober, a collaboration between Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the Tampa Police, Temple Terrace Police, Plant City Police and the Florida Highway Patrol, made plenty of stops and arrests during Memorial Day weekend in an effort to protect the community from impaired drivers. In total, participating agencies made 1,130 traffic stops, issued 137 citations and 1,001 warning, made 61 DUI arrests and 35 additional arrests.
Bonded Pair of Dogs Adopted
Precious and Snowball, a bonded pair of dogs fostered by a local Plant City woman, have been adopted by Richard and Charlene Murphy. The Murphys were specifically seeking a bonded pair, two dogs that’ve formed an inseparable connection.
Plant City Area Democratic Club Sponsors Memorial Day Ceremony
It was a somber moment on Monday at Plant City’s Veteran’s Memorial Park as Plant City Area Democrats hosted a Memorial Day event, a time to remember those who paid the ultimate price for freedom. The mottos of each of the six branches of the service were read, a reading of the poem “America the Beautiful” was spoken and a wreath was laid at the foot of the park’s monument by Henry Johnson followed by the playing of “Taps”. The event ended with participants joining in by singing a rousing performance of “America the Beautiful”.