5 Things to Know Today, March 17

1. The luck of the Irish is holding out for us when it comes to weather. It's expected to be a beautiful spring day in the Bloomingdale Patch area. Don't forget to wear green.

2. It may not be a jig, but you can learn to square dance with the Bay Area Twirlers. The Bay Area Twirlers will offer a square dancing class Thurdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Brandon Community Center, 502 E. Sadie St., Brandon.

3. It's the perfect day for a ride. The Brandon Moose Riders meet the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Brandon Moose Lodge, 804 S. Miller Road, Valrico.

4. If you're feeling the luck of the Irish, you might want to try your hand at bingo. The Brandon Elks Lodge hosts bingo every Thursday evening at the lodge, 800 Centennial Lodge Drive, Brandon.

5. Some small business owners just got lucky, thanks to County Commissioner Sandra L. Murman. An incentive program proposed by Murman, District 1, to reward small business owners who create jobs was green-lighted yesterday by the Board of County Commissioners.
 
The small business reimbursement incentive program is designed to promote job creation in Hillsborough County by offering a wage reimbursement to small businesses owners. The reimbursement would pay small businesses up to 50 percent of three months’ total salary of new jobs created, capped at $3,900 per new employee.  It is estimated that this program will encourage the creation of approximately 200 jobs, offering a total of $500,000 to local small business owners.
  
To qualify, small business owners would have to attend a minimum of four hours of business workshops and/or counseling sessions and meet specific requirements such as having 10 employees or less; jobs created must be full-time and last the required three-month employment period; new employees must be residents of Hillsborough County and businesses must be located in Hillsborough County; and businesses may be reimbursed for up to three created jobs. Additional requirements will be listed on the program application.
 
The incentive program will start on March 21.  On that date, small business owners will be able to download an application and more information from the Hillsborough County Small, Minority Business Development Section’s Web page at: www.hillsboroughcounty.org/econdev/.  The applications will be accepted on a first-come/first-serve basis until the program funding runs out.
 
For additional information, contact the County Small, Minority Business Development Section at (813) 914-4028.