Residents Flock to Big-Box Meeting at Bloomingdale Church

A standing-room-only crowd met at The Palms Community Church in Valrico on May 14, in protest of big-box retail and apartment development just east on Bloomingdale Avenue. Hillsborough County Commissioners are set to discuss the issue today, May 15.

  "Not in their neighborhood," came the word at The Palms Community Church on Bloomingdale Avenue in Valrico, where residents gathered Tuesday night, May 14, to protest big-box retail and apartment development just up the road to the east. Having outgrown the much-smaller meeting space at the Bloomingdale Regional Library — where the group loosely defined as "No Bloomingdale Big Box" and "Say No to the Big Box" had been meeting — the group Tuesday nightly aptly filled the church at 1310 E. Bloomingdale Ave. "Easily, we had 100, 150 people here," said Bloomingdale resident Eric Brosch, who has taken on the role of promoting community awareness events. "We've overflowed the library and now we've overflowed a larger meeting space. We're …

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Bloomingdale Big-Box Development Meeting Tonight

"No Bloomingdale Big Box" is the topic slated for the May 14 meeting at The Palms Community Church in Brandon.

  Residents opposed to big-box retail development and apartments next to the Bloomingdale Regional Library are asked to voice their concerns at a community meeting May 14 at the The Palms Community Church. The church is just west of Bloomingdale High School, at 1310 East Bloomingdale Avenue. The meeting follows a May 7 protest on Bloomingdale Avenue that drew about 100 residents carrying hand-made signs in protest of proposed development on land zoned for a 158,800-square-foot big-box store, along with other commercial space and 260 apartments. As of Tuesday morning, May 14, 1,035 people had posted their support for an online petition at change.org to "stop plans to build a supercenter in Valrico, Florida." According to an April 23 Patch …

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Opposition Preps for Big-Box Development Protest

Residents opposed to big-box retail development and apartments adjacent to the Bloomingdale Regional Library are asked to line Bloomingdale Avenue in protest May 7. A public meeting at a nearby church is scheduled for May 14.

  Residents opposed to big-box retail development and apartments next to the Bloomingale Regional Library are asked to voice their concern May 7 in person, holding signs along the south side of Bloomingdale Avenue in time for rush-hour evening traffic. "Time for a good old sign-waving protest," reads the protest invitation forwarded by the Coordinated Active Neighborhoods Development Organization (CANDO). "Forty or 50 people won't do it. We need 1,000! All of you need to be there along with your family members, friends and neighbors." Even then, said protestor Mark Nash, the effort will be meaningless unless the Bloomingdale community takes legal action to stop the proposed development, an issue likely to be raised at a public meeting …

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Commissioner Hagan Chides Deceptive Locksmiths

Hillsborough County is looking into local regulations that would clamp down on locksmiths with deceptive practices.

  Hillsborough Commission Chairman Ken Hagan says it’s time for the county to clamp down on locksmiths that use deceptive practices and conduct bait-and-switch price quoting to bilk customers out of money. Hagan’s fellow board members agreed unanimously with his request for the county to begin looking into local legislation that would require licensing for locksmiths that operate in Hillsborough and also criminal background checks for employees. Hagan’s quest to have the county consider such local legislation began when a piece of mail arrived at his home, he told commissioners during the board’s April 17 meeting. The mail was addressed to “Clark Locksmith.” What Hagan thought was the mistaken arrival of a single piece of mail turned out …

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RaceTrac Zoning Passes as Wetlands Issue Looms

Hillsborough County Commissioners approved zoning for a RaceTrac gas station at Kings Avenue and Lumsden Road. The development go-ahead, though, depends on the board's wetlands impact decision, which won't be voted on before the summer.

Commissioners To Consider Brandon RaceTrac Proposal Today

Hillsborough County Commissioners, at a land-use meeting today, April 9, are set to vote on a RaceTrac Petroleum development at the southeast corner of Kings Avenue and West Lumsden Road.

Resident Feedback Sought on Economic Development Recommendations

The Hillsborough County Commission wants to hear from residents about a plan to bolster the local economy. The deadline to comment is Thursday, Feb. 28.

  Hillsborough County’s Economic Prosperity Stakeholder Committee has issued its report on what local government should do to improve the area’s financial climate. Now, the county's commissioners want to hear from you about the effects of the recommendations on life in Bloomingdale and Riverview and beyond. The deadline to provide feedback on the committee's 30 recommendations is Feb. 28. Do you think the county needs to streamline regulations? Should it create a comprehensive economic development strategy? Should the county provide more incentives for job-creating businesses to move here? Those are among the recommendations made. Provide your feedback in these ways: The committee was created last year to provide commissioners with …

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New Synthetic Drug Law Passes

Hillsborough County Commissioners approved the local ordinance 7-0 during their Feb. 20 meeting.

  Anyone caught selling, possessing, displaying or manufacturing synthetic drugs in Hillsborough County now faces a first-time fine of up to $500 per individually wrapped package. Hillsborough Commissioners unanimously voted Feb. 20 to approve a local law that outlaws synthetic drugs, including K2, Spice and bath salts. County Commissioner Les Miller, in speaking in favor of the ordinance, said it was time for Hillsborough to do something to stop the drugs that are “killing our kids. This will hopefully deter (them).” Miller said the new law specifically targets stores that sell the often colorful packages of chemical drugs and also those who manufacture them. “(We’re) hitting them in the pocket,” Miller said. Commissioner Sandra Murman …

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Video: Kids 'Will Suffer the Consequences' Without Community's Aid

"It takes a village" to rid store shelves of synthetic marijuana, says a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office major, in discussing last year's crackdown on K2 and Spice. County Commissioners today, Feb. 20, were to discuss a new law to aid in that effort.

  Major Tom Feeney made a fervent plead to parents, neighbors, clergy and community members to help law enforcement rid store shelves of dangerous synthetic marijuana, sold in brightly colored packages aimed toward youth. "I can tell you, it takes a village. Law enforcement can't do it by themselves," Feeney said. "We need neighbors, we need clergy, to get the word out as soon as possible." Feeney made his remarks Dec. 7, at a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office press conference concerning "Operation All Smoked Up." He was standing besides tables loaded with confiscated synthetic marijuana, commonly known as "K2" and "Spice." "Children are going to get more and more attracted to this, just by virtue of what you see on these pacakages, and…

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