Latest reporting from the Local Government desk.
Local Government
Pasco County earned the NACo EDGE Excellence in Strategic Planning Award for its 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, which addresses rapid growth, public safety and economic development across the county's 659,000-plus residents.
Local Government
Local Government
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Local Government
Local Government
Roughly 60 license plate reader cameras in Pasco County rights-of-way will be removed by Sept. 30 after Sheriff Chris Nocco terminated the county's camera agreement, while Gov. Ron DeSantis called the technology "out of control" and signaled the Florida Legislature will need to act.
Local Government
Republican incumbent Seth Weightman has raised roughly twice what Democratic challenger Stephanie Vazquez has brought in for the Pasco County Commission District 2 seat, with sharply different donor bases and competing visions for managing Wesley Chapel's rapid growth heading into the Nov. 3 general election.
Local Government
Lowe's has filed plans for a 107,000-square-foot store in the Abbey Crossings development on State Road 52 north of Wesley Chapel, joining a planned Walmart, chain restaurants already under construction, a lakeside boardwalk dining district and more than 900 planned housing units across the combined Double Branch and Abbey Crossings corridor.
Local Government
Air Force veteran and Wesley Chapel resident Stephanie Vazquez will challenge incumbent Commissioner Seth Weightman in the Nov. 3 general election for Pasco County's District 2 seat, running on a platform to curb growth and improve infrastructure.
Local Government
Pasco County School Board incumbent Megan Harding won reelection outright in District 5 with 72% of the vote, while Districts 1 and 3 head to Nov. 3 runoffs that will decide the board's direction on school crowding, phone policy and teacher pay.
Local Government
The Woodcreek Community Development District will hold public hearings Friday, Aug. 28, on a proposed FY2027 budget that would raise annual assessments by $122 to $473 per unit as the district takes on landscape and lake maintenance for the first time.
Local Government
Rep. Randy Maggard defeated Wesley Chapel firefighter Michael Pultorak with 68% of the vote in the Aug. 18 Republican primary for Florida House District 54, effectively securing the seat since no Democrat qualified.
Local Government
Matt Geiger and Mollyana Ward advanced to the Nov. 3 runoff for Pasco County School Board District 3 after no candidate cleared 50% in the Aug. 18 five-way primary, with Geiger leading at 28.8% and Ward at 21.1%.
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Local Government
Incumbent Lisa Yeager defeated challenger Jonathan Deckard 62%-38% in the Tuesday, Aug. 18, Republican primary for Pasco County Commission District 4, effectively securing the Wesley Chapel-area seat since no Democrat is on the November ballot.
Local Government
Incumbent Megan Harding won the Pasco County School Board District 5 primary on Aug. 18 with 72.1% of the vote, the only school board race decided outright without a November runoff, giving the board continuity as it implements new screen-time limits and faces enrollment declines near Wesley Chapel.
Local Government
The Second Annual Firefighter Faceoff charity hockey game brings Hillsborough County firefighters against Tampa Bay-area law enforcement at AdventHealth Center Ice on Saturday, Aug. 22, with proceeds benefiting families of fallen firefighters.
Local Government
Pasco County Schools is on track to become a majority-minority district for the first time in 2026-27, with Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel showing the sharpest demographic shift as Asian enrollment more than doubled in five years.
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