Upper Lanes Of Expressway To Be Closed Tonight

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Published: Sep 18, 2007

The upper express lanes on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway will be closed today at 7:30 p.m. for maintenance. The lanes will reopen in the westbound direction at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.

TAMPA - Students at Just Elementary School are about to get their hands dirty. They are planning an organic garden, one where corn and peas will grow next to the cafeteria.

The garden is the focal point of the Community Wellness task force, part of the three-tiered Healthy Together program, which aims to make Tampa a city where healthy choices are easy. The Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel Foundation for Global Understanding created the program in response to Florida being ranked 41st in a national health rankings study last year.

Just Elementary students will visit the Sweetwater Organic Community Farm in Town 'N Country in October, break ground in November on the 20-by-30-foot school garden and by January begin planting seedlings that they have nursed at home since this month.

Once the garden is established at the school, 1315 Spruce St., task force chairwoman Pamela Sullins hopes to develop a larger garden next to a community center.

"It's not just a garden. It's about building community. It's about developing dialogue and awareness of diversity," Sullins said. "It's about having pride in self, school and others."

Jamie Pilarczyk

DOVER - The sewage treatment plant on South Dover Road is doubling in size to handle growth in eastern Hillsborough County.

Three or four times during 2006, the plant exceeded its capacity, prompting the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation to fine the Hillsborough County water department $169,800.

The plant released treated wastewater containing more nitrogen than state regulations allow, said water department spokeswoman Michelle Van Dyke.

The plant expansion, costing about $50 million, will double the capacity to 12 million gallons, Van Dyke said.

Foundation work is finished, and crews are tackling construction of the expansion, which should be complete in about 18 months, plant operations manager George Cassady said.

Cassady said the plant's expansion should meet the needs of the community for the next decade.

Yvette C. Hammett

GIBSONTON - Four new hotels are being planned in south Hillsborough County in areas near Interstate 75.

Three hotels are on tap in Gibsonton along Gibsonton Drive. Strathmore Development is planning a 121-room Value Place extended-stay hotel. The Minneapolis-based hotel chain chose the Gibsonton site for its first foray into the Tampa-area market. To the north, an 88-room Comfort Inn is planned. To the east of that, another developer is planning a 150-room hotel that is part of a larger commercial development.

To the south, Lavin Hospitality LLC is planning a 100-room Hampton Inn at the southwest corner of College Avenue and I-75.

Liz Bleau

TAMPA - Drugstore giant CVS has started construction of a store at Commerce Palms and Bruce B. Downs boulevards, its second New Tampa location.

Market Square developer Warren Kinsler said the standalone drugstore with a drive-through will be built on one of the shopping center's outer lots and will be joined by a Regions Bank branch.

Both are scheduled to open in early 2008.

Laura Kinsler

CITRUS PARK - Weinberg Village, an assisted-living facility, received a face-lift recently, thanks to the volunteer work of 17 University of South Florida students.

Students from the university participated in its annual Community Plunge service event and made a trip to Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Village Assisted Living Facility, 13005 Community Campus Drive.

The students began the landscaping project early in the morning and planted additional foliage in the main pathway leading to the senior living facility.

Community Plunge is a campus-wide day of service, where students volunteer their time to the community. This year, students worked with local nonprofit agencies and social service organizations. The projects they participated in included environmental cleanups and work to assist children, the elderly and the homeless.

Jessica Balanza

PLANT CITY - Informational signs over Interstate 4 in eastern Hillsborough County will begin carrying messages to help motorists in November.

The state Department of Transportation has installed four signs from near State Road 579 in Mango to Park Road in Plant City. They are near Park Road, Branch Forbes Road and Kingsway Road on the eastbound side; and near Thonotosassa Road above the westbound lanes.

Testing will continue through October, said John McShaffrey, spokesman for the interstate construction office. In November, they will carry their first real-time traffic information messages; in December, they will be linked with other message signs in the Tampa area.

Once they are operational, the messages will include accident information and estimated travel times. The signs are linked by fiber-optic cable, and use cameras and sensors including radar to gather information, McShaffrey said.

Dave Nicholson

PASCO

ZEPHYRHILLS - A freshman from Zephyrhills High School is one of 40 students vying to be "America's Top Young Scientist."

Joshua Hammer, 14, found out last week he had made it to the finals of the Discovery Channel competition. A grand-prize winner, to be picked next month in Washington, D.C., will earn a $20,000 college scholarship. Hammer will get $500 and an all-expense-paid trip for being a finalist.

Four hundred middle school students from 44 states entered the competition.

Hammer is studying the effect of magnetism on CD4 helper T-cells, which boost the body's immune system.

Paul Catala

PINELLAS

TARPON SPRINGS - A broken pipe means people in five subdivisions need to boil their water until further notice.

The water line break in the area of Lime Street and Huey Avenue affects residents in Tarpon Woodlake, Tarpon Shores Mobile Park, Tarpon Springs Manor, Palms of Tarpon and Tarpon Towers.

People should boil tap water before they drink, brush their teeth, wash fruits and vegetables or make ice, said the city's Judy Staley.

The city used the reverse 911 system to notify affected subdivisions. Anyone needing more information is urged to call the water division at (727) 942-5606, Ext. 2221.

Beth Gaddis

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