Memorial Day: What's Open, What's Closed in Brandon

Here's what you need to know about trash pickup, school, mail delivery and other government services around Hillsborough County for the Memorial Day holiday.

Monday, May 27 is Memorial Day, a federal holiday. Here's a look at what's open and what's closed in Brandon and around Hillsborough County in observance of the holiday: The majority of Hillsborough County offices and facilities will be closed on Monday. Closed facilities include the administrative offices of county government, neighborhood service centers, all libraries, all county-operated Head Start/Early Head Start Centers, recreation centers, senior centers and nutrition sites. There will be no school for Hillsborough County public school students Monday. For residents who live in the unincorporated Hillsborough County Service Area, there will be no solid waste collection (including garbage, recyclables and yard waste) Monday. …

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What's Hillsborough Saying?

Longtime Local Leader Mourned

Former Hillsborough County Administrator Fred Karl died March 7.

Hillsborough County is mourning the loss of one its longstanding leaders today, March 7. Fred Karl, a former county administrator, county attorney, state legislator and Florida Supreme Court justice, was 88. A Daytona native, Karl served as an Army tank commander in World War II and was present at the Battle of the Bulge, according to The Tampa Tribune. His public service career continued long after the war was over. The Stetson Law graduate served in the Florida House from 1956-64 when he attempted a bid for the governor’s office. After that, he ran for the Florida Senate in 1968 and served until 1971, according to web sources. Karl then sat on the Florida Supreme Court from 1977 until 1978 when he opted to go back into private practice. …

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D'Ann White

1:45 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013

I was a county commission reporter at the time Fred Karl, who had already retired as a Supreme Court justice, agreed to come out of retirement and help out Hillsborough County at a time when growth and, unfortunately, graft were rampant. I was, frankly, in awe of this guy who'd been an Army tank commander at the Battle of the Bulge, a state legislator and Supreme Court justice. But during his …   more ›

Things Looking Up? Commissioners to Get Reading on FY 2014 Budget

In time for Valentine's Day, Hillsborough County Commissioners will receive preliminary figures for the county’s estimated $3.2 billion fiscal year 2014 budget. The news isn't all rosy, but better than in years past.

  Greater Brandon area residents looking for signs the local economy is improving might only need look to Hillsborough County for some encouragement. After facing losses that amounted to about $300 million over the past six years, Hillsborough County’s Budget Director Tom Fesler gets to present commissioners with some relatively good news Thursday, Feb. 14. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Fesler will provide commissioners with a preliminary budget analysis that spells out the county’s estimated revenues and expenses with a deficit that could prove to be as small as $3.2 million. Those projections are for the Fiscal Year 2014, which begins Oct. 1, 2013. (The analysis contains projections for fiscal years 2013-18.) There is a catch with …

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Doodad Competition Features Student Art From Repurposed Cigar Boxes

Works of art created by Hillsborough County school children using repurposed cigar boxes will be on display at a traveling “doodad competition."

  The second annual Re-Purposed Doodad Sculpture Competition and Exhibition Tour kicks off Friday, Jan. 11 at Horizon Bay at Hyde Park, featuring some 3,000 cigar boxes turned into pieces of art by school-aged children throughout Hillsborough County. "Last year it was plastic globes headed for the trash, this year it's cigar boxes left over from the efforts of 'Support Our Troops,' a local group that sends care packages overseas," notes a report on the upcoming competition. Students were invited to "repurpose" the boxes into art pieces, which will be featured for competition and a tour-show opening Friday night, Jan. 11, from 5-7 p.m. Horizon Bay at Hyde Park is at 800 West Azeele St. in Tampa. From there, the cigar boxes will be on …

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Animal Euthanasia Hearing Set for Oct. 9 in Hillsborough

At the Fred B. Karl County Center on Oct. 9, the newly named Animal Services Task Force will determine ways to reduce the number of dogs and cats killed at the Hillsborough County Animal Services shelter on Falkenburg Road in Greater Brandon.

  Charged with finding ways to reduce the number of animals euthanized at the Hillsborough County animal shelter in Greater Brandon, the newly created Animal Services Task Force will hold its first meeting Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Fred B. Karl County Center in Tampa, at 601 Eas Kennedy Blvd., in conference rooms A and B on the 26th floor. The hearing is in reaction to charges from animal welfare groups that Hillsborough County Animal Services is euthanizing too many dogs and cats at its Greater Brandon facility in Tampa, at 440 North Falkenburg Road, south of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and Falkenburg Road Jail. Hillsborough County commissioners in May called for the creation of the task force to study …

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Hillsborough County Photo Contest Still Accepting Entries

The contest highlights the county's ELAPP sites, which stands for the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program.

This just in from Hillsborough county officials: Grab your camera and visit the County’s beautiful preserved lands this weekend for your last chance to participate in a photo contest that highlights Hillsborough County’s ELAPP sites. Photographs are still being accepted for the 2012 ELAPP’s Calendar Photo Contest via email through Monday, Sept. 24. More than 160 amazing photos have already been submitted. Voting is going on now and runs on the County’s Facebook page (Hillsborough FL) through Oct. 1. Contest Rules:   Prizes 1st Place - Private canoe tour of Cockroach Bay Preserve Top 12 Winners – Tampa Bay Pontoon boat tour, and part of the  2013 ELAPP calendar Besides being included in the 2013 ELAPP Calendar, the top 12 photos will be …

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County Stretched Thin Responding to Tropical Storm Debby

Hillsborough County's Public Works Department is working overtime to respond to calls and issues.

  The rain may have subsided a bit on Monday morning, but calls continued to flood the Hillsborough County Public Works Department. Reports of flooding, washed out streets and other hazards made for a overwhelming day, said Steve Valdez, spokesperson for county public works. "There are more roads then we have resources for," Valdez said. "And more roads then we have signs for. We are just absolutely inundated." Record rainfalls were recorded this weekend as Tropical Storm Debby roared through the Tampa Bay area. The Northwest portion of the county was among the most impacted with 10 inches of rainfall reported in some areas, Valdez said. Four-thousand people in the region had reported power outages Monday, according to TECO. "Right now we …

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Need Sandbags? Get Them Here

Three locations have been set up for residents concerned about flooding from Tropical Storm Debby to pick up sandbags and materials.

Update, 10:47 a.m.: Hillsborough County officials said at Monday morning that sandbags are only available at two locations: Earlier: Hillsborough County residents concerned about flooding from Tropical Storm Debby can now pick up sandbags at several locations, emergency management officials said Sunday afternoon. The sandbags will be available for Hillsborough residents until 10 p.m. at the following locations: Filled sandbags will be available to the elderly and disabled, officials said, while sandbag materials will be available for those physically able to make their own. Citizens are allowed to take up to 25 sandbags.

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Jason Bartolone

10:52 am on Monday, June 25, 2012

Correction: That's 8718 Old Big Bend Road in Gibsonton   more ›