Thursday, March 7, 2013
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. …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The county has agreed to help pay for road improvements to pave the way for the development that will ultimately house Bass Pro.
Hillsborough County’s decision to approve a $6.5 million agreement to help fund road work in the Brandon area opens the door for Bass Pro Shops to build a new location here. Commissioners voted 6-1 during their Feb. 20 meeting to reimburse the developer for roadwork related to the mixed-use project that will ultimately house Bass Pro. Commissioner Kevin Beckner cast the lone opposition vote. Commission Chairman Ken Hagan has spearheaded the effort to bring Brass Pro to the county. He’s touted the county will spend $6.25 million to help the project and end up with nearly $3 million a year in property and sales taxes in return. The property where the development will be located currently generates about $800 a year in property taxes, Hagan …
Friday, February 8, 2013
Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan addressed allegations that backdoor meetings have been held in an attempt to lure the national sporting goods retailer to Brandon.
After hearing a stream of complaints from residents about Hillsborough County’s proposed $8.25 million incentive package for the Brandon area development that might ultimately house a new Bass Pro Shops location, Commission Chairman Ken Hagan had to set the record straight. “There have been no secret meetings with Bass Pro,” Hagan said during the Hillsborough Commission’s Feb. 6 meeting. Residents and small business owners opposed to the incentive package came out in droves to Wednesday’s meeting, some driving from as far away as Lutz. They spoke during an open comment period in the morning and again during a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the developer’s land use agreement that would move up construction of several road …
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
County Commissioner Mark Sharpe likely to join Sandra Murman and Kevin Beckner, who also appear ready to support a plan to keep after-school care at Hillsborough recreation centers.
Commissioners are likely to vote tomorrow, Aug. 24, to maintain the county’s after-school program at 25-30 recreation centers. The program’s future was in doubt after a 4-3 vote last month to eliminate after-school care and cut staff at the vast majority of the county’s recreation centers. Voting to eliminate the program were commissioners Mark Sharpe, Sandra Murman, Al Higginbotham and Kevin Beckner. All four cited the county’s severe budget woes as the reason for their vote but said there are viable alternatives for after-school care. Commissioners Ken Hagan, Les Miller and Victor Crist voted against the measure. Supporters of the county’s after-school program took heart from the narrow margin of that 4-3 vote, knowing they need sway …
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Hillsborough County Commissioners Sandra Murman and Kevin Beckner are reviewing the numbers — and possibly their votes — that concerned closing recreation centers and cutting after-school care. County commissioners will revisit the issue at a budget works
Hillsborough County Commissioners appear headed to restore some form of after-school progamming at recreation centers after a preliminary budget vote last month that would cut the offering altogether. Commissioners voted 4-3 last month to eliminate the county’s after-school program and to stop staffing — and essentially close — 31 of 43 recreation centers countywide. County commissioners will revisit the vote at a budget workshop Aug. 24. Commissioners Ken Hagan, Les Miller and Victor Crist voted against the measure; voting for it were commissioners Mark Sharpe, Sandra Murman, Al Higginbotham and Kevin Beckner. A final vote on the county budget is set for September. An intense lobbying effort featuring emails, phone calls, petitions and a …
Friday, August 12, 2011
Rally organizers told attendees they needed to call and email Hillsborough County Commissioners and tell them “this is what the people want.” The rally was in protest of after-school programming cuts and recreation center closings.
Opponents of a plan to eliminate after-school programs at Brandon recreation centers and close most of those centers say they are confident they have enough votes on the Hillsborough County Commission to defeat the plan. “Don’t let them tell you it’s over. We can do it,” Terry O’Grady told a standing-room crowd at the Brandon Recreation Center on Thursday night, Aug. 11. Parents, children, seniors and parks workers packed the center for the boisterous rally, which drew more than 300 people. Undaunted by a 4-3 commission vote in July to cut after-school programs and mothball services at 31 of the county’s 42 recreation centers, rally organizers said they thought they could save the after-school programs and the majority of recreation …
Thursday, August 11, 2011
The Aug. 11 rally at the Brandon Recreation Center starts at 7 p.m., planned by organizers concerned about after-school programing cuts and recreation center closings.
Parents, teachers and children have been invited to rally in Brandon tonight, Aug. 11, to save after-school programs at Hillsborough County recreation centers. “It’s not over yet,” declares a poster announcing the rally at the Brandon Recreation Center at 502 East Sadie St., set to begin at 7 p.m. Organizers have invited all seven county commissioners to the outdoor rally. The meeting will move indoors in the case of inclement weather. Undaunted by a July 27 vote by the Hillsborough County Commission to eliminate after-school programming at county recreation centers, supporters nevertheless hold out hope for a program they say helps families, builds community and saves the county untold dollars in juvenile crime and policing. “The rally is…
Hillsborough County commissioners will review Aug. 24 a proposal by Ken Hagan to keep more recreation centers open and to keep after-school programs at those centers, including the Brandon Recreation Center. A Brandon rally is set for Aug. 11.
Closing after-school programs at county recreation centers — including the Brandon Recreation Center — is not yet a done deal, according to County Commissioner Ken Hagan, whose proposal to keep more recreation centers open and to provide after-school programming at those centers will be discussed by the board at its Aug. 24 meeting. A rally to save after-school programs is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Brandon Recreation Center at 502 East Sadie Street. Hillsborough County Commissioners voted 4 to 3 last month to eliminate the county's after-school program and close 31 of the county’s 42 recreation centers. Cutting the program and closing all but 11 recreation centers would save $7.5 million, according to park officials. Hagan and …
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 ›