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Commission approves oil executive's helipad

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 13, 2006

One month after taking office, the newly constituted Hillsborough County Commission has approved an oil executive's request for a helicopter landing pad at his Lake Magdalene area home.

The rezoning passed Tuesday in a 4-3 vote. The four commissioners who favored the zoning change received a total of $15,500 campaign contributions in the last election from the executive, and his family, friends and associates.

Commissioners who voted for allowing the helipad were Mark Sharpe, Kevin White, Jim Norman and Al Higginbotham.

The commission candidates who got donations from Tony Ferguson and associates were Sharpe, $8,000; White, $5,000; Norman, $1,500; and Higginbotham, $1,000.

White, Norman and Higginbotham did not respond to requests for comment.

Sharpe said campaign contributions were not a factor in his decision.

Video business to help send greetings abroad

Have a loved one fighting war in a distant land? Global Video Talk of Brandon will help you connect for the holidays - for free.

The business is offering 30-second video messages for members of the military, law enforcement officers or firefighters, or their families, who are separated during the holidays.

To schedule, call (813) 651-5678, or stop by 1317 Kingsway Road. Walk-ins also are welcome.

Builders hired for new Belleair Beach bridges

After eight years of development and a slew of community meetings, the Belleair Beach Causeway replacement project is about to leap from the drawing board.

The Pinellas County Commission voted Tuesday to hire Johnson Bros. Corp. of Orlando and Misener Marine Construction of Tampa to build new bridges for $72.2-million.

Work is to begin by early March. The 1.67-mile project involves replacing two existing bridges.

Elsewhere

THEATER PLAN KILLED: A plan to build a movie theater in downtown Clearwater is officially dead, with City Council members saying the city would have to put up too much money. The council, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency, told developer Elias Jafif on Tuesday that the city couldn't afford to write a $27-million check to make the theater happen.

TRASH TROUBLE: Three trash haulers have tentatively agreed to pick up garbage from the thousands of Pasco County customers who will be dropped by Waste Management.

ROOM FOR TORTOISES: Citrus County commissioners took the first step Tuesday toward providing a permanent home for protected gopher tortoises displaced by county government construction projects. Commissioners designated a 40-acre, county-owned parcel surrounded by the Withlacoochee State Forest to receive displaced tortoises. The county will hire a professional to make sure the site is suitable. Then it will seek the state's blessing.

WIDER I-75? The four lanes of Interstate 75 in Hernando County are going to double, albeit not in the near future. Project manager Manny Santos said it would be more than 10 years before construction could begin. The project would stretch from State Road 52 in Pasco to County Road 476B in Sumter.

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[Last modified December 13, 2006, 00:43:50]