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C.T. Bowen - Hillsborough County Reporter

Hillsborough County Reporter

I'm fairly new to the Hillsborough County government beat, but not so new that I'm considered green. Gray is more like it. I've been in Florida for more than three decades and have spent that entire time writing and editing news stories, columns and editorials about the Tampa Bay region. After working at the Tampa Tribune, I joined the Times in 1998 as a member of the editorial board based in Pasco County and later switched to news reporting and column writing. I'm originally from upstate New York (Go Bills!) and worked at newspapers in Jamestown, N.Y. and Syracuse before relocating to Florida. I like reading, listening to music and watching sports. My wife, Mary Beth, is a public school teacher, and we are a house divided. We have two grown sons - one Gator and one Seminole.

  1. Water flows in Hillsborough County's Northwest Hillsborough Regional Reclaimed Water facility, Tuesday, March 15, 2022,  Tampa Bay Water approved an agreement Monday in which the county will inject the treated water underground to offset new water taken from an inland well to provide new drinking water to fast-growing southern Hillsborough County. TIMES.
  2. Businesses and homes are pictured on State Road 674 in Wimauma. Redeveloping the downtown core is one of the goals of the Wimauma community plan.
  3. An aerial view of the east side of Pine Key Island, formerly known as Beer Can Island, off the coast of Apollo Beach, between Apollo Beach and MacDill Air Force Base.
  4. Tampa City council member and candidate for District 2, Guido Maniscalco, campaigns outside of Jan K. Platt Regional Library on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, in Tampa.
  5. Alan Clendenin, 63, right, a candidate for Tampa City Council in District 1, waves to a passerby as Chris Mitchell, 38, of Orlando, left, looks on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 in Tampa. He finished as the top vote-getter with 40% of the vote and heads to the April 25 runoff against Sonja Brookins.
  6. Gwendolyn Henderson, Tampa City Council District 5 candidate, waves to cars while holding a sign in front of the St. James House of Prayer Episcopal church on Tuesday in Tampa.
  7. Commissioner Michael Owen’s push came a week after a commissioner in Manatee County also suggested his county drop its affiliation with the American Library Association.
  8. Guests are seen leaving through the front doors at the Museum of Science and Industry in 2015. The downsized museum now uses less space and Hillsborough County wants to seek redevelopment proposals for the property.
  9. The majority of the approximately 6,600 employees of Hillsborough County government and Hillsborough County Clerk of the Court & Comptroller Cindy Stuart received inaccurate W2 forms for the 2022 tax year. Amended forms became available last week.  [Luis Santana | Times (2016) ]
  10. The Pebble Creek Golf Club and surrounding residences in New Tampa.
  11. The state Department of Transportation will open the newly realigned State Road 52 in east Pasco County Friday, Feb. 17, 2023. Shown is the view looking northwest on Clinton Avenue to the Prospect Road intersection and the new SR 52 alignment on Nov. 1, 2022.
  12. A high school student uses a vaping device near a school campus in Cambridge, Mass. The Hillsborough County Commission wants to limit where smoke shops can locate in the future to try to limit juvenile access to vaping products.
  13. Traffic builds up on Lithia Pinecrest Road during afternoon rush hour in Lithia. On Wednesday, Hillsborough commissioners approved a recommended transportation project list to Tallahassee that included $10 million to design a proposed widening of the two-lane road.
  14. Traffic builds up on Lithia Pinecrest Road, south of Bloomingdale Avenue, during afternoon rush hour on Wednesday.
  15. Mailers promoted a 1% sales tax for Hillsborough County residents to fund transportation projects, Voters approved the tax in 2018, but now can be entitled to a refund after the state Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional and Gov. Ron DeSantis instructed the Department of Revenue to oversee a refund process.
  16. Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to a crowd of supporters during his election night party at the Tampa Convention Center on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Tampa.
  17. Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis released his proposed budget for the coming year, calling for the tax proceeds to be refunded and the rest spent on transportation projects, except mass transit.
  18. The Hillsborough County Commission on Wednesday banned retail sales of rabbits. Shown are two animals at the SPCA Tampa Bay in Largo in November 2021.
  19. The city of Tampa previously improved the bike lane with better visual graphics for bike safety on Platt Street in Tampa. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced two grants totaling $39.7 million would be coming to Tampa and Hillsborough County to improve road safety. [Times 2015]
  20. Hillsborough County plans to sue an insurance carrier to try to recoup $2.48 million it fronted CareerSource Tampa Bay to repay the U.S. Department of Labor over misspending identified in a federal audit.
  21. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch gives his 2023 State of the City address on the steps of City Hall on Monday. During the speech, Welch announced he'd be backing a plan by the Tampa Bay Rays and global development firm Hines to redevelop the city's 86-acre Tropicana Field site.
  22. The U.S. Department of Treasury is sending an additional $6.5 million to the Tampa Bay area to help families facing evictions. [SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN | Times]
  23. A Hillsborough Circuit Court judge barred Taylor Morrion from selling homes or lots in its ongoing development off Patterson Road in Keystone.