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VOLUME 6, NO. 233
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY2, 2023
PLANNING BOARD HEARS
WALDEN LAKE REZONING REQUEST THE HEARING, WHICH SPANNED FOUR A HALF HOURS, WILL RECONVENE FEB. 8 AT 5:30 P.M.
MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
The sea of red at the Trinkle Center at Hillsborough Community College on Tuesday night wasn’t a Florida Strawberry Festival Board of Directors meeting but a throng of Walden Lake residents opposing a request by Walden Lake, LLC to rezone approximately 319 acres of vacant land (a former golf course) inside its community to make way for new development pods for 154 single family detached dwellings, 98 villas and 200 townhomes.
Planning Board Chairman Art Wood, who lives in Walden Lake, said he had the blessing/bad luck of being the chairman for the request. “The Planning Board’s decision will be based on the evidence of this hearing,” he said. “We all share the same ambition to have the best possible Walden Lake.” After speakers were sworn in for the quasi-judicial public hearing, Planning and Zoning Manager Julie Ham gave a 30-minute presentation about the request and shared her professional opinion about whether the request complies with city land development codes and the comprehensive plan. “We find it consistent with the Imagine 2040 plan and have no objections,” she said.
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THIS YEAR’S
A HUGE SUCCESS
LOCAL FOOD TRUCK UMAMI SMOKE CLAIMS FIRST PLACE IN PEOPLE’S CHOICE CATEGORY.
MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
When Plant City-based Umami Smoke food truck owner/chef Kevin Ware, who was hoping the judges at last weekend’s ChiliFest competition would give his Dragon’s Fire chili top marks in the spicy category, heard the announcer congratulating Scooby’s Outdoor Adventures for winning the category, he plopped down in his camping chair, feeling defeated. Ware and his team, who had competed in all three categories at last year’s event and had placed second in the spicy category, thought they were a shoo-in for an award even though they had only brought one chili to be judged this year. Then, he realized there was one more category he could win: People’s Choice Umami Smoke owner Kevin Ware and Bill Bowers garnered the People’s Choice Award for his
Plant City Observer Sports Writer Taylor Jenkins won
Dragon’s Fire chili.
second place in the Novelty category.
Award. When the announcer said Umami Smoke was the category winner, he was elated. “I heard someone say ‘and the winner is Umami Smoke’ and I don’t know if I stood up or leapt up, I was so excited,’ he said. “I was flabbe gasted that out of all those chilis the crowd chose ours as the best one.” Ware’s chili recipe, which he made with his right-hand man Bill Bowers, included chopped smoked beef brisket in a complex sauce of chiles and spices. He topped the chili with a cilantro lime garlic cream sauce. “Every spoonful of chili created a layering of fl vors in your mouth,” he said.
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