FREE • THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2023
VOLUME 10, NO. 59
PLANT CITY PROPOSED BUDGET A BALANCE OF SPENDING NEEDS Budget spending will enhance quality of life and safety for residents.
MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
Major capital improvement projects are on the horizon for Plant City if next fi cal year’s budget is adopted, which includes allocating funds to maintain the city’s utility system, improving travel on roads throughout the city,
sprucing up park spaces and enhancing the quality of life for residents and businesses. With more projects on each department’s wish list than revenue to fund them, it can be a challenge prioritizing the most pressing concerns. “Several factors go into prioritizing projects, with safety and quality of life being at the top of the list,” said City Manager Bill McDaniel. “We have
THEN AND NOW:
infrastructure projects that have impacts on safety within the community. These could be issues with stormwater, providing or maintaining clean drinking water or addressing problematic roadway intersections where crashes may be common.”
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SUSPECT ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO PLANT CITY HOMICIDE
MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
A LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF DOWNTOWN PLANT CITY’S BUILDINGS
Photo Courtresy of Plant City Photo Archives, Inc.
The 100-plus year-old Hillsboro State Bank Building distinguishes downtown. MICHELLE CACERES STAFF WRITER
Nestled at the corner of Collins and Reynolds streets, the Hillsboro State Bank Building, with its twin columns and covered portico, has long been a part of the Downtown Plant City Commercial District. In “Remembering Plant City,” a book written by Gilbert Gott, he dedicated an entire chapter that chronicles the history of the structure, built in 1914 in the Classical Revival and Beaux-Arts Classical architecture and designed by famed architect Francis J. Kennard.
Two decades before, in 1891, Moreau E. Moody came to Plant City and opened a drugstore where by 1900 merchants were depositing money in his large steel safe for security. By the summer of 1902, Moody and several others, including its fi st president Colonel James L. Young, organized Hillsboro State Bank, which moved into the then newly constructed building upon its completion along with Barker’s Department Store in its retail space.
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An arrest has been made in connection with a homicide Saturday evening in Plant City, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) announced. Faustino Antunez, 48, was arrested Aug.20 by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) after he was involved in a traffi crash and was suspected of driving under the influen e. He also provided a false name to the officers. Antunez, who is in Manatee County Jail, has been charged in Hillsborough County for Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the First Degree Premeditated and Aggravated Assault with Intent to Commit Felony with Weapon (x3). On Aug. 19, police responded to the scene on Branch Forbes
Road, at approximately 5:46 p.m., following reports of shots being fi ed during a birthday party, where witnesses at the scene said at least ten people were in attendance when the shooter discharged his weapon. One male in his 40s was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene. Another male was taken to a hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. “The quick work of our detectives will ensure this man has to answer for his violence,” said HCSO Sheriff Chad Ch onister. “The collaboration between teamHCSO and MCSO exemplifi s the power of shared purpose, combined expertise and a common goal: to make our community safe.” The investigation is ongoing.