Johnson named HC foundation fundraiser
TAMPA — The HC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Hillsborough College, has named Halvern Johnson as director of development.
Johnson will lead the foundation’s annual giving efforts, including employee and alumni giving initiatives, donor outreach strategies and Foundation events.
Raised in Tampa, Johnson attended Tampa Catholic High School, where he was a multi-sport athlete. His athletic success led to a football scholarship to Lane College, where he competed at the NCAA Division II level.
He later completed his degree in marketing from Johnson C. Smith University.
Johnson brings more than 25 years of experience in fundraising, partnership development and community engagement. His experience includes leadership roles with All Sports Community Service, the Boy Scouts of America and Gulfside Healthcare Services.
Self-driving vehicles to appear on Tampa streets
Waymo will soon begin fully autonomous driving in Tampa, without a human specialist behind the wheel, the company has announced.
This new phase, the company says in a press release, follows several months spent in the area preparing for fully autonomous operations – including familiarizing the Waymo Driver with the city and working closely with community members to understand their transportation needs and how their technology can best serve them. The news comes as Waymo continues to grow its service area in Florida, and operations will continually expand over time.
Rides will initially only be available to Waymo employees.
Hillsborough students earn national honors in leadership
Students from Hillsborough County Public Schools have earned six national championships and 40 top 10 finishes at the 2026 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) National Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
The FBLA National Leadership Conference is the organization’s premier annual event, bringing together thousands of the nation’s most accomplished student leaders to compete in workforce-simulated events. FBLA describes the conference as an opportunity for the “best and brightest” students to showcase their talents while preparing for future careers.
HCPS students earned six national titles, including:
• Mia Thakore, Farnell Middle School – first place, Slide Deck Applications
• Hridansh Deshmukh, Ashir Patel, and Aziz Shakruwala, Steinbrenner High School – first place, Data Analysis
• Manasvi Komaragiri, Ayati Kotha, and Renee Qiang, Steinbrenner High School – first place, Hospitality & Event Management
• Trishitha Das, Strawberry Crest High School – first place, Organizational Leadership
• Aashni Patel, Williams IB Middle Magnet School – first place, Exploring Business Communication
• Param Vaishya, Williams IB Magnet Middle School – first place, Exploring Business Concepts
Williams IB Middle Magnet School produced one of the strongest performances in the nation, earning 18 top 10 finishes:
• Arjun Vempati – third place, Exploring Agribusiness
• Netra Vairavel, Iniya Velmurugan, and Yalini Velmurugan – second place, Exploring Animation
• Ishanvi Loka – second place, Exploring Business Communication
• Reeyansh Kollisetti – seventh place, Exploring Business Concepts
• Haripreeth Saireddy – sixth place, Exploring Computer Science
• Keerthi Pehtah Arun – ninth place, Exploring Computer Science
• Vikyath Kotagiri – ninth place, Exploring Economics
• Prajna Arveti – second place, Exploring FBLA
• Satya Lanka – third place, Exploring FBLA
• Karthik Meenakshi Sundaram – sixth place, Exploring FBLA
• Srinaath Karthikeyan – eighth place, Exploring Parliamentary Procedure
• Ayan Pandey – sixth place, Exploring Personal Finance
• Aaswin Selvaganapathy – third place, Exploring Technology
• Shouryateja Suddala – fourth place, Exploring Technology
• Devarsh Shah – second place, Spreadsheet Applications
• Adyasha Sahu – sixth place, Spreadsheet Applications
Additional HCPS top finishers were:
Alonso High School
• Christopher Akin – eighth place, Securities & Investments
Robinson High School
• Aneesh Sivashankar – eighth place, Journalism
Strawberry Crest High School
• Shreyan Bhukya, Gurusatwik Garbhana, and Subramanya Komarina – third place, Management Information Systems
• Shawn Gnanamani, Susrut Sharma, and Karthikeya Thatikonda – ninth place, Supply Chain Management
Earlier express service hours begin on Selmon
TAMPA — The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority has implemented new operating hours for the Lee Roy Selmon Reversible Express Lanes. Westbound service now begins at 5 a.m., providing commuters with an earlier express option into downtown Tampa and beyond at the same toll rate as the lower deck.
The updated schedule also eliminates the previous midday split operation, creating a simplified operating pattern with westbound service in the morning and eastbound service in the afternoon and overnight.
The new schedule is:
Weekdays (Monday-Friday)
• 5 a.m. to 12 p.m.: westbound toward downtown Tampa
• 12 p.m. to 5 a.m.: eastbound toward Brandon
Weekends (eastbound toward Brandon all day)
Holiday schedule (eastbound all day)
• Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
• Thanksgiving Day & the following Friday
• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
Additional holidays (regular weekday reversal schedule)
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Good Friday
• Juneteenth
Breeze adds 4 new routes in 3 days at TPA
It’s a big July for Breeze Airways at Tampa International Airport. Between July 1 and July 3, the airline launched four new nonstop routes out of TPA, giving Tampa Bay travelers fresh options for quick getaways, beach escapes and easy flights to the Midwest.
New service to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Atlantic City (ACY) both took off July 1, followed by Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic (PUJ) on July 2, and Columbus, Ohio (CMH), on July 3.
These four new routes mark continued growth for Breeze Airways at TPA, the airline said, which will offer nearly 40 nonstop destinations from Tampa Bay by the end of the year.
To book with Breeze, visit: https://www.flybreeze.com/home.
3 Tampa area students win awards for inventions
DEARBORN, Mich. — Three Tampa area students are among eight in Florida honored recently for their ingenuity at the 11th-annual RTX Invention Convention U.S. Nationals here. They were among over 70 award-winning K-12 inventors from across the nation who were celebrated during the June 5 awards ceremony.
The local honorees are listed below, along with descriptions of their inventions:
• Sreemedha K., fourth Grade, Wesley Chapel
Third Place, 4th Grade for DECON -X (Space Debris Collector)
“Space debris is all around the Earth’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Space debris can make future space missions fail. The debris goes so fast that it can hit satellites in space. I researched and found out that a Russian satellite named Kosmos 2251 collided with the Iridium 33 U.S communications satellite, destroying both and creating 2,000 more new pieces of debris. Also, space debris is critical to human life because our daily routine relies on satellites orbiting in LEO. Space debris threatens Global Positioning (GPS), weather forecasting, and climate monitoring. Space debris travels at extremely high speeds, typically around 18,000 miles per hour, seven times faster than a bullet, causing a threat to satellites, spacecraft, future space missions, and most importantly, life on Earth.”
• Daniel P., 12th Grade, Wesley Chapel
WilmerHale Patent Application Award for Psalmacross: A Venom-Derived Anxiety & Depression Medication
“ASICs (acid-sensing ion channels) are proteins embedded in brain cell membranes, particularly in the amygdala where they regulate fear and panic responses by allowing sodium ions to pass through and trigger neuron activity. Dysregulation and overactivity of ASICs are linked to anxiety, panic, and depressive disorders, yet current treatments target other receptors rather than ASICs and often produce adverse side effects like nausea, hypertension, insomnia, and severe withdrawal symptoms. A potential solution is psalmotoxin (PcTx1), a tarantula venom peptide that acts as a highly selective inhibitor of ASIC channels, reducing their overactivity. Thus, psalmotoxin shows promise as a therapeutic candidate for anxiety, depression, and ischemic stroke. ...Psalmacross is predicted to be a stable, low-toxicity, BBB-permeable ASIC inhibitor, it could be a promising venom-derived peptide template for future anxiety or depression medication. Additionally, as Psalmacross is a peptide, it could be sustainably and easily produced through genetic engineering, augmenting its impact.”
• Ishanvi S., 10th Grade, Odessa
Second Place, 10th Grade for AI Enabled Smart Cane for the Visually Impaired: CareCane
“By combining obstacle detection, environmental awareness, navigation, and emergency response, CareCane goes beyond a traditional cane to act as a comprehensive safety system for everyday mobility.”
Students compete at local and regional levels before advancing to the U.S. national competition. To participate, students must submit a video presentation of their invention, a prototype, an inventor’s logbook showing the journey of their invention process, and a poster board highlighting key points of the invention process.
LoveShackFancy opens in Hyde Park Village
TAMPA — LoveShackFancy is opening its first Tampa Bay boutique at Hyde Park Village this July. The new store marks the brand’s third location in Florida, its first outside South Florida, and its first dedicated storefront in a market that has been loyal to the brand for years.
The new boutique draws from historic Florida homes and Palm Beach interiors, with bluish grasscloth walls, crystal chandeliers, decorative latticework, and antique brass details. Large street-facing windows fill the store with natural light, while floral textiles and residential-inspired touches make the space feel more like stepping into someone’s dream home than a traditional retail destination.
The boutique is designed around lingering and discovery, with fragrance, florals, monogramming, embroidery, and curated gifting woven throughout the experience. It joins a collection of fashion brands, including Zimmermann, ALICE + OLIVIA, Veronica Beard, and locally-owned Sunni Spencer.
“Hyde Park Village immediately felt like the kind of place where LoveShackFancy belongs,” said Rebecca Hessel Cohen, founder of LoveShackFancy. “There’s something incredibly special about the neighborhood, it feels personal, walkable, social, and beautifully lived-in rather than manufactured. Our stores are always designed to feel emotional and immersive, almost like stepping into someone’s home, and Hyde Park Village already has that same sense of warmth and discovery built into it. We’ve had customers in Tampa shopping the brand for years, so opening here felt like a very natural next step for us.”
First 2026 primary election ballots in mail
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer is sending out more than 118,000 primary election ballots to domestic residents on Wednesday, July 16.
This marks the second phase of ballot mailings. Some 736 primary election ballots were sent to absent military and overseas voters on July 2.
Vote By Mail ballots are only available to registered voters who request one. The deadline to register to vote (if not already registered) or change party affiliation for the Primary Election is July 20. Florida voters have until Aug. 6 to request a Vote By Mail ballot.
Voters can submit the request online at VoteHillsborough.gov or call the Supervisor of Elections office. They must provide their Florida driver license, Florida ID or the last four digits of their social security number when making the request.
Voters who prefer to vote in person can plan to vote during Early Voting or on Election Day. Early Voting in Hillsborough County is Aug. 3-16, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Election Day is Aug. 18, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. More information, including the locations of the Early voting sites and an Election Day precinct finder, is available at VoteHillsborough.gov.
Comment sought on nature preserve management plan
Hillsborough County residents are invited to give their opinions on the best way to manage Alderman’s Ford Nature Preserve for the next decade.
Alderman’s Ford Nature Preserve is part of the South Hillsborough Wildlife Corridor, a network of protected lands in Hillsborough County that creates connected habitat for wildlife and protects natural resources like the Alafia River.
The preserve features native vegetation and serves as valuable habitat for numerous animals, including Florida sandhill cranes and gopher tortoises. A natural spring and the Alafia River flow through the preserve, which also includes an equestrian trail and a 2.5-mile hiking trail.
Portions of the preserve had been converted into pasture by previous owners. The management plan prioritizes habitat protection and restoration.
Hillsborough County Conservation & Environmental Lands Management must update the preserve’s management plan every 10 years, and the public is encouraged to comment before the plan is formally adopted.
Comment for this project is open until Aug. 4. Visit HCFL.gov/HCEngage to participate.
A public meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Aug. 4 at Alderman’s Ford Conservation Park, 100 Alderman Ford Park Drive, Lithia.
Scott hired as Tampa development director
TAMPA — The city of Tampa has named Robert Scott as its new housing and community development director.
Scott previously served as director of community reinvestment for Columbus Consolidated Government in Georgia, where he managed more than $15 million annually in federal and local investments supporting affordable housing, economic mobility, infrastructure improvements, homelessness response, and neighborhood revitalization. During his tenure, he launched nationally recognized initiatives, strengthened organizational performance, and helped earn multiple national awards for innovation and excellence in community development.
For Tampa, Scott will oversee the city’s affordable housing initiatives and programs, including the administration of federal and state housing resources. He will work with community partners, the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, the Community Redevelopment Agency, and local stakeholders to advance the city’s housing priorities.
Temple Terrace PD, FDOT partner for safer roads
This city’s police department has partnered with District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation in a campaign to increase the presence of first responders on state highways with high crash rates.
The effort, which will run through March 2027, focuses on specific areas, including intersection violations, DUI related offenses, speeding, move over violations, wrong-way driving, work zone violations, roadway departure, and seatbelt usage.