Préstamo VA en Hillsborough, FL

The county is now receiving assistance from neighboring mosquito control crews.

TAMPA, Fla. — Dengue cases are climbing in Florida — and Hillsborough County is seeing the biggest spike.

New numbers show 59 locally acquired cases in Hillsborough as mosquito control crews work to get a handle on the spread.

“We’re flying round the clock, nighttime missions and daytime missions,” Tony Hudson said. He’s one of a few pilots working to get Hillsborough County’s disease-carrying mosquitoes under control.

“I turn the switch on...which activates a pump, which sends the product, and it’s broken into small little 30-micron droplets,” Hudson said.

New data from the Florida Department of Health reports that Hillsborough County is making up a large share of the statewide total of 73 dengue fever cases.

“We have not seen this level of locally-acquired dengue transmission in decades,” said Adriane Rogers, executive director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District.

She's part of the team brought in to help Hillsborough County target mosquito larvae.

“This is a very different method of control that the people of Tampa are not accustomed to,” Rogers said. “We’re spraying a liquid product. It’s BTI. It’s a naturally occurring bacterium, so it’s very safe."

Helicopters are flying low and close to homes in order to protect residents from the disease, often called "break-bone fever".

“Symptoms can be from just a couple of days to about 15 days,” Rogers said.

The Florida Department of Health says those symptoms can show up as sudden onset of fever, severe headache, eye pain, muscle and joint pain and even bleeding.

But, there are ways to protect yourself.

“Cover any skin that you can — long-sleeve shirts, long pants, loose clothing,” Rogers said. “Best way to protect your exposed skin is by using a U.S. EPA-approved insect repellent."

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida health officials are warning residents to protect themselves from mosquitoes as Hillsborough County sees an increase in locally acquired dengue cases.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Friday that Hillsborough County had become the center of locally acquired transmission in the state.

“We’ve had an increase in the number of cases there, specifically around here in Hillsborough County,” Ladapo said. “There have been a few other areas where we’ve had some local transmission, but Hillsborough County is really the epicenter of it.”

Ladapo said there were around 59 cases in Hillsborough County and warned that the number is expected to increase.

Most dengue cases reported in Florida are associated with people who have traveled to areas where the virus is more common. Locally acquired transmission can happen when a mosquito bites someone infected with dengue and then bites another person who has not traveled.

Hillsborough County Mosquito Management has increased surveillance and treatments in response to the cases. Crews are trapping mosquitoes and testing them for dengue to pinpoint where infected mosquitoes are located.

Officials said 14 mosquito pools have tested positive for dengue.

Crews have also identified tire shops and tire storage areas as significant breeding grounds because mosquitoes can reproduce in the water that collects inside tires.

At one tire shop, mosquito management officials said crews initially collected 1,145 female mosquitoes. After treatment, that number dropped to six.

“We do see great reduction,” Dr. Peter Jung of Hillsborough County Mosquito Management said. “But I have to mention that zero mosquitoes doesn’t mean zero transmission.”

Health officials say residents also play a critical role in slowing the spread.

Mosquitoes can breed in very small amounts of standing water, including water left in dog bowls, toys and containers around a home.

“Even a little teaspoon, something that’s inside of a toy, can be a breeding spot,” Dr. Carla Frye with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County said. “So we need to get rid of all of it, not just the massive bodies of water, but the little tiny bits of water that we might otherwise overlook.”

Officials are urging residents to remember three steps: spray, cover and drain. That means using mosquito repellent, covering exposed skin when possible and regularly removing standing water from around homes and businesses.

Health officials said people should seek medical attention if they experience symptoms that feel significantly different from previous illnesses, are unable to keep fluids down or experience a prolonged high fever.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Short-term rentals are coming under new scrutiny in Hillsborough County as commissioners consider regulations that would give the county more oversight of vacation rental properties.

County commissioners are scheduled to hold a public hearing Wednesday on proposed rules that would require short-term rental owners to register their properties and have someone available around the clock to respond to problems.

The county is not proposing a ban on short-term rentals.

Instead, the proposed regulations would require owners to register their properties and designate a local contact who can respond to issues involving the rental.

The county is also proposing a $200 annual registration fee per unit, along with additional fees related to inspections.

The issue has become particularly contentious in some neighborhoods where residents say the number of short-term rentals has grown rapidly.

In the Bay Crest Park neighborhood in Town ‘N Country, residents say there are now 126 short-term rentals among roughly 900 homes.

Residents say the number of vacation rentals increased significantly after hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused severe flooding and damage in the neighborhood.

Samantha Freeland, a Bay Crest Park homeowner, said many residents sold their homes after the storms, while some new owners converted the properties into short-term rentals.

Freeland said the change has disrupted what had been a quiet residential neighborhood.

Residents have reported parties, increased traffic, and other disturbances associated with short-term rental guests.

“We’re essentially having businesses that are operating within single-family zoned residential neighborhoods,” Freeland said. “That the county has zoned us as single-families zoned residential areas and they’re allowing businesses to operate right next to families with no ordinances or life safety inspections.”

Still, short-term rentals represent a relatively small percentage of homes in Hillsborough County.

There are currently about 3,000 short-term rentals in unincorporated Hillsborough County, according to county information. Tampa has about 9,000 additional short-term rentals.

By comparison, Pinellas County has more than 24,000 short-term rentals across the county.

Hillsborough County commissioners have been working on the proposed regulations for months as residents and officials debate how much oversight should be placed on vacation rentals.

The public hearing on the proposed ordinance is scheduled for 10 a.m., Wednesday.

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays’ planned new stadium is expected to transform more than just where the team plays.

Hillsborough College President Dr. Ken Atwater says the project is also creating an opportunity to completely reimagine the college’s Dale Mabry campus.

“It’s a generational opportunity for us to actually reimagine the Dale Mabry campus,” Atwater said.

From Atwater’s office, Raymond James Stadium and Steinbrenner Field are already visible. In the future, the new Rays stadium could join them — along with a largely rebuilt Hillsborough College campus.

Atwater said the Rays stadium agreement made it possible for the college to receive between $150 million and $180 million from the state toward the campus redesign.

Conceptual renderings show what the new Dale Mabry campus could eventually look like. Atwater said aging buildings on the campus will be torn down, with plans for construction of the college and stadium to happen simultaneously.

Before that work begins, the college is preparing temporary space for students and classes. Atwater said the temporary instructional area, called “The Nest,” will allow the college to continue operating as buildings are vacated.

“Our temporary quarters that we’re setting up for instructional delivery — it’s called The Nest — and that is the first thing we’re doing because we have to be able to vacate those buildings,” Atwater said.

The goal is to begin moving students into The Nest by the spring semester.

Atwater said students should expect some disruption during the construction process, but the college does not plan to cap enrollment or turn students away.

Last year, Hillsborough College recorded its highest enrollment in school history, with more than 47,000 students.

Atwater said maintaining the aging buildings on the Dale Mabry campus has been costing the college between $5 million and $6 million a year. Without the Rays stadium agreement, he said the college did not have plans for a redevelopment of this scale because replacing facilities through the traditional state funding process is highly competitive.

“We’re excited, we’re ready to get started, and as I say, the hard work is just beginning, but the outcome’s going to be great,” Atwater said.

PLANT CITY, Fla. — For the first time, Hillsborough County Schools is offering full-day voluntary prekindergarten at no cost to families, using funding from the tax referendum approved by voters in 2024.

District leaders said that the expanded school day gives some of Hillsborough County’s youngest students more time to develop academic and school-readiness skills before entering kindergarten.

At Cork Elementary School, VPK teacher Brianne Cloutier said the additional classroom time is making a noticeable difference.

Cloutier has taught VPK for more than 20 years and has watched generations of students move on to kindergarten and beyond.

“We teach them all of their letters, their sounds, how to count, number recognition, how to quantize, so if I hold up number two, they’re able to count two, their shapes, patterns,” Cloutier said. “We have a whole list of Florida state standards that we teach to.”

Previously, teachers had about three hours each day to fit in that instruction. This school year, Hillsborough County’s full-day program gives teachers additional time to work on those skills.

“Our pre-K day is a very full day, very busy, and when we just had the three hours a day, we were cramming all the content into a small amount of time,” Cloutier said. “So now that we have the extended day, it is just a breath of fresh air.”

In a statement, Superintendent Van Ayres said early education plays an important role in students’ long-term academic success.

“Research is clear: the earliest years of a child’s education shape everything that follows," Ayres said. "Our Voluntary Prekindergarten program gives our youngest learners the foundation they need in literacy — the building block for a successful academic journey.”

The state currently provides funding for half-day VPK programs. In Hillsborough County, funding from the voter-approved tax referendum is being used to cover the second half of the school day.

Cloutier said the goal is to use that additional time to send students into kindergarten with an even stronger foundation and better prepared for what comes next.