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Tag: Tim Wronka

  • Pasco County leads Tampa Bay in electric vehicle use

    Pasco County leads Tampa Bay in electric vehicle use

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    PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — As electric vehicles become more popular, new numbers show that Pasco County leads the Tampa Bay area in EV use.

    What You Need To Know

    • New numbers show Pasco residents are driving more miles in electric vehicles

    • Replica’s data estimated 352 EV miles per 1,000 Pasco County residents this year

    • One reason is the amount of drivers commuting between Pasco and nearby cities

    Residents are driving more EV miles in Pasco than any other Bay area county, according to the mobility analytics firm Replica.

    Former New Port Richey mayor Rob Marlowe was an early EV driver when the cars weren’t as common. Now he sees them all over Pasco.

    “I would go days, sometimes weeks, without seeing another plug-in car on the road,” Marlowe said. “That has changed. I just about can’t go out on a drive without seeing one or more EVs somewhere.”

    Replica’s data shows an estimated 352 EV miles per 1,000 Pasco County residents this year. Which is six miles more than Manatee County, the next-highest in the Bay area. It’s also 58% more than Pinellas County, which is more densely populated. 

    Marlowe’s believes it’s because drivers commute from Pasco to Tampa or St. Petersburg for work.

    “It makes sense,” Marlowe said. “If I were going down into Tampa, where it was 30 or 35 miles each way, I would rack up a lot of miles in a hurry.”

    Marlowe said he feels he helped with the high ratings, by encouraging the city of New Port Richey to add charging stations downtown while he was mayor.

    “It’s good for the environment and it’s good for people’s wallets. It also provides the city with a very positive image,” he said.

    As they add more charging stations across Pasco County, officials expect the use of EVs to continue to grow.

    Both Pasco and Manatee were in the top 10 counties for EV use in Florida.

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    Tim Wronka

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  • Years in the making, US 41 to finally widen in Citrus County

    Years in the making, US 41 to finally widen in Citrus County

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    INVERNESS, Fla. – A long awaited road project is now underway in Citrus County.

    What You Need To Know

    • FDOT is expanding US 41 to four lanes from State Road 44 to south of the Withlacoochee Trail Bridge

    • The project is being done to fix growing congestion on the two-lane road

    • That also includes a left turn lane for southbound traffic heading into Inverness Middle School

    The Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) is now widening US 41 in Inverness, an area that gets very congested.

    The project will also help traffic getting in and out of Inverness Middle School.

    David Vincent, Chief of Police for Citrus County Schools, says the change has been needed for a while.

    “For us as a school district, US 41 and Middle School Road has always been an area of congestion and concern,” Vincent said.

    The traffic on US 41 there averaged 18,000 cars a day in 2021, according to an FDOT study.

    Despite all that traffic, US 41 is just two lanes. And with no turn lanes, it really backs up during school time.

    “Between the buses and parents exiting and entering during morning and afternoon traffic, this is very difficult to manage,” Vincent said.

    That’s why he’s thankful that FDOT is now finally widening US 41.

    Work recently started on the project, which will expand 41 to four lanes from State Road 44 to south of the Withlacoochee Trail Bridge.

    That also includes a much-needed left turn lane for southbound traffic heading into Inverness Middle School.

    “We hope the combo of the new lanes and additional turn lane in this project will help with the commuter traffic,” Vincent said.

    He’s also hopeful those extra lanes should help traffic move through the rest of Inverness as well.

    The $21.6 million project also includes new bike lanes and sidewalks.

    It’s expected to be done by the summer of 2025.

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    Tim Wronka

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  • Tampa business defends FSU football, ‘If you can’t beat us, cheat us’

    Tampa business defends FSU football, ‘If you can’t beat us, cheat us’

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    TAMPA, Fla. – A local business is tapping into the outrage of Florida State football fans, after the College Football Playoff Committee snubbed the undefeated Seminoles from playing for a national championship.

    Smack Apparel, a longtime t-shirt company in Tampa, is now printing thousands of shirts for FSU fans that say,  “If you can’t beat us, cheat us.” The shirt is in FSU’s colors of garnet and gold. 

    Owner Wayne Curtiss is a Florida State alumnus.

    He says Smack Apparel is usually known for shirts that celebrate teams and their success, especially our local ones here in Tampa Bay. But this time, it’s about a team with many passionate fans getting left out.

    “I’ve been doing this 25 years and we have cool stuff for teams all over the country,” Curtiss said in an interview. “But this one is personal. The shirt says it all. I mean that’s it. No one beat us. 13-0. The games matter.”

    Curtiss says there’s been a big demand, with the shirts selling immediately when they were first put on sale Sunday night.

    “The demand is off the charts,” Curtiss said. “I got fellow alumni that are asking for it. We invoke the message of what the fans are feeling.”

    The company was filling orders all day on Monday as college football fans reacted to the surprising decision to leave FSU out of the playoff. 

    FSU fans can buy them online or locally at Heads and Tails in Tampa.

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    Tim Wronka

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  • What’s with all the car fires in Tampa Bay?

    What’s with all the car fires in Tampa Bay?

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    TAMPA, Fla. — If you’ve driven around Tampa Bay, chances are you’ve sat in a lot of traffic. Sometimes those delays are caused by a car fire.

    What You Need To Know

    • FHP Troop C responded to 475 vehicle fires over the last two years

    • According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), electrical issues, leaks, overheated engines and smoking are common causes

    • According to a 2020 study from the NFPA, there was an average of 117,400 vehicle fires across the country per year between 2013 and 2017

    • There are no official U.S. numbers on the difference between gas-powered fires versus EVs or hybrids

    FHP Troop C, which covers Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus and Sumter counties, responded to 475 vehicle fires over the past two years, officials confirmed.

    Hillsborough County resident Alison Roth asked Spectrum Bay News 9 about the amount of vehicle fires she’s seen.

    “I see them on the news frequently. They slow down traffic a lot,” Roth said.

    You’ll see them on the news because of the problems car fires can cause. Sometimes a single car catching on fire can shut down an interstate or bridge as first responders work to put out the flames.

    “I also wonder what contributes to a car fire. What causes the actual car fire?” Roth asked.

    There are a lot of reasons.

    According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), electrical issues, leaks, overheated engines and smoking are common causes.

    Recently, some drivers have questioned if the increase in electric vehicles on the roads is leading to more fires.

    “I’ve been concerned with the rise in EV that some of the batteries are the problem. You hear about batteries catching fire on all kinds of vehicles,” Roth said.

    In the U.S., there’s no national agency that Spectrum Bay News 9 found that’s currently keeping track of the types of cars that are catching on fire. There are no official numbers on the difference between gas or electric fires.

    However, MotorTrend says the country of Sweden does. Their numbers show gas-powered engines are more likely to catch on fire than electric vehicles and hybrids.

    In addition, the number of car fires occurring might be less than you think.

    According to a 2020 study from the NFPA, there was an average of 117,400 vehicle fires across the country per year between 2013 and 2017.

    To put that in perspective: There are more than 280 million cars registered in the U.S., per the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

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    Tim Wronka

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