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Featured Story

Will the Selmon Expressway Scoot to Southshore?

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Plans are being floated, conceived, or maybe hallucinated in a fever dream to extend the Selmon Expressway all the way to Southshore. Big Bend, to be exact. That “meeting of the minds” happens this month.

If you’ve been around here a while, you’ve heard this rumor before. Several times. Like that mall we were gonna get. So is it different this time?

Short answer: Maybe. Fox reported some convincing figures from a THEA study, noting a new toll road could support about 30% more trips through the corridor and cut delays at 46% of intersections. Translation: fewer headaches for us, more toll money for them.

They also noted that between 2019 and 2023, the 301 corridor had just shy of 3,000 crashes. Kinda feels low. In that same stretch, I think I personally saw 3,000 on 301. On Tuesdays.

This is still very early. The current session is informational, not a vote, even though public support is largely behind the effort. (Obviously) If you want to weigh in, public meetings are scheduled for October 9, 11, and 14. Bring an opinion, and bring some patience. You can find information HERE

Southshore Story Time

Southshore Close Encounters

Part 4: The Festival of Lights and Oysters

The town threw a welcome party at sunset. Food trucks. Line dancing. Someone brought a hundred glow sticks because it felt thematic. On a rise by the water, Dotty spoke first. “Before we make first contact official, we honor the first people here.” She told the crowd about the ancient shell mounds around the bay, the way some were built in layers of shell and sand with ramps down to plazas, and how a great temple mound still stands across the water at Philippe Park. Everyone faced the bay for a quiet minute, the glow sticks dimmed, and even the aliens took off their sandals out of respect.

Then the party kicked back up. The aliens taught us a traffic trick that made the left turn at 301 feel like butter. In return, we taught them to merge, which they called “the bravest act in Florida.” The golf carts formed one last triangle and lifted a foot off the pavement, just enough to make Dotty gasp and Marco high-five a guy from Wimauma he’d only ever argued with on Facebook.
By midnight, the shell’s purr faded to a contented hush. The visitors promised to return when the bay was calm and the oysters were sweet. Dotty wrote the final line in her notebook. “They came for the signal. They stayed for the sideshow. They left us a better left turn.”

Things to do

What’s Washing Up on The Shore This Week

Southshore Spotlight

Abe Brown Ministries, Inc

inspHire is Abe Brown Ministries’ comprehensive reentry program that equips formerly incarcerated people with job-readiness training, life skills, and wraparound support to reenter the workforce and community. Individuals can apply to join, employers can partner to hire graduates, and transitional living residents complete inspHire as part of their path forward.

Nominate your local hero by emailing us at [email protected]

The Public School Mass Exodus

7,000 students left Hillsborough County schools last year alone. No, they didn’t graduate or leave the state. They left the public school system.

Home school is now all the rage. Flexibility, focus, and more options are a big part of it. And alternatives keep popping up.

Around Southshore, families want smaller groups, challenges for advanced kids, and schedules that bend for athletes and artists. The menu’s wide: co-ops, micro-schools, learning pods, and hybrid private programs.

It isn’t effortless. Flexibility still needs planning. Costs add up. Outside a big system, the family becomes the system.

You’ll feel the shift around town: busier parks at noon, coffee shops full at 10 a.m., tutoring in back rooms, teachers launching small programs.

Thinking about it? Visit a co-op day, tour a micro-school, ask about curriculum, safety, cost, and how learning is measured. Talk to families who’ve done it for a year or more. Let us know your thoughts. This may not have crossed your mind, but with over 155,000 homeschool students in Florida, the trend is on the rise.

Your Wellness Wake Up Call

Brought to you by Wellness Vitalized

Life gets busy. Trust me, we know. Between work, kids, errands, and that never-ending to-do list, it’s easy to push your health to “later.” Here’s the truth: later gets expensive. In energy. In mood. In real dollars. You can’t afford to treat your body like an optional upgrade.

Health isn’t an all-or-nothing makeover. It’s compound interest. Tiny daily choices that stack. Five minutes today turns into a better week, then a better month. More focus. Better sleep. Fewer “I’m wiped” afternoons.

When life gets louder, your health has to get simpler. A clear plan beats good intentions. Accountability beats motivation. And feeling good beats “I’ll start Monday.”

Wellness Vitalized is your partner in progress, your calm center when life storms. You’re not in this alone. Help is only a click away.

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We Know a Guy…Or Girl

Southshore Services

Need a painter? A plumber? Someone brave enough to tackle that lightbulb orbiting 30 feet above your living room? We’ve got you. And the best part, they’re all right here in our community.

Interested in joining the list? Shoot us an email to [email protected]

“Keep it Local!”

Foodies Only

Roots Southern BBQ

There’s BBQ, then there’s Roots Southern BBQ. If you’ve been, you know the difference. If you haven’t, it’s time you find out.

If you’ve got a restaurant, food truck, or even a lemonade stand, it could be featured here. Email us at [email protected]

Local Sports

Football

Lennard vs Lakewood Ranch, Friday 9/26 @7:30 PM - Home

East Bay vs Leto, Friday 9/26 @ 7:30 PM - Home

Sumner vs Plant City, Friday 9/26 @7:30 PM - Home

Riverview vs Durant, Friday 9/26, @ 7:30 PM - Home

Spoto vs Tampa Bay Tech, Friday 9/26, @7:30 PM - Home

News or Events you’d like to share? Email us at: [email protected] 

Until next time,

Keep It Local.