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We Have a Winner! The Florida Strawberry Festival Returns for its 88th Year

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TAMPA BAY, Fla. (FNN) – March. Quite possibly one of the best months in Florida: Spring Training baseball; the golf world takes center stage with events like the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the Valspar Championship; and for those who love food, fun, and strawberry delights, there is no better event than the Florida Strawberry Festival.

The 11-day community event, which celebrates the local strawberry harvest, kicks off Thursday March 2nd and runs through March 12th in Plant City.

Each year, the event draws in nearly 500,000 visitors who come to enjoy the headline entertainment which features such acts as Willie Nelson and Family, Ludacris, Chris Young, For King + Country, Train, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The Florida Strawberry Festival features dozens of rides for kids of all ages at the Belle City Midway in addition to youth livestock shows, and of course the world’s best strawberry shortcake!

“We Have a Winner” is the theme for the 88th annual event.

“It points to the recent win we achieved in naming strawberry shortcake as Florida’s official dessert as we’re a little partial to the berry,” said President Paul Davis in a recent press release. “We’re excited about this year’s event and look forward to sharing in the celebration of the shortcake dessert that has come to make us so successful!”

Just how big of a deal is the berry in these parts of town?

“The strawberry industry has an economic impact of more than a billion dollars in the state of Florida,” added Davis. “Plant City is home to roughly 12,000 acres of strawberries and the Festival serves just about 200,000 shortcakes each year. We’re proud of our city and the Florida strawberry.”

For more information on entertainment, rides and attractions, and more, visit www.flstrawberryfestival.com and make sure to follow @flstrawberryfestival on social media and use #berryfest23 to get in on the action!

Central Florida News

State Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis’s Safety Standards for Amusement Rides Bill Passed First Committee

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – This week, Representative LaVon Bracy Davis’s (D-Ocoee) HB 1241 Safety Standards for Amusement Rides, also known as the Tyre Sampson Act, passed its first committee. Tyre Sampson was a promising young man who visited Orlando almost exactly one year ago for spring break and fell 400 feet from the Free Fall ride when his harness failed. Tragically, Tyre died on impact. This bill creates more safety precautions and inspections for amusement park rides including stricter safety standards, more signage, and further inspections.

“On behalf of the Sampson family, we are incredibly grateful to Senator Thompson and Representative Bracy Davis for their dedication to The Sampson family and the safety of all Floridians. We are also grateful to the bipartisan unanimous group of Senators and Representatives who have voted to move this good bill forward. Tyre Sampson was a 14-year-old son, star student, and star athlete who lost his life in a tragic and preventable accident that was the direct result of unthinkable negligence. This bill ensures that Tyre’s legacy will be to make sure that an incident like this never happens to anyone else’s child,” stated Todd Michaels and Michael Haggard, attorneys from The Haggard Law Firm who represent Sampson’s mother.

Representative Bracy Davis stated, “Tyre Sampson was a smart, athletic, and kind boy with big dreams that he will never be able to accomplish. What happened to Tyre was devastating, leaving a hole in his family that will never be filled. Visitors from out of state, like Tyre, as well as Floridians, should be able to trust that we do our due diligence to keep them safe when they come to enjoy the many attractions Florida offers. This bill will do that, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill to the floor.”

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Central Florida News

Sheriff’s Office investigating fatal shooting at Aqua Vista Drive in Orlando

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ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – On March 28, 2023 at 11:53 p.m., Orange County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 4300 block of Aqua Vista Drive for a shooting call and found a man in his 30s in the parking lot who had been shot. He was pronounced dead on scene.

The Sheriff’s office said, it’s very early in the investigation and we have no suspect information at this time.

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Central Florida News

Senator Linda Stewart joins Senator Jason Brodeur in co-introducing SB 880: Biosolids

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Tallahassee, FL – Senator Linda Stewart (D – Orange County) joins Senator Jason Brodeur (R – Seminole County) in co-introducing SB 880: Biosolids.

This bill establishes a grant program within the Department of Environmental Protection for municipalities seeking to convert wastewater into useable biosolids. Wastewater treatment processes separate liquids and solids in order to create a nutrient rich earth like matter known as biosolds. In order to create the highest quality of biosolids, known as Class A, the separated solid waste must be treated in a manner that eliminates pathogens before its distribution to users.

“Our state has long been affected by its lack of wide-spread sewer systems, and has been in desperate need of proper funding to modernize and expand the systems we currently have. By creating this grant program we will remove the harmful nutrients that continue to overload our waterways and lead to dangerous events such as algae blooms,” said Stewart.

Class A biosolids have many important applications in place of chemical fertilizers. With their high standards for treatment of pathogens, they are able to be used as both agricultural and at home alternates to chemical fertilizers that leach into nearby water supplies, resulting in the death of native species and reducing human use of waterways.

“It’s time we utilize our wastewater to its fullest potential, and through treating our wastewater and producing biosolids we have a win-win-win situation. We upgrade our water treatment infrastructure that stops sewage seepage into water sources, reduce nitrogen and phosphorous levels that degrade our environment, and produce a useable product that’s superior to our synthetic versions on the market today,” said Stewart

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