🌱 Tampa Affordable Housing Funds + Bamboozle Leaving Downtown

Happy Wednesday, people of Tampa! Here's everything you need to know today in town.

First, today's weather:

An afternoon t-storm; humid. High: 83 Low: 70.

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Here are the top five stories in Tampa today:

1. The City of Tampa is contributing $1.1 million of revolving loan funds toward infill homes at 0 percent interest toward affordable housing development as the battle over rising housing costs continues. Home builder Darak Fullwood and nonprofits will build 17 homes on 15 lots in East Tampa in the city's second infill housing initiative. The average price of the finished homes will be $200,000 and those purchasing the homes will be residents who make less than the 50 percent of the average median income. (Tampa Patch)

2. Port officials on Tuesday approved selling a 0.45-acre tract of land north of the Port Tampa Bay parking garage to the city of Tampa for $3.8 million. The city plans to turn the space into a park and adding greenspace is a priority for the Channel District Community Redevelopment Area. (Tampa Bay Times)

3. Local Vietnamese favorite Bamboozle is moving from downtown Tampa to Seminole Heights after 14 years operating minutes from City Hall and downtown's working district. The building that housed the restaurant was recently sold. The new Bamboozle will be located next to Bo's Ice Cream at 7107 N. Florida, according to restaurant owner Lynn Pham. (Creative Loafing Tampa)

4. Supporters of former Tampa City Council member John Dingfelder have established a GoFundMe page to help him recoup some of the legal bills he has incurred over the past several months in his battle with a local development consultant. The City of Tampa refused to defend Dingfelder against the litigation in what has sparked outcry from the public. As part of the settlement, Dingfelder agreed not to run for mayor or serve on the Tampa City Council for five years. (Bay News 9)

5. Tampa-area Congresswoman Kathy Castor and locals celebrated $2 million in funding for Tampa’s University Area Cultural Campus acquired through the omnibus funding package passed last week by Congress. Rep. Castor said the funding was long overdue for the community. (Florida Politics)

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Today in Tampa:

• Storytime In The Park at Riverhills Park. (10:30 AM)
• March Hiring Mania at Tampa Honda. (3:00 PM)
• Neon Art Night at The University Of Tampa College Of Arts and Letters. (6:00 PM)
• Women's History Month Films: Hidden Figures (PG) at C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. at Matthew Gregory Community Room. (6:30 PM)
• 'Frozen' at Straz Center For Performing Arts (7:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired forward Riley Nash from Arizona in exchange for future considerations. Nash will report to the Syracuse Crunch. (Facebook)
• This weekend, the community is coming together to support PRIDE at numerous events in Tampa. Events include the Tampa Pride Street Festival, Tampa Pride Diversity Parade, and Pride at Night Concert. (Facebook)
• Sunset rides on the new Iron Gwazi hit different. 😎 Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has extended hours on several days for the rest of the month.⁣ (Facebook)
• FBI Maritime Operations Training was hosted with the Tampa Police Department last week. Bomb technicians from around the country took part in this multi-agency training exercise to help sharpen their skills for incidents around and on the water. (Facebook)
• After dedicating 40 years to the City of Tampa, Una Garvey, Director of our Tampa Convention Center, has announced her retirement. Una has been a pillar in our city government, leading Tampa’s economic engine and tourism powerhouse. (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

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• Estate Planning Webinar 3/28 & 3/30 (March 28)
• Social Security Seminar on 3/29 & 3/31 (March 29)
• Taxes in Retirement Seminar on 3/29 & 3/31 (March 29)
• Creating Income in a Low Interest Rate Environment (March 29)
• Heal for Humanity at St. Pete's first Heal Fest (April 2)
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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you tomorrow for your next update.

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.