Road Closure for the Strawberry Festival Grand Parade
Roads will be closed at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, March 2, to deploy safety barricades. The roadway will remain closed until the early evening. The parade begins at S. Evers St and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. It will travel west on W Reynolds St and end past the Strawberry Festival grounds.
Get Ready for the Plant City Municipal Election
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer is conducting a municipal election for the City of Plant City. Here’s what voters need to know.
WHO VOTES IN THE 2026 PLANT CITY MUNICIPAL ELECTION?
Only registered voters who live within the city limits of Plant City are eligible to vote in this election. The deadline to register to vote (if not already registered) is March 9. Those who are already registered to vote in Florida can update their name or address at any time.
CANDIDATES ON THE BALLOT
City Commissioner, Group 3: Gregory Boyle, Karen Kerr, Tony Smith, Alicia Kirk
Toler
City Commissioner, Group 4: John Haney, Camryn Henry, Randy Toler, Maurice D. Wilson Sr
Plant City Garden Club to Award Scholarships to High School Seniors
The Plant City Garden Club will award two $1,000 scholarships this April. To be eligible and considered for a scholarship, students must be local high school seniors enrolling in college, pursuing a major in one of the following six fields: Biology, Botany, Conservation and/or Forestry, Environmental Studies, Horticulture, or Landscape Design. Scholarship application form and information/instructions are on the garden club’s website: plantcitygardenclub.com. Click the Youth Programs tab for the two documents.
Completed applications and documentation must be received by April 1, 2026.
Mail packet to Plant City Garden Club, P.O. Box 3471, Plant City, FL 33566.
Plant City Garden Club Celebrates Arbor Day
To celebrate Arbor Day, at the Community Garden, the Plant City Garden Club planted a Meiwa kumquat and a yellow long-necked fig to help replace fruit trees destroyed by last year’s hurricane. Attendees were Lori McMillion, Nancy Ham, Linda Steele-Green, Sharon Spires, and Sheila Gardner.
At McIntosh Preserve, the club members planted 32 trees: 10 Simpson stopper, 10 wax myrtle, 10 yaupon holly, 4 marlberry, and one eastern red cedar. Employees of the Plant City Parks Department augured holes before the arrival of club members. All these trees are native trees from Springer Environmental and the Nectary. The eastern red cedar was a gift for Arbor Day from the Nectary. Flags to mark the trees were donated by Lowe’s. Linda Steele-Green said Madison Atkins, Environmental Coordinator of the Plant City Parks Dept, did a “bang up job.” Seven folks braved the frigid weather.
New Traffic Signal Now Operational on Thonotosassa Road from Westbound I-4 Ramp (Exit 19) in Plant City
A new traffic signal is now operational on Thonotosassa Road at the base of the westbound I-4 ramp (Exit 19) in Plant City.
Drivers should remain alert to the changing traffic conditions as motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians adjust to the new signalized interchange.
The Florida Department of Transportation’s contractor, Watson Civil Construction, Inc., is making improvements to the I-4 interchange at SR 566 (Thonotosassa Road) in Plant City, Hillsborough County.
In addition to the new traffic signal, this project widened a section of Thonotosassa Road from two to four lanes between the I-4 ramps and added a new northbound right turn lane to access the eastbound I-4 entrance ramp. Construction activities are expected to finish in early 2026.
Commissioner Wilton Simpson Announces Agricultural Producers Can Now Apply for Over $600M for 2023 and 2024 Hurricane Disaster Relief
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced Florida’s agricultural producers can apply for more than $600 million in disaster assistance for impacts from the 2023 and 2024 hurricane seasons. Through the Florida Block Grant Disaster Relief Program (https://blockgrant.fdacs.gov/en-US), eligible agricultural producers can apply for grant funding to assist with infrastructure damage, market loss, citrus loss, and timber damage from recent hurricanes.
“Florida’s farmers, ranchers, and growers suffered billions of dollars in damages and losses during the 2023 and 2024 hurricane seasons, and this grant program offers them much-needed financial support,” said Commissioner Simpson. “I want to thank President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins for always putting America’s farmers first. With their support, we’ve worked to get this funding to our producers as quickly as possible. We are also prepared to administer additional financial resources, as soon as federal approval is granted, for producers impacted by the recent and historic freezes.”
