SBA sets application deadline for disaster loans
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Florida of the Jan. 22 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by Hurricane Milton in October 2024.
The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs with financial losses directly related to this disaster. The disaster loans aren’t available to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises.
The loans are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the small business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
The deadline to return applications is Jan. 22, 2026. However, after the deadline has passed, there is a 60-day grace period in which SBA will accept applications.
ZooTampa new home for red fox rescues
TAMPA – The Zoo is now caring for its first-ever red fox duo that arrived in November.
The foxes, named Sadie and Seth, were among more than 250 animals saved from deplorable conditions at the Grand River Fur Exchange in Ashtabula County, Ohio. The Humane Society of the United States led the rescue operation after the facility’s owner passed away, leaving the animals in dire circumstances.
Upon arrival in November, Sadie and Seth underwent comprehensive health evaluations and a quarantine period. The Zoo’s Florida team spent time daily with the duo establishing a relationship with both. Seth, the male, exhibits a classic reddish coat, while Sadie, the female, has a pearl-colored coat, giving her a striking black appearance.
The pair have since been introduced to their new habitat in the Florida Wilds area of the Zoo, adjacent to the Roaring Springs ride. They have been observed actively exploring their surroundings and engaging playfully with each other.
Red foxes are known for their acute hearing, capable of detecting high-frequency sounds even underground, which aids in hunting small prey such as rabbits and rodents. They employ a hunting technique that involves crouching low to blend with their surroundings before leaping to capture their target.
Elections office offers scholarships
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer is inviting college students to apply for a scholarship provided by the Florida Supervisors of Elections. The FSE is offering three $1,200 scholarships to eligible Florida residents who are accepted or enrolled as a full-time student in a senior college or university in Florida. Students must also be at least a junior in college, or have enough credits for enrollment as a junior prior to the application date.
The application deadline is March 6, 2026.
Hillsborough County residents must apply through the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office. Students who apply must be either a Political Science, Public/Business Administration, or Journalism/Mass Communication major.
To learn about the full list of requirements and how to apply, applicants can visit VoteHillsborough.gov/Scholarship or they can email communications@votehillsborough.gov.
SONIC offers chance for students to see Broadway show
TAMPA – The North American tour of “The Outsiders,” is performing in Tampa through Jan. 4, and as the national sponsor of Stay Gold Project educational initiative, SONIC will be providing tickets to the show for 75 local public-school students.
SONIC and the SONIC Foundation are sponsors of the Stay Gold Project, founded by The Outsiders on Broadway to make the show accessible and inclusive for middle and high school students.
A portion of every SONIC Drink, Slush, and Shake purchase helps fund local education initiatives like The Stay Gold Project. Since 2009, SONIC has donated more than $30 million to local classrooms as part of the SONIC® Limeades for Learning initiative.
“The Outsiders” is at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts to Jan. 4.
‘Dreaming in Bamboo’ opens at MOSI
TAMPA — Guests at MOSI, Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry, will find themselves “Dreaming in Bamboo” with the debut of a nature-inspired sculpture exhibit made up of woven wonders.
To create the Dreaming in Bamboo exhibit, artist Alexander Nixon used Florida’s plentiful, fast-growing, and hollow bamboo as his organic medium, bending, twisting, splitting, and weaving the tall plants into fascinating figures that look like the Florida landscape come to life.
“I learned everything by trial and error, through perseverance on rainy days, bitten by mosquitos, fingers full of splinters and cuts,” said Nixon, a University of Tampa art history professor and Tampa native. “Many years later, I have refined and mastered my process and techniques, ‘optimizing’ bamboo for a rich visual experience that I hope inspires wonder and a love for the natural world.”
Nixon begins each sculpture by forming a bamboo skeleton, then tendons and muscles, and finally a thin outer skin. All of his large but incredibly light works—a female figure with arms outstretched, an enormous but intricate face, an elephant raising its trunk, a towering unicorn—are 100% bamboo.
Dreaming in Bamboo runs through March 29. The exhibit is included in the cost of admission.
MOSI is located at 4801 E. Fowler Ave. across from the University of South Florida.
School zone camera plan postponed
TAMPA — The Tampa Police Department has postponed the School Zone Speed Camera Program following a review of the planned rollout. The department identified implementation concerns related to the current vendor and determined the program was not ready to move forward as planned. The department will begin selecting a new vendor to ensure the program is implemented responsibly, meeting operational and public safety standards.
Speed enforcement cameras were never activated in any city of Tampa school zone, and no warnings, citations, or notices were generated.
Officers will continue proactive patrols in school zones, focusing on visibility, driver education and ensuring compliance with speed limits.