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Round And Around

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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: February 14, 2009

Not long ago we were wondering how the federal economic stimulus legislation then being battled over in the nation's capital, which contains a boatload of bucks for roads and other infrastructure elements, would stimulate Pasco County's economy in time to make a real difference.

Nothing we've heard since then has done much to change that skeptical view.

This week, for example, the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization heard some discouraging words about the county's attempt to get stimulus money to build the Ridge Road extension and improve major roads such as U.S. 19 and U.S. 41.

As it turns out, few if any of the county's road projects are likely to qualify for the first round of stimulus money. That, at least, is what Don Skelton, the head of the Florida Department of Transportation's Tampa district, told MPO members Thursday. If Pasco misses out on round one of the stimulus money, it could try again within a year for round two, he said.

One set of data isn't a trend, but the government reported this week that January nationwide retail sales ticked up a bit compared to December and there weren't as many claims for unemployment benefits last week as expected. Perhaps that only means the economy isn't falling as fast as it was and isn't yet ready to rebound.

Regardless, Pasco's housing-dependent economy will have begun healing itself long before the stimulus road dollars will have had any impact.

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