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St. Pete Times Vacates Bureau In Dade City

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By LAURA KINSLER

lkinsler@tampatrib.com

Published: February 12, 2009

DADE CITY - The St. Petersburg Times is closing its Dade City bureau in the Old City Hall building on Meridian Avenue.

"We've been consolidating our east Pasco operations into our Wesley Chapel office," Pasco Times editor Bill Stevens said.

"It's really nice to have the office there in Dade City - especially on county commission days," he said. "But in this economy, we're looking for savings everywhere we can."

Stevens said the Times' lease is up at the end of March, but the staff probably will vacate the building before. Owner Jean Weightman posted a "for lease" sign in front of the 1920 building this week and has received several inquiries.

The Times' move marks the first time in decades neither of the area's two largest newspapers has a full-time presence in Pasco's county seat. The Tampa Tribune closed its Dade City bureau in 2008 but still maintains a bureau in Zephyrhills.

The Pasco Times opened its first Dade City bureau in the early 1970s. The newspaper moved into the Old City Hall building in the summer of 2000.
Weightman said she hates to lose the Times as a tenant, but she hopes to find a replacement that will be "fun and nice for the downtown area."

When she bought the three-story building in 1984, Weightman did an extensive renovation, exposing the tin ceilings and installing reclaimed wood floors from a nearby tobacco factory. "The Old City Hall is more like a member of the family than a building," she said.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 779-4617.

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