Tampa Bay’s Winner and Loser of the Week

Winner: Friends of the Children Tampa Bay. The organization received $1.1 million from Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“We are most excited about what this gift means for the youth we currently serve … and the many more we will get to serve,” Executive Director Rick McClintock said.

Loser: Hillsborough Public Schools. The cash-strapped district hoped voters would approve a property tax hike designed to increase teacher pay, but voters said no dice.

Following a machine recount, the Hillsborough County Canvassing Board certified that the measure failed by 590 votes out of more than 221,000 votes cast.

– Joe Henderson, Extensive Enterprises Media