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ESE school bus no-show for 2 days
TAMPA - "The exact time was supposed to be 1:44." "I'm waiting for Ari's bus. Do you know if the bus ever showed up to pick him up?" "By the time I get him, is the bus going to show up and I'm going to miss him in between-- that's the problem." These are the phone calls Silvia Weitzman made in her front yard Tuesday. Weitzman's son, Ari, ...
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Increase in storage unit burglaries
More than seventy units were broken into at the Uncle Bob's storage facility on West Hillsborough Avenue. In video obtained by Action News, you can see one of the suspects, with what appears to be a screwdriver in his mouth, hop onto a motorcycle and unsuccessfully try to start ...
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Gumshoe Denis Quilligan faced down corruption organized crime
ST. PETERSBURG -- Because of his laid-back demeanor and drawl, colleagues sometimes compared Denis Quilligan to former NFL quarterback and wisecracking broadcaster Don Meredith. The people he helped put in prison might remember someone a bit less folksy. During his 23 years with the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's office, the last 19 as chief investigator, Mr. Quilligan did the legwork on ...
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Pasco School Board to sue Citigroup over fraud allegations
LAND O'LAKES -- Rushing to beat a June 30 deadline, the Pasco School Board on Tuesday decided to sue Citigroup over allegations of fraud in bond issuances from 2007 and 2008. The district stands to recoup up to $10 million if the action is successful, superintendent Kurt Browning told the board in recommending the suit. It does not face any out-of-pocket costs to pursue the ...
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No charges in toddlers drowning Seminole County Sheriffs Office says
Authorities Tuesday identified a toddler who drowned last week in a backyard pool as Keira Alanna Buckroth.Keira, who would have turned 2 next month, hadn't been seen for about 15 minutes before her 24-year-old stepbrother found her floating in the swimming pool in the backyard of their home on Pecan Court in Seminole County June 12, a Sheriff's Office report states.After the ...
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USF fields tough questions about its branch campuses
TAMPA -- After a half-hour presentation about the good things the University of South Florida has been able to accomplish -- medical research, science and math degrees, graduation rates, veterans services -- there came some tough questions. The main campus in Tampa was doing great. But what about the other branches? The grilling was part of an annual exercise by the Board of Governors, which ...
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Irelands walk on prosthetic legs is first step in years-long process
Ireland Nugent used new prosthetic legs Tuesday to walk through her family's front door in Palm Harbor, just yards from where her lower legs and feet were amputated in a lawn mower accident 10 weeks ago. Two-year-old Ireland took her first steps on a set of test prostheses Monday at Prosthetic and Orthotic Associates in Orlando. Tuesday, they picked up the finished limbs. "She just ...
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City library worker campaigns for District 8 Council seat
ST. PETERSBURG -- Robert Davis remembers watching City Council vote three years ago to extend bars' last call and thinking the proposal was lacking. The city would need more cops, he reasoned, or at least have to pay more overtime. Now a candidate for the District 8 council seat, Davis said he was motivated to run after watching the council vote up proposals without thinking them through. ...
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MLB Boston 5 Tampa Bay 1
Alfredo Aceves tossed five innings of one-run ball Tuesday, helping Boston to a rain-interrupted 5-1 win over Tampa Bay in the first game of a doubleheader. Aceves (4-1), making a spot start, limited the Rays to three hits, overcame three walks and struck out two before a 3-hour rain delay brought his outing to an ...
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Power surge fee doesnt cover all
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - For years, a consumer said, she paid $10 a month for surge protection. Protection, she thought, for electronics and appliances in the event of a power surge. Turns out, it did not come close to covering her losses. Peggy LaRosa said a power surge struck April 2 with out warning. Roofers working next door ran over and described smoke pouring out of the outdoor air ...
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PR problem for new pier design
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As plans continue to demolish the old pier, St. Petersburg City councilman Jeff Danner is fielding complaints about what the new pier has in ...
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Myers hitless in debut as Rays drop Game 1 at Fenway
TB@BOS: Scott smacks a run-scoring double to right BOSTON -- A two-hour, 59-minute rain delay in the fifth inning broke up what was otherwise a dry spell for the Rays' offense as they fell to the Red Sox, 5-1, in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Making his highly anticipated ...
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Higher health premiums force Seminole schools to mull self-insurance
SANFORD - A sharp increase in employee health-insurance premiums has prompted the Seminole School Board to consider a self-insurance program that could cost a whole lot less - or a whole lot more. The School Board on Tuesday wrestled over whether to extend its contract for standard coverage with United Healthcare, or set up its own insurance program, with United Healthcare simply paid to ...
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Pinellas officials buzz surrounding mosquitoes is overblown
Mosquito season is here and though complaints are streaming in to the county's offices, mosquito control staff have cold comfort to offer: 2013's crop of blood sucking pests is no worse than in years past. It's just life in Florida. o There are 80 species of mosquitoes in Florida, 36 in Pinellas. And then there's the Gallinipper (Psorophora ciliate), the super-sized mosquito ...
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Hearing delayed for Tarpon man accused of killing grandparents
Times staff A Tarpon Springs man accused of killing his paternal grandparents and then burning their home likely won't face trial until next year due to new computer evidence, a Pinellas County judge ruled Tuesday. George S. Georgiou, 24, is accused of fatally shooting Steve Georgiou, 83, and Flora Georgiou, 78, prominent Tarpon Springs residents, in their house at 504 Chesapeake Drive on ...
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Channelside safety being addressed before Fourth of July fireworks
TAMPA -- The firm that runs Channelside Bay Plaza said it has fixed most of the fire code and safety violations recently discovered at the downtown retail center and is working on the last fix: reinforcing the second-floor guardrails. But Madison Marquette executive Chuck Taylor, who oversees Channelside for the Irish bank that foreclosed on the property in 2010, disputed the Tampa Port ...
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Small business owners support plan requiring Amazon to collect sales tax
Small business owner Melane Nelson sees it all the time. Moms come into her store looking for information on cloth diapers, baby carriers and other kids' accessories. They touch and test every product and ask about the pros and cons. Then they wave bye-bye and purchase their favorite items online for less money, a practice known as showrooming. Nelson doesn't hold a grudge: "A ...
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Graduation speeches and a little last-minute learning
The niece I used to drive to the beach in the summertime when she was a kid drove me across the Sunshine Skyway herself the other day, crossing that monster bridge without fear, chatting about job interviews and apartment rents and such. In the family vacation that followed, a younger niece baked cupcakes with me, as is our tradition. But she is now middle-school bound, and I fear tradition may ...
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Man drives Cadillac into Clearwater pawn shop
CLEARWATER -- A 90-year-old Clearwater man drove a Cadillac all the way into a Drew Street pawn shop Tuesday afternoon, but sustained only minor injuries. Clearwater police and firefighters found the wrecked car inside Quick Cash Pawn at 1735 Drew St. around 1:45 p.m., police spokesman Rob Shaw said. A passenger and the store owner, who was inside at the time, were not harmed. Authorities ...
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School board lawyer candidates down to two prompting new search
TAMPA -- Wanted: A school board attorney for the eighth-largest district in the nation. Hillsborough County has been trying to hire one since Tom Gonzalez announced in January that he will continue to handle litigation for the district, but not advise the elected board. A committee was formed but only three candidates ...
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Mysterious Clearwater fires remain under investigation
CLEARWATER -- Days before a north Clearwater house was set ablaze in an apparent arson, the widowed owner sold her antique furniture in a yard sale, neighbors say. Court records show the two-story home at 1051 Nokomis St., the scene of an unsolved 2008 murder, was in foreclosure when a fire late Thursday reduced it to a charred skeleton. Rebecca Fenton, 46, and a retired veteran she cared for, ...
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Discrimination lawsuit against Hillsborough schools can proceed federal judge rules
TAMPA -- A federal discrimination lawsuit involving the death of special education student Isabella Herrara can proceed, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. The Hillsborough County school district had argued that the lawsuit, filed by Isabella's parents, alleged negligence and therefore belonged in state court. Isabella, 7, died after suffering respiratory distress on a school bus in January ...
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Marine meets baby girl born while he was deployed
U.S. Marine Cpl. Thomas Thornsberry met his daughter, Abigael Mae Thornsberry, on Wednesday. Abigael was born May 22, while Thornsberry was deployed for eight months aboard the USS Green Bay. His deployment started in September 2012 and his wife, Ana, found out she was pregnant a week after his ship sailed out of Camp Pendleton in San Diego. The couple were married in 2011 in Tampa and Ana ...
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Executive headhunting firm gets easy payday from Tampa Port Authority
TAMPA -- Last year the Tampa Port Authority's governing board voted to hire Boyden Global Executive Search to help it look for a new CEO to lead the port. Boyden helped the board select and hire Paul Anderson, the former CEO of the Port of Jacksonville, to take over the Port of Tampa at the start of the year. Tampa paid Boyden $119,992 to help find Anderson. But the executive headhunter ...
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Sparton acquires Bradenton manufacturer plans move to Hernando County
BROOKSVILLE -- The workforce at the Sparton Electronic Devices plant in Hernando County soon will be growing. Sparton Corp., the Illinois-based parent company, announced that it has acquired Creonix LLC, a electronics manufacturer in Bradenton, and will transfer the firm's operations to Hernando. That means that the Sparton facility, which over the years has manufactured everything from ...
St Petersburg Featured
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The Pier in danger after decades of memories and pictures
Advocates for The Pier want it to be renovated and restored in its current form, kept as the tourist attraction it is, while city officials feel it would be more economical and feasible to tear it down and replace it with a new structure. The advocates for The Pier want us to decide.
The Pier, as it is called by St Petersburg residents, or the St Petersburg Pier, as it is known nationally and even internationally, is one of the major landmarks of the city and a seminal tourist attraction and has been visited by tens of millions of people during the course of its existence, but it may soon be demolished and replaced, which has courted the anger of many residents. Read more
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