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Tampa Bay Times
Rays ready to jump on opportunities that may fall to them in MLB draft
ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays will enter this season’s Major League Baseball draft in a position that will require them to react and adjust. Sitting in the 18th spot of a draft heavy with college hitters expected to be taken within the first 15 picks, Tampa Bay will be looking first at high school talent.
Florida shows how to make passenger rail work
Surprise, surprise! It turns out you can’t count on private equity investors to single-handedly provide effective and accessibly priced mass transit for commuters. South Florida learned this the hard way recently. But the biggest shock might be that the episode could work out for the best, validating the merits of public-private cooperation on U.S.
Dear Penny: I’m working to pay off my debt. How can I raise my credit score?
I currently have around $25,000 in debt. Most of it is medical bills, some of it is from random stuff that went into collections during COVID and the rest is a car that was repoed. I’ve finally got a place to live that doesn’t kill me on bills, paid off...
Extreme heat challenges Florida school bands, club sports
The big story: Summer practices always have been tough on Florida’s high school bands as they prepare for their fall seasons. Same for the teens who participate in club and league sports while waiting for their school teams to resume training. This summer, it’s been hotter than ever. And...
What is Project 2025, and what does it mean for Florida?
Former President Donald Trump wants to distance himself from Project 2025, the much-discussed conservative policy platform that has divided Republicans and enraged Democrats. The plan is a blueprint for a hoped-for Republican presidency in 2025. Organized by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and dozens of other conservative organizations, Project 2025 calls for an overhaul of the executive branch and a dramatic expansion of presidential power.
In Clearwater, a close look at rescued raptors
The feathers that grow from a bird’s skin seem simple from a distance. Look closer and the arrangements and patterns of the plumage reveal complex relationships with the environment. There are tens of thousands of feathers at the the raptor sanctuary at Moccasin Lake Nature Park, a haven for...
Florida’s abortion amendment is a bad idea. Here’s why | Column
The constitutional abortion amendment on Florida’s ballot in November is one of the most extravagant pro-abortion measures presented in any form, at any time, anywhere. The amendment would completely ban any regulation of abortion up until viability. In doing so, it could gut laws relating to ultrasounds, waiting periods, health and safety regulations, and even parental consent.
Tampa Bay vote-by-mail ballots go out this month. Here’s what to know.
Supervisor of elections offices in Tampa Bay are sending hundreds of thousands of mail ballots to voters this month ahead of Florida’s Aug. 20 primary election. Voters will decide who should sit on their school board and as judges, as well as which primary candidates should make the ballot for the November general election.
Tampa Bay’s temperatures are rising. Can youth sports keep up?
TRINITY — During a round of sprints at an early evening club soccer practice, William Olver felt dizzy. His vision blurred. Olver, 15, told his coaches and a trainer, who instructed him to sit in the shade and drink electrolytes at the June practice. He recovered quickly; he suspected...
How to keep kids safe in Florida’s summer heat
Tampa, St. Petersburg and other nearby cities are seeing their warmest average temperatures to date. And children are more vulnerable to heat illness, especially athletes and those who spend a lot of time outdoors, according to the World Health Organization. While Florida has strict regulations around high school sports and...
Celebrities who could convince me to suspend my campaign
Imagine being George Clooney. No, really. Do this with me real quick. It will be more fun than whatever you were planning. That cereal bowl you were about to wash doesn’t have the same mischievous glimmer as our Clooney abstraction. Ok, so you’re Georgie. You’re an A-list movie star,...
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt got his start, foundation with Rays
ST. PETERSBURG — Stephen Vogt’s big-league career with the Rays was most noted for what he didn’t do. Specifically, get a hit during 18 games over three stints in the majors during the 2012 season, officially going 0-for-25. But what he did the rest of his six-plus...
DeSantis was right to veto water ‘turkeys’
Florida’s 2024 wet season arrived as a deluge with South Florida, Central Florida and parts of the Tampa Bay region experiencing record rainfall and dangerous flooding, underscoring the need for aggressive but disciplined spending on water infrastructure. With the rains come polluted and contaminated urban runoff that causes regrettable coastal environmental damage and human health threats in areas lacking modern infrastructure.
Florida, let people shop around for best electric rates | Letters
Don’t let Duke Energy and Tampa Electric prioritize profit over people | Column, July 10. Once again the people of Florida are facing another rate hike by Duke Energy and Tampa Electric. I believe these rates hikes are uncalled for and unfair. Florida residents pay some of the highest electric rates in the country. When is the Florida Public Service Commission going to stop rubber-stamping utility rate hikes? When will they allow customers to purchase electricity from other utilities, which is being done in other areas of the country? My son in New England, for example, purchases his electricity from another electric utility in another state and saves almost 30% a month. I urge people to contact the Florida Public Service Commission to protest the rate hikes and push for allowing use of an alternate electric utility.
National politics is all a mess. Isn’t it? | Column
In the campaign to govern the most powerful military and economic power in the world, we have the choice between aging old men, one a congenital lying convicted felon who regards the Constitution with less respect than a Publix BOGO coupon. Meanwhile, the occasionally addled current president has mused everything will be just swell if only he can get more naps in during the day.
Shane Baz has shaky start in Trop return, but Rays help him find rhythm
ST. PETERSBURG — Things didn’t look good at first for Shane Baz and the Rays Thursday night, but they turned them around quickly. In the right-hander’s first regular-season start at Tropicana Field in more than two years, he gave up two hits on his first four pitches. But after Jonny DeLuca caught Aaron Judge’s sharp fly ball to rightfield, Baz struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning unscathed.
The better they play, the more these Rays look like prime trade candidates
ST. PETERSBURG — Oh, those Rays. Such scamps. Such teases. Just when you think they are buried, they claw themselves back into relevance. Sure, beating the Yankees two out of three is no big feat these days, but it was the way the Rays won Thursday night’s game 5-4 that tickled your memories.
Rays get some big hits, outs in beating Yankees, taking series
ST. PETERSBURG — After a frustrating performance at the plate Wednesday, the Rays on Thursday found a couple of the clutch hits they had sorely needed. Then they added several key outs from a sextet of relievers and ended up with a much-needed 5-4 win over the Yankees at Tropicana Field.
Legendary Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin dies
The greatest defense in Buccaneers lore has lost the man who implemented it to masterful form. Longtime Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin died Thursday in Oxford, Mississippi. Kiffin, 84, had been serving as an analyst for his son, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. A post on the Rebels’ official X account indicated he passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and friends.
Florida pulls digital driver’s license from app stores without explanation
TALLAHASSEE — After spending $1.5 million on development and two years since its launch, the state has pulled its digital driver’s license application from iOS and Android app stores and deactivated it. But the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles didn’t say why. The move...
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