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Tampa Bay Times
Tampa City Council members vote to give themselves $20,000 raise
TAMPA — Two years after Mayor Jane Castor’s administration first proposed hiking salaries, City Council members have agreed to follow the recommendation. A majority voted on Thursday to give themselves a more than $20,000 annual pay raise, or a nearly 40% boost. “It’s not just about us,” said...
Parkland shooter signs away rights to his name. Now, just one survivor owns it.
FORT LAUDERDALE — Anthony Borges now owns Nikolas Cruz’s name, according to his lawyer. As part of a negotiated civil settlement between the gunman and the teenager who survived multiple gunshot wounds at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Cruz cannot so much as grant an interview without the written consent of a young man he tried to murder on Feb.
Rays at the halfway point: ‘We’ve got work to do’
ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays’ performance through the midpoint of their schedule was technically slightly worse than half-bad, given their 40-41 record. The predominant question now, as they start the second half Friday, is whether they are equipped to improve enough to reach the playoffs for a sixth straight season.
Why is Gov. DeSantis so hostile to the arts?
Some people are ignorant and proud of it. Ron DeSantis is one of those people. The man recently vetoed almost every pitiful penny of arts and culture funding in the state budget. Museums, music, youth programs, treasures such as Tallahassee’s Young Actor’s Theater — which trained stars like Alison Miller of “King,” Cheryl Hines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and Tony Hale of “Veep” — historic houses, Black heritage centers, performing arts spaces, dance companies, kids’ music programs, even renowned institutions such as the Ringling Museum of Art, one of the few places in Florida where visitors can see works by Old...
Crash blocks multiple lanes of southbound I-275 in St. Petersburg
Multiple southbound lanes of Interstate 275 in St. Petersburg were closed Thursday afternoon after a crash. The crash was reported about 3:50 p.m. at 28th Street South, just before Exit 19 at 22nd Street South, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. Traffic cameras from the Department of Transportation showed...
St. Petersburg pushes final Rays stadium vote, workshop back a week
St. Petersburg needs more time before City Council members vote yay or nay on a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays and surrounding redevelopment known as the Historic Gas Plant District. City spokesperson Alizza Punzalan-Randle confirmed to the Tampa Bay Times in an email that a workshop and a...
Pasco deputies investigate after man found dead at I-75 rest area
Pasco deputies are investigating after a man was found dead at a rest area on Interstate 75 in Wesley Chapel. The man was found at a rest area on southbound I-75 on Thursday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. There is no threat to the public, and the rest area remains open, according to the news release.
UF will close July 5 to 'celebrate our nation's freedom,' Sasse says
The University of Florida announced an extra holiday on July 5, “in the spirit of celebrating our nation’s independence,” a news release said. The university announced classes would be canceled and the university would be closed the day after Independence Day. Departments were advised to plan for the surprise closure.
Florida Supreme Court: Pinellas must pay taxes on land it owns in Pasco
Counties must pay property taxes on land they own outside their borders, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday, putting to rest a nearly decade-long dispute between two Tampa Bay counties. The case centered on 12,400 acres of ranch land that Pinellas County started acquiring in north Pasco County in the...
Report names man found dead in New Tampa, outlines evidence in murder case
Tucked away in the woods next to a self-storage facility in New Tampa, police last week found a dead body riddled with bullet holes. The body was heavily decomposed, and pieces of skull lay shattered nearby, Tampa police noted in an arrest report. A lanyard hanging around the man’s neck contained a Florida driver’s license that helped investigators identify him as 35-year-old Andre Dyke.
DeSantis launches website criticizing ‘political agenda’ of Biden infrastructure policies
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a new website his administration created tracking the Biden administration’s infrastructure policies, calling them a tool “to promote a political agenda.”. “In 2022, the Biden administration secretary of transportation launched a $1 billion transportation project that he said would combat ‘racist...
UF professors OK proposed ‘Great Books’ major — with some reservations
The University of Florida’s faculty senate is advancing two proposed majors in the school’s newly established think tank and college the Hamilton Center: “Philosophy, Politics and Economics and Law” and “Great Books and Ideas.”. Not every faculty member is happy about it. The senate last...
DeSantis said he cut Florida’s arts funding over ‘sexual’ festivals
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis cited “sexual” festivals in Orlando and Tampa as the reason he vetoed more than $32 million in arts funding across Florida this month. “You have your tax dollars being given in grants to things like the Fringe Festival, which is like a sexual festival where they’re doing all this stuff,” DeSantis said during a news conference Thursday.
What the Supreme Court emergency abortion case means for Florida
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a case questioning whether and when emergency abortions are required in states with abortion restrictions. The decision means that women in Idaho, where the case originated, can access emergency abortions for now. Those may be in cases where women present to the hospital with severe conditions, but where their life isn’t at immediate risk.
Could Lightning’s Conor Sheary be a buyout candidate?
TAMPA — The Lightning are in need of salary cap space to re-sign Steven Stamkos and fill out their roster, and the buyout deadline is looming. Could the team buy out the remaining two seasons of forward Conor Sheary’s contract to gain relief?. Sheary’s first season in Tampa...
Tropical storm could form in Caribbean over next few days, hurricane center says
A system in the deep Atlantic has a growing chance of strengthening into a named storm over the weekend in the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said. The center has rapidly increased its prediction for when the tropical wave might strengthen. As of Thursday morning, it had a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm in the next seven days, up from 30% the morning before. The center also increased its shot of strengthening in the next two days to 40%.
DeSantis vetoes bill to bolster warnings about Florida’s polluted waters
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday night vetoed a measure that would have increased warnings for Floridians and tourists when a beach or public waterway is polluted. The bill required the Florida Department of Health to issue health advisories if water quality failed to meet the agency’s standards, and required closing polluted beaches “if it is deemed necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public,” according to a House staff analysis of the bill.
Clearwater has a $100 million plan to prevent this neighborhood from flooding
As Hurricane Idalia swept past Tampa Bay last summer, storm surge topped seawalls and inundated David Hook’s Clearwater Beach neighborhood. Though his home was spared, houses up and down Hook’s street weren’t so lucky. Neighbors soon mounted full remodels, only to be flooded out again months later when another storm washed away progress in December.
I hate leaf blowers and you should, too
I had always thought of golf and fishing as the most popular hobbies for middle-aged men. But in my neighborhood? It’s leaf blowing. Like a weeklong pickleball match, two neighbors volley leaves back and forth from their lawns — yet no one ever wins. Because I suppose he doesn’t want the fun to end when the gas runs out, another neighbor is always strapped down with two leaf blowers.
Fourth of July fireworks and events happening around Tampa Bay
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, commemorates the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified July 4, 1776, and established the United States of America. These days, we celebrate with barbecues, baseball and fireworks. The following is a list of many ways the Tampa Bay is marking the holiday.
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