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Tampa Bay Times
Inside Kameron Johnson’s leap from Division II football to the Bucs
TAMPA ― Kameron Johnson didn’t trust his ears when he heard the play call that had crackled through the coach’s headphones and was being relayed in the huddle. Barton College, an NCAA Division II school in Wilson, North Carolina, hadn’t had a football program since 1950, when it was known as Atlantic Christian College.
Visitor hurt in ‘stampede’ at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, lawsuit says
A Walt Disney World patron is suing the theme park, saying she was injured during a “stampede” before an event at Magic Kingdom in Florida. The Pennsylvania visitor is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, according to the lawsuit filed Aug. 12 in Orange County. McClatchy News reached...
Rays’ closer Pete Fairbanks diagnosed with right lat strain
Rays closer Pete Fairbanks seems likely to miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed Monday with a right lat strain. Fairbanks left Sunday’s game during the ninth inning in obvious discomfort, and an MRI exam Monday in St. Petersburg confirmed the strain. Fairbanks sustained a right lat strain in spring training 2022 and didn’t rejoin the Rays until mid-July.
Letter in a bottle from 1945 washes up in Safety Harbor after Hurricane Debby
Suzanne Flament-Smith dropped off her daughter at a Florida high school volleyball practice and went for a walk, waiting for the team to finish. For her stroll, she picked Bayshore Boulevard. The road runs along the water in Safety Harbor. Typically a scenic spot, it was littered with debris brought ashore by Hurricane Debby.
A 5-star luxury condo could become St. Petersburg’s tallest building
A luxury condominium proposed for downtown St. Petersburg could become the tallest tower on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The project is backed by local office developer Feldman Equities and South Florida-based Property Markets Group as well as City Office REIT and Tower Realty Partners. Plans submitted to the city call...
Teen dies weeks after getting struck by lightning in downtown St. Petersburg
A 16-year-old girl struck by lightning in late July has died after weeks of hospitalization, according to the District Six Medical Examiner’s Office. Ashley King, 16, was one of five teens seeking cover from a thunderstorm on July 25 in downtown St. Petersburg when lightning struck a banyan tree the teens stood under.
12 upcoming social and fundraising events in Tampa Bay
Sept. 4: Boy Scouts of America Greater Tampa Bay Area Council’s Distinguished Citizen Dinner, honoring the Glazer Family. $1,500 for two guests. 5:30 p.m. T. Pepin’s Hospitality Centre. tampabayscouting.org/dca24. Sept. 14: Eye Ball, which benefits Lions World Vision Institute Foundation. $250. 6 p.m. Armature Works. eyeball24.org. Sept. 14:...
Appeals court rules for Hillsborough schools in taxing case
Hillsborough voters can decide on the question of higher property taxes to supplement teacher pay, an appellate court ruled Monday. The Second District Court of Appeals did not go along with the Hillsborough County Commission’s contention that it has discretion to move the date of the tax referendum from this November to 2026 or beyond.
St. Petersburg officials won’t get bonuses after Rays stadium deal after all
St. Petersburg city employees involved in the deal for a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium and surrounding development won’t get big bonuses after all. Mayor Ken Welch announced Monday that he had decided to rescind the bonuses, which were disclosed Thursday and totaled $250,000 for 17 high-ranking employees. The...
Wasserman Schultz rouses Florida delegates at Democratic National Convention
CHICAGO — What a difference eight years makes. At the last in-person Democratic convention in Philadelphia in 2016, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke at a Florida delegation breakfast for the ages — and not in a good way. That morning, supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders flooded the...
A cheaper, greener way to build in Florida? It goes together like a Lego toy kit.
MIAMI — Would you live in a place built from life-size Lego bricks?. Some people in South Florida already do — in a first-of-its-kind apartment project using innovative new building blocks designed to be assembled much like a giant toy kit. But unlike the structures your rambunctious 5-year-old can smash like the Hulk in seconds, the Miami company behind the blocks says they’re built to last and have been tested to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds.
Historic Davis Islands building might be need to be elevated 7 feet
TAMPA — When Davis Islands was developed in the 1920s, two apartment buildings were erected on the northern tip as gateway structures to the community designed with the Mediterranean Revival look. One of those, the Venetian Apartments, was demolished decades ago to make way for a new bridge. The...
A Pinellas campaign ad may have violated state law — and it might not matter
On the eve of key school board races in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, a political action committee says it did nothing wrong in promoting “Republican” candidates in nonpartisan races. — At issue is advertising for Erika Picard, a Pinellas County guidance counselor who is running for school board...
New center in Hillsborough will address needs of immigrant students
The Hillsborough County School District is taking steps to better serve immigrant families in the Town ‘N Country area. Work is underway on a group of modular buildings just outside Alexander Park that will pull together social workers, nurses and others who can streamline the school registration process for children from outside the Tampa Bay area and overseas.
Get 5 months free at Tampa’s Busch Gardens with this Fun Card deal
Busch Gardens and its sister park SeaWorld Orlando have put their 2025 Fun Card on sale early — and you can use it now, which gives you five months free. The Busch Gardens Fun Card, which costs $137.99, gets you unlimited admission through the end of 2025. But parking is not included, and it currently costs $32 a pop.
Controversial viral star ‘Hawk Tuah Girl’ is heading to St. Petersburg
Is “Hawk Tuah Girl” here to stay? You can ask her when she comes to St. Petersburg. Hailey “Hawk Tuah” Welch will make a special evening appearance on Friday, Aug. 30, at country bar Welcome to the Farm, also known as “WTF.”
8th Avenue in Largo reopens. The gators’ commute eases, too.
LARGO — Area commuters recently got some welcome relief from crowded conditions on West Bay Drive, as Eighth Avenue Southwest reopened to traffic after a six-month closure for stormwater-line work near Taylor Park. Traffic had been rerouted to the always-busy thoroughfare during the street closure. The Eighth Avenue project...
Top events this week: Tampa Bay Comic Convention, Gecko Ball and John Legend
An Evening With John Legend: A Night of Songs And Stories: This show features reimaginings of Legend’s greatest hits (“All of Me,” “Ordinary People,” “Tonight”), stories from his life and career, and songs from his most recent album. $275-$450. 8 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 25). Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, 5223 Orient Road, Tampa.
Murder, chaos and joy in Kate Atkinson’s ‘Death at the Sign of the Rook’
Reading a novel sometimes gives us a sense of not only the characters’ emotions but the author’s. There are novels that feel like they were written in anger, others that grow out of grief or passion. And sometimes it feels like the author is just fulfilling a contract.
Does your Florida condo need repairs? Thinking of selling? Tell us about it
It’s been more than two years since the Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside collapsed in the early morning hours, destroying half the building and killing 98 people. The tragedy forced a legislative overhaul of condo rules, raising the bar for inspections and maintenance in older buildings. Condo associations...
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