Airport officials said today that Sarasota-bound flight made an emergency landing at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport because of a mechanical problem, the Associated Press reports. Michele Routh, a spokeswoman for the airport, said the USA 3000 Airlines flight from Chicago landed here about 9:30 p.m. Monday. A subsequent inspection of the plane showed no problems, Routh said.
When police arrived at this wood-framed house at 5018 N. 30th Street, they found six children, ages 5 to 13 years old, clad in filthy clothes. Click to enlarge. [John Pendygraft | Times] TAMPA — Police arrested a 31-year-old man this morning after police received a tip of children and animals living in "deplorable" conditions. Dewey James Hendrix was charged with six counts of child neglect, eight counts of cruelty to animals and four counts of confinement of animals without food or water. When police arrived at the wood-framed house at 5018 N. 30th Street, they found six children, ages 5 to 13 years old, clad in filthy clothes. (Read the full post about ‘Man arrested for keeping kids in deplorable conditions’…)
ST. PETERSBURG — Federal regulators took first steps today to reduce gag grouper fishing by 45 percent, a deep cutback that would shut fishing down for recreational angles for several months, severly damage the charter boat industry during tourist season and possibly remove fresh Florida grouper from restaurant menus for several months a year. These were recommendations of the Reef Fish Committee of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, which sets rules for federal waters, where most grouper are caught. The public will get a chance to comment Wednesday before the full council votes on the plan. Though the full council may tweak the committee’s recommendations, options are limited because federal biologists have determined that gag stocks in the Gulf are in trouble. (Read the full post about ‘Federal regulators begin grouper crackdown’…)
A Tampa police deputy helped save the life of a woman who attempted suicide by jumping over the Howard Frankland Bridge Monday night, according to authorities.
The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. That’s when officers with the Tampa police department were dispatched to the Tampa side of the bridge where a caller said a woman had jumped.
Once at the scene they observed a woman hanging onto a piling in the water. She had been in the water, which was between 55 and 65 degrees for about 15 minutes, according to reports.
After trying unsuccessfully to secure the woman with a life preserver, Officer Ryan Jurjevich jumped into the water with a life preserver.
(Read the full post about ‘Cop risks life for bridge jumper’…)
VALRICO — Normally, Hillsborough Sheriff’s deputy Julie Seale spends her shift patrolling the area’s roadways for impaired drivers. She goes to them.
But early this morning, authorities said a drunk driver came to her. In fact, 25-year-old Maria Chamorrovega couldn’t have gotten closer. Deputies say she smashed into Seale’s marked Crown Victoria sheriff’s cruiser.
A sheriff’s office news release explains it like this:
Chamorrovega, a Valrico resident, was driving a 1998 Mazda in the left lane, headed west on Highway 60 just after 2 a.m. Next to her in the center lane was sheriff’s deputy Julie Seale.
Chamorrovega started to turn left onto Mt.
(Read the full post about ‘Woman charged with DUI after smashing into deputy’s cruiser’…)
Galaxy Elementary School in Boynton Beach again has a brighter future. Responding to community pleas, the Palm Beach County School Board on Wednesday voted 6-1 to reverse last month’s decision to close the 50-year-old campus. Instead, it will build a modern version. Member Paulette Burdick was the lone opponent. She challenged the School District’s ability to pay for the change at a time of possibly dwindling construction funds. Related links A look at the plan Galaxy Elementary School Photos “I don’t think it’s fiscally responsible,” she said, citing Tuesday’s passage of the state’s property tax amendment and an expected decline of property values in the county. (Read the full post about ‘Palm Beach County School Board to rebuild Galaxy Elementary’…)
The planners, community activists, politicians and environmentalists took a stab at it again: Creating a blueprint for growth in western Palm Beach County.
That blueprint has a new name, now called an overlay instead of a sector plan.
But the faces were the same, the arguments similar and the policies not that different from what’s been proposed before to save the area between Wellington and Palm Beach Gardens from rampant development.
All came out in the first public meeting to cobble together another plan after the previous plan was repealed by county commissioners in November after the state rejected it.
The county has been trying to create a development plan for the western area for nearly a decade.
In the do-over, Palm Beach County planners presented an outline of what a new plan could look like.
A man who performed part of a root canal in a Greenacres woman’s living room will spend a year in the Palm Beach County Jail and was barred from being employed in any capacity in the dental field as part of a plea agreement reached Wednesday.
Gustavo Ortegon, 52, of Boynton Beach, pleaded guilty to one count of practicing dentistry without a license and will serve five years on probation. He was taken into custody after his plea to begin serving his jail time.
Ortegon is a highly qualified dentist who previously taught at a college of odontology in his native Bogota, Colombia, said his attorney, Oscar Arroyave. (Read the full post about ‘Boynton Beach man gets year in jail for practicing dentistry without license’…)
Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Florida Democratic primary Tuesday night, an event that drew no campaigning by any of her presidential rivals and awarded no delegates to the winner. The New York senator, fresh off her lopsided loss to Barack Obama in last weekend’s South Carolina primary, arranged a rally in the state as the polls were closing, an evident attempt to gain campaign momentum. She and Obama collide next week in a coast-to-coast competition for delegates across 22 states. Related links Hillary Clinton wins Florida Primary Video McCain wins GOP primary in Florida Long lines, high turnout, few glitches as polls close Fla. (Read the full post about ‘Clinton wins Florida primary, but gets no delegates’…)