Florida

The campaign trail is looking bright for state House candidate Darryl Rouson (left).

The St. Petersburg attorney secured a number of endorsements from a group of diverse community leaders recently, including Rep. Bill Heller, a Democrat from St. Petersburg, and Republican Deveron Gibbons, a vice president at  Amscot Financial and a well-known Midtown activist.

A number of St. Petersburg faith leaders also have thrown their support behind Rouson, including Pastor Manuel L. Sykes of Bethel Community Baptist Church and Pastor Louis Murphy of Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church.

Rouson is running for the state House District 55 seat.

(Read the full post about ‘District 55 House candidate secures key endorsements’…)

The left lane of northbound Interstate 275 near downtown Tampa will be closed through the night to fix potholes, the state Department of Transportation announced.

The lane, between N Boulevard and the Hillsborough River, is expected to reopen by dawn, officials said.

The closure is prompted by "rapidly developing potholes near the roadway shoulder,” DOT said.

Click here for live traffic reports on traffic.tampabay.com.

TAMPA — A Largo attorney says he represents another inmate who claims that deputies at the Orient Road Jail tipped him out of his wheelchair, leaving him on the jail floor for an hour. That incident, too, was captured on videotape, according to attorney John Trevena.

"The video’s very dramatic," Trevena said. "It’s particularly egregious because after they dump him out, they just let him crawl around on the cell floor." Click here to watch the video.

Benjamin Rayburn, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence, says detention deputies dumped him from his wheelchair and left him helpless on the floor.

(Read the full post about ‘Attorney: Another wheelchair inmate mistreated’…)

ST. PETERSBURG — A shortage of neurosurgeons at Bayfront Medical Center has prompted emergency workers to take trauma victims to Tampa hospitals.

Bayfront, Pinellas County’s only trauma center, temporarily and voluntarily suspended its designation as a Level 2 trauma center. It expects to have neurosurgeons on call again starting at 7 a.m. Thursday.

"There’s a shortage of neurosurgeons on our call schedule, and that’s really dictating this problem," said hospital spokeswoman Kanika Tomalin.

In the meantime, trauma patients — victims of serious accidents, violence or other catastrophic injuries — will be diverted to Tampa General Hospital, a Level 1 trauma center, or St.

(Read the full post about ‘Bayfront routing trauma victims to Tampa’…)

Joe’s River - Dirty Mouth

This is a photo of the mouth of the mighty Joe’s River. It looks like an idea area for a kid to play, but unfortunately this area is heavily polluted.

Joe’s River runs through the last remaining rainforest in Barbados, according
to Richard Goddard’s letter:

“Thirdly, in the area of Joe’s River, behind the Edgewater Hotel, there is a large quantity of solid waste which has been dumped. It is there where the old railway bridge crosses the river, and although not visible from the road, any Public Health Inspector doing the job for which he is paid, should have found this years ago.”

Although I never thought of it as a rainforest, I have been enjoying this area since I was a child.

(Read the full post about ‘Joe’s River, the Rainforest and the Dump’…)

Floridians’ confidence in the economy and their own finances rose in February, one month after hitting a 16-year low. But the surge is likely to be temporary, University of Florida researchers said today.

UF’s Bureau of Economic Research identified two likely reasons behind the confidence boost: Congress’ passage of a federal stimulus package that will lead to billions in one-time tax rebates, and Florida voters’ recent approval of a property-tax relief amendment.

Chris McCarty, who directs the bureau’s survey research center, said in a news release that he expects confidence to decline again in March. The effects of the stimulus package and property tax relief will likely be short-lived, he said.

(Read the full post about ‘Consumer confidence up in Florida, but likely to be temporary’…)

ST. PETERSBURG — A homeless man who was seriously injured after a fight at a soup kitchen Sunday died Monday, police said. His attacker now faces a manslaughter charge.

The argument between Craig L. Kennedy and Lane Fogle, 37, started near the St. Vincent De Paul shelter, 401 15th St. N, sometime late Sunday night. Kennedy, 49, called Fogle "derogatory terms for a homosexual person," said police spokesman George Kajtsa.

About 12:30 a.m. Monday, Fogle confronted Kennedy and punched him in the face. Kennedy fell and cracked his head on the street, police said.

(Read the full post about ‘Homeless man dies after fight at soup kitchen’…)

A fourth Democrat has entered the state House District 55 election to replace Rep. Frank Peterman.

Steven Lapinski, a former University of South Florida student, joined the race last week. 

Lapinski could be in for a tough race. So far he has raised no money.

His opponents, all high-profile community activists, include the Rev. Charles McKenzie, St. Petersburg City Council Member Earnest Williams and civil rights attorney Darryl Rouson.

- Cristina Silva, Times staff writer

Dick Fletcher, the dean of Tampa Bay TV weather forecasters, has died. He never recovered from a massive stroke he suffered last week.

Fletcher, 65, was discovered by his wife Cindy at their home last Monday afternoon. Citing confidentiality laws and concerns for the family, officials at the CBS affiliate declined to release many details, saying doctors would know more in a few days. The station received hundreds of calls from well-wishers.

WTSP is expected to officially announce Fletcher’s death during its news broadcasts soon.

Fletcher joined the station in March 1980, once offering a "3-degree-guarantee," giving a Ch.

(Read the full post about ‘TV weatherman Dick Fletcher dies’…)

A traveler was arrested Monday after he bolted from security screeners at Miami International Airport, jumped from a second-floor concourse and broke his arm and ribs, authorities said.

Transportation and Security Administration officials became suspicious of Faid Beydoun as he stood in a security line. When Beydoun’s travel documents also raised concerns, agents asked him to step out of line for a secondary screening.

Beydoun, who was carrying multiple passports, then ran from security screeners, jumped 25 feet off the second-floor concourse and broke his arm and ribs, the Miami Herald reported.

Miami-Dade police charged the traveler with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence, according to a statement.

(Read the full post about ‘Suspicious traveler leaps from Miami airport concourse, breaks bones’…)