Today, the Florida Supreme Court issued a non-binding advisory opinion stating that the phrase “all terms of sentence” in Amendment 4 encompasses financial obligations, such as fines, fees and restitution as a requirement for the restoration of voting rights for otherwise eligible citizens with felony convictions. The Florida Supreme CourtContinue Reading
Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) report the investigation of a murder that appears to have started over an ongoing dispute regarding an alleged theft of a horse. 24-year-old Henry Fernandez-Soto of Lakeland was shot Wednesday evening, January 8, 2020, at 1735 Oakland Road East in Lakeland. The PCSO Emergency CommunicationsContinue Reading
Tampa General Hospital (TGH) performed 585 organ transplants in 2019, eclipsing the previous record of 500 in 2011. This puts TGH in the top 10 busiest organ transplant centers in the nation. Among the 2019 organ transplants include 358 kidney transplants, including 91 kidney transplants from living donors, 145 liverContinue Reading
The number of outbreak cases of hepatitis A in the month of December so far has surpassed what was reported in November, with 226 and 202 cases, respectively. There were 63 hepatitis A cases reported the week ending Dec. 28, bringing the outbreak total to 3395 for 2019 and 3943Continue Reading
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Robbery & Homicide Unit reported on the arrest of 59-year-old St. Petersburg man, Wilbert Henderson. According to officials, on January 2, 2020, at about 10:30 a.m., deputies were dispatched to a private residence in unincorporated St. Petersburg, for a reported burglary and sexual battery. TheContinue Reading
Health officials in Citrus County issued a rabies alert for the Heatherwood area of Inverness Friday after a feral cat that tested positive for the lethal virus. The cat was tested after it bit an individual on the previous day. Thanks to quick response and medical care, the individual isContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Health Department issued a health advisory today for Bahia, Ben T. Davis, Cypress Point, Davis Island, Picnic Island and Simmons Park beaches based on the criteria for enterococci bacteria recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This should be considered a potential risk to the bathing public.Continue Reading
This week, the Board of Directors of Moffitt Cancer Center accepted the resignation of its president and CEO, Dr. Alan List, and the center director, Thomas Sellers, for violations of conflict of interest rules through their work in China. Moffitt initiated an internal review of team members’ collaborations with researchContinue Reading
Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced two appointments to Hillsborough County Court– James Moody III and Michael Bagge-Hernandez. In addition, the Governor appointed one to the 20th Circuit Court covering Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee County and two appointments to the Palm Beach County Court. Hillsborough County Court James Moody IIIContinue Reading
City of Tampa police announced the arrest of 50-year-old Ralph Perkins of Tampa for making violent threats on social media. According to police, on Tuesday evening they were made aware of a concerning conversation a complainant had on a dating app. After being rejected for an offer he made forContinue Reading
Hillsborough County officials announced today that cold weather shelters will open tonight, Wednesday, Dec. 18, for the homeless and for those who live in homes without adequate heat as local temperatures to dip to or below 40 degrees with wind chill Wednesday night. Individuals, including pet owners, who need transportationContinue Reading
With event season on the horizon, Mayor Jane Castor is launching a new campaign as part of her sustainability and resilience commitment: Bead-Free Bay. #BeadFreeBay is an anti-littering awareness campaign to remind the public that throwing beads and other litter in the water is prohibited. Beads and other non-biodegradable items are incredibly harmfulContinue Reading
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the below statement following the passage of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Conference Report by a vote of 377 to 48 yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives: “The needs of our military service members and their families are paramount and IContinue Reading
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is warning the consumer of fraud occurring with store gifts cards in the Tampa Bay area. A technique currently being used at multiple retailers involves tampering with gift cards by covering the original bar code with a new bar code. Scammers are taking gift cardsContinue Reading
Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Vice Unit conducted a special investigation known as “Operation Santa’s Naughty List” over six days where undercover detectives identified and helped victims of human trafficking who might be forced into prostitution. Assisting PCSO in the operation which began on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, were officers fromContinue Reading
On Monday, USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly announced his selection of Jeff Scott to lead USF football as head coach. Scott was the co-offensive coordinator at Clemson since 2015, a key part of the rise of one of the most dominant football programs in the nation. “Jeff is aContinue Reading
The hepatitis A outbreak in Florida continues as state health officials reported an additional 33 cases during the week ending Dec. 7. This puts the total cases at 3,221 since the beginning of the year and 3,769 hepatitis A cases since the outbreak started at the beginning of 2018. 56 hepatitisContinue Reading
The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County (DOH-Hillsborough) is reporting a large increase in influenza activity in schools and the county, prompting a partnership with the Hillsborough County Public Schools to offer no-cost flu shots. The first flu clinic took place at Sickles High School yesterday. Future Flu clinicsContinue Reading
Today, WalletHub released their list of the 2020’s Best College Towns & Cities in America and the state of Florida did well for both large and midsize cities. Tampa was ranked #2 for best large college city (more than 300,000 people), following only Austin, TX, and 4th overall. In orderContinue Reading
Early this week, unknown suspects forced entry through the locked gate to the victim’s property and stole her horse. Deputies and the victim searched the surrounding area and later located the horse deceased in a nearby field. The horse had been slaughtered for the meat. On Thursday, Manatee County deputiesContinue Reading
On Thursday evening, Tampa Police Department received a 911 call from a male victim who told dispatch that the suspect, later identified as Robert Beausejour, was trying to kick in the door at 1606 E. North Bay St. Officers responded and observed Beausejour standing on the passenger side of aContinue Reading
