28 students escape an overnight fire that destroyed their Saddlebrook Resort dormitory in Wesley Chapel. The students attend the Saddlebrook Preparatory Academy, a school for tennis and golf professional wanna-be’s. No word on the cause.
15 people are looking for a new place to live after yesterday’s Puritan Place Apartments fire in Temple Terrace that damaged 8 units. One man is hospitalized with minor injuries. Investigators are looking for the cause of the blaze.
Investigators are back at the Roosevelt Boulevard Walmart in Largo, trying to figure out what sparked yesterday’s massive fire. Witnesses say they saw flames coming from rooftop air conditioners. 3 firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.
31 year old Carrie Cutler, in jail for adoption fraud. Cops say she agreed to hand over her baby once it was born to a Minnesota couple. She ended up miscarrying, but still took money from the couple. All told, she scammed them for 15 grand. Cutler’s boyfriend says she’s pregnant again and planned to run the same scheme on another couple.
Social media takes another life. Wiregrass Ranch High freshman Tovonna Holton-Teamer shot herself to death at her Wesley Chapel home after a video of her nude and showering showed up on Snapchat. The 15 year old had not given permission for the video.
St. Petersburg city officials confirm that 8 million gallons of partially-treated wastewater has been dumped into Tampa Bay so far after the city’s sewer system was overwhelmed by water from Tropical Storm Colin. Those officials say another 2 million will be dumped before it’s over.
Rideshares, still technically illegal in Hillsborough County. A complicated deal that would let Uber and Lyft operate legally was shot down by the county public transportation commission. The big hang up???? Fingerprint background checks for drivers.
Hillsborough County commissioners vote today on whether to put a half cent sales tax hike on the November ballot. The hike would last 15 years and pay for projects that would ease Hillsborough traffic congestion. Tax hike supporters say traffic back ups are costing Hillsborough County new business. Opponents say residents don’t need another tax.
Fewer Tampa Bay homeowners owe more on their houses than they are worth. CoreLogic says the number of so-called “underwater” mortgages was 16 percent in the first quarter of 2016. It was 23 percent in the first three months of last year. Still, the percentage of underwater mortgages in Tampa Bay is twice the national average.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is starting to feel the heat. Three ethics complaints have been officials filed against Bondi. The complaints come after Bondi dropped a consumer fraud investigation into Trump University shortly after Donald Trump gave her a 25 thousand dollar donation.
