Author: Owen E. Richason IV
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Halloween is days away, and candy sales are lagging. Shoppers are stretching budgets hit by higher costs for fuel, housing, food, and clothing. Sales of Halloween candy dropped 6.7% in the month ending Oct. 17 compared with the same period last year, according to market researcher NielsenIQ. The firm also recorded an 11.7% decline in…
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Insured losses from Hurricane Isaias in Florida are approaching $582 million, according to the state Office of Insurance Regulation, as claims from the Oct. 9 storm keep arriving. About 55,000 claims have been filed statewide, most from the western Panhandle. Santa Rosa County leads with more than 26,000, followed by Escambia with nearly 17,000, Okaloosa…
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Clocks across Tampa Bay and most of the country will fall back one hour this weekend, closing out daylight saving time for 2026 unless Congress intervenes first, which is unlikely. Daylight saving time officially ends Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 a.m. local time, when clocks move back to 1 a.m. It began this year on…
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Drivers in Hillsborough County whose vehicles are towed at police direction or removed from private property will soon face higher fees. County commissioners voted 7-0 on Wednesday to advance an update to the county-set towing rates. The vote directs the county attorney’s office to return with a resolution to put the new rates in place.…
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Polk County is mapping out where high-speed trains might stop before anyone can say what the stations will cost or who will run the service. The Polk Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) recently approved a $500,000 contract with HDR Engineering Inc. to conduct the I-4 Passenger Rail Study. This 18-month feasibility study aims to evaluate potential…
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A 1979 apartment complex in unincorporated Hillsborough County is being held up as a model for preserving rural rental housing. It also shows how much federal money it takes to do so. North Grove Manor, a 31-unit property, was preserved with roughly $4.1 million in federal financing. That included $2.5 million in housing tax credits…
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A four-month undercover operation by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has ended with 50 arrests of people accused of working as contractors without a license while homeowners are still rebuilding from back-to-back hurricanes. Under “Operation Bad Builder,” undercover detectives set up a base in Riverview and posed as residents who needed home repairs. From June…
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Hillsborough County commissioners have approved a $75 million sales tax-funded package for ZooTampa at Lowry Park, a request that has cleared the board twice by the slimmest possible margin. The money will come from the Community Investment Tax, the county’s half-cent sales tax. Both earlier votes, including one in September, passed 4-3. The package totals…
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The Seminole City Council voted unanimously Oct. 13 to approve a $5.9 million contract with NDC Construction Co. to build a new fire station in the Bay Pines area. The council then split 4-3 over an optional roof feature that adds $16,545 to the bill. Fire Station 74 will be a 7,316-square-foot, two-bay building on…
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Pasco County Schools wants to close one elementary school and rebrand two others in the Port Richey area, citing falling enrollment and a long run of poor academic results. The Pasco school board is set to vote Nov. 3. The proposal, called “elevate 34668” after the ZIP code it targets, would shut down Fox Hollow…
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A Clearwater homeowner faced more than $7,500 in sewer repairs after a crew installing fiber-optic cable cut the line to his house. He got the bill resolved only after a local TV consumer team stepped in, 8 On Your Side. Andreas Chodura said his drains stopped working and a toilet began backing up. He first…
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Gulfport city leaders were scheduled to vote Tuesday night on higher commercial rates at the municipal marina, a move city documents show would make it the most expensive municipal marina in Pinellas County. Officials say part of the reason is a property tax cut that has not yet passed. The city has said the increase…
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Americans say they’re uneasy about retailers using artificial intelligence to set prices. They are also turning to AI tools to find the lowest ones. A December Talker Research survey found that 62% of U.S. adults are somewhat or very concerned about personalized pricing, according to EMARKETER. Trust in business overall is thin. Axios reported that…
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A “malicious actor” used compromised credentials to access Florida driver license and motor vehicle records on Sept. 4, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) says. The department’s announcement came more than a month later. The department says it moved quickly to contain the activity and secure its systems. An ongoing investigation…
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The City of Largo would halve library hours, close its performing arts center, community center, and public pool, and cut about 136 full-time-equivalent jobs if voters approve Amendment 3, according to an alternative draft budget city staff presented Oct. 6. The city says the document is not a proposal or a position, and the commission…
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MapQuest has added an optional “Surveillance Layer” that maps the known locations of automated license plate readers and other outdoor cameras. The feature puts a spotlight on a technology that is spreading quickly across American roads and drawing growing scrutiny. Users can switch the layer on in Map Options, where it sits next to the…
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Clearwater City Council voted 4-0 Wednesday night to move ahead with a developer’s plan to turn the city-owned Landings Golf Course into a $180 million sports complex. Several big questions remain open, including what the deal will ultimately cost the public. The council approved an interim agreement with Sunshine Recreational and Entertainment, the entity behind…
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Break the city’s watering rules, and you get a fine. Rip out your grass, and you might get a check. In Tampa, both come out of the same pot. The city’s Florida-Friendly Landscaping Incentive Program, known as FLIP, pays for part of the cost when homeowners replace irrigated turf with native, drought-tolerant plants. The money…
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After two summers of depleted supplies, watering limits and threats of steep fines, a few weeks of heavy rain have done more for the region’s drinking water than any ordinance. The C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, which serves Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, is now about 72 percent full, according to Tampa Bay Water. Chief…
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Pinellas County school board leaders are moving forward with the district’s “plan for progress.” The plan closes some schools, consolidates others, and creates new K-8 campuses, with the changes taking effect in the coming school year. The decision followed a Tuesday night meeting in which more than 60 speakers addressed the board. Many urged officials…
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Childcare industry leaders are gathering in Northeast Florida this week to work on two long-running problems: making care more affordable and raising pay for the teachers who provide it. The conference is also meant to teach them how to win over the lawmakers who control the money. The Florida Association for the Education of Young…
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Lenders repossessed 5,794 U.S. homes in August 2026, up 22 percent from July and 42 percent from August 2025, according to ATTOM’s latest foreclosure report. Overall foreclosure filings—covering default notices, scheduled auctions, and completed repossessions—hit 40,277 properties. That was up 1 percent from the prior month and 13 percent from a year earlier, extending a…
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Pinellas County school leaders say they must act on falling enrollment, and Tarpon Springs parents made clear Monday night that they want other options on the table before the district closes or consolidates schools. The district’s “Planning for Progress” proposals could affect more than 10 schools through closures or consolidation into K-8 campuses. Deputy Superintendent…
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A federal lawsuit accuses McDonald’s of using artificial intelligence to push up menu prices. The company says the claim is wrong and that its franchise owners, not software, set what customers pay. The suit alleges that McDonald’s AI-enhanced pricing tool violates antitrust law. It argues the tool shares nonpublic data with franchisees that may compete…
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Reclaimed water customers in St. Pete Beach will pay 50% more each month after city commissioners voted unanimously to raise utility rates. The goal is to stop covering the system’s shortfall with general fund money. The ordinance, approved on second reading, raises the monthly charge from $25 to $37.50 for fiscal 2027, which began Oct.…
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A federal paperwork error is being corrected, and St. Petersburg stands to receive $173 million in Hurricane Milton recovery money that Mayor Kenneth Welch says went to the wrong place. Welch announced the funding Friday, on the storm’s second anniversary. He said a geocoding error at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sent…
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Two years after back-to-back hurricanes battered the Tampa Bay area, Pinellas County has a large pool of federal recovery money and a long line of residents still waiting on it. The county has received more than $813 million in disaster recovery funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Its Pinellas Recovers program…
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The Hillsborough County School Board took the first step Tuesday night toward building subsidized housing for its own employees on the grounds of a school it closed two years ago. Board members approved a land lease agreement that could allow 100 to 150 affordable housing units on unused property at the former McLane Middle School…
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Today marks two years since Hurricane Milton struck the Tampa Bay area, and Hillsborough County’s federally funded rebuilding program is drawing far more applicants than officials first projected. According to the county, 1,776 applications have been filed through September under Rebuilding for Tomorrow, which launched May 1. WFLA reported that the figure comes as another…
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The Hillsborough County School Board voted Tuesday unanimously to oppose County Referendum 1, a November ballot measure that would let voters, not the board, choose the district’s superintendent. Board Vice Chair Nadia Combs introduced the resolution opposing the measure, and the board passed it. Combs said the board has to keep politics out of schools.…
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Walt Disney World raised prices across annual passes, select tickets and Lightning Lane services this week, and the top-tier annual pass now costs $1,749. The increases took effect Oct. 6. The Incredi-Pass, the only pass available to all guests, rose $120 from $1,629. That is a 7.4% jump, and by one tracker’s count, the largest…
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Pinellas County Schools is moving toward closing seven schools at the end of this school year, part of a push by Superintendent Kevin Hendrick to cut $25 million in recurring annual expenses. The district says shrinking enrollment is driving the school closure and consolidation plan. Hendrick pointed to a 25% drop in local birth rates…
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Sexton Elementary has been pulled from next week’s Pinellas County School Board vote on school closures. Parents who organized against the plan have won at least a temporary reprieve. Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said the district will take another look at options for schools in the Lealman area and north of downtown St. Petersburg. The move…
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Students at St. Petersburg College will soon have more ways to turn a two-year degree into a four-year one without starting at a university from day one. The college has announced three new guaranteed transfer partnerships with Florida Gulf Coast University, the University of West Florida, and Western Governors University. The agreements are designed to…
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The Largo City Commission trimmed its property tax rate this fall, but most property owners will still send the city more money next year. Rising property values will outpace the cut. On Sept. 15, commissioners voted 6-1 to set the rate at 5.49 mills for fiscal 2027, down from 5.52 mills this year. They approved…
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Saint Leo University plans to offer a three-year bachelor’s degree starting next year, trimming the credits required to graduate to cut both the time and the money students spend on college. The business analytics major can be completed in 93 credits, compared with 120 for a standard four-year degree. The university says it will be…
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Clearwater officials cleared the way last week for an 83,000-square-foot entertainment complex downtown, approving street vacations and a city land sale for a privately funded project that backers say will bring visitors and business to the Cleveland Street District. The proposed EVO Family Entertainment Center would sit at Cleveland Street and Myrtle Avenue and be…
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Nearly two years after Hurricanes Helene and Milton battered the Pinellas beaches, the shops on historic Corey Avenue are rebounding, driven by the business owners who stayed and rebuilt. Most businesses along the strip have reopened, and owners say customer traffic is returning. Yvonne Marcus, owner of Art Expo, remembers what she found after Helene.…
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The Trump administration is moving ahead with a sweeping overhaul of Head Start that would discard most of the program’s federal rulebook, a proposal that has split conservatives and early education advocates. Head Start, which dates to the 1960s, serves more than 750,000 low-income children under age 5. The program is currently governed by more…
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Pinellas County school leaders will take up the future of seven campuses this week, as the district weighs closures it says are driven by a persistent shortage of students. School board members will meet in a workshop Tuesday morning to discuss closures proposed for the end of the current school year. Superintendent Kevin Hendrick has…
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Parking at Pinellas County’s most popular beach parks is about to get more expensive, and annual passes already have. County leaders approved higher parking fees for Fort De Soto, Sand Key and Fred Howard parks as part of the newly adopted county budget. Starting Dec. 1, the flat $6 daily parking rate gives way to…
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Students hoping to earn a Bright Futures scholarship as part of the Class of 2028 will need higher standardized test scores than their predecessors, under new benchmarks set by the Florida Department of Education. For the top-tier Academic Scholars award, graduating seniors in 2028 must post a 1350 on the SAT, up 20 points from…
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Florida’s minimum wage rose to $15 an hour on Wednesday, the last of the scheduled annual increases voters approved in a 2020 constitutional amendment. The wage climbed by $1 a year after the amendment took effect in 2021, and it will be adjusted annually for inflation from here. When voters passed the measure, the state…
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