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Area Agency on Aging wins statewide award
Feb 22, 2012 at 8:14 AM

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- At an awards ceremony celebrating the contributions of more than 450 statewide volunteers, the Florida Department of Elder Affairs’ SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) program awarded volunteers in Pasco and Pinellas counties with the Planning and Service...more Area of the Year award.  Volunteers in these counties operate out of the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas, Inc.
According to the agancy, SHINE volunteers in this area completed nearly 12,300 client contacts last year, a 42 percent increase from the previous year.  Of these contacts, more than half were completed in assistance to clients with low incomes for savings on their Medicare costs.  These SHINE volunteers provided outreach and education to more than 21,000 clients in Pasco and Pinellas counties.  Additionally, they spent over 7,500 hours with their clients during the last Federal fiscal year.
“Volunteers with the SHINE program in Pasco and Pinellas counties have a strong
Land O Lakes-Lutz-Odessa, New Tampa-Wesley Chapel, Safety Harbor-East Lake-Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Seminole, Dunedin, Zephyrhills-Dade City, Tarpon Springs, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Pinellas Beaches, New Port Richey-Port Richey-Hudson, Gulfport

Three people rescued from capsized boat
Watch the story
Feb 20, 2012 at 10:10 AM

Clearwater, Florida - Three men are safe Monday morning after spending several hours stranded in the Gulf of Mexico.

The men reportedly left from Cedar Key on Sunday and one of their wives called the Coast Guard after not hearing back from them.

After more than seven hours of...more searching, rescuers found the men early Monday morning. They were on top of the hull of their capsized boat, about two miles offshore south east of Atsena Otie Key.

A rescue swimmer was lowered and plucked all three from their capsized vessel.

They were flown to the Coast Guard station in Clearwater. No injuries are reported, but EMS was on scene to make sure they are OK.

"This case could have turned out differently," Richard Hutchinson, a Coast Guard search and rescue coordinator, said in a press release. "These mariners are lucky to be alive. A case like this highlights how fast an emergency at sea, even one close to shore, can turn into a life or death
Crystal River-Inverness, Clearwater

Green Advantage professional training offered
Feb 20, 2012 at 1:56 PM

Pinellas County Extension, in partnership with the University of Florida’s Program for Resource Efficient Communities, will offer Green Advantage professional training on Thursday, Feb. 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Pinellas County Extension.
The 8-hour course will provide professionals...more with an overview of key provisions in the Florida Building Code that affect building performance, introduce the concept of building as a system and examine environmental building failures, resulting from design and construction techniques.
Participants will receive an overview of green building certification standards adopted by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Green Building Council, National Association of Home Builders and the Florida Green Building Coalition.
For more information please contact the course instructor, Craig Miller at (352) 392-5684. To learn more about the 2012 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Building Education Program, upcoming events, or to register for
Safety Harbor-East Lake-Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Seminole, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Pinellas Beaches, Gulfport

Several Pinellas deputies suspended
Feb 19, 2012 at 11:29 AM

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Several Pinellas Sheriff's deputies and employees are facing suspensions following a series of Internal Affairs investigations.

Deputy Jason Bahret will be suspended for 40 hours for giving a confidential informant money without another detective witnessing the...more transaction;
Deputy Brian Berry gets a written reprimand for tracking family members with Sheriff's Office equipment;
Deputy Michael Papamichael faces a five day suspension for giving a confidential informant money without another detective witnesses it, then later signing the payment receipt himself as the witness;
Counselor Felicia Davis will be suspended for 40 hours for getting into a confrontation with the Perry Police Department and being arrested for disorderly conduct;
Deputy Christopher Meleen is being suspended for one hundred and four hours for running a tag through police computers , making contact with a woman who had a suspended driver's
Safety Harbor-East Lake-Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Seminole, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Pinellas Beaches, Gulfport

Clearwater woman frustrated with recycling program
Watch the story
Feb 18, 2012 at 8:57 PM

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- City of Clearwater officials say right now only 35 percent of households are recycling and they'd like to see that number increase to 60 percent. But Clearwater resident Sandra Proulx says she's frustrated because most of what she tries to recycle each week isn't...more accepted.

Proulx washes out everything with soap and water before tossing the empty containers into her recycling bin to be picked up curbside. She's done her homework too, researching through the Solid Waste and General Services Department what she can recycle, which she says isn't much.

Right now the City of Clearwater collects mixed paper, newspaper, aluminum cans, steel cans, and #1 and #2 plastic bottles.

Proulx says, "If they didn't like what was in the recycling bin, they would throw it down on the ground and put the recycling bin over it. But now they're actually taking everything and what they don't recycle they're throwing away."

She adds, "I would like to
Clearwater

Board of County Commissioners oppose USF cuts
Feb 19, 2012 at 8:33 AM

The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners voted to unanimously oppose the budget cuts proposed for the University of South Florida.
At its Feb.14 meeting, the board called on state leaders to develop a more fair and equitable approach to balancing the state’s education and overall...more budget than the 58 percent cut in USF funding that is included in the proposed Senate budget.
In a strongly worded letter to Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Mike Haridopolos and House Speaker Dean Cannon, Commission Vice-Chairman Kenneth T. Welch called the cut in funding an “indefensible punitive action, aimed at a key educational institution and economic driver in the Tampa Bay region".
“No other university in Florida is being targeted with such a disproportionate reduction in state funding,” Welch wrote. “The proposed cuts will harm the stability of USF, impact the educational advancement of thousands of USF students, and reduce per student funding to less than half that of
Safety Harbor-East Lake-Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Seminole, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Pinellas Beaches, Gulfport

Softball tournament volunteers needed
Feb 19, 2012 at 8:02 AM

CLEARWATER, Fla. -The City of Clearwater is looking for volunteers to help with the largest NCAA Division 1 Fast Pitch softball tournament series in the USA.
The tournaments will kick off with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Leadoff Classic on Feb. 24, 2012.
The USF Series...more will take place the following three weekends at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater.
• NFCA Leadoff Classic
Friday, Feb. 24 through Sunday, Feb. 26
• USF Under Armour Invitational
Friday, March 2 through Sunday, March 5
• USF Under Armour Showcase
Friday, March 9 through Sunday, March 11
• USF Tournament
Friday, March 16 through Sunday, March 18
Volunteers will receive a meal, T-shirt and free admission to all games on their day of volunteering.
To learn more about the tournaments, teams participating and schedules of games, visit www.usfseries.com.
To sign up to volunteer, visit www.myclearwater.com/parksvolunteer.
The Eddie C. Moore
Clearwater

New database floats boat of boaters
Feb 18, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Sarasota, Fla. -- Need to find a boat ramp or really see what it looks like? A new state database can help you out.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or FWC has a new feature on its website. Boaters can visit the Public Boat Ramp finder site to locate and obtain details...more on more than 3,000 public and commercially run boat ramps.
"Providing save, convenient access to Florida's waterways is one of our goals," said FWC's Pat Harrell in a release. "This database is designed to help keep boaters informed about facilities that are currently available."
To access the database click here.
Riverview-Apollo Beach-Ruskin, Palm Harbor, Seminole, Crystal River-Inverness, Dunedin, Spring Hill-Brooksville, Tarpon Springs, Saint Petersburg, Venice-North Port, Clearwater Beach, Bradenton-Anna Maria Island, Clearwater, Pinellas Beaches, Sarasota Beaches, New Port Richey-Port Richey-Hudson, Gulfport

Some county offices will be closed on Monday
Feb 18, 2012 at 1:12 PM

Some Pinellas County government offices will be closed on Monday, Feb. 20, for training.
The tax collector and supervisor of elections offices will be closed. Animal Services will also be closed, as well as the Household Electronics and Chemical Collection Center.
The Pinellas County...more Courthouse will be open, as will the offices of the property appraiser and clerk of the circuit court. The courts of the Sixth Judicial Circuit (Pinellas and Pasco) will be in session. The landfill/scalehouse will be open regular hours.
LiveChat, on www.pinellascounty.org will be open for questions. For more information on Pinellas County while mobile, create a shortcut to www.pinellascounty.org/mobile on any smartphone. Pinellas County government is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Pinellas County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Safety Harbor-East Lake-Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Seminole, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Pinellas Beaches, Gulfport

Ex-beach resident accused as beach blanket thief
Feb 18, 2012 at 8:01 AM

Clearwater Beach, Fla. -- Police have arrested a 22-year-old Anita Lucas on charges she stole items from beach blankets on the north and south beach.
"Witnesses saw the suspect attempting to conceal T-shirts and a bottle of hot sauce from the Crabby Bills gift shop at 333 S. Gulfview...more Boulevard and contacted police," according to public safety spokesperson Elizabeth Watts. "When an Officer arrived on scene and attempted to speak with the suspect she ran. After a short foot pursuit, she was taken into custody."
Police said they found in her possession items several witnesses reported had been taken from beach blankets between the 300 block of South Gulfview and the 400 block of Mandalay Avenue.
A witness later reported seeing her going through one of the bags on the beach blanket but assumed she was known to property owners, police said.
Jail records show Lucas resided at 428 East Shore on the north beach between July 2009 and last November. During that time, she
Clearwater Beach, Clearwater

Clearwater's Knology Sea-Blues Festival hosts top Blues names
Feb 17, 2012 at 12:58 PM

Clearwater, Fla. -- The Knology Clearwater Sea-Blues Festival, which takes place Saturday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 19 at Coachman Park, 301 Drew St, provides the opportunity to satisfy your seafood cravings while enjoying some of the best blues music around.

Saturday, Feb. 18's...more schedule is as follows and is subject to change:

Noon: Gates Open
12:45 p.m.: Selwyn Birchwood
2:20 p.m.: Michael Williams Band
4:05 p.m.: Rich DelGrosso/Del Toro Richardson Band
6:00 p.m.: Curtis Salgado
8:10 p.m.: Buddy Guy

Sunday, Feb. 19's schedule is as follows and is subject to change:

1 p.m.: Gates Open
1:30 p.m.: Franc Robert
2:45 p.m.: Eden Brent
4:30 p.m.: Beverly McClellan
6:00 p.m.: Ronnie Baker Brooks
7:30 p.m.: Janiva Magness

Seafood available will include jumbo shrimp, crab cakes, oysters, crawfish, gumbo and more.

General admission is
Clearwater

Sarasota plays host to Suncoast USSSA Baseball President's Cup
Watch the story
Feb 17, 2012 at 7:16 AM

Sarasota, FL -- This weekend Suncoast USSSA Baseball will play host to 44 youth travel baseball teams from Idaho, Georgia, Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Naples, Ft. Myers, Tampa, Clearwater, Plantation, Sebring, and Lakeland, who will battle against local teams from...more Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte County in the USSSA President’s Cup. This means big business for the county as 37 of the 48 teams are scheduled to stay in Sarasota hotels for this holiday weekend, several for three and four nights.
Suncoast USSSA Baseball also has partnered with the Baltimore Orioles to bring something really special to Sarasota.  For this tournament, two All-Girls 13U and 14U baseball teams will be playing against the boys in their age divisions at Ed Smith Stadium.  These two "Dream Teams" are comprised of the very best female baseball players in the United States and have players from 11 different states on their teams. 
On Saturday Feb. 18, the 14U Girls “Dream Team”
Carrollwood-Town N Country, New Tampa-Wesley Chapel, Westchase-Citrus Park, Sebring-Avon Park-Wauchula, South Tampa, Downtown Tampa-Ybor City, Sarasota, USF-Temple Terrace, Lakeland, West Tampa, Venice-North Port, Clearwater Beach, Bradenton-Anna Maria Island, Clearwater, Sarasota Beaches, The Heights, Fairgrounds-East Lake-Orient Park

New Blue Man Group show features Bay area native
Watch the story
Feb 16, 2012 at 3:29 PM

Orlando, FL - Universal Orlando's Blue Man Group will debut a new show next week featuring the first major changes to the show since it opened at the theme park in 2007.

Like the show that began playing at Universal Orlando in 2007, the new updated version remains a mix of high...more energy music and comedy with audience participation. But now the show explores the world's obsession with cutting-edge technology with the Blue Men interacting with enormous "GiPads". The show also features a few new musical instruments like the backpack tubulum.

But if you look closely you will also see a Bay area native, Anthony Parrulli.

A graduate of Countryside High School, Parrulli has been performing with Blue Man Group for 13 years. He's worked in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and for the past 4-and-a-half years Orlando.

As a drummer growing up, Parulli says acting has been the toughest challenge. He notes especially when it comes to communicating with the other
Clearwater

Pinellas Sheriff announces return of DUI checkpoints, Wolf Pack patrols
Feb 16, 2012 at 12:19 PM

Pinellas County, FL -- Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri has announced the sheriff's office will begin DUI checkpoints and Wolfpack patrols once a month starting in February.
The first DUI checkpoint is scheduled for Friday Feb. 17, from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., at 9001 US Highway 19 N (in...more front of Hudson's Furniture) in Pinellas Park.
The DUI checkpoints will be held at various locations throughout the county each month. The Wolf Pack patrols will be held on nights separate from the checkpoints and will target high traffic areas with an eye to identify and stop impaired, aggressive or reckless drivers.
At the sobriety checkpoints, Prisoner Transport, Community Policing, K-9, and Narcotics deputies will be on the lookout for alcohol and drug impaired drivers. Members of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Traffic Crash Investigators Unit and the Explorer Post 900 will also assist with non-enforcement related tasks. Deputies will also be looking for other traffic
Safety Harbor-East Lake-Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Saint Petersburg, Pinellas Park, Largo, Clearwater Beach, Clearwater, Pinellas Beaches, Gulfport

USF series features top-notch softball
Feb 16, 2012 at 9:44 AM

TAMPA -- Softball teams will be flocking to hot spots in Florida to take part in the USF Series starting in next week.
The USF softball program will be hosting four tournaments with some games played on campus and the bulk of the schedule taking place at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in...more Clearwater.
"We've done a great job with the city of Clearwater in coordinating efforts into attracting the best teams in the country and some high-profile programs," USF head coach Ken Eriksen said in a release. "It's not just the weather, Clearwater is definitely a destination spot for families to come to and watch their kids play in college."
Action begins with the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic Friday, Feb. 24 to Sunday, Feb. 26 in Clearwater. Among the teams planning to attend are Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Boston University and DePaul.
The Series continues with the USF Under Armour Invitational Friday, March 2 to Sunday, March 4 in Clearwater. Boston
USF-Temple Terrace, Clearwater