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TAMPA, Florida — An inmate who was released from jail due to fears of coeronavirus spread has been re-arrested on a murder charge. Deputies say 26-year-old Joseph Edwards Williams commited second-degree murder the day after he was released. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says Williams fatally shot a man near 81st Street South and Ash Avenue just hours into his freedom. He was previously arrested for possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia. More than 150 inmates have been released in Hillsborough County. “There is no question Joseph Williams took advantage of this health emergency to commit crimes while...

Pinellas County’s world-famous beaches have been nearly empty for three weeks, but that could change on Thursday. During an emergency meeting Monday for the Pinellas County Commission to extend emergency orders, a majority of the seven commissioners said they want information for a Thursday meeting so they can consider opening private pools at condominiums and parts of the county’s beaches for exercise and recreation. One such scenario could allow residents to use the shoreline for walking and jogging, but not allow crowds to congregate in beach chairs or under canopies. Another could allow private condominium pools to open, but would...

While I initially wasn’t sure how this could work in terms of actual prosecutions, arrests of people who violate shelter in place orders or bans on larger gatherings have been taking place. It started with hosts of parties in New Jersey and Maryland being hauled in by the cops over the weekend. Yesterday we received a bit of foreshadowing that houses of worship were under scrutiny when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened to start shutting down churches and synagogues, perhaps permanently. And now, in Florida, we’ve seen what may be the clearest sign of these dystopian...

Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne, pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church, was arrested at his home today by Hernando County Sheriff Deputies for holding a church service yesterday. The church is located in Hillsborough County, Florida. Hillsborough County has issued administrative orders addressing meetings and social distancing, which will be addressed below. Pastor Howard-Browne and his wife founded the church in 1996. He also heads Revival Ministries International. He was born in South Africa and has resided in Tampa, Florida since the mid-1990s. Liberty Counsel has agreed to represent Pastor Howard-Browne, who was taken into custody today. As the arrest...

ST. PETERSBURG — As she arrived to speak at the region’s first ever resilience leadership summit, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor came upon a hotel parking lot packed with cars. Hundreds of people from local governments, universities and scientific consulting firms had shown up Tuesday. Valets at the Hilton in Carillon Park double-parked vehicles, choking the entry. The scene summarized the day: a symbol both of the growing interest in climate change in Tampa Bay and the enormous hurdles officials face as they aim to curb emissions (from cars, for instance) contributing to rising seas. **SNIP** Among the first speakers was...

The Hillsborough County school district said Wednesday that geophysical technicians found “clear evidence” of burials at the Clarence Leon King High School campus. School officials believe the caskets are part of Ridgewood Cemetery, a historic paupers’ burial ground from the early 1940s that was owned by the city, according to the Florida Genealogical Society. King High School opened in 1960, according to the school’s website. Tanya Arja, a spokeswoman with the school district, said officials began investigating last month after a person told a school board member of the possible location of the cemetery. For nearly two weeks, technicians hired...

TAMPA — The city of Tampa isn’t ready to give up trying to outlaw so-called conversion therapy, a controversial and discredited treatment promoted by some religious groups as a way to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. City attorneys on Friday filed a notice of appeal in federal court, a first step toward asking an appellate court to overturn a U.S. district judge’s decision on Oct. 4 to strike down a citywide ban of the practice.

A Tampa city ordinance banning counseling for minors with unwanted same-sex attraction and gender confusion has been overturned in federal court. In a Friday ruling from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Judge William F. Jung issued an order granting summary judgment to Christian legal group Liberty Counsel in its lawsuit to invalidate an ordinance in the city of Tampa that prohibited voluntary talk therapy for minors experiencing unwanted sexual feelings and attractions and gender identity confusion. The group represented Robert Vazzo, a marriage and family therapist, and New Hearts Outreach Tampa Bay, a Christian...

A federal judge has torpedoed the city of Tampa’s attempt to block licensed counselors from helping patients overcome unwanted same-sex attractions. Similar laws have been defeated in other jurisdictions. In Tampa, U.S. District Judge William Jung granted summary judgment to Liberty Counsel in its lawsuit against Tampa’s ordinance prohibiting “licensed counselors from providing voluntary talk therapy to minors seeking help to reduce or eliminate their unwanted same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity.” The ruling, which permanently strikes the ordinance, was based on the fact that cities don’t have the authority to regulate health care.

A former Trump campaign aide who claimed she was “forcibly kissed” by Donald Trump during his presidential bid has dropped her lawsuit over the episode. Alva Johnson is also dropping another part of her suit that alleged the Trump campaign underpaid women and minority employees. Johnson’s suit grabbed headlines over her assertion that Trump abruptly kissed her as he was getting ready to make a public appearance at a campaign rally in Tampa, Fla., in August 2016. However, the outlook for the legal challenge dimmed in July when lawyers for Trump filed with the court and released publicly a video...

Residents at a Tampa apartment complex are being forced to move after a shocking discovery. “This grassy area has the bulk of remains,” said Connie Burton, who lived at the Robles Park Village on Florida Avenue for about 20 years. In that grassy area, an archaeologist used a radar to discover more than 120 possible coffins. The Tampa Bay Times linked the forgotten 1900s Zion cemetery, likely the first in Tampa for African American, to this current-day public housing complex. The report prompted the housing authority to investigate. “As a child, we had heard that this used to be a...

A man has been arrested in Florida over allegations he was planning to kill elementary schoolchildren because their school is painted to look like an American flag.Authorities say 22-year-old Andrew Ivan Aman was plotting to stab "as many children as possible" at Bellamy Elementary School in Tampa, Florida.The suspect reportedly told police that he has a dislike for the United States and its citizens' "obnoxious pride in America."

Last January, Lauren Barnathan, 31, didn’t realize what was happening when she tried to roll over in bed but couldn’t because her left side was limp. The Tampa, Florida, resident had always been fit and active, so the tell-tale signs she was experiencing didn’t add up in her mind for someone her age. As soon as her then-fiancé flipped on the bedside light, however, he knew exactly what was happening: Lauren was having a stroke. Adam Barnathan, 32, an emergency medicine doctor, recognized the facial droop, inability to use one side of her body, and slurred speech that he often...

Transportation leaders will study an idea to tear down and replace a portion of Interstate 275 from the downtown area to the USF area. The Metropolitan Planning Organization voted unanimously on Wednesday to move forward with a study on the concept. Despite moving forward with the study, the MPO said there are a lot of questions and it could take decades to do a feasibility study. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Nonprofit names I-275 among top 10 U.S. highways that should be torn down "Looking at the longer-range future, the MPO will start by getting answers to questions such as: is the cut-and-cover...

Former police Chief Jane Castor was elected mayor of Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, becoming the first out lesbian mayor of a major city in the state. Castor said that her win “sends a resounding message to our community — no, it sends a resounding message to the nation, that Tampa celebrates its diversity and lifts everyone... [An activist] 2019 the “Year of the Lesbian Mayor” because the number of lesbians elected mayor of a big city rose from two to seven, and could end up at eight later this year if Jolie Justus is elected mayor of Kansas City. According...

The Florida House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would require former felons to pay all court fees and costs in addition to restitution before becoming eligible to vote. The measure passed 71-45, with the vote along party lines. The proposal's main sponsor, state Rep. James Grant, R-Tampa, argued that the bill -- which would not restore voting rights to those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses -- helps clarify a referendum on the issue that voters approved in November. He stressed that requiring ex-felons to pay the debts was not unconstitutional and not discriminatory, the Tallahassee...

When visiting Khurrum Wahid’s Facebook page, you see photos of what appears to be a clean-cut politician attending different events, posing with important politicos, standing with young people, and smiling broadly for the camera. Wahid is running for the position of City Commissioner of Coral Springs, Florida, and his Facebook page has been manufactured to show the perfect candidate for the public’s view. What is hidden behind this façade, though, is Wahid’s history – and present – of his involvement in radical Islam. It is this other side of Wahid that the voters need to recognize, so that they do...

RUSH: Bob McNair, the owner of the Houston Texans, passed away on Friday, I believe. I only met him one time on the golf course. I didn’t know him at all. He had been battling melanoma and I think leukemia for 20 years. Two or three years ago they thought that he had gone into remission and was cancer free. But he succumbed to the disease. He was 81. He was a genuinely self-made guy. He was born in Tampa and arrived in Houston with 700 bucks in his pocket. This is a true story. He got to Houston during...

The narratives of the midterm elections were set when suburban voters turned against President Trump, women racked up record numbers of electoral wins and Republicans dominated rural states and counties. But dive deeper into the results and some more surprising storylines emerge, from familial ties to long shot candidates, expanding suburbs and new battlegrounds. Here are the overlooked stories that didn’t get enough coverage after the polls closed. Did Puerto Ricans elect Rick Scott? When Hurricane Maria left Puerto Rico devastated in 2017, almost 400,000 of the island’s residents moved to the mainland. Many of them landed in Florida, where...

With Veterans Day around the corner and 71 percent of VA medical centers recently demonstrating increases in quality in the past year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best & Worst Places for Veterans to Live as well as accompanying videos. The report compares the 100 largest U.S. cities across 18 key metrics, ranging from share of military skill-related jobs to housing affordability to availability of VA health facilities. Best Cities for Veterans 1. Austin, TX 2. Scottsdale, AZ 3. Colorado Springs, CO 4. Raleigh, NC 5. Gilbert, AZ 6. Plano, TX 7. Virginia Beach, VA...