Tampa News

Lightning strikes in Toronto as Leafs drop third straight Special By Dave Pitman Toronto - The window of opportunity grows smaller with each passing game for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they let another Atlantic Division rival take valuable points away, falling 5-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Kadri, Bernier steal Lightning's Thunder as Leafs beat Tampa Bay Special By Dave Pitman Toronto - Returning home from a four-game road trip full of highs and lows, the Maple Leafs bounced back Tuesday night as they snapped the Tampa Bay Lightning's modest three-game win streak at the Air Canada Centre.

State tests delayed after squirrel knocks out power to schools By Leigh Goessl Tampa - Students in three Florida schools got a brief reprieve from taking scheduled state tests after a squirrel knocked out power. In addition, hundreds of other customers in the vicinity lost electricity for a period of time.

Op-Ed: Housing market recovery is underway — Fact or fiction? Special By Jared Diamond Tampa - Are we to believe signals that the housing market is recovering? Are housing markets truly poised to recover in 2013? Or is all the talk nothing more than fiction?

Casey Anthony to court: 'I'm living free off others' kindness' By Yukio Strachan Tampa - Appearing at a federal bankruptcy hearing in Tampa on Monday, Casey Anthony told creditors that she's broke, doesn’t have a job or a car, saying: "I guess you could say I'm living free off the kindness of others."

TopFinds: Romney-Ryan debut in Tampa, grandma fights for dolphins By David Silverberg At the Republican National Convention, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan speak out against President Obama. An activist grandmother devotes her life to dolphin rights. Green tea can help smokers quit. These are the top stories on Digital Journal.

Isaac upgraded to Category 1 hurricane, to hit Louisiana tonight By David Silverberg Reaching wind speeds of 75 mph, the storm Isaac is now a Category 1 hurricane and is moving northwest toward the mouth of the Mississippi River. It's expected to make landfall along the Louisiana coast tonight.

Amorous man calls 911 to request deputy for sex By Greta McClain Dover - A Dover, FL man kept Hillsborough County Sheriff's dispatchers busy last week, repeatedly calling 911 and asking dispatchers to send female deputies so he could have sex.

Hurricane Isaac may hit Tampa Bay Republican National Convention By Melissa Horrocks Tampa - Hurricane Isaac, a tropical storm, is due to hit southeast of Puerto Rico and Florida next week. If it does hit Tampa Bay, then the effects could be devastating.

Op-Ed: Forget tax hikes and stop tax fraud By John David Powell Woo hoo, Boo Boo! Houston just made another Top 5 list! Okay, maybe we should say “boo hoo” instead, because it's the list of US cities most likely to have big-time identity thieves stealing billions of dollars by filing fraudulent tax returns.

Tampa area strip clubs prepare for 2012 Republican convention By R. Francis Rubio Tampa - Tampa's Adult Entertainment Industry has been in over-drive these past few months making ready to cash in when the Grand Old Party comes to town.

Florida prepares for GOP convention and hurricane season By R. Francis Rubio Tampa - Florida officials, along with emergency experts, held a hurricane practice drill Wednesday in the event of a major hurricane hitting the Tampa Bay area during the Republican National Convention this summer.

Ron Paul qualifies to put name on ballot at August's RNC in Tampa By Andrew Moran Tampa - Texas Congressman Ron Paul has qualified to have his name on the ballot at the Republican National Convention in August, Fox News has confirmed. The three-time presidential candidate will be Mitt Romney's sole rival in Tampa.

Op-Ed: Tampa Bay, where roses bloom all year By Larry Clifton Now and then we really should stop and smell the roses. Fortunately, the Tampa Bay area has lots of roses, many that bloom year round.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signs $70 billion budget By Larry Clifton Tuesday, Governor Rick Scott stood before a chalkboard at Cunningham Creek Elementary School (Jacksonville) and announced that the state's 2012 budget contains over $1 billion more in education spending than last year’s budget.

Op-Ed: What happened to Tampa's local celebrities? By Larry Clifton Tampa - If you went to high school in in the late 1960s Tampa social networking on a typical Saturday night might have meant nonchalantly “cruising” 10-plus laps around Frisch’s Big Boy Drive-In.

Op-Ed: Tampa makes $100 million pitch to steal Rays By Larry Clifton Sustained double-digit unemployment, thousands of residential foreclosures, ever-rising food prices and the increasing prospect of a double-dip recession have taxpayers worried.

Bulgarian students find hidden cameras in their Tampa apartment By Christopher Bates Tampa - In a shocking development in Tampa, Florida, two Bulgarian students found hidden cameras planted in every room of their rented apartment.

Bruins edge Lighting, headed to Stanley Cup Final against Canucks By Tyler Hunt Nathan Horton scored the lone goal and Tim Thomas made 24 saves as the Boston Bruins shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. The Bruins will now play the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final.

NHL: Thomas makes 33 saves in Bruins win over Lightning in Game 5 By Tyler Hunt Tim Thomas stopped 33 of 34 shots, and Brad Marchand scored the winner as the Boston Bruins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 3-1 last night, taking a 3-2 lead in the best of seven series.

NHL: Bruins host Lightning in pivotal Game 5 in the East Finals By Tyler Hunt The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning meet tonight at TD Garden for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The series will take an interesting turn tonight as one team will find themselves a win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

NHL: Lighting score five to complete comeback against Bruins By Tyler Hunt Teddy Purcell scored twice and Simon Gagne added a goal and two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Boston Bruins and even the best of seven series at two games apiece.

NHL: Lightning set to host Bruins for Game 3 By Tyler Hunt The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Boston Bruins tonight in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, looking to take back the lead after the Bruins tied the series at 1-1 in Boston.

Man stabbed because he is Muslim By KJ Mullins Tampa - A Tampa man is recovering after being stabbed Friday night. The reason the suspect gave according to police is that the victim is Muslim.

Woman crashes into her insurance's building in Tampa By KJ Mullins Tampa - A Tampa woman won't be able to fudge on her claim form after a recent accident. The woman slammed into a building that houses Adrian Fernandez Insurance, the same one she is a member of.

Hate church plan to picket funeral of slain Tampa children By KJ Mullins Tampa - Westboro Baptist Church has released a press release on picketing the funeral of Beau and Calyx Schenecker. The two teens were allegedly slain in Tampa by their mother last week.

Facebook an info goldmine for divorce attorneys, debt collectors By Kim I. Hartman Tampa - A Florida woman has filed suit alleging the company that financed her car loan shifted it's collection approach from being relentless and rude to harassing family members over the social networking website Facebook.

Exotic cats at Tampa's Big Cat Rescue enjoy Halloween pumpkins Special By Laura Trowbridge Tampa - Children, as well as many of us adults, love the fun of Halloween and all the traditions that go along with celebrating the holiday. Carving pumpkins and eating them is something the big cats from a Florida sanctuary share in common with us.

Sopranos' star arrested in Florida on a DUI charge By Kim I. Hartman Tampa - Driving under the influence has another Hollywood star in the spotlight this week. Joseph Gannascoli, who played a gay mafia character on the Sopranos' was allegedly drinking and driving when he was stopped by police officers in Tampa Florida.

Endangered Lemurs born in Florida By Kim I. Hartman Tampa - Busch Gardens is celebrating the birth of two baby lemurs. The births, the first at the park, were greeted with much excitement. The lemur's survival is threatened in their native habitat of Madagascar and are listed as an endangered species.

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