Tampa Bay area local breaking news, local news, politics, sports, and national news.
Gas prices in 2024 shouldn’t financially pinch Florida motorists as much as during the past two years, according to a company that tracks pump prices. As inflation eases and the COVID-19 pandemic fades further into the background, the Boston-based GasBuddy expects pump prices nationally to…
Read More Prices At Florida Gas Pumps Could Improve In 2024
LAKELAND, Fla. – A Lakeland woman died in a crash Thursday morning after her car veered off the road and struck a large tree. According to Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the traffic homicide unit responded to the single-vehicle crash on Commonwealth Avenue (SR 33) near…
Read More Lakeland Woman Killed In Polk City Crash Thursday
TAMPA, Fla. – Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is the perfect place for guests looking to ring in the new year with music, a spectacular fireworks display and thrill rides. Guests can still enjoy the festive activities of Christmas Town throughout the day, ride the park’s…
Read More Ring In The New Year At Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – The precautionary boil water notice issued by Hillsborough County Water Resources on Dec. 27 for the HCPUD Northwest potable water system has been lifted for most customers. The notice for the majority of the area was lifted today after testing showed…
Read More Boil Water Notice Rescinded For Majority Of Northwest Hillsborough County Customers
As the New Year approaches, it’s important to remember that celebrations should be filled with joy and happiness, not danger and harm. Unfortunately, in some parts of Florida, celebratory gunfire has become a dangerous tradition. The act of shooting guns into the air may seem…
Read More Celebratory Gunfire On New Year’s Eve In Florida Is Both Dangerous And Illegal
Florida voters would be asked to do away with a matching-funds program that has dished out more than $33 million since 2010 to statewide political candidates, under a proposal filed Thursday for the 2024 legislative session. The measure (SJR 1114), filed by Sen. Travis Hutson,…
Read More Vote Sought On Campaign Matching Funds In Florida
A Senate Republican on Thursday proposed scaling back a law that imposes a three-day waiting period on gun purchases in Florida. Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed a bill (SB 1124) that would eliminate the waiting period on purchases of rifles and shotguns, leaving it…
Read More Gun Purchase Waiting Period Targeted In Florida
Florida lawmakers during the upcoming legislative session could look to address the problem of chronic absenteeism among public-school students. Data collected by the Florida Department of Education showed that 20.9 percent of students in public schools, including students in adult education courses, missed 21 or…
Read More Florida Lawmakers Look To Curb Student Absenteeism
As Republican Erika Booth and Democrat Tom Keen campaign in a Jan. 16 special election in Central Florida’s House District 35, registered voters are almost evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters. At a Dec. 18 registration deadline, the district had 37,786 unaffiliated voters,…
Read More Registration Split In Florida House Special Election
A medical-marijuana company has gone to the 1st District Court of Appeal in a challenge to a Florida Department of Health rule that led to dramatically increased license-renewal costs for marijuana operators. Sanctuary Cannabis on Wednesday filed a notice of appealing a Nov. 29 decision…
Read More Marijuana Fee Decision Appealed In Florida