Last Top Stories: Talks of Tampa to St. Pete ferry move forward

• Talks of Tampa to St. Pete ferry move forward

  

  Talks of Tampa to St. Pete ferry move forwardTAMPA (FOX 13)- Interest in the idea of a high-speed ferry from St. Petersburg to Tampa is picking up political momentum.Tampa's Mayor, Bob Buckhorn told reporters Wednesday, he was willing to entertain the idea after a preliminary discussion with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman on the topic.Buckhorn said he will take "a couple of weeks" to talk to community leaders and study the numbers.Wednesday, Kriseman addressed Hillsborough County commissione..

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• RI prep school scandal has ties to Tampa Prep

  

  RI prep school scandal has ties to Tampa PrepTAMPA (FOX 13)- A choir director who was fired from a prep school in Rhode Island for sexual misconduct with students, went on to teach at Tampa Prep for more than a decade.Attorneys for victims of students at St. George’s School say Franklin Coleman is accused of fondling students, “grooming” them by providing alcohol and companionship before abusing them. He was fired from the school in 1988 and began working at Tampa Prep in 1997.Kevin Plummer, hea..

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• FDOT buys land for future transportation hub in Tampa's busy West ...

  

  TAMPA — A transportation hub for rail and buses could one day rise in the West Shore area where Charley's Steakhouse and the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Airport currently stand.The Florida Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it recently closed on the steak house and hotel property. The agency paid $45 million for the nearly 9 acres. But it will be at least two years before any construction begins.The FDOT has been pining for the property for several years, but was forced to back o..

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• FDOT buys key piece of Tampa land for transportation hub

  

  TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Anyone who has driven along I-275 in Tampa has probably seen Charley’s Steakhouse and the DoubleTree Hotel near the West Shore Boulevard exit. But the prime piece of property where they’re located will eventually be the home to a unique, state-of-the-art transportation hub.“The Bay area continues to grow rapidly. The West Shore Business District is really a hopping place. It is really a gateway to Tampa, so it is a really great location,” Kris Carson with the Florida Departm..

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• Downtown Tampa Hilton evacuated due to fire in electrical room

  

  Jane Borak, 68, and her husband Saul, 73, have spent many vacations in Tampa, but this was the first time an electrical fire interrupted their plans. The couple traveled from their home in New York City to Florida and were staying at their son’s house on Miami Beach before driving up to Tampa. On Tuesday morning, they were inside their 16th-floor room at the Hilton Tampa Downtown hotel when fire alarms went off and hotel employees began evacuating guest..

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• Lightning asking price for Drouin 'really high'

  

  If the Lightning does decide to trade wing Jonathan Drouin, there's apparently no shortage of potential takers.Interest has been high in Drouin, 20, the former No. 3 overall pick in 2013, whose November trade request - made public Sunday - has been the talk of the hockey world.The Rangers are reportedly "in big-time on this," according to theNew York Post,which suggests offensively-inclined defenseman Keith Yandle, a pending UFA, as a potential piece. Canucks GM Jim Benning told TSN in Vancouver..

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• David Cross coming to the Straz Center in Tampa

  

  Slowly but surely, one by one, we're ticking off names on our list of big-time comedians who never seem to come to Tampa Bay.Aziz Ansari. Patton Oswalt. Chris Hardwick. Kyle Kinane. Tig Notaro.Here's another biggie:David Cross.The alt-comedy forebear and co-creator of the revered sketch comedy seriesMr. Show with Bob and David-- not to mention an accomplished writer, stand-up, actor and director in his own right -- is finally coming to Tampa, with a performance at the Straz Center in Tampa on Ap..

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• Tampa father charged with murder of 2-month-old son

  

  Kent Johnson Sr., Hillsborough County Jail booking photoRelated CoverageHILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA)– A Tampa man is charged with the murder of his 2-month-old son, who suffered a skull fracture and other injuries.Kent Hawkins Johnson Jr., age 2 months, was pronounced dead while receiving medical care in a local hospital on New Year’s Eve.Kent Hawkins Johnson Sr., 23, was charged with first-degree felony murder and aggravated child neglect in connection with his son’s death.Investigators wit..

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• Graduation rates are up, but Florida and Tampa Bay area schools ...

  

  Graduation rates rose in Florida for the ninth straight year, and most school districts in the Tampa Bay area saw increases as well, according to data released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Education.But the state continues to lag nationally, and the area's two largest school districts have some catching up to do. Hillsborough's rate, 76 percent, was the lowest among Florida's seven largest counties. And Hillsborough and Pinellas ranked last and next-to-last, respectively, among those cou..

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• Tampa foundation springs to action upon hearing of wounded, fallen ...

  The death of one commando and the wounding of two others in a firefight in Afghanistan is a stark reminder of how dangerous that country remains and why organizations like the Tampa-based Special Operations Warrior Foundation are still needed. The casualties took place as U.S. commandos were on a mission to train, advise and assist their Afghan special operations counterparts in that country’s restive Helmand province, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters..

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