For most of his life, 17-year-old Lorenzo longed to be adopted. The Boca Ciega High School senior, a foster child for nearly 13 years, held on to one wish: to have a parent in the audience cheering for him when he graduated from high school. Though Lorenzo's portrait was of the first featured on the Heart Gallery when it launched in 2006, Lorenzo could not find a family to adopt him. That is until last April when Carolyn Newson, a St. Petersburg mother of four, on her way to a restaurant, happened upon Lorenzo taping a TV promotion for adoption in a barber shop next door. With one look, the grieving Newson was sure it was a sign. A couple of months before, Newson's niece, Malayshia Gamble, 15, was murdered, left for dead in a vacant lot not far from her home. "In Lorenzo, God has given us inspiration to go on," said Newson. "One child has been taken from us, why not give this child a chance?" Lorenzo’s adoption was finalized Wednesday, four days before his 18th birthday. Above, Lorenzo’s case manager Sheryl Allen-Golden applauds while mother and son embrace as the adoption is sealed by Judge Raymond Gross in the Pinellas County Criminal Court Complex. "It shouldn't take this long for dreams to come true," Gross said to Lorenzo during the hearing. About 100 teens age out of foster care in Pinellas and Pasco Counties each year without finding families. Eckerd Community Alternatives, the lead agency for community based child welfare services in Pinellas and Pasco counties, finalized 321 foster kids last year, a record-breaking number. Approximately 120 foster kids in Pinellas & Pasco counties are currently available for adoption. For more information on adoption call Eckerd’s Foster & Adoption Recruitment Line at 1-866-233-0790. To see local foster kids available for adoption visit www.heartgallerykids.org [CHERIE DIEZ, Times] ... Read more

Winter has been cold this year, especially from a Florida plant's point of view. Photographer Jim Damaske sought out the effects of the freeze, and discovered a sculptural beauty among the damage that we Floridians rarely see here. [JIM DAMASKE, Times] SEE MORE PHOTOS OF WINTER FREEZE PLANT DAMAGE ... Read more

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The Jose Gasparilla heads down Seddon Channel toward the city of Tampa. [SKIP O'ROURKE, Times] ... Read more

Juliana Hornsby, 2, runs through the Children's Mist Fountain during the grand opening of the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in downtown Tampa on Sunday afternoon. It's also the newest segment of the Tampa Riverwalk. The multi-colored building in the background is the Children's Museum. [WILLIE J. ALLEN JR., Times] ... Read more

It may look like snow, but that's fire-retardant foam that Juan Gonzalez is cleaning up on 5th Ave. S. in St. Petersburg in front of All Children's Hospital Friday morning. The foam came from testing the system that is designed to put out a fire on the roof's helipad in the event of a fire or fuel spill, according to the hospital's safety director Larry Green. "This is a sophisticated system with jets that cover the helipad in a 2-minute time frame," said Green. The non-hazardous, water-based foam was cleaned up by crews throughout the course of the morning. It will be the last time the system is tested, said Green. Last month a similar test sent foam floating through downtown St. Petersburg, prompting phone calls to the fire department from the curious. [LARA CERRI Times] ... Read more