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Top 5 at noon: For Florida officials, it's always Hammer time; St. Pete says couple can't park on its new $15,000 driveway; and more

 
Marion Hammer's singular power over lawmakers, especially Republicans, is the stuff of Tallahassee legend. [Times files (1998)]
Marion Hammer's singular power over lawmakers, especially Republicans, is the stuff of Tallahassee legend. [Times files (1998)]
Published Sept. 21, 2018

Here are the latest headlines and updates on tampabay.com:

NRA SWAY: FOR FLORIDA OFFICIALS, IT'S ALWAYS HAMMER TIME

Those who work in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services never know when National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer will command their attention — or what about. Hammer's singular power over lawmakers, especially Republicans, is the stuff of Tallahassee legend. Yet according to a Tampa Bay Times review of hundreds of Hammer's emails with the state's Department of Agriculture, her sphere of influence stretches far beyond gun legislation. Emails from 2014 to 2017 show the lobbyist involves herself in a wide array of day-to-day tasks of an agency that was accused five years ago in a lawsuit of being run by the NRA.

ST. PETE SAYS COUPLE CAN'T PARK ON ITS NEW $15,000 DRIVEWAY

One day in January, Dana Cremo was on her front porch hanging a vintage screen door when two city employees walked up. "You can't park on your driveway," they said. "Why?" she asked. "Because somebody filed a complaint," they said. Five days later, an investigator notified Dana and her husband, Larry, that they had violated city codes by adding a driveway to their home in the city's Historic Old Northeast. They were cited even though city officials had approved their plans four different times.

JOHN JONCHUCK WILL GO TO TRIAL SOON, BUT FIRST LAWYERS WILL FIGHT OVER EXPERT WITNESS

John Jonchuck's lawyers are expected to argue he was insane when he threw his 5-year-old daughter, Phoebe, off the Dick Misener Bridge in January 2015. Psychiatrist Emily Lazarou is one of two doctors expected to testify that the young father was not legally insane at the time. She has testified in prominent murder trials before, records show, reaching similar conclusions that benefit the state. Now, attorneys for both sides are set up for a clash on a new legal front: Are Jonchuck's lawyers making a desperate last-second heave, or did prosecutors spend thousands of dollars on junk science?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD BE COMING FOR YOUR JOB

You likely have heard how artificial intelligence is changing the world, from smart phones that keep getting smarter to all the experimenting with driverless vehicles. The rapidly improving technology has also begun replacing workers, especially anyone who performs routine tasks. By some accounts, artificial intelligence could impact half the jobs in the country over the next 25 years. It's being called the next industrial revolution.

CLEARWATER'S REAL-LIFE SUPER HERO IS HANGING UP HIS SUIT

For two decades, Dale Pople patrolled the streets feeding the homeless, helping old people carry groceries, extinguishing a car fire. He wore a red, yellow and blue Spandex outfit with an SH emblem: "Super Hero." Now, Clearwater's real life superhero has retired. But don't say he hung up the cape. In the real world, capes aren't practical. He learned that detail weeks into his superhero career. "It'll get caught in the toilet" said Pople.

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