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TAMPA — Firefighters were met by heavy smoke as they rushed to douse flames pouring out of a N Armenia Avenue restaurant Saturday afternoon, Tampa Fire Rescue said.
The staff and customers had already evacuated Pollos Pucalor at 7212 N Armenia Ave. when fire crews arrived at 2:08 p.m., a Fire Rescue release said.
VALRICO — A 14-year-old boy was taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning Friday night after his uncle gave him grain alcohol, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
The uncle, Tyrone Hamilton Oliver, 38, of Valrico, was charged with assault and two counts of child abuse. This is what the Sheriff's Office says happened:
Deputies are asking for help finding a man who tried to rob a Tampa deli and threatened to shoot an employee if she didn't cooperate.
On Oct. 27 at 12:34 a.m., a man entered Joe's New York Deli and Catering at 3939 U.S. 301 N in Tampa and demanded money, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported. He threatened a female worker, but ran out without getting any money when a customer arrived.
TAMPA — The good news: Hillsborough County has learned that an insurance policy it holds will cover its legal expenses from Commissioner Kevin White's sexual discrimination trial.
The bad news: The policy has what amounts to a $350,000 deductible. And it doesn't cover $75,000 in damages awarded to the former aide who sued White.
TAMPA — The Chinese government bears ultimate responsibility for the houses built with Chinese drywall that corrodes copper piping and other metals, Sen. Bill Nelson said Friday.
The corrosion, caused by chemicals found in the drywall, can destroy air-conditioning systems, bathroom fixtures and appliances.
Tampa's One Source Landscape and & Golf Services will cut 253 jobs by the end of the year, according to a state-required Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing on Friday.
The business at 3605 Bougainvillea Avenue provides landscaping and grounds maintenance at Busch Gardens.
As expected, Lazydays RV Center in Seffner followed through on Friday on its plan to file voluntarily for bankruptcy under a prepackaged Chapter 11 reorganization. Lazydays CEO John Horton in a statement said the filing has the "full support" of lenders and bondholders. "We expect to move through the process quickly and emerge a stronger company by year end – all without disruption to our business or to our customers," he said. Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the plan is expected to eliminate all of the company's $137 million of bond debt, reducing its annual cash interest costs by about $16.2 million through the elimination of bond interest payments. "This is a process that will help Lazydays weather the present economic storm," Horton said, adding the financial restructuring will not affect business operations, customers or employees. Lazydays, founded in 1976 by Don Wallace, is the nation's largest singe site RV dealership.
TAMPA — A mentally ill Vietnam veteran was sentenced Friday to five years of probation for making repeated threats to kill his Veterans Affairs financial guardian and blow up the agency's office building.
Ronald Franklin Barnes, 59, of Wildwood had already spent close to 15 months in custody following his arrest. He pleaded guilty in August to making the threats, and U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich granted a defense motion to vary from the sentencing range of 15 to 21 months based on the amount of time Barnes has already served.
TAMPA — Immigration officials won't appeal the ruling of a judge who refused to deport University of South Florida student Youssef Megahed on terrorism charges.
"After carefully reviewing and evaluating the decision made by an immigration judge to terminate Megahed's removal proceedings, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has decided to not appeal the judge's decision," ICE said in a statement released through spokeswoman Nicole Navas. "The ICE case is closed."
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