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The Daystarter: Skyrocketing rents cripple hip St. Petersburg block; Tiger Woods says prescription meds behind DUI arrest; meet the finalists for St. Petersburg College president; an interview with Austin Mahone

 
Austin Mahone performs at the Y100's Jingle Ball 2016 last December in Sunrise. Read our interview with him this morning. [Getty Images for iHeart]
Austin Mahone performs at the Y100's Jingle Ball 2016 last December in Sunrise. Read our interview with him this morning. [Getty Images for iHeart]
Published May 30, 2017

Catching you up on overnight happenings, and what you need to know today.

10News WTSP

The latest 7-day forecast

10News WTSP

The latest 7-day forecast

10News WTSP

Feels-like temperatures around the Tampa Bay area

10News WTSP

Feels-like temperatures around the Tampa Bay area

• Another hot and muggy day on tap today, according to 10Weather WTSP. Highs should be in the low 90s, but the humidity will make it feel stickier. A "cool" front may pass through later in the week, bringing a chance of rain.

• As you head out for your morning commute, check out our live blog for the latest traffic updates and road conditions across Tampa Bay.

• In the past decade, the once-blighted 600 block of St. Petersburg has gone from punk shows to $12 martinis. Read here what changed things so dramatically and why the outsiders who helped build it are leaving.

• Tiger Woods said an "unexpected reaction" to prescription medicine — not alcohol — was the reason for his DUI arrest on Monday. "I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved," he said.

• Gen. Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian strongman and onetime American ally who was toppled from power in a 1989 U.S. invasion and who spent more than two decades imprisoned on drug dealing and conspiracy convictions, died late Monday. He was most likely 83.

• The search for a president of St. Petersburg College is down to five finalists. Read higher education reporter Claire McNeill's thumbnails on each candidate and how they were received during recent tours of the college's campuses.

• The Pinellas County school district tried something new this year to keep students who are given out-of-school suspensions from falling behind in school. But just 135 students participated out of almost 4,000 suspended students. Colleen Wright explains how the new Pinellas program works and how the district plans to educate administrators and parents about it.

• School district leaders are talking tough as Gov. Rick Scott decides whether to sign a sweeping bill on education. They're cautioning against giving too much money and power to charter schools, which operate independently despite getting state funding. They're expressing indignation on social media that the Legislature would starve public schools in the name of choice. The reality, however, is more nuanced in Hillsborough County, where charter schools are becoming an integral part of the education landscape, approaching 9 percent of all students. Marlene Sokol has the details.

• A motorcyclist was killed early Tuesday morning when he left the roadway and possibly struck a parked vehicle in Pinellas Park. The crash has closed 110th Avenue N in both directions, between 56th Lane and 58th Street, according to Pinellas Park police.

• Members and friends of West Tampa Memorial American Legion Post 248 bade their 66-year-old clubhouse on Jamaica Street a tearful farewell two years ago. In the heyday of the 1950s, members and their families gathered there every Sunday for spaghetti dinners. They packed the place for weddings, dances and birthday parties and drew 150 people for bingo twice a week. Now its members have new hope, Paul Guzzo writes.

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• After months of speculation, Florida Gator fans could finally get some clarity this week on the graduate transfer quarterback Malik Zaire. Maybe as soon as today, when the SEC spring meetings begin in Destin. Beat writer Matt Baker catches you up on Zaire, formerly a Notre Dame QB.

• RHP Jose De Leon worked 2 2/3 innings to get the win in his Rays debut Monday against the Rangers and then was optioned back to Triple-A Durham. De Leon was brought up to provide length and depth in the bullpen after the Rays played 15 innings on Sunday, and he did that, allowing three runs on four hits while throwing 69 pitches. The Rays won 10-8 after coming back twice from two-run deficits.

• Check out what we found when we sipped along on the St. Pete Coffee Tours , a new business that offers a glimpse into the growing world of local craft coffee.

• Before his show in St. Petersburg on Thursday, we talked to Austin Mahone, the former teen star who was hailed as the second coming of Justin Bieber. Read our interview on the Soundcheck music blog later this morning, where he talks about career advice, turning 21 and his rabid fans, dubbed the Mahomies.

• Here are the top things to do today in Tampa Bay including Broadway's Finding Neverland at the Straz Center and both the metal outfit Wolvhammer and hardcore quartet Hail the Sun playing in Ybor City at different clubs.