Progress Energy Trail plan entices Largo to buy nearby property

LARGO — Someday, when the 20-mile-long Progress Energy Trail is finished, it will link up with the popular Pinellas Trail to loop all the way around Pinellas County.

People on the eastern side of Pinellas will have a wide, lengthy trail to use for bicycling, the same way that westside residents use the Pinellas Trail.

With that future in mind, the city of Largo is buying a long-vacant piece of commercial property on Roosevelt Boulevard to carve out a parking area and trailhead for the Progress Energy Trail. The catch is, it's anyone's guess as to when the slowly developing trail project will eventually reach Largo. It could be many years from now....

Police report more gang activity in Largo

LARGO — The 104th Street Bloods. The 119 Boys. The Young Souljas. Latin Kings. Crips. Y-Side. Sur 13. Nation of Thugs. Asian Pride.

These are all street gangs in Largo, where police say gang activity is increasing.

Just five years ago, the Largo Police Department documented only 30 active gang members and associates in the city. These days, police say they track about 500 of them in more than 30 gangs....

Whole Foods Market confirms it will open in Clearwater's Countryside Mall

CLEARWATER — Health food grocery chain Whole Foods Market has finally confirmed that it is coming to Clearwater.

Whole Foods has signed a lease to take over the lower level of Sears in Westfield Countryside Mall — the same arrangement it has made with Sears at a few other malls around the United States.

Construction is to begin in summer, and the grocery store should open sometime next year....

New Countryside library on Clearwater officials' agenda tonight

CLEARWATER — Reacting to what residents of Clearwater's northeastern suburbs have been telling them, City Council members will likely vote tonight to build a new Countryside Library instead of renovating the existing one.

The push for a new library is on because the Countryside branch, on State Road 580, is regarded as too small and dated. It was built in 1988, before computers and the Internet were part of daily life....

U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young peeved over Clearwater dredging problems

CLEARWATER — U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young appears to be pretty peeved at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over a troublesome creek dredging project in north Clearwater that has been stalled by one problem after another.

For more than a decade, the congressman and the city of Clearwater have been pushing the corps to dredge the polluted, muck-filled Stevenson Creek estuary. Young, R-Indian Shores, says he has secured federal funding for the job twice....

Clearwater, Dunedin sue BP over losses from 2010 oil spill

When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig spilled roughly 200 million gallons of crude oil in 2010, none of it ever washed up on the shores of Pinellas County.

However, leery tourists stayed away in droves.

That has led the cities of Clearwater and Dunedin to sue the oil giant BP over tens of millions of dollars in lost tax revenues. They join other local governments such as Tampa and Hillsborough County that are also suing BP....

Clearwater backs up on $440,000 Pier 60 playground

CLEARWATER — After hearing from Clearwater Beach residents and hoteliers, Clearwater's elected leaders are holding off on ordering a nearly $440,000 new play structure for Pier 60 Park.

The elaborate concrete play structure in the shape of a giant sand castle would take the place of a row of palm trees in a grassy area just west of the Clearwater Beach Roundabout. It would be near Pier 60's existing playground, which would remain in place....

While dismantling neighborhood playgrounds, Clearwater plans a pricey one for tourist area

CLEARWATER — This city that has been dismantling playgrounds in neighborhood parks will soon install a nearly $440,000 new playground at Pier 60 Park in the heart of the Clearwater Beach tourist district.

The City Council is set to approve the project at its meeting Thursday night.

Council members also will likely vote to install a $100,000 flag plaza between Pier 60 and the Clearwater Beach Roundabout, displaying the flags of branches of the U.S. military....

Largo to consider doggy dining ordinance

LARGO — This city hasn't really made a practice of cracking down on cafes that let dogs hang out with their masters in outdoor dining areas, even though the city doesn't have a doggy dining ordinance.

"We haven't had the Largo Police Department knocking on people's doors, as long as they follow health department rules," said Vice Mayor Woody Brown.

At Brown's suggestion, Largo will soon consider making doggy dining legal. He brought up the idea at the request of the owner of the Village Inn at Walsingham and Vonn roads in southwestern Largo. The restaurant wants to allow dogs on its new patio....

Lealman man accused of killing mobile home park neighbor

LEALMAN — A 60-year-old ex-convict is accused of fatally stabbing his 75-year-old neighbor, a registered sex offender, in a Lealman mobile home park.

Sylvester Johnson was arrested Saturday night on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of William David Casey.

Casey's body was found in his home Thursday morning by a neighbor who had come to bring him food....

As doggy dining gains a Pinellas foothold, Clearwater sees permit problems

CLEARWATER — More and more places around Pinellas County are allowing restaurants to serve Fido and Rover along with their two-legged human companions. But some of the cities that allow doggy dining are having some minor issues with it.

This past week, Pinellas County decided to let diners bring their dogs to outdoor patios at restaurants in unincorporated areas. Interested restaurants can get a $215 permit, subjecting them to a series of rules in exchange for potentially bringing in more business....