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Top 5 at noon: Rowdies will stay in St. Pete for 'at least five years' under deal with Rays; for a limited time, significant deals available to travelers on Southwest Airlines; and more

Sunset at a Rowdies game earlier this season at Al Lang Stadium. [CHRIS URSO | Times]
Sunset at a Rowdies game earlier this season at Al Lang Stadium. [CHRIS URSO | Times]
Published Oct. 2, 2018

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

ROWDIES WILL STAY IN ST. PETE 'FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS' UNDER DEAL WITH RAYS

Tampa Bay's baseball team will soon be the proud owner of Tampa Bay's soccer team. In a Tuesday morning press conference at the Mahaffey Theater, Bill Edwards announced the sale of the Rowdies to the Rays after five years of ownership. "I wanted to keep it local," Edwards said. "I wanted to keep it in town. I've heard a lot of stories about this, but this is a great situation for the city of St. Petersburg. I've done the things I'm supposed to do. Mission accomplished, and I'm out." Edwards said the current agreement stipulates that only the Rowdies can play at Al Lang for the duration of the current contract, which runs through Nov. 30, 2020. He also said his agreement with the Rays has a clause that the Rowdies play at Al Lang for at least the next five years.

GILLUM OR GILLIUM? SOME CONFUSE FLORIDA GOVERNOR CANDIDATE'S NAME

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum catapulted to statewide and national fame after his upset win in the primary a little over a month ago — but despite the new name recognition, some people have struggled to spell the candidate's last name correctly. The now Democratic nominee for governor has been busy crisscrossing the state since his primary win, and recent polls show him slightly ahead of Republican candidate Ron DeSantis. In Gillum's case, the occasional voters (and even some canvassers) have still tried to drop in an extra "i" in his last name instead and say or write "Gillium." They're not the only ones who've mixed up the mayor's name, apparently.

PREVIEWING THE FIRST RICK SCOTT-BILL NELSON TV DEBATE

After months of battling across the airwaves in paid 30-second ads, Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Bill Nelson will meet face-to-face Tuesday in a TV studio in South Florida in Florida's battle for the U.S. Senate. The RealClear Politics polling average of the seven most recent surveys in the race shows a statistical tie, with Nelson at 46.1 percent and Scott at 45 percent. The first of their two scheduled debates will originate from the studio of Telemundo 51 in Miramar, midway between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The last time Nelson debated an opponent on television was in his 2012 re-election race against then-Rep. Connie Mack IV. Scott held three debates in 2014 against Democratic rival Charlie Crist.

SEAN SHAW TARGETED ON WEBSITE, TWITTER AS SOFT ON CRIME

The Republican Attorneys General Association has created a website and apparently also a Twitter account aimed at portraying Sean Shaw, Democratic candidate for attorney general, as soft on crime. But the Twitter account, with the handle @SeanShawFlorida and account name realseanshaw, appears to violate Twitter's rules on impersonation. The website, realseanshaw.com, contends Shaw is "Soft on crime – not a friend of law enforcement." The website says it was posted by a political committee, "A Safer Florida," whose phone number and address are those of the RAGA. The Twitter account carries no disclaimer, but links to the website.

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SOUTHWEST OFFERING $79 FARES FOR THREE DAYS, INCLUDING TO AND FROM TIA

For the next two days, travelers can take advantage of some significant deals on Southwest Airlines. The airline is offering one-way fares for as low as $79 nationwide, including to and from Tampa International Airport. Among the destinations that folks in Tampa Bay can head to for the cheap rate: Baltimore/Washington D.C., Hartford, Conn.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Philadelphia.

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