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Daystarter: Bucs make history by hiring two women to coaching staff; Rob Lorei is back at WMNF; and does USF have enough information about its next president?

 
Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and developments.
Check tampabay.com for the latest breaking news and developments.
Published March 21, 2019

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

• Enjoy another day of clear skies and cool temperatures, according to the National Weather Service. Wake up temps should be in the 50s. The highs will reach the 70s. But warmer weather and temps in the 80s are on track for this weekend. Showers should stay away until next week.

• It costs money to produce quality journalism. Please support the Tampa Bay Times by buying a digital subscription to Florida's best newspaper and its redesigned website tampabay.com.

• Here are the top things to do today in Tampa Bay.

• The four finalists vying to become the next president of the University of South Florida were interviewed by the search committee on Wednesday. But as Megan Reeves and Anastasia Dawson report, the four were selected from a field of 33 applicants mostly by using glowing resumes and other materials provided by the candidates themselves. No background checks have been completed yet, however, and if the search committee members want to know more, a consultant said they could just Google the candidates. Read more at tampabay.com.

• The Bucs are making history again — but for the right reasons. The team has hired Lori Locust as assistant defensive line coach and added Maral Javadifar as assistant strength and conditioning coach, reports Rick Stroud. Not only are they the first full-time woman coaches in franchise history, but the Bucs also become the first NFL team to have two women on its coaching staff.

• In 2015, John Jonchuck drove onto the Dick Misener Bridge and dropped his 5-year-old daughter, Phoebe, 62 feet into the cold waters of Tampa Bay below. His day in court is finally here. Follow the Tampa Bay Times for full coverage of the Jonchuck trial. Here's the latest developments:

LIVE BLOG: In Day 3, the murder trial of John Jonchuck is already behind schedule.

WATCH: Check out the live freed from the courtroom at tampabay.com.

THE FOCUS: The trial of John Jonchuck comes down to one question: Evil or insane?

FULL COVERAGE: Why is the Times covering the Jonchuck trial gavel-to-gavel? Senior Deputy Editor Amy Hollyfield explains why.

GOT QUESTIONS? Follow the Times coverage at tampabay.com/jonchuck and share your questions in the comments. We'll answer as we go.

READ: The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck by Pulitzer-prize winner Lane DeGregory

• WMNF's Rob Lorei will return to the Tampa Bay airwaves after the station's board of directors decided Wednesday to reinstate him as News and Public Affairs Director. He'll be back on Monday. Read how Lorei, a founder of the Tampa based community radio station, got his job back.

• Port Richey officials aren't entirely sure who will lead the city now that two mayors have been arrested and suspended from office in less than a month. But Justin Trombly reports that, if you're qualified, you can make your pitch for the job at the next council meeting on Tuesday. But please, no felony convictions.

• Also did you know that this is not the first time a Pasco politician has been caught behaving badly? Read the long, illustrious list of public officials and their shenanigans over the years.

• Andrew Gillum came to South Florida Wednesday to launch a campaign that could change the dynamics of the 2020 election — even if he didn't announce a plan to run for president. At Florida Memorial University's Miami Gardens campus, Gillum rolled out an ambitious initiative to register one million new voters ahead of the presidential election.

• Former felons would have to pay back all their court fees before being allowed to vote despite the idea being blasted by critics as a "poll tax," according to a Senate committee bill filed Wednesday dealing with the rollout of Amendment 4. But Lawrence Mower explains how the Senate bill differs in important ways from a House committee bill that passed along party lines, leading to claims that the state's Republican-led Legislature was trying to curtail one of the biggest expansions of voting rights in decades.

• The Florida Legislature is in session. The Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau has the latest coverage from the state capital at the The Buzz.

• Facing a standing-room only crowd, Sen. Tom Lee apologized Wednesday for canceling debate on the bill on allowing armed teachers in schools that the audience had come to discuss. The Infrastructure and Security Committee had a schedule planned, chairman Lee explained, but there wasn't enough time left for people to be heard on SB 7030. Jeffrey Solochek reports that the immediate response was displeasure, with some taking to social media to note they can't return because they'll be back to work when the committee takes up the bill later this month.

• For the latest education coverage, make sure to read The Gradebook. And check out the Gradebook podcast as education reporter Jeffrey Solochek leads a weekly discussion about Florida education.

• The Tampa mayor's race is headed down the stretch. Click here for full coverage of the race and follow Tampa city hall reporter Charlie Frago on Twitter for the latest developments.

• Renovation work on the new Caddy's restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Pete Beach has been halted pending the outcome of two legal actions filed by a nearby resident who is challenging the building permit issued by the city.

• The Penny Hoarder, heralded as the fastest-growing private media company in the country for two years in a row at the end of 2017 by Inc. magazine, laid off a portion of its staff this week as part of a reorganization at its St. Petersburg headquarters.

• Check out the Times online Business page for the latest on the economy, jobs, real estate, retail and workplace culture.

• Read the Tampa Bay Times online Sports page with the latest news about the Lightning, Bucs, Rays, Bulls, Gators, Noles and high school sports.

• Spring training is here. Plan your spring training trips by using the Times' handy 2019 spring training guide for Grapefruit League schedules, maps and daily planners.

• No, the mountain of money the Rays gave Brandon Lowe on Wednesday was not what they instead should have given Cy Young award winner Blake Snell, writes Marc Topkin. Snell can still await the riches of arbitration after this season. But Topkin writes that it does create this odd reality: Snell, after a remarkably historic season, will make far less than the millions that Lowe will make despite just 43 games for the Rays after opening last season at Double-A.

• It's time to hear from Rays' owner Stuart Sternberg as the principal owner of the Rays enters his 14th season while also undergoing a Quixotic quest to build a new stadium. Read Topkin's annual Q&A session with the No. 1 Rays at tampabay.com.

• For the latest on the Lightning's quest for the Stanley Cup, click here throughout the season and follow beat writers Diana C. Nearhos at @dianacnearhos and Mari Faiello at @faiello_mari.

• Get the latest Rays' spring training news from Marc Topkin and follow him throughout baseball season on @Twitter at @TBTimes_Rays.

Rodney Page writes about the top golfers scheduled to play this week's Valspar Championship at Innisbrook's Copperhead Course.

• The Bucs have a new head coach and the NFL draft is just weeks away. Keep up with the latest offseason changes by following the Times' Bucs page which is just a click away at tampabay.com. For the latest team news on @Twitter, follow Rick Stroud at @NFLSTROUD and fellow beat writer Eduardo A. Encina at @EddieInTheYard.

• All the Bulls news you can use is right here from Times beat writer Joey Knight. Follow him on Twitter for the latest at @TBTimes_Bulls.

• Get the latest sports news, reaction and analysis from Times sportswriter Rick Stroud and the rest of the crew on the Bucs, Bulls, Lightning, Gators, 'Noles and Rays via our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast.