Northpinellas: Pinellas digest

CLEARWATER -- Detectives have received about 225 tips in connection with the New Year's Eve abduction of a young boy and are hoping more will be on the way after a segment about the kidnapping appears on America's Most Wanted tonight. The show will air on the Fox network at 9 p.m. The show will feature a chronology of the crime, along with interviews with witnesses and the boy's mother, said Gina Long, crimes against children producer for the show, which has helped capture almost 700 criminals. Long said producers were interested in the abduction because of its rarity, and because the show has previously profiled another case from Clearwater: The Sept. 11, 2000, vanishing of Zachary Bernhardt. Both cases occurred at Savannah Trace Apartments, 2690 Drew St. Police have said there is no apparent connection between the two cases. In the New Year's Eve case, the kidnapper took the child from a playground, then left him alive in a trash bin near Bushnell 10 hours later. "It's very rare that a stranger abducts a child and lets the child go," Long said. "That's a miracle, in the show's eyes." Clearwater Detective David Dalton will fly to Washington, D.C., to assist as telephone tips come into the show. Police said they have received 225 leads in the case, none that has resulted in any conclusive evidence. Police also have distributed fliers about the case to businesses and gas stations along the I-75 corridor. Florida Department of Law Enforcement profiler Wayne Porter also was brought in on the case Friday to help develop new information. Anyone knowing anything about the abduction can call Clearwater police at 562-4422.

Voting machines to debut

Pinellas County's new touch-screen voting machines will be unveiled to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the county Election Service Center, 14255 49th St. N, Suite 202 in Clearwater. Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark and other officials will demonstrate the machines and announce details about a public information campaign to educate voters about the new machines, which will be used in some elections this spring.

Dunedin accepts deal with Blue Jays

DUNEDIN -- The first time city commissioners and the Toronto Blue Jays said they had a deal to keep the team in town for another 15 years was December 2000. At Thursday's meeting, both sides finally sealed the deal. Commissioners voted 4-1 to accept the agreement. Mayor Tom Anderson voted against it. The Jays will now advance the city $250,000 in rent, loan the city another $250,000 and hand over naming rights to the stadium. The city, in turn, will put up $500,000 toward $1-million in grant money the state plans to kick in. The money will be used to renovate the team's spring training facility, which includes the stadium.

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