TAMPA - University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft on Friday named Dr. Robert J. Belsole as the interim dean of the medical school, replacing Robert Daugherty, who recently was ordered to resign.
Belsole, currently the associate dean of clinical affairs at the USF medical school, will oversee 2,900 employees and nearly 1,800 students in the colleges of medicine, nursing and public health. Starting Monday, his official title will be interim vice president for health sciences and dean of medicine.
In mid October, Daugherty was ordered to resign just days after Genshaft admonished him for asking his staff to contribute to the U.S. Senate campaign of state House Speaker Johnnie Byrd.
Belsole, 60, came to USF in 1977 as a founding member of the orthopedics faculty. He is an authority on hand surgery whose research focuses on wrist reconstruction and nerve compression syndromes.
Belsole is expected to serve as the interim dean for more than a year as USF conducts a national search for a permanent dean. Belsole said he told Genshaft that he wants to be considered for that position.
18-year-old charged with injuring baby
TAMPA - A Tampa man was charged Friday with severely injuring a 1-month-old girl while she was in his care.
Harrison Bradley Margolis, 18, of 2727 W Fletcher Ave., Apt. 46B, is being held on $300,000 bail and accused of aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm. Authorities say the incident occurred Monday.
The child was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with severe, life-threatening injuries. Deputies declined to comment on Margolis' relationship to the child, saying they were not identifying the child, and releasing that information would jeopardize that.
Tampa mayor appoints acting city attorney
TAMPA - Gina K. Grimes has been named by Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio to be acting city attorney while City Attorney Fred Karl recovers from injuries suffered in a fall.
The appointment will enable Grimes to sign off on settlements or other legal matters during Karl's convalescence.
Grimes, 44, earned her law degree at the Stetson University College of Law and joined the city as a law clerk in 1985, while Bob Martinez was mayor. She was appointed chief assistant city attorney under Mayor Sandy Freedman.
Inmate escapes when he's taken out with the trash
TAMPA - An inmate who escaped from the Morgan Street jail Friday remained at large late Friday night after scaling the chain link fence and jumping over the razor ribbon at the top.
Juan Antonio Rios, 24, was last seen wearing a bright orange Hillsborough County jail uniform, fleeing east from the Morgan Street jail on foot, said sheriff's detective Dan Tewmey.
Tewmey said Rios apparently hid in a large trash bin inside the jail underneath garbage. As the trash bin was rolled outside, Rios jumped out of the bin and scaled the fence, Tewmey said.
Sheriff's records show Rios was arrested by Tampa police on Jan. 14. He was charged with burglary of a conveyance, third-degree grand theft, uttering a forged instrument, forgery, grand theft of an automobile and unarmed robbery by sudden snatching.
Wastewater pipe placed beneath Seddon Channel
TAMPA - After a yearlong delay and an estimated $2.3-million in cost overruns, workers finally succeeded in pulling a 42-inch wastewater pipe beneath Seddon Channel on Thursday night. The pipe, which runs 1,300 feet between Davis Islands and Hooker's Point, is a critical link in the city's $28-million plan to bring reclaimed water to South Tampa lawns.
Contractors began the work in September 2002, expecting to take six weeks, but ran into a series of problems, including the cracking of a massive sewage pipe. Davis Islands residents complained about constant noise and said vibrations damaged their homes. In July, the City Council voted to buy one couple's house for $340,000.
City officials expect the construction site to be mostly restored by Christmas. After that, they say, they will review damage claims.
In the meantime, they will be exploring legal options against Piute Contractors Inc. of Colorado.
District report faults electrocuted worker
TAMPA - A Hillsborough school district investigation has shown that a maintenance worker who was electrocuted at Shaw Elementary School did not follow safety procedures.
Patrick Alfonso, 29, died Sept. 2 as he tried to repair a fluorescent light at the elementary school. A transformer that supplied electricity to the bulb had malfunctioned, and Alfonso was switching transformers when he was electrocuted, district officials said.
Alfonso worked for the district for seven years as a "multitrades" employee. He was assigned to do maintenance on several schools, including Shaw Elementary.
The Oct. 5 school district report on the investigation, which was conducted by school employees, found that Alfonso did not turn off the power before trying to replace the light. He was not wearing insulated gloves or protective clothing at the time.
"The primary cause of this accident was the victim's failure to comply with . . . procedures," the report said.
Alfonso's family has reportedly consulted a lawyer.
