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News & Notes

Bald eagle soars off endangered list

By Times Staff
Published February 14, 2006

Less than a month after Florida announced plans to drop the bald eagle from the state's endangered species list, federal officials are following suit. In a move environmental groups hail as a victory for the Endangered Species Act, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials announced Monday the eagle population has rebounded enough to drop it off the federal list. The eagle, the nation's symbol since 1782, has been listed as endangered since the 1960s, when there were 417 nesting pairs left in the lower 48 states. Now there are more than 7,000 breeding pairs. Eagles would still be a legally protected species, thanks to a law passed in 1940.

Just as Congress and federal investigators launch a new round of inquiries at Bay Pines VA Medical Center, the hospital is losing its mouthpiece. Oscar Seara, an Anglican Rite/Old Catholic priest, is returning to the ministry. His last day is Feb. 24. "My decision to leave comes purely from a desire to return to a pastoral role and, in effect, engage in what I view as a different kind of PR campaign," Seara said in an e-mail to the St. Petersburg Times . The Veterans Affairs Department inspector general is investigating allegations of mismanagement and poor patient care at the hospital. VA investigators and Congress looked at nearly identical allegations at Bay Pines in 2004.

1886 Maas building coming down

Demolition began Monday night on the former Maas Brothers store in downtown Tampa. Closed in 1991, the 1886 building is so dilapidated not even fire marshals or structural engineers dared enter. The four buildings on the site will be gone by the end of March to make room for 500 condo units with 14,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. If the City Council approves the plan, Wood Partners of Atlanta will break ground later this year.

"Investing money in university students is a sure thing. If we're going to be investing back into our economy with tax cuts and tax reliefs, I don't see how investing in our future is any less important."

--MIKE FISCHER, executive director of the Florida Student Association, which opposes Gov. Jeb Bush's proposed 5 percent tuition increase when the state is running a budget surplus.

[Last modified February 14, 2006, 02:45:31]