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News & notes

News from around the Tampa Bay area

By TIMES STAFF WRITER
Published June 27, 2006

Fall through ceiling doesn't deter burglar

Police say a man trying to sneak into a Marathon Gas Station, 6771 46th Ave. N, St. Petersburg, on Friday morning got more than he bargained for when he crashed through the store's ceiling. The burglar had crawled into a 15-inch space above the ceiling and fell. Still, he kept his wits about him enough to steal more than $1,000 from the register.

Japanese maritime visitors arrive Sunday

A U.S. ally will visit the Port of Tampa during Independence Day weekend. Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force Training Squadron, which includes 800 seamen, will arrive Sunday. The trip is meant to give about 200 junior officers hands-on seamanship training as well as promote friendly relations between the United States and Japan. Japanese officials will lay a wreath at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell and visit MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. The public will be able to climb aboard squadron vessels - the Kashima, Yamagiri and the destroyer Amagiri - on July 3 and 4.

Gingrich joins board of Moffitt advisers

Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has joined the board of advisers at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa. The board of 25 "Moffitt ambassadors" is chaired by TV news correspondent Sam Donaldson.

What's a few more mil for a house so pricey?

How much is it worth to keep your whole house running if a hurricane knocks out the power? For high-end homes in South Florida - we're talking megamillion-dollar houses here - owners are paying $50,000 to $3-million for custom generator systems, according to the Miami Herald. The owner of one 9,000-square-foot house has a generator that will power the house, the pool, the spa and the dock. Fuel costs alone run $1,846 a day.

[Last modified June 27, 2006, 05:58:59]