Vote squabble too distracting for company
By TIMES WIRES
Published December 23, 2006
So much for the Venezuelan conspiracy to undermine U.S. elections. The company that supplies voting machines to Pinellas and other counties will be sold by its Venezuelan parent company because the controversy over the foreign ownership proved too distracting. Smartmatic Corp., the parent company of Sequoia Voting Systems in California, said it will sell the company in the coming year. "With so much public debate over foreign ownership of firms in an area that is viewed as critical U.S. infrastructure - election technology - we feel it is both companies' best interest to move forward as separate entities with separate ownership," Smartmatic chief executive Antonio Mugica said in a statement. The announcement effectively ends a U.S. investigation by an interagency panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Minor fire gets major response
When the fire alarms went off early Friday morning at the Freedom Square retirement community in Seminole, 15 firetrucks, ambulances and police cars rushed to the scene. Here's what the commotion was about: A motorized wheelchair caught fire while being recharged in a resident's room. The small fire was almost immediately put out. No one was evacuated, and no one was injured. The huge emergency response is routine when there is a fire alarm at a nursing home, retirement center or similar facility. "If they did have to evacuate, it would have taken all those (rescue workers)," said Seminole Fire Rescue spokeswoman Alison Shanabrook. Freedom Square is at 10801 Johnson Blvd., behind Seminole Mall.
Just a taste of a white Christmas
If you are longing for a bit of winter this holiday season, you can find it here and there around Tampa Bay. Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa has a special herd of reindeer and African penguins today from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and again from Tuesday until Dec. 30. At International Plaza and Bay Street, an interactive snow globe exhibit features scenes from the movie Happy Feet that will remain on display until Sunday. Of course, sometimes it's all in how you look at it. Rebecca Eichelberger had an early white Christmas on Thursday, and it didn't involve snow. "This is white! What are you talking about?" she laughed as she ran her fingers through the sand at Ben T. Davis beach in Tampa. Eichelberger, 40, was visiting from Austin, Texas, and took in the last few rays of Florida sunshine expected for days.