Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Digest

Dateline Florida

By TIMES WIRES
Published March 9, 2007

THEY'RE LEADERS, AND WINNERS

The four winners of the 2007 Barnes Scholarships have shown "great resilience in the face of adversity," overcoming personal obstacles while remaining top students.

Indy and Dali, it's not a dream

The hum of Indy cars into downtown St. Petersburg next month already has the hearts of officials at the nearby Salvador Dali Museum racing. Museum officials aren't sure how future racing weekends will affect the Dali's planned new home directly on top of the race course. Museum director Hank Hine will watch how the city and race promoters set up the streets this spring to figure out how things might work in the future.

Slot machines for a price?

Gov. Charlie Crist says he's willing to negotiate to let the Seminole Tribe of Florida have Las Vegas-style slot machines in return for millions in tax dollars, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. As governor, Jeb Bush refused to negotiate with the tribe, which sued the state on Tuesday to force the issue. Barry Richard, an attorney for the Seminoles, said they might be willing to pay to have more than the 1,500 machines that Broward County parimutuels are limited to, or other types of casino games. The tribe, which also owns the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, has bingo-style games similar to slots without the big payouts (and profits).

CNN is on restroom case

Tampa's Freedom High School is getting national attention a week after deciding to close restrooms to curb vandalism. CNN and local TV stations quoted students Thursday saying they had to urinate on school grounds and in bottles because of the ban, which closed all but a pair of restrooms. Officials dispute the accounts. "The principal hasn't seen any urine-filled bottles and no one's been caught outside going to the bathroom," said Hillsborough schools spokeswoman Linda Cobbe.

[Last modified March 9, 2007, 01:40:02]