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Richey Suncoast Theatre honored for renovation

By TIMES STAFF
Published April 19, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY

Richey Suncoast Theatre won an honorable mention award from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's cultural division for its exterior restoration of the 1920s landmark building. The theater was nominated by the city's redevelopment department, said Charlie Skelton, president of the theater board of directors. "We spent $13,000 on the outside of our building repainting and recovering the gold dome," he said. The first-place award went to St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater, which had $20-million in renovations. Skelton accepted the trophy on behalf of the theater at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

PORT RICHEY

Fired police captain sues city - again

Bill Downs was fired twice in four years. Now, for the second time, he's suing the city. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Downs, 61, is asking to be reinstated as police captain and compensated for lost pay. Downs says city officials violated their personnel manual when they dismissed him in January as part of a cost-cutting effort to combine the Police and Fire departments. Downs had planned to retire early next year. Downs was police chief when he was fired the first time in 2003. When an arbitrator found that firing to be unjustified, Downs was rehired as captain, and the city had to pay him $116,214 last year.

MOON LAKE

Man accused of lascivious acts

A 54-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning on charges he exposed himself to a 14-year-old girl, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said. The sheriff's report says Timothy Lee Smith admitted to exposing himself to the girl several times in the past year. Smith of 12151 Catalona Ave., New Port Richey, was charged with lewd or lascivious exhibition. He went free on $10,000 bail. Smith could not be reached for comment Wednesday. When a reporter called the phone number on his arrest report, no voice responded to numerous hellos. But loud motor-revving sounds could be heard in the background for more than a minute.

Correction

A story in Wednesday's edition misquoted A. Keith Furr as he described the campus at Virginia Tech. He said the building where most of the students died Monday was 10,000 square feet.

[Last modified April 19, 2007, 07:55:21]