Digest

Dateline Florida

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 6, 2007

St. Petersburg mayor keeps other career options in tune

It worked for Bill Clinton. Now St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker is using his musical talents to find new audiences. Baker, an acoustic guitarist, is taping a series of lessons for Bright House Networks' Tampa Bay on Demand Channel 340. Four segments already are airing, and more appear to be in the works. Baker is not shy about his talent. He keeps a guitar in his office and has played twice with the Marshall Tucker Band. It wasn't always that way. "In high school, I played in a band that never got out of the garage, " said Baker, who started out on the drums. His wife, Joyce, got him to pick up the guitar.

Inmate may be Manatee County's oldest - ever

At 95, Freeman Stittsworth sits accused of attempted murder in a Manatee County jail. Jailers admit his age gave them a little pause. No one there remembers ever housing an inmate as old as Stittsworth. "Because of his age and some medical concerns, he'll remain in the medical unit as long as he's with us, " Manatee sheriff's spokesman Randy Warren told the Bradenton Herald. Stittsworth is accused of trying to smother Ruth, his wife of 70 years, at the nursing home where they both live.

Men in blue in melee

The bar fight started the way they often do. One man hit another man on the head with a beer bottle. A free-for-all ensued. Only this wasn't a random group of revelers vacationing in Orlando, it was a gathering of the National Latino Officers Association, a police group. Several people were injured in the Friday melee, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The association's chairman was the only man arrested, but not for fighting. He refused to leave the scene. The group has now accused local law enforcement of misconduct, saying they didn't investigate properly because one of their own was involved.

[Last modified June 6, 2007, 01:00:04]