Dateline Florida

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 15, 2007

Don't get too complacent... they'll be back!

Prepare for the mosquito invasion. We've had a nice break from those blood-sucking creatures lately, courtesy of the drought. But when the rainy season hits, prepare for an explosion. The lack of water has prevented eggs from hatching, but mosquito eggs can be very resilient, lying in wait for the next heavy rain for years, according to a warning from Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services. When the wet weather gets here, all the eggs will hatch at once. Protect yourself by limiting your time outside during dawn and dusk, when the critters are most active, eliminating standing water in your yards and using insect repellent.

Maybe he can quit his day job now

Donald Baruch of Tampa, a regular poker player at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, has won the Tampa Bay area's first World Series of Poker bracelet this year. Baruch earned $264, 017 by winning the No Limit Hold'em Shootout on Wednesday. Nine hundred players entered the event, which required a $1, 500 buy-in. So far, 17 Tampa Bay area players have totaled $389, 636 in the World Series, held at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

First robbery, then courtesy

How's this for a crime with a twist: Two armed carjackers ambushed a man waiting in his car outside a Checkers restaurant in South Florida late Wednesday. The thieves struck him several times in the head with a gun, but then decided to drop him off at his home, which was only about a mile away in Lauderhill. Police are still searching for the thieves, who took the man's car: a green, four-door 2004 Mitsubishi with Florida tag W590HQ. See it? Call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Corrections

- Bay County Medical Examiner Charles Siebert's term of service ends June 30. A story Wednesday gave an incorrect date.

- Bayshore Boulevard is bordered by Hillsborough Bay on the east. A story about development along the road in some of today's regional sections, which are printed in advance, names a different waterway.

Check your route

A chemical spill closes I-75 in Pasco? Part of Fletcher Avenue might close for weeks? Get the live traffic reports you need at traffic.tampabay.com.

[Last modified June 15, 2007, 00:29:10]