Digest

Boy, 7, takes mom's car, runs away

By Times Staff Writer
Published August 30, 2007

PLANT CITY

A 7-year-old boy drove off in his mother's car Wednesday after arguing with her, a Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman said.

The boy didn't go far from his house on the 1500 block of Holloman Drive before he stopped the Ford Echo and ran away.

Deputies searched for the child for the next hour-and-a-half, spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. About 8 p.m., a neighbor found him hiding inside a nearby church. He was returned home.

TAMPA

Reservoir is sound, inspectors say

A state senator's concerns about cracks in the earthworks around Tampa Bay Water's reservoir led inspectors to check the structure this week, but they said it is sound.

"These are superficial cracks and, in no way, compromise the integrity of the structure," said Pam Vazquez, a spokeswoman for the Tampa office of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

DEP inspectors had seen the cracks in June, the last time they visited the 2-year-old, 15-billion-gallon C.W. Bill Young Reservoir near Fort Lonesome in Hillsborough County, Vazquez said. A call from state Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, about the reservoir's safety sent the inspectors back again.

The cracks are in the soil-and-cement embankment along the base of the walls. Workers have filled the cracks.

[Last modified August 29, 2007, 23:12:35]