Digest

New owners plan to spiff up Biltmore

By Times Staff Writer
Published September 20, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [TED McLAREN | Times] A new pool with cabanas will be installed at the Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa.

BELLAIR

The new owners of the venerable Belleview Biltmore Resort & Spa showed off their restoration plans to an appreciative crowd at Belleair Town Hall on Wednesday night.

Joseph Penner, the head of Legg Mason Real Estate Investors, which bought the 110-year-old structure, said the building will be a "true historic restoration."

Among the major changes: The hotel's parking will be moved underground. Green space and walking trails will replace the asphalt parking lots.

The old spa, which the owners say has an odor, will be replaced with a new facility overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

Other key features include a new lobby and entrance, a new ballroom and a wedding gazebo. The new pool will be flanked by cabanas, and tennis lovers will get new courts. The project is expected to be completed in 2011.

TAMPA

Federal lawsuit settled in woman's DUI arrest

A Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy who lost his job over his handling of DUI cases has settled a federal lawsuit that accused him of violating a Valrico woman's civil rights during her son's arrest.

Court records made public Wednesday did not reveal the terms of the settlement between Mary Beth Mazar and former Deputy Daniel Brock.

Mazar's lawsuit predated Brock's May 24 firing and was not directly related to the internal affairs investigation into his DUI arrests.

But her accusations echoed those of the investigation, which found that Brock arrested 43 drivers who had demonstrated no visible signs of impairment.

Mazar alleged that Brock arrested her Aug. 31, 2002, on a charge of DUI even though a blood alcohol test showed she wasn't intoxicated. She had been summoned to the scene to pick up the car of her minor son, who was under arrest.

TAMPA

Driver of empty bus injured in collision

A Hillsborough County school bus with no students on board was involved in a collision Wednesday afternoon that injured the driver, according to school district officials.

The crash occurred at 4:52 p.m. at U.S. 301 and Big Bend Road in Riverview, said district spokesman Steve Hegarty.

Bus driver Linda Briggs, 59, was hurt, Hegarty said.

Hegarty said he did not know the condition of the other driver, and the Florida Highway Patrol was unable to provide information about the crash.

LARGO 

Montel to tell Susan's story today

Susan Stanton is heading back to television.

The former Largo city manager is scheduled to appear on Montel Williams on Thursday.

In an pre-recorded episode titled "Transgendered: Trapped in the Wrong Body," Williams strove to put a human face on transgenderism and asked Stanton about the circumstances surrounding her termination, Stanton said Tuesday.

Stanton, who was fired a month after she revealed plans to become a woman, said Largo officials made the wrong decision, but she doesn't blame them.

"I had the responsibility to ensure that my personal life didn't become an issue. It did," said Stanton, who will celebrate her 49th birthday today.

Stanton said a crew came to Largo to shoot scenes at Largo Public Library and Largo Central Park.

Stanton said she told Williams that she lost virtually every relationship she had after people learned she planned to become a woman.

"Especially those who were the closest walked away the quickest and have not been back," she said.

Stanton has moved to Sarasota and applied for several city management and educational jobs.

The episode featuring Stanton is scheduled to be broadcast at 1 p.m. today on WFLA-TV Ch. 8.

[Last modified September 20, 2007, 00:31:14]