Dateline Florida

By Times Staff Writer
Published November 21, 2007

Boy surfs net, tries bomb instructions

A 14-year-old St. Petersburg boy was searching the Internet for tips to make his computer faster when he came across something unexpected: instructions for how to make a bomb with common household chemicals. According to police, the boy tried the recipe Monday and found that it worked; he made a bomb in a plastic bottle that exploded in his back yard. So he added some of his own touches, including BB gun pellets. He also burned a bandanna that he didn't like. After someone complained, police arrested the boy, who is not being named because of his age, on a charge of discharging an explosive device.

Contract delay lights up November in Gulfport

It's that season again, when holiday lights are springing up all around us. Usually, people choose to wait until after Thanksgiving to decorate, but not everyone has a choice. Gulfport put up its decorations weeks ago. Why? Apparently, the city was among the last to complete its contract with the main company that hangs big light displays. The city had to choose between the less-than-optimal hang dates in early November or the last-minute, smack-up-against-the-actual holiday dates in mid December.e_SClBCorrection

The Veterans Day Parade Group Inc. has organized a Veterans Day parade in Town 'N Country since 2002. A story on Nov. 11 incorrectly reported how the parade has been organized in recent years.

[Last modified November 20, 2007, 23:56:56]