Meeting her mentor [Times photo: Ken Helle]
	Ceida Valladares, 11, sits in Tampa police Officer Ann Marie DeMesa's patrol car at Sulphur Springs Elementary School in Tampa on Tuesday. This was the first chance Ceida and other students had to meet their e-mail mentors from Tampa Fire Rescue and the Tampa Police Department. The school program matches role models with children. Story

Burglar empties baseball building
The $5,000 theft of food and equipment from the Belmont Heights Little League saddens supporters.

Hillsborough panel gives go-ahead for Gandy loop
The expressway link wins support from a panel of transportation officials, despite some opposition.

Little League arsonist sentenced
TAMPA -- A man found guilty of breaking into the Palma Ceia Little League facilities on Himes Avenue last year and setting them on fire was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison.

Aisenberg details released
TAMPA -- Marlene Aisenberg failed a polygraph test given by sheriff's investigators the day after she reported her 5-month-old daughter missing in 1997, according to papers prosecutors filed in federal court Tuesday.

Schools settle lawsuit filed by parents of handicapped boy
TAMPA -- The Hillsborough County school district has settled a long-running legal battle with the parents of a child with Down's syndrome.

Budget plan holds millions for Hillsborough
TALLAHASSEE -- When Hillsborough's legislators looked inside the state's 429-page budget Tuesday morning, they found millions for projects for the folks back home:

Rancher says he wants no part of development
William "Ted" Phillips says he specifically asked that his property not be included in plans for an upscale subdivision.

E-mail mentors log time with children
TAMPA -- The little boy eyed the tall, muscled man sitting next to him munching on a sandwich of turkey and cheese. Could this be the guy who likes football and old movies and has a dog named Jazz?

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