Miller Meats closes after 40 years [Times photo: Michael Rondou] In recent years, the customer base dwindled as fewer people are cooking, according to the family that operated the market.

South Pinellas County news

Piece of school's history lost in time
Officials at Madeira Beach Middle School have had no luck locating a time capsule buried in the 1970s by students.

Creature comforter breaches codes
Birds and squirrels are inclined to love this resident; at least one neighbor isn't.

Plans in works to slow traffic in Old Northeast
Planners have designs in mind to slow traffic along major arteries between downtown and the neighborhood.

Understanding pedestrian signals
The traffic engineer's goal is to provide a safe and efficient transportation system for all users.

Boy accused of firing gun in dispute over bicycle
ST. PETERSBURG -- A fight between two seventh-grade boys over a bicycle turned violent Monday night when one of them got a gun and shot at the other, police said.

YMCA plumbs opinion on charged worker
A letter encourages people to speak up, good or bad, about the employee accused of molestation.

Officer is hospitalized after fight with transient
CLEARWATER -- A Clearwater police officer was taken to the hospital after sustaining an injury to his right shoulder during an altercation with a knife-bearing Clearwater transient Tuesday.

School chooses architect
Wedding, Stephenson & Ibarguen Architects Inc. of St. Petersburg has been selected to design an expansion of Wellington School, 4450 51st Ave. N, St. Petersburg.

Boy, 12, fires gun in fight over bicycle, police say
ST. PETERSBURG -- A dispute between two seventh-grade boys over a bicycle turned violent Monday night when one of them got a gun and shot at the other, police said.

Program opens page for learning
Through Baby Steps, low-income parents are encouraged to read to their children from the womb until at least 3.

Young German program gleams with 28 awards
Bay Point's German program, the only one in Pinellas County for middle-schoolers, is one of the best in the state at any level.

Only exile tamed flamboyant preacher
The former circus sideshow performer enlivened the city in the 1970s with his gaudy appearance and appeal to the downtrodden.

Restaurant opening at The Pier's entry
The former Apropos Bistro & Bar will become the Black Opal Seafood Restaurant next month, the restaurateur says.

'I like seeing their lives improve'
Trusted guides give immigrants -- primarily preschoolers' parents -- an essential key to adapting to a strange land.

Talking to teenagers about babymaking
A committee taps the opinions of teens, clergy and parents to reverse a trend in Pinellas.

Nuggets from Storybook Ball
Twenty-one years is a long time to be affiliated with an organization as a volunteer, but that is how long Ed Ameen has been a supporter of Ronald McDonald House.

St. Jude chooses lay administrator as new principal
St. Jude Cathedral School joins a growing number of parochial schools with non-clergy at the helm.

Seniors take spotlight in state tourneys at Pinellas sites
A dozen area adult teams will join more than 120 others in state competition this week at three clubs in Pinellas County.

Coghill returns to track and to winning in Late Models
After winning the Late Model championship at Sunshine Speedway three years in a row, Largo's Sammy Coghill decided it was time to concentrate on some bigger races that pay bigger bucks.

Letters
Pass-a-Grille is congested enough
I understand that the St. Pete Beach City Commission has approved the drafting of ordinances that provide for special exceptions to the provisions of the code of the City of St. Pete Beach.