TAMPA -- A federal judge will hold a hearing this morning to consider whether a new trial should be held to decide whether Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be removed today.

Mrs. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, asked U.S. District Judge Richard Lazzara to stop their son-in-law from removing life support, arguing that their daughter was denied her right to have a lawyer represent her at the trial last year.

Michael Schiavo has court permission to remove his wife's feeding tube at 1 p.m. today. But the Schindlers are asking the judge to postpone that until their requests can be considered.

Mrs. Schiavo, now 37, collapsed at her St. Petersburg home on Feb. 25, 1990. Her heart stopped beating, and she was deprived of oxygen for five minutes. Doctors say she is unaware of what is happening around her. But her parents say that she responds to sounds and sights.

USF selects dean for College of Engineering

TAMPA -- The University of South Florida has selected a top official at the National Science Foundation to run its College of Engineering.

Louis A. Martin-Vega, 53, will begin working as USF's engineering dean on Sept. 5. He is acting director of the NSF's Engineering Directorate, where he oversees a $414-million budget that funds research and instruction across a wide range of disciplines.

"His experience . . . will enhance the ability of our College of Engineering and our university to compete for research contracts and grants," said USF Provost S. David Stamps.

Before moving to the NSF, Martin-Vega was a department chairman at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a tenured professor at the University of Florida and the Florida Institute of Technology.

He will be paid $200,000 annually.

As part of his contract, USF is promising to hire 35 new tenured and tenure-earning professors for the college over five years.

Doctor sentenced in kickback scheme

TAMPA -- A doctor linked to the defunct Clearwater Clinical Laboratories was sentenced in federal court Thursday for accepting kickbacks.

Dr. Bipin Patel, 53, of New Port Richey received two years of probation and a $2,000 fine and will have to pay $17,000 in restitution. Patel had faced a charge of conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud and numerous counts of illegally accepting checks for his referrals to the lab.

Patel was the latest in a series of doctors who have entered pleas and been sentenced in the Clearwater Clinical Labs case. He pleaded guilty last year and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

St. Petersburg council declares water emergency

ST. PETERSBURG -- The St. Petersburg City Council declared a water shortage emergency Thursday and banned backyard car washing, some pressure washing of buildings and pavement, and recreational activities that involve water at day care centers, fairs and the like.

Carwashes at commercial facilities that recycle water remain legal, and pressure washing for health and safety or to prepare for repainting are allowed.

The city will beef up its staff of water enforcers to catch more violators. The emergency action plan fulfilled last month's demands by the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

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