USF, HCC close today for day of mourning

Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 16, 1998

tate offices and most courts are closed today, an official day of mourning for the late Gov. Lawton Chiles.

Public schools are open from kindergarten through 12th grade, but state-run universities are closed, including the University of South Florida campuses in St. Petersburg and Tampa. Hillsborough Community College is closed, but St. Petersburg Junior College is open.

Lawton Chiles 1930-1998 Hundreds line roads for Chiles Gore, MacKay to speak at funeral USF, HCC close today for day of mourning Mother prays for girl's savior Famous and not-so-famous offer words of condolence Florida's Crackers lose a kinsman [Bill Maxwell] More photos of his Lawton Chiles' final journey through Florida Previous coverage of the death of Lawton Chiles Online forum: The Chiles Legacy

Driver's license bureaus and state health offices are closed today, but state parks and recreation centers are open.

Chief Justice Major Harding of the Florida Supreme Court ordered all state courts closed today, although judges can make exceptions on a case-by-base basis. Harding's order also extends all court deadlines by a day, so today won't be calculated in determining legal time limits.

Pinellas-Pasco Chief Judge Susan F. Schaeffer has ordered that first appearance hearings in criminal cases will be conducted today, as well as detention and shelter hearings in juvenile cases.

Scheduled final exams will go on at the University of Florida and the Florida State University law school.

U.S. post offices will be open.