Tampa (Fla)

Subterms

    Latest story

    150 Shares129 Views

    In a Corner of Florida, Preparing for Storm Debby Stirs Familiar Feelings

    by

    Many on the state’s northwestern coast felt they knew what to expect from Debby, which is forecast to make landfall as a hurricane, after a much stronger storm hit the area last year.As Tropical Storm Debby churned through the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, Lucia Trapani was securing patio furniture and offering refunds to people who had booked stays at the motel she manages on an island off Florida’s northwestern coast.Ms. Trapani had been through this before. Less than a year ago, as Hurricane Idalia approached, she shut off the water and electricity at the Sunset Isle RV Resort, where she worked at the time, and moved campers off the property. The Category 3 storm did so much damage to the resort that it still has not reopened.Ms. Trapani and Brooke Matthews — another manager of the motel, Park Place in Cedar Key — described Idalia with one word, in unison: “traumatizing.”Almost a year after Idalia became the strongest storm to hit the sparsely populated Big Bend region, known for manatees and marshlands, residents are bracing for Debby, which is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday. Storm surge of up to 10 feet was expected in some areas, andmandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Levy County, including Cedar Key, as well as Franklin and Citrus Counties. By midday Sunday, Debby was still a tropical storm, with winds of 65 miles per hour. But it was expected to strengthen rapidly over the gulf before making landfall as a hurricane, with winds of at least 74 m.p.h.At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Debby was following a path like Idalia’s last year, but with a key difference: lower winds and a lot more rain are expected. Other states in the Southeast could also see heavy rain in the coming days, including Georgia and the Carolinas.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 150 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      Ohio Mother Killed Trying to Stop a Carjacking With Her Son Inside

      by

      The woman, 29, was struck by her own vehicle after the suspects began driving away, the police said.Detectives in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend were searching for two men as they investigated the death of a woman who was fatally struck by her own vehicle while trying to stop a carjacking that occurred with her 6-year-old son in the car. Alexa Stakley, 29, was carjacked shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Thursday while picking up her son at the home of a babysitter after wrapping up a shift waiting tables, according to the police. After putting the sleeping 6-year-old inside her 2022 silver Honda SUV, Ms. Stakley walked back toward the babysitter’s house to retrieve an item, according to a police report. As she turned back, Ms. Stakley saw her moving. She was seen “running toward her Honda and was heard screaming for her child,” the police report said. Moments later, Ms. Stakley was struck by the vehicle, suffering a fatal wound to the head. Shortly afterward, two men were seen running away from the area, abandoning the vehicle nearby, the police said. Police officers found the child inside the car unharmed. Carjackings have been called “an important public safety threat” by the Department of Justice, which earlier this year announced it had established 11 task forces to combat the crime in areas of particular concern, like Philadelphia, Chicago and Tampa, Fla. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 175 Shares159 Views

      in Elections

      Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for 37 Years to Receive $14 Million From City of Tampa

      by

      Robert DuBoise, 59, was sentenced to death after being wrongfully convicted in a 1983 murder and rape. He sued after his conviction was overturned and reached a settlement with the city on Thursday.A man who spent 37 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted in the 1983 rape and murder of a woman in Tampa, Fla., will receive $14 million in a settlement with the City of Tampa, it said Thursday.The man, Robert DuBoise, 59, was just 18 when he was arrested in connection with the killing of Barbara Grams, 19, who was beaten to death and whose body was discovered behind a dental office on the north side of the city on Aug. 19, 1983.Mr. DuBoise was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery in 1985 following a one-week trial in which a jailhouse informant claimed he was guilty, and prosecutors argued that Mr. DuBoise’s teeth matched what they described as a bite mark on the victim’s cheek. He was initially sentenced to death, but three years later, the Florida Supreme Court changed that sentence to life in prison.In August 2020, Mr. DuBoise was freed after new DNA evidence came to light that exonerated him and implicated two other men who were later charged in the killing. The next year, Mr. DuBoise filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Tampa, four former police officers and the forensic odontologist who had testified against him.On Thursday, the Tampa City Council unanimously approved the settlement, which is to be paid in three installments over three years.“I’m just grateful,” Mr. DuBoise said in an interview Thursday, adding that he hoped his case could serve as an example for others who had been wrongfully convicted. He said he hoped that “they get justice and can move on without having to spend the rest of their life fighting the system that has already wronged them.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More