/A 27-year-old man from Polk County died Thursday from the coronavirus as the number of national, state and local cases continued to rise.Records were set Thursday — none of them good.The U.S. logged more than 2 million cases of the coronavirus. Florida saw the since the state first started reporting cases on March 1.And in the Tampa Bay region, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties saw the highest single-day number of coronavirus cases local officials have ever reported as the pandemic stretched into its fourth month.This week’s alarming spike renewed fears of a second wave of the novel...…/A 27-year-old man from Polk County died Thursday from the coronavirus as the number of national, state and local cases continued to rise.Records were set Thursday — none of them good.The U.S. logged more than 2 million cases of the coronavirus. Florida saw the since the state first started reporting cases on March 1.And in the Tampa Bay region, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties saw the highest single-day number of coronavirus cases local officials have ever reported as the pandemic stretched into its fourth month.This week’s alarming spike renewed fears of a second wave of the novel...WW…

“If it takes us 365 days for change to come, then we’ll be out here for the next year,” one protester said.UPDATE: 10 P.M.: After pausing to listen to speakers on the steps of City Hall, protesters took to the streets again in downtown St. Petersburg Wednesday night. The group of more than 100 chanted, danced and cheered for one another as they walked. They moved into south St. Pete neighborhoods, where they paused to learn more about the history of these areas of town. Carla Bristol pointed out ”that yellow building over there" in the heart of the 22nd Street South business district. It’s...…“If it takes us 365 days for change to come, then we’ll be out here for the next year,” one protester said.UPDATE: 10 P.M.: After pausing to listen to speakers on the steps of City Hall, protesters took to the streets again in downtown St. Petersburg Wednesday night. The group of more than 100 chanted, danced and cheered for one another as they walked. They moved into south St. Pete neighborhoods, where they paused to learn more about the history of these areas of town. Carla Bristol pointed out ”that yellow building over there" in the heart of the 22nd Street South business district. It’s...WW…

/Three organizers were arrested or cited by police this week. They believe they were targeted because they’re helping lead demonstrations against police brutality.A peaceful protest march through Tampa erupted into chaos Thursday, landing a lead demonstrator in jail on a charge of inciting a riot.But the defendant, Emadi Okwuosa, tells a different story, this one of police escalation, junk charges and an attempt by Tampa police to squash the protests against police brutality that he and a handful of others have organized and led over several days.“They’re tired of us,” said Okwuosa, 22....…/Three organizers were arrested or cited by police this week. They believe they were targeted because they’re helping lead demonstrations against police brutality.A peaceful protest march through Tampa erupted into chaos Thursday, landing a lead demonstrator in jail on a charge of inciting a riot.But the defendant, Emadi Okwuosa, tells a different story, this one of police escalation, junk charges and an attempt by Tampa police to squash the protests against police brutality that he and a handful of others have organized and led over several days.“They’re tired of us,” said Okwuosa, 22....WW…

How did the coronavirus overwhelm a Seminole nursing home so quickly?Story by , and Times Staff Writersarjorie Blackman arrived for her shift at the Seminole Pavilion nursing home on a Saturday in April, stopping at the front door for a temperature check. The nurse had been tired and short of breath, and now, she had a slight fever. She didn’t know that a patient had died the day before after testing positive for the coronavirus.An immigrant from Guyana, Marjorie had gone back to school in her 50s to become a licensed practical nurse. Now 67, her three-hour daily commute was exhausting, and...…How did the coronavirus overwhelm a Seminole nursing home so quickly?Story by , and Times Staff Writersarjorie Blackman arrived for her shift at the Seminole Pavilion nursing home on a Saturday in April, stopping at the front door for a temperature check. The nurse had been tired and short of breath, and now, she had a slight fever. She didn’t know that a patient had died the day before after testing positive for the coronavirus.An immigrant from Guyana, Marjorie had gone back to school in her 50s to become a licensed practical nurse. Now 67, her three-hour daily commute was exhausting, and...WW…

Demonstrators spent Independence Day blocking Tampa Bay traffic. In Tampa, protesters were freed from jail and one denies the allegations against him. In St. Petersburg, a motorcyclist threatened marchers.UPDATE 1 a.m.The Tampa Police Department gave this version of events during the N Dale Mabry Highway protest:Police officials said the protest had grown from 40 to nearly 100 and had blocked traffic for nearly an hour. Then, after several warnings to disperse, officers moved in at 1:28 p.m. to arrest the “organizers and leaders of the protest.” The officers said objects were thrown at...…Demonstrators spent Independence Day blocking Tampa Bay traffic. In Tampa, protesters were freed from jail and one denies the allegations against him. In St. Petersburg, a motorcyclist threatened marchers.UPDATE 1 a.m.The Tampa Police Department gave this version of events during the N Dale Mabry Highway protest:Police officials said the protest had grown from 40 to nearly 100 and had blocked traffic for nearly an hour. Then, after several warnings to disperse, officers moved in at 1:28 p.m. to arrest the “organizers and leaders of the protest.” The officers said objects were thrown at...WW…

/A 2003 traffic stop on Alligator Alley sent Dwight Gordon to prison. He challenged the deputies who pulled him over, and won.Dwight Gordon headed west on Alligator Alley to make the weekly drive from his family home in Miami to his kids in Sarasota.It was mid-day, sunny, light traffic, Gordon recalled. His 1988 Cadillac de Ville smelled like cherries from the two red tree-shaped air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror.Just before the turn north toward Naples, he passed two Collier County deputies. He made sure he wasn’t speeding. Minutes later, emergency lights flashed behind him.A...…/A 2003 traffic stop on Alligator Alley sent Dwight Gordon to prison. He challenged the deputies who pulled him over, and won.Dwight Gordon headed west on Alligator Alley to make the weekly drive from his family home in Miami to his kids in Sarasota.It was mid-day, sunny, light traffic, Gordon recalled. His 1988 Cadillac de Ville smelled like cherries from the two red tree-shaped air fresheners hanging from his rearview mirror.Just before the turn north toward Naples, he passed two Collier County deputies. He made sure he wasn’t speeding. Minutes later, emergency lights flashed behind him.A...WW…

/A Tampa Bay public defender and lawmaker teamed up to draft Senate Bill 1156, which would bar the death sentence for those with severe mental illnesses.One man, convicted of killing two court bailiffs in Orange County, suffered from delusions that he was Jesus Christ. Another man with a long history of paranoid schizophrenia murdered eight people in South Florida. He believed he was the prince of God.Both and were sentenced to death. As their execution dates approached, their attorneys sought reprieve through a state law that is supposed to bar executing those who can’t grasp what’s...…/A Tampa Bay public defender and lawmaker teamed up to draft Senate Bill 1156, which would bar the death sentence for those with severe mental illnesses.One man, convicted of killing two court bailiffs in Orange County, suffered from delusions that he was Jesus Christ. Another man with a long history of paranoid schizophrenia murdered eight people in South Florida. He believed he was the prince of God.Both and were sentenced to death. As their execution dates approached, their attorneys sought reprieve through a state law that is supposed to bar executing those who can’t grasp what’s...WW…

/The pandemic has changed how fans celebrate, and with who. Here’s how three Tampa Bay families are navigating the bitter and the sweet.An unrelenting virus has infected more than 1.75 million Floridians and killed nearly 28,000. It has destroyed jobs and shuttered businesses. It has changed the ways we interact with family and friends, shop, work and celebrate.Despite all that, the Lightning won the Stanley Cup, the Rays went to the World Series and now the Buccaneers are about to make history as the first NFL team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.The coronavirus, though, has...…/The pandemic has changed how fans celebrate, and with who. Here’s how three Tampa Bay families are navigating the bitter and the sweet.An unrelenting virus has infected more than 1.75 million Floridians and killed nearly 28,000. It has destroyed jobs and shuttered businesses. It has changed the ways we interact with family and friends, shop, work and celebrate.Despite all that, the Lightning won the Stanley Cup, the Rays went to the World Series and now the Buccaneers are about to make history as the first NFL team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.The coronavirus, though, has...WW…

/Stephen Bannon, two rappers and convicted fraudsters to benefit from the presidential power.An eye doctor convicted in the biggest Medicare fraud in the nation’s history. A Miami developer charged in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal. And five executives accused of defrauding the state of Florida.That’s a sampling of the people with Florida ties who received one of President Donald Trump’s last-minute pardons just before he left the White House. received a pardon or commutation of their sentence early Wednesday morning. Though the final list did not include Trump or his family,...…/Stephen Bannon, two rappers and convicted fraudsters to benefit from the presidential power.An eye doctor convicted in the biggest Medicare fraud in the nation’s history. A Miami developer charged in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal. And five executives accused of defrauding the state of Florida.That’s a sampling of the people with Florida ties who received one of President Donald Trump’s last-minute pardons just before he left the White House. received a pardon or commutation of their sentence early Wednesday morning. Though the final list did not include Trump or his family,...WW…