By: Vanessa L. Henry
Edited by: Rebecca Lee
17 April 2019
Dozens Arrested
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced that dozens were arrested after a methamphetamine trafficking operation bust in Plant City.
After a seven-month investigation 17 people were arrested in “Operation Ice Cubed”.
The investigation began in September 2018 and uncovered a significant drug operation surrounding a rural home around 1804 Forbes Road in Plant City.
The investigation was performed with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Wide Prosecutors Office.
The investigation involved numerous undercover purchases of methamphetamine with a total of 1,840.1 grams and $27,700 in cash seizures. This was all possible through various investigative techniques.
Gulf View Square Mall Gas Leak
Gulf View Square Mall and its parking lot were evacuated Wednesday morning after a gas leak was detected.
Pasco County Fire Rescue got to the mall, located at 9409 US Hwy 19, just after 10 a.m.
Pasco County Fire Rescue requested resources from Tampa Fire Rescue to assist with venting. Pasco’s Sheriff’s Office was in charge of crowd control so that the gas company could fix the leak.
Firefighters successfully cleared the mall of gas and are currently in the process of returning the mall back into the hands of its owners.
No injuries were reported and the mall remains closed.
Pasco Fire Rescue and Tampa Fire Rescue have investigated the source and turned it over to TECO Gas to identify the cause of the leak.
Until then, the gas will remain shut off at the mall.
Sparkman Wharf Expansion
Four months after opening, Sparkman Wharf’s is expecting to expand in Tampa’s waterfront.
The developers behind the food haven in Channelside have released renderings that show a redesign of the former Channelside Bay Plaza plans. This includes room for 65,000 square feet with about ten new tenants, 150,000 square feet of loft-style office space, and 10,000 square feet of private terrace space for office tenants.
The collection of shipping-container restaurants is seeing about 10,000 customers a week, so expansion was expected.
The wharf is part of the $3 billion Water Street Tampa project which is being developed by a partnership between the Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and the Cascade Investment wealth fund of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
Scaffolding is up for the building’s transformation.
Other features that will be added include private on-site bicycle storage, showers for commuters who bike to work, ceiling heights ranging from 18 to 40 feet high, more windows, more shade and exposed structural steel that works with the industrial past of the port-owned property.
Water Street is continuing to develop with the Sparkman Wharf.
Developers have made crosswalks over Channelside Drive safer, extended the wharf to be open on Tuesdays and dressed up a nearby parking lot to invite guests.
The lot will continue to be developed in the next couple of years and the security fence behind Sparkman Wharf will be replaced with something that can provide better views of the water when no cruise ships are docked.
Construction is already underway to renovate the inside of the former plaza, and it is expected to open next year.
Tampa Electric Company Streetcars
The Tampa Electric Company (TECO) Line Streetcar is serving so many people that it is now extending its hours.
Since October 2018, the TECO Line Streetcar has operated fare-free with weekday service every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as well as every 20 minutes weekdays after 7 p.m. and on weekends.
However, the streetcar system served up 99,675 rides in March, tripling its ridership so, the service sees packed cars and patrons standing.
To solve this problem of overcrowding, the TECO Line Streetcar is expanding its 15 minute service to nights and weekends starting April 21, 2019.
Streetcar ridership is along the rails that run from Ybor City to downtown Tampa.
Though, this is likely to extend with TECO investigating new areas that may need more transportation in the Tampa Bay area.
TECO is also looking to update their current streetcars to work with the overcrowding.
To learn more about the TECO Line Streetcars and their routes visit their website at: http://www.tecolinestreetcar.org/#/home
Anchor: Peyton Roux
Producer: Cyrena Berry
Director: Maribeth Nguyen
Technical Director: Celine Fleites
Graphics: LeeAnn Bohannon
Audio: Colin Whitlock
Prompter: Cyrena Berry
Floor Manager: Sabrina Olivier
Camera Operator: Andrew Fabacher
Radio: Alexa Ignacio
Teaching Assistant: Tatyana Bazard
Graduate Assistant: Kelsey Baker
Faculty Advisor: Cathy Gugerty
