Former County Commisssioner Bob Bondi dies at 74

TAMPA -- Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Bob Bondi died of a heart attack Wednesday afternoon following a gallbladder surgery, said Joe Bondi, his cousin and the former mayor of Temple  Terrace.

A Tampa native, Bondi, 74, got into politics in 1966 with a successful run for Hillsborough County School Board, before moving onto become chairman and then winning a seat on the county commission in 1974, a post he held until he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Tampa in 1979.

Jan Platt, who took Bondi's county commission seat after he left the board in 1978, said she was two years behind Bondi at Hillsborough High School and remembers that his family was always involved in  public service.

"The Bondi's have left their mark on Hillsborough County," she said.

Platt said Bondi was a sensitive man even though he didn't show it in public, but he loved his family dearly.

"When I came to the commission he told everyone 'She let the sunshine in,' " Platt mused. "He even bought me a little record  with the song 'Let the Sunshine In' on it as a present."

In 1979, Tampa City Council member Charlie Miranda ran for Tampa mayor against Bondi and  the eventual winner, Bob Martinez. He said he learned something about politics from his late friend.

"He taught me that there are two sides to every subject and that you should be careful and deliberate in seeing the other side of something before you make a decision," Miranda said.

He recalls seeing Bondi on Saturday mornings at a South Tampa fish market, where they would talk sports and pass the time, while goading the owners for a laugh.

"Bob was the kind of person he could talk to the highest of the wealthy to the average Joe on the street, everybody like him," Miranda said.

And being in office just reinforced Bondi's good nature.

"He loved serving his community. And he was well known and he got to be well liked -- which he loved," Joe Bondi said.

Bob Bondi is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, and his son and daughter, Robby and Robin.

Memorial plans are in the works, Joe Bondi said.

--Robbyn Mitchell, Times staff writer

Veteran planning director to retire

TAMPA — Longtime Executive Director of the Hillsborough Planning Commission Robert B. Hunter will retire at year’s end, according to a release for the commission Wednesday.

Hunter notified the commission in a two-page letter of resignation effective December 31. The current president of the American Planning Association, he has been the county’s executive director since 1987.
“Its good for him but bad for us,” said County Commisioner Rose Ferlita, who has worked alongside Hunter for eight years.

Ferlita said that losing a man with Hunter’s institutional knowledge will be hindrance as the county looks to merge efforts to improve transportation with growth and planning in the coming year.
“Bob Hunter will forget more than most people will ever know about his field,” she said. “He couldn’t have picked a worse time to go.”

Hunter agreed that there is still lots of work to be done with the Planning Commission, such as rail, transit oriented design, land use and transportation integration and green economic development incentives, the release stated.

During the two decades he has headed the department, the county created comprehensive plans for Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City and unincorporated Hillsborough and instituted neighborhood planning.

-- Robbyn Mitchell, Times Staff Writer

Scooter rider suffers life-threatening injuries

PINELLAS PARK -- Police are asking for the public's help in their investigation of a scooter crash in which the rider suffered life-threatening injuries.

About 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, paramedics and police responded to a call of a person down on the ramp from southbound U.S. 19 to southbound 49th Street North. They found Christopher J. Ledwell, 33 of Largo, who had suffered traumatic head injuries. Ledwell was taken to Bayfront Medical Center.

Investigators say Ledwell was riding a foot scooter, also known as a Go-Ped, when he lost control. He was not wearing a helmet.

Pinellas Park Police have found no witnesses and believe the scooter was the only vehicle involved in the crash.

They're asking anyone with information to call 727-541-0758.

--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

Tampa woman hurt in I-4 crash

TAMPA --  A woman was seriously injured after trying to pass a tractor trailer on Interstate 4 just west of Interstate 75 Wednesday afternoon, according to a release from the Florida Highway Patrol.

Robin Danielle Galloway, 27, was changing lanes on I-4 when her 2001SAAB hit the passenger side of Thomas P. Meyers', 52, Semi, the release said.

Galloway's car spun out of control and stopped in the middle of the roadway, closing down traffic in the three outside lanes for 45 minutes.

She was taken to St, Joseph's Hospital with serious injuries.

--Robbyn Mitchell, Times staff writer

USF grad student burns face in lab accident

TAMPA -- A University of South Florida graduate student burned his face with chemicals from the chemistry lab Wednesday afternoon, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.

Yejiao Wang, 28, was on the working with a partner in class on the fourth floor of the university's science building when he opened a container of butyl amine and it splashed in his face, said Lt. Meg Ross, of the university police department.

According to fire rescue, butyl amine is a corrosive and flammable, so nearby classrooms were safely evacuated while the hazardous materials team assessed the threat.

Wang was washed off in the lab's decontamination shower before being treated by Fire Rescue and taken to Tampa General Hospital. Despite the dangerous nature of the chemicals, Fire Rescue officials said he was in good condition after the accident.

Hazmat teams have ruled the building safe and said the spill was confined to the fourth floor classroom.

--Robbyn Mitchell, Times staff writer

Thanksgiving will start with a chill

Thanksgiving will start out freezing for northern counties in the Tampa Bay region, but the weather will warm to make a beautiful day.

Temperatures in Citrus, Hernando and possibly Pasco counties will dip below freezing just before dawn on Thanksgiving. In Pinellas County and areas close to the bay in Hillsborough, temperatures will bottom out in the low 40s. Inland Hillsborough can expect temperatures in the high 30s overnight.

By dinner time, though, temperatures are expected to climb into the low 70s.

"That’s kind of the ironic thing," said Bay News 9 meteorologist Brian McClure. "If you get up early in the morning it’s just going to feel so cold, but by 11 (or) 12 o'clock it’s going to be gorgeous."

After that, it's only warmer. Highs for the weekend are forecast to reach the high 70s.

--Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer

St. Petersburg couple get prison in pot conspiracy

TAMPA -- A St. Petersburg couple was sentenced to federal prison today on charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Keith Pritchett, 30, was sentenced to 9 years and 3 months in prison, while Monique Pruitt, 29, received 3 years and 10 months in prison for her role.

Prosecutors said that from sometime in 2003 until February 2008, Pritchett participated with unnamed co-conspirators to distribute marijuana in the St. Petersburg area and elsewhere. Authorities said he used tractor trailer trucks to ship multi-kilogram quantities of the drug from Arizona to St. Petersburg.

Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew enhanced Pruitt's punishment for placing her son's life in danger at the time law enforcement executed a search warrant at home.

Agents went to 4225 Cortez Way South in St. Petersburg on Feb. 15 to execute a search. When Pruitt learned that law enforcement was coming, prosecutors said, she placed her 10-year-old son and two duffel bags filled with marijuana into her vehicle and tried to flee.

Authorities later stopped her.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Ambulance team rescues Largo woman from fire

A Pinellas County ambulance crew carried a 55-year-old woman from a burning home early today.

The pair, who did not have safety equipment or fire rescue training, risked their lives, said Largo fire Chief Mike Wallace.

"They had clearly entered an environment that was dangerous. They inhaled smoke and carbon monoxide. This was a great personal risk to do what they did," Wallace said.

Joshua Schuster (left in photos) and Michelle Molendyk (right) were just heading out of Sunstar headquarters on Ulmerton Road this morning when they saw smoke in the sky. They drove across the street to the Indian Rocks Estates Mobile Home park to investigate and discovered the back half of a mobile home engulfed in flames.

Around that time, just before 8 a.m., emergency personnel received calls of a fire at the park at lot No. 34 at 12701 126th Ave N.

Park residents told the ambulance team that someone lived in the home. Molendyk and Schuster entered the front door of the burning unit and found the woman unconscious near the door. They carried her outside, where they provided medical care.

The team said they had to try to save her even though they knew it was risky.

"It's another life," said Schuster, an assistant supervisor for Sunstar.

"I just had to get  her out and get her away from the building," said Molendyk, an emergency medical technician and field training officer. "It was going up so fast."

The woman, Doris Williams, sustained burns on about 15 percent of her body and was flown by medical helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, authorities said. As of 3 p.m. today, she was in critical condition.

"I really hope she's going to make it," Molendyk said.

The ambulance crew was the first on the scene. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which destroyed the home.

Sheriff's Office Arson Unit detectives and State Fire Marshal’s investigators were called to the scene, which is routine in cases where someone sustains serious injuries. The fire appears unintentional, but the cause has not been determined, detectives say.

[Photos: Atoyia Deans, Times]

Tampa attorney tasered during code enforcement meeting

TAMPA -- A Tampa attorney was Tasered by police this afternoon during a meeting of the Tampa Code Enforcement Board.

Carl Roland Hayes, 53, was addressing the board at 12:40 p.m. about the aluminum windows he'd installed at his Seminole Heights home, when police say he became visibly upset and agitated.

Tampa Police Lt. Ronald McMullen said officials asked Hayes (pictured) to leave the meeting. As Officer Don Miller escorted Hayes from the meeting, Hayes slapped the officer in the face, McMullen said.

Miller deployed his Taser gun on Hayes with no effect, he said. So, Miller "drive stunned" Hayes, placing the stun gun against Hayes' skin, then he and another officer took the man to the ground, handcuffing him as he struggled, McMullen said.

According to records, Hayes had been cited for installing aluminum windows at his home, 5115 N Branch Ave., rather than the wood windows required under historic preservation codes. He has been being fined $60 per day since Oct. 24 for not having the right windows.

Hayes told the officials that replacing 19 windows with wood would cost $300 to $400 a piece. He hasn't worked most of the year due to brain surgery and has lost half of his income as a result.

"I am not wealthy and could only afford the aluminum windows for the back of my house, which are safer, more affordable and more efficient," he wrote in an Oct. 31 letter to the Code Enforcement board.

Hayes is being charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and tresspassing after warning, McMullen said.

He was booked into Orient Road Jail at 2:15 p.m.

Years ago, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Daniel Perry recused himself from all of Hayes' cases after Hayes accused the judge and his bailiffs of treating him differently than others because of his skin color.

-- Rebecca Catalanello, Janet Zink and Colleen Jenkins, Times staff writers

Photo courtesy Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office

BayWalk faces foreclosure

It’s official: BayWalk, the St. Petersburg entertainment complex celebrated as a catalyst for downtown’s renaissance, is facing foreclosure.

Wells Fargo Bank filed suit in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court seeking foreclosure of a mortgage on the $50-million complex that opened in 2000.

The suit was expected. BayWalk owner Fred Bullard Jr. admitted last week he is refusing to make monthly payments of about $120,000 on the loan after  negotiations between Bullard and the lender broke down.

"We are a little bit puzzled as to why they wouldn't cooperate and help us get this project back on its feet," Bullard told the St. Petersburg Times last week.

At a standstill, Bullard sent a letter to the mortgage holder earlier this month. "I said, 'We're not going to throw good money after bad. And if you think you can run it better than us, that's fine with me. You can have it.'"

The filing does not affect BayWalk stores, which remain open.

-- Aaron Sharockman, Times Staff Writer