Protection order requested against Hulk Hogan

The latest twist in the Hulk Hogan melodrama: Linda Bollea's boyfriend, 20-year-old Charles F. Hill, filed an injunction for protection against Terry Bollea, a.k.a., Hulk Hogan.

The petition was filed at 4:56 p.m. last Thursday.

A judge denied it that day.

In his filing, Hill said  he was being "dangerously followed" by Hulk Hogan while driving west on Turner Street in Clearwater. When they came to the light at Chestnut Street and Oak Avenue, Hulk Hogan "pulled up next to him and stared at him," the petition said. That incident happened on Nov. 11 at 10:30 p.m., according to the filing.

On Nov. 12, the petition said, Hill was followed by Hulk from the beach to Hill's house on Lantana Avenue on Clearwater Beach. Hill wrote that Hulk was "tailgating & intimidating" him.

These events led Hill to fear that Hulk will "attempt to kill or injure him, since Petitioner (Hill) is dating respondent's estranged wife, Linda Bollea."

The petition asked that Hulk be barred from coming within 500 feet of Hill, or the places he works: Captains School in St. Petersburg and Anchor Pool Services in Clearwater.

Terry and Linda Bollea are currently going through a contentious divorce.

--Jonathan Abel, Times Staff Writer

Costumed children kick-off Guavaween

YBOR CITY -- Before the adults descend on Ybor City tonight, fairies, princesses and pirates take to 7th Avenue, and juice is the drink of choice.

Before the sexy costumes come out, the miniature ones predominate at the Guavaween Family Fun Fest, which runs until 3 p.m. today.

It's still daylight, so the scary "Night on Bald Mountain" song -- you know, the one from Fantasia -- doesn't seem to have much effect. Maybe the most frightening sight is a Giant African Millipede at the Lowry Park Zoo's table. One waist-high princess refuses to touch it, even though her mom tells her it's OK.

The street was lined with crafts and games, and entrance was $5. One of the most popular stops was the zoo's table. That's where 3-year-old Jade Roth of Seminole found a zoo worker holding a porcupine.

Jade, in the mermaid costume her mom made her, held out her hand to touch the prickly animal. No, the zoo worker says. Not this one. So Jade returns to munching on her Spree candies.

"She loves animals," her mom says.

-- Jessica Vander Velde, Times staff writer

Tampa Museum gets new director

TAMPA - The Tampa Museum of Art named a new executive director today, a man who previously ran the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, S.C.

Todd D. Smith, at right, who begins work Oct. 6, will oversee the rise of a 66,000-square-foot facility in downtown Tampa, expected to open in October 2009. Smith, 42, replaces Ken Rollins, who retired from the museum in July.

"Todd brings a wealth of experience to the position,” board chairman Raymond E. Ifert said in a news release.

Museum trustees say they have big hopes for the new facility. They want national recognition, financial stability, a growing endowment, an expanded art collection and innovative programs.

In a news release, the museum said Smith accomplished much of that in South Carolina, where he also created the Elizabeth and Mallory Factor Prize, an annual cash award for southeastern artists. He has overseen museums in Knoxville, Tenn., and Fargo, N.D., and was a curator at the Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, N.C.; The Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio; and the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Smith is a candidate to receive a doctorate in art history from Indiana University, where he earned a master's degree in the same. He did his undergraduate work at Duke University. 

He said he was honored to be chosen to lead the Tampa museum "during a very exciting and important period."

"I look forward to building upon the successes of the museum and ushering in the opening of the museum's new home,” he said.

Attorney Edward M. Waller Jr. of Fowler White Boggs Banker P.A. chaired the search committee.

San Francisco architect Stanley Saitowitz designed Tampa's new museum, wrapping it in a shimmering pierced aluminum exterior. It will adjoin the redesigned Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

The museum is currently at an interim facility at 2306 N Howard Ave.

Times staff

*

Stone Temple Pilots a no-show in Tampa on Friday

TAMPA -- Headlining band Stone Temple Pilots didn't perform at the Ford Ampitheatre last night, and fans were told at the concert that the band's no-show was due to bad weather.

A note on the band's Web site states that they were stuck in Ft. Lauderdale due to inclement weather and couldn't make it to Tampa in time for the show. "This is completely out of our control at this time," it read.

Speculations about other reasons for the cancellation were plentiful Saturday, as some fans noted that Tropical Storm Fay was affecting northwest Florida, not the route from Ft. Lauderdale to Tampa. Some even wrote on fan sites that they think they saw several of the band members and their tour buses in Tampa before the show.

The band's Aug. 19 show in Orlando show was also canceled, but ticket holders were notified the day before the show.

Lead singer Scott Weiland performed erratically at the band's July 29 show in Phoenix. A review in the Arizona Republic says that Weiland fell into a drum kit. He also forgot words to some of the songs or changed them.

Live Nation has announced that fans should hold on to their tickets in case the concert is re-scheduled, but spokesman Woody Graber said he doesn't know how likely that is.

Ticket holders can also get refunds by going through their point of purchase, he said. If you have any questions, call Live Nation's customer support at 1-800-431-3462, which is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or e-mail them at ticketsupport@livenation.com .

-- Jessica Vander Velde, Times staff writer

Criss Angel: 3 1/2 minutes to escape death on Clearwater Beach

CLEARWATER -- In less than four minutes, illusionist Criss Angel will remove the stainless-steel, police-issued Smith & Wesson handcuffs, pick locks on two doors, climb three flights of stairs, then grab a ladder hanging from a helicopter that will whisk him 1,000 feet into the air before the building below him implodes.

At least, that's the plan.

If he does Wednesday night's stunt in 3 minutes and 30 seconds or less, he’ll be okay. One second longer and the helicopter won’t get high enough, possibly resulting in the Las Vegas-based escape artist's death, Angel said in a telephone interview this afternoon.

"When 4,400 tons of cement come barreling to Earth, my mission is not to be under that," he told reporters during a conference call. "Because it’s going to come down whether I’m in it or not."

Angel's fans say he can pull off.

And he better. His show, Mindfreak, will be broadcast live for the first time ever Wednesday night on the A&E network. Millions across the world will be watching on TV, and possibly 10,000 could be on Clearwater Beach where the stunt will be performed on the sixth floor of the nine-story Spyglass Resort.

So the pressure is on for this post-modern Harry Houdini, who has walked on water, disappeared in front of a charging, raging Mexican bull, and even set himself on fire. To prepare for the challenge, he has practiced at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport and at the vacant Spyglass itself.

Angel, 40, said the 10 p.m. event will be one of his most dangerous yet.

And live or die, it’s going to be his last.

If he succeeds in this "biggest and baddest" of escapes, he says he’ll take fewer risks and perform more magic instead.

The reason?

He doesn’t want to worry his mother anymore.

-- Mike Donila, Times Staff Writer

[AP Photo, Jim Damaske, Times files]

Criss Angel to do live 'Mindfreak' July 30 on Clearwater Beach

CLEARWATER -- It's official: Illusionist Criss Angel will try to escape from a Clearwater Beach hotel about to be blown up for a live broadcast of his Mindfreak cable television show at 10 p.m. July 30.

The cable television network A&E announced the decision today. The Times reported on July 11 that Angel and A&E were in discussions with Clearwater officials to stage the stunt at the old Spyglass Resort, known for its 100-foot-tall mural of a hot-air balloon.

The one-hour episode will be the first time the show has been broadcast live, according to A&E.

Flugtag festivities off to a soggy start

Contestants scheduled to compete in Saturday's Flugtag extravaganza in downtown Tampa were forced to wait out heavy downpours today as they checked in their flying machines for weigh-in. The Convention Center was filled with organizers and teams who could do nothing but wait it out. It was sort of like an airport delay, but without the bar at the end of the terminal to help you pass the time. This was the scene around 3 p.m.:

For more info, profiles and a video about one of the local teams, go here.

[Luis Santana | tampabay.com]

Sheriff's Office defends release of Bollea tapes

The Pinellas Sheriff's Office has responded to a public records lawsuit filed last month by Nick Bollea.

In June, lawyers for Bollea filed suit to prevent the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office from releasing further tapes of the 17-year-old's jail telephone conversations with his family.

The suit asked a Pinellas judge to declare that the taped conversations were not public record and further asked that the Sheriff's Office take other measures to protect the privacy of the Pinellas jail's most famous inmate.

On Friday, the Sheriff's Office filed a response arguing that the tapes -- some 26 hours -- are "non-confidential" public records and Bollea is "not a member of any protected class of individuals for whom any exemption to the Public Record Act applies."

The response goes on to say that the inmate had no reasonable expectation of privacy while talking on the phone with his family and whatever infringement there may be of Bollea's privacy infringement is far outweighed by the public policy reasons for taping.

Bollea's voluminous conversations with his family took place in the first weeks of his imprisonment. In May, he pleaded no contest to a felony charge of reckless driving and was sentenced to 8 months in the Pinellas jail.

The tapes have been widely aired on television and the Internet. Bollea's lawyers argue that the aired excerpts have cast Bollea in a negative light, making it difficult for him and his family to defend themselves against a civil suit filed on the behalf of John Graziano, the passenger in Bollea's car who was injured during the Aug. 26 crash.

At points during the tape, Bollea is heard complaining about his cramped accommodations in the jail and second-guessing his decision to accept jail time.

His father, Terry Bollea -- better known as the wrestler Hulk Hogan -- can be heard disparaging the victim Graziano. Mother Linda Bollea claims that she was closer to Graziano than Graziano's own mother.

A hearing on the issue is scheduled for July 30 at 1:30 p.m.

Media General, which owns the Tampa Tribune and WFLA, has entered the lawsuit in favor of keeping the records public.

Complete coverage: Fame, fast cars & fate

--Jonathan Abel, Times staff writer

Judge orders Hulk Hogan to go through with condo purchase

CLEARWATER -- Terry Bollea will not be released from a court order that forces him to close on a Las Vegas condomonium, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge George Greer (pictured below) ruled Friday.

At least, not for now.

The three-page order issued this afternoon followed up on a hearing Tuesday pitting Bollea, a.k.a. Hulk Hogan, against his estranged wife Linda.

The Bolleas put an $840,000 downpayment on a $4.2-million condo in 2005. In April, the court ordered Terry Bollea to go through with closing on the purchase of the condo, which was scheduled for May 30.

Terry Bollea agreed at the time, but that was before he received his own appraisal of the property. His appraiser put the condo's value $1-million below the value assigned to it by Linda Bollea's appraiser.

The question before the court this week was whether Terry Bollea could go back on an agreement made on the basis of mistaken information.

On Friday, Greer said there were still a number of legal questions in doubt, including how much liability the Bolleas would face if they didn't close on the property. He said that until those facts were resolved, he saw no reason to let Terry Bollea out of the court order.

The condo is part of Palms Place, a 47-story building attached to the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The Web site for Palms Place said the tower's 599 units range from 600 to 7,000 square feet and go for $500,000 to $7-million.

--Jonathan Abel, Times staff writer

[Joseph Garnett, Jr., Times files]

City passes 'green' ordinances

TAMPA -- Two years after introducing the idea, the Tampa City Council today gave preliminary approval to measures that will bring eco-friendly buildings and policies to the city.

Among other things, the new rules allow building permit rebates for green construction, pledge to have Tampa designated as a Florida Green Local Government by October 2010, and require reducing irrigated turf in the landscaping of new projects from 50 percent to 25 percent by 2013.

Janet Zink, Times staff writer

Members of Tampa area music group gunned down in Polk County bar

AUBURNDALE — Authorities say two Tampa-area DJs and an associate from Deltona were shot and killed inside a central Florida bar early this morning.

Polk County Sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood said says 35-year-old Michael S. Rattigan, 29-year-old Antone G. Neely and 29-year-old Kevin Jordache Webster were shot in the Thunderbird Bar in Auburndale, about 50 miles east of Tampa.

The Sheriff's Office doesn't have the names of any suspects, but they have descriptions of two men they believe are connected with the shooting. They were seen fleeing the bar, possibily leaving in a white four-door BMW sedan, Wood said.

She said the shooting may be related to an incident at the bar early May 10, when deputies were called to the bar after shots were fired. No one was injured, Wood said, but the Sheriff's Office has received information that the altercation earlier this month might have led to this morning's shooting.

Rattigan, whose stage name is Chris Rock, is part of the reggae DJ group Poison Dart. Neely performs as Tony Montana, a separate act that plays with Poison Dart. The sheriff's office identified Webster as an associate of the DJs.

"This is a brutal murder scene," said Sheriff Grady Judd.  "It appears this had something to do with the DJs, as they were the only victims we know of."  Sheriff Judd encouraged residents and patrons of the bar to contact the Sheriff's Office.  "Someone knows the name of who did this, and we need that name."

Wood says no one has been arrested, and that only some of the bar's patrons are cooperating with detectives.

Neely and Webster died at the scene. Rattigan was transported to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where he died.

The Sheriff's Office has released the descriptions of the two suspects in hopes that witnesses will call with more information.

One suspect is a black male between the ages of 23 and 30, 6 feet to 6-foot-2, 200 to 225 pounds, with short, braided hair. He was wearing black dress slacks, a black short-sleeve button-up shirt and loafers.

The second is a black male between the ages of 23 and 30, 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-7, 150 to 170 pounds, with a short, braided hair. He was wearing blue jeans and a beige jacket with a hoodie.

The victims were playing at the club's Chaka Fridays, a regular reggae night featuring jerk chicken and curry goat, according to a promotional flier.

Don Rastic, a Tampa promoter who worked with Poison Dart, said he saw Neely and Rattigan shortly before their show. They were shopping at a record store to prepare for the gig, Rastic said. Rattigan, who immigrated from Clarendon, Jamaica, to pursue a childhood dream of being a DJ, organized the show and could have made a few thousand dollars from the night, Rastic said.

They were looking forward to a good turnout for the white-and-green theme party.

"Then to hear this, like, what, ten hours later, it's crazy," Rastic said. "My condolences to all their people. They're not gangsters, they're not drug dealers. They're just DJs that got a little star power."

Reached at his Deltona home Saturday, David Webster, the father of victim Kevin, said the family is also Jamaican.

"He was a good son," Webster said. "I can't even talk, I'm just completely destroyed."

Anyone with information is asked to call Polk County Sheriff's Office's homicide detective Todd Magyarosi at (863) 534-6379 or (863) 534-6200.

--Robbyn Mitchell, Jessica Vander Velde and Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writers

Snipes to remain free pending appeal

An Ocala federal judge granted actor Wesley Snipes' request today to remain free on bail while he appeals his prison sentence for failing to file tax returns.

Snipes, 45, received a maximum three-year prison sentence April 24 after a jury found him guilty of three misdemeanor counts of failure to file income taxes. He was scheduled to surrender to the U.S. Marshal's Service in June to begin his prison term, but Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges agreed today to allow Snipes to remain free pending his appeal.

In his written order, Hodges said he wasn't convinced that Snipes is likely to flee or pose a danger to anyone.

"We acknowledge, appreciate and are humbled by the fairness of Judge Hodges' ruling today in the case of the USA vs. Wesley Snipes," Daniel Meachum, one of Snipes' defense attorneys, said in a statement. "We move forward today in our preparation in the appeal process and remain optimistic."

Prosecutors accused the "Blade" trilogy star of conspiring with two men to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of about $11.4-million in refunds on taxes Snipes paid in 1996 and 1997. An indictment charged Snipes with failing to file tax returns from 1999 to 2004, while he earned nearly $38-million.

The jury acquitted him on three of the six misdemeanor failure to file charges against him and also found him not guilty of two felony charges that included conspiracy and filing a false claim with the IRS. 

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

[Stephen J. Coddington, Times files]

Snipes to be sentenced tomorrow in Ocala

The U.S. Attorney's Office says it spent more than $250,000 to prosecute actor Wesley Snipes for failure to file his tax returns.

When Snipes is sentenced in Ocala tommorow for the misdemeanor convictions, prosecutors want a federal judge to order that he pay it back. Prosecutors also want the Orlando native to pay a fine of at least $5-million.

Snipes, 45, is facing as much as three years in prison after a jury convicted him in February on three of six misdemeanor charges of failing to file his taxes. He was acquitted on felony counts of conspiracy and filing a false claim with the Internal Revenue Service.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa announced the charges against Snipes in October 2006. Prosecutors accused him and co-defendants Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas P. Rosile of conspiring to defraud the IRS of about $11.4-million in refunds on taxes Snipes paid in 1996 and 1997.

Jurors convicted Kahn and Rosile of conspiracy and filing a false claim.

Snipes hired Kahn, a Lake County resident, in 2000 as a tax consultant. Rosile, a de-licensed Venice accountant, worked part-time for Kahn and prepared an amended return for Snipes. Kahn is facing 10 years in prison and Rosile is facing more than eight years.

The IRS estimated that Snipes failed to report nearly $38-million in gross income from 1999 to 2004. The IRS calculated Snipes' unpaid tax liability for those years as more than $15.6-million.

Snipes' attorneys said at trial that he tried repeatedly to meet with IRS officials because he had questions about his taxes.

Kahn, a tax protester, told Snipes that Internal Revenue Code Section 861 excused Americans from paying taxes on income earned in the United States. Courts have rejected the theory.

In court records asking for the maximum sentence for Snipes, prosecutors say his celebrity status doesn't warrant leniency.

"To the extent that Snipes' background is even a mitigating factor, it is offset by his nearly decade-long effort to escape paying taxes on the lucrative compensation he received as result of that professional success," prosecutors wrote in a court filing. "To the extent that Snips has, in the past, performed charity and good works, such actions should be viewed in the context of what is typical and expected of individuals who have reached defendant's station in life."

Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges has set the sentencing for Snipes, Kahn and Rosile to begin Thursday at 9:30 a.m.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

MJ vs. Bubba: The lawsuit

TAMPA -- Radio host Todd "MJ" Schnitt says he's had enough of the on-air mudslinging by radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem and has filed a defamation and false light lawsuit against him.

Schnitt, host of the MJ Morning Show, and his wife, Michelle, filed the lawsuit against Clem in Hillsborough County Circuit Civil Court. Also named as defendants are Cox Radio, Inc. and Bubba Radio Network, Inc.

The suit claims Clem is exacting revenge against Schnitt and his wife for allegedly orchestrating his prosecution after Clem broadcast the castration and slaughtering of a pig on his show.

Clem went on trial on an animal cruelty charge in 2002 and a jury acquitted him.

Schnitt was "one of the top four or five people behind our arrest and the trial of the hog deal," Clem told listeners of his show, according to the lawsuit.

Clem also accused Schnitt of having secret meetings at the time with Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober, the suit alleges. Michelle Schnitt is a former assistant state attorney.

C. Philip Campbell Jr., Todd Schnitt's attorney, wasn't immediately available for comment. Elise Brown, Clem's publicist, had no immediate comment about the lawsuit.

Clem has a morning drive time show on WHPT-102.5 FM (the Bone) in Tampa and WFYV-104.5 FM in Jacksonville.

Schnitt's MJ Morning Show airs on WFLZ-93.3 FM. He also hosts the Schnitt Show in the afternoons on 970-WFLA.

The lawsuit says Clem has referred to Schnitt on air as a snitch and called his wife a whore. In an email read by Clem on his show, a listener said that Schnitt should be "thrown into a burlap sack and tossed into the river" and someone should "drive that little midget to drink a bottle of bleach," the lawsuit states.

It also alleges that Clem told his listeners, known as "Bubba's Army," to mouth off at Schnitt during the Gasparilla Day Parade.

"I need all you sick b------- and drunken drunkards, if you will, at the Gasparilla Day Parade ... bring your loud mouths and grease that midget. Grease 'em," the lawsuit says.

The word "grease," the lawsuit explains, can be interpreted to mean "whack or eliminate someone, to bump someone off."

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Naples wine auction, the world’s richest and rockingest, draws $14-million for grand wines

Five hundred wine lovers in Naples, Florida bid more than $14-million in a rollicking five hour auction Saturday.

The final total fell short of last year's record $15.6-million, but still added to the nearly $70-million raised for children's charities in Collier County in the eight years of the auction.

Bidders spent an average $200,000 per lot in a five-hour frenzy pumped along by live video, noisemakers and blasts of La Bamba, Good Vibrations, Good Golly Miss Molly and other oldies.

But organizers were not disappointed.

"We're ecstatic" said Ann Bain, a trustee of the Naples Winter Wine Festival. "We're leaving here with $14-million to spend on the children of Collier County," including money for new medical services and other programs in nearby Immokalee.

Snipes' lawyer says he tried to cooperate

OCALA -- It took six years for the Internal Revenue Service to respond to Wesley Snipes' written request for a meeting on whether he owned money or whether they had to pay him $11.4-million in refunds.

When an IRS agent contacted Snipes in May 2002, he informed the actor of his rights and told him the IRS was launching an investigation, Robert Bernhoft, Snipes' lead attorney, said today during opening statements in Snipes' federal tax evasion trial.

Several prosecutors have accused the Blade trilogy star of filing fraudulent tax returns for 1996 and 1997, claiming millions of dollars in refunds on taxes he already paid. The IRS also says that Snipes filed no taxes at all from 1999 to 2004.

The U.S. Attorney's Office indicted Snipes on criminal charges in October 2006. His trial began Monday.

Bernhoft says that Snipes sent more than two dozen document packages to the IRS as he tried to get them to sit down for a meeting and explain what he owed and which forms he needed to complete.

Snipes had received conflicting information from separate finance advisers on tax law, Bernhoft said. One of them was celebrity finance firm Starr and Company of New York, whose client list included broadcaster Tom Brokaw and actor Sylvester Stallone.

When Snipes asked the IRS to explain whether he had to file certain taxes at all, Bernhoft said, the agency wouldn't.

"We can't tell you whether you are supposed to file a tax return until you file a return," the IRS responded, according to Bernhoft.

"Welcome to the wacky world of the IRS," the attorney told jurors.

In his opening statement for the prosecution, interim U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill told jurors that he plans to show finance records for Snipes during the years he did not file, which will prove that the actor made money and willfully did not file his taxes.

O'Neill also said that Snipes worked with American Rights Litigators, a Lake County firm known for trying to "thwart the process of the IRS" for its clients.

Evel Knievel, Kanye West settle dispute

TAMPA -- Famed daredevil and Clearwater resident Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel and rapper Kanye West have settled a lawsuit, the parties announced today.

Knievel sued West for imitating him in the rap video for West's Touch the Sky.

Snipes: Ocala too racist for tax trial

OCALA -- Actor Wesley Snipes calls Ocala a "hotbed of Klan activity" in federal court documents, arguing that the city is too racist to seat a fair jury at his tax evasion trial.

The motion filed this week in federal court calls for the charges to be dismissed or the venue changed. It also includes results from a telephone survey, commissioned by Snipes' attorneys, that says 63 percent of people polled in Ocala think the Confederate flag is a sign of pride rather than prejudice.

In the Southern District of New York, where Snipes wants his trial moved, about 33 percent of people polled expressed similar views, the survey says.

"The government ... deliberately chose the most racially discriminatory venue available to the government, with the best possibility of an all-white southern jury," Robert G. Bernhoft, Snipes' attorney, writes in the motion.

Snipes' ethnic background is African-American and Native American, and he has strong ties to the Latino community, Bernhoft says.

"While many Ocala jurors may be fair, substantial pockets of prejudice persist," Bernhoft writes. "Just one or two prejudiced jurors can prevent Snipes a unanimous verdict of impartial jurors, and such a risk is uniquely present here in compared to Manhattan. It is the real reason for the government's exceptional venue manipulation: a jury as partial and prejudiced as possible against Snipes."

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined today to comment on the motion.

"Our response will come through the court," said U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Steve Cole.

Snipes, 45, was born in Orlando and recently lived in Windemere.

The Blade and White Men Can't Jump star surrendered to federal authorities in December on charges that he defrauded the Internal Revenue Service of more than $11-million in taxes.

Also named in the indictment are Eddie Ray Kahn, a tax protest group leader from Sorrento, and Douglas P. Rosile, an unlicensed accountant from Venice. The three men are accused of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and presenting a false claim for payment to the agency.

Prosecutors say Kahn and Rosile helped Snipes, who earned $5-million to $8-million per film in the mid 1990s, file amended tax returns for 1996 and 1997. They said he didn't owe taxes and was due refunds of $4-million and $7.3-million.

In September, Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges denied Snipes' request to have his trial moved to New York City from Ocala. He also denied a request from Snipes to have his trial separate from the two co-defendants.

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

[AP photo]

Jenna Bush hopes new book inspires

First daughter Jenna Bush will be in Tampa and Brandon on Thursday to promote her new book, Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope, the story of an abused girl living with HIV in Latin America.

Speaking by phone from Miami with The St. Petersburg Times this morning, Bush said she hopes the book sheds light on “the way kids live globally,” helps young people living with abuse and illness to find strength, courage and the help they need, “and that kids who do have the time to give back are inspired by Ana’s story to help boys and girls like her in their communities around the world.”

After visiting Freedom High School in New Tampa for a student-only event Thursday morning, Bush is set to appear at the Books-A-Million in the Westfield Brandon mall at noon.

Books-A-Million suggests arriving early — the line for the event will start at 7 a.m. — to allow for screening and leaving all backpacks, large handbags and other prohibited items at home or in the car.

Everyone who passes through the checkpoint, including children, will be given a wristband which must be worn at all times for security identification purposes.

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Bush in person and get copies of Ana’s Story signed — three copies maximum per person with no personalization. Bush will not sign memorabilia, videos, DVDs and the like. Photographs are permitted, but posed photos will be prohibited.

Ana’s Story was birthed from Bush’s internship with UNICEF, which started in the fall of 2006 when she was tasked with documenting the lives of children and young adults living in poverty. The book is a narrative about the struggles of a 17-year-old HIV-positive single mother that Bush met at a community support event. Bush spent six months with the young girl, interviewing her about her past of abuse and neglect, but also her future hopes.

Ana’s Story is also built around the stories of other children in similar circumstances who Bush met during her time abroad.

“A lot of conversations we had that were really difficult,” Bush said. “But they’re living with such optimism and such hope ... they just want the same things as many of us.”

According to UNICEF, some 2.3-million children worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, and millions more suffer from abuse, poverty and neglect.

A portion of the proceeds from the book will benefit the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

---Amber Mobley, Times staff writer

BayWalk is for sale

ST. PETERSBURG -- BayWalk, the popular downtown entertainment and retail complex, is on the market.

"We're in the business of developing, investing and selling assets," said Craig Sher, the CEO of Sembler, which developed the $40-million complex in 2001. "Is there a cash need? No."

Included in the package deal is also 36,000 square feet of retail space in the Midcore garage complex on First Avenue N between Second and Third streets. BayWalk's 150,000 square feet, including 80,000 square feet of movie theater, is one block north.

The complex of restaurants, bars and retail stores that attracts 3-million to 4-million visitors a year is credited with helping to spark the recent downtown renaissance. When the complex was proposed, downtown was slumbering and the nearest movie theater was miles away.

"We're proud of our BayWalk legacy," Sher said, adding that other factors also contributed to reviving downtown. "It's still a central meeting place and public forum. It hasn't been without its issues, but that's a measure of its success."

The complex has become so popular that it was the center of controversy as antiwar activists staged protests there. It also is a magnet for teenagers, whose sometimes unruly behavior has disturbed some BayWalk visitors.

Shortly after BayWalk opened, Sembler also partnered in building the $50-million Centro Ybor, a similarly designed project in Tampa's Ybor City. That location has been less successful, and the company sold its interests in that development last year.

"That's the risk you take," Sher said. "It's a big gamble."

Sher said BayWalk and Midcore are almost completely leased and operating well, but that in examining the companies' portfolio, executives decided these assets could fetch attractive prices to fund further expansions. He said Sembler has been steadily growing its assets and now manages about 60 properties in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico, owning about half of those. He said commercial property has been fetching good prices lately so the company decided this was a good time to offer BayWalk.

The complex was part of a complicated deal to redevelop the downtown. Dating back to the 1980s and the Bay Plaza venture to create a three-block retail center, BayWalk was originally to be the North Core parking garage. When Bay Plaza bailed out, Sembler and partners stepped in to revive the deal.

The city consolidated property to make the deal happen and gave the land to Sembler in exchange for a $1.45-million mortgage, said city attorney John Wolf. The conditions of the mortgage would require repayment, however, only if Sembler made a windfall on any subsequent sale.

"It was designed against them making a tremendous profit," Wolf said. "I told the City Council at the time that we'd never see that money. But that's what redevelopment projects do. That's why you give an incentive. And it worked."

- Paul Swider, Times staff writer

Tampa is No. 6 party city

TAMPA -- It has been a year of unprecedented rankings for Tampa. First the USF Bulls climbed to No. 2 in college football's BCS rankings.

Now, Maxim magazine, has ranked Tampa its No. 6 party city, according to the upcoming November issue. The magazine's scientific approach to ranking included this summary of the city, which joins notorious party destinations such as New York, Las Vegas and Miami (which finished No. 1).

"It's four o'clock: Do you know where your dad is? He's probably at one of the city's 49 strip clubs," the magazine stated. "That's more booby-barns than you'll find in Vegas. Yes, the city's median age is a list-high 40.45 years, but citizens down 5.41 cases of beer at home annually."

Justin George, Times staff writer

Local English teacher wins $50,000 on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'

Ryan Haczynski, at right in the striped shirt, celebrates with friends and family Tuesday after Who Wants to Be a Millionaire aired. From left are Jason Kimball, a friend; sister-in-law Holley Gentry; brother-in-law Brian Gentry; and Haczynski's wife, Erin Haczynski. [Chris Zuppa | Times]

In 1925, dogsledders mushed nearly 700 miles along an Alaskan mailing route to deliver a serum that halted an outbreak of what disease?

That question tripped up Durant High School teacher Ryan Haczynski, left, tonight on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The 32-year-old English teacher was out of lifelines and decided not to answer the $100,000 question.

Haczynski, who auditioned for the show at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in July, walked away with the $50,000 he had already won after answering 11 questions correctly.

Several other Bay area residents are slated to appear later this season.

(Give up yet? Diphtheria.)

Catherine Shoichet, Times staff writer

Hogan opens up about son's wreck on 'Inside Edition'

"When I saw the wreck, I didn't think anybody was alive," Hulk Hogan tells Inside Edition's Pat O'Brien about the day his teen son Nick crashed Hogan's yellow Toyota Supra in Clearwater. "I thought no one could have lived through a wreck like that." The crash injured Nick Hogan's friend, John Graziano, who is in critical condition at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. The Insider Web site has the story and video.

Potter pandemonium nearing fever pitch

Tampa Bay readers are gearing up for tonight's release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and last book in J. K. Rowling's impossibly popular series.

Most readers preordered their copies months ago, but are stopping by bookstores early today to secure their place in line when the book is released tonight at the witching hour ("midnight," in Muggle-speak).

But if you forgot to reserve a copy, don't worry -- area bookstores say they have more than enough for everyone and expect their stocks to last through the weekend. Area bookstores said customers who have not reserved copies should expect to wait in line until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m.

About 30 people were in line by 7 a.m. at Border's on N Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, store manager Dennis Wade said. He expects about 1,000 customers to show up for the book. Employees are distributing color-coded wristbands to customers who pre-ordered copies, ensuring them a place at the front of the line.

(The Grand Hallow's Ball is scheduled for 8 p.m., complete with face painters and kids games.)

Tammara Vest, 21, picked up her orange wrist band around 1 p.m., which will make her among the first 150 customers to get the book.

Vest said her husband will babysit their 11-day-old daughter so she can pick up the book at midnight. She's been reading the series since the first book was published, and she preordered Deathly Hallows months ago. 

In St. Petersburg, the Barnes and Noble at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg will close briefly before reopening at 9:30 p.m. for a magic show, costume and jelly bean counting contest and other Harry Potter-themed fun before the sale.

Independent retailer Inkwood Books, 216 S Armenia Ave. in Tampa, is hosting a Potter Prognosticators Party at 11:15 p.m.. Customers can get entry forms for a chance to win a trip for four to London as part of the Independent Muggles for Harry Potter Sweepstakes.

Several area spoilsports - or savvy customers, depending on your view - won't partake in the Potter pandemonium.  About fifteen copies of the book will be delivered to South Tampa residents as part of an Inkwood promotion.

That offer is closed, but that hasn't stopped a day of inquiries.

Said one Inkwood bookseller:

"The phones been ringing all day."

-- Casey Cora and Sarah Mishkin, Times Staff writer

Photo: Charlie Gibbons, left, watches as Leah Smith picks up her wristband to reserve her place in line to purchase her reserved copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from Borders worker Richard Fotherby. (Kathleen Flynn | Times)

Floor is gone, not the thrill

It's amazing how secure little things like a floor and a rail can make you feel -- especially when you're pulling 4Gs and dropping 200-feet.

Now, I'm not much of a screamer.  More of a "whoooooooooo"-er. Nearly two years ago, I sat in the same spot -- front row, center -- on SheiKra. Arms raised, high over my head. Heart pounding loudly in my chest.  I wasn't sure what to expect. The car climbs 200 feet, hooks right around a bend and then comes to a complete stop, dangling you over the edge for four seconds.  Which is just enough time to wonder how I'd gotten myself into this situation before it lets go -- straight down. My stomach is now planted in my throat, and the adrenaline rush makes me want to jump out of my skin.  

I've ridden Sheikra between 40-50 times since.

Now, the floor is gone... letting you look straight down.  Legs dangling, with nothing beneath you and the track.  From that same front row spot this morning, we stopped at that same point. Sheikra, tipped over the edge, passengers waiting for the fall as we were looking down at our own immortality, and I realized that the front rail is gone, too. There's nothing stopping you, nothing to brace against.  

It's absolutely amazing. A totally different sensation. You feel exposed, and vulnerable. Somehow it's scarier.  More intimidating. More of a thrill.

Whoooooooo...

Video: Feel the thrill

-- Text and photo by Times photographer  Melissa Lyttle