Top 10 tampabay.com stories this week

Here's a look at this week's most viewed stories on tampabay.com. They included stories about a Scientologist, a robber who fled on a bus and a mysterious "beast" in a canal.

1. Normandy Nessie: 'Big beast' reported in Madeira Beach canal: If you believe retiree Russ Sittloh, the canals around Crystal Island have their own version of the infamous Loch Ness Monster.

"How come no one else has seen this " beast "? It doesn't only show up after " Happy Hour " does it?" ~ Ididso

• Join the discussion

2. A joyful reunion for dad, brothers: Mario drove from Kentucky to meet his sons for the first time in more than a decade.

"This story brought tears to my eyes, These poor boys were brought up to believe that their father did not want them, how sad!" ~ Di

• Join the discussion

3. Police catch accused red-handed bank robber who fled by bus: A tip led police to a room at the Landmark Motel at 1930 4th St. N. Police said they knocked on the door, and Thomas John Castro, 54, answered with a bag of crack cocaine.

"Hi Guys, let's party!" ~ ThePunk

• Join the discussion

4. Tampa police: Marine reservist attacked Greek priest he mistook for terrorist: Marine reservist Jasen Bruce was getting clothes out of the trunk of his car Monday evening when a bearded man in a robe approached him.

"Don't go to court in your dress uniform, son; You'll embarrass the Corps." ~ Buzzkill

• Join the discussion

New feature: Vote on comments on tampabay.com

Now the witty comments you post on tampabay.com can get rewarded.

Tampabay.com's newest feature allows readers to rate comments with a thumbs-up or down. You also can choose how you'd like to view comments: Top rated, oldest or newest.

You must be registered to comment and to rate comments, so join our community if you haven't already.

Have your say on today's most discussed stories:

1. Florida juvenile justice leader racks up flight expenses: Florida's top juvenile justice official racked up $44,000 on travel — much of it for commercial flights between his office in the capital and St. Petersburg, where his family lives.

"He spent more on travel than I make in a month working for the state." ~ Mike7

Join the discussion

2. On probation in wife's death, Pasco man gets another DUI: Donald Hancock, who lives in New Port Richey, is charged with DUI and violating his felony probation.

"No sympathy for driving under the influence, sorry." ~ tmwmsw

Join the discussion

Readers react to Marine's attack on Greek priest

[Jason Ludwig shot this photo from his Channelside balcony as the priest was loaded into an ambulance.]

Audio: Accused Marine tells Bubba the Love Sponge he's not gay

Nov. 12 update: Accused Marine tells his side to Bubba the Love Sponge

Nov. 11 update: Tow-truck driver says Marine attacked him, too

*****

Nov. 10 -- Today's story on the Marine reservist who allegedly beat and chased a Greek priest he thought was an Arab terrorist quickly became our most popular story and one of the most discussed on tampabay.com.

The priest, who is visiting from Crete, Greece, was lost in Tampa and stopped in a parking lot. He asked Jasen D. Bruce for help, but instead Bruce struck the priest on the head with a tire iron.

Bruce, shown on right with his lawyer Jeff Brown, then chased the priest for three blocks to the Madison Avenue and Meridian Avenue, police said, and even called 911 to say that an Arabic man tried to rob him. Police arrested Bruce on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and are investigating whether he committed a hate crime.

Readers are expressing outrage over Bruce's actions:

"Way to go for hunting down those terrorists!" VacantSea wrote.

Moshekatan wrote simply: "God (Help) Bless America!"

"Idiot. In Greece, they have been fighting Muslim extremism longer than the Marines have existed!" wrote Mike Norris on tampabay.com's Facebook fan page.

Several other Web sites have picked up the story, adding their own twist to the headlines:

DailyKos: I Fear More Of This To Come

Talking Points Memo: Really, What Can You Say?

HuffingtonPost: Greek Orthodox Priest Attacked By Marine Reservist In Fit Of Anti-Muslim Hysteria

Fark: Marine reservist attacks Greek Orthodox priest with a tire iron, then calls police to brag he's caught a terrorist

Think Progress: Marine reservist chases, assaults Greek Orthodox priest whom he mistook for an Arab terrorist

What's your take? Register to comment and have your say.

Top 10: This week's most popular stories on tampabay.com

Take a look at this week's Top 10 tampabay.com stories. Hot topics included Scientology, caskets for sale at WalMart and a python trapper charged with misusing 911.

Make sure to register to comment on tampabay.com, and have your say:

1. Chased by their church: When you try to leave Scientology, they try to bring you back: For years, the Church of Scientology chased down and brought back staff members who tried to leave.

• "Churches don't keep SECRETS, CULTS DO!" ~ Truth
  Join the discussion

2. United Football League's Florida Tuskers say they could give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a tussle: Florida Tuskers coach Jim Haslett said though the level of competition level in the first-year United Football League "may not be the National Football League," he believes his team is "pretty close."

• "It would be nice if we had an NFL team here in Tampa." ~ Mr. Fabulous
  Join the discussion

3. Man overboard: To leave Scientology, Don Jason had to jump off a ship: Don Jason says he was locked in his cabin and later was denied repeated requests to leave the Freewinds ship.

• "I truly feel sorry for anyone that has fellen prey to their trap." ~ Flakk
  Join the discussion

4. On sale at Walmart, for $895 (plus shipping): A final resting place: The traditional burial is now anything but.

• "No mention of the return policy." ~ CbStPete
  Join the discussion

5. 81-year-old woman escapes Tuesday morning St. Petersburg house fire: Bonnie Gettys, 81, was at home when the fired started but made it out of the house as firefighters arrived.

• No comments yet: Have your say!

Have your say on today's 10 most popular stories

Commenting functionality has been restored on tampabay.com blogs. Thanks for your patience.

*****

Due to a technical glitch, tampabay.com blogs are having problems accepting comments. We are working to resolve the problem as soon as possible but I can't say yet when it will be fixed.

For now, we invite readers to share their feedback in other ways:

•  Tell us what's on your mind on tampabay.com's Facebook fan page.
• Share your news on Twitter: Follow @tampabaycom and we'll follow you.
• Register to comment, and have your say at the bottom of any tampabay.com story. Here are today's top 10 most popular stories to get you started

1. Five signs that will signal Florida's recession is ending

2. Bitten by two snakes at once — what are the odds?

3. Hundreds set off on three-day Tampa Bay walk for breast cancer research

4. Tampa Bay men get their geek on as man-sized iPhones

5. Controversial reggae singer's Ybor appearance irks gay community

6. Many surprised by furlough closings of Hillsborough County offices

7. Wife: Man killed in Indian Shores police shootout had been depressed for days

8. Jannus Landing on the verge of a new operator and a new start

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers break for weekend after testy practice

10. Arrest made in connection with St. Petersburg shooting death

Discussion continues on Kathleeen Ford's HNIC comment

With the St. Petersburg mayoral election just a week away, our two most discussed stories in the last seven days relate to candidate Kathleen Ford's "HNIC comment."

Ford's comment was made during an appearance on Bubba the Love Sponge Clem's radio show. The shock jock described St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Goliath Davis III, who also was the city's first black police chief, as the "quasi-leader of the African-Americans."

"To me it's like talking down to them, that they have somebody to quell them and keep them in line," Clem said.

Ford responded: "Actually, Cornel West has a whole explanation about the HNIC theory, and I agree with that. We don't need one spokesman for a group."

The comment prompted several St. Petersburg Times stories, columns and hundreds of comments from tampabay.com readers.

Here's a look at what some readers were saying:

Ford's comment divides prompted 165 comments from readers.

Lauren Berns wrote: "Given that she actually made reference to West when she was invoking the term, I think it's hard to conclude "she's a racist" based on this one comment. I don't know enough about Ms. Ford to say, based on other words or actions, but this doesn't convince me."

JAK had a short message for everyone: "Let's all get out and vote!"

"Some people will look for reasons to protest any chance that they get," wrote Longtime resident.

St. Petersburg Times correspondent Bill Maxwell's Sunday column, Kathleen Ford's insensitivity and ignorance, generated nearly 150 comments.

Je wrote: "A slur is a slur. It can't be softened by subbing a word; rather, it is more pronounced than ever."

This week's Top 10 TampaBay.com stories

Here's a look at the TampaBay.com stories that were most the most viewed this week, from Sunday, Oct. 4 through this morning:

1. Guy accidentally shoots self in rear: Timothy Allen Davis, 22, told investigators that when he pulled a shirt out of a drawer, his .380 semiautomatic handgun flipped in the air, landed and fired.

2. Massive dead whale found in Tampa Bay: The baleen whale was belly up when they found it in the canal. Its body was bloated, its skin was sloughing off, and long scrape marks were etched into its blubber.

3. Metalhead Mama meets Metallica: Largo’s Margaret Priebe, an 85-year-old cancer survivor and the new mascot for headbangers worldwide, met her hard-rockin' heroes in Metallica before the band’s Saturday show at the St. Pete Times Forum.

4. Cat rescue takes 2 days: It took two days to rescue a kitten that was stuck in the engine block of a car parked at a shopping center.

5. Hey SNL! We've rated Obama's promises! Just for fun, PolitiFact thought it would go through Saturday Night Live's checklist and match it up with the promises we've rated on the Obameter.

What you're reading: Week's top 10 TampaBay.com stories

They range from Glenn Beck to swine flu to pythons: Here's a look at the 10 most popular TampaBay.com stories published from Sunday, Sept. 20, through this morning, Sept. 26:

1. Glenn Beck loses advertisers

2. St. Petersburg firefighters accidentally run over victim they were sent to help

3. He wants to move on, but first he has to sell his custom wedding suit

4. Body of Trinity boater found off Pasco County coast

5. Pinellas murderer kills cell mate, then self

No-zero grades: Will it help Hernando students or dumb down education?

Under a new policy up for a vote by the Hernando County School Board next month, the new grade for a missed assignment or test at the elementary level would be 40 percent. Translation: no more zeros.

The goal, district officials say, is to give kids a statistical fighting chance to turn around their overall grade — something tough to do even with a couple of zeros or a few very low marks on the books. But tampabay.com readers are asking: What lesson is this teaching the students?

Today's story is one of the most commented on tampabay.com; here's a look at what readers are saying:

"Wow. And what whill happen when these kids have to pass the FCAT on their own and are unable to?" asks Rene from Spring HIll. "The parents will be confused because their kids did well in school but can't pass the FCAT or did lousy on their SAT's. This does the children no favors."

Sully from Boston wrote: "The dumbing down of the dumb. How bizarre."

"This is ridiculous!" wrote Stephen from Tampa. "If they truly feel it is a problem (which I don't believe) allow the the kids to turn in missed assignments at a 20%/day penalty. At least the kids would still have to actually do the work. And if they don't do it at all, tough!"

Stolen from Bubba the Love Sponge: Guns. Credit cards. And fanny pack?

The theft of handguns from shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem's car Wednesday night has readers chatting. The story is the most viewed on the tampabay.com this morning and the most commented, with more than 100 comments posted so far.

Clem reported two handguns and an honorary sheriff's badge taken from his car after a burglary at a St. Petersburg bowling alley. The guns were among six weapons recovered by St. Petersburg police that night after undercover officers arrested three suspects.

Tampabay.com readers seemed amused by one particular detail in the story: The radio personality, who has a concealed weapons permit, reported the guns were inside a fanny pack.

"Who wears a "fanny pack" anymore! LOL," wrote Susan.

"Bubba and a fanny pack go together like peas and carrots." wrote Milly from Gulfport.

John G. from California commented: "Fannie packs are all the rage... in the 80's."

"Must have been a big fanny pack," wrote New Kid from Pinellas.

John from Tampa had news for all the haters: "There's a wide selection of fanny packs with built in holsters. A question for those of you ridiculing fanny packs: How do you carry YOUR concealed weapon?"

Photo by Ken Helle | Times, 2008