What would you do with $600 million in cold, hard cash? That’s what we’re wondering as the jackpot in tonight’s Powerball drawing hits the $600 million mark. That number, according to the Florida Lottery, tops the previous $587.5 million Powerball record jackpot set in November 2012. Players in Arizona and Missouri won that prize, the lottery website says. Florida, by the way, hasn’t had the best showing in jackpot wins since it joined the Powerball’s other 42 states in 2009. Only five people have hit the Powerball jackpot in Florida, according to a Powerball analysis website. There have been…

Tampa Bay residents who keep up with the headlines coming out of Washington, D.C., have likely found themselves scratching their heads more than a few times this past week. Allegations of wrongdoing seem to be coming at the speed of light as the Obama Administration fends off bad press about inappropriate targeting of Tea Party organizations by the Internal Revenue Service and possible wrongdoing in the handling of a national security leak. The IRS’ targeting of Tea Party groups centers around hassles these groups report experiencing while trying to apply for tax-exempt status prior to the …

Most of us have been in the car when a great tune comes on the radio. The urge to turn up that volume just a little bit is often too strong to resist. But, how loud is too loud? When is cranking it up going too far? When should authorities be able to step in and say enough is enough? Those are questions some local governments in the Tampa Bay area are now wrestling with. Since the Florida Legislature shot down a measure that would have regulated just how loud car stereos can be, some local authorities have decided to take matters into their own hands. The City of Sarasota just put its new …

Can’t handle traveling at the Interstate’s 70 mph pace or a local four-lane road’s legal top speed? You might want to get in the practice of moving over. The Florida House and Senate recently approved a measure that makes it illegal to drive more than 10 mph under the speed limit if your vehicle is riding in the fast lane. The proposal will become the law of the land in Florida if Gov. Rick Scott signs on the dotted line. Dubbed the “road rage” bill, according to ABC News, the measure would give law enforcement the right to fine drivers $60 for moving at a snail’s pace in the far left lane of…

Hate red light cameras? If so, you might hate them even more if Gov. Rick Scott signs a bill recently passed by the Florida Legislature into law. The bill sets a new process for appeals that enables local government bodies – cities and counties – to tack on an additional $250 in court fees for those who try to appeal tickets generated by red light cameras and fail. It also puts the new appeals process into the hands of those very same local governments that would benefit from the additional fees. That means motorists who appeal and lose will no longer be subject to just a $158 penalty – they …

Divorced men and women across Florida got good news – or bad, depending on perspective – late last week when Gov. Rick Scott shot down a law that would have put an end to permanent alimony in Florida. Scott vetoed the measure with only four hours left on the clock for it to automatically go into law, according to Fox News. Citing concerns about the financial impacts the bill would have on Florida families and a dislike for the fact the measure had a clause that would make it retroactive, Scott told lawmakers he could not support passage. "The retroactive adjustment of alimony could result in …

A trip to the principal’s office in Marion County elementary schools might mean more for misbehaving students than a call to parents and possible detention detail. Principals there have been given the green light to paddle unruly pupils. The county’s school board decided April 23 that it was high time this once banned practice was brought back into the educational system. Citing repeat disciplinary problems with students where nothing else worked to get kids on track, board member Carol Ely, a retired principal, put the idea on the table. While the measure passed, principals don’t have carte …

The days of smokers being able to light up in restaurants, public buildings and the workplace are long since over. After all, it’s common knowledge that smoking is bad for a person’s health and the health of others around the smoker. But, should smokers be denied employment? Pasco County is grappling with just that question as other Bay area agencies have made the switch to hiring only nonsmokers, citing skyrocketing insurance costs. Sarasota County already bans smokers from being hired. The Pasco Sheriff’s Office has employed the anti-employment practice since 2008. Other employers, …

Reports that a 15-year-old Tarpon Springs girl was raped during a house party earlier this month and the subsequent arrest of a 17-year-old Greek Orthodox cross diving honoree have shed light on what some say is a deep-rooted cultural problem. Following the boy’s arrest, local Twitter feeds erupted with cries of “#FreeJared.” Supporters of the teen charged in the case started a Twitter campaign to proclaim his innocence while attacking the victim – some resorting to calling her derogatory names such as “slut” and accusing her of ruining the boy’s life and her own. Details of the case, …

The massive manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers is finished, but the story is far from over. With one suspect dead and the other in custody attentions now turn to gleaning intelligence that might prevent future attacks and making sure the victims and their families see justice delivered. It’s the quest to glean intelligence, however, that has some worrying about how effective a case against Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, will be and if the individual rights of Americans are taking a hit as law enforcement carries out its duties by employing some unusual measures. When Tsarnaev was taken into …

President Barack Obama called the U.S. Senate’s April 17 vote denying stricter background checks for gun purchases “shameful.” The proposed law was shot down 54 to 46 with some Democrats joining Republicans in rejecting the measure, which was hoped to curb gun violence like that witnessed in the Newtown, Conn., massacre last year, according to the Huffington Post. The number of votes was less than the 60 needed to break a filibuster. If approved, the measure would have extended the country’s background check system to include gun shows and Internet purchases of weapons. The failure of the …

Quiet campus signs have gone up at schools across the Tampa Bay area as FCAT testing in Florida continues through April 26. Testing this week focuses on math, reading and science for kids in grades 3 through 10. The FCAT 2.0 writing tests were administered back in February for kids in grades 4, 8 and 10. During the week of April 22, more math and reading exams will continue for kids in grades 5, 6 and 9, according to the Florida Department of Education's website. In some grades, failure of an FCAT might mean a child is barred from progressing to the next grade level – or worse – denied the …

As the sun sets on another tax season, Americans have reason to celebrate. Tax Freedom Day 2013 is almost here. That’s the day when the country collectively has earned enough cash to pay off its taxes – federal and state – for the current year, according to TaxFoundation.org. “Tax Freedom Day provides Americans with an easy way to gauge the overall tax take – a task that can otherwise be daunting due to the multiplicity of taxes at various levels of government and ‘hidden’ taxes and fees that are often buried in the cost of living,” the organization’s website states.  This year Tax Freedom …

A new TV special aims to educate Florida parents about child sexual abuse and how to protect their kids. "Intimate Crimes" will be shown on local stations around the Tampa Bay area in April as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The 30-minute program, which features Florida experts, adult survivors of child sexual abuse, advocates and a convicted pedophile, is part of a statewide education campaign to raise awareness about child abuse reporting and prevention. It's a topic that's on many parents' minds, even more so in the wake of recent …

As the Wild West gets milder due to gun control laws a manufacturer that produces high-capacity gun magazines is looking to move out of Colorado. The Tampa Bay Young Republicans want that manufacturer, Magpul Industries, to roll out of Boulder and land somewhere in Hillsborough County, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The company makes gun magazines that hold up to 30 rounds and has about 200 people on its payroll, the Times reported. Magpul's motto is "Unfair Advantage," according to its website. The passage of a law in Colorado that bans gun magazines that hold more than 15 rounds has made…

Keg parties might take on a more sophisticated tone if a bill now before the Florida Senate meets with the same unanimous approval it received in the House. State lawmakers want to make it legal for winemakers to sell spirits by the keg – a move that’s already been adopted by 48 other states, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The law, sponsored by Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, must clear the Senate and Gov. Rick Scott’s office before it’s finalized. The idea behind the proposed law is to strike a “Prohibition-era rule” from the books while easing the pressure on processors. It’s …

As families and school districts across the country marked World Autism Awareness Day April 2, one nonprofit with lots of ties to the Tampa Bay area has taken up the torch to get President Barack Obama to create a plan to address the disorder on a broad scale. Autism Speaks points to figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in a petition addressed to Obama and Congress. Those figures say that an estimated 1 in 88 kids in America are identified with a disorder that falls on the autism spectrum. The CDC says there are three different types of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Autistic …

Florida marijuana users who prefer to take a hit off a bong rather than a toke off a joint may soon find their favorite paraphernalia hard to come by. A bill that would ban the sale of bongs in the state has cleared the House’s Business and Professional Regulation subcommittee, according to The Tampa Tribune. If the bill, sponsored by St. Petersburg Democrat Rep. Darryl Rouson, makes it to the governor’s desk and is signed, it would become illegal for retailers to sell bongs of any kind. Right now, Florida law allows stores to sell the tools of the marijuana-smoking trade if at least 75 …

Pasco County calls it a Good Friday observance. The City of Temple Terrace announced its March 29 closing as the annual “Spring Holiday.” Tampa calls its yearly day off “Spring Day/Good Friday.” In other parts of Tampa Bay, Friday, March 29, known as Good Friday to Christians, is just a regular day at the office. Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties, for example, are going about business as usual. School children, however, sometimes still get the day off. Pasco and Pinellas incorporated it into their spring breaks this year. Hillsborough has a non-student day to mark the end of the …

As temperatures dip throughout the Tampa Bay area to possible record-breaking lows for March, we’re wondering this: When it’s cold outside, do you pull out those sweaters and parkas to bundle up like an arctic explorer, or do you shrug it off and keep wearing shorts and T-shirts? Florida winters are quite often a matter of debate. Since snow is about as rare here as finding a Twinkie in a grocery store, there’s often no visible evidence of “the cold.” Sure, we get frost, and sometimes a hard freeze, but they don’t tend to last long. Even so, opinions about the cold can vary. Talk to recent …