Tampa Bay News-Airfest and Grand Prix

[JonathanBelles]

I have 2 stories today, so I decided to put it in a thread.

Gary Vickers Has Died
Pinellas County EOC manager has died from injuries of a car accident. He was in a persistant vegatative states for just a few hours before being taken off of live support.

In a statement issued by the county: It is with great regret that we announce the passing of Emergency Management Director, Gary Vickers. He died at 3 p.m. today after his family made the difficult decision to remove him from life support at noon. Over the weekend, doctors performed neurological tests and determined Vickers to be in a continuous vegetative state with no hope of recovery. "Gary's passing is a tremendous loss for the county, his family, the emergency response community and all of our citizens and visitors who came to rely upon his steady, highly professional and trustworthy guidance," said Steve Spratt, County Administrator. "He dedicated his professional life and gave of himself selflessly to safeguard our community. He will be sorely missed." Vickers was injured in a car accident at 10:25 p.m. on Feb. 13, on Countryside Boulevard, just south of State Road 580. Vickers was alone in a personal car. Vickers, 53, was first hired in 1986. He had been the director of Emergency Management for five years. Sally Bishop will continue as Acting Director of Emergency Management. County Administration will continue to lend all necessary support to Sally and her team. Crisis counseling is available to employees who may need it. No arrangements are available as of this writing.
©2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local ... e269f2904d
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Scientology Expands
John Travolta is in Saint Petersburg tonight to introduce 2 new centers in Plant City and Saint Petersurg for Scientology.

Scientologists open two new centers in Florida

PLANT CITY - The Church of Scientology has brought celebrity guests and other entertainment to mark the opening of two new outreach centers in the Tampa Bay area.

Actor John Travolta will make an appearance Monday at the opening of the church's St. Petersburg Life Improvement Center.

The Plant City center held its grand opening ceremony Sunday. Actress Erika Christensen, who starred in the movies "Flightplan " and "Traffic," was the guest speaker.

"We've never had openings back-to-back like this before," church spokeswoman Pat Harney said. "It's exciting."

The centers feature libraries, classrooms and interactive displays. They will offer information and introductory courses on Scientology and its programs.

The centers are models for future expansion to six other cities around the state, Harney said.

. . . . . ©2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state ... 08c9bdc07a

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[JonathanBelles]

Massive Brush Fire Consumes Campground

Polk County Firefighters and the Division of Forestry spent Saturday afternoon and evening fighting a massive brush fire east of Lake Wales in Polk County.

Firefighters say close to 1000 acres are burning in the River Ranch area.

The fire broke out around 3pm Sunday in the near Indian River Estates and quickly grew.

As of late Saturday the fire was 70 percent contained, but officials says fire conditions for Monday are bad, and the fire could kick up again.

Officials say no homes were threatened, but at least 100 semi permanent structures, such as campers, barns and trailers have been destroyed. The area is a campground primarily used by hunters.

Campers were evacuated, but officials did not have a good number on exactly how many left the area.

Officials say the sight of this fire is about 5 miles away from the site of an 100 acre brush fire that burned in early March. That fire is still under investigation.

©2007 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[hr]

Not mentioned in the article, but on any given weekend the campgrounds can hold 3000-4000 people, but most were heading out for the week at the time of the fire.

[JonathanBelles]

I-275/I-175 tanker explosion.

-This is near the Tropicana Field.
-I would not go anywhere near this area until it is cleaned up.

Tanker Truck Burns On I-275
Posted Mar 28, 2007 by TBO.com
Updated Mar 28, 2007 at 11:12 PM

ST. PETERSBURG – A three-alarm fire involving a tanker truck and several vehicles has shut down part of Interstate 275 near downtown St. Petersburg. Pinellas County Central Dispatch received a call about the fire about 10:43 p.m. Explosions have been reported at the scene, I-275 and 5th Ave. North.

Roads in the vicinity have been shut down, St. Petersburg police said.

The Florida Highway Patrol reports that the I-275 exit ramp to eastbound I-175 is closed.

Stay tuned to TBO.com for more updates.

[gtalum]

The tanker fire was actually near Tropicana Field, not the Forum. The fire was in St. Pete and the Forum is in Tampa.

[JonathanBelles]

This weekend the airfest at macdill and the St. Petersurg Grand Prix are in town. The Airfest is tomorrow and sunday, the Grand Prix is all weekend with the race sunday (im not sure when.) Traffic is already a mess, but it is about to get a whole lot worse. 100000 people are expected to the Airfest alone, It will probably be close to double that for the two events. I went to the Pinellas Trail, which is normaly somewhat full, but today it was full. The (regular) walmart, normaly a madhouse, today it was as if a hurricane was on its way and everyone was drunk. I'm sure the super walmart was even worse. the I-275 exit to I-375 is already closed (a major exit to downtown St. Pete) due to the tanker accident. I's-75, 175, 275, 375, and 4 and US-19 will be very slow going, avoid at all cost! The bridges, howard franklin, gandy, Sunshine skyway, treasure island causeway, and the bayside, will be slow. The best bet willl be the Courney Cambell. Travel between Tampa and St. Pete will be very hard. The beaches will be full in the morning. Hotels in the area are very highly booked.

It will be very hot, very sunny, and packed. Bring water, sunsreen, and sunglasses/hats.

I will probably be heading to the Airfest in the morning, and the Grand Prix sunday.

[feederband]

This weekend the airfest at macdill and the St. Petersurg Grand Prix are in town. The Airfest is tomorrow and sunday, the Grand Prix is all weekend with the race sunday (im not sure when.) Traffic is already a mess, but it is about to get a whole lot worse. 100000 people are expected to the Airfest alone, It will probably be close to double that for the two events. I went to the Pinellas Trail, which is normaly somewhat full, but today it was full. The (regular) walmart, normaly a madhouse, today it was as if a hurricane was on its way and everyone was drunk. I'm sure the super walmart was even worse. the I-275 exit to I-375 is already closed (a major exit to downtown St. Pete) due to the tanker accident. I's-75, 175, 275, 375, and 4 and US-19 will be very slow going, avoid at all cost! The bridges, howard franklin, gandy, Sunshine skyway, treasure island causeway, and the bayside, will be slow. The best bet willl be the Courney Cambell. Travel between Tampa and St. Pete will be very hard. The beaches will be full in the morning. Hotels in the area are very highly booked.

It will be very hot, very sunny, and packed. Bring water, sunsreen, and sunglasses/hats.

I will probably be heading to the Airfest in the morning, and the Grand Prix sunday.

I'm going to try to get to the Airfest...I haven't been there in awhile...

[JonathanBelles]

The Police just came to our house offering ear plugs for $.50 and ear muffs for $2. I had to laugh when they came up to the door asking if we wanted plugs for our ears. I bought 3 sets of ear muffs, I think it was probably cheaper here than at the 2 events.

[JonathanBelles]

I decided not to go today to get some things done, but I did hear the Grand Prix from here. Im definatly going to airfest tomorrow. Who ever put the 3 or 4 festivals, the 2 events listed above, and the Yankee game all on the same weekend, is crazy. Traffic is horriblearound my house and police are all over the place.

[tropicana]

I decided not to go today to get some things done, but I did hear the Grand Prix from here. Im definatly going to airfest tomorrow. Who ever put the 3 or 4 festivals, the 2 events listed above, and the Yankee game all on the same weekend, is crazy. Traffic is horriblearound my house and police are all over the place.

im sure with all the police presence though, your neighborhood is the safest neighborhood in the USA tonight!
so thats a positive thing!
have fun at the airfest.
-justin-

[JonathanBelles]

I have a police department down the street and its annoying when I have to wait 5 minutes to back out of my driveway because of police cars.