Historic I-275 church to be demolished 

The Seminole Heights Baptist Church is going to be demolished and turned into an emergency clinic later this year. 

• The owners sold the historic house of worship for $6.9 million. 

• The church’s steeple, which rises over I-275,  has been a landmark for Tampa driver’s since the church opened.

 “When you see the steeple, you know you are getting near downtown Tampa,” said a local architectural historian.

Landlord grilled by retirement community 

The property management company On Top of the World has stirred the ire of its senior residents by invoking a fire safety policy which restricts grill usage. 

• This outrage manifested on Friday in the form of a protest, organized by the disgruntled denizens after they failed to contact On top of the World by both phone and email. 

The protestors insist that their grill usage can and should be legally preserved thanks to a loophole in the policy’s wording, lest the seniors of Tampa Bay lose their very way of life.

Notorious rapist from the 70s captured

After evading capture for nearly 50 years, convicted rapist Douglas E. Bennett was finally apprehended on Friday in Clearwater. 

Bennett was originally arrested in Connecticut after his victim identified him as the masked man who tied her to a tree and raped her repeatedly.

•  He was convicted two years later, but managed to escape to Clearwater, where he has been living for the past 44 years under an assumed name. 

• His false identity came to light when a discrepancy was noticed in his passport; a single observation that led to the end of his years-long charade, and the deliverance of justice at last. 

Home of ‘Edward Scissorhands’ gets a makeover

The local home that was one of the original sets from ‘Edward Scissorhands’ is being renovated to look as it did during filming.

•  Earlier this year, the house went on the market and was sold to two ‘Scissorhands’ fanatics.

•  In fact, one of the new homeowners used to work in a restaurant nearby the original set, and he washed dishes for the crew. 

The couple plans on turning the home into a gallery at some point.