PETERSBURG

A man convicted of a 1989 double slaying in Florida for which he was dubbed the “ninja killer” is set for execution next month under a death warrant signed Monday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Barring delays on appeal, the execution of Louis Bernard Gaskin is set for April 12 at 6 p.m., according to the governor's office. It would mark the second execution in Florida this year after a long pause dating back to 2019.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - With just a few weeks left in Spring Training, teams are getting fine-tuned for the upcoming season. On Monday, the Detroit Tigers get set for a meeting in an MLB ballpark when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Detroit and Tampa will meet one more time in Spring Training action on March 26, the last tune-up prior to Opening Day. Check out more stories about the Detroit Tigers here on MLiveMLB Spring TrainingWho: Detroit Tigers vs. Tampa Bay RaysWhen: Monday, March 13Time: 1:05 p.m. ETWhere: Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, Fla.)Channel: Bally Sports DetroitStream: FuboTV (Free Trial), DirecTV StreamCheck out the MLB standings and results on MLB.com

Summerfield avenged two earlier losses to Britton Deerfield, but Monroe and New Boston Huron fell Monday in District basketball openers for boys.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - On a busy Sunday in racing, the NTT IndyCar Series gets set to kickoff its 2023 season, as the best drivers in the sport get set to duke it out on a street circuit in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. That includes two-time series winner Josef Newgarden. This will be the 20th time IndyCar has taken to the streets of St. Petersburg. Firestone Grand Prix of St. PetersburgNTT IndyCar SeriesWhen: Sunday, March 5Time: 12 p.m. ETWhere: St. Petersburg, Fla.Channel: NBCStream: FuboTV (Free Trial), Sling, DirecTV Stream, PeacockCheck out the IndyCar standings and results here

Romain Grosjean opened his third season in IndyCar by winning the pole in qualifying on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

Summerfield defeated Morenci 46-28 Thursday night to earn a share of the TCC title – the team's first league championship since 2006.

Petersburg Church of God (Seventh Day) is featured in this week's Church Profile.

David P. Wahr of Petersburg will talk about his trip to Egypt Feb. 10 at the Summerfield-Petersburg Branch Library. Desserts will be served.

After 18 years, a $1.5 billion project was officially completed Wednesday to repair the sprawling dike around Florida's Lake Okeechobee that protects thousands of people from potentially catastrophic flooding during hurricanes. The Herbert Hoover Dike project overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was completed three years ahead of schedule and at a savings of $300 million over the original cost estimate, officials said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the lake's shore in Clewiston. “Herbert Hoover Dike has never been in better shape than it is right now,” said Col. James Booth, commander of the Corps of Engineers' Jacksonville district.

Stevens will begin service of the five-year contract on July 1, 2023. The city has an option for a three-year renewal.

Summerfield's Abby Haller topped 1,000 career points during a 59-16 win over Quincy Tuesday night.

Monroe will enter a new refuse and recycling contract with Stevens Disposal & Recycling of Petersburg that starts in July 2023.

Destanee Smith had 21 points and 8 steals on the second night of back-to-back games to lead Summerfield over Dundee 66-37.

Authorities in Virginia said a highway crash involving two tractor-trailers on I-95 resulted in 40,000 pounds of meatballs being spilled across the roadway.

"Studies now show how important Positive Childhood Experiences are to children," Laura Schultz Pipis writes in her latest column.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida near Cayo Costa on Wednesday as a catastrophic Category 4 storm.

Rays teammates Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena had an altercation after a 4-0 loss to the Astros on Monday, partially prompting Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash to bench both players Tuesday in a 5-0 defeat to Houston. Arozarena told reporters Wednesday night that there was no physical contact with Díaz, and that there were some little things they needed to address. Arozarena, a breakout star of the 2020 postseason who won AL rookie of the year in 2021, was in Wednesday's lineup.

The Houston Astros clinched their fifth AL West title in six years, getting a leadoff home run from Jose Altuve in a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bays.

DroneUp will expand its Virginia Beach headquarters and invest in a testing, training and R&D center for drone operators at Richard Bland College of William & Mary.

Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz homered as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-4.

The Baltimore Orioles’ winning streak ended at 10 when Christian Bethancourt hit his first home run for Tampa Bay and the Rays rallied for a 5-4 victory.

Zach Kramer shot a hole-in-one on the 324-yard No. 12 hole at Harbor Dunes Golf Club Saturday.

A 12-year-old boy was killed overnight when a garage caught fire in Monroe County, and his father and brother were burned while trying to rescue him, officials said.

Victim was a fifth-grade student at Summerfield Elementary School.

Erie Mason boys were champions in the Tri-County Conference. Jefferson's girls won the Huron League title, while the boys shared the honor with Milan.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez left Wednesday’s game in the first inning after recording just one out. Rodriguez was in the midst of a miserable start when he signaled to the dugout. Hinch called to the bullpen almost immediately and Rodriguez departed the field with Teter. Rodriguez allowed four singles and two walks. Although Rodriguez left the bases loaded, reliever Rony Garcia struck out the next two batters to limit the damage.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera will give way to fellow slugger Harold Castro in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon at Tropicana Field. Cabrera has started 32 of the Tigers’ 37 games this season and often gets a day off on afternoon games following night games. Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 3.72 ERA) will face Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen (3-1, 2.67). Former Tiger Isaac Paredes will get his first start against his old team on Wednesday. He entered as a pinch-hitter and defensive replacement in the first two games of the series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays hit three home runs en route to a 8-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night. The Tigers (13-24) snapped a four-game winning streak and have one more against the Rays (22-15) before a day off on Thursday. Jeimer Candelario’s third homer of the season was a 430-foot bomb to left off Rays lefty starter Shane McClanahan fastball. pic.twitter.com/LIcyr4YQnk — Detroit Tigers (@tigers) May 17, 2022But that was the only damage done in seven innings against Rays starter Shane McClanahan. Box scoreUp nextThe Tigers and Rays wrap up their three-game series on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. Tigers lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 3.72 ERA) will face Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen (3-1, 2.67).

Winless Summerfield rallied from a 6-0 deficit to salvage a tie with Mornenci.

This week, we're bragging about Jacob Prati: A senior at Summerfield High School who excels inside the classroom and out.

A federal judge in Florida has voided the national mask mandate covering airplanes and other public transportation as exceeding the authority of U.S. health officials in the coronavirus pandemic. The decision Monday by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, also said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention improperly failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking. “Because our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends, the court declares unlawful and vacates the mask mandate,” she wrote.

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Summerfield began in 1862 when an Evangelical Lutheran congregation organized in Petersburg.

Mindy LaRocca describes herself as an university administrator by day and a social media influencer by night. Her business is "M is for Mindy."

Whiteford's Unity Nelson pitched a no-hitter in five innings to help Whiteford open the season with a doubleheader sweep of Blissfield Wednesday.

One thing wildlife officials have learned during the winter experimental feeding program to help manatees avoid starvation is that if you feed them, they will come. Manatees have eaten virtually all of the estimated 160,000 pounds (72,500 kilograms) of lettuce provided at a warm-water power plant site where manatees typically congregate during cold months, officials said Wednesday during a virtual news conference. “They've eaten every scrap of food we've put out,” said Scott Calleson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

More than 55 tons of lettuce have been fed to starving Florida manatees as part of an experimental program to help the slow-moving marine mammals since their natural food is being destroyed by water pollution, wildlife officials said Wednesday. The lettuce, funded by more than 1,000 individual donations, is offered to manatees that gather in the warm water discharge near a power plant on Florida's east coast as they typically do during cold months. Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a conference call that the feeding program has made a difference.

A monster slam by Roman Iott punctuated Summerfield's boys basketball win over Whitmore Lake.

The unprecedented human effort to feed starving Florida manatees has so far provided the lovable marine mammals with more than 25 tons of lettuce, officials said Wednesday. Officials say the feeding program involving donated romaine lettuce at a Florida Power & Light plant on the east coast is attracting about 300 to 350 manatees per day. “We’re making a difference,” said Ron Mezich of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission during an online news conference Wednesday.

A cold snap in Florida is different than in other places.

Whiteford's girls basketball team put together one of its most complete games of the season to knock off Summerfield.

A roundup of boys varsity basketball action from across the Monroe County Region on Friday, January 21, 2022.

Manatees at risk of starvation because native seagrass is dying due to water pollution have for the first time started eating lettuce under an experimental feeding program, Florida wildlife officials said Friday. The test facility on the east coast's Indian River Lagoon had its first takers of romaine lettuce Thursday, leading more manatees to join in, said Ron Mezich, chief of the effort’s provisioning branch at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A substitute teacher in Florida has resigned after students said she yelled a racial slur in the classroom. The 59-year-old white woman continued using the slur after going to the principal’s office Wednesday at Lealman Innovation Academy, Pinellas County school officials told the Tampa Bay Times. Principal Connisheia Garcia is Black, as are about 75% of the students at the school in St. Petersburg, which focuses on personalized learning for students in grades six through 12.

Alex Lipka, Summerfield's varsity football coach for the past three years, was recently hired to also lead the Bulldogs' softball program.

A Florida man with homemade explosive devices was arrested early Friday near a Tampa Bay area rally in support of a man being held in connection with last year's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, authorities said. Garrett James Smith, 22, of Oldsmar, was arrested and charged with making and possessing a destructive device and loitering, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news conference. To mark the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the rally was held Thursday night outside the Pinellas County Jail was in support of Jeremy Brown, a member of the rightwing Oath Keepers group.

The Vandercook Lake boys basketball team went to Petersburg and came away with a 60-54 win over Summerfield on Thursday. In other games:

The city's Junior League scrapped the 2022 event after Mayor-elect Ken Welch declined to attend. Critics say the theme was disrespectful and inappropriate in the majority-white, once-segregated city.

Frenchtown Township is negotiating with Stevens Disposal & Recycling to launch a recycling dropoff center at the Mall of Monroe parking lot.

A rare contested election in the City of Petersburg went the incumbents' way Tuesday.

Track live election results for Petersburg in the 2021 Michigan General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

Laundrie was a person of interest in the death of girlfriend Gabby Petito while the couple was on a cross-country road trip.

Burgards celebrating 50th anniversary

Jesse Sullivan, a political unknown, touts his background as a venture capitalist but most of his time has been spent overseeing a tax-exempt charity.

An alligator attacked a homeless woman who fell into a Florida canal on Monday morning, authorities said. The woman was resting on a sea wall when she fell into the canal, according to a St. Petersburg Fire Rescue news release. Authorities from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were trying to locate the alligator on Monday morning.

Monroe's tennis hosted Bedford at the same time St. Mary Catholic Central tangled with Milan at Munson Park.

Boston Red Sox star shortstop Xander Bogaerts has tested positive for COVID-19 and been pulled from a game at Tampa Bay.

Jefferson's volleyball team opened the season with a victory over Summerfield Monday, matching the Bears' combined win total over the past three years.

Summerfield's football team, which won three playoff games last season after just one victory in the regular season, was the first Monroe County Region team to begin practice Monday.

People may experience respiratory problems because of a persistent bloom of toxic red tide off Florida's Gulf Coast, the National Weather Service said Friday. The service issued a “beach hazards statement” affecting the oceanfront and bayside shores in Pinellas County from 11:30 a.m. Friday through at least 10 p.m. Saturday. Symptoms include coughing, sneezing and watery eyes.

Boston Red Sox pitchers Nick Pivetta and Josh Taylor have combined on a no-hitter through seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Colton Herta has rebounded from a first-lap crash in the IndyCar season opener to win the pole on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

Iota became a Category 2 hurricane late Sunday afternoon, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned it would likely be an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm when it approached the Central America mainland late Monday. It was already a record-breaking system, being the 30th named storm of this year’s extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. It hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 120 people as torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides in parts of Central America and Mexico. Eta was the 28th named storm of this year’s hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. The official end of hurricane season is Nov. 30.

Hurricane experts were closely watching the Caribbean, where Tropical Storm Iota formed Friday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Iota could bring dangerous wind, storm surge and as much as 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rainfall to northern Nicaragua and Honduras. The storm was located about 350 miles (560 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). Iota is a record-setting 30th named storm of this year’s extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. Earlier, firefighters in Tampa had to rescue around a dozen people who got stuck in storm surge flooding on a boulevard adjacent to the bay.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Doctors at the University of Michigan have separated 1-year-old conjoined twin sisters. Sarabeth and Amelia Irwin of Petersburg, Michigan, each had their own arms and legs and heart, but their livers were connected, C.S. “I’m a father of twins and know twins are very close,” Mychaliska said. The parents, Alyson and Phil Irwin, learned about the conjoined twins during a pregnancy ultrasound in 2019, four months before the birth by cesarean section. “This has been a giant experiment in the power of positive and the power of prayer," Phil said.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league team since at least 1901 to start a batting order with all left-handed batters. Rays manager Kevin Cash stacked his lineup with lefties on Friday night against Boston Red Sox right-hander Andrew Triggs. Triggs was making just his second start for the Red Sox, who claimed him off waivers from San Francisco on Aug. 19. We’ve added a couple of left-handed hitters,” Cash said. “Thinking about it last night after the game, we don’t know their pitcher very well, Triggs.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Florida on Sunday reported the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any one state since the beginning of the pandemic. According to state Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases. California had the previous record of daily positive cases 11,694, four days ago. The numbers come at the end of a grim, record-breaking week in Florida, with 514 fatalities. Under the order people are required to wear a face mask in indoor public spaces and crowded outdoor spaces.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell reported for work, after all. The 27-year-old Snell made headlines in May when he said he opposed the idea of players taking further pay reductions to start the season during a pandemic that it was not worth the health risk. But he said Friday it wasn't difficult to start playing again after the players' agreement with Major League Baseball included their full pro-rated salaries. I would say it wasnt tough when it came down to what the (union) agreed on," he said. But as far as the workout today, it went really well.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WFTS via CNNST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN) - A Tampa woman is suing the Don Cesar Hotel, alleging severe injuries she suffered after liquid nitrogen was poured into her drink, WFTS reported. According to the lawsuit, Stacey Wagers was celebrating her birthday with a friend on Nov. 11, 2018, when the incident happened. She claims that a waiter who was using liquid nitrogen on another guest's dessert, to make it smoke, added the chemical to her water. "She lost about 26 pounds as a result of this because she couldn't eat," attorney with Morgan and Morgan Adam Brum said. Brum said Wagers reacted to the liquid nitrogen within seconds.

Several people reported stabbed at a plasma center in Virginia. PETERSBURG, Va. - A 20-year-old suspect attacked a Petersburg, Virginia, plasma donation center on Thursday with a weapon similar to a machete, injuring several people, police said. The man, who is from Petersburg, hid the weapon when he walked into Octapharma Plasma center and asked to use the restroom, Petersburg police Capt. The suspect then later attacked people inside the center, injuring four, Chambliss said. People inside the center ran out through the back door and called police, according to Chambliss.