Pinellas budget presentation earns 6th consecutive award

Submitted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 13th, 9:52 am

Pinellas County has earned the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for the presentation of the county’s 2011 budget. This is the sixth consecutive year Pinellas has received this award.

Pinellas County Administrator Bob LaSala presented the award to John Woodruff, director of the Office of Management and Budget, at the July 12 Board of County Commissioners meeting.

The GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award represents a significant achievement by the county, reflecting the commitment of the Board of Commissioners and the staff to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the Office of Management and Budget had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. The guidelines are designed to assess how well the budget serves as:

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Crime reports nearly double near homeless shelter

Submitted by Chase Cain on Tuesday, July 12th, 11:52 pm

PINELLAS COUNTY, Florida -- Help for the homeless or a nuisance to the neighborhood? That's the debate surrounding one of the Bay area's largest homeless shelters -- Safe Harbor.

Safe Harbor is a former jail, located off of 49th Street near the Judicial Center in Pinellas County. Since the facility opened in January, crime reports in nearby Largo have nearly doubled. Homes and businesses up to 3 miles away from the shelter have reported crimes believed to have been committed by the homeless.

One officer told 10 News anonymously that he's responding to a lot more crimes than before the shelter, but the Pinellas sheriff, who runs Safe Harbor, says not all of the crime can be blamed on the homeless. Either way, neighbors and businesses near the shelter agree -- things are different.

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South Pinellas' reclaimed water system returning to full operation

Submitted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12th, 9:20 am

The south Pinellas County reclaimed water system will return to full operation on Tuesday, July 12. Through the implementation of zone control, customer response to a request to conserve, and the return of seasonal rains, the reclaimed water system in south county is now capable of operating at full capacity.

The north county reclaimed water system returned to normal operation on Friday, July 8.

Reclaimed water customers are still encouraged to conserve by limiting irrigation to every other day as requested by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. The voluntary watering on alternate days should follow the schedule based on house numbers:

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Head Start director pleads no contest to filing false report

Submitted by Mike Deeson, Reporter

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011, 9:19am

Clearwater, Florida -- The executive director of Pinellas Head Start, Juanita Heinzen, entered a no contest plea following her arrest for filing a false police report.

Heinzen, a target of a 10 News investigation, was in circuit court Monday. The judge withheld adjudication following Heinzen's plea.

As we initially explained, Heinzen told Largo police a van had been stolen from an agency Head Start funds when, in fact, Heinzen knew her fiancé, who was also working as a contractor for that agency, had the van.

Heinzen was put on temporary leave after the arrest. However, the agency and the attorney for the agency denied that ever happened and insisted she wasn't arrested.

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Rain and heat means more critters roaming around

Submitted by Althea Paul on Monday, July 11th, 5:41 pm

PINELLAS COUNTY, Florida - A Bay area wildlife expert is reminding everyone that all the wet weather we've had, coupled with the heat, means more critters will be out and about.

It's one of the reasons a little boy had a close call with a snake over the weekend. An eastern diamondback rattle snake nicked the boy while he was playing in the front yard of a Clearwater Beach home. He and his family are visiting from out of the country.

The nearly two-foot snake, however did not penetrate deep into the boy's skin, and did not inject any venom into him.

Vernon Yates, with the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Shelter in Seminole, captured the snake. He says the little boy is extremely lucky. He also adds that now is the time people will be seeing more snakes and critters because of all the rain we've had recently. The creatures start looking for higher and drier land when the ground gets too saturated.

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Meals on Wheels fears funding cut

Submitted by Kathryn Bursch, Reporter

Monday, July 11th, 2011, 5:13pm

St. Petersburg, Florida - In Pinellas County, Monday through Friday, it happens a thousand times a day. A volunteer like Don Brownstone delivers a meal to a senior like 88-year-old Stella Hairelson.

"They really help. I don't know how I'd get by right now without them," says Hairelson, sitting on her home's front porch. "I get one nourishing meal a day I'm sure of."

On Tuesday, county commissioners will get a look at the 2011-2012 budget proposed by County Administrator Bob LaSala. LaSala did not return calls from 10 News, but several commissioners have heard that LaSala is proposing to cut funding to several not-for-profit agencies, including the Meals on Wheels program.

If county commissioners approve LaSala's plan, Meals on Wheels would lose $49,000.

"This is extremely disturbing to us as an organization," says Michelle Backlund, CFO of Neighborly Care Network, the agency that oversees Meals on Wheels.

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Transit Authority to hold public input meeting to discuss grants

Submitted by Anonymous on Monday, July 11th, 2:38 pm

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) invites public input on the proposed capital assistance projects to be submitted by PSTA to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). They will be gathering this input a public hearing on Tuesday, July 12 at 9 a.m. at their headquarters (3201 Scherer Drive, St. Petersburg).

PSTA is requesting federal funding in the amount of $12,705,033 for these projects: preventative maintenance (tire lease, bus parts, shop labor), support vehicles and light duty passenger vehicles, computer hardware and software, transit security and passenger amenities, contingency, project administration, transit studies, and intermodal terminal construction. If approved, the proposal becomes the final Program of Projects, and serves as the formal funding request.

Written comments are welcome and should be addressed to: PSTA Program of Projects Public Hearing, 3201 Scherer Drive, St. Petersburg, FL 33716, or public-hearing@psta.net. For the official record, please include your name and address on all correspondence. The hearing will be held at the same address, served by Routes 11, 52, 59, 97, and 98.

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