LARGO — After finishing the 2019-2020 school year with kids at home staring at monitors and teachers speaking into microphones and cameras, officials from the state Capitol to local boardrooms
Police Maj. Ann Starling is the first woman to reach the rank of major in the Largo police department.
She graduated from St. Petersburg Collegeâs Southeastern Public Safety Institute in 2004. One of her first law-enforcement posts was inside an igloo-like structure as part of a wilderness adventure program. But life in a snow cave didnât suit the Florida native.
Tampa Bay Newspapers interviewed Starling about her role as an administrator in the department, where she is âfortunate to be surrounded by strong, capable female leaders who inspire me every day, both in the Largo Police Department and the City of Largo as a whole,â Starling said.
Former Madeira Beach City Manager Shane Crawford said he was encouraged by numerous people and groups in Treasure Island to apply for the top job in that city, but he has âmade the decision to avoid local government.â
Although the Treasure Island commission last month was unanimous in believing they had an heir apparent in Assistant City Manager and Finance Director Amy Davis when current city manager Garry Brumback announced his retirement effective June 1, two members of the commission suggested they open the search for a successor.
Treasure Island Mayor Tyler Payne confirmed to Tampa Bay Newspapers that constituents had lobbied on behalf of Crawford.
LARGO â The city of Largo on April 20 agreed to settle a federal lawsuit with three area environmental groups that claim the cityâs failed sewage treatment and aging collection system have led to water quality problems in Old Tampa Bay and endangered human health and the environment.
City commissioners voted 7-0 to settle the suit brought on by Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, and Our Childrenâs Earth Foundation, who said the city was in violation of the Clean Water Act by not adhering to the Department of Environmental Protectionâs permit related to the discharge of certain pollutants into navigable waters.
CLEARWATER â The city will pay up to $11.2 million to construct a new operations and training center for its police department.
That was the decision April 15 of the City Council, which voted 5-0 to approve a contract for Ajax Building Co. of Oldsmar to rebuild the District 3 Operations and Training Center at 2851 McMullen-Booth Road, which is across the street from Countryside High School.
The new facility will also be the cityâs first building rated to withstand a Category 5 hurricane with wind of 157 mph or higher, meaning the public safety personnel will use it as its emergency operations center for future storms.