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Some of you have been asking where the heck I’ve been so I feel I owe you all an answer.

A couple weeks go I secured a new job with a great company. Unfortunately I will not go into details because I don’t want certain “drama starters” to ruin this opportunity for me. But I assure you, I could not refuse this offer.

Although I was always able to get my bills paid solely from stringing, this opportunity presents much more money, security, and benefits. And considering the drop in sales because of LNS, stations cutting back because the economy, and free cell phone video… this is a wise move.

I am on my first week and my schedule is been kind of hectic, thus I haven’t been out on the streets at all. As soon as my schedule is finalized and steady I will be back out covering breaking news on my days off and when I’m not on the clock. But if you need to send me on an assignment until then, you can call me at (813) 398-8264.

Thanks!

TAMPA – Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an early morning fire in the Town N  Country area.

The call came in around 4:07 at a home on Idlewild Avenue, just east of Axleod Road. Hillsborough Fire Rescue arrived within minutes and reported flames shooting from the structure. The fire was knocked down in only a few minutes.

According to several neighbors, the house is abandoned. Crews requested an investigator to the scene to determine the source of the fire.

No injuries were reported.

I don’t care what stats are given to me. Crime is definitely on the rise.

One agency’s police chief in my area boasted a significant reduction in crime since she took over. For people who believe every thing they’re told, that might be enough. But I”ve been told by friends from that agency that the stats are severely “lumped.”

For instance if officers respond to thirty burglaries in one neighborhood overnight, they used to report it as thirty separate burglarizes. Today in that same situation those burglaries now count under one report. It certainly reduces the paperwork involved but makes the statistics highly inaccurate.

Thus, many agencies are using the fabricated low crime statistics as an excuse to lay off public safety personnel. This article made me furious…

http://www.kctv5.com/story/14976790/police-cadets-hired-and-fired-in-same-day

Remember in Camden, NJ where they cut half of the police force and a third of the fire department?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/mass_police_layoffs_being_in_c.html

Where is the outrage here? Emergency services should be the LAST thing cut when it comes to a government budget crisis. Governor Rick Scott has also been talking about cutting or eliminating the Florida Highway Patrol. How did he get elected again? Oh, he was rich.

One way to save money is cut pay where it counts. Like Hillsborough School Superintendent Mary Ellen Elia, making over $253,000 a year, not including her yearly five figure bonuses. At least Hillsborough did the right thing by firing Administrator Pat Bean after approving a pay raise for herself.

But who knows who else is getting richer while firing those who keep us in once piece.

TAMPA – Hillsborough County deputies are investigating an early morning shooting in Westchase.

It happened Tuesday at 7039 Drury Street, off of Silvermill Drive. According to deputies, one brother shot another in the groin area during a family dispute. The victim was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital in critical condition. The shooter was taken into custody at the scene.

No names have been released.

TAMPA – A blaze destroyed a Hillsborough County home Tuesday morning.

The fire broke out at a home at the corner of Sligh Avenue and Alene Street. The first crews arrived and found the one story home heavily involved in flames. It took crews from Hillsborough and Tampa a couple hours to completely extinguish the flames.

Officials say the home belonged to a Hillsborough County firefighter, who was out of town with family. It is unknown how the fire started.