Friday, April 26, 2013
Who's responsible for the more than 55 vehicle break-ins in Brandon, Seffner and Valrico over one month's time? While deputies seeks clues, motorists should take heed of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's "Lock It Up" crime-prevention video.
The recent spate of vehicle break-ins reported in Brandon, Seffner and Valrico is another reminder why it's important to take heed of the "Lock It Up" video released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office late last year. The video extolls motorists to do the one thing they can do most simply to deter vehicle break-ins: lock their doors. The video has no narration, until the end, as it shows a series of shoppers putting recently bought merchandise into their vehicles. The "clicks" are timed in beat to the music. Then, there's the shopper in a rush, called back into the shopping center, who fails to do that one thing that matters most. She doesn't lock the doors and the nearby thief in sunglasses. lifting his sunglasses to get a …
Friday, January 11, 2013
Bicycle registration events have been scheduled for Jan. 19, including at the Brandon Recreation Center on Sadie Street. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is behind the effort, urging due diligence in stemming the rise of bike thefts.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies aim to stem the rise of bicycle thefts by working with residents to register their bikes at one of four events scheduled for Jan. 19 at neighborhood parks and centers, including at the Brandon Recreation Center on Sadie Street. Registration also is available online, both with a form in English and form in Spanish. The forms can be picked up at any of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office locations, including at the District II headquarters in the Greater Brandon area of Tampa, at 2310 North Falkenburg Road. "Should a bicycle be lost or stolen, the best way to help the sheriff's office locate, identify and return a bicycle to its rightful owner is to register it," according to a sheriff's …
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Last year, more than 7.3 million people visited the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site to review its consumer updates section. What made the list of most popular topics might surprise you.
______________ Top 10 2012 FDA Consumer Updates 1. Disposing of unused medicines. Read more. 2. Beware: Mercury in skin products sold illegally in U.S. Read more. 3. HCG diet products—a dangerous fad. Read more. 4. Dietary supplement Hydroxycut—can be hazardous to health. Read more. 5. Examining arsenic in rice: A work in progress. Read more. 6. Tattoo inks linked to serious infection. Read more. 7. Is the common additive triclosan safe? What you should know. Read more. 8. Thickening agent may be deadly for infants. Read more. 9. Expanded advice: Take statins with care. Read more. 10. Symptoms of Cushing’s disease in dogs, and how to treat it. Read more. _______________ Read the latest FDA Consumer Updates
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
While statewide numbers are down, Hillsborough County saw an increase in collisions in 2011, according to a new state report. What roads do you worry about the most in Brandon and beyond?
The numbers are in: traffic crashes in Hillsborough County rose from 17,480 in 2010 to 18,027 in 2011. Four teen drivers, or their passengers, ages 15 to 19, were killed in motor vehicle accidents in Hillsborough the same year and seven bicyclists were killed while trying to navigate Hillsborough roadways. These are just a few of the numbers released in the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles 2011 Florida Crash Statistics Report. The report was just released by the state and includes a variety of information related to roadway safety throughout the state and in Hillsborough County. While Hillsborough did see a rise in its crash numbers, the state witnessed a drop in fatalities, the report says. In fact, the drop …
Thieves are using stolen insurance cards to buy prescription drugs, have elective surgeries and submit false insurance claims. The Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency offers both a warning and tips for protection.
Residents are urged to be sure to guard their insurance and medical identification cards against theft. Medical identity theft is on the rise, according to the Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency. A thief who steals someone’s personal, insurance or medical information can use it to illegally obtain or pay for healthcare treatments, buy prescription drugs, have elective surgeries or submit false insurance claims in that person’s name. The agency noted that medical identity theft can have a serious impact on an individual’s personal, financial and medical well-being, including any medical treatments received if the false information winds up on their medical records. Have I Been A Victim? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
"It takes a village" to rid store shelves of synthetic marijuana, says a major with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, in announcing the recent store raids in the "Operation All Smoked Up" crackdown on K2 and Spice.
Major Tom Feeney made a fervent plead to parents, neighbors, clergy and community members to help law enforcement rid store shelves of dangerous synthetic marijuana, sold in brightly colored packages aimed toward youth. "I can tell you, it takes a village. Law enforcement can't do it by themselves," Feeney said. "We need neighbors, we need clergy, to get the word out as soon as possible." Feeney made his remarks Dec. 7, at a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office press conference concerning "Operation All Smoked Up." He was standing besides tables loaded with confiscated synthetic marijuana, commonly known as "K2" and "Spice." "Children are going to get more and more attracted to this, just by virtue of what you see on these pacakages, and…
Monday, December 10, 2012
Are you in favor of such a law? Do you think it goes too far, or not far enough?
Florida could soon join 39 other states that have banned texting while driving. A bill filed last week by state Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota, would make texting while driving a secondary offense under which a driver can receive a citation, but only after he or she is pulled over for a primary offense such as speeding or reckless driving, TBO.com reports. The bill doesn't prohibit all use of handheld devices while driving, as some state laws do, and cell phone calls would still be permitted. "If you are texting while driving, you are 23 times more likely to have an accident," Holder told TBO. "I think the timing is right. I think we are going to get something passed." Are you in favor of such a law in Florida? Do you think it goes too far, …
Sunday, December 2, 2012
"Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving" comes the word from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council. Aside from the risk to life and limb, here's what it could cost you in fines, legal fees and increased insurance rates.
They get it, people like to celebrate and often that means they like to drink, and just about everyone knows, or should know, that drunken driving can cost lives. But what about buzzed drinking? Comes the word from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council: Don't do it. Their "Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving" campaign aims to remind motorists that "a buzzed driving crash can happen to anyone, anywhere." The cost to your bank account? Around $10,000 in fines, legal fees and inceased insurance rates, notes the NHTSA, which pales in comparison to the devasting loss of life and limb from drunken driving crashes, which in 2010 alone cost more than 10,000 lives. "So, during this holiday season, amid all the …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Surveillance cameras catch another series of vechicle break-ins, this time in a parking lot on Lumsden Road. Caught on Shapes fitness center surveillance cameras, the thieves are seen using flashlights to determine which cars to strike.
Those signs you see posted begging you to keep your vehicle doors locked and your handbags, purses, wallets and other personal items and valuables out of sight? They're not kidding, and they're for your own good, comes the word from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which reports yet another series of car break-ins in the Greater Brandon area. This time, a pair of thieves was caught in the act, on Nov. 19, at 6:45 p.m., on the surveillance cameras at the Shapes fitness center at 731 Lumsden Road in Brandon. The two thieves are seen exiting a white, newer-model Mercedes GL450, then looking into parked cars with flashlights. The thieves "continued checking the parked cars until they found three vehicles with purses and other …
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Cooking is on the rise throughout the holiday season, which means we need to be more vigilant when it comes to best practices for using kitchen stoves, tanks and burners. Keep in mind these tips from Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
Thanskving is to kitchen as holiday is to eating, which means stoves are used more frequenty and so fire mishaps are more likely to occur. With that in mind, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue has released a series of tips to keep in mind as the holiday season heats up. First, some facts, based on recent reports from the National Fire Protection Association and the Consume Product Safety Commission: Hillsborough County Fire Rescue suggests the following safety tips: What if there's a fire? Frying, instead of cooking your turkey in the oven? Follow the fryer manufacturer's recommendations, and also these tips:
Rich Runyan
12:49 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2013
Lets hope our idiot of a Governor signs it! more ›