Man in Wig Robs Clearwater Bank, Police Say

A man in his 20s wore a silver wig as he made off with cash from a Fort Harrison Avenue bank Friday morning, according to Clearwater Police.

A man wearing a silver wig robbed a Clearwater bank Friday morning, according to police. There was no sign of a weapon on the man, who entered First United Bank, 1465 S. Fort Harrison Ave., around 10:40 a.m. and handed a bank teller a note demanding money, Clearwater Police said. The man was given "an undetermined amount of money" and fled southbound toward Belleair, a police spokesperson said. A search by police K-9s turned up empty. The suspect is described as being in his late 20s, about 5-foot-10 with a thin build and clean shaven. He was wearing a yellow polo shirt, tan cargo pants, black gloves and a silver wig, police said. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the Clearwater Police Tip line at 727-…

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Clearwater Red Light Cameras Spy More Than 1,000 Violators in August

The city issued 1,145 tickets in the first month of using the red-light cameras, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Drivers in Clearwater were ticketed more than 1,000 times last month at three local intersections with red-light cameras — including more than 800 at the intersection of Gulf to Bay Boulevard and Belcher Road, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The city issued 1,145 tickets in August using the new cameras, according to the Times' story. The breakdown: Those tickets come with $158 fines — although the city will collect less than a third of that. The state receives $100 of every ticket, and the city must split their revenues with the Arizona company that installed and maintains the cameras, the Times reports. Clearwater pays Redflex Traffic Systems $13,000 a month. Clearwater City Council member Bill Jonson told the newspaper: "This is all about …

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Destination Clearwater

Destination Clearwater: 1987

Sometimes one song can connect you to the past.

I turned 15 in 1987, so I couldn’t drive yet. I spent a lot of time in the front seat of my friend Chad’s maroon Ford-type car, heading to Rocky Horror at Countryside Mall, driving up and down a pre-roundabout Clearwater Beach, and taking trips to the airport to ride the trams back and forth and page each other over the loudspeaker.  Chad’s car actually belonged to his parents, but they let him drive it all the time. As the declared ringleader of our merry band of misfits, he spent hours chauffeuring us on his latest adventures. At the hands of teenagers, this marvel of midwestern engineering took one hell of a beating. The gray headliner sagged. The electric windows went up and down as the spirit moved them and not in response to us …

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Cathy Salustri

10:05 am on Sunday, June 3, 2012

Billy Squire!   more ›