Latest news with #ElizabethMcCoy
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Private' street lights create issues for safe streets after hurricane vacancies
The Brief Some residents in South Tampa are dealing with dark streets because vacant homes no longer pay for attached streetlights. TECO said homeowners can take over the billing for these "area lights" — but some refuse, saying it's an unfair cost. Homeowners want the city to step in and pay for these streetlights, but we have not heard from officials. TAMPA, Fla. - After last year's brutal hurricanes, many Tampa Bay area neighborhoods remain half-vacant as people move back in or sell. Residents in Westshore have noticed their streets aren't just quieter — they're darker. What we know That's because some streetlights, once powered by homeowners, are now off when those homes sit empty. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube Elizabeth McCoy, a Tampa resident, told FOX 13, "After the hurricane, many of our neighbors left. They couldn't come back. So they disconnected their utilities. I realized the streetlight was not working, so I just reported it to TECO." Why you should care Streetlights in some parts of Tampa are not publicly funded — they're "area lights" attached to private homes. TECO explained to McCoy in an email, "The reported light is currently out of service because we do not have a customer for billing purposes. You can request to have this light turned on and added to your account for a monthly fee." But McCoy said with already high utility costs, that's not something she's willing to do. READ: Multi-year infrastructure improvement project complete in 4 Tampa neighborhoods "I think this is concerning that homeowners have to pay for streetlights when the streetlight is for safety and for the community, not only for one person, especially since we're already paying high taxes here," she said. What we don't know We didn't get specific details from TECO on how much these area lights cost a homeowner per month. We also reached out to the city to see if they plan to take over responsibility for lights that face public streets — but we have not heard back yet. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
Police, Massachusetts school district investigate photos shared by students
A recent set of emails to parents from different Dover-Sherborn school officials forced the Superintendent to step in to set the record straight on a photo sharing scandal that has spanned the entire school year. Dover police said they started investigating a photo sharing scandal at the middle school in September of 2024. The case, police said, centered around male middle school students possessing and potentially sharing photos of their female classmates. Student shared photos with classmates "It was determined that one male juvenile student disseminated these photos of clothed students and included additional nude pictures of an unknown origin in these messages," wrote Dover Police Chief Joseph Vinci in a statement released on Wednesday. "The identities of the individuals in the explicit photos could not be determined. Dover Police consulted with the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office, which pursued charges through the juvenile court system." In her letter to parents that same day, Superintendent Elizabeth McCoy referred to an email sent to parents a day earlier by a school committee member as, "not factual and could be misleading." Judge dismisses case against student The Boston Herald reported that original email suggested child pornography was being distributed by the teens. The superintendent's letter appeared to clear that accusation up and revealed the male student who was charged faced a judge who ultimately dismissed the case. "We take very seriously our responsibility to protect the safety and due process rights of every student in our schools," McCoy wrote. "District officials have taken appropriate action throughout this process to adhere to federal, state and district policies and protocols and will continue to do so. The District remains committed to supporting the students and families directly involved in this case." The school district says an investigation continues to determine whether Title IX or the code of conduct was broken.
