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TOP STORIES:
HURRICANE CONFERENCE
ORLANDO — Emergency managers, forecasters and local government officials from Texas to Maine are meeting this week at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando. National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb and Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Craig Fugate will address the conference Wednesday. The six-month Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1. This year, the hurricane center is trying new color-coded maps to clarify the dangers of storm surge for coastal residents. The graphics will be posted online and will show how far from the beach the water would spread and how high it would rise. Separate storm surge warnings, similar to current tropical storm or hurricane warnings, will be rolled out in 2015. It's all part of an ongoing effort to improve how the hurricane center describes storm hazards. By Jennifer Kay. UPCOMING: 350 words.
DYING PALMS
PENSACOLA — From airports to hotels to schools and churches, non-native palm and fruit trees are a popular and costly part of landscaping throughout Florida's Panhandle. Nowadays those trees are mostly brown and withering because of the region's unusually cold winter. Brown trees line neighborhood streets, shopping centers and major thoroughfares. Dead palm fronds, lemon and orange trees peak out above blooming hydrangeas, dogwoods and azaleas. The Panhandle may be part of Florida, but it's not tropical like Miami — it's over 300 miles further north and the average low temperature in December and January is 40 degrees. Freezing temperatures aren't uncommon and this year temperatures plunged into the 20s and below. The region was blanketed by ice for a time. By Melissa Nelson-Gabriel. SENT 652 words, photos, video.
SPACE STATION
CAPE CANAVERAL — SpaceX is shooting for another launch attempt Friday to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. NASA confirmed the launch date Wednesday, two days after a last-minute rocket leak delayed the mission. Stormy weather, however, is forecast for Friday. Saturday is the backup launch date. Mission Control has rescheduled urgent spacewalking repairs because of the new launch time. Two U.S. astronauts, Rick Mastracchio and Steven Swanson, had been aiming for a Tuesday spacewalk to replace a backup computer that failed late last week. By Marcia Dunn. SENT: 515 words, with photos.
FAKE ATTORNEY-FUGITIVE
MIAMI — Authorities are searching for a 44-year-old convicted child abuser now accused of posing as an attorney to con a convict's family out of $70,000. The Miami Herald (http://hrld.us/1jJX589 ) reports Imer Armando Perez vanished this week as state agents sought to arrest him on charges of grand theft and practicing law without a license. Perez is on probation after serving two years for aggravated child abuse. The Herald reports he apparently honed his skills as a "jailhouse lawyer" by doing legal research in jail. SENT: 356 words.
ALSO:
STOLEN RACEHORSE — Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies say a racehorse worth $15,000 has been stolen from its stable.
LAWYER-MILLIONS MISSING — The former chief financial officer of convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein's law firm has been charged with conspiracy in the $1.2 billion fraud.
FAKE POLICE — Miami-Dade police have arrested five men who were spotted in a car changing into phony police clothing and gear.
BOY BULLIED-LAWSUIT — A South Florida jury has awarded more than $5.2 million to a boy who sued a charter school claiming he was bullied and sexually assaulted by an older student.
SPRING BREAK-CHANGES — Some members of the Bay County Commission are voicing support for plans to bring changes to spring break.
BATHTUB BIRTH — An infant is in critical condition days after his mother says she gave birth in an Ocala motel bathtub while on a crack cocaine binge.
EMPLOYEE-THEFT — A long-time employee of a manufactured homes company faces grand theft charges following a four-month investigation by Lake Wales police.
SURFER DEATH — Officials say a 56-year-old surfer may have suffered a medical episode before his friends brought him to shore in New Smyrna Beach.
FLORIDA GRAPEFRUIT-SOUTH KOREA — Florida grapefruit will be featured on Outback Steakhouse menus in South Korea, underscoring the fruit's popularity in that country.
AQUARIUM-WILDLIFE TRAFFICKING — A South Florida federal judge has imposed fines and three years of probation on Idaho Aquarium in an illegal wildlife trafficking case.
HIT AND RUN — An arrest has been made in a hit-and-run crash that killed a St. Lucie County teen.
SPORTS:
BKN--76ERS-HEAT
MIAMI — Locked into the No. 2 seed, the Miami Heat close the regular season Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, who will finish with the league's second-worst record. By Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts at 8 p.m.
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The AP, Miami
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