USF Facing Big Budget Cuts

A Florida Senate budget bill presented early last week that proposed huge state funding cuts to the University of South Florida (USF)’s Tampa campus has been amended, providing the school with $25 million in relief, partly due to widespread public outrage in the form of petitions, emails and phone calls that have been bombarding the Capitol since Tuesday to have the bill re-evaluated.Continue reading

Wharton High Athletes Arrested For Burglary

Wharton High football stars Chase Litton and Rocky Enos were arrested on felony burglary charges on Feb. 8, in connection with recent burglaries of unoccupied homes and vehicles in the Hunter’s Green and Heritage Isles communities.

According to the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office (HCSO), each has been charged with three counts of third-degree felony burglary of items valued between $300 and $5,000, as well as several counts of burglary of unoccupied dwellings and conveyances and petit theft.

Litton, 16, was the sophomore starting quarterback for the Wharton Wildcats junior varsity football team this past season, and is currently a member of the school’s varsity basketball team (see page 43). Litton was arrested on a court order.

Enos, 16, a junior linebacker this past season for Wharton’s varsity football team, was arrested by the school’s resource officer.

Both were booked and released on their own recognizance from Orient Road Jail.

Editor’s Note – Under normal circumstances, the New Tampa Neighborhood News does not publish the names of juvenile suspects under the age of 17. However, because of the felony charges and the fact that the suspect’s names had been previously published both online and in print, we believed it would be irresponsible for us not to include their names here.