Top Headlines: Dollar General, Mutt March, New Sheriff's Captain

OK, so you had a busy week. We understand. Let us catch you up on all the highlights from Dunedin Patch!

Dollar General developers updated site plans that replace a privately-owned "eyesore" storage lot. The item is up for discussion at tonight's city commission meeting. Pinellas County Sheriff's Capt. Glenn Luben, the new man in charge of day-to-day patrol operations in north Pinellas, shares challenges he and his deputies face in times of tightening budgets and evolving technology. Suncoast Animal League's annual Mutt March held Saturday, Feb. 16, at Highlander Park featured crazy contests and a Mutt March pledge walk. Dunedin officials are considering renaming Pioneer Park to memorialize one of the city's longest serving public servants at Thursday's commission meeting. City officials are considering the spending package for a possible …

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Spring Training: Blue Jays Apparel Shop Opens Monday

The Dunedin Blue Jays announced this week that its stadium fan shop opens Monday, Feb. 4.

With Spring Training fast approaching, all the latest Blue Jays apparel is available in Dunedin starting Monday, Feb. 4.  The Dunedin Blue Jays announced this week that The Jays Shop inside Florida Auto Exchange Stadium is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Feb. 22. When Major League Baseball's Spring Training season begins on Feb. 23, the shop will be open on home game days from 10 a.m. through the end of the game (up to 30 minutes post-game).  It is open during the Florida State League season between gate-opening times through the completion of the seventh inning.  Also, shop online at DunedinBlueJays.com. Upcoming Dates to Remember:

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Dunedin Blue Jays Announce Spring Training Job Fair

A Spring Training Job Fair is planned Jan. 12 at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium to hire for several game-day positions, the Dunedin Blue Jays announced Friday.

The Dunedin Blue Jays announced several job openings Friday. The team is holding a Spring Training Job Fair to hire for several game-day positions, including ushers, parking attendants, and sales associates for the Jays Shop, according to the Dunedin Blue Jays website. The Jays are also auditioning for national anthem singers and a master of ceremonies. Singers must perform both "O Canada" and "The Star Spangled Banner" to be eligible, according to the Blue Jays website.

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Dunedin Blue Jays Manager Redmond Hired By Marlins

Mike Redmond, who led Dunedin's Class-A team to a 78-55 record this past season, is headed to the major leagues as the Miami Marlins' new manager.

The Dunedin Blue Jays' manager has made it to the big leagues. Mike Redmond, who guided Dunedin's Class-A team to a 78-55 record and a playoff appearance in his lone year with the team in 2012, has agreed to a three-year contract as the Miami Marlins' manager, MLB.com reports. The move was announced by the team Thursday, and Redmond will be introduced at a news conference Friday at Marlins Park, according to the report. Redmond, 41, spent 13 years as a catcher in the majors, including 1998-2004 with the Marlins, where he was part of a World Series championship. He will take over for Ozzie Guillen, who was dismissed Oct. 23. Redmond led Dunedin to a spot in the Florida State League playoffs in his first year with the club this summer. The …

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Fans Can Win Big at D-Jays Championship Playoff Tonight

Fans who attend Game No. 2 of the Dunedin Blue Jays vs. Lakeland Flying Tigers series at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium tonight have a shot at taking home an iPad, movie tickets and more.

The 2012 Florida State League playoffs are here! The first-half season champion Dunedin Blue Jays take on the Lakeland Flying Tigers in Game 2 of the first-round series Wednesday (Sept. 5) at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.  To celebrate the playoff push, the Dunedin Blue Jays are combining some of their favorite promotions from the season into one jam-packed evening. Freebies: Gates open at 5:30 p.m.; first pitch is 6:30 p.m.; tickets are $6. The D-Jays came out of the gates red hot, going 35-18 in April and May. They clinched their playoff spot in June with the first-half division championship. The Jays, now 78-55, came back to earth during the second half of the season, only to face the Lakeland Flying Tigers (73-58) for the North …

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Monty Seidler

10:12 am on Wednesday, September 5, 2012

I had such a great time with my family at Bright House watching the Blue Jays beat the Threshers that my wife & I went back on Sunday to watch them play at home here in Dunedin! Tonight, it's dinner at the ball park supporting our home team! Woo Hoo!   more ›

Good Deeds, Lucky Dill's Dunedin Plan, Body on Causeway and More From Patch

OK, so you had a busy week. We understand. Let us catch you up on all the highlights!

1. The Backpack Lady Project, Rob Ditro's nonprofit named in honor of his late mother, made a special delivery to the kids of Skycrest Elementary on Tuesday. Check out our video report to see this community service in action and to find out how you can help. 2. Lucky Dill Deli could be coming to downtown Dunedin as part of the Gateway project, but the plan still has a long way to go. Have you seen the conceptual drawings yet? What do you think? 3. The Dunedin Blue Jays rallied to help longtime minor league coach Omar Malave, whose 1-year-old granddaughter is fighting for her life. Malave already lost his 3-year-old grandson last fall. 4. The Republican National Convention in Tampa was a boon for at least one local business this past week: …

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D-Jays Fundraise for Infant's Heart Surgery Tonight

The Dunedin Blue Jays are hoping to raise enough money at tonight's fundraiser to help a manager in their organization get his 1-year-old granddaughter the heart surgery she needs to survive.

Baseball Coach's Granddaughter Fights for Life

Less than and a year after losing his 3-year-old grandson, the Dunedin Blue Jays are doing what they can to help Omar Malave, the head coach of their Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, save his 1-year-old granddaughter Elisse.

Longtime minor league baseball coach Omar Malave never imagined burying a grandchild. "We can't lose another," the former Dunedin Blue Jays manager recently told a Toronto Sun reporter. Malave lost his 3-year-old grandson last fall because the boy's parents — his daughter Omarlyn Jensen and her husband Joe Jensen — fell on financial hard times and could not come up with the money for a life-saving lung transplant, the Toronto Sun reports. Omarlyn and Joe Jensen, who had lost his job, did not even have the $12,000 to bury their son, the Sun reports. Just months after their tragic loss, they learned their 1-year-old daughter Elisse has a heart defect that causes her arteries to enlarge and it has already caused part of her lung to collapse. …

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Dunedin Blue Jays' Game Canceled Sunday

Tropical Storm Isaac has wiped out Sunday's game with the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

The Dunedin Blue Jays have canceled Sunday's game against the Lakeland Flying Tigers due to inclement weather from Tropical Storm Isaac. The game will not be made up, the team said Sunday. Follow the Blue Jays on Twitter @DunedinBlueJays and on dunedinbluejays.com for updates in regards to the series with Tampa, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

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Video: D-Jays Create Nintendo Game Highlights

The Dunedin Blue Jays celebrated clinching a playoff spot by going old school, creating Nintendo-inspired season highlights in a YouTube video.

To celebrate their clinching of a playoff spot earlier this summer and to get their fans pumped up for the upcoming postseason, the Dunedin Blue Jays have gone old school. In fact, they've turned clock all the way back to '80s with the Nintendo-inspired highlight video they unveiled this week on YouTube. The video includes 8-bit highlights from their June 20 win over Clearwater, when the D-Jays clinched the Florida State League's North division and a trip to the playoffs. It's an updated version of Nintendo's 1987 classic R.B.I. Baseball, complete with Dunedin players and commentary, and even a modern, computerized soundtrack featuring the players' actual walk-up music. Vince Caffiero, the team's coordinator of community relations and …

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Katie Dolac

4:04 pm on Thursday, August 9, 2012

This is awesome! Way to go, guys!   more ›