Dunedin Can Make Claim from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Law Firm Says

Despite being past deadline to file a claim, a high-powered litigation firm wants Dunedin to join Pinellas County and several surrounding cities in filing claims against oil companies deemed responsible for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.

Dunedin is well past the deadline to file a claim against oil companies deemed responsible for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill. But a high-powered, national plaintiff litigation firm is approaching city officials Thursday about filing a claim anyway. Tourists were scared away, local businesses hemorrhaged and fishing livelihoods were ruined along the entire Gulf coast in the aftermath of the oil spill. And the City of Dunedin, a coastal hamlet in Pinellas County, the most popular tourism destination on Florida's west coast, surely took a hit, says Motley Rice LLC. Motley Rice says that despite being past the Jan. 18 statute of limitation, it can help the city, along with Pinellas County and several neighboring cities that have already …

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-Ed Harris-

6:13 pm on Thursday, February 7, 2013

I noticed during the spill, that I had to use far less tanning oil that usual and saved a few bucks while at the beach. Should I send BP a couple bucks? The City should walk away from this legal offer and say no thank you.   more ›

What's Accepted: Chemical, Electronic Mobile Collection at Dunedin High

Get rid of your used, outdated or broken electronics and chemicals on Saturday during the Chemical and Electronic Mobile Collection event at Dunedin High School. Here's what to bring or not bring for safe recycling.

Those old, outdated chemicals and electronics have been collecting dust long enough. Get rid of them Saturday at Pinellas County's Chemical and Electronic Mobile Collection site at Dunedin High. All items collected are disposed or recycled in an environmentally-friendly way. Editor's Tip: When you're done there, skip across town to the Dunedin Public Library and drop off all your gently-used, unwanted books, CDs, DVDs, and such to the Dunedin Friends Book Drive. The following items are accepted at the chemical and electronic collection site, according to a county flier:  Household chemicals: Cleaners, cooking oil,  fluorescent light bulbs, paint (latex or oil), paint remover, rechargeable batteries, smoke detectors, solvents, thermometers…

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Tree Giveaway at Dunedin Green Market Friday

Garland Forbes is handing out pine tree seedlings to the public Friday at the Dunedin Green Market as part of his “Plant 1,000 Trees Before You Die” campaign.

Here's news that might bring a smile to your face this holiday season. A local dentist is giving away young trees for free this week. Garland Forbes will be donating pine tree seedlings to the public in an event at the Dunedin Green Market on Friday, Dec. 14. Forbes is an endodontist specializing in root canals. He is campaigning to get folks to get folks to plant pine trees. The Friday giveaway is part of his “Plant 1,000 Trees Before You Die” campaign. Over the course of his life, Forbes has planted 15,000 trees. He concentrates on the longleaf pine, which is the oldest and most common pine trees in Florida. Forbes has received recognition for his work from Congressman Gus Bilirakis and local chambers of commerce, civic groups, various …

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Reader Spotlight: Posing Pelican At Marina

Sarah Nicolosi submitted this photo of a stoic pelican at Dunedin Municipal Marina seeming to pose for the camera in our community scrapbook (No. 242 of 245). Add your photos here!

Air Potato Pick-Up Set for Hammock Park Saturday

Help Friends of the Hammock eradicate the invasive air potato from taking over Dunedin's beloved Hammock Park on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Lunch will be provided.

Friends of the Hammock is inviting volunteers to weed out invasive plants at Hammock Park on Saturday. "Our most needed activity is help in eradicating the Air Potato," Friends of the Hammock's website says. The air potato is a fast-growing vine from the yam family. It is recognized by its heart-shaped leaves and its bulbous, potato-like sprouts. The air potato vines threaten native plants at the 93-acre natural park on San Mateo Drive. The plant was introduced to Florida from Africa in 1905 and is listed as one of the state’s most invasive species, according to the University of Florida Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.  Removing the bulbs is the most effective way to manage the vine from spreading. Volunteers to pick up air …

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Should Dollar General Replace 'Eyesore' Storage Lot in Dunedin?

The second proposal for a Dollar General Store up for public discussion within the last 75 days — this one at San Christopher Drive and Pinehurst Road — is on the agenda for Thursday's city meeting at City Hall.

Ron Retterer's boat and auto storage lot is a mess of code violations. Open boats and split tires on his property collect rainwater, making it a mosquito breeding ground, and the overgrown ditch in the back, well, that never gets cleaned out, said Greg Rice, Dunedin's director of planning and development. A volunteer advisory board went so far as to call Retterer's storage lot an "eyesore" during a Nov. 14 Local Planning Agency meeting, but snubbed plans for land use and zone changes that would allow a major discount retail store to go in its place. Rice is bringing the snubbed proposal for a Dollar General Store at 1326 San Christopher Dr. to city commissioners for approval Thursday anyway. Discount Retail Store May Help Struggling …

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Dolphins Found Shot, Fins Hacked Off in Gulf Waters

The incidents occurred off the northern Gulf Coast.

The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies said someone is injuring and killing dolphins off the Gulf Coast, the Associated Press reports.  Dolphins have been found shot to death, fins hacked off and jaws ripped off.  "It's very sad to think that anyone could do that to any animal," said Erin Fougeres, a marine mammal scientist for NOAA's southeast office in St. Petersburg, according to the Associated Press. "There have been some obviously intentional cases." Moby Solangi, executive director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, told the AP that the crimes are almost unthinkable.  "We think there's someone or some group on a rampage," he said. "They not only kill them but also mutilate them." Officials from the National Oceanic and …

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Marina Needs Pump Station for Boat Waste, Officials Say

City of Dunedin officials say providing boaters with the amenity of a sludge pump-out facility is needed to protect the environment. Vince Gizzi, director of parks and recreation, presented officials with a grant opportunity at Thursday's city meeting.

It’s about time that Dunedin boaters had a permanent pump-out station, city commissioners agreed Thursday when presented with a grant opportunity to have one installed at the marina downtown. The pump-out station would provide a safe and environmentally-friendly way for boaters to remove waste from their vessel's holding tank and not be tempted to dispose of it in some illegal way, like dumping it into the water. Vince Gizzi, director of parks and recreation, told officials at Thursday's city commission meeting that Dunedin has an opportunity to apply for a federally-funded grant, administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. It could cover up to 75 percent of the estimated $60,000 cost to install the station, he said…

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Honeymoon Island Set for Halloween, Haunted Trail

Honeymoon Island's 15th annual Halloween in the Park event is set for Oct. 26 and 27. The event features activities and haunted theatrics for children, teens and adults.

Honeymoon Island is the place to be for haunts this weekend. Halloween in the Park, which typically draws 3,000 people, is designed to be a safe trick-or-treating alternative for families with children of all ages. The 15th annual event features concessions, children's games, face-painting, fortune-telling, ghost stories, a dunk tank, a bungee jump trampoline, a scary haunted house, and a spooky trail walk. A haunted trail, a spooky couple-hundred-yards amble through the woods around the picnic area, is set to a Wild West theme. Park officials began constructing props — a saloon, an abandoned gold mine shaft, a bank and a wagon train — in June. It is the "fun" type of scary for older children, according to Peter Krulder, island park …

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