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Tampa Bay, Florida

The Tampa Bay, Florida area consists of Hernando County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County, and Pinellas County.  The area is designated as the Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA ).

The American Community Survey (ACS) of the US Census Bureau lists the population of the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, FL MSA as 2,441,379 for the year 2002. There were 1,045,009 total households, with an average of 2.34 persons per household. The median household income was $36,930. The University of South Florida  news release from June 2008 expects the census to increase dramatically in 2010. Findings so far indicate over 50,000 new residential addresses for the Tampa Bay area.

Residents and visitors to the Tampa Bay, Florida area have their choice of many convenient methods of transportation. Airports serving the area include the Tampa International Airport , Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport , the Albert Whitted Airport, and the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. Major roadways in Tampa Bay, FL include Interstate 4, Interstate 75 and Interstate 275.  A trolley system and electric streetcar line runs in downtown Tampa.  In 2007, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) was formed to develop bus, rapid transit and other transportation options for the region.  Businesses in the Tampa, Florida area have other transportation options.  The Tampa Bay, Florida area is home to three major ports, The Port of Tampa, the Port of Manatee and the Port of St. Petersburg. CSX provides rail service for the entire Tampa Bay region.

The Tampa Bay, FL region attracts millions of tourists each year, who flock to the area for the mild winter climates, tropical summers, spectacular sunsets and beautiful beaches. Tourism thrives with a multitude of cultural and entertainment attractions. Must-see attractions in the Tampa Bay, Florida area include such favorites as Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium, Museum of Science & Industry and the Lowry Park Zoo.

The Tampa Bay area includes many options for higher education. The University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida College in Temple Terrace, Clearwater Christian College, Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and the University of Tampa are four-year institutions located in the Tampa Bay area. St. Petersburg College, Hillsborough Community College and Manatee Community College are community colleges. 

The Tampa Bay, Florida region offers baseball, football, and hockey fans the chance to se four professional teams throughout the year:  the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL), the Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL), the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (NBL), and the Tampa Bay Storm (AFL). The Tampa Bay, FL area also hosts many major league teams' spring training camps.

Within Hernando County, the Hernando County Circuit Court handles family court matters under its Domestic Relations Department.  That department is separately housed at the Clerk of Court's office on the 2nd floor of the Hernando County Courthouse, Judicial Center, 20 N. Main Street Room 246, Brooksville, FL 34601. The telephone number is (352) 540-6336.  The Domestic Relations Department handles the filing of child support, juvenile dependency, injunctions for protection, name changes, and all other cases subject to Florida family matters such as dissolution, child support, paternity, and adoption. Also under the direction of the Domestic Relations Department, although administered separately, are matters of domestic violence.

In Pasco County, Florida, the Unified Family Court Program (UFC) is a special grant funded project in the Pasco County Court System dedicated to the proposition of one family, one judge and one courthouse location. The UFC Program handles child support, delinquency, dependency, dissolution of marriages, domestic violence and paternity. The Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller work closely with the UFC program in linking and processing related cases in the Clerk's Case Management System.

Florida’s Pinellas County shares the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court  with neighboring Pasco County. It does not, however, maintain its own Family Law Division. The Unified Family Court for Pinellas is actually the Sixth Judicial Circuit Unified Family Court, which is made up of 4 judges, one general magistrate, a behavioral evaluation program, a juvenile arbitration program, a truancy magistrate program, a Dependency Drug Court and a Youth Treatment Court. The Unified Family Court looks to coordinate multiple cases involving the same family and have them all heard before the same judge. The Unified Family Court is located at the Criminal Justice Center, 14250 49th Street North in Clearwater.

Hillsborough County is served by the judges and staff of the 13th Judicial Circuit, which is comprised entirely of Hillsborough County, Florida. The largest and busiest division within the 13th Judicial Circuit is that of Family Law. The Hillsborough County Family Law division handles many types of cases under their area of responsibility. Issues range from name changes and adoption, paternity, child support and custody, domestic violence, divorce and more.  Being a military area, The Hillsborough County Family Law division also deals with the special circumstances surrounding divorce for active and retired military personnel.

Hillsborough County is home to the prestigious MacDill AFB, which boasts "America's Most Responsive, Reliable and Renowned Mobility Wing the 6th AMW." The 6th AMW is a 3,000-person force capable of rapidly projecting air refueling power anywhere in the world. Five unique groups carry out the mission to be America’s premier mobility team providing world-class air refueling, responsive airlift and airbase support to Headquarters U.S. Central Command, Headquarters U.S. Special Operations Command, and 51 other mission partners that call MacDill home.

Tampa Bay Accidents News

> Staged Auto Accidents On The Rise In Tampa (Central Florida News 13)

> Question: 'Anarchy on Tampa Bay roads?' Answer: 'Yes' (Bay News 9 Tampa Bay)

> Magnetic Announces Winners of Transportation Conversation Video Contest (PRWeb via Yahoo! News)

> Staged auto accidents rise in Tampa (St. Petersburg Times)

> Thunderstorms roll through Tampa Bay ahead of cold front (St. Petersburg Times)

> Staged auto accidents on the rise in Tampa (Bay News 9 Tampa Bay)

> AROUND SOUTH MISSISSIPPI (The Biloxi Sun Herald)

> Two men injured in separate accidents on Nebraska Ave. (Bay News 9 Tampa Bay)

> Answers elude officials in bike crashes (i-poll) (Bay News 9 Tampa Bay)

> Between the Lines (Hernando Today)

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