outside an apartment complex that is sitting over sinkhole activity. our investigation exposed the sinkhole activity. it was discovered seven years ago but the property owner has not fixed it. >> and people continue to live around the 100-foot hole. and now city circumstantials want updated tests to see if it's gotten worse. we broke the story. and we were there today for the drilling. >> reporter: a hole opened up and the drug rig almost fell in so today residents were uneasy with the lack of answers. she has lived here at the french quarter apartments for 16 years. but now that she knows she lives next door to a 100-foot deep sinkhole under an apartment building, she wants

>> i don't know who to do. >> reporter: instead of getting information about sinkholes, they tell me property managers are telling them to avoid my questions. >> we wake up every day and look out here and people are drilling and doing this and that and no one's talked to me about it. >> reporter: our 8 on your side investigation exposed major problems here that the property owner discovered seven years ago. instead of fixing it, he's fighting in court, arguing for more money to stabilize the ground. code enforcement officials were not happy to find out about this all these years later. they demanded follow-up testing to see if the worst holes have spread. >> well basically what they're doing right now is testing the ground, they'll compile a report and send to it our department and we will review and it we will make our decision. >> reporter: so the property owner is forced to fork over thousands, so engineers can drill today.

>> you don't know what could happen. i could be walking to the laundry and the whole thing cave in. so, you know, for me, i will feel comfortable if i just moved away. >> city officials hope to receive a full report within the week and the city has hired an engineer to review the findings. if the sinkhole activity is worse, they could order an evacuation of some of the billing. >> and that poor lady is clearly scared. have the residents noticed anything strange cracking? anything like that? >> i asked that today and some of the residents let us in their apartments and one lady poured a cup of water on the floor and showed us how the water would pool toward the building with the sinkhole. so she is really freaked out about this. >> all right. thank you. well tonight we have an update on another 8 on your side investigation. this one orange barrel

do you know what i'm talking about? the contractor on the ulmerton road construction project just walked away. and now we want to know how the firm ever got that project in the first place. ulmerton road construction has been a headache for drivers for years. and news channel 8's mark douglas is live from the busy stretch of road. >> reporter: and we have gotten a lot of retox the first story on this, drivers just fed up. >> reporter: we certainly have. good evening to you. you know, motorists have been dodging the orange barrels for four years. well the contractor is now gone but the barrels are still here. so we spent today digging into what the d.o.t. was thinking when they hired these guys. after four years of construction, this is what the company has left behind. motor is face a two-mile obstacle course along this busy stretch of ulmerton road.

motorist told us heads should roll. >> somebody should get fired. >> she was frustrated and we understand that. but the contractor is off the job now. >> reporter: the company is off the job all right. the company abandoned this project three weeks ago. but you would never guess that by looking at the website. the company still brags about the ulmerton road project and two other d.o.t. jobs they have also abandoned due to a lack of resources. the d.o.t. insists that when the company prequalified as a bidder four years ago, it passed the final sniff test. >> they go through a prequalification contest. >> reporter: they had a proven track record back then and submitted company financial statements to show viability every year since then. when they submitted the low bid back in 2011, this job was a lock.

>> we use the low bid method for construction, that's correct. >> reporter: so there you have it, florida is a mandatory low bid state. and it sure didn't end well here on orange barrel boulevard, stacie. >> all right. million dollar question, what happens now, mark? >> reporter: now as we said last night, there's another contractor on the job, mobilizing now and hired by the insurance company to finish something like $4 million worth of work. the taxpayers won't have to pay d.o.t. but the job was supposed to be finished last month and now it's looking like summertime, maybe the fall if we're lucky before it's done. so a lot more headaches for the motorists who have to travel here on orange barrel boulevard in city ovular bow. >> mark douglas live tonight, thank you. a shoplifting incident in lakeland could turn into a homicide investigation.

store but after employees caught and stopped him, he stopped breathing. while the medical examiner has not ruled the death a homicide, police have to treat it as such. >> the medical examiner is saying that the injuries are not consistent with a health related issue. we're not going into detail in what they observed in the autopsy. >> the story employees have been suspended by walmart until the police investigation is complete. we have breaking new developments in a deadly tampa strip club shooting. police have identified and interviewed the man seen in surveillance video there early saturday. today 8 on your side obtained documents showing authorities called out to club rayne in tampa multiple times. the club had to be shut down in march of last year after officials discovered 150 more club goers there than allowed. police have said hundreds of people were at the club

shooting. and all those people mixed with things like alcohol. >> that is a recipe for disaster. now from my point of view, the only thing we can address if the fire marshall's office is the over capacity. we don't have control over the other issues. >> the shooting left two men dead and six others wounded including a 17-year-old girl. some scary moments on a hillsborough county school bus this morning when a student pulled out a gun and started loading it with bullets. the 18-year-old is accused of loading the nine millimeter pistol on the lap on the bus and trying to hide it. another student who saw what was going on texted a family member who called 911. deputies stopped and evacuated the bus and were able to find the gun and the magazine loaded with 12 rounds. stolen. well the next major step in cuba and u.s. relations is lifting the trade embargo.

is taking a major step this week to help make that happen. and news channel 8 will be in cuba to report on it. plus, see how an old hospital building turned into the perfect training ground for firefighters today. a chilly 58 degrees and combined with the strong winds still in place around portions of the bay area, felt like a cool day. those clear skies will lead to chilly weather condition, freeze warnings font we will

today more than a hundred bay area first responders practiced life saving drills. they worked inside an old hospital wing. the old wing is set for demolition, making it a perfect training ground for firefighters practicing the real thing. >> to get buildings that actually give us real world construction, real world hazards, the things that we would run across if we responded to a building such as this or to somebody's house, it's invaluable. we cannot replicate it without structures like this. >> once they're in the training scenario, firefighters have

firefighters say that proves how important the exercises really are. there's a new bronze sculpture in downtown tampa entitled homeless jesus. it's designed to call attention to the plight of the homeless. it's cast from the original homeless jesus installed at the university of toronto. the. it was unvailed during an ash wednesday service at the downtown campus of hyde park united methodist church. tonight i'm honored to be the special guest at a special event. a chance to give back to the american heart association. that's why i'm in red today. it's going to be tasty as well. lo-cal market is hosting a special heart healthy din ther. on the menu, roasted beet, salmon, poached chicken breast and much more. >> we've got amazing, amazing

so if you're smart about it, you can put together a heart healthy meal and not sacrifice the flavor. >> and a portion of all sales today as well as tonight's dinner will go to the american heart association. and you know that's near and dear to my heart, keith. and i'm always appreciative that the station continues to support this. heart disease the number one killer of men and women. and in my family, it runs rampant. i'm happy to help. >> i hope it's a good night tonight. >> it sounds yummy. >> eat healthy. everything in moderation. >> even healthy stuff? >> looks good. still ahead, news channel 8 has stayed on top of the cuba- u.s. relations story from the very beginning. >> and now a florida congresswoman is taking the next step. >> how she hopes to begin the

now 8 on your side's coverage of lifting the cuban embargo. she will be leading the delegation of six other congressmen to monitor change in cuba since relations were restored. we are the only television station going on the trip. and this is going to be the second trip to the cuba, jeff. >> reporter: that's right, keith.

i could get to cuban soil. this one block in ybor city is owned by the cuban government. but last year, i went to havana. however, things have changed a lot since even then. just days after president barack obama announced sweeping changes in relations between cuba and the united states, i visited havana. people there were eager for americans to visit. >> this is your home? >> yes, this is my home. >> reporter: we were welcomed into homes and found many cuban now rent out rooms to visitors. as a growing part of the cuban economy. >> a very good opportunity to do this kind of work. >> reporter: now the congresswoman is traveling to havana to meet with small business owners. >> we want to see what's happening with private business sector.

about travel and trade and internet expansion and human rights. >> reporter: she and other congressional delegates want to see if political changes announced by president barack obama are having an impact. >> it's very important for us to understand whether or not the restoration of diplomatic ties between cuba and the united states are working for every day cubans. >> reporter: yeah, the congresswoman will meet with port officials talking about business opportunities between here and there. and there's actually a lot going on this week. the pope will be in havana during our stay and we plan to bring you coverage of week. keith -- >> well, there's so much going on. what do you believe is the biggest change in cuba since your last visit in. >> reporter: yeah, you know, i have talked to a lot of people about things that have been going on during the last year. and the biggest change i'm told is that the number of americans

and so we plan to talk to some of the temperature americans there and the congresswoman about their impact on cuba. >> all right. reporting live for us and we look forward to it as you travel to cuba tomorrow. and reminder, you can watch the reports beginning tomorrow night at 11:00 only here on news channel 8. well, clear skies at the lake club in lakewood ranch. temperature 53 degrees. you can see the tree moving around. but we are expecting lighter winds and strong gusts over 20 miles per hour today. breezy with the strong northwesterly wind but 52 degrees on the beach but that strong onshore flow kicking up the seas at this hour. weekend weather, let's look ahead, why not, looks good, 68 degrees. the front is going to pass with a few clouds. and sunday looks good, a nice, comfort fortable afternoon. and forecast lows on the map,

close to that in brooksville and crystal river. the purple areas are a frost advisory away from coastlines and you can see citrus, hernando, sumpter in a freeze warning for tonight meaning could be several hours near or below freezing but frost could be an issue as well. take the precaution tonight and plants and pets obviously. 7:00 a.m., 40 degrees. that's cold enough. 64 degrees at 3:00 p.m. sunshine, blue sky in the afternoon. and 52 degrees currently in brandon. 50 temple terrace. seminole, 51. sun city center, 5 2 . upper 40s crystal river, brooksville, weeki wachee. and current winds out of the northwest and still fairly strong with stronger gusts at 22 miles per hour in clearwater. look at lakeland and winter haven, 20 miles per hour into downtown st. petersburg. so a breezy evening but into the overnight, winds become lighter as the high pressure will settle over the sunshine state. and few clouds to the south and high clouds too. you can see the warnings in

of the state including the areas we talked about. and of course, frost going to be an issue with the lighter winds. and for the rpm forecast model this even, chilly covers it. you can see the high pressure taking over. we follow the lines of equal pressure to indicate that the highs is eventually over us. and cold weather for tomorrow morning leads to sunshine in the afternoon with dry air high above in the atmosphere, blue sky and beautiful day. and on the cool side but very nice. high pressure will get over us again for friday morning and then shift to the east slowly. and there's the second cold front going to push through the area. comfortable afternoon on friday afternoon. and the front will slip through on saturday with clouds, not a big deal. and a weak front will pass with no rain, just clouds. and when is it going to warm up. this is going way in advance. this is next thursday. ridge of high pressure out of the west will settle over the southeast and that should start the warming trend and highs back in the upper 70s.

39 degrees, palm harbor. 37 degrees land o'lakes. winter haven, upper 30s. same in sarasota. and then highs for tomorrow, warmer than today's 58 degrees. and highs generally in the low 60s. there's your forecast for the next couple days. 64 for thursday. 69 friday. good looking day there. near 70 degrees. and same for saturday. and i guess for sunday as well. we just might see extra clouds for saturday because the weak front pushing through the area. by monday, no huge change here. monday, 71 degrees. tuesday, 68. and wednesday near 70 degrees. the rain chance there 30% later in the day on monday and early part of tuesday. >> you all right there, steve? >> this chair. every time i sit down, i got to wrestle it. >> need a new chair. >> shannon informs the chair, she's smaller. >> a little shorter. >> she had it up. >> but i think i got the gist of the seven-day, not much changing within about five degrees. >> and below normal temperatures but nice.

cooper has thoughts on two quiet games by the offense. >> not quiet in a good way.

i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go. hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is? waterfall? no, me tarzan, king of jungle. why don't you want to just

you fight over directions. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. oh ohhhhh it's what you do. ohhhhhh!

the rays pitchers and catchers report to spring training next weekend but today several players took advantage of the empty field and putting in a little bit of work before spring. something not a lot of clubs get to do in their own ball parks during the winter months. why not? what an opportunity for that young man there.

he got to hit a few baseballs, test out the roof and the cat walk. remember, this is foreign territory for a player with expectations after the rays traded the pitcher to get him. if this plan works, he could be a 20-plus home run hitter for a ray's line-up that really needs the help. >> i really like the field. great group of guys so far. and you know, it's really different playing in a dome than outside. but the ball traveled well. and hopefully i can put up the numbers and stay healthy and be out there and i think my numbers will speak for themselves at the end of the year and that's what i got to stay focused on, helping my teammates and helping us win. no update on the condition of the lightning defensive man garrison. he left monday's game with a leg injury. did not play last night in montreal. remember now, he plays the most defensive minutes behind headman. so a lengthy injury.

of year. and boy, the lightning had rough nights on defense in both of those back to back losses in canada. and let's talk offense though. the head coach john cooper, he didn't sound too concerned about a goose egg from the top two scoring lines and that includes steven who was red hot in january. >> you know, time right now, we haven't really needed the goals because it's -- you know, other guys have been scoring. when you struggle, scoring 48 hour, it gets mag if i if id a little bit. but i think he had how many shot attempts tonight? i mean, he probably had eight or something like that. you know, unfortunately only one hit the net but it's not like the kid's not trying. >> it's funny you ask. how many -- >> less than 30 games. >> oh. >> i thought it was more. >> the stretch, keith. they've got some work to do here. >> this is when i come to the table.

>> in the atlantic division, >> in the atlantic division, the it's getting exciting. >> thank you. don't go anywhere, nightly news coming your way next. >> see you back here at 7:00 and we will see you you back at