>> right now on newschannel8 at 5:30. >> good evening, i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm josh benson. thanks for being with us tonight. >> a bay area church is ready to reveal much awaited improvements. saint joseph has overcome so much. the church is rebuilding physically and spiritually. >> reporter: say joseph has a difficult history, but the church continue to rebuild and now they are putting on their finishing touches. after more than 20 years, parishioner aldo suarez says his prayers were answered.

>> reporter: the painter has held exhibitions in havana and the u.s., but this may be his most important work yet. it is his contribution to a two year healing process. in 2014, newschannel8 told you this temple. the then pastor committed suicide after some $200,000 dis appears from the church. money intended for much needed impairs and improvements. >> people were hurt by that. >> deeply. they were deeply hurt by that. and, but you know what? we are in a healing phase. a renewal phase. good things are happening. >> reporter: good things like volunteers, landscaping, and painting the church exterior. >> it brings our community together and it just is love. >> reporter: now the finishing

a group as diverse as saint joseph's own parishioners praising god after experiencing tribulations. and this blue tarp will come down in a few days. the big reveal is scheduled before palm sunday on march 20. i'm gene ramirez, newschannel8. construction crews are racing against the clock to restore a long stretch of beach on siesta key before sea turtle nesting season begins. john rogers joins us live from the turtle beach. this erosion must be pretty bad if they are working this hard. >> reporter: it certainly is. i'm walking along a narrow walkway. there is a steep dropoff that goes on quite away.

purposes, it is to protect the people that live here. people are lining up to take in the sights and sounds. no, not that. we are talking about this. a massive construction project right along the shoreline. the reason? it is pretty obvious once you come here. >> it is an interesting beach. it looks like it drops off nice. >> it is a big drop off here. >> reporter: yeah, that's not good. it's erosion chewing away at the beach and threatening nearby homes. so sarasota county is busy restoring it. this $21 million project will rebuild a two mile stretch of sand on the southern end of siesta key. it starts way out in the gulf of mexico where dredge is sucking up sand from the sea floor. after the dredge pulled up the sand, it approached turtle beach. as you can see here. it hooked up to a pipe and that long pipe came over to this place here.

bulldozers are going to move it around. the crews will be doing this 24/7 to have it finished by may 1, the start of sea turtle nesting season and this beach has to be fixed by then. >> it is a necessary evil. it disrupts everything. but, if you don't do it, it gets worse. >> reporter: it is a lot of work and an eyesore, but it will pay off in a beautiful safer beach. right now, crews are taking a break as we wait for the dredge to move offshore. they will do this in sections. as you can tell now, the sand is pretty dark, but in time, the sun will bleach it so it will be white like the rest of the beach. >> people have to be questioning the timing here. this is peak tourist season. so why are they choosing this time to do it? >> reporter: it is because of the turtles. the sea turtle nesting season is from may to november so

they are allowed to do this work. that is why they are doing it so quickly. >> john rogers, thank you. a miami woman who was beaten by a roommate she found on craigslist has woken up from her coma. danielle jones had been on a coma since the february 14 attack. according to investigators, byron mitchell attacked her two weeks after moving in with her. he claims he acted in self- defense after she came after him with a knife. right now, he is being held without bond on attempted murder charges. a deadly shooting outside a bar in spring hill is being investigated. two men were shot outside of bamboo's bar and eatery early this morning. one of the men died at the scene. another was flown to a nearby hospital. the shooter was at the scene when deputies arrived and he surrendered. no word on what sparked the violence. a man who stabbed his roommate claims that voices

it happened at figaroa trailer park in gibson. he said he was depressed and voices ordered him to stab his roommate. state lawmakers are working to end a bitter standoff putting state regulations on ride-sharing companies. companies like uber and lyft. matt galka shows us where things stand. >> reporter: lawmakers scrambled to make something happen in terms of ride sharing legislation in the state. a standoff between traditional cab companies and pay as you use ride sharing companies led capital. cab agencies waned tighter regulations for ride sharing. uber wanted a statewide law that would preempt any local rules. uber.

could have its own insurance requirement and background check requirement. that doesn't work for a company. it doesn't work for a cab company or anybody in the transportation business. >> the whole issue of ride sharing and how the future looks for the transportation industry, that's fair to the taxicab industry and the concern players but also provides an open market for companies that want to do things differently. >> reporter: a pro uber bill that passed the florida house had stalled in the senate partly thanks to the chamber's president. in tallahassee, matt galka, newschannel8. >> now, rumors swirled most of the day around the capital a compromise had been reached but the senate has yet to take up any legislation. some people in panama city beach tourism are having trouble making ends meet. they say the city's spring break laws are to blame for it. last year, the panama city

on the beach during the month of march. it is aimed at cuts down on out of control partying but they say it has left bars practically broke. they are asking them to get rid of the ban. it is almost time to spring forward. >> right around the corn er. the time change could actually be a bad thing for you though. the toll it can take on your health, that's coming up. >> and actor keifer sutherland and his plans to take the music industry by storm. >> warm temperatures continuing. but, rain chances moving back into the forecast this weekend. we will have the details for

>> welcome back. nbc's supernatural drama grimm hits its 100th episode tonight. the show which takes place in portland, oregon is in its fifth season. it follows the exploits of nick, a homicide detective who can track down supernatural creatures. >> having 100 episodes takes more than just talent. lightning has to strike. we know how fortunate we are. we have all put in the hard works but that doesn't get you anywhere necessarily. it doesn't equal success. so we just consider ourselves very fortunate to have a show that has gone 100 episodes in this day and age. >> the 100th episode of grim airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. after a new episode of caught on camera. be sure to stick around for

course, newschannel8 at 11:00. well, steven spielburg is going to harvard. he will be absoluted for his movie making and his philanthropy. one of people magazine's sexiest men alive, adam levine and his wife are expecting their first child. she married him in july of 2014. no word on if his new dad duties duties will take him away from his big red chair on the voice. man. the hole. he says it is the first time i have had anything resembling a journal or diary. the album is due out this summer. and daylight savings time begin this weekend.

forward tomorrow night turning the clocks ahead one hour. >> we lose that hour of sleep. it will certainly lead to a lot of grumpy people. but as erica edwards shows, it can have dangerous side effects. >> reporter: this is your heads up to make sure the coffee pot is well stocked. nearly 75% of employees say they yawn their way through the workday. often blaming big mistakes on sleep depravation. >> someone paid the entire staff twice. someone deleted an entire data base. >> reporter: that is before losing an hour of shut-eye when daylight saving time begins this weekend effort it is not just the company's bottom line that could suffer, so could our health. >> she is sleeping here on the camera. >> reporter: sleep experts say

enough sleep, the immune system suffers. >> sleep depravation long term over the course of your life can affect the risk of heart disease, stroke risk, diabetes. >> reporter: scientists are starting to show an association between an ongoing lack of sleep and an increased risk of breast cancer. >> the sleep system that has evolved over these millennia is very complicated so we need to sort of appreciate it. step back a little bit. make sure sleep is a big part of our health. >> reporter: though the alarm will go off an hour earlier next week, experts say that should be a wakeup call for americans to make sleep a bigger priority. erica edwards, nbc news. >> well most sleep experts recommend adults get seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night. now to an 8 on your side investigation we are working on for 11:00. shannon behnken is looking into reports of towing companies behaving badly.

investigation made a lot of people angry. >> reporter: that's right, it did. we found tow truck companies patrolling apartment complexes looking for cars to tow away. the latest money making practice is for towing cars with expired stickers on their license plate. we found a man who had his car towed but his tag was legally up to date. he had simply forgotten to put on the new sticker as many of us have. and we found out all of this is legal because this is happening on private property. but it is still making a lot of people upset, so we took everything that we found to city and county officials. coming up at 11:00, i'll have everything they have to say. they are upset about it too. >> you are thinking isn't that something the cop is supposed to do? not a tow truck company? >> reporter: that is what makes people so upset. they are not law enforcement. >> looking forward to the update. be sure to tune in on newschannel8 at 11:00 to catch the second part of shannon's

trouble. another really nice evening across the tampa bay area to end what was a fabulous week. 76 degrees out at the plantation on crystal river. winds coming in out of the northwest at 4 miles an hour. location. as we head into this weekend, change. we will set the clocks forward an hour as you go to bed saturday night. don't forget to do it. it is easy to do even for us as we repeat it each day to you. also, the grand prix this weekend on sunday. now, we are not going to see a washout sunday, but there is a chance we could see showers especially as we head into the late morning, early afternoon hours. so, some scattered showers through the day. but by 4:00 p.m., i think most of the rain will have pushed east and be more inland. temperatures won't be bad in the upper 70s , but again, there is a chance of rain on sunday which could cause some delays. for us tomorrow morning, great start to your saturday. we are beginning the day in the upper 60s . some clouds to begin with and we will see

day with even more cloud cover building into the late afternoon hours. temperatures in the low 80s and we are looking at a small chance of a passing shower. sunday is the day we will see a little more rain around. high pressure still in control. this is what has kept us dry all week long. haven't seen a drop of rain, but it will finally give in and shift east as we head into this weekend which is great news for our friends out west. places like louisiana, mississippi, parts of texas have seen about a foot of rain. so, this widespread region is dealing with flooding so they will be happy to see the system finally make its way out. you can see some of the deep moisture, the green. that is what is headed in our direction as we head into this coming weekend. right now, just warm and dry. it is 82 in plant city. 82 in apollo beach. bradenton, 85. 76 weeki wachee. very comfortable for your friday evening. no weather worries all the way into the overnight hours. tomorrow morning, now, a very mild start, we are already in the upper 60s to begin the day so you know it will be a warm

low to mid 80s . bringing in a small chance of a couple of small showers by the afternoon hours. then headed into sunday, the rain begins in the morning hours in the northern spots and will spread inland through the day. not everyone is going to see rain, but there is a chance for the morning and early afternoon hours. also, we will likely see some fog along the coast. it may not be the best beach weather sunday. by monday, a weak front moves in. fog could still be an issue for some of us monomorning and we will bring in a small rain chance for the start of monday. overall, though, rain chances not looking huge tomorrow with sunday where we have the better chance of showers. if we do have lingering rain around on monday, it will be early in the day and still pretty light and then we are drying out as we head into the rest of next week. for the rest of this evening, 77 degrees. winds coming out of the southwest at 5 to 10 miles an hour. we will start off tomorrow morning at 67 with fairly light winds out of the southeast. the light breeze into the afternoon.

80s . extra clouds around. we can't rule out an isolated shower, but again, we are calling for a 10% chance of rain. sunday, keep in mind, you may have to head inside for a little bit when we see showers move through, but not expecting it to be too stormy. lingers showers monday. the rest of next week is looking pretty good. looking at a high near 81 on saint patrick's day with a partly cloudy sky guys. so a-okay for tomorrow for the most part. it is sunday we are keeping an eye on some of the rain chances. >> all right, thank you very much julie. well, a man in a stolen car leads police on a high-speed chase through neighborhood streets. >> that dramatic video is coming up. also ahead, talk about losing your appetite. a couple in a restaurant discovers a very offensive

(donkey sound) (elephant sound) there's a big difference between making noise, (tapping sound) and making sense. (elephant sound) (donkey sound) when it comes to social security, we need more than lip service. our next president needs a real plan to keep social security strong. (elephant noise) hey candidates. enough talk.

>> now to what is making headlines across america. a man led police on a terrifying chase through watch the black sedan. it goes down residential streets, sidewalks, sideswipes a police cruise their was trying to stop it. eventually, the driver gets out on the highway where he loses control of the car and crashes

he gets out and runs. but, that is when officers catch up with him. a new york man is free after spending almost 25 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit. andre hatchet's 1991 conviction was thrown out. a star witness lied on the stand and he was unable to help his defense because of intellectual disabilities. but he never gave up and now he is reunited with his family. a minnesota couple in joe's crab shack was upset to find a photo of a hanging embedded in a table top. it is a group of white people watching the execution of one black person. the caption says all i said is i didn't like the gumbo. the naacp wants a public apology from the restaurant's corporate office. a $25,000 reward is being

person who killed 13 bald eagles. the eagles were found dead in a farm field in maryland. fish and wildlife officials are now investigating. by the way, killing a bald eagle is a federal offense punishable by $250,000 in fines and two years in prison. heavy rain is expected to continue through the weekend across the water logged southeast. in hammond, louisiana, officials are conducting rescues by boat. four people have been killed in the storms across the region. louisiana's governor has declared a state of emergency. newschannel8 at 6:00 is coming up next. >> rod and jenn are here with what we are working on. >> 8 on your side is finding a company managing four bay area charter schools. >> and it involves major taxpayer money. coming up, where the money was spent and the leadership changes at the top. >> also, a man sneaking photos under a woman's skirt is now

>> taunt the sheriff on facebook and deputies might come and arrest you. >> the saint pete grand prix is in town for three days of racing. fans tell me what they really like about this event. >> those stories plus your storm team 8 forecast and

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one, absolutely free. pget any large pizza up to 5-toppings pfor just $9.99. online only. at papajohns.com is the economy rigged? well, the 15 richest americans acquired more wealth in two years than the bottom 100 million people combined. i'm bernie sanders, and i approve this message. my plan -- make wall street banks and the ultra-rich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. the middle class will continue to disappear unless we level the playing field. with your help, as president,

>> right now on newschannel8 at 6:00. >> charter schools in chaos. tonight, 8 on your side digs up more problems for the company running these local schools. >> plus, polk county sheriff has a message for a criminal taunting him on facebook. >> and the traffic nightmare coming for drivers on u.s. 41. good evening everybody. i'm jenn holloway. >> i'm rod carter.

development ins an 8 on your sign investigation. schools in chaos. the company running up huge debt managing four pinellas county charter schools is out. however, is the new company any better? the principal of one of the schools is finally talking to us. that school was windsor prep academy an it is facing some big financial troubles tonight. >> one of the three remaining board members has resigned. mark douglas has been hot on the heels of these school leaders. mark, i understand you dug up even more troubles. >> reporter: taxpayer troubles starting with $1.6 million with the schools reportedly borrowed from the management company that runs the schools. not even the charter schools or the company can show us when the loans were made and who hay proved them. all we got was lip service tuesday from the president of new point education partners. that is the day aileen quinnlan