are talking about here. >> reporter: yeah, good evening stacie. this is a story i have been reporting on for some time now, but there is breaking information about this tonight. because, ptc board chairman victor crist is calling for an emergency meeting with the ptc because of these e-mails i uncovered. we have been telling you about this for a week, now i have uncovered new e-mails an more evidence relationship between the head of the ptc and the cab companies he is regulating. it shows direct ties an sharing of inside information. the e-mails show ptc executive director kyle cockream is in constant contact with lou manardi. in october ever of last year,

just meeting. they are lining upside by side to fight companies like uber and lyft. in another e-mail, cobbing says the more people who let senator simmons know he needs to have reasonable insurance in place, the better. mayor bob buckhorn says it >> if there is collusion there, people need to answer for that. but the perception is that is an agency that is way too close in my estimation to the people they are regulating. >> reporter: we have been trying to track down mr. cobbing. cobbing. he had just one meeting today. just one thing to do. we waited and waited and mr.

talk to you about this. also breaking information, i got off the phone with the hillsborough county attorney and he is now asking that the ptc find other legal representation. the county attorney is concerned that if the ptc is dissolved by the state legislature, there might be a conflict of interest there. so he is asking them to find another lawyer. >> tell me more. why would there be a conflict of interest, jeff? >> reporter: well, if is dissolved, the county attorney is concerned because they advise the county commission. think theres might be a conflict of interest. so we will stay on top of that as well. >> all right, jeff patterson live in tampa. thanks for the update. now, we have breaking news. venice police are on a man hunt for a very dangerous criminal. just before 8:00 last night, a man attacked a masseuse at the 88 spa on tamiami trail. then the criminal made his way to publix where he attacked an employee.

lock down. and now, police are being criticized for not telling the public sooner. >> he basically ran in the opposition direction of the high school. notifying a parent at 10:00 at night that a suspect, a crime occurred. and the suspect fled in the opposite direction, i'm not sure if that is a decision they want to make in keeping the child out of school. >> the injured masseuse was later found at a nearby shell station. she is at sarasota memorial listed in critical condition. >> four-year-old polk county girl. 31-year-old west wild hogs now faces a federal kidnapping charge. if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. hogs is accused of taking little becky lewis from her home. he was finally arrested with the little girl in tennessee last week. kidnapped and cuffed. a corrections officer taken hostage by an inmate on work debail and you will not believe

here. an alert cafeteria worker is the person being considered a hero. she was eating lunch in a nearby park when four panicked prisoners came up to her with a crazy story to tell about the fellow inmate who had just taken a hostage. our melanie michael is working that story. what a story it is. >> reporter: hello my friend. talk about a wild story indeed. that cafeteria worker here in this park when she got the shock of a lifetime. t 911. it was supposed to be like any other lunch day. a walk in the park. but for one elementary school cafeteria worker, wednesday went wacky real quick. >> there were four inn mates that came running up to me. they were on work detail. they said one of the inmates kidnapped the officer. >> reporter: new documents detail one wild scene where trustees were doing work detail

inmate david ross grabbed a steak knife from a park restroom and took a corrections officer hostage in a bartow city truck. >> they are pointing which way they went and i'm driving around the block and i don't see them anymore. >> reporter: but listen to this. before ross went on the run, he locked up his buddies in the bathroom claims he "just needed a ride." the trustees broke free and found the cafeteria worker in the park. all this from bartow pd. >> i was sitting on they came ranking up to me. >> what kind of officer did they take? >> i guess it is their detention deputy. >> you believe it is the detention deputy? what is your name? >> reporter: a lot of questions remain in this case and 8 on your side went looking for answers. we wanted to know why corrections officers don't carry guns. we were told since these are trustees, the officers only carry handcuffs an pepper spray. and it turns out the trustees who stayed were a huge help.

they were helpful in the investigation and sat down with our detectives and were very open and frank about what they saw and what took place. >> reporter: okay, so rod, another big question. how did that knife end up in the bathroom? it just so happened to be there? we did ask that to the department of corrections today. and they tell us while they are investigating, they do mention the fact that these crews don't know where they are going day- to-day, so they don't have any plans as to planting something in a different location each time they go to case. >> i'm sure they want to know the answer to that, too. and you know, i understand that you found out this suspect was getting out of jail in a couple of years? that has probably changed. >> reporter: well, he was. he has just added a lot of time to his sentence. he is being held in pinellas before he possibly comes back here to polk county to face even more charges. rod? >> all right, melanie michael reporting live for us in polk county. thanks mel. a major identity theft bust in saint petersburg. three women accused of stealing

victims. police arrested jessica dallas and shantel jones and are still looking for isabel davis. detectives say the women used the victim's personal information to open credit cards. police believe that there are more victims. well, tampa dodged a bullet when it came to hurricane matthew. but a lot of people still need help tonight. >> coming up, we will show you where crews here in the bay area are headed to help get the power back on. >> plus, we have proof of an denying that it was? that it does not exist? 8 on your side investigates that coming up. >> a bright sunshine today. humidity higher at the surface than we would like. but drier air and cooler air on the way for the weekend. we'll have the numbers for you

>> tampa crews are lending a helping hand to after hurricane matthew. the power company sending about 20 people to grand bahama island tomorrow morning. the damage is so bad in some areas the electric system is being rebuilt from the ground up. it could take six more weeks to fully restore the power there. a major milestone for professional hockey in tampa bay. 20 years ago today, the ice palace officially opened as the home of the lightning. the bolts beat the new york rangers in that very first game

20, 1996. look at that. thunder bug. the building has gone through a few names since then. it is currently called amalie arena and it has a whole lot of history. the lightning won the stanley cup there in 2004 and head coach john cooper tells us it is amazing how far this builds has come with the improvements the owner has made. >> it has been transformed into one of the most beautiful fan friendly rinks in the league. and, you rink is 20 years old because it feels like it is three or four years old. >> they really do put on a good show. the bolts take on the colorado avalanche tonight. paul ryan will have a preview of that game coming up in sports. >> i was there when they won the stanley cup. new developments in our investigation into voter fraud. >> the state's response is baffling. coming up, steve andrews shows us the complaint they told us does not exist.

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>> now, an 8 on your side investigation. >> tonight, an elections fraud complaint that is going nowhere. is the state lying about it? the sarasota woman complained to the state that residents of puerto rico were coming here to the sunshine state in florida to register to vote in the november election. >> now, that would constitute election fraud. however, the state not only deep sixed that complaint, it told our senior investigative

exist. >> reporter: well here it is. the nonexistent election fraud complaint and someone's nose is growing tonight at florida's division of elections. the election is coming quickly. and with it, questions about who is safeguarding florida's election system. >> they have a responsibility to protect my vote. >> reporter: former republican gubernatorial hopeful elizabeth wonders if the florida of elections is protecting anyone's vote. in august, elections fraud complaint. it names two organizations. the complaint states these organizations have been involved in registering puerto ricans from the island and returning. during elections returning them back to florida to vote, concentrating on the i-4 corridor. on wednesday, jorge rivera told 8 on your side relatives of his from puerto rico plan to come to florida to vote.

i mean, you can't do that. >> reporter: just last week, 8 on your side revealed mi familia's involvement in submitting a voter registration application for 85-year-old marina. she says it was fraudulent. ben monteroso says this is the first he has heard of the elections fraud complaint filed by elizabeth. he added we are not involved in any of that. we work with people who are eligible to vote. when 8 on to review any complaints involved with mi familia, the board of elections said there were none. really? what about elizabeth's complaint? they have since dismissed her complaint and she vows to continue. >> when i get everything going through, i expect all the people to be fired. because, they are lazy. they are not doing their job. it is a government job that they have.

meets with her group or she threatens to bring litigation against the state. >> so, why did the division of elections dismiss the complaint? >> reporter: they say they needed evidence. the division of elections told me when it determines a complaint is legally sufficient, it refers them to the appropriate state attorney or statewide prosecutor so i did some checking. according to the statewide prosecutor's office, the last time it received such a complaint was in the rl attorney's office cannot remember the last time it received a complaint from the division of elections. so they tell you to report stuff and they don't do anything about it. >> thank you steve. by the way, if you have a problem you think needs to be investigated this is the man to call. call steve. 1-800-338-0808. well, if you have a chance to be up late tore night into

orionid meteor shower overnight into friday morning. it will be hampered by this waning moon that gives up a lot of light. but if you are away from city light, you might see a few meteors into tomorrow morning. for the friday night blitz headed out to watch the friday night football games, 77 degrees as the front arrives. a cold front believe it or not. a 10% rain chance. maybe some added clouds. at laugh time, 72 degrees and the final play, 70 degrees. feels a little cooler because 78 degrees on saturday. that is right, for a high temperature, not a low temperature, 78 degrees on saturday. sun and clouds. plenty of sunshine on sunday. 79 degrees so it should be a fantastic weekend. 84 for friday. still a warm day. this comes with lower humidity. and that is true for monday and tuesday as well with highs shooting right back up into the low 80s as the area of high pressure shift to the east.

dew points in the 40s . 54 degrees on monday. so we are at a comfortable category at the low end of the forecast. 84 degrees at 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon. sunshine. mixed with clouds. temperatures, maybe a few more clouds down a little bit as a result of those cloud. but we will see more than we saw today likely. 79 clearwater beach. 82 new port richey. it is 83 in bartow. inverness, crystal river. venice, 79. saint pe, degrees near winter haven. the dew points are mostly in the 40s but a few 50s here. the this is noticeably drier when you have dew points in the 50s this time of the year, but 60s are not bad. still relatively high in north port. as for the satellite imagery. not much to show you. with the drier air high above, the clouds are disappearing. that's the dry air. we called it red. and there is plenty of red

to the surface in the interior of the peninsula which is why you are seeing slightly drier air. in terms of clouds, showers, most of it, if any across south florida may not be reaching the ground. a few showers in key largo. the next five days a 50% chance of development for the area off to the east. we are not concerned with it affecting our weather here locally. this general area for that 50%. but, this is down if you have been watching this, in percentage for development. and you can see why here on the computer model forecast well out to sea it looks like. we hope the trend will carry on for invest 99l. short term, not much going on. light northeasterly flow into the area thursday at 9:00 p.m. things are relatively tyly quiet. friday, most of the shower activity off to the east. any accumulations very

afternoon. it changes the whole thing for the weekend. we are seeing much drier air. you will look forward to that, 10% rain chance for friday. and we will take it out of the forecast, that rain for saturday and sun. and add a lot of sunshine and comfortable conditions. dare i say, you might even need a jacket to start the day. >> i like it. >> i know. wait a secondful what's a jacket? that is something you put outside. >> it is long sleeves. yeah. i know. i like it. >> so heads up. >> thank you sir, appreciate it. the tampa bay heart your help of reaching our goal of $100,000. thanks to all of you who have donated. we have raised nearly $38,000 with the help of people like kim ruth who joined our wfla team. she raised $365. it is certainly not too late to donate or join my team. fuccillo kia is matching the first $50,000 that we raise so every dollar you donate counts

at raymond james stadium. just go to wfla.com/heartwalk to donate. and join our team. well, coming up, the lightning look to go to tonight's game against the avalanche and start the season 4-0. >> wouldn't that be awesome? plus, jameis winston shares his thoughts on colin kaepernick's national anthem protest. what would he do if a teammate

>> the tampa bay lightning haven't won a stanley cup 2004, but they seem to be winning everything else. the bolts earned the number one

rankings. a survey grading all 122 teams across the four major sports leagues on what matters the most to fans. the bolts happen to be number one in the nhl standings. the only 3-0 team in the eastern conference. that matters to teams and their fans too. the bolts put their record on the line against the colorado avalanche hopeing to go 4-0 against their season opening home stand. the squad skated at amalie arena this morning focusing on starting fast they focus on giving up the first goal against a young fast avalanche team. that could be a recipe for disaster. >> they are a tough opponent. a lot of skill over there. a lot of fast guys. so, it will be important to play our game, focus on defense. it will work out from there. >> you don't want to lose any games. every game is important. obviously, we want to do well for our fans.

score add all times during the game, but the big one is having more goals at the endful we kind of saved it to the end the last few games so it would be nice, uh, you know, to play with the lead for a little while. >> when i say the name colin kaepernick, what comes to mind? a fraud, a gimmick quarterback? a capable qb who is rightfully regaining a starting job? maybe you think he is show act. a civil rights activist using his platform to draw equality and attention to important real life issue? there is no black or white answer. colin kaepernick exists in a shade of gray. no matter what they think about it, many of his colleagues at the very least respect the man going against the grain oftentimes by himself at what he believes is right.

thought of kaepernick kneeling during the anthem. he says he has not spoken to colin, but gives him credit to doing what he is doing and hinted he would stand up for a fellow buccaneer if they wanted to support kaepernick's cause. >> if someone decided to take a stand, i bet a lot of people would be with them. that is how i feel with colin. a lot of people are supporting him just because, you know, he is somebody that shows strength. he is somebody that shows, you and he is doing this alone. you know. so you have to respect that. and, you have to put hats off to him. he's a great man. >> kaepernick expected to get the start sunday when the bucs take on the 49ers. >> thank you very much sir. don't go anywhere. nightly news is up next followed by newschannel8 at 7:00. >> you can join josh benson and jenn holloway at 8:00 on great 38. and we will be back at 11:00.

robert kearney: i fought for my country in kosovo and iraq, and i've been a republican all my life. but i'm the father of three girls. i can't stand hearing donald trump call women pigs, dogs, and bimbos...and i sure and respected. donald trump's america is not the country i fought for. so, i'm voting for hillary clinton. hillary clinton:

when powerful people need someone to do their dirty work, they hire bob buesing. how far will he go? buesing fought to foreclose assisted-living retirement homes, threatening local seniors with homelessness. then, buesing defended wells fargo buesing's firm was even accused of overbilling local schools , running fees up to seventy thousand dollars. now, buesing's running for senate. how far will bob buesing go?

tonight, refuse to lose. donald trump's defiant new message doubling down on his refusal to say he'll accept the results of the election. >> i'll keep you in nasty debate. >> no puppet. no puppet. you're the puppet. such a nasty woma isis escape tunnels. richard engel inside the underground bunkers in iraq where isis fighters lived before they fled for their lives. hunt for a serial killer. chilling new 911 calls as police ask for help in a new murder spree. and scrambling nightmares.