florida's water supply. 8 on your side easterliesless joins us live from the plant in new wales where this all happened. hi melissa. >> reporter: good evening stacie. if you take a look behind me, you can see the plant. just beyond that is where the massive sink hole opened up. now, the state is requiring the company to fix it or face fines. neighbors we spoke with welcoming this news but still skeptical. although recent well test mccormick doesn't know if it will always be. >> it is a concern for us. >> reporter: now the state is stepping in under a deal with the florida department of environmental protection, mosaic will be required to fill in the sink hole. the company will also have to recover all of the pollution that drained into the aquifer. if the contaminated water moves off site, they must clean the mess. residents like mccormick are

little bit better. i'm glad that they are actually getting involved now. >> reporter: but, she is still leery about the lack of information from mosaic officials and the dep. the sink hole opened in august leaking more than 200 million gallons of contaminated water into the florida aquifer. the public was not notified about this potential environmental disaster until weeks later. after 8 on your side broke the story. >> do you regret not telling the public sooner? >> absolutely. our staff was outdated law. so, the governor gavetous proposed rule, the new emergency rule. that is what we are following now. >> it concerned me they didn't notify us and they are suppose today be protecting us. >> reporter: well, if the company does not comply with all of the stipulations, they could be fined as much as $10,000 a day. stacie? >> so, have they paid anything up front to guarantee that they will follow this order? >> reporter: yeah, as of now,

if the price to fix all of this goes up, they will have to pay more. >> all right, melissa marino, thank you for the update lye in polk county. if you want to read the full letter that the state sent mosaic, we have posted it on wfla.com. now, 8 on your side investigates. dirty politics or flat-out favoritism? >> it has been one big battle between uber and cab drivers. and, today, it got nasty. real quick. the county 8 on your side has been reporting on this controversy for months now. asking the question, did cabs get special treatment from the director of the public transportation commission? he has avoided our cameras until today. >> reporter: talk about an interesting meeting. heated controversial, and a lot of yelling going on.

his voice heard. our cameras were rolling just seconds after the epic showdown. 8 on your side the first station to get answers. >> i think it was a witch hunt. and, when somebody tells you don't worry, it's not a witch hunt, it's a witch hunt. >> reporter: he fought for his job, got grilled in the hot seat and suffered a nasty coup by his kyle cockream was not off the hook. >> i want to see if mr. cockream has time to speak with us. >> reporter: we chased him for months and found e-mails showing he was siding with the cabbies. >> it really includes a chummy rip, encouraging the cabbies to fight any ride sharing premise here in hillsborough county. >> i completely disagree with that whatsoever. i would say, there are e-mails that are copied to me.

astonishing. they are copied to me. i'm not even a part of the conversation. >> reporter: even his fellow commissioners called him out. >> the e-mails are kyle's own words in writing. and, they are clear. the con clicks are clear. breach of ethics are here. >> are you guilty of favoritism? >> i absolutely am for people that are legal. >> reporter: so, did this county leader wh instead get kickbacks from cabbies? >> are you willing to open your bank account? >> you know what? absolutely. i have been offered money to walk away from this. and i'm still here today. >> reporter: what is next in this saga? an outside party will come in and investigate. meanwhile, the ptc director tells us he is not on anyone's side but his own.

director of the ptc saying he will enforce the law when it comes to ride sharing. in downtown tampa, i'm melanie michael, newschannel8. two saint petersburg officials forced off the job over a sewage scandal are firing back at the mayor. they were placed on unpaid leave by mayor rick kriseman last month. they were accused of covering up a report that warned of major sewage spills if the treatment plant. levett wrote there was no attempt by staff to hide the report and the whistle blower's e-mail was taken as fact despite his misrepresentation of the report. now, a retired publics works administrationer is weighing in. mike connor said none signed up

given false allegations. the northwest little league in saint petersburg continues to struggle to pay its bills. earlier this season, the company that handles registration and fees failed to pay the league the $35,000 that the parents paid but only three weeks left in the season. the league president is still geting the run around. >> the dog died, sorry, i have been out of town. i have been sick. we have heard a lot of excuses why they cannot givetous money. >> the league presid as well. the dark as the days get shorter, they must pay more to keep the lights on. it is already costing about a thousand dollars a month. we reached out to the company who collected the money. they did not get back to us though. the league is paying the bills with a go fund me at and some help from the community. a peaceful ending this afternoon to a standoff that shut down part of us19 in pasco county today. eagle 8 hd captured that

to get michael putnam out of his hotel room and take him into custody. he had been holed up in new port richey for hours. investigators said putnam wanted a police shoot-out. he allegedly told negotiators this would be his last day on earth. scary moments for an elderly 7/11 clerk held up by a robber in saint petersburg. the victim was standing outside the store when a mass crook forced him the robber claimed he had a gun. a roadside memorial to honor a tow truck driver appear to have been vandalized. someone took the shirt and hat along i-75. this is where troy mcguire was hit and killed by a suspected drunk driver. fhp is not investigating this as a crime because the memorial technically counts as abandoned property. mourners plan to replace the items. a church crook makes an

want to see more of this video. we will show you how he clearly made the wrong choice in get away vehicles. >> plus, a new way to get from tampa to saint petersburg. but is this experiment really going to pay off? mark is on it because you paid for it. >> topped out at 80 degrees for a high. we had a few clouds holding off the high temperatures. not producing precipitation. we will look at your forecast for the rest of the week ahead and get a look at your weekend coming up. when powerful people need someone to do their dirty work,

assisted-living retirement homes, threatening local seniors with homelessness. then, buesing defended wells fargo against charges of helping a ponzi-schemer swindle millions. 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?

>> charges are pending against the driver of a car that hit a bus in manatee county this morning. about 50 palmetto high school students were in the bus at the time and police are searching for a church burglar. he is trying to ride away with a big screen tv on the bike. he had a hard time with it. stopped, adjusted the tv. dropped his bike at one point. eventually, he rides out of the frame with the tv. he is accused of stealing the television and two guitars from a church at busch boulevard and nebraska. well, buying your groceries is getting a lot easier for shoppers in polk county. wal-mart officially launched this online grocery pickup

groceries online and set a time to pick up their order. once you arrive at the store, and employee will load the items right into your car. >> customers love it. saves time. it's free. doesn't cost anything. we have trained personal shoppers that are trained to pick your produce and your meat department items. so yeah, customers love it. >> in polk county, the service is available at the wal-mart supercenters in hayne city, lake wales, and mulberry and available in stores in sarasota and mp pilot project that you paid for. >> but, is the cross bay ferry really going to work? coming up, we are taking a closer look at how much this experiment is costing taxpayers and if it will ever pay off. amendment 1 protects consumers from scams,

so, why are out-of-state billionaires attacking it? because amendment 1 stops their subsidies. amendment 1 ensures that if you don't choose solar, you don't have to pay for those who do. amendment 1 blocks special subsidies for special interests. it's solar done right. vote yes on amendment 1. i served under president bush and obama.

to counter isil. when someone makes the comment that they know more about the islamic state or isil than do the generals, it implies a complete ignorance of the reality. but i believe secretary clinton really understands the threat that the islamic state poses to the united states and to the american people. and i believe she understands how to wield american power to ultimately defeat this threat and to keep us safe. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. i'm hillary clinton as a federal prosecutor, i've spent my career prosecuting criminals i want to make the state attorney's office a model for criminal justice. i'll prioritize violent crime and be tough on murderers, gangs, and anyone who commits domestic abuse or sexual assault. and i'll make the system fair by working with police to wear body cameras and using dna to put criminals behind bars, not innocent people. i'm andrew warren.

>> money well spent? some taxpayers don't think so and 8 on your side has their backs. mark is on it because you paid for it. >> starting next week, there is going to be a brand new way to involve even a chance of a traffic jam. we are talking about the cross bay ferry. it is a pilot program that gets its funding from local governments on both sides of tampa bay. now, mark is on it tonight because you paid for it. so, how much is this transportation experience going to cost me? it sounds really cool. >> it will cost taxpayers way past a million dollars. you will have to pay a little

bargain, but they have no stated benchmark to measure its success. the cross bay ferry project is the brain child of mayor rick kriseman. >> jump on board, have a great ride. >> reporter: he convinced three other local governments to join the effort. tampa, hillsborough, pinellas counties are all pitching in $350,000 a piece as seed money. altogether, it is costing taxpayers $1.5 million for this six month transportaon new and unique way to move around tampa bay. >> reporter: saint pete is kicking in an extra $50,000 to create docking facilities in the vanoi bay son. another 50,000 to kick start the whole deal with the ferry owner. they normally operate in massachusetts during the summer season. but, this pilot project will use it to carry commuters and day trippers back and forth from saint pete to the tampa

>> look like something you want to ride? >> absolutely. >> it holds 449 passengers. how many will it take for you to consider this to be worth it? >> i don't know the answer to that yet. i think we are still going to be working that out. >> reporter: maybe so, but as a taxpayer, francis riley expects a better answer. she wants to measure the success or the failure of the cross bay ferry. >> we do need to have some benchmarks and we need to have >> how could you answer critics who say this is a taxpayer boondoggle? >> i would ask them to come on board and give it a ride. see if it is a good way to get from here to tampa. from tampa back to here. to give it a chance. and then see. >> reporter: money questions aside, this marks the first time tampa, saint petersburg, hillsborough, and pinellas have come together for any type of

on that and where it leads according to the local officials. >> well, there is that, i suppose, that they are working together. but when does this ferry service begin? >> reporter: it is tuesday, a week from today, maiden voyage. the public has its next chance friday of next week and it is $10. >> no senior citizen discount? >> no. >> thank you mark. now, max defender 8. the world's most powerful radar and your storm t jerve. >> hard to find the showers today, but max defender 8 would spot them if they were popping up around the area. again, we continue to look at dry conditions around the region. mostly cloudy as well across most of the region. the high clouds streaming in from the west today. in terms of our rainfall, overall, 1.55 inches since october 1. and, the deficit, about 35 one-hundredths so fairly close to average. but keep in mind, this is the dry season.

month of the year on average. so famous tate right now, 78 degrees with the east wind at 5 miles an hour. you see the loews don cesar, 79 degrees. language looks like it could drop a shower or two. you are seeing here at innisbrook, palm harbor, just a beautiful day. just a few extra clouds. nice shot from paul, this house is off new port richey. these are kind of they are not allowed to build any new ones. but this was built a while ago. eagle 8 has been spotting these for years. world series tonight. former manager joe maddon managing the cubs in cleveland. a little chilly. partly cloudy skies. not exactly baseball weather. temperatures, you can see starting out pretty close to average at 66 degrees ending up

weather for us here in the bay area. 7:00 a.m., 66. evening temperatures are nice. in the 70s , 85 degrees for tomorrow. might feel a little warmer in the afternoon because of the added humidity. we are back in the persistent northeasterly flow. temperatures now, in the 70s , mostly upper 70s . it is amazing how they have dropped off. upper 70s , tampa. streaming in from the west. they kind of show up as white house pinellas county looking in the sky. we had quite a look at them today. a lot of these locations. good new ins the tropics. hurricane season is still in place and still the end of november, but today, no, and the next five days, no development expected for the area. that is really good news. we hate to track the tropics this time of year, but certainly, it can happen. wrap mode electric bill for the

not much in the way of precipitation. there is a cold front sagging into the area. some of the computer models suggest a slight chance. not a big temperature or dew point change. afternoon looks really good with a mix of sun and clouds. wednesday, rain chance 10% or less as we get into thursday, friday. overnight loaf temperatures come back up a little bit. largely because we have that brings back in humidity. not bad weather all the way through halloween. >> kids will like hearing that. >> yes they will. >> thank you steve. and the tampa bay heart walk is just a few weeks away. and we need your help reaching our goal of raising $100,000. we want to give a great big thank you to mary ann russo of tampa who stopped by the station and dropped off a check

american heart association. fuccillo kia has agreed to match the first $50,000 that we raise. we are only about $10,000 short right now. so, we are getting there and we appreciate all of you who have donated so far. you can go to wfla.com/heartwalk to donate and join our team. the heart walk is november 12 at raymond james stadium. and, coming up next in sports, the lightning six game road trip continues in toronto. >> and, the world finally gets underway tonight with two fan bases who have

i moved on her like a [bleep]. you can do anything. grab them by the [bleep] we have to make sure that donald wins this election. no we don't. marco rubio stands by trump and failed to show up for florida. here's what i believe in. bringing people together and reaching across the aisle to get things done. protecting social security. and building an economy that works for all of us.

i've seen what can happen as the result of hate. my son matt was murdered in laramie, wyoming, in 1998. he was befriended by two men in a bar

ed him a ride home, and when he was in their car, they robbed him and beat him. they drove matt out to the prairie and tied him to a split-rail fence, then beat him some more and left him for dead. in the aftermath of matt's death, my family saw the best of america in the love and support we were shown. so when i see the hate that donald trump has brought to his campaign for president, it terrifies me. i'd like to punch him in the face, i'll tell ya. ahh, i don't know what i said, uhh, i don't remember. middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody, and i wouldn't... words have an influence. violence causes pain. hate can rip us apart. i know what can happen as the result of hate, and donald trump should never be our president. priorities usa action

>> well, downtown cleveland is the center of the sports universe tonight. a championship banner will be raised on opening night for the cleveland cavaliers and right next door, the world series matchup that has captivated historians, curious sports fans, and two starving fan bases finally gets underway. game one at 8:00. the indians won 53 home games. second most in baseball behind the cubs. now, kyle out ne season with torn knee ligaments. back in the cub's lineup as the designated hitter and they have veteran world series pitcher john lester on the mound. >> joe talks about staying in the moment. that's his big thing. always stay in the moment. stay relative to what we are doing now. and, i think this group has done a really good job of that. and we just feed off of each other with that. >> it's the world series. there are two teams left. you are wrapped up in the

ready. >> reporter: and the lightning six game road trip continues tonight in toronto. they didn't get their hometown star. the guy that needs him to slow down is alex killorn. the team leader in goals with four so far. >> trying to shoot as much as i can. and i just ... it is one of those things are things are just going well for me now. i want to keep this one going. >> and, the usf bulls back in bounce back mode this friday when they host 22 ranked navy. last friday, the bulls defense surrendered 44 points at temple. and today, head coach willy taggert was asked if he would actually consider having a different coach call his defense. >> so. no. [ laughter ] we are going to get better. everybody.

now. that is not going to happen. we are going to get better. we are going to work to get better. we are a football team. that's what we have to do. you got it? >> we got it. all right, the tampa bay storm pushing forward in the current four-team arena football league. today, they named a new head coach. ron james. he is is a veteran arena football coach who was the afl coach of the year in 2012. and last night, at 11:00, i reported that the tampa bay rowdies could be jumping from league. they made it official today. so, the rowdies are in the usl starting this year. it could be the beginning of a move rowdies fans hope could put them in major league soccer. so let's hope that is the right direction. >> you got it? you got it. [ laughter ] >> get better as a football team. >> we got it. don't go anywhere. nightly news is coming up next followed by newschannel8 at 7:00 with steve and jen. >> josh benson and jenn holloway at 8:00 on great 38.

will all be back at 11:00.

tonight, two weeks to go. trump and clinton in florida. the frenzied final sprint. trump trying to take aim over obamacare. clinton trying to put the map out of reac over american service members promised bonuses to re-enlist and serve at war, now being told to give the money back. the white house and the pentagon now weighing in. caught on camera, the dramatic moment as three cousins are ambushed in a hail of gunfire. tonight a manhunt for a shooter on the run. mid-air emergency on a transatlantic flight. kru members struck with a mystery illness. the pilot forced to divert.