the tick ebar in bradenton says the landlord is forcing them out of business at the end of this month. his reason he doesn't think the restaurant is successful. >> digging into the facts tonight. jarrod holbrook, this doesn't make sense to the owners. >> reporter: restaurant owners say they have always turned a stable profit from day one and feel they are being pushed out because of agreed. for bruce, it's more than just an outdoor waterfront restaurant. >> besides being my 4-year-old son's big sand box, it has meant a lot to my wife and my family. >> reporter: bruce has owned the tick ebar in bradenton for more than five years. >> this business has been our heart and soul over the last five and a half years. >> reporter: bruce just found out from his landlord that his lease is not getting renewed. in a letter sent to bruce, the landlord feels, quote, the tenant has not operated its business in a successful and productive manner. >> i appreciate all your service. >> reporter: at the end of the

>> it's heart wrenching. it really is. >> reporter: heart wrenching because bruce says they have been very successful. they have always turned a profit and given more than $200,000 to local charities. >> our sales average between 2 and a half to $3 million a year over the last five years. we pay the landlord an average of $20,000 a month. >> never had a late payment. >> never. >> never missed a payment. >> never. >> reporter: scott tibits is the landlord. amount of the gross sales. we tried reaching him at his office and called his cell phone to ask him how he defines success in this agreement. he never got back to us. bruce says he put more than a million dollars of his own money to fix the place up and his landlord has bigger plans. saw success, he saw how we were the patio i. >> reporter: at the end of this

close and up to 70 employees outs of work. like server james. his wife and stepdaughter work here as well. >> there is a lot of anxiety, sleepless nights wondering how we will get march through and april. >> more difficult than i could have ever imagined looking all of the employees in the face and telling them that we can't be a place for them to support their families any longer. >> reporter: the i it was team confirmed that he has met with the city official and potential buyers to discuss plans of expanding the river walk to his property. >> i wish him luck. but i hope the karma train comes sooner than later. >> reporter: currently there are no set plans for the property. other restaurant owners have reached out to us saying they're happy to employ those out of work next month. we sent that information to bruce. i'm investigator jarrod holbrook, taking action for you. >> new at 6:00, abc action news confirming a manatee county judge is being charged with misconduct.

from a law firm who had a pending civil case in his courtroom. he set aside a jury verdict that beep fitted the firm's client. he was a former legal analyst for court tv. he has not responded to the charge yet. tonight an effort underway to develop a vaccine for the fast spreading zika virus. six new cases confirmed in florida late this afternoon. a drug maker saying today that he is launching research and development efforts. there is currently no treatment or vaccine for the mosquito born virus linked to birth defects. unfortunately it typically takes years to develop a vaccine. of the nine confirmed cases in florida, two of them are in hillsborough county. now the most accurate weather team in florida. abc action weather. >> how are you doing, everybody? a foggy start to the morning. dense fog advisories everywhere in the viewing area.

we were into the low to middle 80s. we're still in the upper 70s to low 80s across much of the area. i don't think fog will be the problem tomorrow morning as it was this morning because the winds will be a little higher than they were today. still a few showers pop up east of i-75 with all of the warmth and moisture. eventually that will change our forecast come thursday. not this evening. clear to partly cloudy skies and mild with temperatures in the 60s. >> thanks, den. we will check back in with you. execution delayed. the florida supreme court gives a death row inmate more time. this the result of a u.s. supreme court ruling that says our state's death penalty system is unconstitutional. it has been postponed indefinitely. last month the u.s. supreme court ruled that florida death penalty process gives judges too much power because they make the final decision.

trials that haven't even happened yet in hillsborough county and across the bay area. a warning tonight from law enforcement as two bay area men are accused of courting underaged teenage girls online, helping them run away from home and then persuading them to have sex. citrus county deputies say the men would pick them up at the parents' homes in the middle of the night. one of the suspects is opening up to jacqueline. >> reporter: i'm here at the citrus county sheriff's office who say the cases are similar but unrelated. but one suspect says the investigators have it all wrong. he's the real victim. >> i don't go around trying to sleep with little girls. that's not what i do. >> reporter: jessie laramie junior can't help by quiver. >> do you think i deserve to be a sex offender for the rest of my life and have to register for the rest of my life because

girl who lied to me and wanted to have sex. >> reporter: he claims the girl told him she was 18 when they talked over facebook. >> knowledge of age is not a defense. >> reporter: deputies say the 21-year-old knowingly courted, dated and had sex multiple times with the teen here at his mother's home. even helping the teen run away from home last month and on one occasion picking her up from school, having sex and dropping her off in time so she could catch the school bus home. despite his insistence that he is the victim, this isn't the first time that he found himself in this position. he was out on bond on a similar crime involving a different underaged girl he met online. deputies arrested 23-year-old mason davis for a similar crime just last week. >> i'm sorry. i was looking for mason davi . >> reporter: he is accused of helping a 15-year-old run away

multiple times. >> it's a big deal with maturity. a 23-year-old taking advantage of a young person looking for attention. laramie's mom feels differently. >> i think it's time for us to start looking at the girls. you should see some of the pictures. >> reporter: in citrus county, abc action news. look at this heart breaking sight on the side of the road. the puppies were found in a box on sunday. you may have seen pictures on our twitter feed already today. all of them were suffering from severe mange. tonight the humane society telling us that they are hopeful that the little ones will be healed and then available for adoption. good news tonight in polk county. a puppy stolen during a lakeland break-in nearly two weeks ago is safely back at home. two teenage boys are facing

the dog. the mother heard about it and the dog is back home tonight and doing fine. there's a push to require draft. the idea coming from the top army and marine corps generals because combat jobs are open to all women. for decades men have been required inform recommend for selective service at the age of 18 but it has been reluctant to endorse it for women. tonight the top commander in afghanistan is calling for the u.s. to keep military presence in the country for the next five years. campbell telling the committee today that lowering the troop level like president obama wants could limit our ability to conduct counter terrorism missions and train afghan forces. the president wants to cut our force level in afghanistan from 9800 to 5500 by the end of this year.

step closer to being able to appoint a executor to your digital life to manage and access your social media after you die or become incapacitated. a similar bill failed last year in part because of opposition from internet service providers. it feared they would violate guarantees to customers. moving on to new hampshire and fresh off her win in iowa, hillary clinton will be getting help from the bay area. buckhorn is planning to campaign for her this weekend. the mayor's office says he will head to new hampshire on friday and return to florida on sunday. he will do whatever the clinton needs him to do while there. >> i'm not above knocking on doors and walking through the snow and talking to volunteers and making the phone calls. that's how i started. i know how to do that. i haven't had to do it in two

for former bill clinton in the past and president obama. well, golfers, grab your clubs. rocky point golf course is owe finish hely back open for business. the course held a grand reopening ceremony this morning following a 7-month renovation. the face lift includes new greens, new bunkers. it's one of three golf courses owned by the city of tampa. >> if somebody put my family in this car, i would just go ballistic. dangerous repair. a bay area woman says her family was put at risk and the same thing could happen to you. how it happened and the excuse that geico gave when we tried to get answers. boy, that is a beautiful thing right there. there's your sunset from the main sail. this morning, you couldn't see it. a lot of fog out there. are we looking at a repeat

>> the hillsborough county school district is getting five they're often the first law enforcement on scene when something happens at a school. the sheriff's office at that that runs the program applied for federal money to get even more of these trained armed deputies in the classroom. security and demonstrates to children that law enforcement is safe. are. this is the job that we do and we care for their kids. >> right now, not every elementary school in hillsborough county has their own officer. many share one. the sheriff's office hopes to expand the program down the line. a lack land woman is afraid to get behind the wheel of her own vehicle because she says she trusted the insurance company to steer her to a credible repair shop. why three experts say she has

>> we have looked at this issue before, insurance companies accused of steering their crash victims to preferred shops. the practice leads to dangerous repairs. >> right there. got a bill belly in it. >> reporter: a buckle in the roof. >> that's a buckle. >> reporter: another in the rear frame. and gaps where parts should be aligned. >> if somebody put my family in this car, i would just go ballistic. >> reporter: all point to a dangerous repair, according to ray gunder. that examined the 2012 dodge challenger. they agree. >> so if the vehicle gets hit again, the energy force is just going to travel straight through. >> reporter: a compromised worse. which is why sheila say she or behind the wheel again. >> i thought they wanted her to go to one of the preferred

car was being fixed correctly. >> reporter: after another car rammed the dodge last year, geico steered hadder to a repair shop. >> they just halfway fixed it. >> reporter: geico disagrees. in response to our questions, the company suggested that the vehicle had been in another accident. regarding the claims of additional damage to the frame rail, floor, quarter panel and the miss aligned parts, these items are consistent with a rear end impact to the vehicle. in fact, the shop that completed the repairs says photos of the vehicle during the course of repairs showing no buckles in the quarter panel or dents in the rear body panel. >> there has been no subsequent accident. >> reporter: two of the three auto experts we consulted with for the story are part of a lawsuit filed against geico and other big name insurance companies.

states have filed suit over the steering of car crash victims to preferred body shops. now, geico was the other driver's insurer. she will have to file for her own insurance for own repairs that may get her canceled. she can file a case with the state but regulators do not offer much more than nonbinding mediation in many of these cases. now, the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> well, i'll tell you, what a beautiful day it was outside. >> yes. >> just perfect. >> started off a little foggy. but it was so warm in the afternoon. >> yeah. especially in the sun. yeah. really. >> tomorrow just as warm. we have a few showers that will be popping up. look at that. that is florida right there. from apollo beach. a little bit of waves and wind action going on there. a lot of sun. and today was about as nice as it can get for early february. groundhog day, 85 degrees across the interior counties.

few showers tried to pop up in polk county. but clearly this morning you saw the moisture or i guess it was tough to see anything out ahead of your hand because of the dense fog. we had dense fog advisories all over the place. once it lifted, burned off, it turned out to be a stellar day. still in the upper 70s to low 80s across the viewing area. on average as warm as it was yesterday, even warmer today. tomorrow another warm one. and then everything begins to change on thursday. and i think it changes quickly. got a lot of weather rolling in thursday, friday and into the weekend. more on that in a second. in the mid-70s from clearwater over to st. pete. overnight. so we won't see the fog like we

84. this shows you how much moisture was out there. the wind brought enough moisture for a few showers. we talked about it yesterday. anything that would develop tomorrow another mostly dry late tomorrow night, that's when everything begins to change. now, visibility as i said big issue this morning. not nearly the issue tomorrow morning that it was. yeah, there will be fog out there and it will be patchy. just not widespread. i don't think we have to worry too much about dense fog advisories for most of our viewing area. off shore it will be an issue. this evening, partly cloudy skies. mild night. tomorrow morning, waking up to temperatures in the 60s across the area. big change from a several days ago. partly sunny. warms back to the mid 80s. by late tomorrow night and first thing thursday morning, there's the weather. now that in itself just going

the best chance of heavier afternoon. and we will watch that just in case one starts to get a little stronger than we anticipate. be the biggest issue. be. there's a pretty good chance for strong to severe weather sunday. that's five days away. a lot can change. but it is something that we're keeping our eyes on. there's the highs on wednesday. right back into the middle 80s. on average, about 15 degrees above normal. we're either 15 below or 15 above. way for the past several weeks. here is a look at the 7-day. nothing more than a quick best chance mid morning thursday through the late afternoon. friday we clear out. rain chances increase saturday night into sunday morning. and there is the chance for severe weather with that.

star break over, the lightning are back together. we also know they couldn't have asked for a more defining moment coming out of the break. 33 games left to go. it's the red wings and penguins at home. both of the teams are right there with the lightning in the playoff hunt. it's back to the grind to develop another win streak. take advantage of these games at home through the middle of this month. >> there is still room for improvement. we realize that. tougher and titer. we have to be ready for it. i feel like we will. >> you can see for yourself with these next two games mean. that includes friday's home against against the penguins. the bolts and red wings are tied at 58 points. boston sitting in the first wild card spot. and pittsburgh is three back. and both of those teams are playing tonight as is the

so back to back wins at home this week would be huge before the bolts head out of town for a two-game road trip to ottawa and montreal. i'm a little surprised that the browns made this announcement. they don't like to have detraction from the super bowl. the browns will release johnny manziel. we believe it will come on march 9th. manziel has been nothing but an embarrassment to the team and himself. carolina is favored in the super bowl. we will see where the short money falls later in the week. denver knows their the underdog. do they feel they are underdogs? we will have more from gary kubiak tonight at 11:00. we might see nascar driver tony stewart retire as a driver

i don't know how many more signs this guy needs to retire. stewart injured his back in an all-terrain vehicle accident over the weekend. he is hospitalized on the west coast. stewart was in arizona on jackson auction. we are expecting an update on tomorrow. he is expected in daytona in a week to get ready for the 500. we're back in a minute and

>> we have continuing coverage of the top stories on abcactionnews.com. >> and we will see you back here tonight at 11:00.