Our next cold front has arrived in the Bay area with brisk winds that were gusting to 30 mph Wednesday. Thursday and Friday’s forecast high will only reach into the low to mid 60′s. with a mostly sunny high of 72 Saturday for Gasparilla. A full day of events that starts with the flotilla and parade down Bayshore. For more on Gasparilla events for the annual invasion Saturday, keep this handy. Former WWE wrestler Ric Flair is this year’s Grand Marshall.

Florida Power and Light, Duke Energy and Tampa Electric will all go before the Florida Public Service Commission March 7th, and ask for rate increases. The utility companies say the cost of restoring power after storms and the cost of fuel are the primary reasons for their requests. How much that will be will depend on who your provider is. Rates could vary from 10% to almost 40.

The city of Tampa is trying to slow drivers down and part of that will be new four way traffic stops. You’ll notice one of them around Plant High School, in addition to almost 400 around the city as part of Tampa’s Vision Zero mission. You can see more on the city’s plans on the Mobility Department site.

The Clearwater Marine Aquarium suffered the loss of another dolphin Monday. Hemingway was the oldest dolphin at CMA at an estimated 37 years old, and had been dealing with a possible suspected gastrointestinal condition before he passed away with the staff at the CMA by his side.

Gas prices in Florida have risen another seven cents over the past week, and hit a new high for a new year. A statement from AAA says part of the blame for the increase could be China, the largest oil importer in the world, reopening its economy.

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