Tampa

Tiger sharks glided swift and smooth, moray eels darted into submerged caves and, in a full-blown rain forest re-created indoors, leafy and humid, tropical birds flitted past tamarin monkeys. John Racanelli, on his first visit to Baltimore's National Aquarium, was nothing short of astounded. Aquariums, he had thought, were dark, dank and strange. This ecological theater was anything but. Racanelli wasn't just a suit on a business trip. Like many representing other cities that hoped an aquarium might do for their town what this one did for Baltimore, he considered himself a pilgrim.

A service to celebrate his life will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 13312 Cain Road, Tampa, at 11 am on Saturday, April 5. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Community Concern for Animals, 7701 Gardener Road, Tampa, FL 33625; The Humane Society of Tampa Bay; and The Salvation Army.

On November 27, 2004, BERTHA L. POLANOWSKI, of Tampa, FL, formerly of Baltimore, MD. She is preceded in death by her husband, John T. Polanowski and her daughter, Geraldine Tucker. She is survived by her sons, Robert and William Polanowski, three generations of grandchildren. Graveside services will be held on Wednesday, December 1, in Tampa, FL.

Aubrey Huff, Orioles first baseman How annoying are the Red Sox fans who fill Camden Yards? I'm used to it. I played in Tampa for six years. It's the same everywhere.

MELVA M., age 91, of Tampa, formerly of Clearwater, died on June 22, 2005 at Kindred Hospital Central Tampa. She was born in Hamstead, MD and moved to Clearwater in 1977 from Timonium, MD and to Tampa from Clearwater in 1988. She was a former teacher and librarian for the state of Maryland. She was a member fo the PEO sisterhood and Temple Terrace United Methodist Church. She was married to the late Dr. Earl T. Willis and is survived by her nephews Mr. Charles Horich, Mr. G. Martin Horich and Dr. Joseph Bush, all of Baltimore, MD. Graveside services will be held on Thursday, June 30, 2005 at 10 A.M. at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park.

* WHAT'S AHEAD: The Bays host Miami, 1-3 and in last place in the American Division, this Saturday at 7:05 p.m. at Cedar Lane Park in Columbia.* WRAPUP: The Bays extended their undefeated streak in the APSL to five games with a 1-0 victory in Tampa Bay Saturday night. Kevin Sloan's unassisted goal 25 minutes into the second half kept the Bays on top of the Western Conference, where San Francisco Bay is also undefeated at 4-0. Bays goalie Steve Powers had a pair of saves, and the team outshot Tampa 11-5.

Devil Rays: In six games last season at SkyDome, Tampa Bay scored just six runs while batting .166.White Sox: Frank Thomas went 1-for-3 with two walks and is hitting 13-for-22 (.591).Pub Date: 4/14/99

On deck Tampa Bay takes its new winning way into New York in the opener of a four-game series. He said it "It's fun hitting in this lineup. ... When you've got guys swinging like we do, you can get on a pretty good roll." Mark Teixeira, after his seventh home run in his past 10 games for the Rangers

ORLANDO, Fla. - Tropical Storm Bonnie forced the Deeds family, vacationing from Gig Harbor, Wash., to cut short their trip to Naples. So on Wednesday they moved north to Tampa. Then on Thursday, Hurricane Charley forced them to leave Tampa, and they moved inland to Orlando, where they hoped to catch a flight home. But they were still there last night, and so was Charley. "We thought we would be safe here," John Deeds said yesterday, from the Hawthorn Suites Hotel in Orlando as Charley bore down, an unexpected guest in this tourist city.

A. Nicholas RyjkoffCompany ownerA. Nicholas Ryjkoff Jr., who owned a company that assembled and sold traffic control devices, died June 29 of a heart attack at his home in Tampa, Fla.The former Dundalk resident was 54.Mr. Ryjkoff, who had lived in Tampa since 1976, had operated Ryjkoff & Associates since 1991. In 1960, he began working in the field of traffic control after serving for several years in the Coast Guard.He was born and reared in Dundalk and was a 1958 graduate of Dundalk High School.