Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 1

1 The Tampa Bay Lightning falls short in overtime, losing to Boston 6-5. ic i Stumer it tampabay.com FLORIDA'S BEST NEWSPAPER Sunday, November 5, 2006 -JJ Crist would be more centrist, less hands-on than Jeb Bush. Davis would seek new direction, and face a skeptical Legislature. i 4 1 1 F'V 'J -'mm. "I won't let (the people) down," says Charlie Crist.

Jim Davis says he's undaunted by the challenge. Crist the candidate kept policy details to a minimum and moved leftward on some issues while navigating a surprisingly smooth campaign. Governing1 the nation's fourth-largest state would test him as never before. While Jeb Bush relished lively confrontations over policy, Crist would play it safer. He would surely avoid issues like abortion and gay marriage that would energize the socially conservative CRIST continues on 12A The Tampa Democrat would face a resistant, if not hostile, Legislature not unlike Republican Gov.

Bob Martinez encountered in 1987 that would test his willingness to compromise and his ability to persuade. "It would be very hard to cooperate with a lot of the initiatives he has enunciated. There'll be stalemate," said Rep. Dennis Baxley, one of the state's most conservative lawmakers and a DAVIS continues on 12A BY STEVE BOUSQUET Times Staff Writer Charlie Crist would offer Flo-ridians something different as governor: a middle-of-the-road Republican philosophy that's easy to grasp and as upbeat as an Amway convention. As a road map for running the state, Crist's campaign, like his public record, reveals much about the kind of governor he would be.

His bumper-sticker solutions leave big question marks, too. BY ALEX LEARY Times Staff Writer Jim Davis pledges a very appealing future: As governor, he says he would lower property taxes, slash the cost of home insurance, improve schools and stand up to special interests. Everything but "stay the course," his favorite jab at Republican opponent Charlie Crist. But promise after promise, Davis overlooks a glaring reality: In Tallahassee, Republicans rule. ii BOB CROSUIM Times' IN FLORIDIAN Hair metal just keeps rocking on For many rock fans in Florida, the raunchy genre known as hair metal is pure gospel.

IN SPORTS V. Gators lock 1 up SEC East Florida's 25-19 win over Vanderbilt, combined with Tennessee's loss to LSU, sends the Gators to the SEC title game, Get more online For more about Charlie Crist, Jim Davis and Tuesday's election, go to: politics.tampabay.com. W. Thomas Larkin 1923 2006 "When it comes to kids you can't do politics. You need common sense and common sense is to protect our kids." Mark of Jessica Lunsford i Bishop legacy: humilifif, inclusion 1 1" Tom Larkin helped the St.

Petersburg diocese reach out to minorities. 'He has died at 83. BY CRAIG BASSE AND MELANIE AVE Times Staff Writers ST. PETERSBURG A smalltown boy, Tom Larkin wanted to be a small-town pastor, the kind who would know every parishioner by his voice in the confessional. Instead, he became bishop of the fastest-growing Roman Cath- olic diocese in the United States, a megaparish where people inevitably became ciphers.

Bishop Emernjis W. Thomas Larkin, who led the St. Peters V7 INGAMSDA7 IsGruden to blame? As the Bucs -L 'A, offense goes nowhere, '4 the coach can't escape the heat, columnist Gaiy Shelton writes- I 1 1 1.1 I 1 'in money I' Insurance blame game Looking for something else to blame for your insurance rates? Join the chorus questioning computer models. IN LATITUDES Is the dance about over? Audiences for traditional dance are shrinking. So what's the future of the art form? IN WORKING Homespun careers Enterprising moms are coming up with new ways td earn a living working from home.

Breezy 8 a.m. Noon 4 p.m. 8 p.m. 66 77 81 70 Complete forecast, 2A STEPHEN J. CODDINGTON Times Mark Lunsford, here in his late daughter Jessica Lunsford's room in January, has become a supporter of California's Proposition 83.

"It doesn't bring my daughter back, but it could very well keep your daughter here," he says. Jessi ca's Law goes west Mark Lunsford's national crusade for tougher child sex laws has led him to California, where one of the nation's strongest measures is about to go before the burg dio-cesft through a decade of explosive growth and was a friend of the 'late pope, died at his Clearwater home about 1:50 a.m. Sat-I urday (Nov. 5 4, 2006) after 0' Bishop Larkin led the local diocese from 1979 to 1989. N- A1- it IN ger laws to protect children from sex crimes.

But too often, Lunsford said, he has felt some of the measures have gone too easy on criminals. Just as he feared, early this year the California Legislature moved forward with a watered-down version. But a surprising twist gave him hope. Supporters were pushing forward with Proposition 83, one of the toughest and most controversial versions of a Jessica Lunsford Act in the country. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and make entire cities like Los Angeles off-limits to sex offenders.

'Anytime any state wants to do JESSICA continues on 13A BY JOHN FRANK Times Staff Writer Mark Lunsford isn't politically savvy, but he knew what would happen last year when California lawmakers proposed tough restrictions on sex offenders. The harshest and to him the most important provisions would crumble in a heap of political compromise and fear of controversy." "It's one excuse after another," he said. And it wasn't the first time. Since his 9-year-old daughter Jessica was abducted from their Homosassa home and killed last year, Lunsford has been on a nationwide crusade for stron 1 "Ja a long battle with leukemia. He was 83.

Bishop Larkin, who was the seminary roommate of the late Pope John Paul II, was appointed by the pope as the second bishop of the burgeoning Diocese of St Petersburg, serving, from 1979 through 1988. "He was the first person with whom I spoke upon arriving in the diocese in 1995 and he remained a wise counselor and friend throughout," said St Petersburg Bishop Robert Lynch, who was out of the country, in a written statement. "He was always witty in his homilies, usually beginning with a story of his own ministry here in Florida" Friends described Bishop Lar- BISHOP continues onllA jf. A. Reuters Mark Lunsford shakes hands with California Gov.

Arnold Schwarzenegger at an Aug. 17 event urging voters to support Proposition 83. INDEX Abby 7E Latitudes Ask the Times 2A Letters 1L 2P ID Astrology Arts 2E 7E Money 6L Movies 4E Puzzles Young man, do you want to share that with the class? Books 2L Classified Crossword Perspective Travel Working Weather Colleges have spent millions for wireless Internet in classes. But what was 2A meant to be a benefit for laptop-toting students is often now a distraction. Editorials 3P Entertainment 2B World in a Snap 3A Internet surfing is becoming a major distraction.

Many are now banning laptops or penalizing students caughtmisusing them. "Laptops are wonderful tools, and I am one of the professors who probably uses them the most," said University of Florida law professor Pedro Malavet "But the one thing we have to be LAPTOPS continues on ISA years installing wireless Internet connections in their classrooms, touting Web access as a way to improve the learning experience. Law professors can direct students to legal briefs and case records online. Political science professors can show students campaign-related Web sites. But even instructors who embrace the Web say students' Vol.

123 No. 104 Times Publishing Co. a University of South Florida student majoring in international studies. "I've seen one or two students who actually take notes. But most of them surf." Universities across the country have spent millions in recent notes, they troll the Web.

They check out eBay, the latest videos on YouTube and football stats on ESPN.com. They send instant messages to friends and update their profiles on Facebook.com. "Oh, totally," said Andrea Zard, BY SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER Times Staff Writer TAMPA The students bring their laptops to class with such good intentions. But instead of typing lecture 8906 19942.