Hurricane Ronda Storms

Ronda Storms attempted to delay the paperwork for a Valrico bikini bar. The establishment was already cleared for zoning and legally allowed to open. That didn't stop Storms from ordering a Hillsborough County employee to sit on the final paperwork to delay the opening. Now the taxpayer is paying for Storms's grandstanding.

Luke Lirot, a Clearwater lawyer representing Gemini, said the county will pay his clients $49,000 to resolve the case. Lirot said the case was settled, in part, so Gemini could devote full attention to another lawsuit against the county over ordinances governing sexually oriented businesses.

The resolution comes nearly two weeks before the case was supposed to go to trial. Part of the case focused on actions taken by then-County Commissioner Ronda Storms before the Showgirls bikini bar opened its doors.

Gemini sued the county in November 2005 and in a recent filing alleged Hillsborough "maliciously and intentionally" manipulated procedures and county employees to try to keep the club from opening.

Storms was accused of asking county workers to delay issuing a certificate of occupancy for the club, preventing its opening. She was later cleared of wrongdoing by the State Attorney's Office and Florida Commission on Ethics.

Everyone gets cleared by the Commision of Ethics. Pam Iorio allowed firefighters to use city computers to lobby Tallahassee. All parties were caught redhanded. Iorio was cleared by the Commission of Ethics. Hillsborough County wouldn't be coughing up money to a titty bar if Storms was so innocent.