The sun teased Pasco County on Sunday, peeking out several times. But the sky was mostly gray, and the rain poured on already waterlogged lawns and into taxed drainage systems. ...more

June 23, 2008

Deluges on Saturday, rain this morning and a threat of more wet stuff later today has prompted the weather service to issue a flood warning for the Manatee River at Myakka Head. ...more

June 22, 2008

Four people were killed and numerous others injured when a tornado struck a western Iowa Boy Scout camp Wednesday evening, Iowa Homeland Security officials said. ...more

June 12, 2008

Florida summers are a great time for planting. One good storm can drop 1 to 3 inches of rain, which soaks into the soil and encourages roots to follow. Plants with deep roots will grow up to be drought-tolerant. ...more

May 28, 2008

There's nothing like fishing at night and reeling in a real live monster. ...more

May 3, 2008

TAMPA - There's nothing like fishing at night and reeling in a real live monster. That's what happened when David Humphress yanked a 10-foot-6-inch hammerhead shark out of the Gulf of Mexico. Other Side Charters boat Capt. Daniel Long measured the girth and estimated the weight of the beast at just over 500 pounds. ...more

May 2, 2008

The big cat exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo reopened Thursday for the first time since a tiger escaped and fatally mauled a teen two months ago. ...more

February 22, 2008

Recently, I received an e-mailed letter from a lady who described herself as disabled. She wrote that she had always enjoyed tending her garden, but, due to her physical disability, she felt nervous about trying to work around her flowers and shrubs. She wondered if I had any ideas that would be useful to physically challenged people such as herself. ...more

February 10, 2008

Fred Palensar of Holiday wrong about global warming, John F. Christian of Palm Harbor says. ...more

February 8, 2008

Last week, North Carolina's LaToya Pringle was honored as the ACC Player of the Week, thanks in part to her performance in the third-ranked Tar Heels' 97-86 double-overtime victory against fourth-ranked Maryland. Pringle scored 12 of her career-high 31 points in the second overtime to cap the victory. The senior from Fayetteville, N.C., talked to The Tampa Tribune about her performance and how she would like her team to end its season in Tampa. With so many dominating players in the ACC, what does it mean to you to get this award? It feels good to finally play well against top competition in the ACC. I really wanted to attack and get into a defensive mode, but also score, so it was nice to be able to do both. Is North Carolina the team to beat in the ACC? I would think so, since we're at the top of the ACC. I think everyone wants to play their best against us. How tough is this conference right now with three teams ranked in the top 10, including two in the top five? I think it's actually the toughest conference. I know Tennessee and Connecticut are the top teams in the nation right now, but I think for a conference to be the best, you can't just have one team. We have so many teams that are ranked and ones that could be ranked. How has your game evolved at the collegiate level? I think I've extended my range. In high school, I was usually only 3 feet away from the basket. Now in college, with my height and size, I really had to extend my game. What's it like playing in the basketball Mecca of the world? I knew North Carolina was a good school and had good basketball teams. You can't really go anywhere without somebody coming up to you and saying, "I saw your game on TV" or "I came to the game." I think it's the Triangle area in general, with us, Duke and N.C. State. I think it's a huge basketball town. As it gets closer to tournament time, do you feel like your team is peaking at the right moment? After our loss to Connecticut, I think we really elevated our game to another level. I think that helped us beat Maryland and hopefully we can keep it going. Katherine Smith ...more

February 4, 2008