October may be the most beautiful month of the year, but it is also the darkest: When the leaves fall, the skies moan and the night invades. It is the month of death. ...more

October 24, 2009

Kim Yu-na practically sprinted through the short program and away from a strong field Friday at the World Figure Skating Championships. ...more

March 28, 2009

Mardi Gras was the theme for the Plant City Garden Club's annual flower show. ...more

March 11, 2009

We have a smoking problem. We admit it. Shamefully, we reveal to you our dirty little barbecue secret. ...more

December 31, 2008

It still hasn't sunk in yet. Probably because he hasn't left yet. When he does, we are going to miss Monte Kiffin. ...more

December 21, 2008

From the minute that she stuck her dismount, Nastia Liukin sensed that her performance may not have been golden. ...more

August 19, 2008

Artistic photographers have a multitude of creative options these days, before and after the shot is snapped. ...more

February 19, 2008

Photographer Carol Gula has a vast skill set at her command. Her newest exhibition, "The Passion of the Flower," now showing at The Progress Energy Art Gallery, in downtown New Port Richey, demonstrates that command. ...more

February 1, 2008

LAKE PLACID –– Irv Barber was 10 years old when he built his first model airplane from sticks. It was a simple rubber band-powered plane. Now 75 and a retired homebuilder/developer, his enthusiasm for planes has never wavered. In high school he built and flew U-control planes. With two wires and a handle, they're flown in circles, loops and rolls. He continually advanced to radio-controlled planes in the '60s. Although most people buy their planes already manufactured, Barber has been an exact builder for quite a few years. ...more

December 3, 2007

One of my favorite things about Highlands County is that it's a melting pot. We have people here from every corner of the United States as well as many foreign countries. Just go to the mall or the circle in downtown Sebring and watch the parade of people. You'll see old, middle-aged and young, as well as every race and ethnic variety. Or go into any of our many fine restaurants and listen to the people around you. You'll hear accents from Brooklyn to Jamaican and everything in between. It's what gives our county a life all its own. That mix of people also gives us a mix of cultures that enriches our choices in everything from the clothes in our stores, to the foods in our restaurants, the music on our radios, and the art you'll find when you walk the streets of downtown Sebring during the upcoming Arts Festival. I'm not an artist, but I do appreciate art in all its myriad forms. I never cease to marvel at the creativity innate in the human spirit. The universal urge toward artistic expression, in everything from pottery to pastries to photography, is proof that we humans are all cut from the same cloth. ...more

November 4, 2007