People with respiratory problems are urged to stay indoors because of smoky conditions caused by multiple wildfires burning in eastern and central Florida and two brush fires in Hernando County. ...more

May 14, 2009

It's reassuring to see the Tampa City Council understands the urgent need to conserve water. It's dismaying to see state lawmakers don't have a clue about the need to protect Florida's water resources. ...more

March 21, 2009

This week the governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District could have tightened once-a-week watering restrictions as drought continues to strain drinking-water supplies. Doing so would have been easily justified. ...more

February 27, 2009

Showers and thunderstorms forecast to herald the arrival of a cold front Wednesday would produce the first rain for West Central Florida this year as 2009 follows the dry path of 2008. ...more

January 6, 2009

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is reaching out to community groups to answer questions about the ongoing drought, the tightened watering restrictions in the Tampa Bay area, and how residents can help. ...more

December 8, 2008

The governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District recently asked local officials to tighten watering restrictions and strictly enforce new rules in the wake of drought conditions. ...more

November 15, 2008

Below-average rainfall and low river levels have forced authorities to start pumping water out of the C.W. "Bill" Young Reservoir six months earlier than usual. Tampa Bay Water, the regional water supplier, said today that rainfall totals in the area were 80 percent below normal in September. Flow rates in the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers were 81 and 85 percent, respectively, below average. ...more

October 7, 2008

The Heritage Isles Community Development District board Thursday approved a fiscal 2009 budget with more than $400,000 in losses for its golf and restaurant operations. ...more

September 3, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay brought Lake Jackson up more than half a foot, according to a reading of the lake's gauge, and the storm partially restored several other county lakes whose levels dropped several feet after two years of drought. ...more

August 24, 2008

The lingering tropical storm that has dumped more than 2 feet of rain along the Atlantic Coast did not provide Hernando County with enough rainfall to raise the water levels above normal. ...more

August 23, 2008