Dale DeGroff, the celebrated "King of the Cocktails," doesn't go out on New Year's Eve much anymore. Been there. Poured that. ...more

December 22, 2008

Five boys accused of discharging 80 fire extinguishers and causing $4,000 worth of damage to a building at a Lakeland apartment complex were arrested today on felony criminal mischief charges, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said. ...more

December 2, 2008

Two-year-old Janice Johnson pedaled a three-wheeler on the sidewalk outside her apartment Wednesday, waving at relatives. ...more

November 20, 2008

Relatives of a Tampa woman grieved today, recalling how they had learned late Tuesday that her body had been found in a vacant house in Lakeland. Jennifer Denise Johnson, 31, was reported missing Saturday evening after family members became concerned when she did not appear in time for her 2-year-old daughter's birthday party. The family scrapped the party, anxious and worried. ...more

November 19, 2008

This story has a happy ending, and the take-home lost-and-found lesson is: Never give up. ...more

November 18, 2008

Until about six weeks ago, a privately owned strip of land through an endangered scrub preserve was a narrow dirt path traversed by low riders like indigo snakes and gopher tortoises, along with the occasional sod truck. ...more

November 16, 2008

- Two teenagers have been charged with the theft of $27,000 in jewelry they reportedly said they later traded for drugs. ...more

November 15, 2008

One of the two Apollo Beach restaurant workers who were kidnapped and raped in August said she was able to save herself from further assault by convincing her attacker she had a fatal sexually transmitted disease. ...more

November 13, 2008

It's over. I don't know for sure, of course. But my guess is the sun is going to come out this morning. ...more

November 5, 2008

No one saw Louise Deeringer's false teeth behind the TV stand until it was too late. By then, Deeringer and her boyfriend of 11 years, Guy Dugas, had been in such an argument over where the teeth were that Tampa police had arrested both of them. ...more

October 31, 2008