TAMPA - When Travis Watkins was asked a few years ago to devise a college engineering project that would help people with disabilities, the first person who came to mind was his father, who once cherished walks along the beach. ...more

September 2, 2008

Musicians longing to break out those band instruments collecting dust or sing their favorite songs have a new outlet. ...more

August 13, 2008

AVON PARK — "It's not like they have been collecting dust," Avon Park Police Cmdr. Mike Rowan said, but the department's four bicycles haven't seen much use outside of special events and odd assignments. They've been sitting inside the station since the last Christmas parade. The last time they were used for catching crooks was several months ago while Rowan and three other officers were looking for a cat burglar. ...more

June 2, 2008

AVON PARK — "It's not like they have been collecting dust," Avon Park Police Cmdr. Mike Rowan said, but the department's four bicycles haven't seen much use outside of special events and odd assignments. They've been sitting inside the station since the last Christmas parade. The last time they were used for catching crooks was several months ago while Rowan and three other officers were looking for a cat burglar. And for a regular patrol? Then-chief Tony Velong used to ride around town back in the early '90s, and the city had one officer patrolling from his bike 10 years ago. ...more

June 1, 2008

We read a great deal. Yet, we have some books we've never read. They're collecting dust. Many are volumes we bought ourselves and haven't gotten around to reading. However, the majority of our unread tomes are more apt to have been gifts - the subjects of which don't interest us one iota. Hanging on to them must have something to do with our fondness of the gift-givers. We may have purchased a self-help book in the hopes of finding a solution to some personal dilemma. Then, our focus changed or the dilemma simply solved itself. Or, an even worse dilemma took its place before we got past the front cover. We've also purchased a number of books simply because we met the authors at book signings. Our bookshelves are lined with autographed copies we felt compelled to buy. Such is the case with a book we recently took off the shelf and opened for the first time since we obtained it in 1996. ...more

October 5, 2007