On Nov. 11 we will be celebrating Veterans Day, a day we honored our men and women who served both in the past and the present. I'm grateful as a combat soldier that people recognize the effort we all did and continue doing today. Thanks for your prayers. But I would also like to take a moment to thank our men and women in uniform serving in Highlands County: police, sheriff, firefighters, national guard, EMT, state troopers and many others. I read about one of our county's finest police officers, Adam Willis, who confronted a defiant drunk, who had intentions of hurting this officer in order to get away, but had little success (great response by both police and sheriff officers who arrived at the scene immediately for back-up.) ...more

November 1, 2008

"American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the Century," by Howard Blum (Crown, $24.95) ...more

September 21, 2008

Keegan Timothy Burkhart was screaming obscenities early this morning at his Lutz apartment, say deputies. When a deputy tried to get him to calm down, Burkhart dialed up 911. ...more

July 5, 2008

George Carlin, the Grammy Award-winning standup comedian and actor who was hailed for his irreverent social commentary, poignant observations of the absurdities of everyday life and language, and groundbreaking routines such as "Seven Words You Can Never Use on Television," died in Los Angeles on Sunday, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. ...more

June 24, 2008

The statistics on Tampa Bay rookie linebacker Geno Hayes were enough to amaze and alarm most NFL teams: ...more

May 4, 2008

They Don't Own Streets I thought Gasparilla was for everybody to enjoy and not just the "chosen few." Why is it that the parking on Davis Islands or the side streets between MacDill Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard gets so restricted that one has to pay to park or not go to the event? ...more

February 2, 2008

SEBRING — A 16-year-old student at the Academy at Youth Care Lane was charged Thursday with a felony count of crimes against a person by threat, as well as disturbing the peace, for allegedly saying he was going to shoot his drill instructors with a gun. ...more

January 19, 2008

WESTCHASE Broken beer bottles, public urination, speeding cars, vulgar language and early morning fireworks. ...more

December 14, 2007

It's been 68 years since the U.S. Supreme Court examined the right to keep and bear arms secured by the Second Amendment. It's been 31 years since the District of Columbia enacted its feckless ban on all functional firearms in the capital. It's been eight months since the second most important court in the country, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, declared the D.C. ban - among the most restrictive in the nation - unconstitutional. The obvious incongruity of those three events will be resolved soon. ...more

November 26, 2007

As people of all ages and cultures gathered to celebrate University Church of God's 80th anniversary, evangelical harmonies echoed through the worship hall. ...more

November 24, 2007