In a modest country home, tucked down a dirt lane far from the city bustle, Marcella O'Steen harbors a morgue of county documents, zoning maps and speech drafts. ...more

November 17, 2007

More than 40 environmental land managers, activists, public officials and others from the Tampa Bay area gathered Wednesday at Crystal Springs Preserve in southeast Pasco to discuss the future of the state's land preservation and conversation program, Florida Forever, which is to expire in 2010. ...more

November 16, 2007

It all started when I began bringing my daughter to day care every morning. I would always pack her lunch box with a freshly cooked breakfast, (wheat-free, seven-grain cereal with coconut milk or hard boiled eggs) and nutrient-packed snacks, (apples and cheese, bananas with almonds, organic yogurt). To my dismay, I would continually see her precious classmates starting their day with Pop-Tarts, donuts or muffins along with chocolate milk or sugary fruit juice for breakfast - foods devoid of nutrients whatsoever! ...more

November 9, 2007

How about those kids today? All they care about is music, having friends, dating and irritating us older folks. Right? Well, no, actually. And if you need proof of that, look no further than Sebring High School's Freshman Foundation. They blow those stereotypes out of the water. Spearheaded by a group of students in the Freshman Foundation, the school has taken on the task of raising $10,000 to help Ugandan children caught in a savage war that gets little media attention. They will partner with the Schools for Schools program and try to bring about change for young people thousands of miles away. After watching videos of Ugandan children caught in a conflict between government forces and a rebel group called Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Sebring students decided to do something about it. The LRA kidnaps children to make them soldiers and sex slaves. It has totally disrupted any semblance of normal life for young people there. But most of us have never heard of such a problem because it's lost in coverage of Iraq and Darfur. ...more

November 9, 2007

Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani quarreled over tax and spending cuts Tuesday, each claiming greater commitment than the other in a debate in the nation's struggling manufacturing heartland. ...more

October 10, 2007

BELLEAIR - Residents received their first look Wednesday night at ambitious plans to restore the once-threatened Belleview Biltmore Resort and Spa to its former grandeur, a $100 million project aimed at preserving the 110-year-old landmark and its Victorian charm. The restoration plan, presented to more than 100 people at a Belleair Town Commission meeting, calls for replacing the pagodalike entrance a former Biltmore owner added in the 1990s and relocating the spa. Also proposed were new ballrooms and banquet facilities, several more restaurants and retail shops. ...more

September 19, 2007

Dunedin officials hope this city will soon be known as one of the few in Florida certified as a Green City. To that end, the city recently hired Valerie Lane away from Pinellas County, where she served in the Solid Waste Department's educational outreach unit. She will now hold the title of sustainability coordinator for the city. ...more

September 8, 2007