On Monday, the governing board of Tampa Bay used one hand to hold its collective nose and plunged the other into the pockets of the people in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties who consume the water the regional wholesale utility produces. Then the board voted to spend an estimated $125 million over the next five years to repair the many cracks that have developed in the utility's 15-billion-gallon C.W. Bill Young Reservoir. ...more

June 23, 2009

Stephen and Linda Drake cast aside concerns about owning property in Mexico because they believed in Donald Trump. ...more

March 7, 2009

Admiration for the celebrity developer and star of "The Apprentice" has now turned into anger and disbelief as Trump's luxury hotel-condo plan in Mexico fell apart, leaving little more than a hole in the ground and investors out of their deposits, which totaled $32.2 million. ...more

March 6, 2009

A rattlesnake bit a Verizon worker who was filling in a hole in the ground Friday afternoon, officials said. ...more

January 3, 2009

A snake bit a Verizon worker who was closing a hole in the ground this afternoon, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. ...more

January 2, 2009

During the Yankees' last game at their old stadium in September, players dug their hands into the ballpark dirt to take some home along with the memories. ...more

November 10, 2008

I probably should have paid more attention to the coming Great Depression. Just because the Frau has this unhappy habit of checking our retirement plan every day and announcing loudly how much more money we've lost, I still figured everything would be OK down the road, even at $5 a gallon gas. Maybe that comes from watching too many movies. ...more

June 27, 2008

As I was walking to the store the other night, I noticed that the first fireworks tent has bloomed. Starting around Dec. 27, we will be hearing the first poppings of bottle rockets, as kids who are already tired of their new toys will take to the streets as soon as the sun goes down. As we get nearer to New Year's Eve, the cacophony will grow louder. Small children will be woken from sleep scared and crying, cats will run for the nearest couch and dogs, that up until now were housebroken, will relieve themselves all over the place. ...more

December 17, 2007

Just inside the gate, a sign carries a message that seems pretty clear: "This site has been protected for the purpose of mitigating the impacts of land development on wildlife populations and their habitat." ...more

December 10, 2007

Giving up the cell phone and going without television, hair conditioning products and warm showers was bad enough. But that toilet in the wild was disgusting, says Jordyn Barbato. ...more

October 11, 2007