WAUCHULA — Although it was only for a fairly uneventful hearing, Jean Claude Meus made his first appearance in three years Monday afternoon at the Hardee County Courthouse. Attorneys from both parties filed motions, which were granted by Judge Jeff McKibben, to allow the lawyer time to collect witness depositions before a tentatively scheduled evidentiary hearing. In 2003, Meus was convicted of the death of Nona Moore, 40, and her 8-year-old daughter Lindsey. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. ...more

January 30, 2008

Graduates of East Bay High School in Gibsonton are gearing up to celebrate the school's 50th anniversary Nov. 9-10 at several venues. Old friends will have a chance to relive the fun of their youth as they watch a football game between the East Bay Indians and the Spoto Spartans, feast on chicken and yellow rice and dance to music spanning 50 years. ...more

October 4, 2007

If Tampa Bay area residents need further reminding that even the smallest glob of disturbed weather in the Gulf of Mexico bears watching during hurricane season, Hurricane Humberto, which blindsided the Texas-Louisiana coast early Thursday, did the trick. ...more

September 17, 2007

Call it the instant hurricane. Humberto, which grew faster than any storm on record from tropical depression to full-scale hurricane landfall, surprised the Texas-Louisiana coast early Thursday with 85-mph winds and heavy rain that knocked out power to more than 100,000 and left at least one person dead. ...more

September 14, 2007