AVON PARK — Brad Cain said he teaches some of his friends their skateboarding tricks, but neither he nor his friends bother with the skateboard park near the middle school. Instead, Cain and his posse go out on the parking lots, grinding along the curbs by the First Baptist Church, moving down the sidewalks on Main Street and, until one of his friends got arrested for it, taking the covered lot of Audio Options. Why not the park? "It's crap. We need a different one," he said. "It's better for bicycles." As he and his friends hit the parking lot, the skateboard park lies in near-abandon. The concrete half-pipes, the rail and the ramps are cracked and covered in graffiti. Near one of the ramps, a loose set of concrete blocks form a makeshift set of steps. Scattered, shattered concrete littered the half-pipe Thursday afternoon. This park, Avon Park Police Department Comdr. Michael Rowan said, is the one his officers tell the skateboarders to go to when they're caught trespassing on the downtown parking lots. Public Works Coordinator Ted Long could not be reached Thursday for comment. ...more

November 12, 2007

D.G. Murray of New Port Richey says education critical in boosting Pasco County recycling. ...more

November 7, 2007

PORT RICHEY – Young drivers and cell phone calls or text messages don't mix, a Florida lawmaker insists. ...more

November 1, 2007

Weekend trolley service is coming to downtown Tampa next month, part of an effort to get partiers to their cars and thin out traffic at Channelside. ...more

October 22, 2007

BRADENTON - All Patricia Thomas wanted was to run a business in the Village of the Arts. But when police started putting parking tickets on her diesel trucks -- saying they were too large to be parked on a city street -- Thomas got mad. And then she got even. ...more

October 4, 2007

Following up on a threat from July, three environmental groups on Monday sued two federal regulatory agencies in an effort to overturn the development permits issued this year to the builders of the Cypress Creek Town Center. ...more

October 2, 2007

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR BUCS: Jon Gruden's challenge of Deuce McAllister's apparent fumble went in Tampa Bay's favor. Instead of the Saints having a first down at the Bucs' 43, the Bucs had the ball and, eight plays later, a 7-0 lead. ...more

September 16, 2007

John Rodda stood in the shadows of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on a hot, sunny football Saturday, sharing a cold drink and Gator talk with his friends before a game with a longtime rival. He was back in his element, enjoying the good times. ...more

September 15, 2007