Three Bay area members of Congress — Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Kathy Castor and Adam Putnam — say they intend to launch new congressional efforts to create a free-mail-to-troops program for service members in combat zones. ...more

December 23, 2008 |

Although it seems like we just put those Halloween decorations away, it's not too early to start prepping for the winter holidays, particularly when it comes to sending packages to our troops overseas. In fact, Thursday is the deadline for sending holiday packages overseas using Parcel Post to all Air/Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office ZIP codes. Here are some tips for sending treats to the troops: ...more

November 10, 2008 |

A former Marine lance corporal who pleaded guilty to stealing the identity of a fellow Marine to buy a plasma television online has been sentenced to five years probation, with a condition that he stay in a halfway house on house arrest for six months, his lawyer said. Prosecutors say Steven Lee Fickey stole the identities of about 18 people, using them to buy things through a Web site maintained by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. ...more

November 7, 2008 |

Wounded soldiers and Veterans Affairs officials gathered at Tampa's VA hospital Friday to see the latest addition to its unit for men and women with traumatic injuries from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The building has apartments for injured troops who no longer need to be hospitalized but aren't ready to live on their own. ...more

October 19, 2008 |

Wounded troops and Veterans Administration officials gathered at Tampa's VA hospital today to see the latest addition to its unit for men and women with traumatic injuries from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...more

October 17, 2008 |

My husband and I decided to vote by absentee ballot this year for the first time. When we opened our ballots, we were shocked to see that on the ballot, it said that it must be filled out with a No. 2 pencil, and yet the secret sleeve we were to put the completed ballot in before mailing said that the ballot had to be filled out in either blue or black ink. Both said that if not done properly, the vote would not count. ...more

October 15, 2008 |

Pakistani investigators combed through the charred wreckage of the Marriott Hotel here Sunday in search of clues to who was behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 53 people, including two members of the U.S. military. ...more

September 22, 2008 |

A former Marine lance corporal who prosecutors say stole the identities of about 18 people pleaded guilty Friday to stealing the identity of a fellow Marine to buy a plasma television online. ...more

August 23, 2008 |

In the flurry of news articles on Tropical Storm Fay, one group has not received deserved attention. As the emergency coordinator for Highlands County Amateur Radio Service (ARES), I would like to publicly commend the volunteer members of ARES for the work they did during the storm. ARES provided communications for the four shelters opened during the storm. We used amateur radio equipment and frequencies to communicate between the EOC and each shelter. Fortunately during this storm the only messages were hourly shelter reports to the EOC. We were there, however, in case emergencies arose. Several ARES members spent up to 24 hours in the shelters and the EOC. We also were prepared to provide emergency communications outside of Highlands County if necessary. ...more

August 23, 2008 |

TAMPA - A former U.S. Marine lance corporal, who prosecutors say stole the identities of about 18 people, is scheduled to plead guilty this morning to stealing the identity of a fellow marine to buy a plasma television online. ...more

August 22, 2008 |