Ryan Beeble and Nick Hellman have lived through Bishop McLaughlin's growing pains, weathered the Hurricanes' various storms. ...more

September 3, 2008

Lost or displaced Gulf Coast residents will be able to search for families in Hurricane Gustav's aftermath through a new FEMA locator system created as a lesson learned from the chaotic 2005 storms, FEMA director R. David Paulison said Sunday. ...more

September 1, 2008

Florida insurance regulators said late today that they plan to reject State Farm's request to increase home insurance rates an average of 47.1 percent statewide. ...more

August 25, 2008

Signs are emerging that history is repeating itself in the Big Easy, still healing from Katrina: People have forgotten what happened after Hurricane Betsy caused catastrophic flooding four decades ago and again think the federal government is constructing a levee system they can prosper behind. ...more

August 24, 2008

Floridians who have been here a few years remember too well the hurricane season of 2004. Camping in our own sweltering homes without power and often without water left a lasting memory of that time. That's why so many people knew the routine when Tropical Storm Fay threatened this week. It's also why it appeared to some who weren't here in 2004 that many of us overdid the storm preparation. We're glad we did. ...more

August 22, 2008

In the end, Tropical Storm Fay never made it to Pasco County. But the county's emergency management director said Tuesday the storm offered a good chance to go over emergency routines again. ...more

August 20, 2008

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Ray Markham. ...more

August 20, 2008

9:51 a.m. Meet the Breakfast Club, a group of friends who meet almost every day for their morning meal at a cafe on Upham Beach. The members, from left, are JoAnn and Peter Lousberg, May Shorr, Howie and Jeani Fullard, and Sigi Vogel. The dog on Howie's lap is My Boy - "MB" for short. ...more

August 19, 2008

County administrator Pat Bean says the state of emergency in Hillsborough has been lifted and the mandatory evacuations for mobile homes and voluntary evacuations of low-lying areas has been cancelled. "We've been blessed again," she says. "We are just as pleased as we can be." ...more

August 19, 2008

And the boards come down. A trio of Sarasota County Government workers pulled the protective plywood, used during storms, off the County Administration Building on Ringling Boulevard. ...more

August 19, 2008