SEBRING A family of five is safe, but their home was destroyed by fire Saturday afternoon. After the fire department arrived about 1:20 p.m., Sonja Vasquez drove up, crying, holding an infant. Firemen were still inside her home, using long-handled pikes to pull down the ceiling in the kitchen and living room. Sebring Fire Chief Brad Batz said the small, three-bedroom, wood-frame house at the corner or Rainbow and Warfield would likely be a total loss. Clearly, neighbors estimated, Vasquez, her husband and three children wouldn't be able to go inside for hours, maybe not until Sunday morning. The fire started in the kitchen area, but Batz didn't think cooking was the cause. ...more

November 29, 2008

The vampire romance "Twilight" drained the box office in its opening weekend, taking in $70.6 million. Catherine Hardwicke's film also enjoyed the biggest opening ever for a female director, blowing away the previous standard of $41.1 million set by Mimi Leder's "Deep Impact" in 1998. ...more

November 23, 2008

Sequence had a rough Sunday morning patrolling the streets of Ybor City. The Tampa Police Department horse had a leg grabbed, was struck by two women and later was harassed or intimidated by another person, police say. ...more

November 18, 2008

Sequence had a rough Sunday morning patrolling the streets of Ybor City. The Tampa Police Department horse had a leg grabbed, was struck by two women and later was harassed or intimidated by another person, police say. ...more

November 17, 2008

During an argument with her husband on Sunday morning, Mary C. Harris broke a friend's motor home window and threw a shovel at her husband, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. ...more

November 17, 2008

A Sunday morning house fire in Seffner killed three dogs and left 15 people homeless. ...more

November 17, 2008

What started as a protest became a show of support Sunday afternoon as nearly 100 people marched down Seventh Avenue on behalf of Ybor City's chickens. ...more

November 17, 2008

What started as a protest became a show of support Sunday afternoon as nearly 100 people marched down Seventh Avenue on behalf of Ybor City's chickens. ...more

November 16, 2008

A cold snap is forecast to hit the Tampa Bay area on Sunday. ...more

November 15, 2008

I have to admit I had mixed feeling about being at Highlands Little Theatre's production of "Beauty and the Beast" Saturday night, as I am a big fan of the Heartland Idol contest, and the finale for this season was Saturday night. But since my husband and I have season tickets for the theater and Saturday was our night, we had no choice to miss out on the Idol contest. ...more

November 13, 2008