State university health directors are urging a change in state law to require that all new students be vaccinated against bacterial meningitis. The directors met in Tallahassee today to talk about how best to protect students against the infection, which killed a University of South Florida sophomore on Monday. Current law allows students to opt out of the vaccine and health directors say that's a problem. They want the state's university oversight board to seek a change in the law that allows only few exemptions, such as medical or religious. ...more

September 26, 2007

The sudden death of University of South Florida student Rachel Futterman from bacterial meningitis has been a wakeup call for students, with hundreds on the campus rushing to get vaccinated. But the tragedy also should be a wakeup call for state officials, who need to strengthen public health safeguards. ...more

September 26, 2007

Doug MacLean walked along the sidewalk of St. Pete Times Forum Drive, passing the VIP West parking lot, asking how somebody could get such a good parking spot. ...more

September 20, 2007

Saying he has tapped a 'valuable partner in addressing the challenges facing our state's institutions of higher learning,' Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday appointed Dean Colson to the new position of special adviser on higher education. ...more

September 19, 2007

Since Absolute Hockey Enterprises announced on Aug. 7 its intention to purchase the Lightning from Palace Sports and Entertainment owner Bill Davidson, very little information about the sale process has been made public. ...more

September 17, 2007

Thanks for reporting the serious problems facing our state universities, their students and Florida's economy ('U.S. News' Latest Reports Shows State's Universities Are Slipping,' Our Opinion, Aug. 25). In a nutshell, our state universities are overcrowded (Florida has five of the nations 15 largest universities), increasingly under-funded, and as you have noted, slipping in the quality of the education provided to their students who are increasingly packed into excessively large classes with graduate assistants and part-time instructors replacing more qualified professors, a shortage of academic advisers and increased time required for graduation. All of this casts a long shadow on the quality of the education that we provide our students, the economic future of our state, and is deeply disappointing to all of us who have worked over the years to provide our state and its students with a superior state university system and a stronger state economy. ...more

September 12, 2007

Doug MacLean is accustomed to being in the public eye, having spent most of the past two decades serving as either a coach or general manager in the NHL. ...more

August 12, 2007