SEBRING — Carl Cool ended more than six months of speculation about whether he would run for the Highlands County Commission seat held by incumbent Republican Barbara Stewart. On Tuesday, Cool, the former chief executive officer of county government for 17 years, announced that he will run for county commissioner. Both Cool and Stewart live in the Avon Park county commission district. They will have their electoral contest decided on Aug. 26, when voters pick between them in the Republican primary election. The winner then would go against a Democrat and possibly independent candidates in the November general election. Cool said he relied on close friends and prayers to make his decision to run for political office for the first time in his life. ...more

June 10, 2008

Dear Abby: My mother is very strict about the use of obscenities, so I don't use them at home. However, I have become close friends with "Mallory," and cuss words are part of her normal speech. ...more

June 8, 2008

The urge to smoke is contagious, but quitting apparently is, too. ...more

May 22, 2008

This thing we call life is amazing. We rush around, so driven by the urgency of the mundane, we often miss little miracles that happen all around us every day. But, now and then, things come together in a manner too serendipitous to be random. It's strange and spooky … and wonderful. "The exact amount of money you desperately need arrives out of nowhere just in the nick of time. "You turn around and run into someone you were just thinking about who, otherwise, hasn't crossed your mind, or your path, in years. ...more

May 17, 2008

The deaths of two Wesley Chapel High School students in a one-car crash on Interstate 75 this week is gut-wrenching for their families, friends and the community. ...more

May 9, 2008

Joe Torre took pride in his ability to gauge the mood of the clubhouse during his 12 years as Yankees manager. ...more

February 14, 2008

Susan Toll couldn't believe it. She had been in well over a dozen Gasparilla Pirate Fest parades, as a member of the Krewe of Alegria and the Rough Riders, and had loved Gasparilla ever since she was a child in the 1950s, when the pirates threw blank bullets and candy. But this was something new and pretty cool. ...more

January 24, 2008

The 19th Tee is a neighborhood roadhouse where patrons and bartenders mingle easily. Owner Richard Oaks bought the place two years ago, and for him and his wife of six years, Stephanie, it was a labor of love. ...more

January 15, 2008

One of the most famously flawed stamps in U.S. history sold for $825,000 to a New York man who bought it slightly cheaper than the record price another "Inverted Jenny" copy fetched at auction last month. ...more

December 28, 2007

As the year comes to an end, we are faced with a holiday that is the most celebrated in the world. Christmas is a special time of year in this country. Its traditions go back a long way in history. ...more

December 15, 2007