Six containers of radiological medical waste were discovered among the recyclables at the county landfill. ...more

June 23, 2008

Patios or decks have not seen as much entertaining and relaxing activities as they are now seeing since the invention of air conditioning. Along with outdoor cooking and eating, container gardening with petunias in decorative pots and lush hanging baskets is soaring in popularity. ...more

June 19, 2008

World customs authorities on Tuesday called on the United States to repeal or scale back a new law that will require foreign ports to screen all containers before they are shipped to the United States. ...more

June 11, 2008

I didn't think the disposal of 100 billion plastic bags a year in this country was all that much. Los Angeles, however, does and is apparently leading the country in adopting legislation to eliminate the "paper or plastic" option by banning the plastic bag. Elsewhere some retailers are voluntarily doing the same. Still there is a group of us around who share a kind of save-it-just-in-case mentality. We recycle stuff by using it for purposes never dreamed of by the inventors. In fact we would be very tempted to sign a "Save the Bag" petition if one started making the rounds. Sure a "bring a bag to market" or "rent a bag" movement is admirable, but how often do you simply pop into a supermarket just for a quart of milk only to get a text message from someone at home with a list long enough to fill up two carts? ...more

May 2, 2008

I thought I was going to need oxygen the last time I went to the grocery store and the cashier announced my final total. Suddenly, all of those news stories about rising food prices hit home. ...more

May 2, 2008

Investigators are probing what ignited a fire at a city Parks Department facility across the street from Lowry Park Zoo on Saturday. ...more

February 16, 2008

Recently, I received an e-mailed letter from a lady who described herself as disabled. She wrote that she had always enjoyed tending her garden, but, due to her physical disability, she felt nervous about trying to work around her flowers and shrubs. She wondered if I had any ideas that would be useful to physically challenged people such as herself. ...more

February 10, 2008

It's called the Ecopod. It sounds like a rare crustacean or an environmentally safe work cubicle. In fact, it's a kayak-shaped coffin - made of recycled newspaper. ...more

December 28, 2007

Sometimes it's easy to know when it's time to replace that dusty carton of ground nutmeg or cinnamon. Um, the fact that it's dusty is one clue. Another is a price tag on the bottom that reads "19 cents" (ah, the good old days). ...more

November 28, 2007

Osceola County's deputy chief circuit court clerk was arrested in Tampa on Tuesday night on a charge of driving under the influence, an arrest report states. ...more

October 4, 2007