LAKE PLACID — No ifs, ands or butts, Mike Eisenhart, coordinator of Keep Lake Placid Beautiful, is disgusted by discarded cigarette butts littered around town, and thanks to a $1,500 grant, he is doing something to change it. Keep America Beautiful Inc., a national organization, awarded Keep Lake Placid Beautiful a $1,500 grant, as part of the 2008 Cigarette Litter Prevention program. Included with the cash, which will pay for administering the project, with five other Florida areas, Lake Placid will receive 1,000 free pocket ashtrays. Additional ash tray receptacles will likely grace the downtown and parks. By local proclamation, June was declared Cigarette Litter Prevention Week. ...more

June 6, 2008

An outbreak of salmonella food poisoning first linked to uncooked tomatoes has now been reported in nine states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. ...more

June 4, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - More than a year after an arsonist severely damaged their mosque, members of the Islamic Education Center of Tampa celebrated its reopening to worshippers Saturday. ...more

June 1, 2008

In 2002, a mom in suburban Virginia looked on, horrified, as her daughter struggled at the bottom of a hot tub. ...more

May 26, 2008

Two teenagers used pellet guns to shoot pedestrians, vehicles and structures in the Fishhawk Ranch and Bloomingdale areas Wednesday before being tracked down by one of their victims, Hillsborough County deputies say. ...more

January 24, 2008

A Wise Choice Regarding "McCain Is Our Man" (Commentary, Jan. 13): Congratulations on your wise presidential primary endorsements! ...more

January 19, 2008

I'd been hesitant to comment on Sue Quigley's article because I've said these things in past letters, but after checking I realize most of those letters were never printed. ...more

January 2, 2008

The man named by Pakistani officials as the chief organizer of Benazir Bhutto's assassination is a widely feared tribal commander at the vanguard of efforts by extremist groups to draw Pakistan deeper into their insurgent campaign. ...more

December 30, 2007

Sheriff's Helicopter Serves Vital Function In response to the letter to the editor on Dec. 13 entitled, "Helicopter Policy Up In The Air," I do not know if the sheriff dispatches the helicopters unnecessarily; but many years ago, a young woman was taken from a Hernando County convenience store to the wetland woods west of U.S. 19, tied to a tree, assaulted and killed. ...more

December 20, 2007

An old cow thought to have been attacked by dogs was shot - 11 times - to end its suffering. ...more

December 18, 2007