About 200 children were fatally abused in Florida in 2008, a roughly 20 percent increase from 2007. Unemployment rates and drug use also increased in the state - a factor in many of the deaths, according to a preliminary report. ...more

December 30, 2009

An 11-year-old girl and her 15-year-old boyfriend tried to kill the girl's mother by burning her alive as she slept this morning, Clearwater police say. ...more

December 29, 2009

About 200 children were fatally abused in Florida in 2008, a substantial increase from past years as unemployment rates and drug use also increased in the state. ...more

December 29, 2009

Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2009 is 11.5 percent, while Highlands County's is slightly higher, according to the Agency for Workforce Innovation. ...more

December 20, 2009

It has been a magical Christmas season for Mike Babich, who got to reunite Sunday, Dec. 13 with one of his older brothers whom he has not seen in 35 years. ...more

December 19, 2009

Bob Henriquez says most high school football coaches come to a point late in the season when they feel completely exhausted. And if that happens often enough, chances are the coach will question whether they want to keep feeling that way year after year. ...more

December 1, 2009

It's been a long, drawn-out process, but work finally began recently on a complete makeover to the façade of the Towne Square Shopping Center at the intersection of Kenilworth Boulevard and Lakeview Drive. ...more

November 24, 2009

With a major expansion nearing completion, Highlands County's Children's Advocacy Center will soon truly centralize its staff and most of its agency partners under one roof. ...more

November 19, 2009

A state Department of Children and Families employee is accused of stealing from an elderly woman with dementia whose case she was assigned to. ...more

November 12, 2009

Parents or guardians who need Christmas toys must register with Toys for Tots at the Florida Department of Children and Families office, at 9550 U.S. 19, Suite 201-A, Port Richey, by Friday, Dec. 4. An article in Nov. 4 editions gave an incorrect address. ...more

November 7, 2009