My wife, Ginny, and I were married June 29, 1956. I still had two years of college to complete. Not having much money, we moved into a small prefabricated house of a type that was mass-produced by the thousands, constructed of plywood and used for temporary housing for returning World War II GIs. By 1956, the housing crunch was past, and these units were rented to anyone. ...more

December 20, 2009

April Harrelson knew she was getting the keys to her new home Tuesday, but she had no idea everything she needed to furnish it would be included - right down to the toothbrushes. ...more

December 9, 2009

The first time I went into Thailand Restaurant, it was Chinese. That was 30 years ago this month. "Nobody knew anything about Thai food around here in those days," says Amnuay Thambundit, who owns the South Tampa - 5252 S. Dale Mabry Highway - restaurant with his wife, Pornrut. ...more

October 30, 2009

A popular downtown restaurant, the Whistle Stop cafe, is reopening Saturday after being closed for renovations. Owner Jerry Lofstrom and his son Jeremy have been working with subcontractors to renovate the outdoor patio flooring and overhang, retile part of the interior and open four windows on the south wall that have been bricked in since 1952. ...more

August 10, 2009

As the buzzards that return to Hinckley, Ohio, each March signal the beginning of spring, cruise ships plying their trade in the Caribbean signal the end of the hurricane season. That was brought to mind a few weeks back when my fellow columnist Raleigh Whiteman wrote about the cruise he and his PW took recently. ...more

February 13, 2009

My brother says, "Remember 12?" and we are launched backward 57 years in time to a warm, safe, happy place. My husband always mentions 5801 with the same special smile. ...more

December 3, 2008

It is hard work getting Georgios Stavropoulos out of the kitchen. He is prepping, heating, seasoning and baking nonstop from open to close. ...more

October 26, 2008

It is hard work getting Georgios Stavropoulus out of the kitchen. He is prepping, heating, seasoning and baking nonstop from open to close. ...more

October 13, 2008

After years of roaming the country for unique decorating items, Allen and Cheryl Mardis have decided to bring their treasures to Tampa. ...more

August 20, 2008

After getting caught crawling into an apartment, a Clearwater man intentionally struck and killed the robbery victims' dog with his vehicle then tried driving over one of the robbery victims, Clearwater police say. ...more

July 1, 2008