CSX Corp. has decided to speed up the closing of Orient Road to repair a railroad crossing, meaning drivers have until 9 tonight to use the road between East Broadway and Adamo Drive (State Road 60). The railroad company was planning to shut down the corridor south of 14th Avenue starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday, but Hillsborough County received word this morning that CSX had sped up its repair schedule by eight hours. ...more

October 14, 2008

Please allow me to respond to a letter in Thursday's paper (Oct. 9) regarding Sheriff Benton. The writer seems to think that our sheriff is rude and uncaring because she didn't take time to speak with him about free Spanish lessons he was offering the deputies back in January 2007. He stated that he was a part-time resident, so he might not have known that at that particular time, one of our brave state troopers, Sgt. Sottile, had been brutally murdered. Maybe if he had known that, he might realize that the sheriff was busy trying to catch a cop killer. It is possible that his generous offer was somehow forgotten in the process. ...more

October 11, 2008

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vinny Prospal will share a daily diary while the team is in Europe, including his native Czech Republic. The team will play a season-opening series in Prague against the New York Rangers on Oct. 4 and 5. ...more

September 27, 2008

After eight hours of deliberation, a jury found 21-year-old Justin Jerrod Grayer guilty of murder Friday in a home invasion robbery in which a man was bludgeoned to death with a hammer. ...more

September 6, 2008

TAMPA - After eight hours of deliberation, a jury found 21-year-old Justin Jerrod Grayer guilty of murder today Friday in a home invasion robbery in which a man was bludgeoned to death with a hammer. ...more

September 5, 2008

Highlands County has spent $7,213 over the past 12 weeks to re-open limited public access to Lake Denton. ...more

August 29, 2008

Austin Swarner left high school to care for his mother while she fought a losing battle with cancer. Tony Brown wanted to begin supporting himself and left two classes shy of a diploma. Haelee Holden got tired of trying to make it through school while flipping burgers until 1 a.m. ...more

August 28, 2008

Within weeks, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will train detention cadets and deputies on how to lift, search and otherwise handle disabled inmates. ...more

August 16, 2008

Within weeks, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will implement training for detention cadets and deputies on how to lift, search and otherwise handle disabled inmates to prevent situations such as one with a quadriplegic man in January that triggered national criticism. ...more

August 15, 2008

Charles Smith says that as soon as he saw the news of the stabbing on his computer Wednesday afternoon, he knew his "creepy" former co-worker would show up at his door. ...more

July 25, 2008