The deaths of Nicholas Marcotrigiano, 17, and Hailey M. Weatherly, 15, in an early-morning crash on State Road 60 in Plant City Aug. 4 drew hundreds of messages of condolence and comments at TBO.com. The Florida Highway Patrol said Weatherly, of Valrico, was driving a 1999 Jeep Cherokee east alongside a 1996 Ford Ranger driven by Marcotrigiano, of Plant City, when the vehicles collided about 12:10 a.m. just east of Mud Lake Road. Marcotrigiano's passenger, Brandon L. Simonds, 17, and Weatherly's passenger, Amelia Lee Gold, 16, both of Valrico, were seriously injured in the crash. All four attended Bloomingdale High School last year. Simonds and Gold will be juniors there this school year. None of the teens were wearing seatbelts, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. ...more

August 13, 2008

Rocco Baldelli's family and friends from Rhode Island to St. Petersburg got text messages bearing the good news in the wee hours of Sunday morning. ...more

August 11, 2008

Family and friends of the late Army Spc. Cody Grater are $2,000 closer toward their goal of building a skateboard ramp in the veteran's honor. ...more

August 6, 2008

Family and friends of the late Army Spc. Cody Grater are $2,000 closer toward their goal of building a skateboard ramp in the veteran's honor at Pioneer Park. ...more

August 6, 2008

BRANDON As Chris Colwill walked along the pool deck at the Brandon Sports and Aquatic Center, he couldn't help but think back to all the time he had spent there as a kid. ...more

August 6, 2008

Today, nearly itch free, I must thank the dozens of readers who stumbled upon last week's column about being, as we say in my neck of the woods, "eat up" with poison ivy and offered their sympathies, remedies and horror stories of gigantic, oozing sores that I will never be able to remove from my brain no matter how many times I jab myself in the ear with the sharp end of a No. 2 pencil. ...more

August 3, 2008

Casey Kotchman, the first baseman from Seminole High School, expected his cell phone to be especially active Wednesday. ...more

August 2, 2008

By taking baby steps and using portion control, Jenn McTigue lost 45 pounds in one year. ...more

July 24, 2008

It's easy to know where you stand with Sebring's George White. He pulls no punches, and if you want his opinion, well, just stick around. He'll give you that, too. For those who know White, it's a part of what makes him special and a fixture around the city he's called home from the beginning. ...more

July 20, 2008

PLANT CITY - Two Hooters employees, including one who trains servers in Florida, placed in the top 10 at the 12th annual Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant. ...more

July 9, 2008