Melissa R. Lemmons jetted off to Belize recently in a quest to expand her horizons and to broaden her teaching skills. ...more

September 3, 2008

Dogs Need Their Space Regarding "More Dogs Down And Out" (Metro, Aug. 7): Thank you for alerting the public to the tragedy of local dogs dumped by their financially stressed owners. Sadly, many of these dogs could have happy, loving homes if not for the shortsighted practices of Golden Retriever Rescue of Mid-Florida, one of the subjects of your article. Their overly strict rules prevent lots of caring, responsible dog owners from adopting. ...more

August 15, 2008

Retail sales delivered the weakest performance in five months in July as shoppers shunned autos while they paid more for gas. ...more

August 14, 2008

As giant oil companies like Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips get set to report what will probably be another round of eye-popping quarterly profit, just where is all that money going? ...more

July 23, 2008

For week upon week through the first three months of the season, the Rays were able to keep churning. They managed to maintain a high energy level while playing mostly clean, crisp baseball that usually resulted in victories. ...more

July 12, 2008

LAKE PLACID — State Representative Denise Grimsley's condo used more water than any other piece of residential property in Lake Placid through all of 2007 and the first three months of 2008, the town's water usage records indicate. The condo at 19 Sunset Lane had used more than 50,000 gallons a month from January 2007––the earliest records obtained in a countywide request of all municipal and county water usage records––to March 17, 2008. Her usage cut down to 11,000 gallons per month from March through May 16. Lake Placid utilities director Gary Freeman said the typical Lake Placid resident consumes 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of water per month. ...more

June 9, 2008

In a decade handling evictions for the Miami-Dade County Police Department, Albert Fernandez has run across a middle-class father bankrupted by his daughter's cancer treatment, an old woman scammed by a gambling husband, and countless families perpetually on the edge of poverty. ...more

June 8, 2008

Home foreclosures and late payments set records over the first three months of the year and are expected to keep rising, stark signs of the housing crisis' mounting damage to homeowners and the economy. ...more

June 6, 2008

A new youth center at Lowry Park Zoo will provide space for a pilot program to educate teens about conservation and to equip them with leadership skills. ...more

May 21, 2008

Clear Channel Communications, a major outdoor advertising and radio company that owns several stations in the Tampa area, reported higher first-quarter earnings Friday on asset sales, but operating results were flat, reflecting weak demand for radio advertising. ...more

May 10, 2008