Officials in the Florida Panhandle said late Sunday they were preparing to charge a suspect with open murder in the slaying of a wealthy Florida couple known for adopting children with developmental disabilities. ...more

July 12, 2009

A Senate committee has approved opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling within 10 miles to the Florida Panhandle and within 45 miles off the rest of the state's coastline. ...more

June 9, 2009

President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster for nearly a dozen counties in the Florida Panhandle, which was struck by severe storms, flooding, tornadoes and straight-line winds in March. ...more

April 22, 2009

U.S. Marshals, who had tracked a homicide suspect from the Florida Panhandle to Tampa, opened fire on the man outside a hotel this morning, after he drew a handgun on officers, authorities said. ...more

April 21, 2009

Local unemployment is 12.7 percent. ...more

March 27, 2009

If you expect to use the cover of darkness to sidestep water restrictions in St. Petersburg, forget it. Water cops will begin prowling city streets at night to enforce the once-weekly sprinkling rules. ...more

March 12, 2009

Big Mistake Very interesting editorial Monday ("Air Force Proposal Shouldn't Take Flight") but sort of a major mistake. Elgin is a watch; that very large Air Force base in the Florida Panhandle is named Eglin. ...more

March 10, 2009

As Ben Ellis watched the news over the past couple of days about four fishermen missing in the Gulf of Mexico, he could almost feel the salt water spray and the body heat draining away. ...more

March 4, 2009

Ben Ellis, 62, of Tampa was one of four scuba divers who motored out of St. George's Island in the Florida Panhandle on a cold December day in 1984. They were aboard a 23-foot boat that was headed to a sunken wreck where they planned to spend the day diving. ...more

March 3, 2009

Teacher Vic Nieves had modest expectations for the fledgling electric car club he sponsored in a race against a dozen other teams Feb. 14 at the University of South Florida. ...more

March 3, 2009