Master Gardener Al Hendry long ago told me something very wise that I have never forgotten. ...more

March 4, 2009

Ed Kaberna tells a story of a guy- he assumes it was a guy - who backed his truck up to a pay phone in Manatee County, wrapped the phone in heavy chains, and pulled the whole thing out of the ground, 4-inch concrete foundation and all, for a couple hundred dollars in quarters, nickels and dimes. ...more

August 4, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY -- One of the more interesting aspects of the first day of a school year is seeing the changes in classmates over the summer: Who's got a new look; who filled out or slimmed down; who had a growth spurt. When students return to Ridgewood High School in the fall, they will find the school in the midst of a growth spurt of its own – a two-story, $2.5 million expansion. ...more

July 9, 2008

Who knew that kiddie flag football could become big business? I9 Sports, a Brandon youth sports company dreamed up by a 39-year-old sports fanatic, has grown to 115 franchises in 28 states. On Saturdays, from Florida to Hawaii, franchisees erect canopies with the i9 Sports logo on city and church sports fields. They hold flag football, soccer, cheerleading and other contests for thousands of youngsters. ...more

June 25, 2008

Health care has become the beating heart of America's economy. In the past 15 years, the health care economy has pumped out 4.5 million new jobs, including related fields such as drug development and health insurance. A dozen of the 30 fastest growing occupations are related to health care. Even last month - as the unemployment rate took its biggest jump in 22 years - health care continued to add thousands of jobs. ...more

June 14, 2008

PINE ISLAND - Palm tree farms still flourish here, a miracle of sorts in a state rapidly losing farmland to megamansions, strip centers and sprawling subdivisions. ...more

June 11, 2008

Two years ago, this city was bracing for a historic growth spurt. ...more

February 24, 2008

Like the community it began serving in 2000, LifePoint Church has attracted large numbers, endured growing pains and coped with change. ...more

December 14, 2007

Like the community it began serving in 2000, LifePoint Church has attracted large numbers, endured growing pains and coped with change. ...more

December 10, 2007

PALMETTO –– The laughs and jeers on the way to the football field by some spectators didn't go unnoticed by the Avon Park Red Devil football players, who have found new strength in this watershed season. Thier season may have ended with a 41-0 rout at the hands of the playoff-bound Palmetto Tigers at Harllee Stadium on Friday, but the mood was upbeat and an sense of excitement for what lies ahead for the underclassman that endure all the hardships this year was felt. ...more

November 11, 2007