Florida Democrats received assurances Wednesday from their leaders in the House that an election-year energy package would not include expansion of oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida. ...more

September 11, 2008

Oil companies and drilling contractors on Thursday accelerated the evacuation of thousands of workers and secured offshore rigs and other equipment in the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Storm Gustav churned toward the United States. ...more

August 29, 2008

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Randy Rochelle. ...more

August 26, 2008

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Ray Markham. ...more

August 6, 2008

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is considering whether to revise the Pentagon's own policy that prevents most oil and gas drilling within military training areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off of Florida. ...more

August 6, 2008

The confrontation between Iran and the United States seemed to sharpen Thursday as Iran said it tested missiles for a second day and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States would defend its allies and protect its interests against an attack. ...more

July 11, 2008

Visitors to New Zealand usually plot a trip to the South Island to taste notable wines or glimpse iconic scenery. Yet an hour north of Auckland, on the North Island, you can find an alternative wine destination, on the Matakana Wine Coast, where boutique vineyards and cafes offer specialty wines and sophisticated sustenance at the end of a drive alongside dramatic bays and through sheep-dappled hills. ...more

February 10, 2008

Red snappers and Gulf reef fish are being protected by new rules implemented by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission today. ...more

February 7, 2008

It was called Hog Island when a young Swiss immigrant named Henry Scharrer made it his port in a storm one rough night in 1888. He anchored his newly purchased 30-foot sloop, Anna, on its sandy beach and secured the sails before riding out the gusts in the cabin below. ...more

November 18, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS Christopher Still pulls on his fins and scuba tank, grabs his underwater sketch pad and pencil and swims into the Gulf waters off Fred Howard Park. ...more

October 22, 2007