Displaying the American flag or images of the flag has been a popular thing to do since 9/11. There is, however, a long list of do's and don'ts when it comes to how and when to fly and handle the flag or use images of the flag -- federal law, in fact. When administrators at Mary Giella Elementary School decided it was time to replace their worn-out American and Florida flags, members of VFW Post 8681 were pleased to accept their invitation to use the occasion to help ensure that these rules make it through to the next generation. ...more

March 11, 2009

When it comes to repairing the faltering U.S. economy, Barack Obama offers vision, numbers and detail. But as Israeli bombs and Palestinian missiles explode in the Middle East, the president-elect has responded with silence. ...more

January 4, 2009

The note posted in July on the Web site of China's food safety inspection agency came from a doctor: There had been a sudden rise in infants turning up at his hospital with kidney stones after drinking the same brand of formula. ...more

September 24, 2008

Hernando County's compensated absences policy reinforces the public view of government extravagance, arrogance and indifference to the taxpaying public. ...more

September 12, 2008

It was raining and it was dark when we rolled by Bushnell on Interstate 75 this week. ...more

July 18, 2008

Hurricane season has begun. But this time the storm threatens to be bigger even than that which struck New Orleans. Not a physical storm but a storm of houses facing foreclosure, families uprooted, whole neighborhoods blighted by unseen forces. No, we do not have people stranded on the roof. ...more

June 11, 2008

Sometimes I wish I was a man. That's because men have an enviable indifference to bathing-suit reality. ...more

May 12, 2008

No doubt as Johnnie Schoolfield and Theo Thomas thrashed about in the water in a doomed struggle to avoid drowning, they had to appreciate that while Manatee County emergency services paramedics stood by watching them die, nothing would have pleased the badges more to be able to help were it not for those gosh-darned regulations, policies and procedures obligating them to remain on shore. ...more

January 3, 2008

BARTOW - Abner Aust, an 86-year-old retired Air Force colonel and certified fighter ace, fired his attorney today and was granted an extension for his sentencing on a probation violation charge in connection with two attempts to have his wife killed. ...more

December 4, 2007