In 1964 I was commissioned a second lieutenant and navigator in the U.S. Air Force. I was assigned to the Strategic Air Command, and my first training assignment was to the Arctic Survival Escape & Evasion School at Stead AFB, Reno, Nev. ...more

May 14, 2009

PLANT CITY Commissioners recently adopted a nuisance abatement ordinance tightening regulations regarding swimming pools. ...more

March 16, 2009

Jim Hawk won't be found living in one of those neighborhoods where homes are crammed next to each other and yards can be cut with a few swipes of the lawn mower. ...more

December 24, 2008

Jim Hawk won't be found living in one of those neighborhoods where homes are crammed next to each other and yards can be cut with a few swipes of the lawn mower. ...more

December 24, 2008

The Hillsborough County Extension service will offer residents the latest information this morning about a disease attacking cabbage palms in southern Hillsborough and northern Manatee counties. ...more

November 13, 2008

Colorful carnivorous hooded pitcher plants hide among the tall native grasses at Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve, waiting to ensnare unsuspecting insects in their red and green pit traps. ...more

October 18, 2008

QUESTION: "The weeping cherry tree that I planted in late March bloomed beautifully and has looked great up until recently. The tree is about 6 feet tall. We have had some very hot, humid weather and a little rain almost daily, maybe an inch per week. Now the leaves are curling up. I don't see any signs of insects, no discoloration, no sap running out. Does it need more water?" - Sibyl J. Gore ...more

September 7, 2008

Perhaps you enjoyed "Snakes on a Plane" as an entertaining movie. But it's a whole lot less fun when it's snakes in your home's foundation, as this reader discovered. ...more

August 24, 2008

Perhaps you enjoyed "Snakes on a Plane" as an entertaining movie. But it's a whole lot less fun when it's snakes in your home's foundation, as this reader discovered. ...more

August 24, 2008

All five of my Civil War ancestors were poor, illiterate dirt farmers. Some knew how to scribble their names and others made an "X" when a signature was needed. Not one of them could write a letter home to be treasured and passed down. ...more

August 17, 2008