About 18 months ago, we bought a house that's 30-plus years old and began the process of renovation. It's been a challenge for several reasons. ...more

November 15, 2009

Rep. Tom Rooney, please reconsider your last opportunity to support reform in the upcoming final House vote. I have a friend who has unbearable back pain and has been given powerful narcotics but no other treatment for it because she is not old enough for Medicare, is unsure of what her work record is and so is not eligible for SSDI (disability,) was helped to get on Medicaid but since it is share of cost she can neither see a doctor in his office nor be admitted to a hospital for any effective length of time. She has a hole in her esophagus and has been told to just "watch it." She can hardly swallow anything and has somehow not qualified for tests for this situation. The only way she can be seen in a medical setting is in the ER where they have to treat her but they count the minutes before they send he back out to bear her pain alone. ...more

November 15, 2009

I've just lived through one of the most frustrating weeks of my life. It felt like I spent the entire seven days doing just one thing – waiting. I hate waiting. I waited for phone calls that never came, for mail that didn't arrive, and for a repairman who never showed. I waited in the doctor's office and the post office and the coffee shop. I waited in a checkout line so long I finally had to give up and go back to work without my0 lunch. On the job, it seemed every assignment I tackled could not be completed without waiting for someone else to do his part first, which, of course, he (or she) never did. I sent polite e-mail reminders, and waited some more. I made phone calls and was put on hold. Several times I waited till the phone grew permanently attached to my ear, only to be told he'd call me back. But he didn't. ...more

February 15, 2009

General Motors Corp. says its "jobs bank" program will end Monday. The program gives union workers at the Detroit automakers most of their pay and benefits while they are laid off. ...more

January 28, 2009

The box from Andrea Davis' new flat-screen TV sat in her garage for two weeks as she fretted about setting it by the curb. ...more

December 25, 2008

A national nonprofit says homeowners might be taunting thieves about the treasures they have simply by putting out their trash. ...more

December 24, 2008

Ever since Election Day I have been angry. I have been angry that people who do not know me have voted against me. I have been angry that my state, the state where I was born and reared, will not afford me the same rights and privileges that others (even non-native Floridians) enjoy. ...more

November 25, 2008

Something was wrong. It was too quiet. I rolled over slightly in bed so I could make out the green digital numbers on the TV clock. It read 3:15 in the morning. I rolled a little more and saw the empty space next to me. The Frau wasn't there. That happens a lot during the school year, especially after she's spent half the night grading tests and the requisite 10 minutes hitting her head against the wall wondering what went wrong. ...more

September 17, 2008

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter regarding Prisoners of War-Missing in Action Recognition Day. We should honor the men and women who served and sacrificed to keep our America free, and to salute the families of the missing who continue to keep the candle of hope alive today. There are too many of our people who are missing and unaccounted for from the wars which our nation has been involved in, going back as far as World War II. They are our military and civilians who are our mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. A lot of these wars ended a long time ago but we still should pause and remember their sacrifices. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I lost my husband or family member for this length of time, days, months and yes, even decades. They deserve an answer. ...more

August 11, 2008

Damu Cherry was a good hurdler on the Leto High track team, but never a state champion. And when she went on to compete for the University of South Florida in the event, she never won a conference title. ...more

August 3, 2008