SEBRING — When Army Sgt. First Class Judy Puffenbarger went to Iraq, a photo of her taken when her unit was being deployed to the war was sent to her hometown in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Everybody who saw it broke out in laughter. Puffenbarger's blonde hair has grown back, but the day before she left for the war zone she shaved her head. "I did it on a bet, a bet I lost," the 49-year-old Avon Park resident said at the Veterans Administration Community Based Outpatient Clinic, where she works as a receptionist. Puffenbarger, whose father was a World War II Army veteran who lost one of his legs in the battle of Okinawa, bet members of her squad that they would not be deployed to the Iraq war. She offered to shave her head if the order came down for her 33-person unit to ship out to the war. ...more

May 25, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - The fact that Academy at the Lakes remains in the postseason is somewhat miraculous, considering what it took for it to get this far. ...more

February 7, 2008

Tribune handicapper Michael David picks today's races at Tampa Bay Downs: ...more

January 25, 2008

This is not the way Florida State women's basketball coach Sue Semrau envisioned her 11th season unfolding, and first since leading the Noles to the program's inaugural Sweet 16 appearance a year ago. ...more

January 15, 2008

Hillsborough County is considering charging irresponsible pet owners more so it can beef up its animal control enforcement. ...more

January 6, 2008

Jennifer Gooch's mission was to create a simple Web site where people could go to find their lost gloves. Even if no happy reunions ever took place, she was content to spread a little good will. ...more

December 25, 2007

Jennifer Gooch's mission was to create a simple Web site where people could go to find their lost gloves. Even if no happy reunions ever took place, she was content to spread a little goodwill. ...more

December 23, 2007

Sixty-five candles were lit at dusk, each symbolizing the life of a homeless person extinguished this year by illness, an accident, natural causes or violence. ...more

December 22, 2007

TAMPA - Sixty-five candles were lit at dusk, each symbolizing the life of a homeless person extinguished this year by illness, accidents, natural causes or violence. ...more

December 21, 2007

A new episode of HGTV's "House Hunters" takes us back to the good old days of February 2006, when the Tampa real estate market was unreal. ...more

December 4, 2007