SEBRING — How many unexcused absences are too many? School Board Member Andy Tuck is alarmed at the nearly 7,700 unexcused absences district-wide in the first nine weeks of school. It's hard to hold teachers accountable when kids don't come to school, he said. Several students have already missed more than 10 days of school. Highlands County School District data shows 43 middle school students (1.5 percent) were absent 10 or more days during the first nine weeks of the school year. At the elementary level, 57 students (1 percent) were absent 10 or more days during the same time period, Aug. 20 through Oct. 24. At the high school level, only five students (one-tenth of 1 percent) were absent 10 or more days. ...more

November 9, 2007

TAMPA - With all due respect to the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and any other NFC team with a winning record, I'm not sure there's another team in the NFL that can truly match what the Bucs have done this year. ...more

November 8, 2007

Walking through the auditorium of Common Ground Christian Church in Seminole Heights on Tuesday, the Rev. Danny Schaffner noticed one of the digital thermostats was blank. ...more

November 8, 2007

TAMPA - Walking through the auditorium of Common Ground Christian Church in Seminole Heights on Tuesday, Pastor Danny Schaffner noticed one of the thermostats was blank. ...more

November 7, 2007

In sports, a little hate can be a good thing. The ratings for Sunday's Patriots-Colts matchup went through the Teflon roof of the RCA Dome partly because of the antipathy Bill Belichick's club has stirred up from the sporting public. ...more

November 7, 2007

TAMPA - Stefan Sanderling is spreading his musical wings. The Florida Orchestra's chief conductor has signed on as music director of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1929 as part of the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and cultural center on 750 acres in southwestern New York. For nine weeks each summer, the institution holds an acclaimed festival of the arts ...more

November 5, 2007

Sixty-eight fire hydrants have been taken out of service after city water workers found problems with them during an inspection blitz. ...more

October 10, 2007

TAMPA - Sixty-eight fire hydrants have been taken out of service after city water workers found problems with them during an inspection blitz. ...more

October 9, 2007