FESTIVAL POURS ANOTHER ROUND: The Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival will be back for another year. An e-mail blast last week announced that the event will take place May 15 to 17. Much of it will be held behind the Don Cesar Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach, just like last year, but a few events will take place closer to downtown St. Petersburg. ...more

February 6, 2008

Our experts offer tips on how to play the 18th hole at the TPC of Tampa Bay. ...more

February 5, 2008

The parent company of Outback Steakhouse and its sibling restaurants has rescinded a policy of requiring its wait staff to cover credit-card processing fees for tips included on their customers' bills. ...more

February 2, 2008

Champions Tour fans who have come to expect the senior golf season to get warmed up with a consecutive four-week February swing through Florida, including a stop at TPC of Tampa Bay, will need a slight adjustment. ...more

January 18, 2008

It's called the Outback Bowl, named for the primary sponsor, Outback Steakhouse. But Tuesday's football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Wisconsin Badgers at Raymond James Stadium might be considered a Throwback Bowl of sorts. ...more

December 30, 2007

Voter registration books for the presidential preference primary election on Jan. 29, will close on Monday for all new registrants to the state, Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian E. Corley said. ...more

December 28, 2007

SEBRING – The refrain is the same from restaurant owners – regardless of the size of the eatery – when asked about a pay increase for employees who receive tips: it's part of the cost of doing business. Florida restaurateurs face another increase on Jan. 1, 2008 when the direct wage for "tipped employees" goes up to $3.77 an hour. According to the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the employer must pay tipped employees a direct wage. The direct wage is calculated as equal to the minimum wage ($6.79) minus the 2003 tip credit ($3.02) or a direct hourly wage of $3.77. Florida's minimum wage will increase to $6.79 per hour on Jan. 1, which is up from $6.67 this year. The majority of local businesses are now paying employees above the minimum wage. ...more

December 16, 2007

You could call it a tried-and-true fundraiser with a twist. Top Shelf Liquors owner Devan Patel and customer Becky Herndon were racking their brains, trying to come up with a fundraiser for Amvets Post 44 of Brandon. Herndon serves as president of the women's auxiliary. ...more

December 10, 2007

Items of interest from Monday's commission meeting include: •A public hearing was set for Dec. 10 on a rezoning for a proposed hotel near North Park and South Frontage roads. If approved, the land will be rezoned to accommodate a four-story, 100-room hotel that will be managed by New Moon Hospitality, according to a city staff report. The public hearing will be during the city commission's 7:30 p.m. meeting. ...more

December 1, 2007

The parent company of Outback Steakhouse is looking to sell restaurant chains that don't have the potential to become a "big deal," company chairman Chris Sullivan told a crowd of investment bankers Wednesday. ...more

November 29, 2007