With driving rain and buffeting 50- to 60-mph winds, Tropical Storm Fay swept over Southwest Florida this morning. It set its sights on Emerald City, a tiny fishing hamlet that shrugged off the weather today, saying it has been worse. ...more

August 19, 2008

After the 2004 hurricane season, when Florida communities needed a place to dump tons of yard waste, the state agreed to let rural landowners spread up to two feet of chopped-up debris across their property without getting a permit for solid-waste disposal. ...more

August 15, 2008

When we invited readers to submit their favorite photographs for our Best of South Tampa photo contest, some couldn't wait to share their favorite local spots. ...more

August 13, 2008

The new flyover bridge at Interstate 75 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard is supposed to make life easier for commuters. ...more

August 4, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - At the entrance there are palm trees, a waterfall and a security guard. Most people will never see behind the 20-foot tall concrete block walls of Caliente. ...more

July 29, 2008

The milky brown stream flows west, through a maze of underground culverts, stormwater drains and open canals lined with trash and dead fish, to the small piece of property where Harlan and Virginia Farmer settled nearly a half century ago. ...more

July 26, 2008

SEBRING — On Lemon Street, where drug dealers have ruled and crime has been present for decades, there are now faux red brick sidewalks, new blacktop, white concrete curbs, street lamps and palm trees. The ninth Juneteenth celebration, said Robert Saffold, turned out to be the best because Washington Heights has been restored. ...more

June 21, 2008

Thanks to a city-sponsored program, Alan White is delighted that his potential customers will no longer be turned off by his business's shabby-looking surroundings. ...more

June 11, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - Thanks to a city-sponsored program, Alan White is delighted that his potential customers will no longer be turned off by his business's shabby-looking surroundings. On June 3, the Temple Terrace City Council awarded a $3,793.30 commercial facade improvement grant to White and Raymond Proch, co-owners of TWA Firestone Tire, Wheel and Automotive Services at the southwest corner of Busch Boulevard and North 56th Street. That amounts to half the cost of $7,586.60 to remove four sickly oak trees and replace them with four palm trees, as well as adding an assortment of drought-tolerant flowering plants that will front both thoroughfares. ...more

June 5, 2008

When county officials gathered last month to celebrate the reopening of Bayport Park, Commissioner Diane Rowden said she felt compelled to mention the lush sod. ...more

June 5, 2008