Long before he was the hottest college defensive coordinator in the country - and now Auburn's head coach - Gene Chizik was, well, the "Kindergarten Cop" at a Pinellas County elementary school. ...more

December 30, 2009

An 11-year-old girl and her 15-year-old boyfriend tried to kill the girl's mother Tuesday morning by burning her as she slept, Clearwater police say. ...more

December 30, 2009

A popular Pinellas County beach once again is attracting crowds. Fred H. Howard Park in Tarpon Springs reopened Monday afternoon after closing for road reconstruction more than a year ago. ...more

December 29, 2009

Regarding "Water department denies access to Cone Ranch," (The Tampa Tribune, Dec. 15): Recently, Hillsborough County Water Resource Services (WRS) was contacted by a Pinellas County resident who wanted permission for a group to conduct a birding study at Cone Ranch. We would like the opportunity to provide several pieces of key information that were missing from the article. ...more

December 27, 2009

The bad news this Christmas continues to be a job shortage, but there is good reason to believe the worst is over. The economy is once again growing, sales of existing Florida homes were up last month, and most of the stimulus spending in the federal pipeline hasn't yet reached local job markets. ...more

December 24, 2009

Deneilo Bradshaw, 24, was spared death by lethal injection for the murder of Rachel Hoffman, as jurors indicated Friday that although they believed he was guilty of first-degree murder, he instead should spend the rest of his life in prison. ...more

December 19, 2009

Nowadays, true life is stranger than almost anything anyone can think of, so I thought I'd add my own musings and mutterings on the pop culture scene. ...more

December 19, 2009

A former car wash worker will spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in the murder of a confidential police informant during a botched drug sting. ...more

December 18, 2009

A search in St. Petersburg for two armed suspects who threatened somebody at a Tampa nightclub is over, but the pair was not found, St. Petersburg police said. ...more

December 18, 2009

Proving the value of the Cone Ranch property and why Hillsborough County should restore and protect it requires leg work, some say. ...more

December 15, 2009