On a recent sunny afternoon, a dozen youngsters played in a circle with a rainbow-colored parachute in the playground outside Witter Elementary school in Tampa. A few yards away stood a new 200-foot cell phone tower. ...more

February 17, 2009

Across Hillsborough County, school principals are lining up to put cell phone towers on their campuses to produce badly needed cash for teacher salaries and classroom supplies, even shoes for children who lack them. By summer, 14 new towers could be up at local schools. Some school officials are ready to jump at the new revenue, but they might be jumping into a hornet's nest. ...more

February 17, 2009

Every year, the Hillsborough County School District sends Tampa, Plant City, Hillsborough County and the Florida Department of Transportation a laundry list of areas deemed hazardous for children who don't qualify for busing and have to walk to school. ...more

February 16, 2009

Every year, the Hillsborough County School District sends Tampa, Plant City, Hillsborough County and the Florida Department of Transportation a laundry list of areas deemed hazardous for kids who don't qualify for busing and have to walk to school. The hazards include streets where there are no sidewalks, busy intersections and traffic chocked roads that school officials want the DOT and local governments to improve. ...more

February 15, 2009

The West Hernando Middle School student who contracted meningitis is out of the hospital. ...more

February 11, 2009

No other confirmed cases found, health department spokeswoman says. ...more

February 10, 2009

Pat Summitt now has 1,000 victories, an unprecedented height even she finds dizzying. ...more

February 6, 2009

Four Lake Placid middle school students are facing expulsion due to what the school calls gang-related activity in the past two months, but Principal Derrel Bryan said there has been no gang-related violence on the school's campus. ...more

February 5, 2009

Highlands County commissioners awarded a $110,000 contract to the consulting firm of Duncan & Associates for a study on impact fees. ...more

February 4, 2009

The $819 billion stimulus plan approved by the House would pump hundreds of millions into local schools and colleges, reviving plans administrators put on hold as the economy soured. ...more

February 3, 2009