Gov. Charlie Crist signed Florida's passenger rail bill into law Wednesday in ceremonies in Tampa and three other cities while delivering the message that new rail equals thousands of new jobs. More than 150 Tampa Bay area elected officials, business people and transportation advocates turned out at a vacant lot just south of the intersection of Interstate 275 and Interstate 4, where a high-speed rail station is planned for a proposed Tampa-to-Orlando route. The bill will improve the state's chances at winning federal stimulus money for the high-speed rail line that could be built by 2014. It also will jump-start the $1.2 billion SunRail project planned for Central Florida, create a new statewide rail authority and dedicate additional state money to Tri-Rail, South Florida's faltering commuter line. The high-speed project could provide as many as 15,000 construction jobs beginning in 2011 if the Obama administration approves the state's $2.5 billion high-speed rail bid, state officials said in its federal stimulus application. "Jobs, jobs, jobs is what it's really all about," Crist said. ...more

December 17, 2009

Gov. Charlie Crist signed Florida's passenger rail bill into law this morning in ceremonies in Tampa and three other cities while delivering the message that new rail equals thousands of new jobs. ...more

December 16, 2009

Two South Tampa schools would gain parking if the school system buys a 1-acre vacant lot between the campuses. ...more

December 4, 2009

Brightly colored game-top tables, a swirling orange slide and bright green play bars all went up at A Kid's Place on Oct. 24. ...more

November 4, 2009

Is adding a small parking lot along Tarpon Avenue the answer to downtown's woes? ...more

October 31, 2009

Calls of abandoned properties in Avon Park have flooded the city's code enforcement's office. Complaints about overgrown grass, squatters living in the abandoned homes and illegal activity on these lots have been an ongoing problem for the city. ...more

October 28, 2009

A house in a historic district determined by the city building department to be unsafe for habitation and approved for demolition was taken down earlier this month and transformed into a vacant lot. ...more

October 28, 2009

By PAUL CATALA
THE SUN ...more

August 12, 2009

A 58-year-old Sebring resident was killed shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday when his Chevy pickup veered off the north-bound shoulder of U.S 98, and he was thrown out of the pickup, according to a Florida Highway Patrol press release. ...more

April 5, 2009

TAMPA - One neighbor's generosity and a dozen or so wading pools filled with compost are jump-starting a community garden in Seminole Heights. About 40 neighbors met recently to discuss plans to begin tilling soil on a large vacant lot off Violet Street in South Seminole Heights. Except in this case they are opting for above-ground containers over in-ground planting. ...more

March 31, 2009