I'll never forget my first. She was a petite, green-eyed beauty with a heart-shaped face and hair the color of a summer storm. She was a bit aloof, maybe even a tad stand-offish, but no more so than you would expect after being the repeated target of a suction-cup-tipped projectile fired from a plastic gun. ...more

March 27, 2009

CRIME TRACKER This crime index is published in an effort to help residents keep track of crime in their neighborhood and to promote public safety. Below is a listing of crimes handled by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office March 8 to 14 arranged by ZIP code. These are crimes that have been investigated by deputies and don't reflect unfounded calls for service. ...more

March 21, 2009

CRIME TRACKER This crime index is published in an effort to help residents keep track of crime in their neighborhood and to promote public safety. Below is a partial listing of crimes handled by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office between Nov. 16-22 arranged by ZIP code. These are crimes that have been investigated by deputies and don't reflect unfounded calls for service. ...more

November 29, 2008

The death toll from Hurricane Ike is remarkably low so far, considering that legions of people stayed behind as the storm obliterated row after row of homes along the Texas coast. But officials suspect there are more victims out there and say some might simply have been swept out to sea. ...more

September 18, 2008

First, it was too dry. Then it was too wet. Bill Carlisle would like to set the wilds on fire, but Mother Nature isn't cooperating. ...more

July 12, 2008

AVON PARK — Maybe the fish won't think so, but there's something life affirming about watching moms and dads teaching their children how to bait a hook, cast a rod, watch a bobber and reel in a catch. And that's what happened Saturday at the Avon Park Air Force Range, in the wilds of northeast Highlands County. ...more

June 7, 2008

In the wilds of Wauchula, Peace River Electric Cooperative utility workers often come across wildlife. A few weeks ago, utility worker Eddie Bailey was traveling near the town of Ona in Hardee County when he spotted a furry thing parked on top of a wooden utility pole. Bailey recognized the beast as a Florida bobcat. ...more

June 4, 2008

TAMPA Luna Bella is like most 10-year-old kids: Curious to the point of getting into trouble. And that's likely what happened when the 85-pound orangutan hopped out of her enclosure at Busch Gardens' new Jungala exhibit Saturday, according to an orangutan expert familiar with the incident. ...more

May 19, 2008

TAMPA - State wildlife investigators were to be at Busch Gardens today to find out how an orangutan busted out of the new Jungala exhibit Saturday. ...more

May 19, 2008

'The Sound of Butterflies,' by Rachael King (William Morrow, $24.95) ...more

October 14, 2007