Local control I want to thank the letter writer who suggested we "Deep-Six DOE" (Letter of the Day, March 17). He is absolutely "right on." ...more

March 18, 2010

Pundits, bloggers and others with way too much time on their hands are having a field day with the revelation that more than $70,000 in federal stimulus money will be spent to study monkeys on cocaine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded $71,623 to Wake Forest University for a project titled "Effect of Cocaine Self-Administration on Metabotropic Glutamate Systems." ...more

March 17, 2010

What a difference three months make. In December, Habitat for Humanity's request for $500,000 to build 20 single-family homes on Martin Luther King Boulevard was turned down on a 2-2 vote. ...more

March 17, 2010

On Jan. 30, a US Airways jet in Washington kept passengers on the tarmac for three hours, seven minutes before they spent two hours, 16 minutes flying to Tampa. ...more

March 12, 2010

About 50 to 80 birds were found dead in Avon Park near Grove Circle, south of Lake Damon and east of U.S. 27, after they reportedly ingested the berries of the rosary pea plant, which contain toxic seeds, according to the Highlands County Health Department. ...more

March 11, 2010

Florida received an initial $61.2 million payment from the federal government as part of a project to spur hiring of hourly workers. ...more

March 11, 2010

Despite what looked like a disastrous winter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has increased its March orange crop forecast for the 2009-2010 season by 2 million boxes. Florida is now expected to produce 131 million boxes. ...more

March 11, 2010

The outlook for the state's orange crop brightened slightly in the latest federal forecast, which boosted the estimate of the season's yield by 2 million boxes compared with the February report. ...more

March 11, 2010

Beginning next year, voters in several Tampa City Council precincts will find themselves under new leadership, and not just because of the municipal elections. ...more

March 10, 2010

Florida got more federal money than any other state as part of a program to put new owners into foreclosed houses. But the state ranks below the national average for dedicating and spending that money. ...more

March 7, 2010