In 2006, at the peak of the building boom, 1,752 building permits were issued for single-family, multi-family and mobile homes in Highlands County. ...more

February 11, 2009

While many Tampa Bay area home builders have put down their hammers, some continue to start construction on new homes – just not very many of them. Area builders started construction on 932 single-family homes in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Houston-based Metrostudy, which tracks new home construction, That's a 32.9 percent decrease from last year and the first time in at least 23 years that housing starts fell below 1,000 in a quarter. Why are builders building any homes in this economy? If they want to stay in business, they say they have to keep building at least some homes. ...more

February 4, 2009

A mother was arrested Wednesday on charges she has repeatedly beaten her four children with belt buckles, hangars and metal spoons. ...more

January 29, 2009

The sound of hammers on nails and saws through wood filled the air in Grant Park this week as Habitat Hillsborough volunteers worked to finish a house in 14 days. ...more

October 14, 2008

Clayton Maxwell watched as his sister's boyfriend and four cohorts put bandannas across their faces then armed themselves with hammers and a gun, he testified Thursday. ...more

September 5, 2008

The defense tries to undercut a key witness in the trial of a man accused in a Plant City home invasion that killed one person. ...more

September 4, 2008

About 3 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2006, Diogenes Vazquez awoke to loud banging and a commotion in the Plant City home he shared with four other men, he said on a witness stand Wednesday. ...more

September 4, 2008

About 3 a.m. Oct. 9, 2006, Diogenes Vazquez awoke to loud banging and a commotion in the Plant City home he shared with four other men, he said on a witness stand today. ...more

September 3, 2008

Prosecutors are trying to prove to a jury that Justin Jerrod Grayer, 21, threw the fatal blows that killed Jose Anaya on an early October morning in Plant City. ...more

September 3, 2008

Barbara Freiberg went to her daughter's mobile home May 12 after a babysitter called to say Freiberg's grandchildren had not been dropped off. ...more

August 16, 2008