AVON PARK — The city's search for a new police chief could be put on hold if City Manager C.B. Shirey becomes the Avon Park Executive Airport's manager next month. Shirey said that the council would instead try to find his replacement before they fill the vacant police chief position. He had no estimate on how long this could take, saying it depends on how quickly the city begins advertising the open position. The Avon Park Police Department has had its police chief position vacant since late September, when then-Police Chief Frank Mercurio was forced to resign. Since then, Shirey received 60 applications for the position. APPD Cmdr. Michael Rowan, who has assumed Mercurio's old duties while the city was searching for a new chief, said he did not expect this delay to have any further impact on the department. ...more

December 21, 2007

Rep. Julia Carson, who rose from a childhood of poverty and segregation to become the first black and first woman to represent Indianapolis in Congress, died Saturday. She was 69. ...more

December 16, 2007

The relevance of the nation's symphony orchestras is a topic of much debate in arts communities, and one such discussion took place Friday in the offices of The Florida Orchestra. ...more

December 8, 2007

While awake in our bed a few mornings ago, for some unexplainable reason my thoughts drifted back to a Thanksgiving when I was a scrawny, knobby-kneed lad of 6 and a first-grader at St. Monica Elementary School in Berwyn, Pa. ...more

November 21, 2007

A county report released Monday rebuts allegations planners misled the public about the South County Transportation Plan, particularly the inclusion of a bypass, but concedes officials should have been clearer in presentations to citizen groups. Now the groups who were arguing about being misled are saying the report isn't accurate. ...more

November 6, 2007

Cargill Inc. said it is recalling more than 1 million pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria, the second time in less than a month that it voluntarily has recalled beef that may have been tainted. ...more

November 4, 2007

This week's Pinellas County football games ...more

October 25, 2007

Every morning, a hired car picks up Margie Conner at her north Lakeland home and drives her 20 or so miles to Bartow and the school district transportation center. A round trip can cost more than $50. ...more

October 25, 2007

Every morning, a hired car picks up Margie Conner at her north Lakeland home and drives her 20 or so miles to Bartow and the school district transportation center. A round trip can cost more than $50. Once there, the 58-year-old school bus driver reports to a guard shack, where she sits alone doing nothing for nearly six hours – at $11 an hour. Sometimes she reads a book. She gets two 15 minute breaks and uses the bathroom at the main office. At the end of the day, another hired car takes her home. All this is paid for by Polk County taxpayers, roughly $1,700 so far. ...more

October 24, 2007

'Save Darfur.' The message is everywhere: online, on television and in newspapers. ...more

October 17, 2007