The Christmas season is when I reach out to all the people who have been special in my life. Whether by writing Christmas cards, sending e-mail greetings, or sharing hugs, I'm always reminded of how blessed I am to have my wonderful friends. Henry Adams said, "One true friendship in a lifetime is much; two are many; three are hardly possible." If true friendship is that rare, just what makes people "friends?" ...more

December 13, 2009

When Penny first started planning our Oct. 31 field trip to Riverview Flower Farm, we thought we'd be lucky to get 10 gardeners to come along. ...more

November 8, 2009

The music that normally streams from one small home on West Bates Street is silent. The Garnelo brothers, all musicians who performed together, say it doesn't seem real that the youngest, Shamir, an aspiring disc jockey and rapper, was killed early Saturday morning. "The music was his dream, and now I can't believe he's not here," said Denny Garnelo. Shamir, 21, was killed at a teenage girl's birthday party in Holiday. ...more

November 2, 2009

To Bob Bleakley, the father of one of three friends who did not survive a gulf fishing trip last week, details of a report released Monday about what happened on the boat are inconsequential ...more

March 16, 2009

Helga Zipser of South Tampa celebrated her 84th birthday March 2 at the Plant City Strawberry Festival. ...more

March 11, 2009

Blue Lagoon owner Rob McDarby said there are any number of tricks out there underage patrons will try to get alcohol. ...more

March 10, 2009

Jesse Tyrone Barresse was duck hunting with some two friends and a child near a Ruskin duck pond when he spotted a bald eagle soaring overhead. ...more

March 5, 2009

A second suspect has been arrested in the home invasion that left a 21-year-old Shady Hills man dead in October. ...more

January 27, 2009

The purveyors of pitas at the Pita Pit in Hyde Park are taking the pilfering of a chair very seriously. ...more

January 9, 2009

The purveyors of pitas at the Pita Pit in Hyde Park are taking the pilfering of a chair very seriously. ...more

January 8, 2009