The Coppertone sign in downtown Miami is being removed after nearly 50 years. The landmark neon sign will get a face lift and will be put back near its original location.......here
On July 4th, 2007, a Wackenhut executive dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase filled with taxpayers’ dollars, sprinted through the streets of South Beach while being chased by a giant finger and several sets of eyes.......here
The original Columbia is located in Tampa in the historic Ybor City district, and since we just happened to jump off the plane during lunch hour, we thought we would take the kids for a visit......here
Along the sin-soaked streets of Ybor City, Scientologists compete against bull-horn-toting evangelical Christians and Jesus Christ look-a-likes for their latest converts. The church is led in part by the Revs. David and Esther Crownborn, a husband-and-wife team who sermonize in a theater at Muvico Centro Ybor.........here
Arkansas-based bluesman Michael Burks will celebrate the release of his new CD, Iron Man, with a live performance in Tampa on Friday, May 23, 8 p.m., at Skipper’s Smokehouse..........here
The Times let me write a column on the 13 mile trek from New Tampa to downtown I took last Friday in recognition of Bike to Work Week. It was the first time I had ever ridden to downtown. I thoroughly enjoyed most of the ride but as a whole it was sub-par.........here
Signs are everywhere that Florida will return to center stage in presidential politics next week.
In South Florida, the notion that there's such a thing as a first-rate politician is hard to swallow. But Garcia is simply good at what he does........here
Brandon To Downtown Tampa Every Morning And Back In The Afternoon. The Tracks Are Already There. How Much Does A Train Cost? We Can Turn The Ugly Addition To The Crosstown Expressway Into A Bike Path.
“I strongly reject President Bush’s politically calculated attack on Barack Obama in the Israeli Knesset today. It is clear that President Bush was directly attacking Senator Obama while at the same time unconscionably using the horrors of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust for political partisan gain.........here
A circle of Sisters on the web and a few blessed men. A safe place. A helpful place. For the glory of Woman, the uplift of Woman and the health of Woman in body, mind and spirit.......here
Bilirakis (FL-09), Brown-Waite, G. (FL-05), Buchanan (FL-13), Diaz-Balart, L. (FL-21), Diaz-Balart, M. (FL-25), Feeney (FL-24), Keller (FL-08), Mahoney (FL-16), Mica (FL-07), Miller, J. (FL-01), Putnam (FL-12), Stearns (FL-06), Weldon (FL-15), Young, C.W. (FL-10)
You are connected to mountaintop removal. Your electricity provider, Tampa Electric Co, buys coal from companies engaged in mountaintop removal. Big Bend , operated by Tampa Electric Co -- located in Hillsborough County, FL.......here
Meat Balls, Moro And Yuca
Students from Susan Beran's second-grade English for Speakers of Other Languages class at West Tampa Elementary had perfect attendance during April. As a reward, the 13 youngsters boarded a van at the school this morning and headed to International Plaza, where they stuffed cuddly animals at Build-A-Bear.......here
Hitler's Angel
This Thursday, commissioners will consider several changes to our Land Development Code including two proposals affecting traffic: one good change, proposed by our county transportation planners, and one bad change, proposed by developers (well, by their lawyers)..........here
The publishing company that owns the Curious George image says it is considering legal action to stop the sale of a T-shirt depicting Barack Obama as the monkey from children's books. The T-shirts are being peddled by Marietta bar owner Mike Norman at his Mulligan's Bar and Grill in Cobb County. They show a picture of Curious Georgie peeling a banana, with the words "Obama '08" underneath.......here
The Florida Theatre originally opened to the public on April 8, 1927, as downtown Jacksonville's 15th—and largest—movie theatre. With lavish interior decor unmatched in Jacksonville, the Florida Theatre is the city's last remaining example of 1920's fantasy architecture and is one of only four remaining high-style movie palaces built in Florida during this period........here
As of October 1st, anyone caught doing 30mph over the speed limit in Florida faces vehicle confiscation, five to ten years in prison and a ten-year license suspension. Bill HB 137, which was signed into law earlier today, was originally targeted at motorcyclists, but was amended at the last minute to include all vehicles.........here
"On behalf of the Democratic Party I congratulate Representative-Elect Travis Childers on his win. The other winners last night were the people of Mississippi's First Congressional District. We thank them for reaffirming that when Democrats stand up for the values we share, we can win in Mississippi and across America.".........Howard Dean
Tampa Bay's largest agency for helping homeless and "working poor" families is reporting a huge increase in requests for service in recent months. Metropolitan Ministries says the number of families needing help is up 20% over the same period last year...........here
Crime might not pay, but we keep paying for criminals. 
Hillsborough County just committed $17-million in tax money toward the new history center. It will be a fine addition to the downtown Tampa waterfront. But the history already here is starved for money........here
A hairy-chested 61 year old man is "frightened and embarrassed" that he was ticketed for wearing a Speedo at a Florida beach. Apparently, nobody ever complained until some "bully deputy" came along and ticketed the old man.........here
Rachel Hoffman, a graduate of Clearwater's Countryside High School who was killed last week. Details of how the 23-year-old with a degree in psychology from Florida State University agreed to become an undercover informer, only to be killed in a rural area near Tallahassee, remained elusive..........here
Here are some pictures taken during Saturday's National Train Day at Tampa Union Station. I spent about an hour and a half mulling around, taking pictures, and talking with event organizers and other insiders who were excited about the prospects of a re-emerging rail network between Florida cities.........here
