Jonathan Rivera Loses Lifelong Battle With Cancer

Jonathan Rivera, the 5-year-old whose brief presence in a Head Start class inspired his schoolmates to mount a project to help his family, has lost his nearly lifelong battle with cancer. Jonathan died Wednesday night with his mother next to him. "He passed away as I was singing him his favorite song about a butterfly," his mother Mary Beltran said from her Town 'N Country home this afternoon..........here

Tampa: A Brave New (Low-Cost) World

I’m from Massachusetts, which is located in New England, so by default I have this inexplicable disdain for all things southern. We northerners think of ourselves as superior to our neighbors to the south, and we also fear southerners for their guns and confederate flags and pickup trucks. To a Yankee like me, the South is truly a terrifying and exotic place........here

In Florida, Get Busy With A Bear

Here are two proposals under consideration during the ongoing session of the Florida Legislature.
Proposed Law A: Bringing a gun to work is legal. Proposed Law B: Having sex with an animal is illegal.
One of these proposed laws is sailing through the legislature, and the other is stalled and heading nowhere. Can you guess which is which?

I'll give you a very big hint: This is Florida.......here

Many Say Goodbye To Fallen Soldier

Tara Nelson stands by the flag drapped coffin of her fiance PFC Patrick Joseph "PJ" Miller Sunday after his funeral at the Frist United Methodist Church of Hudson.........here

Joan Baez At Tampa Theatre

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 7:30PM

here

What Is The Miami Cuban Mafia?

The Cuban Mafia is not an established organization per se; it is a state of mind of certain American politicians who are vociferously anti-Cuba, and who are primarily based in the state of Florida. But this Mafia is also an equal-opportunity group; they also welcome as members those who belong to the Democratic Party...........here

Joe Garcia Or More Of The Same

Clearwater Retirees Resort to Firepower to Take Out Pesky Ducks

A Florida retirement community did a little more than shoo, choosing instead to shoot at the Muscovy ducks that had fouled the pool and become a general nuisance for residents.......here

Rate Your Local Cops

Armed with a laptop and the names of tens of thousands of police officers across the country, a Southland entrepreneur is raising the ire of law enforcement with an online, five-star rating system similar to those used for teachers.......here

Florida May See More Nuclear Plants

Florida's energy future, as envisioned by Gov. Charlie Crist and put forward in sweeping House and Senate energy bills, means more nuclear power plants and more power lines across state conservation lands. For environmental advocates it represents a trade-off. The earth-friendly ends are important enough that some are willing to swallow hard and accept the means to get there........here

Florida's Water Wars

Opening a new front in Florida's water wars, Orange County and St. Cloud are fighting with state officials over proposals to draw water from a trio of lakes in the ecologically sensitive Kissimmee River basin. The lakes that the two Central Florida governments are seeking to tap into help make up the headwaters for Florida's Everglades........here

Florida Rapper Riskay

Bartow, Fl rapper Riskay wrote one of the raunchiest, and funniest cheating songs of 2007. The tune is called, "Let Me Smell Yo Dick" and everybody from the New York Times to Perez Hilton caught wind of the song and wrote about it.........here

Freaky Florida

Flamingoes and giant plastic alligators, pirates and underwater dancing mermaids: Jo Roberts finds an intriguing, idiosyncratic patch of America. American crime novelist and poet James W. Hall calls Florida "the weirdest state in the union" in his book Hot Damn!, inspired by the state. After two visits to this most curious part of America, it's hard to disagree..........here

Florida Native Patrols Iraqi Capital

1st Lt. Sam Rosenberg, a native of Fort Myers, Fla., patrols through the now quiet western Baghdad neighborhood of Kadhamiyah April 2. Rosenberg serves as the platoon leader for 2nd Platoon, Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division..........here

New Tampa Museum of Art

The contract for the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park and the Tampa Museum of Art was approved by Tampa City Council on Thursday, April 3. Construction will begin soon on the projects and completion is scheduled for June 2009...........more

State Farm To Tampa Bay - No Thanks

State Farm Florida Insurance Company just sent a clear message to City of Tampa residents- “We will not write you a new Florida homeowners insurance policy, but we want to keep your auto policy and all your other Florida insurance business.”.......here