After meeting a 14-year-old Polk County girl on MySpace.com, a Fort Lauderdale man recently took her to motels four times and committed lewd acts during several of those encounters, Polk County deputies say. ...more

January 15, 2008

The long-running debate about what to do with private dirt roads in need of repair or maintenance in unincorporated Pasco County, which county commissioners plan to tackle once again, needs a jolt of common sense. ...more

January 13, 2008

The Seminole Tribe of Florida's agreement with Gov. Charlie Crist took effect Monday to allow Las Vegas-style slot machines and card games, such as blackjack, at Seminole establishments, including the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, an attorney for the tribe said Monday. ...more

January 8, 2008

The public is invited to a free one-man show by writer, director and performer Bob Devin Jones of St. Petersburg at 2 p.m. Sunday at Brandon Regional Library, 619 Vonderburg Drive. Jones will portray Harry T. Moore, generally considered the first civil rights martyr in America, the night before he was killed and his wife, Harriette, was fatally injured by a bomb exploding under the floor of their bedroom on Christmas Day 1951, in Mims. ...more

January 7, 2008

More than 200 people gathered at the South Tampa home of Rahul Mehra to celebrate Diwali Nights, which served as a kickoff party for the Kamla Project. ...more

January 2, 2008

SARASOTA - Lido Beach is the county's last refuge for those who like a smoke with their sand and sun, but it might not last much longer. ...more

December 23, 2007

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is suing to stop the federal government from approving an agreement between Gov. Charlie Crist and the Seminole Tribe that will allow expanded gambling at Indian casinos. ...more

December 21, 2007

Authorities announced Friday that they had arrested nine of 10 suspects this week in an anti-gang racketeering investigation. ...more

December 15, 2007

BUSINESS BRIEFS TAMPA BAY AREA Oxygen Companies Probed An investigation into 10 oxygen providers in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties has raised enough concerns to support further examination by state investigators, Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration said Friday. The preliminary investigation by AHCA and the office of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum centered on oxygen concentrators, equipment for patients with respiratory illnesses such as emphysema. The 12-member team of investigators found instances of billing for equipment that was never delivered to patients, the AHCA said. ...more

December 15, 2007