Betty Knowles is tired of lost possibilities and faded promise. As a social worker, Knowles often hears about children who start out bright but lose their way. Her son Tedric, or "Teddy," was like that, she said, gifted in math and foreign languages before ending up in a state prison. He died a few months after his release, in a drive-by shooting in Port Tampa that remains unsolved. ...more

December 13, 2007

Amy Gorman, author of "Aging Artfully: 12 Profiles of Visual and Performing Women Artists 85-105," will speak at the SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. ...more

November 29, 2007

Amy Gorman, author of "Aging Artfully: 12 Profiles of Visual and Performing Women Artists 85-105," will speak at the SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 6. She will show clips of filmmaker Greg Young's movie, "Still Kicking," based on her book. ...more

November 26, 2007

SEBRING — Florida ranked second in the nation with 51.1 percent of its public high schools showing excessive dropout rates, but no schools in Highlands or surrounding counties made the list of "Dropout Factories." The state's public high schools have some of the worst student retention rates in the country, with half qualifying as "Dropout Factories," four times the national average, according to a new analysis of U.S. Education Department data conducted by Johns Hopkins University. The term dropout factory, coined by Hopkins researcher Bob Balfanz, describes schools where no more than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. ...more

November 3, 2007

Residents of Featherock adult mobile home community enjoy plenty of recreational activities geared to active seniors age 55 and older. There's much more than shuffleboard and bingo going on, though. ...more

November 3, 2007

For nearly 22 months, police have said Sandra Prince was last seen alive on Dec. 30, 2005. ...more

October 27, 2007

TEMPLE TERRACE - For nearly 22 months, police have said Sandra Prince was last seen alive on Dec. 30, 2005. On Friday, police backed away from that date, saying it's not clear. ...more

October 26, 2007

Some Bay area people who lack medical insurance and don't know how they'll be able to afford health care can cross that bridge when they come to it. ...more

October 4, 2007

The Traverse program, co-founded by social worker Joseph Callan and horse stable owner Glenda Henderson, helps get emotionally troubled children back in the saddle. ...more

October 3, 2007

With a dozen college students ready to step on the tour bus, Evangeline Best laid out her life story for them - in sum. ...more

September 20, 2007