The Tampa Bay area should get one more day of fairly decent weather before a warm front moves in tonight, but a stormy Friday is expected with the arrival of a cold front. ...more

December 17, 2009

Forecasters see a possible break near the end of the weekend in the weather pattern we've been stuck with the past few weeks. You might even get your first real excuse to pull a coat from the closet by Sunday or Monday. ...more

December 17, 2009

Tampa police now have a clearer picture on how the cremated remains of a decorated World War II veteran and his wife wound up dumped behind a vacant Tampa college. ...more

December 17, 2009

Gov. Charlie Crist signed Florida's passenger rail bill into law Wednesday in ceremonies in Tampa and three other cities while delivering the message that new rail equals thousands of new jobs. More than 150 Tampa Bay area elected officials, business people and transportation advocates turned out at a vacant lot just south of the intersection of Interstate 275 and Interstate 4, where a high-speed rail station is planned for a proposed Tampa-to-Orlando route. The bill will improve the state's chances at winning federal stimulus money for the high-speed rail line that could be built by 2014. It also will jump-start the $1.2 billion SunRail project planned for Central Florida, create a new statewide rail authority and dedicate additional state money to Tri-Rail, South Florida's faltering commuter line. The high-speed project could provide as many as 15,000 construction jobs beginning in 2011 if the Obama administration approves the state's $2.5 billion high-speed rail bid, state officials said in its federal stimulus application. "Jobs, jobs, jobs is what it's really all about," Crist said. ...more

December 17, 2009

Gov. Charlie Crist signed Florida's passenger rail bill into law this morning in ceremonies in Tampa and three other cities while delivering the message that new rail equals thousands of new jobs. ...more

December 16, 2009

The Plant Panthers and Manatee Hurricanes are both deserving contenders for the 5A state football title. ...more

December 16, 2009

There I was, sitting at my workstation, minding my own business, when it hit me like a runaway train: a barrage of e-mails, phone calls, press releases, news stories, Facebook posts, blog entries, text messages and Twitter tweets, all revolving around the rally for mass transit improvements in Hillsborough County and beyond. ...more

December 16, 2009

The Academy of the Holy Names celebrated its annual Community Service Day on Nov. 18. There were 498 pupils who committed their time to benefit those less fortunate in 16 locations throughout the Tampa Bay area. ...more

December 16, 2009

Working as curriculum coordinator for 20 years in Indonesia, Rolande Poulin found one of the ways to bond with fellow Americans was to play softball. ...more

December 16, 2009

Things To Do lists interesting upcoming events. For more Tampa Bay area happenings, see this week's Friday Extra. ...more

December 16, 2009