Singer-guitarist Steven Page has left the Barenaked Ladies. ...more

February 26, 2009

Pinellas sheriff's detectives identified the man who died in a mobile home fire Saturday despite a neighbor's attempt at rescue as Byron Companion, 44. ...more

February 17, 2009

One person has died in a Lealman fire this morning, according to Traffic.com ...more

February 14, 2009

It's not because I'm single and unattached that Valentine's Day fills me with a kind of internal cringing normally reserved for the sound of nails dragging down a chalkboard. It's not sour grapes or cynicism gone amuck. It's simply that Valentine's Day is, and nearly always has been, a crass, "What the heck am I going to get him or her" competition, that devalues spontaneity, simplicity, romance and - I'm pulling out the big guns here - most of all, love. ...more

February 14, 2009

A man in his mid-20s pretended to be a police officer and robbed a Bradenton man Friday, Bradenton police say. ...more

February 10, 2009

Jeffrey Porter chased his roommate with a pair of scissors and stabbed him twice in the back Sunday, Tampa police say. ...more

February 9, 2009

Lisa Ann Houghtalin pulled her mother's hair, kicked her in the stomach, choked her and threw a coffee cup into a 52-inch television, causing $1,200 damage Wednesday afternoon, Hillsborough County deputies say. ...more

February 5, 2009

During the eight year span I've been safekeeping my father while he fights his way through Alzheimer's, we experienced what could be the worst excursion of our campaign. ...more

January 29, 2009

An argument over butter and pancake syrup led a woman to throw a wooden vase at her roommate, Hillsborough County deputies say. ...more

January 26, 2009

I love to cook. If my brothers were to remember our childhood, my current cooking skill might come as a shock to them. During my mom's last two pregnancies, I was often asked to cook, as she never felt very well when in the "family way." It seems two of my younger brothers asked Mother, "Can't you teach Rosie how to cook something besides hamburgers and chocolate chip cookies?" At the age of 12, I hadn't yet learned that variety is the spice of life, and that it works well in cooking, too. There were no peas, no carrots, and no salad in my meals - just meat and cookies. At my brothers' request, Mom taught me how to prepare pork chops. I then served pork chops and chocolate chip cookies at every opportunity. I still love pork chops Mom's way - thin, bone-in, floured with garlic and onion powders added, and fried. However, I only eat them occasionally now, instead of at every meal as I wanted to then. ...more

January 21, 2009