One of the state's most progressive initiatives is the Florida Resident Access Grant. The appropriately named program helps Floridians attend the state's 28 nonprofit independent universities and colleges, which are traditionally more expensive than public schools of higher learning. ...more

January 23, 2009

Tampa has gotten the federal OK to spend $13.6 million to buy foreclosed and abandoned properties. ...more

January 21, 2009

Tampa has gotten the federal OK to spend $13.6 million to buy foreclosed and abandoned properties. The funding will come from the city's share of the $3.9 billion Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a response to escalating foreclosures nationwide. The stabilization program is overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. ...more

January 20, 2009

The state reached a settlement with troubled Tampa Bay Academy that allows its mental health center to admit children if it pays a $50,000 fine and meets every standard set by regulators. ...more

January 16, 2009

Verenium Corporation announced Thursday it will construct the world's first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Highlands County, in cooperation with Lykes Brothers supplying the biomass. ...more

January 15, 2009

The man who jumped from a second-story balcony in December to escape a Clearwater condominium fire is now accused of setting it. Gerald Parks, 60, was arrested Friday on a charge of arson. ...more

January 12, 2009

State officials say a Palm Beach County man's legs had to be amputated after being run over by a boat while diving near a popular Martin County park. ...more

January 11, 2009

An underground plume of industrial chemicals in the Azalea area of St. Petersburg has spread farther than previously thought and is contaminating the air inside homes, according to new filings in a federal class-action lawsuit. ...more

January 9, 2009

University of South Florida junior defensive end George Selvie didn't hear what he expected from the NFL Draft Advisory Committee, so he will return to USF for his senior season. ...more

January 7, 2009

Three years ago, the Department of Children & Families found many of the same problems at the Tampa Bay Academy that other state regulators found this month: inadequate staffing, abuse complaints and an alleged sexual assault. ...more

December 30, 2008