So here's Marty Schroth, 178 miles from home - make that Homestead. That's where, years ago, he met John Clark, just sitting on a barstool. ...more

October 4, 2008

Here's the deal, says Jeri Wohl. Buy a chair for $100. Then paint it yourself, or get an artist to do it. ...more

September 15, 2008

Chen Tiezhong will likely spend the Fourth of July worrying about the future of his sprawling fireworks factory. China, where fireworks were invented, is running short of ports from which to ship the dangerous cargoes abroad. ...more

July 1, 2008

Blackwater Worldwide, the security contractor blamed by an angry Iraqi government for the shooting deaths of 17 civilians, is not expected to face criminal charges - all but ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to protect U.S. diplomats. ...more

May 10, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Downtown was crowded, usually so for a Saturday morning. Going west on Interlake, half the parking spaces were filled for a few blocks, but closer to Main Avenue, they were all full and people were walking toward DeVane Circle. It's the Lake Placid Arts and Crafts Country Fair, and by 9 a.m., thousands were already gathered to check out the Panama hats, jewelry, wooden parrots on perches, and wooden walking sticks with birds for handles. ...more

February 2, 2008

After more than a year of setbacks that saw a proposed monument for war veterans lose its preferred location and then its high-profile artist, a committee dedicated to the project said it will again gain momentum in 2008. ...more

December 26, 2007

SEBRING — If there's a word to describe what Geno Beuth does, it must be whimsy. Yes, it's the same sort of whimsy that created the now-famous portrait of the dogs smoking and shooting pool, but nevertheless, virtually everyone on Saturday who passed by Beuth's booth at the 41st annual Fine Arts & Crafts Festival stopped, looked and reacted. "I like the frog," one observed. That's called "Leap Frog," and it's of a mutt, tongue hanging out of a silly grin, hitting a frog's back in full stride, and jumping over it. ...more

November 11, 2007

On Feb. 7, a sniper employed by Blackwater USA, the private security company, opened fire from the roof of the Iraqi Justice Ministry. The bullet tore through the head of a 23-year-old guard for the state-funded Iraqi Media Network, who was standing on a balcony across an open traffic circle. ...more

November 8, 2007

Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to pay $8 million in compensation to families of each of the 17 people killed when its guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy machine gun fire last month. ...more

October 9, 2007

SAFETY HARBOR — Safety Harbor is not ready for a traffic circle. Some residents in the neighborhood where Philippe Parkway, Church Street and First Avenue North almost meet asked the city to connect the various intersections with a traffic circle. ...more

October 3, 2007