It didn't take long for the Tampa Convention Center's parking garage to fill as supporters of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin filled downtown to hear the vice presidential candidate talk. ...more

October 26, 2008

For the second day in a row, voters across the Tampa Bay area are lining up outside polling stations in record numbers to cast ballots for the Nov. 4 election. ...more

October 21, 2008

PLANT CITY About 500 mourners gathered Thursday at a Plant City church to say goodbye and honor the memory of a teenager whose life ended with an accidental shooting at a party. ...more

October 10, 2008

Some food vendors feel under assault from city zoning rules that are forcing mobile cart shutdowns. ...more

October 8, 2008

Germaine Gibbs put her best smile forward, held up a tray of makeup and posed for the camera. ...more

August 14, 2008

Rockstar Fridays at Stumps Supper Club takes karaoke to the next level with a live band. ...more

August 7, 2008

Not long after I started at the Tribune in 2002, I found myself interviewing a hearing-impaired banjo player. ...more

July 10, 2008

The news is bad all over. And if you're in the newspaper industry, you're not just reporting about it. You're living it. ...more

July 5, 2008

A middle of the night conference call brought a flood of emotions for a Bay area family waiting nearly 5 1/2 years to hear the voice of a loved one held captive in the jungles of Colombia. ...more

July 3, 2008

The walk the school district has suggested children take down Cain Road to the bus stop is long, narrow and flanked by drainage ditches. Neighbors in the Woodmont community off Gunn Highway are fighting the proposal, which is part of a broader plan the district has to reduce the number of bus stops countywide. The Hillsborough County school district is starting the second year of sweeping transportation changes designed to make the busing system more efficient. Officials introduced new bus routes and bus stops last year to southern Hillsborough. This year, they are looking at south and central Tampa and northwestern Hillsborough. John Franklin, general director of transportation, said the district has too many stops. The district wants eventually to have "universal" bus stops, where the bus goes to one location for elementary, middle, high school or school choice pickups. More than 90,000 children ride district buses daily. Franklin met with parents at Sickles, Chamberlain and Farnell recently to give an overview of the plan and let them find out if their children's stops would change. Barbara Boler, who has a son in middle school, didn't expect any surprises but learned her neighborhood would lose its four elementary and three middle and high school stops for one new stop at the corner of Gunn Highway and Cain Road. Her discovery wound up mobilizing neighbors who are afraid the new stop will endanger their children. They invited Franklin to come to see for himself, and he met with about a dozen parents in Woodmont Wednesday morning. ...more

June 4, 2008