Criminal background checks on many caregivers for children, the elderly and disabled are being delayed because Florida isn't taking full advantage of electronic fingerprinting, state officials said Thursday. ...more

October 24, 2009

Five teenagers have been charged after authorities say they doused a 15-year-old with rubbing alcohol and set him on fire because he stopped someone from stealing his father's bicycle a day earlier. ...more

October 13, 2009

Pasta is nutritious, easy to make and satisfies vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. There's a growing demand for beneficial whole-grain and whole-wheat pastas. There's also quinoa, spelt, corn and rice flour noodles, great wheat-free options. ...more

March 28, 2009

Surging demand for turtle meat in southeast Asia has prompted a huge jump in turtle harvesting, leading to concerns that populations of the reptiles could suffer permanent damage. ...more

March 27, 2009

A Pinellas County activist said Tuesday that he is filing an ethics complaint against Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp over the cost to the state of flying and driving Kottkamp between his Fort Myers home and Tallahassee. ...more

February 24, 2009

Florida's constitution doesn't provide Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp with much to do. Neither does his schedule on some days, according to a newspaper's analysis of his first 22 months in office. ...more

February 15, 2009

Florida's constitution doesn't provide Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp with much to do. Neither does his schedule on some days, according to a newspaper's analysis of his first 22 months in office. ...more

February 14, 2009

Sen. JD Alexander said it's time to slash the number of state planes from two to one. ...more

February 9, 2009

Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp said he would reimburse the state $12,974 for flights his wife and son took aboard state planes. ...more

February 9, 2009

The calls were always the same: telemarketers claiming he'd promised $20 to a Florida charity. Coral Springs resident Jerry Mayer didn't remember pledging money. He told the callers they were wrong. He had an illness in his family. He just wanted to be left alone. But the phone kept ringing at least once a week until he mailed a check, he said. ...more

February 1, 2009