The smell of gun smoke downtown means it's Gasparilla time. On Tuesday, about 20 mock pirates kicked off the prelude to Saturday's main events when they arrived aboard a parade float - with guns echoing - to "abduct" the mayor and demand the city's surrender. There was tough talk from Mayor Pam Iorio: "We will put up a fight," she vowed, surrounded by the costumed sea wolves. Maybe, but no mayor has been able to resist the make-believe pirate invasion that comes Saturday. In fact, the mayor and marauders soon gave up even the pretense of conflict and went off together for lunch. ...more

January 23, 2008

Find Stella's Killer The evening of Nov. 9 was the worst of our lives. We came home to find our dog Stella shot to death on our property. She was not just a dog but a beloved family member full of life. ...more

January 3, 2008

Adrian Mata was driving a truck carrying several other men when an argument began late Saturday night that led to a shooting, Plant City police say. ...more

December 27, 2007

Find Stella's Killer The evening of Nov. 9 was the worst of our lives. We came home to find our dog Stella shot to death on our property. She was not just a dog but a beloved family member full of life. ...more

December 14, 2007

HOLIDAY - Deputies shot a man twice when he wouldn't show his hands after they responded to a fight Sunday night at Buena Vista Trailer Park, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. ...more

December 10, 2007

PORT ORANGE - Authorities are looking for a ninja they say helped other ninjas rob a man in his driveway. ...more

November 30, 2007

A federal list of mentally ill people barred from buying guns has doubled in size since the Virginia Tech shootings, and U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey encouraged more states Thursday to add information to the database. ...more

November 30, 2007

The number of crimes committed in Florida edged up slightly in the first half of 2007, bucking a yearslong trend of declining crime in the state, according to a report released Friday. ...more

November 4, 2007

TAMPA - News of a yearlong storefront sting operation that put nearly $2 million in stolen goods inside the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office's evidence rooms and impound lots has many theft victims "inundating" the agency with calls, Maj. Paul Davis said. ...more

November 2, 2007

LAKELAND - Shawn Newberry, the 18-year-old who had an arsenal of weaponry and was arrested on a school weapon charge, was charged with 26 counts of possession of child pornography today, police said. ...more

November 1, 2007