A winery known for its quintessential Florida creations — blueberry, strawberry, key lime and mango wines — is worried it might go out of business if a critical rezoning doesn’t go through. Keel and Curley Winery opened in 2005 and added its own craft beer to the selections last fall. But some rural neighbors are […]
Continue ReadingWelcome to the Seventh Annual Tampa Bay Blueberry Festival
Hello and welcome to the Seventh Annual Tampa Bay Blueberry Festival. We love festival time, and we continue to work tirelessly to keep this an affordable, fun, safe, family event that is truly Florida. You may notice some slight changes at this year’s festival. Over the last year, Keel and Curley Winery grew tremendously. Improvements […]
Continue ReadingFAITH MATTERS: Have you heard the good news?
Dear friends in Christ: Allow me to ask you a very personal question: Have you ever celebrated Easter with Lazarus? Listen to these words of our Lord as recorded for us in John 11:44b: “Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” I love this story of Jesus raising Lazarus. I always picture […]
Continue ReadingTeacher accused of having sex with student faces Hillsborough charges, too
A 29-year-old Lakeland teacher accused of having sex with one of her 17-year-old students now also faces charges in Hillsborough County. Sheriff’s deputies say Jennifer Christine Fichter, a teacher at the Central Florida Aerospace Academy, had sex with a male student in her vehicle three times near Plant City, between Jan. 29 and April 8. She had […]
Continue ReadingPlant City man given 10 years in fatal hit-and-run
TAMPA — A Plant City man who ran over an 80-year-old pedestrian and left him to die last year entered guilty pleas in the hit-and-run case Wednesday and was given 10 years in prison. Ryan S. Pottinger, 30, was also sentenced to a decade of probation after state prison.Hillsborough County deputies said Pottinger was behind […]
Continue ReadingIn defense of the WLCA
Dear Editor: With respect to Don Marshall’s letter, “WLCA running low on mulligans,” in the March 27 edition: It’s always interesting with today’s “shoot-from-the-hip” mentality that critics come crawling out of the woodwork to slam the Walden Lake Community Association board. Even more interesting is that these folks generally have misinformation, feel they have better […]
Continue ReadingMY VIEW: More focus required on dental health
By Jamie McGrogan One year ago, 100 children from Bryan Elementary School had lots to smile about. The Suncoast Community Health Centers, dentists and volunteers had provided dental care to these children who needed it the most. Dental-health providers are taking a step back from political aspects of service by giving of their time and […]
Continue ReadingLESSONS FROM THE FIELD: Take time to hear life’s simple sounds
The morning is cool, and the sounds of the day begin. These are not the usual sounds of trucks, buses and the multiplicity of car horns barking, “MOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!” The sounds I am referring to are the ones that come from the agricultural building at the Florida Strawberry Festival fairgrounds. The roosters that awaken the […]
Continue ReadingDurant grad, a Marine veteran, among crash victims
Joe Vizcarrondo Sr. braced for it every day his son was overseas. He came to expect that the Marines would arrive one day bearing the news he feared most — that his son wasn’t coming home. For the five years Joe Vizcarrondo Jr. fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom, his father waited for that knock at […]
Continue ReadingFour killed in early-morning crash in Plant City
A head-on collision killed four people early Friday morning along State Road 60 in Plant City. It happened about 12:13 a.m. just east of Clarence Gordon Jr. Road. Rolando Silva, 31, of Plant City, was headed east at a high rate of speed in a 2006 BMW when he lost control of the car and […]
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