Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to a decisive victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night, notching a second straight triumph over a field of rivals suddenly struggling to keep pace. Published February 5, 2012
Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney cruised to a decisive victory in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night, notching a second straight triumph over a field of rivals suddenly struggling to keep pace. Published February 5, 2012
An urban planning professor would like to help Sarasota city commissioners solve their parking meter problem. Mostly, he'd advise them to take themselves out of the equation as soon as possible. How? Published February 5, 2012
Citizens groups, smart-growth advocates and Tea Partiers are concerned the qualification rules for a new, green-business economic incentive program are so lax that just about any business could slap a solar panel on the roof and get hundreds of thousands in taxpayer money. Published February 5, 2012
The clans are gathering, and they are well armed. Few know more about Scotland's martial history than Gregg MacKendrick, a proud member of Clan Henderson. Published February 5, 2012
Marcus Denmon hit three 3- pointers in the final 2:05, the last for the go-ahead points, as No. 4 Missouri fought off No. 8 Kansas 74-71 in Game 1 of what could be the schools' final border showdown on Saturday night. Published February 4, 2012
There was a single mother who loved to dance, in the car with a boyfriend who had moved from Virginia to be with her. A pastor and members of his family, originally from Brazil, returning home to Georgia from an Orlando church retreat. A father, his wife and his daughter headed south from the Panhandle for a family funeral. A young man coming home... Published February 4, 2012
Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves, and Evgeni Malkin had a power-play goal to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Boston Bruins 2-1 Saturday, their ninth win in 10 games. Matt Cooke had the other goal for the Penguins, who rebounded from a 1-0 loss at Toronto on Wednesday that ended a season-high eight-game winning streak. Published February 4, 2012
Dottie Dickinson showed how she could transform a casual look into a more formal one fit for an evening out as she threw on a black sequined jacket over a classic black scoop-neck dress. Dickinson and other models turned heads Jan. 28 at the Sarasota Alumnae of Delta Gamma 18th Annual Rays of Light, Service for Sight luncheon. Published February 4, 2012
A country crooner crossing over to gospel and a keynote speaker whose message resonates worldwide mark the biggest changes as Bill Bailey presents his 2012 Winter Gospel Music Convention. Published February 4, 2012
In the strangest wrinkle yet in a legal drama that pits the state of Florida and a car crash victim against a polo-obsessed Houston millionaire, the girlfriend of John Goodman is now his daughter. Published February 4, 2012
On a stormy August night in 1991, a gloved intruder cut the outside phone line of a stilt home along a private grassy airstrip in the Upper Keys. Next, he climbed a ladder to the second-floor balcony and entered through the sliding glass door of the new nursery. Published February 4, 2012
The Charlotte High wrestling team won its seventh consecutive district title, collecting 267 points Saturday to take the Class 2A-District 11 championship. Venice High finished second with 1941/2 points and Palmetto was third with 124. Published February 4, 2012
Trailing Southeast High entering the consolations and finals, the Lemon Bay High wrestling team knew the task at hand: beat the Seminoles in the head-to-head meetings. Published February 4, 2012
SARASOTA -- As he ponders his next move, Coach Gerald Perry glides his beefy fingers over the scar, a fleshy fishhook sweeping down his left cheek and lower jaw. "Same play," he shouts. The 13- and 14-year-old boys on Perry's undefeated football team, the Cherokee, obey. Published February 4, 2012
The North Port Bobcats overwhelmed the rest of the competition Saturday night at the Class 3A-District 8 wrestling tournament held at Manatee High. Published February 4, 2012
Dwight Howard had 27 points and eight rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to an 85-81 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Danny Granger had 19 points and seven rebounds and Tyler Hansbrough had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who have lost two of three to the Magic in less than two weeks. Published February 4, 2012
Okaro White says he does not mind being Florida State's sixth man. Florida State's rail-thin 6- foot-8 sophomore came off the bench Saturday, scored 13 points and helped slow down Virginia star Mike Scott to spark the 21st-ranked Seminoles to a 58-55 victory. Published February 4, 2012
COLLEGE FOOTBALL Mountaineers send FSU scrambling TALLAHASSEE -- West Virginia has decided to cancel its Sept. 8 football game at Florida State. School officials informed Florida State late Friday they would pay a $350,000 escape fee to shelve the trip. Published February 4, 2012
Newt Gingrich's campaign remains roughly $600,000 in debt, two months after it reported deep debts and a long list of creditors, newly released campaign spending records show. Published February 4, 2012
Martin St. Louis scored three times in his 900th NHL game, Steven Stamkos added his league-leading 34th goal and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 6-3 on Saturday night. Published February 4, 2012
Just more than a month before the first exhibition games are played, Marlins Park is taking the pivotal step from building to ball field. Published February 4, 2012
After high-octane campaigns in the first four states with primaries and caucuses this year, the Republican contest this week in Nevada seemed to be a snoozer. But that's not likely to be the case come November. Published February 4, 2012
Florida's exceptionally negative and expensive GOP presidential primary could soon give way to an even nastier general election, with experts predicting Category 5-level ad wars. Published February 4, 2012
Brazilians tired of answering their boss's after-hours emails may be able to charge overtime based on a law businesses see hurting competitiveness in Latin America's largest economy. Using portable communications devices is equivalent to working in the office, according to legislation signed by President Dilma Rousseff last month. Published February 4, 2012
Facebook's billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls himself a "hacker." For most people, that word means something malicious -- shady criminals who listen in on private voicemails, or anonymous villains who cripple websites and break into email accounts. Published February 4, 2012
SARASOTA This Giant is acutely aware of the enormous stage he is about to ascend. "It's a huge game," David Baas said, "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I want to make the most of it." Published February 4, 2012
The coaches, Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin, again will have an Xs-and-Os duel. The quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Eli Manning, once more will battle for passing supremacy. It will be a highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch when the New England Patriots and New York Giants square off today at Lucas Oil Stadium. Published February 4, 2012
Between errant passes and rushed shots, it was clear early on that No. 25 Vanderbilt had no answer for Florida's press. The Commodores turned the ball over 17 times, most of them against trapping double teams, and lost 73-65 at No. 12 Florida on Saturday. Published February 4, 2012
Just tell them what they want to hear. It's a surefire strategy in most cases, and we can see how it was used to perfection in the Sarasota County Commission's dealings with the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. Published February 4, 2012
Curtis Martin has gone from the mean streets of Pittsburgh to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The star running back with the Patriots and Jets for 11 seasons was one of six players elected Saturday to the shrine. Martin once disliked playing the game, but used it to escape a neighborhood where his grandmother was murdered. Published February 4, 2012
Florida prosecutors can continue to convict DUI drivers using alcohol breath-test results from the Intoxilyzer 8000, even though a crucial part of the machine might be producing impossible results, a panel of judges has ruled. Published February 4, 2012
Jarell Eddie scored 15 points and Dorian Finney-Smith snapped out of a six-game shooting skid and added 12 points on Saturday, and Virginia Tech squandered almost all of a big second-half lead and hung on to beat Clemson 67-65. Published February 4, 2012
On a summer night not long ago, Maureen White sat alone in her living room staring at a DVD she had avoided watching for years. Published February 4, 2012
Serena Williams returned to Fed Cup play on Saturday, giving the United States a strong lineup for its Fed Cup match against Belarus. That lineup became more imposing when world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka was sidelined by a lower back injury. Published February 4, 2012
You don't have to head to a sports bar or stay home and hold down the couch fot today's Big Game. Several local bowling centers are dishing out the food, and serving up the game on a monster TV along with prizes and drink specials. Published February 4, 2012
Spencer Levin remained in control in the Phoenix Open in front of the largest crowd in tournament history, shooting a 3-under 68 on Saturday to take a six-stroke lead into the final round. The crowd of 173,210 in perfect conditions at TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course broke the record of 170,802 set in the third round in 2008. Published February 4, 2012
A U.N. Security Council effort to end the violence in Syria ended in acrimony and a veto by Russia and China on Saturday, hours after the Syrian military attacked the ravaged city of Homs in what opposition leaders described as the bloodiest government assault in the nearly 11-month-old uprising. Published February 4, 2012
Distant as it may now seem, with the Republican race dominating the news and President Barack Obama sitting in the White House, the Democrats are not all that far from the tumult of another nominating contest themselves. Published February 4, 2012
It has become something of a cliché to say that violinist Joshua Bell is unfair to critics. His skill and musicianship are so near to perfection that one is left with only superlatives to apply in reviewing his performances. Published February 4, 2012
This is the University of Washington's math: 18 percent of its freshmen come from abroad, most from China. Each pays tuition of $28,059, about three times as much as students from Washington state. And that, according to the dean of admissions, is how low-income Washingtonians -- more than a quarter of the class -- get a free ride. Published February 4, 2012
A stretch of Interstate 70 reopened Saturday, after near-zero visibility had forced officials to close all 160 miles of the westbound lanes between the Kansas state line and metro Denver and a 70-mile stretch of eastbound lanes from metro Denver to the plains town of Limon. Published February 4, 2012
Florida has a 6 percent tax on goods bought from out-of-state retailers — with no "physical presence" in the state — via the Internet or mail. Few Floridians are even aware of the tax, and even fewer pay it because the state allows its residents to make such purchases under the honor system. Published February 3, 2012
Public safety gap on sex offenders The sex offender with a prior history of a violent sexual offense who was charged with capital sexual battery on a 3-year-old ("Girl Met 'Monster,' Police Say"; Jan. 27) reveals several disturbing realities in Florida's approach to sex offenders. Published February 3, 2012
Mitt Romney has had a rough time explaining how he would maintain a social safety net for the poor. His recent remarks have suggested callousness. But amid the kerfuffle, he offered one good idea: Specifically, he told The Associated Press that he backs indexing the federal minimum wage to inflation, just as he did when running for governor of... Published February 3, 2012
Public safety gap on sex offenders The sex offender with a prior history of a violent sexual offense who was charged with capital sexual battery on a 3-year-old ("Girl Met 'Monster,' Police Say"; Jan. 27) reveals several disturbing realities in Florida's approach to sex offenders. Published February 3, 2012
Robert Marbut, a researcher with real-world experience in helping communities alleviate chronic homelessness, was in Bradenton last week. He was invited by the Community Coalition on Homelessness to participate in a public forum, share his expertise and recommend ideas. Published February 3, 2012
Robert Marbut, a researcher with real-world experience in helping communities alleviate chronic homelessness, was in Bradenton last week. He was invited by the Community Coalition on Homelessness to participate in a public forum, share his expertise and recommend ideas. Published February 3, 2012
LOS ANGELES The worst day of Sugar Bear's 55 years was one of the days — there have been many of them — when he got out of prison. In the early 1990s, in a prison where persons whose sentences have ended and are being released, and who see those whose sentences are just beginning, he saw one of his sons coming in. Published February 3, 2012
LOS ANGELES The worst day of Sugar Bear's 55 years was one of the days -- there have been many of them -- when he got out of prison. In the early 1990s, in a prison where persons whose sentences have ended and are being released, and who see those whose sentences are just beginning, he saw one of his sons coming in. Published February 3, 2012
If you're an American down on your luck, Mitt Romney has a message for you: He doesn't feel your pain. Last week, Romney told a startled CNN interviewer, "I'm not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there." Published February 3, 2012
Dear Mr. John Goodman: Do you need help finding more children to adopt? If so, I can help. I figured you needed a hand after learning that you adopted your 42-year-old girlfriend, Heather Laruso Hutchins, as your legal daughter. Published February 3, 2012
The comedy troupe Firesign Theatre got its start doing live radio programs in Los Angeles, but made its national reputation with a series of comedy albums that built a cult following in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Published February 3, 2012
Writing a cookbook based on Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" trilogy while living in Los Angeles proved challenging for author Emily Ansara Baines. Exactly where might one find beaver fillets? Or squirrel meat? Or groosling? Published February 3, 2012
Her tenure as a professional on "Dancing With the Stars" may have earned her headliner status in the current touring production of "Forever Tango," but Anna Trebunskaya is clear about one thing: When it comes to Argentine tango, she's the student, not the expert. Published February 3, 2012
It looks like Newt Gingrich is going to fall short in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, which is too bad because I was really looking forward to living on the moon. Published February 3, 2012
Vincent van Gogh was shaken but also calmed by nature. The natural landscape inspired some of his most implacably innovative paintings, roiled of surface, ablaze with color and steeped in feeling. They are blunt, irresistible instruments for seeing. Published February 3, 2012
In many a production of the opera "Carmen," just when the female lead should be commanding center stage, professional dancers take to the floor to perform a percussive flamenco dance with dramatic flair. That has never felt quite right to Martha Collins, stage director for the Sarasota Opera's production of "Carmen" that opens next weekend. Published February 3, 2012
In most communities, marking the 30th anniversary of an artistic director's tenure might be seen as an exceptional milestone. It is certainly the exception, not the rule, in a field where turnover is often frequent as artistic tastes and relationships with audiences and board members can quickly shift. Published February 3, 2012
Editor's note: Allegra McEvedy is a chef, writer and broadcaster. Her latest collection of stories and recipes is "Bought, Borrowed & Stolen: Recipes & Knives From a Travelling Chef" (Conran Octopus, 2011). Published February 3, 2012
Dear Annie: My husband's sister is impossible. "Anabel" is bitter, nasty, venal, snide and vicious. She can't wait two minutes before making a cruel remark. Soon after my husband and I moved back to his hometown, he had a stroke at 52. He's recovering, thankfully. The first person I notified was Anabel. She came to the hospital and put on a great... Published February 3, 2012
I've been waiting since August for Monday night, when NBC belatedly premieres the year's most promising and engaging new series, "Smash." Published February 3, 2012
I've been waiting since August for Monday night, when NBC belatedly premieres the year's most promising and engaging new series, "Smash." Published February 3, 2012
It looks like Newt Gingrich is going to fall short in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, which is too bad because I was really looking forward to living on the moon. Published February 3, 2012
One of the two homes on this year's Jewels on the Bay Designer Showhouse tour has an ecclesiastical past, as well as the treasured family history of the Rev. Fred Robinson and his wife, Linda. Published February 2, 2012
Los Angeles Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he also moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate. The All-Star bought and closed on the Bel-Air home of singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne for $8.495 million a month after coming to Los Angeles. Published February 2, 2012
Q:I have read the subject section in Chapter 720, Florida Statutes (Florida's HOA law), and understand the requirement for an HOA to respond within 10 days of receipt of a written request to view or copy association official records. If the documents are not made available for inspection, I understand a penalty of $50 per day is imposed beginning... Published February 2, 2012
Tribune Media Services We received another typical email recently from a homeowner frustrated with the runaround her lender has given her over her troubled mortgage. Published February 2, 2012
Q:President Barack Obama obviously lives in the White House, but who actually owns it? Does he have to pay rent? Also, where do all of his Republican challengers live? Published February 2, 2012
Dear Dr. Donohue: I am 76. At 62, I was diagnosed with inclusion body myositis, a rare disease. There's no treatment. After 14 years, my legs and arms look like those of a Holocaust survivor. I use a wheelchair. Please write about this. -- G.Q. Published February 1, 2012