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Recently in the St. Petersburg Times
For interactive graphics, slide shows and video see our multimedia reports
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 Against the wind
and tide
Six paddlers embark on a three-day 156 mile kayak trek on Florida’s Indian River Lagoon. [1/16/07] |
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 Dim view from a crowded jail
How bad is the Pinellas County Jail's overcrowding? A Times reporter spends 48 hours there to see for himself. [1/14/07] |
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 2006: Year in review
By the end of 2006, the architect of the Iraq war had lost his job and even President Bush couldn't help but include Vietnam in the same sentence with Iraq. There were pleasant distractions from the grim realities: Florida basketball and football to name two. But is that really grouper? [12/19/06] |
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 BCS Title Game
It's do or die in the desert for Florida and Ohio State on Jan. 8. Florida faces Ohio State for the national title after passing Michigan in the BCS standings. Check out our special coverage, photo galleries and polls. [12/19/06] |
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 Vanishing wetlands
Florida has more wetlands than any other state but Alaska. They stop floods, clean up water pollution, and replenish drinking supplies. Yet despite government promises they are disappearing.
[12/17/06] |
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 Lobbying Under Disguise
To make their voices louder in Washington, corporations and trade associations pay "watchdog" groups and columnists
to spread their messages. But readers and viewers aren't told. [12/11/06] |
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 Ninth or never
For 40,000 kids in Florida every year, ninth grade is where it all falls apart. No other grade offers such an honest view into what schools are really like, and by extension, so brutally forces us to confront the flip side: How we raise our kids. [12/10/06] |
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 Housing prices: Bay's home boom suddenly bellyup
Year to year, overall housing prices in the Tampa Bay area still show small increases. But don't be fooled. With interactive maps[11/19/06] |
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 Brooksville: 150 Years
The Times talked to some longtime Brooksville residents to mark the town's 150th anniversary. This is their story, in their words. [10/13/06] |
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 The Insurance crisis
The cost of homeowners insurance in Florida has become prohibitive. Here is an archive of the Times' ongoing coverage of the issue. [10/6/06] |
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 Deal me in
Enterprise Florida is a public-private partnership that helps determine where incentive money gets spent to create jobs in the state. Sometimes, board members' companies reap the benefits. [8/27/06] |
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 Republican vs. Republican: A cellular division
Mutiny. Blackmail. Adorable children. The drama behind the bill to expand federal funding for stem cell research. It's a story of how Washington works.
Part I | Part II | Multimedia [8/13/06] |
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 The Grouper Catch
It's getting harder to get the gulf's signature fish on your plate. The long-liners and the little guy face off in the politics of overfishing. That grouper sandwich you ordered? Well, it might not be. [8/6/06] |
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 The Church of Scientology
Coverage of the Church of Scientology including the special report that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for national reporting. [7/25/06] |
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 Jessica Lunsford Tragedy
The coverage of the murder trial of John Couey, who is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford in February 2005.
[7/10/06] |
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 2006 World Cup coverage
World championship of men's soccer is held every four years. Hundreds of thousands of fans from across the globe descended on Germany to help kick off arguably the world's most popular sports event with a show of solidarity. [6/7/06] |
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 2006 Hurricane Guide
Don't wait until the last minute to learn your evacuation level, create a plan and prepare hurricane supplies. [5/22/06] |
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 Toxic indifference
In 1991, two Hernando County employees sounded the alarm: The county's public works compound was an environmental time bomb. [4/9/06] |
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 2006 NCAA Tournaments
They'll hang a brand new banner in the O'Connell Center soon proclaiming history at the University of Florida It will read: "Florida: 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions." [4/3/06] |
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 Your neighbor's tax bill
Florida's property tax cap has created gaping disparities in what neighbors pay in property taxes. The cap is so valuable, some people can't afford to move because they would lose their tax discount. Now some lawmakers want to change the rules so you could take your tax break with you if you buy a new home. [3/26/06] |
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 2006 Winter Olympics
News, updates, and sounds from the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, updated daily. [2/17/06] |
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 Epiphany 1906 -2006
Tarpon Springs' 100th annual Epiphany celebration, commemorating the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan. This year's celebration was highlighted by the Diving for the Cross, presided over by His All Holiness Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. [1/6/06] |
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 2005: Year in review
As we head into 2006, take a few moments to reflect on the tumultuous year that was 2005. We have compiled the most compelling stories and images from around the corner and around the world.
[12/25/05] |
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 Mama, I'm a big girl now
Imagine the thrill of suddenly getting the one thing you have always wanted most in life. It happened to Michelle Dowdy, who graduated straight from high school to the New York stage. But was she ready? A six-part series.
[12/4/05] |
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 The hard road
Inside the Jennifer Porter hit-and-run case. A five-part series.
[10/13/05] |
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 A killer within
Times staffer Barry Bradley inspired countless readers with frank and insightful stories about his battle with lung cancer. |
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 In Their Eyes:
Stories of Hurricane Katrina
Photos brought home the suffering caused when Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast. Let our photographers tell the story as they saw it.
[10/6/05] |
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Medicare
 If nothing else, Congress has created a raft of new choices for people on Medicare. Here are step-by-step recommendations to help you navigate the new drug maze.
[10/30/05] |
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 Hurricane Wilma
Coverage from the Times
[9/21/05] |
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Mary and Jim to the end
 Before Jim Morrison became famous with the Doors, he and Mary Werbelow were soul mates. In the never-ending procession of Morrison biographies, she is mentioned briefly but never quoted. Google her, and not a single photo appears. She has never spoken publicly about their three years together - until now.
[9/25/05] |
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 Hurricane Rita
Coverage from the Times
[9/21/05] |
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 Hurricane Katrina
Coverage from the Times
[9/1/05] |
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Capitalist China
 China's capitalist revolution is about more than cheap goods and labor. A tantalizing promise of wealth has created a freewheeling spirit and eager entrepreneurs. A special three-part series.
[9/18/05]
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Remembering WWII
 For six long years, 1939-’45, few people could escape the effects of a world at war. A generation was tested as perhaps none had been tested before. The impact would be felt for decades. This year, the 60th anniversary of the war’s end, we look back to pay tribute to those involved and to learn from its enduring lessons.
[8/28/05]
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Home schooling:
It's not what you think
 Yearbook, drama lessons, field trips, even classes at public school. Homeschooling gets a new look from a generation craving more time with their kids.
[6/26/05] |
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A day in the life of Fort DeSoto Park
 Stephen Leatherman, better known as "Dr. Beach," last month put Fort DeSoto Park's North Beach at the top of his annual list of America's best beaches. See Don Morris' sketches transform into video.
[6/3/05] |
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Vanishing wetlands
Despite a presidential policy of "no net loss," Florida has lost at least 84,000 acres of wetlands in the past 15 years. How hard is it to get permission to destroy these "protected" areas? Just ask.
[5/22/05] |
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 A pipeline to promise, or a pipeline to peril
The United States is betting the future of energy lies in the hard-to-reach Caspian Sea. With the $3.6 billion pipeline about to open it remains to be seen if the investment will show a return. [5/15/05] |
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 Risky business
Incentives - good or bad business: The state uses millions in tax dollars to help certain companies create jobs. But does that strategy pay off for taxpayers? [4/10/05]
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 Terri Schiavo:
A long, public death
Before the prayer warriors massed outside her window, before gavels pounded in six courts, before the Vatican issued a statement, before the president signed a midnight law and the Supreme Court turned its head, Terri Schiavo was an ordinary girl. [11/13/02 -- 4/20/05]
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Crime & society
 The innocence defence In January 2003, Rudolph Holton walked away from death row. This is why he spent 16 years there: Tampa police never pursued a suspect accused of raping the murder victim. A jailhouse snitch said Holton confessed, though later he said he made it up to get a break in his own case. The prosecutor told the jury a hair found on the victim was Holton's, but he couldn't prove it. The judge refused to wait for a key defense witness. To set Holton free, it would take a lawyer who was too young and too reckless to know what she was up against. [6/6/03]
 Murder at locker
02-069 The story of one of America's first school shooters, a brilliant loner, and what he has become in the 23 years since. It's also a story of what we have become. [2/11/01]
 The Valessa Robinson Case A Tampa teenager is going on trial, accused of killing her mother. What happened in this case in which so little seems to make sense? [4/9/00]
 U.S. vs. Them Since President Richard Nixon declared the "war on drugs" 30 years ago, the United States has vowed that no ground will be surrendered in its efforts to crush the $400-billion-a-year global industry in illicit drugs. A three-part series by Times senior correspondent Susan Taylor Martin. [7/29/01]
 The Rev. Henry Lyons saga The leader of the National Baptist Convention (NBC), America’s largest black Baptist church group, saw his troubles begin in July 1997 with arson at a home he is alleged to own with a woman other than his wife. From the beginning, the St. Petersburg Times has reported on the Lyons case, which is chronicled in this comprehensive archive of stories. [6/8/97 -- 9/28/02]
 Under 12, Under Arrest A two-part series examines what may be Florida's next big challenge in juvenile crime: Grade school kids in the system. [12/17/00]
 Angels & Demons (1998 Pulitzer Winner) On June 4, 1989, the bodies of Jo, Michelle and Christe were found floating in Tampa Bay. This is the story of the murders and their aftermath, a story of a handful of people who kept faith amid the unthinkable. [10/26 -- 11/9/97]
Consumer issues
 Soaring home prices
As an investment over the past five years, you couldn't have done much better than bay area real estate, where values have skyrocketed. [2/15/04]
 Deadly Combination: Ford, Firestone and Florida --The Times looks at the effect of last year’s Ford Explorer and Firestone tire problems on Florida. [5/20/01]
 It could happen to you Although Hurricane Andrew exposed the vulnerability of gable roofs, many homes outside South Florida still don't meet wind-load standards. [6/27/99]
 The poison in your back yard Arsenic is in the pressure-treated wood used to build decks, docks, gazebos and children's play sets. With evidence mounting that the poison can leak out, some people ask: Is it time to switch to a safer alternative? [3/13/01 -- 2/8/03]
 Fading Privacy For each generation, it seems privacy -- what it is and how much we want -- is a moving target. A special series from the business news staff of the Times. [5/13/01]
 28 Seconds: The Mystery of USAir Flight 427 An investigative report of the final moments of USAir Flight 427, which crashed outside of Pittsburgh, along with the passengers on the flight and their families left behind. [4/4/99]
International reports
 Korea:
The Forgotten War
On the 50th anniversary of the war's end, we look at why and how the war was waged and the effect it had on the United States, on our communities and on many of the tens of thousands Korean War veterans who live in the Tampa Bay area. [7/20/03]
 Return to the Killing Fields Palm Harbor resident Sophie Stagg returned to the homeland she had not seen since she was a child. In a two-part series, we tell the story of her efforts to help Cambodia's struggling people. [10/8/00]
 Una Vida Mejor: A better life A handful of women from a windblown village in Mexico set out for a better life - una vida mejor -on the back roads of the new world economy. [5/9/99]
Social issues
09-11-01: One year later 
Sept. 11, 2001 was the New Day of Infamy, when foreign terrorism was unleashed on American soil.The Times Online presents a retrospective of 911and a look to the future, using some of the materials published in the St. Petersburg Times and others from the Associated Press. [9/01/02]
 Alone Together: A year in the life of an Alzheimer’s support group -- Sometimes love isn't enough. [6/9/02]
 The American Way A 1999 visual report on kids and guns in Tampa Bay from the photographers of the St. Petersburg Times. [6/13/99]
 To Serve & Collect In the Tampa Bay area, hundreds of police officers and firefighters have retired on taxpayer-supported disability pensions after they were injured on the job. The Times spent six months investigating public safety employees who collect disability pensions that often are far more lucrative that most they could get in the private section. [3/31/96]
Seminole Gambling: A Trail of Millions -- A three-part series published in 1997 on the Seminole Tribe in Florida and their casino operations. [12/19/97]
Final Indignities (1995 Pulitzer Winner) An editorial investigation that exposed flaws in Florida's probate system and detailed ways that personal estates are sometimes mishandled by lawyers and executors. [8/28/94]
Politics
 Reports from a region in conflict
Times staff reports from the Middle East.
[1/5/03]
 Inside Saudi Arabia: A five part series The Sept. 11 attacks -- involving 15 Saudi citizens -- underscore stresses in a society struggling with change. [6/21/02]
 Lost Votes The St. Petersburg Times and several other media organizations analyzed 175,010 Florida ballots that were cast but not counted during last year's presidential election. Here are the results of and reaction to that analysis. [11/12/01]
Election 2000 -- After the most legally contentious election in America, George W. Bush became the 43rd president of the United States, but not before Florida was thrust onto the world stage -- warts and all. A comprehensive look at the election and how the Times covered it.
 Tamiami Trail
Ambition and sweat tamed the Everglades just enough to bring modern life to Tampa and Miami. Now, 75 years later, we speed along a road where civilization runs wild as the alligator. [4/20/03]
After the Storm: Hurricane Andrew 10 years later The storm Hurricane Andrew touched the lives of thousands of people in South Florida. Ten 10 years later, the effects can still be felt. [8/18/02]
 Painful reminders Scars from run-ins with boat propellers are now being used to track and identify Florida's manatees. [5/5/02]
 Stevenson Creek's Struggle with Man -- As cities grow, the lakes, streams and creeks they surround suffer. Chances are, the issues that created the Stevenson Creek mess are the same issues that affect a creek near you. [3/10/02]
Art
 Chihuly Across Florida: Masterworks in Glass
Dale Chihuly, the most famous glass artist in the world, brings his extravagant, flamboyant sculptures and installations to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Jan. 18 through May 30. The galleries and gardens are filled with examples of Chihuly's most celebrated work including the monumental sculptures built from hundreds of pieces of individually blown glass. [1/11/04]
 Monet’s London:
virtual tour
Times art critic Lennie Bennett narrates the tour, which explores the artwork on display and explains why 19th-century London was such an inspiration to artists around the world. [2/1/05]
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Of local interest
 The search for
Carlie Brucia
The surveillance videotape of Carlie being abducted from a car wash parking lot was replayed over and over on television, stirring national interest in the case. [2/7/04]
 Life at the Edge of Everything
Four Times staffers spent months shadowing a handful of Tampa seventh-graders. They went to the kids' slumber parties, hung out at their homes, witnessed all the mini-dramas of growing up. Along the way, they gained access into a secret world normally hidden from parents. [5/18/03]
 A message from Roger
Standing on Clearwater's Pier 60, a little boy put a note in a bottle: "To whoever finds this, please write me a letter and let me know." Nineteen years went by. Roger, we got your note. [7/10/03]
 The clogged commute
The bay area's stunning growth during the past 10 years means motorists are spending more time each day on the road. The experts say get used to it. [11/30/03]
 Good clean fun?
Summertime, and the swimming's easy, but keeping up a pool isn't. In Hillsborough County, Florida, more than 50 pools flunked five or more inspections. Check the pool in your neighborhood by accessing the St. Petersburg Times interactive database, part of a special report on Hillsborough's pools. [7/25/03]
Too much exposure?
Floridians especially should be aware of the health risks associated with prolonged sun exposure; damage done to the skin is cumulative. Sunscreen provides some protection, but it might not be enough. So before you head to the beach, take time to learn the basics of sun protection. [6/29/03]
 The Deuces
In the decades of segregation in St. Petersburg, black residents made their own world on 22nd Street S -- The Deuces. The street was famous, then forlorn and finally, just forgotten. Where has it been and where might it be going? [6/28/02]
Portraits in black history
The photographs in this series were made in the middle of the last century by the Burgert Brothers commercial photography studio in Tampa. The Burgerts were white, but their photographs provide a varied record of African-American life during the days of segregation. [11/19/02]
 Beaches A special section on beaches. After all, if you live around Tampa Bay, some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are right outside your door. [6/21/02]
Sense of Community What are the ties that bind? What is the sense of community in south Pinellas? You are invited to read about all these areas that make up southern Pinellas County's neighborhoods. [70101]
The Lost Patrol Over the past two decades, for reasons big and small, the leaders of the Florida Highway Patrol have lost control of their officers and have lost sight of their mission. [8/19/01]
100 Treasures of Tampa Bay From the Sunshine Skyway bridge to Crystal River -- and every place in between -- the Suncoast abounds with natural attractions. [5/05/00]
Bumper-to-bumper A look at road conditions in southern Pinellas county. [7/08/01]
Turn This special section "marks the odometer of time as it clicks from the 1900s to the 2000s." The images, people, place and vision of Florida is captured in words and photos.[9/19 --11/28/99]
Education
 Journal of an
F year
The state gave 64 schools in Florida an F grade last year, among them Shaw Elementary in a high-poverty area of Tampa.While politicians and academics debate school grading, the people at Shaw lived it. How one school battled the worst label in Florida [8/24/03]
People
Walking to Paris
 Jim Miller’s adventurous life was interrupted in a violent collision of metal and flesh. He thought he knew how to get going again. He never imagined how hard that would be. [07/15/02]
 The Saboteur and his Son The watch stayed in Thomas French's family for a century, handed down through the generations. Then came his father's turn to carry it, and he said no. Why? What happened to make him break the chain between the past and future? [6/17/01]
 The Exorcist in Love Think of it as a love story like no other. What you are about to read can be described, without exaggeration, as an intragalactic, interstellar tale of reincarnated passion. A cosmic romance, unfolding during the dusk of one age and the dawn of another. All of it taking place between real people. All set in Pasco County. [2/13/00]
Square Peg, Round World -- Tracy Nalley is a mentally retarded adult with the awkward impulses of a child and a simple dream: To live on her own. [11/14/99]
 Love Stories In a frank and often funny seven-part series, the Times explores real love – its wobbly beginnings, challenges and complications. [2/1/99]
 The girl whose mother lives in the sky -- An account of the Southeast Asian Preschool and of what happened to the children. [12/6/98]
Three Little Words Set in the time of AIDS, "Three Little Words" is a tale of trust, betrayal and redemption. The story, which unfolded on the pages of the St. Petersburg Times over 29 days, challenges us to reconsider our thoughts about marriage, privacy, public health and sexual identity. [2/4/96]
Passings
 Daniel, 1988-2000:
A child's suicide, unending grief and lessons learned
Suicide among young people is not uncommon. Experts say it is the third-leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 19. [11/16/03]
 Dancing in the twilight For a month and a half in early 2000, we shared our conversations with Marilyn Myers, who was terminally ill with ovarian cancer. Staff writer Jeanne Malmgren visited her daily and the content of their discussions centered on how she was coping with her passing. [1/16/00]
 JFK Jr.: 1960-1999 He first became endeared to the American public as John John, the President’s son, who toddled in the Oval Office. Too soon even to comprehend it, he knew heartbreak. [7/18/99]
 Lawton Chiles: 1930-1998 Just three weeks before he was to leave office, Gov. Lawton Chiles died suddenly of an apparent heart attack late Saturday afternoon, Dec. 12, 1998. [12/12/98]
 Life After Death In the mid-1990s, the Times wanted to write about what it's like for a widow to cope with the death of her husband. The newspaper turned to Hernando-Pasco Hospice Inc. for help finding a couple willing to share their lives and their struggle with sickness and grief. [12/1/96]
 Sports
XXXVII Xtra
With a collective howl of elation and a few tense moments, fans across the Tampa Bay region heralded the area's first major sports championship in spirited Super Bowl celebrations that ended years of futility for the Bucs. [1/27/03]
St. Petersburg Grand Prix
 Includes full news coverage of the event with interactive graphics of cars, race course and drivers. [2/16/03]
 Basketball Bond
Dominique Redding and Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen are talented and dedicated basketball players who have led parallel and intertwined lives. Both are considered among the elite high school seniors in Florida. [9/5/02]
 A baseball story After a lifetime of rehearsal, 18 year-old, Josh Hamilton’s first test on the road to the major leagues was with the rookie-level Princeton Devil Rays in Princeton, W.Va. [10/24/99]
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 Virtual tours
A closer look at special reports by the St. Petersburg Times
 The St. Petersburg Times launched its presence on the World Wide Web in March 1995 with a virtual tour of the Treasures of the Czars, an exhibition that was on tour then at the Florida International Museum in St. Petersburg. In the years since, we have posted on this site many other Web projects that have an enduring appeal, among them our Pulitzer prize-winning reportage, series journalism and other specials.
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A second look: Popular stories frequently requested by Times readers
African-Americans in Florida: Day one and Day two -- Three months after the presidential election, black voters in Florida don’t accept the result and blame the state for rejecting their votes. [2/18/01]
The Ballad of the Country Doctor & Singing Out Proud-- Two stories on the African-American experience in country music. [4/23/00]
 He wanted you to know -- Bryan Curtis started smoking at 13, never thinking that 20 years later it would kill him. In his last weeks, he set out with a message for young people. [6/15/99]
Her Picture in My Wallet -- One soldier's story of love, war and the things in life worth waiting for. [1/14/01]
Williams Syndrome: Music Lights a Fire -- People with a mysterious disorder attend a Massachusetts music and arts camp every year to revel in music, which for them is not just a pleasure but a passion. [9/6/98]
The wrong they could not bury -- When the great Storm of 1928 swept hundreds of African-Americans in South Florida to their deaths, many were buried in an unmarked ditch in West Palm Beach. One man now leads the struggle to remember them. [2/25/01]
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