DeSoto

Please wait....

| Subscribe

| Today's Ads

| Place Ad

| Electronic Edition

| Jobs

| Real Estate

| DeSoto Weather

ARCADIAN

ENGLEWOOD

NORTH PORT

PORT CHARLOTTE

PUNTA GORDA

VENICE

DIRECTORY

Today's Top Stories

News Alerts:

Monday, May 21, 2012

Predators lurk among us

When Darrion Rashard Hart emailed the man he thought was the father of a 12-year-old boy he wanted to have sex with, little did the 24-year-old know he was actually writing to a female North Port police detective. Hart, who traveled from west Bradenton to a set-up home in Sarasota … Find out how to read more online.

LATEST LOCAL NEWS

‘Queen of Disco’ dies in region
Thu May 17 2012 03:59PM

Disco queen Donna Summer, whose pulsing anthems such as “Last Dance,” “Love to Love You Baby” and “Bad Girls” became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance … Find out how to read more online.

Schools grapple with FCAT
Tue May 8 2012 10:30AM

Editor’s note: First in a series on Florida’s standardized testing to measure performance. It’s an old belief that good neighborhoods have the best schools. But maybe it should be the … Find out how to read more online.

Durfee: ‘It’s all about the kids’
Thu May 17 2012 08:00AM

Recently the Blazing Blue Band of DeSoto County High School brought home a coveted “Excellent” rating from the Florida Music Performance Assessment conducted by the Florida Bandmasters’ Association on May … Find out how to read more online.

State won’t hold schools accountable for FCAT scores
Thu May 17 2012 08:00AM

DESOTO COUNTY — The Florida Department of Education said Tuesday school districts will not be held accountable for the dramatic drop in the percentage of students who passed the writing … Find out how to read more online.

State, National and World News

Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb dies at age 62
Sun May 20 2012 09:38PM

LONDON (AP) — Robin Gibb, a founding member of the Bee Gees who helped propel the group to international stardom, has died. He was 62. Gibb’s representative Doug Wright announced in a statement that Gibb passed away Sunday “following his … read more.

Egypt prepares to choose a president
Sun May 20 2012 09:36PM

CAIRO — Sixty years after their country came under military dictatorship, Egyptians are for the first time freely electing their president. The voting that begins Wednesday is the greatest prize won by the multitudes who took to the streets to … read more.

Thousands begin Chicago NATO protest
Sun May 20 2012 09:34PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators upset with the war in Afghanistan, climate change and the erosion of union rights marched through downtown Chicago on Sunday, taking their discontent on a wide range of world issues to leaders assembled for … read more.

Black undercount in 1940 US census
Sun May 20 2012 09:34PM

BC-US--1940 Census-Undercount, 1st Ld-Writethru,1095 New 1940 US census records show black undercount AP Photo NYR402, NYR403, NYR401, NYR404 %reldate(2012-05-20T17:57:04 (Eds: Rewrites throughout with background, comments, quotes. With AP Photos. A video explainer that shows how to navigate the 1940 Census … read more.

US party leaders refuse to budge on debt positions
Sun May 20 2012 09:34PM

WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats are refusing to budge when it comes to their already hardened positions on spending cuts versus tax increases to deal with the nation’s debt. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, … read more.

Activists accused of NATO summit plots
Sun May 20 2012 09:34PM

CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors charged two more activists Sunday with crimes tied to the two-day NATO summit, accusing one of saying he wanted to blow up a downtown Chicago bridge and a second with seeking to build pipe bombs. The … read more.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg weds
Sun May 20 2012 09:34PM

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A day after the historic Facebook IPO, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg updated his status Saturday to “married.” Zuckerberg wed 27-year-old Priscilla Chan, his girlfriend of nearly a decade, according to a guest authorized to speak … read more.

NATO shifts to help Afghan peace
Sun May 20 2012 09:34PM

CHICAGO — The NATO alliance that has fought for a decade in Afghanistan is helping that nation shift toward stability and peace, but there will be “hard days ahead,” President Barack Obama said Sunday as alliance leaders insisted the fighting … read more.

Scott looks past ’12 election to ’14 re-election
Sun May 20 2012 09:34PM

JACKSONVILLE — Republican Gov. Rick Scott is already getting ready for the 2014 election. So are the Democrats who hope to challenge him. The Republican Party of Florida is buying television ads to promote Scott’s policy successes in hopes of … read more.

Report: Mom shot her 4 children 18 times
Sun May 20 2012 09:32PM

PORT ST. JOHN (AP) — A Florida mother who killed her four children fired a revolver against the chest of at least two of them, shooting 18 rounds before turning the gun on herself, according to a medical examiner’s report. … read more.

Ancient skulls found in Florida puzzle experts
Sun May 20 2012 09:28PM

ORLANDO (Orlando Sentinel) — At first, it appeared to be a discovery with sinister implications: Two skulls unearthed by a swimming pool contractor in a Winter Garden, Fla., neighborhood. Now, the human remains are the focus of an archaeological mystery. … read more.

World leaders confront Afghan withdrawal strategy
Sat May 19 2012 09:44PM

KABUL, Afghanistan — It was what President Barack Obama called a “war of necessity,” a conflict thrust upon America by the 9/11 attacks. As NATO’s mission here winds down nearly 11 years later, the insurgents remain undefeated, corruption runs rife … read more.

Tropical storm forms off SC
Sat May 19 2012 09:44PM

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The first tropical storm of the season formed Saturday off the coast of South Carolina with top winds of 45 mph, but it wasn’t threatening land. Forecasters say tropical storm Alberto was centered about 140 miles … read more.

Debate grows over DNA disclosure
Sat May 19 2012 09:44PM

Camilla Grondahl asked genetics researcher Gholson Lyon a simple, heartbreaking question: Was she carrying a lethal gene that might kill her unborn baby? Grondahl, 29, didn’t want to terminate her pregnancy, which began in 2010. She just wanted to know … read more.

Woman gets 20 years for firing warning shot
Sat May 19 2012 09:44PM

TAMPA, Fla. — Marissa Alexander had never been arrested before she fired a bullet at a wall one day in 2010 to scare off her husband when she felt he was threatening her. Nobody got hurt, but this month a … read more.

SpaceX rocket launch aborted in last half-second
Sat May 19 2012 09:42PM

CAPE CANAVERAL (AP) — A new private supply ship for the International Space Station remained stuck on the ground Saturday after rocket engine trouble led to a last-second abort of the historic flight. All nine engines for the SpaceX Falcon … read more.

Skeletons in Sen. Rubio’s closet?
Sat May 19 2012 09:42PM

MIAMI — For freshman Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising GOP figure seen as a possible Mitt Romney running mate, there are questions about whether potential vulnerabilities in his personal and political background might hold him back. The 40-year-old Florida lawmaker … read more.

UK surveillance program could bare private lives
Fri May 18 2012 10:02PM

LONDON — British officials have given their word: “We won’t read your emails.” But experts say the government’s proposed new surveillance program will gather so much data that spooks won’t have to read your messages to guess what you’re up … read more.

Fla. to scrutinize 182,000 voters
Fri May 18 2012 10:02PM

TALLAHASSEE — Florida officials, responding to skeptical comments this week from county election supervisors, said they are now going to double-check whether 182,000 registered voters are U.S. citizens. State officials announced late Thursday that the Florida agency that handles driver’s … read more.

Stocks fall on Europe worries
Fri May 18 2012 10:02PM

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s going to take more than Facebook’s initial public offering to push the stock market higher. Facebook shares rose 23 cents above their $38 offering price. It seemed like everything else fell. The Dow Jones industrial … read more.

CDC to baby boomers: Test for hepatitis C
Fri May 18 2012 10:02PM

ATLANTA — For the first time, the government is proposing that all baby boomers get tested for hepatitis C. Anyone born from 1945 to 1965 should get a one-time blood test to see if they have the liver-destroying virus, the … read more.

Facebook’s big day
Fri May 18 2012 10:02PM

NEW YORK — Facebook updated its status to “public company” on Friday. After an anxiety-filled half-hour delay, its stock began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market for the first time as investors were finally able to put a dollar value … read more.

200-year-old shipwreck found in Gulf
Fri May 18 2012 10:02PM

NEW ORLEANS — An oil company exploration crew’s chance discovery of a 200-year-old shipwreck in a little-charted stretch of the Gulf of Mexico is yielding a trove of new information to scientists who say it’s one of the most well-preserved … read more.

Fla. mom who killed self, 4 kids endured violence
Fri May 18 2012 10:00PM

MIAMI (AP) — A child welfare investigator who spoke with Tonya Thomas in the weeks before she fatally shot herself and her four children said there were no signs that the children were in distress or felt unsafe. But hundreds … read more.

Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6

More Local News

Two seek District 2 school board seat
Thu May 17 2012 08:00AM

DESOTO COUNTY — Former teacher Martha Jo Markey has stepped up to challenge incumbent Karen Chancey for the District 2 School Board seat. School Board Chairwoman Chancey is seeking her third term. She says she’s proven herself during time in … Find out how to read more online.

Maresca: ‘Japanese Zeroes diving on our fantail’ was a movie mishap
Mon May 14 2012 08:02AM

After 20 years of service in the U.S. Navy, Eugene Maresca retired in 1983 as a full commander. He served three years in the regular Navy and the rest in the Naval Reserve. When he first signed up he was … Find out how to read more online.

Lake Hancock project under way
Tue May 15 2012 11:35AM

BARTOW, FLA. — Despite more than $120 million in budget cuts within the past two years, the Southwest Florida Water Management District is proceeding full steam toward building a $150 million project to raise the level of Lake Hancock and … Find out how to read more online.

USDA’s 2011-12 Florida orange crop estimate adjusted slightly
Thu May 17 2012 08:00AM

The U.S. Department of Agriculture increased its orange crop forecast for the 2011-2012 season by 200,000 boxes Tuesday, estimating Florida will now produce 145.2 million boxes. The 2011-2012 May increase was a result of an adjustment for utilization in early … Find out how to read more online.