News

Pot Grow Houses in Florida Are Deadly Business

On July 12, 2007, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Timothy Boyle was parked outside a hydroponic supply business in South Florida when a green Ford Mustang pulled into the parking lot. Twenty-four-year-old Justin Jones got out of the car and went inside. When he came out, Jones carried a long white box. Boyle took down the Mustang's license plate number, went back to the office, and subpoenaed Florida Power & Light to find out if Jones was a subscriber. Boyle learned that Jones paid the electric bill at a half-million-dollar house in a Parkland gated community called Heron Bay.... full story >>

Moms Gone Wired: One Woman's Journey Through the Mommy Blogosphere to Gain Parental Prowess and Free Stuff

People talk about the "magic of birth" and the "joys of parenthood" and, yeah, in my 12 months of mom experience, that stuff's all totally real and exists, but that part's like the Hallmark movie part. And in between those Hallmark movie moments, there's a reality-show marathon.

Sure, a baby is a gift. But it's also a giant poop sack.

When I found out I was pregnant, people told me that when I had my kid, all of a sudden I'd "know what to do" because, see, my "instincts would kick in." But I have no faith in my instincts. I've lived in Dallas since I was a kid, and I still d... full story >>

Bad fences make bad neighbors for the Cherry Creek Farm HOA and its residents

Tom and Courtney Myers moved into their home in Cherry Creek Farm more than a decade ago, and for many years, they enjoyed their cookie-cut sliver of the moderately affluent neighborhood. Their split-level house, which they share with their aging black Labrador, Max, boasts glinting dark wood floors in the kitchen and dining area, Victorian armchairs and a small cabinet of top-shelf liquor in the living room.

The 33-year-old Englewood development, with 216 houses, seems like a nice place to live, maybe even to start a family. It features two greenbelts and is nicely tucked to the so... full story >>

Blog Stars

How things have changed. In 2004, the Houston Press profiled Matt Mullenweg, the founding developer of WordPress blogging software and a student at the University of Houston. At the time, a blogging community was developing in Houston. But blogs were still relatively new — not everyone understood what they were, and the story referred to them as "online diaries."

Mullenweg went on to start a company called Automattic and be named one of the 25 Most Influential People on the Web by BusinessWeek. And as for blogs — your grandma probably has one.

In the years since ... full story >>

At the St. Regis, living cheap comes at a steep price

A group of neighbors met Paul Bolder at his door as he was coming home from church on Sunday, January 25, 2009. They handed Bolder a Truman Medical Center wristband printed with the name of a recently discharged patient: Christopher Scott. The 51-year-old man had been found that morning, frozen to death, on the front lawn of a house near 31st Street and Monroe.

Scott was a lifelong friend of Bolder's. A brain injury had left the former handyman incapable of working for Bolder's construction business, as he had often done in the past. Eight months earlier, Bolder had helped move Scot... full story >>

The murder of Stevie Febonio: South Florida's marijuana grow houses can be a deadly business

On July 12, 2007, Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Timothy Boyle was parked outside a South Florida hydroponic supply business when a green Ford Mustang pulled into the parking lot. Twenty-four-year-old Justin Jones got out of the car and went inside. When he came out, Jones carried a long white box. Boyle took down the Mustang's license plate number, went back to the office, and subpoenaed Florida Power & Light to find out if Jones was a subscriber. Boyle learned that Jones paid the electric bill at a half-million-dollar Parkland house in a gated Broward community called Heron... full story >>

Kitchen Ink: A Photo Essay That Shows Off the Tattoos of the Valley's Rock-Star Chefs

These days, some kitchen professionals express themselves as much with their tattoos as with their artfully plated food, often wearing shorter sleeves to show off intricately inked skin. While uniforms are still de rigueur in kitchens, the iconic, formal toque, long-sleeved double-breasted white jacket, and neckerchief have become remn... full story >>

Baby-Faced Justin Lawrence Stands 5'8", Weighs 165 Pounds and Can Kick Your Ass Six Different Ways

At age nineteen, Justin Lawrence does not sport an intimidating physique. Barefoot on a wrestling mat, he stands a stocky five-foot-eight, if you measure to the tippy top of his spiked blond flattop. His voice cracks, and his post-adolescent countenance is disarmingly innocent, save for a half-inch scar above his left eyelid.

Don't be fooled by the baby face. Lawrence just might be the most fearsome amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter in the St. Louis area. Nicknamed "The Hammer," he is a six-time national kickboxing champion, two-time winner of St. Louis' Golden Gloves boxing ... full story >>

Farming for Federal Dollars

There are no corn, soybean, or wheat fields within biking distance of Royalton Heating and Cooling. The shop's headquarters, located in the decidedly un-rustic suburb of Brooklyn Center, isn't even within a stone's throw of a garden.

Yet the USDA sent checks totaling $6,522—made out to Stewart Brothers Partnership—to this address in 2008 for corn, soybean, and wheat, with an additional $2,600 coming in last year.

That's about all we know, because when we got Brady Stewart, Royalton's registered owner, on the phone, he had no interest in discussing the taxpayer su... full story >>