IF YOU’RE GOING ...

Tampa

•For more information on Tampa, call (800) 826-8358 or visit www.TampaBay.com.
•A great way to see Tampa from the water is aboard the Yacht StarShip, an $8 million, 600-passenger yacht with five elegant dining rooms and 3 decks that docks at Channelside. A 2 1/2 -hour dinner cruise included a gourmet repast followed by dancing on the oversize Promenade Deck as the ship makes its way past the upscale condos along Harbor Island and a look at the magnificent downtown Tampa skyline. Lunch and Sunday brunch cruises also offered. Call (813) 223-7999 or visit www.yachtstarship.com.
•For a place to stay, the Sheraton Riverwalk Hotel, 200 N. Ashley, is located along the picturesque Hillsborough River. Some rooms have patios with riparian vistas, and the outdoor pool is a good place to cool off after a day of sun-filled touring. Call (813) 223-2222 or www.sheratontampariverwalk.com.
•For more information on the Florida Aquarium, call (813) 273-4000 or visit www.flaquarium.org.
•For more information on the Columbia Restaurant, call (813) 248-4961 or www.columbiarestaurant.com.

In the name of fighting voter fraud (a phenomenon that is much talked about but seen about as often as Sasquatch), Indiana Republicans have fashioned the most arduous voter identification process in the 50 states.

Whether a good mother or bad, there’s something from just about any fictional mother we can learn; one of the best forms of inspiration, after all, is to make a mistake.

Under the direction of Joplin's Ozark Center, Turnaround Ranch has been working to give kids who are victims of some sort of physical, sexual, emotional abuse or neglect a chance for a new start since 1981.

This is a woman who can juggle soccer matches, parent conferences, dangerously high fevers, public cries of “Mommy, will you wipe me?” and still show up at work most days. She does not even break a sweat when she hears her 5-year-old daughter singing, "I like big butts and I cannot lie."

The raid on the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, Texas, that liberated 400 children from a life of abuse a few weeks ago was just the latest in a sorry history of messianic cults in the land of the free.

All I can figure out is having too much beige is a fashion no-no.

humor column