Mugshot

PLANT CITY, Fla. – Robert Murdock is a nine-year-old whose twin brother and him are known for stirring up trouble in and out of school.

Portrait

PLANT CITY, Fla. – Chris Murdock often has trouble concentrating on his homework after school, especially when his brother, Robert, is in the same room.

Weather

PLANT CITY, Fla. – This house, located in the Oaks at Countrywood neighborhood, is now for sale after the previous owner overdosed on drugs.  The mother of the previous owner, who wished not to be identified, said she had no idea that her daughter was depressed.  Despite the cool and fair weather forecasted, the mother does not have high hopes for selling the property and time soon.

Weather with a person

PLANT CITY, Fla. – After completing his homework, Chris Murdock rides his bike before the cold front moves through that will bring temperatures down to 25⁰F - 40⁰F over the next few weeks.

Sports

TAMPA, Fla. – Photojournalism student Amanda Stone catches a tennis ball as she poses for pictures for her classmates during a hands-on lesson.

Public Improvement

TAMPA, Fla. – A construction worker carries a plank of wood as he works to complete the Interdisciplinary Science Teaching and Reseach Facility on the USF campus.

Public Meeting

TAMPA, Fla. – Oracle news writers look on as News Editor Diedra Rodriguez (left) and photographer Lucas Cannistraci (right) discuss the news and photo assignments for the upcoming week.

Campus Spot News

TAMPA, Fla. – The six newest members of the Delta Gamma Psi Sorority, who are only known here as Sisters #’s 1-6 (pictured left to right,) are revealed to their fellow sorority sisters and co-fraternity brothers in a ceremony on campus.

City Spot News

DOVER, Fla. – Woodpeckers such as this one are the reason why the city will soon need to come out to cut down many trees on residents’ properties because of the damage the birds are causing.  The birds peck at the rotten bark on the tree causing weak spots all along the trunk, which can lead to very dangerous situations for properties and homeowners.

Environmental Portrait

PLANT CITY, Fla. – Annette Cerny has never considered herself to be much of a creative person – that is until her quilts started selling like crazy.  Now, she works from home, making and selling quilts.  She even offers to quilt other’s quilts for them in order to make money so she can go buy more fabric for herself.

Close-up Portrait

PLANT CITY, Fla. – Chris Murdock is nine years old and although most from his old school know him as the class clown, all of the kids at his new school know that when it’s time to concentrate on school work, Chris is all about focus.  After being held back last year, Chris knows that it’s time to get serious about school and that play time is after the final bell rings.

USF hosts two nationally televised debates

In an effort to garner a more politically savvy campus, USF hosted two nationally televised debates in partnership with CNN and the St. Petersburg Times.  The first debate, held on October 24, featured U.S. Senate candidates Charlie Crist, Kendrick Meek and Marco Rubio.  The second debate, held on October 25, featured Florida Gubernatorial candidates Rick Scott and Alex Sink.

In the first article, you will find that I was attributed as "additional reporting" and in the second I was the sole reporter.

Happy reading!

Black and White Tractor Study

So I became inspired by this black and white study of the Disney Cruise ship Wonder by photographer Gene Duncan and decided to do my own study of an old tractor in my backyard.

The tractor belongs to Danny Adams, my boyfriend's grandfather, and he still uses it today to tend to his fields and take care of his livestock.  I think that it has amazing character  and I love the rustic feel of it; I only wish that it's paint didn't seem so fresh!

 

 

My apologies.....

Sorry I haven't posted in what seems like forever, things have been kind of crazy.  To catch you up, not that much has been going on....and by not that much, I of course mean business as usual.

I did, however, write a pretty decent article (if I do say so myself) about the USF student who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on September 25.

http://www.usforacle.com/news/peers-mourn-loss-of-usf-student-1.2347379

Sunsets

Series of sunsets behind my house:

Oil Spill Articles

Over the summer, I wrote numerous articles covering USF's involvement in oil spill research in the Gulf of Mexico.  I was also able to take photos of the research vessel R/V Weatherbird II, pictured above.

http://www.usforacle.com/usf-researchers-investigate-oil-spill-1.2266468#5

http://www.usforacle.com/usf-researchers-return-from-oil-spill-1.2267702

http://www.usforacle.com/bp-there-aren-t-any-plumes-1.2272101

http://www.usforacle.com/researchers-verify-oil-plumes-1.2273485

http://www.usforacle.com/usf-to-receive-funds-from-bp-grant-1.2275903#4

http://www.usforacle.com/research-to-continue-after-oil-well-capped-1.2280701#2

My first story at The Oracle

This is the first story that I worked on at The Oracle - I've come a really long way since then.

"University's new school will be first in the nation"

http://www.usforacle.com/university-s-new-school-will-be-first-in-the-nation-1.2153347