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Minutes south of Interstate 10 and Sealy, the pastures along FM 1458 are their own silent world in the morning. Mists lift to reveal black cattle, brown and spotted horses, snow-white egrets underfoot in lush green grass. Then a concrete mixer comes churning down the blacktop. Just up the road is a small subdivision. More are sure to come as city dwellers, including weekenders and retirees, move out in search of a quieter, simpler life — and relief from city traffic. Although the gradual influx may bring greater changes in the long run, what disturbs residents most is the planned...

"I'm out!!! Got out on the Orient Queen yesterday to Larnaca. Am now in Athens and will be in Chicago tonight. More then. Feel free to share this, as I don't have time to post yet. Got lots of pictures of the evacuation. And about half of the passengers WERE NOT U.S. Citizens!!! Lebanese nationals with Green cards and what all. My group were almost the ONLY people speaking English. It was sickening. MAKE THEM ALL PAY!!! They were treating it as a vacation cruise oblivious that their country is being destroyed. We were so mad we couldn't stand it....

PARIS (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper is flying to Cyprus where he intends to take up to 120 evacuees from Lebanon home to Canada on his Canadian Forces plane. Harper announced the surprise side trip on his week-long European diplomatic tour after a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday afternoon. "Because of the seriousness of the situation and our relative proximity to Cyprus, we have decided to take the Canadian Forces aircraft we have been travelling on to help airlift evacuees back home," Harper said in a statement. "The aircraft will be stripped...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A 13-year-old Orlando boy was hospitalized this weekend after falling from a roller coaster ride while acting on a dare from a friend, according to a statement from Cypress Gardens Sunday. Martin Llamas remained in intensive care at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa, hospital officials said. He had been airlifted there Saturday after falling from the Triple Hurricane roller coaster at the Polk County theme park. Hospital officials did not comment on his injuries. According to a preliminary investigation, Llamas was facing the cars behind him as the ride approached a sharp right turn, said Carrie...

T.J. Rodgers, chief executive of the Cypress Semiconductor company, has a reputation as a Silicon Valley iconoclast -- a techie who doesn't play Nerf ball in the aisles and who speaks out to Congress against subsidies and lobbying groups created supposedly to bolster the industry in the global market. His methodical approach to life was formed in part by his Wisconsin upbringing, along with the "play-to-win" gospel of Vince Lombardi. Like many chief executives, Rodgers is also supremely confident, whether it's work or whim, including his latest multimillion dollar hobby -- a bid to make America's best Pinot Noir. His...

Officer investigates possibility of ghosts in his own home By Ilona Carson ABC13 Eyewitness News (5/05/05 - CYPRESS, TX) — Houston's police officers usually hunt down criminals, but one lieutenant has been spending his time hunting ghosts -- in his own home. It has all the makings of a movie, but this isn't fiction - it's a home right here in Texas. In fact, it's just up Highway 249 in Cypress. The home has been drawing ghost-hunters, sight-seers and the curious. It is quite a story. The couple moved in about two years ago. He is a Houston police officer....

Setting the Record: New Trustee Defends His Ideas and His Name By T. J. Rodgers, Guest Columnist Another assistant professor of history, Vernon Takeshita, has written a letter questioning my honesty and integrity regarding race issues. I hope it's the last letter like that. As explained below, this certainly will be the last reply from me on this topic. The terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center have scored one victory beyond the physical -- they have reduced our freedom by causing us to have to deal with measures such as "red alerts" and a government takeover of airport security....

<p>That's T.J. Rodgers, founder of Cypress Semiconductor. As CEO of a Silicon Valley enterprise, Mr. Rodgers has spent his career thinking about how to attract the best people of whatever background and get them to be their best. Now he is hoping to bring that expertise to a place he believes is sorely in need of a lesson: academe.</p>

WINTER HAVEN -- Cypress Gardens is closing its doors for good on Sunday because of declining attendance and a faltering tourism industry. Florida's first theme park, which put Polk County on the map when it was founded 67 years ago, will officially shut down at 7 p.m., a decision the park's owners had virtually no control over, officials said. According to a statement released Thursday afternoon, the park's attendance never recovered from the Sept. 11 attacks, which severely impacted the state's tourism industry. March attendance was down 42,000 visitors from the same time last year, the statement says, and the...