Tuesday Jan 24 | Tampa Bay Online
Activists, lawmakers lobbying to keep prison open
As the Florida Department of Corrections prepares to close the Hillsborough Correctional Institution in Balm, local legislators and community activists are again mounting an effort to keep the prison open.
Local mission serves those most in need
Most of the people who work at the ministry are volunteers, several of whom have worked for decades with the Cruzes, who previously founded a mission in Balm.
Needed prison roof repairs on hold despite available funds
BALM As Florida's annual legislative session opens this week, badly-needed roofing repairs at the state prison here are up in the air.
The Ruskin Tomato Festival returns to South Shore
Theodore Harvey of Palmetto reaches for the salt shaker to season his free sample of Tasty Lee tomatoes grown at the Gulf Coast Research Center in Balm during the Ruskin Tomato Festival Dec.
Threatened with closure just six months ago, the Hillsborough Correctional Institution on C.R. 672 near Balm now is in expansion mode.