Notebook

Newland pays for military families' lawn service

LITHIA -- FishHawk Ranch residents on active military duty in the Middle East can receive free lawn-care service for up to a year courtesy of community developer Newland Communities.

"Military families have enough to worry about with loved ones so far away in such a volatile area of the world," says Don Whyte, president of the southeast region for Newland Communities. "We came up with this idea as a way of taking one more concern off their minds."

Newland Communities will reimburse the FishHawk Ranch community development district for lawn mowing and edging twice a month during the slow-growth period and once a week when the weather warms up. At least 50 families in FishHawk Ranch qualify for the program.

Kate Szymanski is among those who signed up for the program. Her husband, Bruce, who handled the family's lawn maintenance, was shipped overseas in January.

"I tried once myself last summer. It was hot," Mrs. Szymanski says. "And it's a lot of work."

The free service will be a tremendous benefit to her, she says, especially this summer, when the yard needs weekly tending, and she'll be busy caring for her 2- and 5-year-old children.

Anti-war activists plan weekly protests

SUN CITY CENTER -- The newly formed Sun City Center Coalition for Peace will protest war with Iraq from 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. today on State Road 674 at Valley Forge Drive. The group's first protest on Feb. 21 drew about two dozen opponents to the war and prompted positive responses from people driving by. The group plans to demonstrate weekly. For more information, call (813) 642-9283.