Snipping taboos [Times photo: Skip O'Rourke] A vasectomy promoter -- who happens to have 15 siblings -- tries to convince Hispanic men that a little procedure can have big benefits.

Fair enough
The Florida State Fair ends Monday, capping a 12-day run that should tide fun-seekers and food-seekers over until next year.

Lunch with Ernest: Chamber, patients and rats
Mike Fencel, a Pennsylvania native, became a hospital CEO six years after earning a master's degree at Boston University in 1983. He has been the CEO at Brandon Regional for five and a half years. Now the 43-year-old Fencel has taken on the additional task of being chairman of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce.

I Live Here
In Ruskin, you can enjoy the benefits of country living: fishing, friendly neighbors and community pride.

People: Organizer extraordinaire
Linda Cannarella is almost single-handedly responsible for Sun City Center's characteristic hustle and bustle.

RSVP: Goings On
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Daytripper: Dive in
Expect to get wet if you visit the Florida Aquarium.

Here and Gone
Here's a look at some of the new businesses setting up shop in the area:

Farmer's Market: SeaShine Farm: Pets that pay
The Brown family finds that raising kids -- goats, that is -- can be good business.

Real Estate
House Values
RIVERVIEW: This 4-bedroom, 21/2-bathroom home sold for $227,000 after 148 days on the market. It was listed at $230,000. It has 3,180-square-feet of living space, an in-ground, screened pool and a 2-car garage. Information provided by Karen Brosseau at Century 21.

New Home Model: The Harrier, Covington Park: Hot properties
Covington Park home sales soared in 2002's last quarter. The key? Many affordable models.

Zoning: Oklawaha Farms plans to haul off vegetation
Editor's note: This column follows zoning petition requests for new commercial, retail and residential developments to provide you with specific information about what's being planned in your community. We'll also alert you about public hearings so that you can make your voice heard. Petition numbers are provided in bold to help you get more information from the county.

Neighborhood Report
Ruskin: Unfriendly skies
Flocks of vultures have been threatening four pet potbellied pigs. What's a pig lover to do? Make some noise -- lots of it.

Brandon: Kids line up for new club
The phone is ringing of the hook at the Boys & Girls Club in Brandon, where the kids are awed by the new gym.

Sun City Center: Deidre Reilly generates a fan base here
Since she performed her first gig as a 15-year-old, Deidre Reilly has grown accustomed to greeting fans and well-wishers after concerts.

Notebook: Two win top honors in DAR essay contest
BRANDON -- Sarah Carpenter and Garrett Brown haven't reached high school, but they can probably tell you what it felt like to spend the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge.

East Bay: Ready for Little League opening day
The county steps up to the plate to hit a home run with improved ball fields and facilities at Vance Vogel Park.

Commuting
Lane Ranger: Shipping channel puts Skyway in Hillsborough
You've heard the old saying about a man who went up a hill but came down a mountain? Well, here's the story of a man who went up the Sunshine Skyway but came down in Hillsborough County.

Sports & Recreation
Prep notebook: Athletes shine on football signing day
BRANDON -- One school may have made the most noise, but numerous others also made themselves heard. National signing day came and went Feb. 5, and Armwood, Brandon, East Bay, Riverview and Durant each had players sign college football scholarships. Tampa Bay Tech also saw its athletes acquire sports scholarships in numerous sports.

Snapshots
Rocky Cozart, Brandon

Briefly: Learn about colored pencils
BRANDON -- A program on Prisma Color Pencils -- Color Blends will be presented by Steven Donovan at the Brandon League of Fine Arts meeting at 7:30 p.m. Mondayat Center Place, 619 Vonderburg Drive. Call 685-1627.

Letters: Let's cap medical lawsuit awards
Re: Seniors recruited in war on insurance, Jan. 31.

Homes
Front porch: Lusty about lofts
A love story for Valentine's Day.

Talk about really working a room
An interior refiner works with what's there, and tucked away, to create a whole new look.

Hyde Park needs historic signs, a homeowner says
An urban designer has designs on distinctive street and stop signs -- at least 67 of them at $1,000 a pop.