Howard Troxler's columns appear Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the Times Metro and Tampa sections.

Born March 19, 1959, in Burlington, N.C., Troxler writes a mix of reporting, analysis, satire and commentary on state and local matters. He considers himself politically unpredictable with libertarian leanings ("I'm for gay marriage WITH gun ownership"), but readers routinely conclude he is hopelessly biased against whatever it is they happen to be for. He is married to a woman who has more sense than he does and lives in St. Petersburg with no children and three cats.

Email: troxblog@tampabay.com

Howard now has a blog, TroxBlog, for column updates, fresh commentary and reader reaction.