7 Stories You Might Have Missed Last Week on Patch

1. : in this age of email and private overnight delivery companies, do we still need “snail mail?”

2. : Hillsborough County small businesses are sought to supply goods and services for the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.

3. : a six-foot alligator caused a fuss in South Tampa on Tuesday.

4. : the Panthers hosted the Class 8A state semifinals on Friday.

5. : while a Palma Ceia independent restaurant prepares to shut down, a pop-up restaurant gets ready to launch on the fringes of downtown.

6. : folks can learn about Florida-friendly landscaping during a seven-week workshop starting in January, 2012.

7. : the barbecue fundraiser at the Tampa Firefighters Museum in downtown on Saturday, Dec. 17, will raise money to help a firefighter whose son was seriously injured last month in a Marine training accident.