CLEARWATER, Fla. - The GFWC Clearwater Community Woman's Club will hold its 19th Annual "An Evening with the Author," this year featuring suspense author Lisa Unger, Saturday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m.

The event will be at the Clearwater Main Library, 100 N. Osceola Ave. Unger will discuss her latest psychological thriller, Darkness, My Old Friend.

A featured author at this year's St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading, Unger's work has been praised by the Associated Press as "gripping narrative and evocative, muscular prose." Her many works have been on the New York Times best seller list, have sold more than a million copies in the U.S., and have been translated into 26 languages. Several of her books have been featured on the Today Show and in People Magazine as their top picks. One of her earlier works, Black Out, has been optioned for a film.

Pinellas County, FL -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System.

The test will occur on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and may last up to three and a half minutes. The public will see a message indicating that This is a test. The audio message will be the same for radio, television and cable.

Largo, Florida -- After 40 years of service, Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats will call it a career Monday.

Sheriff Coats started with the Pinellas County force in 1971. He took over as sheriff seven years ago.

Perhaps two of his biggest legacies will be Safe Harbor -- a shelter for nonviolent criminals aimed at getting them back on their feet -- and the sheriff's office's pursuit of top-flight technology.

For example, the county's forensics team can use a laser system to create 3-D maps of crime scenes.