text box positioning

Hello neighbors to the north of the border,

I used a css class to create some text boxes with a light semi transparent background. I'm happy with all of them but the one in section 1 of my home page. it's within the left column I've created and it extends the full width of the column. I'd like it to extend only 50% of the width of the column and be on the left side. What is the best way to do this? And how can I get it to be in the center of the column, vertically? Right now it's near the top, just below "Serving Seattle, Bellevue and nearby areas".