The Tribune is nothing if not relentless in its determination to present a distorted picture of me. The most recent example is Catherine Dolinski's article, which editorialized about my comments regarding public library policies and procedures. ...more

January 3, 2009 |

Local governments, already trimming expenses a little at the margins because of state-mandated tax cuts, should begin planning for major pruning of low-priority programs. ...more

December 14, 2008 |

The coming years will, perhaps, be the most difficult in Highlands County government history. Major cuts loom for next year's budget, if projections are accurate, and we believe they are. Deciding where those cuts come from and how to protect essential services vital to the county will require strong leadership, good judgment and an inherent understanding of the direction our county needs to go. ...more

October 10, 2008 |

The Iraqi government could end this year with as much as a $79 billion cumulative budget surplus, based largely on ever-increasing oil revenue, congressional auditors say. ...more

August 6, 2008 |

More than 1.1 million dollars donated to the John McCain campaign by Big Oil. ...more

July 31, 2008 |

Not Even In The Park Regarding "Rays Pitch Logical Finance Plan For Waterfront Ballpark In St. Pete" (Our Opinion, May 17): ...more

May 24, 2008 |

The City of Sebring has chosen the right way to impose its proposed fire assessments. Make groups of property owners pay proportionally to the fire calls they make, and don't exempt anyone. After the City of Avon Park's harrowing experience to make groups –– initially exempted –– pay their share of the assessment, Sebring has decided that exempting anyone, and later asking for their money, is a bad idea. That's a good policy in making taxation as fair as possible. Fires do not discriminate, be it a church building, a government office or a home, or a vacant lot. And there's no reason why some property owners should be discriminated against when paying this proposed assessment. ...more

May 12, 2008 |

County Administrator David Hamilton wanted to hear what was on people's mind regarding the budget. ...more

May 7, 2008 |

County Needs Visionaries Regarding "County Eyes Service Cuts, Shies Away From Tax Increases" (Metro, Feb. 14): ...more

February 21, 2008 |

Highlands County officials have every right to be upset with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. That's because he's apparently broke his promise to Highlands County and every other "fiscally constrained" county in Florida that will take a big tax hit. The citizens of Highlands County should be just as upset and make sure the governor's office knows about it. ...more

February 21, 2008 |