Regarding the Letter of the Day, March 30, "Economics 101:" Hugh Williamson asked, "Would you want your garbage man or your auto mechanic to be so wealthy he didn't need to work?" ...more

April 1, 2009

This week's column is dedicated to the staff and volunteers of animal shelters throughout our country. So often you hear people say, "I would love to come and help, but it is too sad to see all of those animals there and without homes." I felt that way long, long ago. ...more

September 14, 2008

I want to applaud the Avon Park City Council members for looking at making the hard decisions. I think it's interesting that it has almost come full circle in the fact that people have forgotten that we live in a small city, but it looks like some people had visions of expanding greatly, which has caused some of our fiscal issues in addition to lower revenues coming in. Even though I might not always agree with George Hall, I applaud him for saying the hard facts at the council meeting. ...more

September 5, 2008

Today marks the halfway point in "Stop On Red Week," a national summons to perform appropriately in the presence of traffic control devices. In a perfect world, this would be as noteworthy as "National Remember to Breathe Week." ...more

August 6, 2008

Although gas prices have come down a bit in the last week, the news continues to be depressing. ...more

August 4, 2008

The Democratic primary race for the Florida House District 55 seat has a familiar look to it. ...more

August 3, 2008

It's almost summer. The pool in my town is open, the kids are itching to get to camp and, more often than not, we're cooking dinner on the grill. ...more

June 15, 2008

E-mail. Text messaging. Flash drives. BlackBerrys. Blogs. Bluetooths. ... Pen and paper? ...more

February 7, 2008

It's become a familiar drumbeat among some Highlands County residents every time there is a mention of the downturn in the local real-estate market. Blame impact fees. Sure, impact fees add to the cost of a new home but what about hundreds of existing homes for sale. There is no impact fee weighing those houses down. The real-estate market in Highlands County is suffering for the same reasons that plague it nationwide. Buyers are waiting for prices to fall down further, the state's insurance premiums and property taxes are keeping homes out of the reach of average homeowners, and lenders have become extra wary of who they want to lend to. ...more

January 15, 2008

Neanderthals, an archaic human species that dominated Europe until the arrival of modern humans about 45,000 years ago, possessed a critical gene known to underlie speech, according to DNA evidence retrieved from two individuals excavated from El Sidron, a cave in northern Spain. ...more

October 21, 2007