Like the manual typewriter and the eight-track tape, the milk crate may disappear from existence. ...more

July 20, 2008

TAMPA - The face of milk has changed, at least in the bulk supply warehouses in the Tampa Bay area and other areas across the nation. ...more

July 1, 2008

AVON PARK - If you've been putting off your water bill, you'll literally pay for the delay after the city council voted 3-2 to start charging late fees. Water customers who do not pay by 2 p.m. on the bill's due date will have to pay five percent of the overdue amount, or $1, whichever is greater. ...more

June 9, 2008

AVON PARK — A dozen Avon Park police officers crowded the council chambers, ready to protest a possible decision to stop them from taking their police cruisers home. They didn't need to do anything but wear their white Southwest Florida Police Benevolent Association shirts Monday evening, as the council postponed a vote on the policy for another month. ...more

May 13, 2008

AVON PARK — The Avon Park Community Center cost the city and its taxpayers an average of well over $10,000 every year since it opened at its current location, city records indicate. For all but one year since record-keeping began on the community center, expenses were considerably higher than revenues. This is without considering the damages the building received during the 2004 hurricane season. Last week, the community center's losses led at least one councilman to compare it to the city's airport, accusing both of losing money each year. "We need to either get rid of it or do it right," Councilman George Hall said Monday. Hall blamed the center's losses partially on the lack of advertising for it. He added that there was not even an information box placed there. ...more

February 19, 2008

SEBRING — Whether Floridians will vote for a tax cut won't be known until Jan. 29, but four local government officials are against it. "The tax reform doesn't fix the problem," said Guy Maxcy, a Highlands County commissioner. It doesn't correctly modify the taxing system, Maxcy said. The county would lose $5.5 million, according to an estimate provided by Highlands County Property Appraiser Raymond McIntyre. That doesn't count the effect of portability, which would allow homeowners to move the Save Our Homes cap. Save Our Homes is a constitutional mandate that a taxing entity cannot raise the taxable value of the home by more than 3 percent each year. He estimated the average homeowner could save $230 annually in property taxes. But taxing authorities could raise the millage to offset any tax cut created by the Jan. 29 vote, McIntyre said. ...more

January 18, 2008

Those ruby-red lips puffing away at a delicately hand-rolled cigarette, those shoulder blades jutting like weapons from a knockout of a backless, emerald-green gown - Keira Knightley would seem to be starring in an elegant period drama, one that's predictably and self-consciously reserved. ...more

January 3, 2008

AVON PARK — The Highlands County School Board will not have to pay for a reclaimed "gray water" pipe hook-up at Memorial Elementary School until the city's reclaimed water lines reach within 500 feet of the school. In a split 3-2 vote, the council accepted the compromise in the agreement. Council members Doug Eason and Brenda Gray cast the two dissenting votes. ...more

November 29, 2007

He wanted to do something special, and he did. Finishing sixth overall, Hernando High senior, Tyler Maier, concluded his prep cross country career proudly in the Class 2A State Finals at the Little Everglades Ranch in Pasco County. ...more

November 24, 2007

AVON PARK — John Barben admits the Avon Park Executive Airport is troubled. As it bled more than $3.8 million in state grants since the 2005-2006 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, it generated only about $345,000 in business revenue. ...more

October 11, 2007