Gov. Charlie Crist lived up to his promise to protect Florida's most vulnerable citizens by vetoing cuts in line items 128 and 129 in the Agency for Persons with Disabilities Budget. ...more

February 5, 2009

It wasn't Thanksgiving for Juana Robles, but she was thankful, nevertheless, for the once-a-year turkey and dressing dinner served by elected officials in Highlands County. ...more

November 21, 2008

I would like to offer my personal observations on the upcoming Clerk of Courts race between Bob Germaine and Mary Wilson. In criticism of Bob Germaine, Mary Wilson has publicly stated that Bob Germaine, if elected, would be "double dipping" because he would be receiving his pension and his salary as clerk of courts at the same time. Nothing to my knowledge precludes Bob from seeking public office while concurrently drawing a pension. Many have done so in the past. Should Bob Germaine be denied the opportunity to seek public office because he has dedicated the last 36 years of his life working for the clerk of courts office, and as a result, he receives a pension? For that matter, should any retired state or county employee, myself included, who receives a pension through the Florida Career Service Retirement System, be denied an opportunity to seek public office? I think the answer is obvious. ...more

October 26, 2008

community involved," he said. Meanwhile, Magrini, 43, a self-employed human resources consultant who lives in Spring Hill, said that good spending practices would still allow the district to give teachers a 4.1 percent raise. He stressed the importance of retaining qualified teachers. ...more

October 15, 2008

I am a director in an association where there is a disagreement between directors. We have a security problem with teenage boys after school. Our board has voted to hire an off-duty policeman to enforce rules and regulations. One director, one of the officers, overrides any vote he does not like and orders the property manager not to implement the directions of the board. ...more

February 9, 2008

A Brookridge couple has mailed 1,000 care packages to troops overseas. They don't plan to stop anytime soon. ...more

December 27, 2007

I live in a small town home association. There has not been an annual meeting for more than a year. I searched the state Internet site and found our 2007 not-for-profit corporation annual report was filed with the secretary of state in March. ...more

December 14, 2007

Over the last few weeks numerous articles have appeared stating the Legislature will be looking for more things to tax. There also appeared an article by Curt Kiser ("Florida Needs Tax Reform, Not Tax Relief," Other Views, Nov. 20), a former Florida legislator, advocating finding more things to tax rather than providing any tax relief. There also has been article after article of nothing but the Legislature giving our hard-earned tax monies to special interests. ...more

December 9, 2007