Kudos to Commissioner Carlson for asking "Where's the money coming from?" and then voting "no" to voluntarily reducing county revenue. The other commissioners should have followed the rookie's lead. Instead, the majority approved measures (senior citizen tax break and combat troop stipend) which had been turned down or tabled back when the county had the money to spend. What's the logic; now that we can't afford it, we'll do it? I'm not addressing the merits of either proposal, but neither should the commission have. The county should simply not entertain requests for exemptions or expenditures from special interest groups until its revenue stream is stable; tax reductions have consequences. ...more

November 25, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist wants to give each of Florida's 11 state universities the power to raise tuition by up to 15 percent every year. ...more

November 20, 2008

Tampa's Mary Delgado, a winner of ABC's "The Bachelor" reality series in 2004, is out of jail after being arrested in a Southwest border-town bar on a disorderly conduct charge. ...more

November 18, 2008

Shareholders of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. approved the $52 billion sale of the business to Belgium-based InBev SA on Wednesday, a deal that is set to create the world's largest brewer. ...more

November 13, 2008

TAMPA State regulators are expected to decide today whether Tampa Electric Co. and Progress Energy can raise electric bills next year to cover higher costs for oil, natural gas and other fuels used to generate electricity. Under TECO's proposal, bills would increase about 12 percent beginning in January. The cost of 1,000 kilowatt-hours would rise from $114.38 to $128.44. ...more

November 12, 2008

The economy won't heal until the housing market improves, and that's going to take government intervention. ...more

November 7, 2008

A charter school for Hernando County's dropouts was shot down by the school board Tuesday. ...more

November 5, 2008

I believe the environmental impact far outweighs the benefits of a few added jobs to the county. Why is the government dumping money into the Everglades cleanup while Highlands County is looking to initiate their very own ridge run-off? If the plant owners were going to ensure that county residents' gas never exceed $2 per gallon, perhaps the trade-off would be more enticing? ...more

November 4, 2008