Gov. Charlie Crist released a proposal this afternoon that relies on billions of federal stimulus dollars to boost state spending by $1 billion next fiscal year. ...more

February 20, 2009

A FairTax rally is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at the corner of State Road 50 and Mariner Boulevard. ...more

February 19, 2009

Reference the letter by Jim Vokes on Feb. 9: I read with interest the part about Canada's health care system. I would like to chat with whomever wrote the letter Mr. Vokes refers to. ...more

February 19, 2009

Republicans are up in arms about Gov. Crist's support of the stimulus package. Many are also surprised that the governor is contemplating a Senate run rather than standing for re-election. A possible reason for both relates to something I have pondered for some time: Florida should raise the sales tax by one cent, at least temporarily. The stimulus package, manna for our charmed governor, will likely enable Florida to balance its budget this year. But unless the economy improves significantly, next year we will be back to where we are now, cutting into the marrow of our already bare bones state programs. Perhaps the governor sees raising taxes in the near future as the only logical way to maintain the modest quality of life the state provides to its citizens, while understanding that, as a Republican, raising taxes would likely end his political career. The smart thing is to let someone else do it. ...more

February 14, 2009

Pasco County commissioners hope to turn a corner - literally, in this case - after giving the green light to turn-lane additions at the intersection of Little Road and Hudson Avenue. ...more

February 12, 2009

Pasco County commissioners hope to turn a corner - literally in this case, after giving the green light to turn-lane additions at the intersection of Little Road and Hudson Avenue. ...more

February 4, 2009

Mayor Pam Iorio this morning made an impassioned pitch for a Tampa-centric rail plan to members of TBARTA, the region's transportation authority, saying the system's first leg could be built in five or six years if approved by voters in a 2010 referendum. ...more

January 23, 2009

When people were successfully making the case for approving the Penny for Pasco one-cent special sales tax during the March 2004 referendum, voters were told the Pasco School District badly needed its 45 percent share of the tax's annual revenue - more than $400 million over 10 years - because it was swamped by a huge annual influx of students. ...more

January 14, 2009

Nearly a year after the Zephyrhills Fire Department was flooded out of its downtown fire station, the city may finally be ready to repair the 50-year-old building. ...more

January 10, 2009

Businesses across Florida are carefully watching the Legislature with the deepening cash crisis facing state government leading to the most serious talk of eliminating some tax exemptions since former President John McKay took on the tax structure eight years ago. ...more

December 21, 2008