It seems like everyone seeks heroes in many different places. We often make our favorite athletes into heroes, and even our favorite actors and entertainers.
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Homeowners and anyone considering buying a house need to do extra homework concerning new flood zone maps. Changes being considered could affect how much they're paying and buyers could face more expensive coverage as a result.
The Susan G. Komen Foundation's pink-ribbon fight against breast cancer is well-known. Since 1982, it has invested almost $2 billion to fight the affliction and find a cure, in what is believed to be the largest source of nonprofit money funding the effort.
No wonder so many people are sick of politicians playing by their own set of rules. These politicians feign outrage and claim basic rights are being overlooked or trampled for all kinds of things. Then they flood our home phones and cell phones with text messages and recorded missives on why they are the best choice in an election. It's time for that nonsense to stop.
Some community minded folks are on to a terrific idea in Avon Park. They have formed a group called the Avon Park Champions Club and their mission will be to return pride and success to Avon Park athletics and academics.
The Florida GOP primary is over and, if the pundits are correct, Mitt Romney won. Or maybe Newt Gingrich did. What is known is that attacks ads have been the rage and it leaves a lot of people disgusted, or so they say. Voters say something very different.
A lot of bad news swirls around us constantly and it's easy to get jaded by the negativity. People seem to remember the bad and forget the good. That's just human nature. But there's lots of good out there as well, and we saw a couple of great examples last week.
By The Gainesville Sun:
About the only thing that's clear so far in the GOP presidential nomination process is that all any Republicans want is someone who can beat President Obama in November.
Another great example of what's wrong with our government was exposed this week when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that four exotic types of snakes are being banned from being sold in the U.S. We support the ban, but five other snakes also needed to make that list and for reasons unknown to anyone, they weren't included.
The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville on state mega casinos:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Sometimes good news generates bad news for some people, but there's nothing wrong with hearing that the state plans to close 11 correctional facilities over the next two years.
Early indicators show that Mitt Romney is the man to beat for the Republican presidential nomination, although key primaries are still to come. As expected, his opponents are attacking him in every way possible. One of their biggest criticisms, though, has little merit, and voters will need to pare through these attacks and consider what's legitimate and what's not.
Sometimes we have to swallow hard and ante up to do what's best for the communities we call home. It costs taxpayer money, and that's always a serious consideration, but often it's necessary to write the check. To their credit, the Sebring City Council did just that.
Congratulations to Lake Placid High School for earning the first B accountability grade in the school district since such state grades have been given. It's a sign that good things are happening in our district, and we hope the trend continues. We're still concerned as to why our schools rank in the bottom 18 percent of the state on these grades, though.
Look on the bright side as you step outside this morning to chilling temperatures that make your teeth chatter. We don't get many of these days around these parts and it quickly reminds us just how sweet our weather normally is this time of year.
Last year was full of news in Highlands County and across the globe. It's been a tough one for a lot of folks around here, and we hope this new year brings people who have been struggling an opportunity for better days.
A lot's happening at the Sebring Regional Airport, all with big potential for the future. It's great to hear this, because although the economy and growth is slow, it won't always be that way. The stage is being set for improvements that will benefit everyone in the area.
Sometimes in an attempt to do something beneficial, rules and regulations become a bridge too far. That's what's happening with a provision of Highlands County's proposed smoking restrictions. It is invasive, unnecessary and blatantly unfair.
No one's against increasing academic achievement in Florida schools. Well, no reasonable person is against it. How we get there, though, is a matter of opinion, and we believe ratcheting up Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results could have the opposite effect of what most of us want.
It's easy to lob a verbal grenade and watch everyone immediately put on the defensive. It's not fair, of course, but it's effective. That's what Aljoe Hinson did when he alleged that black, Hispanic and poor white children were being excluded from playing baseball in Avon Park. It's not true, of course, and city officials in Avon Park need to stand up and say so.
Everyone knows that children with higher parental involvement in their schoolwork do better in class. And everyone knows there's a correlation between poverty and lower school scores. The data is there to prove it. The question is, then, how do we get more parents to care about their children's schoolwork? That's what a lot of people are trying to figure out.
As millions of Americans go through economic hardship, it's hard not to cheer that the minimum wage in Florida is going up.
Our society is hung up on the code of silence.
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