Cy the Cynic says that when the forecast is a 50 percent chance of rain, it means the weatherman has no idea. It's a bad idea to rely on a finesse - a 50 percent chance - when you have no idea whether it will work. ...more

November 28, 2007

Make no mistake about it, the ballot proposal "Florida Hometown Democracy" is a bad idea that, if passed, would begin a nightmare of voting on every growth and planning issue at the local level. ...more

November 18, 2007

Ray Markham's Go Fishing column for today points out one of the interesting ways various types of jigs can be used to pursue mackerel as they move from one depth to another, and as always, Markham's analysis is spot on. ...more

October 10, 2007

The Legislature convenes Wednesday for a third session this year, this time to cut some $1.5 billion from the state's $72 billion budget. It will be painful, but it can be done. ...more

October 1, 2007

It seems odd that Avon Park doesn't do annual evaluations of department heads. That's the case, though, and we don't believe it's fair to department heads and it's certainly not good management of people by business standards. Good managers understand that employees need to know where they stand on a regular basis, which means regular communication. Along with that, they should have an accurate evaluation every year. The key word here is "accurate." Glowing annual evaluations sure make everyone feel warm and fuzzy, but they don't begin to identify weaknesses, strengths and areas where improvement is necessary. Sitting down with a good employee and telling them that along with all their positives, they also have weaknesses is one of the toughest things a manager has to do. It's also, perhaps, the most important thing they do. ...more

September 23, 2007

It cuts a green swath across a road map on a county Web site, but to a group of rural residents based in Lithia, a bypass highway through southeastern Hillsborough - even just on paper - is anything but verdant. ...more

September 15, 2007