Lawmakers serving west Pasco County are gearing up for a special session of the Florida Legislature next week to work on the state's budget deficit of more than $2.3 billion. ...more

January 3, 2009

Man-on-the-street interviews Wednesday found both cheers and jeers for a state bill to raise the tax on cigarettes by $1 per pack. ...more

January 2, 2009

He's been a big fish in the relatively small pond that is Pasco County Republican politics. Bill Bunting is now swimming in a much bigger GOP pond. Bunting had to retire as chairman of the Pasco Republican Executive Committee when he was elected state committeeman for the Florida Republican Party in November. ...more

December 27, 2008

The proverbial "silver lining" to the drop in home prices is that the Highlands County Housing Department has been helping more low- and median-income families become homeowners. ...more

December 27, 2008

Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Ray Sansom obviously are in denial. In setting a January special session to deal with the state's financial crisis on Monday, they retreated to the same old way of doing business - pledging only to target "spending reductions and trust fund transfers." ...more

December 17, 2008

The family of former Gov. Lawton Chiles said they will sue state leaders if they decide to raid the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund for children and seniors in an attempt to balance the budget. ...more

December 7, 2008

$20 billion Amount of economic stimulus the National Governors Association would like to see states receive per year for two years ...more

December 2, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist says he still may propose borrowing from the state's tobacco settlement trust fund to help avoid a budget deficit even though the fund has lost nearly half its value. ...more

November 20, 2008

Barack Obama rode a wave of economic discontent to the White House, and now he faces the daunting task of turning the weakening economy around. ...more

November 6, 2008

Sen. Mike Fasano easily won a fourth and final term Tuesday in the state Senate, cruising by Democratic challenger and political newcomer Fred Taylor. ...more

November 5, 2008