I am a soldier in Iraq. I have walked the streets of many a village and seen oppression with my own eyes. I am actively engaged in building self-worth into a country that has been enslaved for decades. I am one of many teaching the citizens of Iraq what it means to be free. ...more

October 14, 2008

Health and Human Services Director Jean Rags is confident Hernando County will get a chunk of the federal block grant money earmarked for housing relief, even though the county does not meet certain population parameters. ...more

October 10, 2008

The Circle was transformed into a quaint, eye-pleasing and functional park in 1985 and now more color and improvements are proposed in downtown Sebring's focal point. ...more

September 18, 2008

The Avon Park Wal-Mart will open next week. So, will traffic get better in front of the Sebring Wal-Mart? ...more

August 8, 2008

City commissioners have approved a comprehensive plan amendment to allow development of the 1,009-acre Cone-Graham tract. ...more

July 23, 2008

John Hedrick's recent guest column, "Hometown Democracy Returns Power To Citizens" (Other Views, June 26), peddles the popular myth that the "Hometown Democracy" amendment will give power to the people. ...more

July 5, 2008

It's unfortunate that legislation establishing Florida's first tower crane regulations collapsed because of a dispute over whether counties should have the right to adopt tougher standards. ...more

June 12, 2008

SEBRING — When Ave Maria opened last year in Collier County, two large landowners in Highlands County started working on a plan to conserve their land so they could organize the same kind of city, minus the controversies that surround that development. But after a series of fits and starts, the Rural Land Stewardship Area Program appears dead in Highlands County. First, Lykes Bros. dropped out of the program. Now, Atlanticblue has put in a more traditional rezoning request. Susie Bishop, an Atlanticblue spokeswoman, said Atlanticblue got tired of waiting for the state to review the program rules, and was discouraged by what she described as a new leadership in Tallahassee that stripped the program of incentives. ...more

June 8, 2008

The county commission on Wednesday is slated to sign off on an agreement to ensure Pasco has enough schools to serve its growing population. ...more

February 25, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - The Pasco County School Board gave approval Tuesday to an interlocal agreement with the county commission that includes a school concurrency plan. ...more

February 20, 2008