Tourism, teachers and the disabled will benefit from Gov. Charlie Crist's decision on Tuesday to preserve nearly $365 million in state spending that lawmakers had proposed cutting this month. ...more

January 28, 2009

The $2.6 billion package of state budget cuts and funding swaps that lawmakers approved on Wednesday includes the following: ...more

January 15, 2009

K-12 education lost $466 million. County health departments lost $7.7 million. Pasco County kept $5 million for new businesses. ...more

January 15, 2009

About $400,000 for conservation land purchases in Highlands County this year will be lost if, as expected, the state legislature suspends the state's Florida Forever land conservation program. ...more

January 13, 2009

The state Senate wants to suspend the Florida Forever land conservation program six months, effectively abandoning dozens of land purchases already in the works, including several in the Tampa Bay area. ...more

January 9, 2009

Environmentalists are reeling from the Senate's decision to axe Florida Forever funding for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. The proposal would mean canceling issuance of $250 million in bonds, which would have supported Florida's purchase of environmentally sensitive land around the state. ...more

January 8, 2009

and the public - is rightly quick to point out to point out bureaucratic bungling, we're not so quick to highlight government successes. ...more

January 5, 2009

6:04 p.m.: There were just 12 cars in the lot at Riverview High School, polling place for Precinct 952, just before 6 p.m. today. ...more

November 4, 2008

Supporters of Hillsborough County's land conservation program know they face challenges in getting voters to renew a tax to purchase undeveloped land. ...more

July 17, 2008

Under pressure from farmers, livestock producers and soaring food prices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is weighing a proposal that could lead to the plowing of millions of acres of land that had been set aside for conservation. ...more

July 11, 2008