Remember that property tax cut you voted on in January, which added a $25,000 homestead exemption? Amendment 1 is taking effect with the tax bill property owners will receive in July, said Highlands County Property Appraiser Raymond McIntyre. So how much will the average homeowner save? The real answer is "it depends," said McIntyre, on whether the taxpayer lives in a city or the county, which water management district, the price of the home, whether it's a mobile home, or if it's a commercial business. ...more

June 26, 2008

Most homeowners will net a savings of $200 to $300 on average from this fall because of Amendment 1. ...more

June 22, 2008

The city's redevelopment efforts have been dealt another blow. St. Petersburg-based developer Grady Pridgen, who planned to build a massive retail and residential complex with condos, shops and offices overlooking the Pithlachascotee River, has put the property on the market, leaving the future of the project uncertain. ...more

June 21, 2008

The city's redevelopment efforts have been dealt another blow. St. Petersburg-based developer Grady Pridgen, who planned to build a massive retail and residential complex with condos, shops and offices overlooking the Pithlachascotee River, has put the property on the market, leaving the future of the project uncertain. ...more

June 20, 2008

SEBRING — The purchase of the old Tampa Electric Co. power plant property is apparently off. "At this point," said Assistant City Manager Scott Noethlich, "nothing is happening." The city was interested in buying the Dinner Lake lot where the stream-driven plant sat until TRC America Inc. tore it down. More than a decade ago, said Andy Albritton, a mechanic there, the steam plant supplied power to the city. TRC America, which buys and demolishes power plants to sell the parts, finished removing the Dinner Lake plant in April. "It fits between the solid waste office and the city's fuel depot," Noethlich said. If the city ever wanted to expand either facility, the lot could have been useful. ...more

June 14, 2008

A wood-frame house that burned last week would have been a century old if it could have stood another three or four years. ...more

June 14, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - They frolic naked in the sun, defend an often misunderstood lifestyle and boost the local economy in ways few people realize. ...more

June 7, 2008

They frolic naked in the sun, defend an often misunderstood lifestyle and boost the local economy in ways few people realize. ...more

June 6, 2008

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - Property taxes, canal dredging and minipark dedications were the topics of the night at the quarterly Bay Crest Park Civic Association meeting. ...more

June 4, 2008

SEBRING — Falling sale prices for homes in Highlands County, as is happening in most parts of the country, will put Michael Wright on the proverbial hot seat right away. On Monday, Wright started as the county's administrator and learned he'll have to recommend to the commissioners either budget cuts or an increase in the tax rate. Officials with the school board and the cities of Sebring and Avon Park also face the same tough choices due to the troubled economy and falling home values. The taxable property values overall in Highlands County dropped 9.2 percent from last year, according to the preliminary report by county Property Appraiser Raymond McIntyre. ...more

June 2, 2008