AVON PARK — A man was arrested late Saturday afternoon after he was accused of smashing his car into a house and then taking off, according to an official with the Avon Park Police Department. Roberto Jimenez, of Plant City, was charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a valid driver's license in connection with the Saturday evening accident at 2601 Woodruff Heights, said police Sgt. Sally Vega. All three charges are misdemeanors. Jimenez was being held at Highlands County Jail in lieu of a $2,250 bond Sunday. According to Vega and other witnesses, a red Plymouth Breeze with Ohio license plates backed through the wall of the house at around 4:18 p.m. Saturday. Vega said that car was driven by Jimenez, who was visiting a neighbor when he hit the house. The home, owned by Reina V. Rodriguez and Angel L. Maldonado according to Highlands County Property Appraiser records, was unoccupied at the time of the accident, and no injuries were reported. ...more

February 11, 2008

On Jan. 29 Florida voters passed Amendment 1, which substantially changes the Florida property tax system. ...more

February 6, 2008

Whew! Ain't I the lucky one! I figure there's a whopping $240 savings on my typical, average home value now that Amendment 1 is said and done. And yet, I'll still have an end-of-the-year tax bill that's three times that of my neighbors. ...more

February 3, 2008

Hernando County Property Appraiser Alvin Mazourek said he is still crunching numbers on upcoming property assessments. ...more

February 2, 2008

Florida's new property tax amendment should give a boost to the state's housing market and economy, but won't spark a major turnaround, economists and real estate professors said Wednesday. ...more

January 31, 2008

Low-income seniors who applied for the Senior Citizens' Homestead Exemption program should know today if they will get an even deeper cut to their property taxes. ...more

January 30, 2008

Amendment 1 passage would give them deeper tax cut. ...more

January 29, 2008

SEBRING — To citizens who have been told their votes on Tuesday won't count, vote anyway. First, the chairs of Highlands County's two political parties agree: Floridians will have a voice into who leads our nation for the next four years. Second, there's a tax cut on the Jan. 29 ballot that will decide how homeowners, mobile home owners, farmers and businesses will be taxed, affecting them all perhaps decades into the future. ...more

January 27, 2008

Plans are on track to build a $2.5 million station to replace one decertified by the county in 2005. ...more

January 26, 2008

Sheree Ellis, the sister-in-law of University of South Florida linebacker Ben Moffitt, received a letter of reprimand from Wildwood Elementary principal Dana Williams after she told The Tampa Tribune she wrote papers for Moffitt, Sumter County superintendent Richard Shirley said. ...more

January 24, 2008