AVON PARK — Groundbreaking for Avon Park Executive Airport's new terminal building should begin within 30 days. Airport Manager C.B. Shirey said that he was hoping it would be completed by Sept. 30, the end of the city's fiscal year. The building will be the ...more

May 8, 2008

At the center of the housing crisis, we're told, is someone called the "predatory lender." Such is the myth driving the housing debate in Washington, where both Democrats and Republicans are rushing toward a mortgage bailout. ...more

May 3, 2008

Starbucks will not brew coffee in downtown Dunedin next year after all. This week the upscale coffee giant notified developer Joseph Kokolakis, who is refurbishing a row of shops at the western entrance to Main Street, it could not sign a lease at this time, Economic Development Director Bob Ironsmith said Thursday night. ...more

February 22, 2008

SEBRING — Although funding will not be available for expansion of the Highlands County Jail in the next 10 years, a block of downtown Sebring could eventually by usurped by a detention facility. City Council members had their first look at the jail's plans for expansion at the Jan. 15 meeting during a discussion about the Sebring Parkway, but they had a hard time focusing on that topic and instead discussed the jail. The Board of County Commissioners has been handling the jail expansion process because administration of the sheriff's office is part of the county's responsibilities. City Council members said because the jail is in the heart of the downtown, they want to be involved in the process as well. "I think the city needs to be part of these discussions about the location and the expansion of the jail," said City Council member Jeff Carlson, who added that the jail is in the middle of the community redevelopment zone. ...more

January 22, 2008

This year, I promised myself I would write more about cats. After all, they're the most popular pet on all fours, with 88 million of them living in U.S. homes (freshwater fish swim way ahead as the most popular at 142 million). ...more

January 19, 2008

After months of meetings, offers and counteroffers, city officials have failed to reach a deal to buy a mobile home park in the crime-ridden east end. ...more

January 15, 2008

If you want to improve your community, the city wants to hear from you. ...more

January 5, 2008

SEBRING — Luke Brooker isn't, but Bob Germaine is. The sheriff is, and so are all the other constitutional officers. Germaine called a press conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday to announce he'll seek the clerk of courts seat being vacated by Brooker. Germaine, 57, said if he's elected, he won't be a one-term clerk. He's been working in the office for 36 years and is Brooker's chief deputy on the criminal courts side. "I help people every day," Germaine said to the 20 people gathered in the supervisor of elections office when he announced. "I don't feel like I've done anything if I don't help someone." ...more

January 3, 2008

The Sebring Community Redevelopment Agency has the right idea about banning parking on the downtown Circle. This runs counter to the other issue of not enough parking in the area, but in the long run, and with additional parking added somewhere close, this idea makes sense. The CRA is creating plans for Streetscape IX, an ongoing downtown project to make it more attractive and bring people downtown. The parking issue is being discussed as the plans are drawn up. Parking in any downtown is a big issue. In Sebring, parking on the Circle isn't particularly handy, and sometimes it's a little scary backing out as traffic flows around the Circle. On top of that, some people who work downtown fill those coveted parking places all day with no regard to customers looking for easy access. ...more

November 30, 2007

A man fleeing from Tampa police in a Honda Accord early Tuesday crashed into a light pole and tried to hide out in a mausoleum, police said. ...more

November 28, 2007