We wrote letters. We begged her. We sent a box of (half-eaten) cookies to her Tampa hotel. It was no use. ...more

November 16, 2007

Ever drive through a city and get the feeling upon entering the city limits that citizens there value beauty and serenity? ...more

October 25, 2007

AVON PARK — John Barben admits the Avon Park Executive Airport is troubled. As it bled more than $3.8 million in state grants since the 2005-2006 fiscal year ending Sept. 30, it generated only about $345,000 in business revenue. ...more

October 11, 2007

SEBRING — Housing assistance offered by Highlands County to low- and moderate-income people has grown 15 times larger than it was seven years ago, when Penny Phillippi took over the program. That's one reason Phillippi is on the verge of becoming the first executive director of the new Immokalee Community Redevelopment Agency. When Phillippi became county housing director in November 2000, assistance programs totaled just under $700,000 per year. That figure is now more than $10 million annually. Phillippi confirmed that she has a contract offer of $85,000 to head the Immokalee CRA. With a $6,000 per year car allowance, her total salary package would be $91,000. While the new job would raise her salary by about $35,000, Phillippi said, "for me it was never an issue of money. I loved this job, I loved the challenge here, and I love Highlands County." ...more

October 5, 2007

SEBRING — The Nan-Ces-O-Wee Hotel has a new owner, who has plans to revitalize it into a vibrant part of downtown. Jhonson Napoleon, owner of Napoleon Real Estate in Miami, closed Friday on the hotel, located at 139 N. Ridgewood Dr. "I want to make the hotel into a project that will make the city of Sebring proud," Napoleon said. He is already working with an architectural firm in Lakeland on plans for condominiums on the upper floors and a restaurant on the ground level. ...more

October 3, 2007

When residents in the North River neighborhood raised concerns about chronic speeders, the city installed stop signs and speed humps. ...more

October 2, 2007

Behind the iron gates of Harbor Pointe, the average house costs more than $1 million. ...more

September 23, 2007

What is a community redevelopment district? In 1969, the Florida Legislature passed a bill enabling local governments to create community redevelopment districts and community redevelopment agencies to work in those districts. Currently, there are more than 178 CRAs operating across the state. ...more

September 23, 2007

In issuing a ruling that reverses a 27-year precedent and strips local governments of a key funding source, you'd think the Florida Supreme Court would nail down the details. ...more

September 22, 2007

SEBRING — The home of a music teacher in the 1920s is now what Charlotte Pressler affectionately calls her money pit. ...more

September 5, 2007