A recent editorial rebuked the federal government of shortchanging Florida in its effort to provide more educational funds (stimulus) for our schools. How could the feds be so mean to require the state to request a waiver because it had cut funds for education instead of increasing funds? In reviewing Florida's record relating to educational funding, one will discover that Florida had shortchanged education for decades. The late governors Askew, then Collins, tried to turn the tide and move Florida up about 45th in the nation on funding, only to have the Democratic legislature to again decrease funding. Governor Graham worked to improve funding, but again that was reversed. The late Governor Chiles had a Republican legislature that under funded education. The state is currently near the bottom in funding education. ...more

March 15, 2009

Carol Carter, who resigned from her post as state committeewoman for the Hillsborough County Republican Party over an e-mail some considered racially offensive, is dropping out of the race to regain the position. ...more

March 14, 2009

When you're working, you have a financial strategy that is largely based on one goal: saving money for a comfortable retirement. You'll likely have to make many adjustments over several decades to ensure that you stay on track saving and investing. But once you retire, a new goal arises - investing so you can remain retired. To help yourself achieve this goal, you will need to make a number of investment decisions. ...more

February 27, 2009

"I've always been worried about getting older, even when I was young," says singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, now 62. ...more

February 26, 2009

Consumer Confidence Tanks Confidence in the economy hit a record low in February as job were lost and retirement accounts shrank. ...more

February 25, 2009

The Manatee County Port Authority has approved Port Manatee's $750 million master plan for expansion over five decades, with the immediate focus on opportunities associated with the Panama Canal expansion scheduled to be completed in 2014. ...more

February 24, 2009

For years there was an annual late-summer rite that occurred all around Florida. The local sheriff, in good economic times or bad, would suggest in a public fashion the bad guys were winning the upper hand and the sheriff's agency needed more money to put extra personnel and equipment on the street to take back the initiative. In Pasco County over the decades there have been spirited battles between the sheriff of the moment and the County Commission, which under state law can make cuts in Sheriff's Office spending. ...more

February 21, 2009

The 2008-09 wrestling season appeared on the surface like a typical one for the Brandon High Eagles. They spent the season rolling over the competition, much the way they have done the past two-plus decades under longtime coach Russ Cozart. ...more

February 19, 2009

The St. Petersburg Times is closing its Dade City bureau in the Old City Hall building on Meridian Avenue. ...more

February 12, 2009

Community leaders for Westchase weren't happy to learn that a group of damaged trees along Linebaugh Avenue may not get replaced. ...more

February 11, 2009