Dear Abby: For the past three years, I have been dating this girl, "Annie," whom I love very much. We're both 18, and I am starting college in the fall and plan to go into the military. ...more

May 4, 2008

Hernando County will have to shop around for a new human resources director. ...more

April 25, 2008

The Los Angeles Angels defeated Francisco Rodriguez in salary arbitration Friday, and the closer will receive $10 million rather than his request for $12.5 million. ...more

February 23, 2008

David Hamilton is back in Crow Wing, Minn., where he will spend the next several weeks wrapping up business and making sure his transition from his job as county administrator there goes smoothly. ...more

January 26, 2008

I know editorials are opinion pieces, but opinions that make it to your editorial page should have at least some remote basis in fact. What facts do you have to back your assertion that the rising number of voters registering as independents reflects dissatisfaction with the major party candidates? Surely, you don't mean there is a tide of support for independent candidates, since for all practical purposes there aren't any. Do you have surveys, polls, interviews, etc. to support your statement? Worse, you then lapse into repeating the insipid populist pabulum that we have sent so many jobs overseas that wages have not kept pace with the economy. You really should check the facts. Trade has increased over 10-fold since 1960 to nearly $3.5 trillion –– more than one fourth of our total economy. If it caused unemployment and lower living standards, we would all be on welfare by now. Instead: Real GDP more than doubled, we added 81 million jobs, real per-capita and median incomes rose by a third, inflation and unemployment fell to historically low levels. We still manufacture twice as much as China and the combination of manufacturing, mining, and agriculture as a percent of our GDP remains at near record highs. Yes, the number of people working in manufacturing is declining. The same is happening in nearly every country, including China (where the number of workers in manufacturing has fallen 10-15 percent in recent years). We are witnessing the same miracle in manufacturing today that we saw in agriculture in the mid-20th century. Fewer people making more. It doesn't mean we have more unemployment; it means we have more stuff. ...more

January 15, 2008

South Koreans voted for a new president today in an election widely expected to end a decade of liberal rule - if the nation can overlook a scandal that has tainted the front-runner. ...more

December 19, 2007

If Bucs coach Jon Gruden wanted to push running back Michael Bennett's button during his Monday news conference, it worked. ...more

December 11, 2007

The state constitution wisely provides that every 20 years, a panel of experts must review how Florida collects and spends our money. This year the re-evaluation has begun with the state voters eager for fundamental change yet confused by a ballot measure that doesn't get the job done. ...more

December 9, 2007

An open letter to the School Board and superintendent of Highlands County: I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction in regard to the school board's offer to raise the Educational Support Professionals salary by 2 percent. Due to circumstances beyond our association's control, we have been working under last year's contract until Nov. 9, when the school board/superintendent presented this "offer," and I use that term loosely. I understand that the district has the authority and responsibility to set aside a certain percent of monies for employee's salaries (raises). What I don't understand is the reasoning behind their only offering us a 2 percent raise especially considering that the teacher's got at least an 8 percent raise over 2 years, and administrators received 3 percent raise for the current year. ...more

November 30, 2007

Customers are growing less satisfied with independent travel Web sites, J.D. Power and Associates said Tuesday in releasing its 2007 survey of 5,414 travelers. ...more

November 28, 2007