A group of fifth-grade students from across the county recently had the opportunity to learn about economics and the free enterprise system at Biz Town, a miniature "city." Twenty public and private enterprises were represented, including University Community Hospital, Tampa Electric Co. and The Tampa Tribune. ...more

October 28, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — Exiting the White House after two turbulent terms, President George W. Bush on Thursday said goodbye to the nation by calling the start of Barack Obama's presidency a "moment of hope and pride for our whole nation." ...more

January 15, 2009

A key quality of successful leadership is trust, but trust has to be earned. This has been proven regardless of the place of the leader: home, nation, church or workplace. One of the greatest books I have ever read on leadership (other than the Bible: Nehemiah, Ruth, David, Esther, Jesus, etc.) is The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers. ...more

October 7, 2008

Freshman Rep. Kathy Castor was among 95 House Democrats to buck Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday by joining with 133 Republicans to defeat a $700 billion financial rescue bill. ...more

September 30, 2008

Shades Of H.G. Wells Methinks Patrick Miketinac has to set the dial in his time machine to 2008 and come to visit us here in the real world. No matter how much you wring your hands or pull at your silver locks, we aren't anytime soon going back on the gold standard. Let's be realistic. I never said we could drill our way out of this, though I'm pretty sure we "not-drilled" our way into it. What would the Middle East look like today had we not been pouring our national wealth in their pockets for more than 30 years? Did you ever see "Lawrence of Arabia?" Now that's nostalgia! ...more

July 25, 2008

With the price at the pump rising past four dollars a gallon and no end in sight, everyone's favorite "Gee I wish" is for cheaper gas prices. This is surely to be desired. Regretfully, relief is more of an illusion than an achievable reality, especially in the short run. Since it is about to be dragged into the presidential campaign, it might be useful to examine a few unpleasant aspects of the reality. To the man on the street, the dream of energy independence has been equated to gasoline cheap enough for him to continue to operate his gas hog, 12-miles-to-the-gallon SUV into the future. ...more

June 12, 2008

I only wish I were experiencing a similar percentage drop in wages-revenue as compared to the losses the county and our government is experiencing. Perhaps my losses are attributed to the decline in construction as well as the real estate market or is it the expensive fuel and rising grocery bill? I may also be over taxed with the real estate since you are hard pressed to sell it even at appraised value. Real estate used to be an asset, now it is a trap. Whatever the driving force is behind the ailing economy, the government has not even come close to feeling the crunch that the small business owners and labor force are enduring. I wonder what the future holds and what the economic gurus will label this economic era. ...more

June 9, 2008