Illegal immigration is a very hotly debated subject in this county. Most people have very definite ideas on how it should be handled. I would like to know, though, what makes you think that "Racists have grabbed hold of this idea?" I have heard lots of arguments on all sides and have not thought any of them "racist." It has been my experience that the race card is played by those who cannot give a convincing argument on behalf of their opinion so they shout racism! ...more

May 30, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Nearly seven months removed from taking her Zephyrhills volleyball team to the Class 4A-Region 3 quarterfinals - the school's first since 1999 - Tiffany Bibby resigned her position as Bulldogs volleyball coach. ...more

May 13, 2008

SEBRING — Sebring's planning and zoning commission is no longer limited to city residents. Two commissioners may now be property or business owners in the city that do not reside within the city limits. Gary Lower, zoning supervisor, said he has difficulty finding city residents to fill vacancies on the commission, which has seven members and two alternates. ...more

May 11, 2008

From the end of last season, Ridgewood had put in countless hours and miles with the stated goal of advancing deeper into the boys basketball playoffs than the region semifinals. ...more

February 21, 2008

Lightning general manager Jay Feaster left three days of meetings with his fellow GMs in Naples on Wednesday confident he will be busy in the days leading up to Tuesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline. ...more

February 21, 2008

Courtney Stager is a good four-plus months from setting foot on the campus of Florida State University to compete for a job as the Seminoles' catcher, but she already is reaping the benefits of her college connections. ...more

February 20, 2008

Neighbors say they do not recall ever seeing the man who killed five Illinois college students at his father's home in Lakeland. ...more

February 16, 2008

I'm a wife and mother of two, with three grandchildren. I've always loved to eat, so I've had a weight problem at all times of my life. In 1997, I developed a thyroid problem. It was so overactive it affected my heart. It took the doctors more than a year to get my medications right. That's when I gained all my weight. ...more

February 15, 2008

TAMPA - A Lakeland man is the father of the person authorities say fatally shot five people at Northern Illinois University on Thursday before turning the gun on himself, but the shooter never lived here, neighbors said today. ...more

February 15, 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