Pasco's lawmakers lassoed more than $28 million this year in state funding for countywide capital improvements. ...more

May 31, 2008

SEBRING — As the country moves toward energy independence, central Florida will be a key region, U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney told county school board officials and administrators. "This is going to transform Highlands County," he said Thursday. "We believe that we are going to generate over 10,000 high-paying jobs in this region in the next 10 years." ...more

February 22, 2008

Our county government is a mess. They change committees to suit their agenda. If the results are not to their paradigm, they change the rules or committees. Example, they first decided that a new "CEO" a.k.a. county administrator, should be hired after his or her staff has been hired. What a colossal error. I can only think of one reason for this. They wanted to be sure that their special people were promoted to these higher-paying jobs. But when the committee sent the second selection of the new directors' jobs, they were not all that happy. So they just changed the rules and the next ones will be a group of finalists. ...more

February 20, 2008

SEBRING – The lengthy process of attracting an industry that will bring high-paying jobs to the region and perhaps attract other businesses is moving along. In April of last year, Sebring Regional Airport and the airport's site emerged as the top location for a Rural Economic Development Catalyst Project in the region. The project, which is a pilot program, will target industries with the goal of creating high value-added jobs, capital investment and an economic ripple throughout each region. The targeted industry areas include life sciences, pharmaceuticals, research and development, orthopedic manufacturers. The South Central Rural Area of Critical Economic Concern includes Highlands, Hardee, Hendry, Glades, DeSoto and Okeechobee counties and the communities of Immokalee, South Bay, Belle Glade and Pahokee. ...more

February 3, 2008

Those who oppose abortions call those who are pro-choice morally corrupt. One columnist even reasoned that there would not be illegal aliens in this country if those 50 million aborted babies had lived. Those 50 million would have jobs, thus negating the need to import illegals. With that rationale, all those policies by President Bush would be justified. Please follow this logic. Even that great conservative, President Reagan, justifiably out-sourced 5 million jobs because 20 million babies were aborted. He even penalized the taxpayers by using their taxes to fund the transfer of factories off shore. In addition, he allowed those manufacturers to take their profits off shore to avoid paying taxes and allowed them to compete with those who stayed in country for more contracts to be off shored. Who would have believed such a scenario? Not I! ...more

January 30, 2008

VENUS — Brad Krohn said it is "really exciting" for his company and it is "tremendously honored" to have received a $7 million grant for a proposed sugar to ethanol biorefinery in southern Highlands County. But Krohn, president of United States EnviroFuels, knows he has to get permits in place from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Highlands County before the first gallon of ethanol is produced. The Highlands County Commission must also sign off on the plant. It typically takes eight to 12 months for permitting, but Krohn is hopeful it will get done sooner. ...more

January 27, 2008

The sights and sounds at Schooner Wharf drip with Key West attitude: Sunburned tourists lounge near a marina, savoring drinks alongside locals wearing tank tops and sandals. A singer warbles, "I'd rather be here, drinking a beer, than freezing my a-- off up North." ...more

November 5, 2007

The city is poised to ink a construction agreement with Sysco Food Services Corp., the Houston-based food distribution giant that wants to bring 132 new jobs and a 393,000-square-foot facility to east Zephyrhills. ...more

October 18, 2007