For homeowners in trouble, a short sale can be a lifesaver. Lenders allow a house to be sold for less than is owed on the mortgage and then write off the rest. The homeowner just walks away. ...more

August 21, 2008

In reading "Tax 'Mess' Muddles Short Sales Of Homes" (front page, Aug. 13), it appears this is a great opportunity for our legislators to shine and come up with a common-sense solution. At issue here is whether the document stamps apply to a mortgage balance or the final selling price of the house in a short sale, where the mortgage lender accepts less for the house than what is owed. ...more

August 15, 2008

As Florida's coffers shrink in the face of a dour economy, confusion over a tax statute threatens to choke the flow of home sales at a time when the state is struggling under the burden of millions of unsold properties. ...more

August 13, 2008

Whatever his motives, and plenty of people will speculate on that, Sen. Barack Obama made a gutsy and appropriate move when he told an audience in Springfield, Ill., that he opposes slavery reparations and even apologies for the darkest corners of our nation's history. He'll be lambasted by all sides for saying it, of times, but we give him credit for putting it out there. ...more

August 3, 2008

Some people in Sarasota are upset that the state Legislature changed the name of a John Ringling Causeway bridge. ...more

July 30, 2008

After a marathon session that lasted through the night, Argentina's lower house of Congress on Saturday narrowly approved agricultural export tax increases that the government imposed four months ago. ...more

July 6, 2008

Florida is broadening its law enforcement efforts to slow down the increasing number of gangs roaming Florida streets and neighborhoods, Attorney General Bill McCollum said Tuesday. ...more

June 25, 2008

Our ancestors probably didn't care about political land boundaries as they migrated across and populated the American frontier. As their storytellers, we often are thwarted by those very boundaries and their frequent changes. ...more

June 22, 2008

When Florida sheriff's offices began investigating child abuse cases for the state in 1999, some sheriffs warned the switch would work only if the Legislature gave departments enough money to do the job right. ...more

June 15, 2008

I am probably doing just that, tilting at windmills, but I am seriously wondering why the bills brought before our representatives continually are full of little additions: items that deter honestly needed programs. So many measures are included in most of our proposed laws that it takes weeks for legislators to read them, if they even do. The worst part of it is when a perfectly sound and needful measure is thrown out because of some extra that has been tacked on in hopes it will pass with the important item. That way nothing gets passed (but the buck!) ...more

June 12, 2008