Here are a couple more letters on your experiences in Florida emergency rooms. Everyone seems to have his or her own tale. Instead of publishing more of them I'd prefer to hear possible solutions such as patient representatives to local urgent care centers. ...more

February 17, 2009

Can you see the similarity between President Obama's announcement to close Gitmo in one year and JFK's goal of having a man on the moon by the end of the decade? In both cases, neither could specifically say how it would be accomplished. They just had a sense that once they set an important goal and put the best in minds on achieving it, it would get done. Of course, they had preliminary discussions and studies and understood the main issues and possible solutions, but what they did, as executives, was set a goal, and expectation – a reasonable timetable. The Bush years will soon be viewed as an anomaly by the rest of the world, a brief period in our long history where we fell into the wrong hands, were overcome by fear, lost our moral compass and became decidedly un-American. ...more

January 27, 2009

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Highlands County Commissioner Don Bates for his active participation in the Placid Lakes Homeowners Association meetings. It is a pleasure to see an elected official exemplify true representative behaviors. ...more

December 17, 2008

As the chairman of the Board for the Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority (THEA), I wish to clarify a few misconceptions about THEA's role in the Gandy corridor project. ...more

July 25, 2008

County to hold traffic calming meetings in Seffner and Bloomingdale. ...more

July 16, 2008

The number of people drafting the Brandon Community Plan would barely make a household. ...more

July 16, 2008

Many residents of Highlands County may not be aware that each of the five county commissioners receives a salary, in addition to the wages they earn from their own employment. Not only did Highlands County residents elect the fine folks that hold seats on the Board of County Commissioners, but we also pay them to make wise decisions. Recently, however, I have noticed that our commissioners are interested in appointing committees rather than making decisions themselves. As much as I am supportive of community involvement in local government, I disagree with the abundance of committees that have been created. Before long, the commissioners will be forming a committee to form a committee for something else. Governing by way of committee only sends the message to your constituents that you're afraid or unable to make decisions. Their actions, or inactions, also clearly send the message that they don't trust their own employees to do the work they were hired to do. This is a very disconcerting message for everyone. ...more

February 8, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Ground-penetrating radar showed that a reclaimed water reservoir under construction at Pines Parkway is prone to sinkholes, but it appears the problems run deeper than expected. ...more

November 6, 2007

At 91, Olivia Pitts Jackson was the boarding home's oldest resident. She arrived Feb. 27. That day, the Tampa Housing Authority evicted her and her husband from public housing. John Jackson, 47 - "God told us to marry," she says - hadn't responded to the agency's annual review to see whether they still qualified for public housing. So they had to go. ...more

November 2, 2007

I've gotten a half-dozen e-mails this week from frustrated anglers who are chasing the thousands of mackerel boiling the bay, but who can't seem to catch more than one or two. ...more

October 17, 2007