Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Ray Sansom obviously are in denial. In setting a January special session to deal with the state's financial crisis on Monday, they retreated to the same old way of doing business - pledging only to target "spending reductions and trust fund transfers." ...more

December 17, 2008

House and Senate leaders have declared a special legislative session in early January to plug an expected $2.3 billion hole in the state budget. ...more

December 16, 2008

House and Senate leaders have declared a special legislative session in early January to plug an expected $2.3-billion hole in the state budget. ...more

December 15, 2008

Democratic lawmakers want to raise the cigarette tax, and some Republicans are warming to the idea. Gov. Charlie Crist says he hasn't. ...more

December 11, 2008

The family of former Gov. Lawton Chiles said they will sue state leaders if they decide to raid the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund for children and seniors in an attempt to balance the budget. ...more

December 7, 2008

PLANT CITY The Hillsborough County legislative delegation will hear public testimony this morning on a bill designed to crack down on predatory towing companies. The legislation would give Hillsborough's Public Transportation Commission enforcement powers over towing companies that target cars on private business property without the owner's written permission. ...more

December 2, 2008

Every year, city and county government officials and civic groups make pitches to Hillsborough County's state legislators for money. They come with requests for road, water and redevelopment projects, and seeking state tax dollars for local issues. ...more

November 28, 2008

Reflecting the state's economic downturn, Progress Energy Florida announced that it will eliminate about 300 positions by the end of the year. Nearly half the affected positions are currently vacant. ...more

August 31, 2008

The Tampa Bay Rays will abandon ambitious plans to build a $450 million baseball stadium on the downtown waterfront in four years and instead get more people involved in assessing other locations, the team announced Wednesday. ...more

June 26, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays announced this afternoon that they will abandon their ambitious plans to build a $450 million stadium on the downtown waterfront by 2012. Rays President Matt Silverman said at a news conference the team will no longer seek a November referendum on the new ballpark the team proposed seven months ago for the site of Progress Energy Park, home of Al Lang Field. ...more

June 25, 2008