On paper, it looks like Hillsborough County is willing to pay nearly 20 times the official value of about 7 acres of swamp to add it to a 2,000-acre preservation parcel known as the Alafia South Prong. ...more

January 12, 2008

On paper, it looks like Hillsborough County is willing to pay nearly 20 times the official value of about 7 acres of swamp to add it to a 2,000-acre preservation parcel known as the Alafia South Prong. ...more

January 12, 2008

Crews renovating the intersection of County Line Road and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard could finish with the bulk of their work by the end of the month. ...more

December 16, 2007

The second of two men charged in the slaying of John Benjamin heads to trial this morning in Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court. ...more

December 11, 2007

SEBRING –– There is both good and disappointing news regarding the condition of the 1,200 miles of roads maintained by Highlands County. First, the good news. The county will resurface 25 miles of roadways, eight more than last year, in the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. The disappointing news: At least 30 miles, and preferably 40 miles, should be resurfaced each year to keep the county road system in top shape, according to Brian Miller, the county's road construction inspector. There is also hope for expanding county road maintenance in future years, if Ken Wheeler's optimism about the county's asphalt plant bears out. In May, Highlands County is scheduled to open the state's first government owned asphalt plant at the county landfill. Wheeler, the county's director of solid waste, has predicted a cost of $69 per ton for paving with asphalt from that plant, $13 per ton less than the county's current contract price of $82 per ton. ...more

October 29, 2007

One Plant City event that was heavily promoted last Halloween is nowhere to be seen this October. ...more

October 24, 2007

TAMPA - Firefighters were on the scene of a road construction accident today in which they needed a bucket truck to lift an injured man off a barge in the Hillsborough River. ...more

October 9, 2007

The city has big plans for Halloween, but they don't include a repeat of last year's Jackobury, which featured haunted trails and spooky special effects. ...more

October 3, 2007

PLANT CITY - The city has big plans for Halloween, but they don't include a repeat of last year's Jackobury, which featured haunted trails and spooky special effects. ...more

September 27, 2007

Imagine trying to trim a billion dollars out of the budget. That might not seem like too much if you're talking about the federal budget, but it's Florida's budget, and that's a problem. So how do you do it? Obviously you start cutting. But what about spending money? That's what Gov. Charlie Crist wants to do, and we think he's on to something. Just about everything is on the table for proposed cuts, although Crist has said education would not be touched. He has, however, said that state reserves should be used to start major infrastructure construction projects such as roads and schools to invigorate the construction business. By doing this, he says, it will kick-start the state's economy. We're not sure how that would work on the state level, but there's no doubt that the flat housing market in Highlands County is having a massive negative effect on those of us living here. With no major manufacturing plant that employs a huge number of people here, construction and all of its offshoots drives this area's economy, along with citrus. ...more

September 9, 2007