Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691. ...more

June 18, 2008

"Politics," the late American newspaper editor and writer Charles Dudley Warner once quipped, "makes strange bedfellows." ...more

June 15, 2008

SEBRING —Voters in Highlands County are almost certain to see a 2/10ths of one mill bond issue on the November ballot to raise funds for the purchase of conservation lands. If voters approve the measure, the $1 million which the bond issue would raise per year would draw matching dollars from the state's Florida Forever program to buy important conversation land before it can be developed. Highlands County Commissioner Don Bates said he will vote to put the proposed bond issue to bring in matching state conservation funds on the ballot in November. Bates also said it appears very likely that there will be enough votes on the five-member county commission to submit the issue to the voters. ...more

June 14, 2008

Gov. Charlie Crist's 2007-08 fiscal year budget was lean, and that foreshadowed tough financial times for local governments that depend on state money. ...more

June 12, 2008

The bills for the wicked hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 are still coming in, and Floridians with insurance policies covering everything from autos to boats to homes will have to dig deeper to cover the tab. ...more

June 11, 2008

Normally, government officials need to be very cautious when they plan to spend millions of dollars on a project. But in the case of a proposed hurricane shelter in Hudson, Pasco County officials would be very wise to expedite construction. ...more

June 11, 2008

Leaders at the Byrd Alzheimer's center, freshly battered from a volatile spring in Tallahassee, didn't wind up with a dollar in state money, and they're planning for the next few years as if they'll receive nothing more. ...more

May 8, 2008

Now that the state's universities have decided to cut enrollment to offset a whopping budget shortfall, community colleges will have to figure out how to absorb even more students while cutting millions of dollars. ...more

February 26, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - The people running government can have all kinds of ideas, but what government does or doesn't do often comes down to whether there's enough money. ...more

February 25, 2008

University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft appeared before the board of the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute on Thursday with an idea: that USF take control of the center, which resides on the campus of the university. ...more

February 8, 2008