At the request of Allen C. Altvater III, the city of Sebring City Council voted to provide some official help to serve on a centennial planning committee when the city celebrates 100 years in October of 2012. ...more

November 8, 2009

It is the nature of politicians - just as it is the nature of spouses - to be occasionally irritating, sometimes vexing and oftentimes disagreeable. ...more

October 25, 2009

Civic activist Janey Baldwin drove home her point at Tuesday's debut of the budget and finance standing committee that the entire affair was a waste of time. ...more

March 4, 2009

Surfing the boob tube one afternoon a few days ago, I stumbled across a local station televising a Hernando County Commission workshop. ...more

December 7, 2008

The overture to what could be a hot issue for months to come made its debut Aug. 27, when the City Council voted to establish a committee to review the city charter and make amendment recommendations. ...more

September 6, 2008

The county commission on Tuesday appointed a 17-member "stakeholders" committee to revamp Pasco's land development regulations to make the codes more "user friendly." ...more

July 23, 2008

The county commission today appointed a 17-member stakeholders committee to revamp Pasco's land development regulations to make the codes more "user friendly." Some residents questioned, however, whether the panel, comprised mostly of developers, their attorneys and others in the building industry, would have the county's best interests in mind or if residents would be better watchdogs. "This is asking the foxes to guard the henhouse," said Richard Riley, a member of the grassroots rural protection group in northeast Pasco. "Each [of the members] may ...more

July 22, 2008

SEBRING — Whether or not charges are filed in the state attorney's office investigation of the Greater Sebring Chamber of Commerce, the results will be become public. According to Florida's sunshine laws, the records are currently closed because the investigation is ongoing, said Assistant State's Attorney Steve Houchin, who manages the Highlands County office. But when the investigation concludes, if the case is closed and no action is taken, then the findings can be released to the public, Houchin said. ...more

May 26, 2008

The negotiation with proposed Highlands County administrator Michael Wright demonstrates again just how lucky Floridians are to have a government that operates in the sunshine. The process to hire a county administrator has been transparent from the start and continues to be open to anyone wanting to be part of the process. ...more

May 9, 2008

Sunshine Law Violation A letter to fire commissioners suggesting how they should vote, who they should vote for and asking them to expedite the selection process seems to me to violate the very concept of the "Government in the Sunshine" laws. ...more

February 15, 2008