To keep the municipal bus service running for another year would have cost the city of Plant City less than $200,000 - and, maybe, with some extended service runs, a little bit more; however, the city of Plant City has now agreed to spend $475,000 to buy nearly a half-acre - a vacant lot downtown - that used to have a very well-done mural of historic Plant City that was razed. Mr. Devane is going to donate back to the city of Plant City $50,000 for use for landscaping the property? He has been using it for a parking lot - why didn't he do the landscaping then - or didn't the city of Plant City care a hoot? Folks, we are in a recession/depression - or hadn't you noticed. ...more

December 10, 2008

It wasn't easy to get up at 3 o'clock in the morning to deliver The Tampa Morning Tribune during the Depression. I and two of my brothers would ride our bicycles to get our papers at the gas station across from Milian's Restaurant at Florida and Lake avenues in Tampa, where subscription manager Floyd Gonder counted out copies to us. ...more

December 7, 2008

The National Federation of Independent Business maintains that over one-half of our GDP comes from small business, yet the government and the public have little sympathy for all of the mom-and-pop companies that routinely fail due to their inability to be profitable. Conversely, the thought of a giant, inefficient and unprofitable corporation or industry going bankrupt is more than our government can bear. ...more

November 22, 2008

The Hillis family of Lake Placid has come a long way since they finished 20th place at their first barbecue competition almost two years ago during the 24 Hours of BBQ in Sebring. ...more

November 17, 2008

Dear Abby: My beautiful 9-month-old daughter, "Lyric," is the result of an affair. Her father, "James," has never seen her, except in photographs. His family has no idea she exists. When I send pictures, he promises to visit "soon" - but I'm not supposed to ask when because he "just doesn't know right now." ...more

November 9, 2008

As he confronts the nation's worst financial crisis since the Depression, President-elect Obama has assembled a broad-based team of economic advisers though those who stand closest to him tend to be non-ideological pragmatists. ...more

November 8, 2008

I wonder how many readers remember how and why the United States became involved in the costly Iraq disaster? We entered that war because of what some have called the "big lie," fabricated by Colin Powell, the retired army general turned secretary of state. ...more

October 27, 2008

The current economic disaster leaves me bitter. My parents grew up during the Depression, and I was inculcated with one basic financial tenet: Live within your means. Except for houses and cars, if you couldn't pay for it with cash, then you couldn't afford it. I was taught to save for emergencies, to not pay for services that I could do myself, and to value every penny. I cringe to think that I would ever need a government to bail me out because of choices that I made along the way. ...more

October 27, 2008

Tropical Storm Nana, which formed Sunday afternoon in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, may not last the day as a storm, but another could take its place in the Caribbean Sea. ...more

October 13, 2008

In its first survey of its students' health, the University of Florida has learned that most feel overwhelmed, one-fifth suffered injuries after drinking alcohol, one-third refrained from sex in the previous year and many have seriously considered suicide. The responses are documented among many others in UF's recently released Healthy Gators Student Survey, which the university devised to come up with better health initiatives. ...more

October 8, 2008