Withdrawing from a class carries a hefty penalty this year for college students with Bright Futures scholarships, but the consequences for lower-income students could be more severe than state lawmakers intended. ...more

November 1, 2009

About five miles north of Arcadia, well hidden from public view, is a grove of solar gathering cells, each about the size of a sheet of plywood. They reflect, President Barack Obama said today, "the visionary leadership at Florida Power & Light." ...more

October 28, 2009

Retired Florida State University President Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte regaled an appellate court with a "magic potion" tale and invited the judges to a "house of mirrors" as he challenged homeowner tax breaks in two cases today. ...more

October 20, 2009

All five Hernando County commissioners and the five constitutional officers are getting a raise this year, courtesy of the state. ...more

October 1, 2009

An average of 17 times a day, I enter an automobile, twist my arthritic hip and stretch my bursitis ridden shoulder to place a safety harness across my med port. The port is plumbed directly into my heart for chemotherapy. My surgeon told me that a medium level impact while wearing my seat belt would probably unplug the port. Death would occur in about three minutes. ...more

August 29, 2009

Hillsborough County residents who think they will have trouble paying their 2009 property taxes can make partial payments starting in November. ...more

August 4, 2009

In the article "Wetlands Division A Redundancy," Tampa Tribune, March 21, Keith Bricklemyer lays out a case against the Environmental Protection Commission's wetlands protection program, stating there is no documentation of facts showing the program's success. The "absence" of these facts causes Bricklemyer to infer that the longevity of EPC's program is fueled by long-term emotional rhetoric. Our guess is, since the "facts" contained in Bricklemyer's article are, at best, misleading and mostly incorrect, that he himself has been overcome by emotion. ...more

March 31, 2009

two bills that deal with court funding and are now before the Florida Legislature. ...more

March 28, 2009

A bill aimed at undercutting acceptance of evolution in Florida science classes, which kicked up a fuss but didn't pass in the Florida Legislature last year, apparently is going nowhere this year. ...more

March 28, 2009

Cigarettes have been a relatively inexpensive addiction for smokers in Florida, even as a pack has neared $4 for most brands. ...more

March 27, 2009