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

NEW PORT RICHEY -- A tug of war developed today over a group Pasco County is forming to help overhaul land development regulations. ...more

July 22, 2008

A plan to connect Pasco County's public lands and protect wildlife met with opposition Tuesday. ...more

July 9, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The next Pinellas County administrator might be required to live in the county, and that could pose a problem for the husband of Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. ...more

July 3, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - The next Pinellas administrator might be required to live in the county, and that could pose a problem for the husband of Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. Mark Woodard, an assistant county administrator in Pinellas, is among four finalists chosen by county commissioners Tuesday for the top administrative post. ...more

July 2, 2008

First the bad news: The moribund housing industry has put a major crimp in Pasco County's road-building plans. ...more

June 29, 2008

After numerous delays, the first fire station in the Trinity area is taking shape on Trinity Boulevard about a quarter mile east of State Road 54. ...more

June 29, 2008

TRINITY - While a long-delayed fire station is under construction in Trinity, county officials pretty much have closed the book on building a Trinity library branch anytime soon. A library project in the booming area of Trinity looked like it might take off in 2005 with a state grant for more than $430,000. At one time there was talk of co-locating a Trinity fire station with a library and passive park, Dan Johnson, Pasco's assistant county administrator for public services, recalled. ...more

June 25, 2008

TRINITY - Where's the fire? After numerous delays, the first fire station in the Trinity area is taking shape on Trinity Boulevard about a quarter mile east of S.R. 54. Crews could complete the project by spring 2009, county officials report. ...more

June 25, 2008

SEBRING — The formal legal process for the appeals of two county employees for exchanging inappropriate and often sexually explicit instant-messages will begin in six days, on Monday. Jim McCollum, the attorney for ex-county employees Jared Lee and Treasa Handley, will take sworn statements, recorded verbatim by a legal stenographer, from four people, starting at 9 a.m. in a conference room at the Highlands County Government Center. Handley and Lee were dismissed more than five months ago for sending thousands of personal instant messages to each other, and others, on their county computers during working hours. Many of the messages were sexually explicit, and all of them are public record, accessible to anyone, with a request to either the county's public information officer or the Highlands County Clerk of Courts office. ...more

June 16, 2008