SEBRING — Leadership is changing hands as the men who have run Highlands County, Sebring and Avon Park for more than 10 years step down. C.B. Shirey, who served as Avon Park city manager for 11 years, moved to the role of manager of Avon Park Executive Airport in January. Carl Cool, county administrator, will retire May 31 after 17 years. Bob Hoffman, city administrator of Sebring, will retire June 30 after almost 18 years in the position. They swear they didn't plan it like that. "It's just happenstance," Cool said. "We might have joked about it, but it just turned out that way." ...more

February 10, 2008

SEBRING — Veterans Beach will remain closed until at least the end of February after failing a water quality test two months in a row, making it unsafe for swimming. ...more

February 8, 2008

Pasco's biggest city now has a permanent boss at the helm. Tuesday night, the city council voted unanimously to appoint Tom O'Neill, the former public works director and interim city manager, to the job full-time. ...more

February 7, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco County's most populous city now has a permanent manager at the helm. ...more

February 6, 2008

Tuesday night, the city council voted unanimously to appoint Tom O'Neill, the former public works director and interim city manager, to the job permanently. ...more

February 6, 2008

Let me see if I have this straight. Tampa City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena is unhappy with the design of the proposed Ikea furniture store in Tampa, saying it is a "cookie-cutter template." ...more

January 16, 2008

City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena is threatening to "embarrass" Ikea if the furniture store doesn't come up with a better, more environmentally friendly design for its proposed Tampa location. ...more

January 15, 2008

Tom O'Neill took the reins of this west Pasco County municipality less than a month ago, and since then, he's earned good grades from his colleagues. ...more

January 10, 2008

SEBRING — Veteran's Beach has failed a water quality test, making it unsafe for swimming. Health Department officials have determined Veterans Beach has an unsatisfactory rating after two samples were taken because of high levels of fecal coliform. ...more

January 3, 2008

SEBRING — Renovations to Sebring Fire Department's Central Station were supposed to be completed by now, but the major work hasn't even started yet. The $500,000 project, which started in February, originally was slated for a December 2007 completion, but now city officials said a more realistic target is summer 2008. The project to renovate the historic station, located at 301 N. Mango St., will soon be rebid for a third time. The first bids were rejected because the fire department staff had not had adequate time to review the specifics of the project before the project was bid. "They had a lot of input about changes they wanted to see, and we didn't have time to include that in the original bids," City Administrator Bob Hoffman said. "We asked city council to reject those bids so that their suggestions could be included." ...more

December 21, 2007