SEBRING — Sebring's planning and zoning commission is no longer limited to city residents. Two commissioners may now be property or business owners in the city that do not reside within the city limits. Gary Lower, zoning supervisor, said he has difficulty finding city residents to fill vacancies on the commission, which has seven members and two alternates. ...more

May 11, 2008

Tampa City Council is scheduled today to hear a proposal that would put needed sting in the penalties for those who trash their neighborhoods. ...more

February 21, 2008

AVON PARK — The Avon Park City Council hired an attorney that will begin acting as the city's code enforcement magistrate by March. Avon Park Fire Department Chief Terry Feickert said that the code enforcement office already has 10 cases lined up for C. Parke Sutherland, a Bartow-based attorney who became the special magistrate. The new magistrate could dole out daily fines to people with dilapidated homes and other major offenders, an action the city previously couldn't do by taking offending property owners to court. "It just gives us a little more teeth," Feickert said. ...more

January 30, 2008

For years, city residents and even city officials have been frustrated by the slow code enforcement process, which can take months or years to resolve some cases. ...more

January 20, 2008

Two days before his retirement, Robert Sumner wasn't having many regrets about his latest stint as county attorney, but he was feeling discouraged. ...more

January 19, 2008

Evoking the spirit of kitschy Americana like giant balls of string or alligator wrestling, seven aluminum-plated travel trailers once destined for the junkyard have gotten unexpected mileage as a roadside curiosity along eastbound Interstate 4. ...more

January 9, 2008

A cycle shop owner facing a possible jail sentence over code violations has cleaned up his property enough to earn a time extension. ...more

September 26, 2007