Garth will stay on as county attorney for at least another year. County commissioners on Tuesday refused to take any action to settle the impasse over the attorney's contract, preferring instead to wait until after the election and the board has a better grasp on the ongoing government restructuring. ...more

October 22, 2008

Will still get $300 car allowance. ...more

October 22, 2008

County attorney Garth Coller's counterproposal to a contract offer has been rejected, prompting the county commission to schedule time at its Tuesday meeting to try to break the impasse. ...more

October 16, 2008

Members of the board of directors for The Sun City Center Community Association approved the Golf Course Task Force's Statements of Work at their monthly meeting Oct. 8. They then sent the task force out to gather bids on the study which may or may not be able to tell SCC what the courses are worth and what repairs need to be made to them. The results will be used by the board to evaluate the courses in case WCI - currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy - decides to put them on the market. (In that case, the CA has the right of first refusal on the North Lakes and Sandpiper courses.) ...more

October 15, 2008

In response to questions surrounding why Congressman Tim Mahoney voted in favor of the House bill providing a record bailout to the financial institutions, Mahoney replied: "This really was more about Main Street than it was about Wall Street, and what a lot of people don't realize is the interconnectivity between the two, and that's something that was lost on some of my colleagues." Is that what it is all about? Here I thought it was about Mahoney coming to the rescue of his special interests buddies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, from which he has received thousands and thousands of dollars worth of campaign contributions. I guess he forgot to mention that in all of his quotes and interviews, but I can see what he means about this not having to do with Wall Street. I mean who would want to talk about how they are deep in the pocket of special interest groups? ...more

October 9, 2008

I'd estimate that about 75 percent of the e-mails in my inbox are from people who are swamped with credit card debt. Many, particularly in this economy, have had to rely on the plastic because they lost their job or their gas and food bills are sky-high, but about a third can place the blame on shopping, specifically, clothes shopping. ...more

September 28, 2008

Sometimes I sit back and think there is no hope for mankind. The media reports daily about the atrocities we inflict on each other, and I shake my head in disbelief. ...more

September 22, 2008

In response to Millie Grime's letter (Highlands Today Sept. 11) regarding the contributions to Mr. Grimming's campaign, I wish to share information regarding those contributions. First of all, if you check the records, Mr. Grimming has not received any contributions from Michigan. He has received contributions from Illinois. This is due to family support and the respect he earned from colleagues during his years with the Illinois State Police. During his tenure he rose through the ranks from a patrolman to become deputy director. ...more

September 14, 2008

The head of the House tax-writing committee admitted Wednesday that he owes about $5,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for failing to report income on his returns. ...more

September 11, 2008

This is where science meets human emotion. This is where a man walks into a room as a scientist, and walks out of it as a son. ...more

September 8, 2008