A new political advertisement aired on Channel 8 shows how misleading these ads can be. This ad tells how Sarah Palin voted to allow shooting of wolves from airplanes. It is very graphic. And it is true. But Alaska is a different world. In an area of 1,000 miles (equal to Orlando to Detroit), are many Native American villages. The people of these villages are allowed to live a subsistence life. That being, they may kill caribou to provide meat for the winter months. One caribou will sustain a family for the whole winter. But when the wolf population increases, the caribou herd is in danger. Wolves will kill for the sport. If the caribou herd declines, or moves away, the families of these small villages have no food for the winter. ...more

September 22, 2008

It's not a big surprise that enrollment is down in Highlands County schools this year. The lower number is a product of our ailing economy, and the need for families to follow jobs wherever they can find them. Unfortunately, sometimes those jobs are elsewhere. ...more

September 5, 2008

Two housing reports today offer more hope that a turnaround in the real estate market may be slowly emerging. ...more

August 26, 2008

After several weeks of declines in the Tampa Bay area, gas prices may start to creep up ahead of the Labor Day weekend. ...more

August 26, 2008

If recent trends continue, traffic deaths this year could dip to their lowest level in 47 years. ...more

August 26, 2008

The summer vacation season began this year with Americans behind the wheel less. In all, we drove 12.2 billion fewer miles in June than a year earlier, the biggest monthly decrease in a downward trend that began in November. ...more

August 14, 2008

Tampa Bay's fall in home sales prices during the past year is among the nation's steepest, but the rate of decline is slowing. ...more

July 30, 2008

Gas prices have decreased by nearly 8 cents in Florida since last week. It appears such a decline will continue for a while, according to AAA Auto Club South. ...more

July 28, 2008

Rising gas prices appear to be sending traffic deaths plummeting in Florida and across the country, researchers at the National Safety Council report. ...more

July 23, 2008

Bank of America Corp. has become the latest in a string of big banks whose second-quarter earnings, while hurting from the impact of the credit crisis, still managed to beat Wall Street expectations. ...more

July 22, 2008