The joy of grandparenting comes at a price for Dave and Nora Dacus, like many others who step up when a child's parents can't or won't. ...more

September 14, 2008

Our elected leaders, both city and county, are laying the foundations for the future by creating ways to raise taxes on us and are doing it with all the vengeance and hatefulness they can muster without regard for voters and taxpayers. Sebring claims they will lower the millage to accommodate the 1-pecent fire assessment fee with a 10-percent cap. If one figures this out, a tax bill of $3,000 will become $3,300, then $3,630, etc. There goes the tax savings we voted on. ...more

September 3, 2008

County Cash Cow Mortally Wounded ...more

August 26, 2008

Those 75,000 Democrats who will pack a football stadium for Barack Obama's convention speech won't be there just to whoop and holler on television. They'll form the world's largest phone bank to boost voter registration: fired-up supporters using computer targeting the campaign has spent months putting together. ...more

July 31, 2008

AVON PARK - If you've been putting off your water bill, you'll literally pay for the delay after the city council voted 3-2 to start charging late fees. Water customers who do not pay by 2 p.m. on the bill's due date will have to pay five percent of the overdue amount, or $1, whichever is greater. ...more

June 9, 2008

As gas prices reach new highs, Americans are driving fewer miles. A study by the U.S. Department of Transportation shows the sharpest decline ever for March. Compared with the same month a year ago, U.S. motorists drove 11 billion fewer miles. ...more

May 28, 2008

Americans are curbing their driving at a historic rate as gas prices reach new highs. A study by the U.S. Department of Transportation shows the sharpest decline ever for March. ...more

May 27, 2008

SEBRING — Several local students, seniors and political volunteers talked issues – rather than individual candidates – when discussing the upcoming presidential election, Monday. Bill Allen, 78, was motoring a golf cart while his dog, Keno, rode in the passenger seat, near his Tanglewood home. "I'm more interested in what's happened to our country," said Allen. "People really aren't talking about people, they're talking about the whole economy and more about the issues." Fellow Tanglewood resident Loretta Nafis said the economy hit her and her neighbors on fixed incomes particularly hard. "People are more complacent," said Nafis. "And they're so fed up. We need a change." ...more

February 25, 2008

grandparents, mother, myself, five siblings, aunt, uncle and two cousins from Michigan, along with the Kinderman family (four people). The big draw in Hernando was basically two things: the great weather; and it was cheap to live here, for a fairly nice, quaint region. ...more

February 22, 2008

Increase in the homestead exemption will only help the rich who own $100,000-plus homes. Those who rent will lose. The retirees on low fixed incomes, most of whom live in retirement mobile home parks on rented lots, will lose greatly. They will end up paying double property taxes on their addition rooms, their porches and sheds even though they do not own the land. ...more

February 7, 2008