As Florida newspapers call attention to laws that guarantee access to public records and government meetings, lawmakers are considering dozens of bills to block information now available to citizens. ...more

March 15, 2009

The 2009 legislative session will be dominated by the economy, but it's not all lawmakers will be dealing with when they begin work Tuesday. ...more

March 2, 2009

The state officially stopped Tampa Bay Academy on Friday from providing long-term mental health care to the most troubled children, but the academy's problems aren't unique to its corporate parent in Texas. ...more

January 10, 2009

The official rebuke to the troubled Tampa Bay Academy comes at 5 p.m. today – the time when state regulators said they will suspend the academy's license for what they called "gross mismanagement" of mental health care. Barring a last-minute decision – the academy's executives have appealed to regulators with an improvement plan – the for-profit mental health center in Riverview will no longer be able to provide long-term residential care to children and teenagers who suffer from severe mental illness. ...more

January 9, 2009

A swarm of dire economic reports on Wednesday pushed the Dow Jones industrials to a five-year low below 8,000 points. What happened? Consumer prices plunged by the largest amount in 61 years, housing starts fell to the lowest level on record and the Federal Reserve sharply lowered its projections for economic activity this year and next. ...more

November 20, 2008

A swarm of dire economic reports on Wednesday pushed the Dow Jones industrials to a five-year low below 8,000 points. What happened? Consumer prices plunged by the largest amount in 61 years, housing starts fell to the lowest level on record and the Federal Reserve sharply lowered its projections for economic activity this year and next. ...more

November 20, 2008

Bradenton and Coconut Creek close city hall on Fridays. ...more

August 18, 2008

Florida has partnered with Google to help residents track down online government records and services more easily, Gov. Charlie Crist said Monday. ...more

December 4, 2007

Applying lessons learned just a week ago, Southern California is lining up fire crews and aircraft to get a jump on wildfires if the hot, dry Santa Ana winds expected to return this weekend cause major flare-ups. ...more

November 3, 2007