Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough County's first openly gay commissioner, is about to reopen the potentially explosive issue of giving health care benefits to the unmarried domestic partners of county employees. ...more

January 17, 2009

Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough County's first openly gay commissioner, is about to reopen the potentially explosive issue of giving health care benefits to the domestic partners of county employees. ...more

January 16, 2009

One day after the nation's unemployment rate jumped to a 16-year high, President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday again raised the estimate of how many jobs would result from his economic recovery plan, saying it would create or save 3 million to 4 million jobs, nearly 90 percent in the private sector, by the end of 2010. ...more

January 11, 2009

So many people are struggling in Florida. I had to cash in a retirement account to pay my property taxes this year. I cannot deplete my retirement account just to pay taxes to live in a house I worked for all my life to own. Please use the special session to cut taxes and government spending. Please ask Sen. Atwater to allow the 1.35 percent tax cap on the ballot this year. We need our leaders to work for us. Our citizens need relief now. ...more

January 10, 2009

Elected Officials Should Work For The People It is way past time that you elected officials work for the people of the state of Florida, as you are paid very well as a part time job, to do so. ...more

January 8, 2009

Extraordinary times require extraordinary actions, the experts say. That's why President-elect Barack Obama is pushing for tax cuts and government spending. This runs counter to how most of us think, considering that the last thing any of us would do is dig deeper in debt when debt is what's sinking us in the first place. But many people much smarter than most of us say this is necessary. ...more

January 7, 2009

President-elect Barack Obama has increased his employment goal with the nation's economic outlook worsening, seeking to create or save 3 million jobs in the next two years instead of the 2.5 million he proposed last month. ...more

December 20, 2008

The nastier this recession gets, the more people will talk about the discrediting of markets and the failure of deregulation. So the next time the Dow dives off a cliff, splash your face with ice water and remember two things: This end-of-capitalism talk is bunk, and it distracts us from the debate we should be having. ...more

December 5, 2008

The county needs to keep cutting the budget, continue reorganization plans to streamline government and secure more state and federal funding for transportation projects. ...more

December 3, 2008

Commissioners: It's a logical approach to challenges ...more

December 3, 2008