In 2002, my husband and I began investing in property in Highlands County. This county has always been a great place to "get away from it all." The fishing is fabulous, the traffic less congested and the beauty breath-taking. We were extremely excited to be able to retire early in 2006 to an area that we both love and enjoy. Our excitement quickly disappeared as we reviewed our 2006 Highlands County property tax bills. Our taxes had increased by 62 percent! If this county had adequate staff in 2005, why would a small 3 percent decrease this year (2007) be such a big deal when increases of 62 percent and higher in the prior year should have more than covered any additional staffing needs for police and fire protection? I am sick of hearing how devastating this tax rollback is for the county. What about the tax increase from 2005 to 2006 that many of us have been burdened with? What happened to those extra funds? A 3 percent rollback is peanuts compared to the previous years' increase. ...more

October 20, 2007

An editorial on insurance rates in Florida not behaving as backers of state "reform" legislation predicted. ...more

October 9, 2007

Harry Gurr has been fixing things the old-fashioned way for decades. 'It's a craft that's disappearing, working with your hands,' he said. ...more

October 8, 2007

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: greed has taken control of our government. ...more

October 3, 2007

U.S. home prices have fallen further since mid-2006 than during the 1990-91 recession, and professional traders bet they'll plunge up to 10 percent more the next year. ...more

September 27, 2007

Harry Gurr has been fixing things the old-fashioned way for decades. 'It's a craft that's disappearing, working with your hands,' he said. ...more

September 19, 2007

Jean Rogers of Oldsmar says today's leaders don't care about people. ...more

September 4, 2007