For the fifth year in a row, the Florida Legislature is attacking local government control of wetlands permitting, especially aiming at Hillsborough County's Environmental Protection Commission (EPC). In the name of streamlining, legislators maintain that local wetland review duplicates that of other state agencies and is a reason for the state's economic crisis. Ha! ...more

March 19, 2009

The city plans to lay off another 20 employees over the next several months. ...more

March 13, 2009

The city plans to lay off another 20 employees over the next several months. ...more

March 12, 2009

A bill that would abolish the state's growth management agency passed a major legislative committee Wednesday but probably won't be supported by Gov. Charlie Crist. ...more

March 12, 2009

Sam Steffey, Pasco County's chief planner, will retire in less than 60 days, leaving the county's Growth Management department without a leader as Pasco County embarks on major changes to how it conducts business. ...more

March 7, 2009

As the local economy continues to lose steam, Hillsborough County commissioners are pushing county officials to cut red tape so hundreds of building permits can move forward. ...more

February 26, 2009

As the local economy continues to lose steam, Hillsborough County commissioners are pushing county officials to cut red tape so hundreds of building permits can move forward. ...more

February 25, 2009

A proposed roll-back of Florida's growth-management rules wrongly assumes that more houses and apartments are all the state's urban areas need to become better places to live. City residents don't have to worry about how to pay for more roads or transit, according to the Community Renewal Act. ...more

February 21, 2009

A state planning requirement to provide ample road or other transportation capacity before new development can take place was designed to stop urban sprawl, but it's had the opposite effect. ...more

February 19, 2009

The city received more than $5.2 million in 2008 from the federal government for community development block grants, money made available to local nonprofit organizations for building more affordable housing and creating employment programs. ...more

February 18, 2009