The debate over health care reform has entered an unreal world where facts can always be shouted down. Several letter writers have said they don't want the government choosing their doctor, but do we have a right to choose our own doctors? When I went to work for the City of Fort Lauderdale years ago, I was given a list of doctors I was allowed to go to if injured on the job. More recently, I worked for an international conglomerate. My health benefits could indirectly be set by a board of directors that met in another hemisphere, whose minutes are circulated in an ideographic language. Actually, that company gave me a free annual checkup, one of the best benefits I've ever had. My employer chose the doctor, of course. On a temporary job, I once collapsed while wearing a maladjusted gas mask. I was taken to a doctor chosen by the employer. A nurse put a thermometer in my mouth and said that I had a temperature of 120 degrees. A few minutes later they figured out that their newfangled electric thermometer wasn't working. ...more

November 2, 2009

More games that count, perhaps as early as August 2011? That's exactly what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wants. ...more

March 26, 2009

Businesses and governments looking to trim expenses during this economic downturn have cut jobs because salaries and benefits typically represent the largest cost of doing business. ...more

February 23, 2009

W.C. Fields once warned never to work with animals or small children. ...more

December 21, 2008

Opportunity In Slowdown Victoria Tschinkel misses a key point in advocating sustainable urban development for Florida (Views, Dec. 14). Indeed, she discounts one of the critical ingredients to further this goal. She argues for the preservation of growth management laws that inhibit and render more expensive the urban growth she seeks to promote. ...more

December 18, 2008

W.C. Fields once warned never to work with animals or small children. That's sound advice perhaps if you're trying to revive Vaudeville, but in education, kids and critters make for a fun and informative time, as was seen last week at Seven Springs Elementary School, as students welcomed a pair of guest speakers whose visual aids were of the living, breathing variety. ...more

December 6, 2008

Scrabulous is back on Facebook, but now it has a new name, new rules and circular tiles that could help its makers skirt legal claims from the owners of Scrabble. ...more

August 1, 2008

SEBRING — If you think this ballot is complicated, you should have seen the first one. The super exemption, passed by the Legislature in June, would have offered voters a 75 percent exemption on their homes. But a Leon County Circuit Judge declared the proposed constitutional amendment so misleading and confusing, he struck it from the Jan. 29 ballot. So, Property Appraiser Raymond McIntyre told the Lake Placid Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, now Floridians will vote Jan. 29 on a completely different – if only slightly less confusing – constitutional amendment. It's got four provisions, McIntyre told the crowd, but they can't vote on them individually. ...more

January 11, 2008

University of Tampa volleyball coach Chris Catanach arrived for the Spartans' workout Saturday morning and felt more comfortable with his team than he had in a couple of weeks. ...more

November 18, 2007

Following Saturday's 5-2 victory at Washington, the Lightning are in the midst of a three-game winning streak that came on the heels of a six-game winless streak. ...more

November 13, 2007