Jails are the wrong place to warehouse the mentally ill. Yet for years Florida has taken this approach toward those who are sick and turn to crime: Lock 'em up and don't worry about the treatment they need. ...more

March 29, 2009

Most of the time, Crystal Beach just sits there west of Alt. 19, between Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor, and doesn't make a peep. That changed this week when the Crystal Beach Community Association, perhaps only temporarily, knocked the Palm Harbor incorporation juggernaut off the rails. ...more

March 28, 2009

With unemployment soaring, lawmakers in Tallahassee are fretting over whether to accept more than $444 million from the federal government. ...more

March 28, 2009

As painful as it may be for state workers to contemplate, lawmakers are right to consider salary cuts this year. ...more

March 26, 2009

President Barack Obama wagered significant political capital Sunday as he bucked a highly popular House measure to slap a punitive 90 percent tax on bonuses to big earners at financial institutions already deeply in hock to taxpayers. ...more

March 23, 2009

Tim Truitt of New Port Richey says if the federal government gave the bailout money to ordinary Americans they would end the banks' bad-debt problems. ...more

March 21, 2009

In the face of state budgets cuts and a faltering economy, the School Board of Highlands County is boosting its usual annual presence at the legislative session in Tallahassee. ...more

March 20, 2009

Hoping for relief from the state, the Hillsborough County teachers union asked school administrators Thursday to delay decisions that could mean lost wages or lost jobs for hundreds of veteran teachers. ...more

March 20, 2009

The Democratic-led House overwhelmingly approved a bill today to slap punishing taxes on big employee bonuses from AIG and other firms bailed out by taxpayers. The vote was 328-93. "We want our money back and we want our money back now for the taxpayers," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. ...more

March 19, 2009

Hoping for relief from the state, the Hillsborough County teachers union asked school administrators today to delay decisions that could mean lost wages or lost jobs for hundreds of veteran teachers. ...more

March 19, 2009