No one likes them. And no one wants to be accused of defending them. But state Sen. Dave Aronberg figured that even the most vilified members of society shouldn't be living under bridges, as a group of Miami sex offenders was doing last year because strict local laws eliminated almost all housing options for them. ...more

May 12, 2008

Florida State Sen. Victor Crist's concern that judges are not in the courtroom 40 hours per week and calling for an efficiency audit of the courthouse brings back memories of when I had the same job Crist has in Tallahassee. ...more

May 2, 2008

It is beyond my comprehension that members of Congress, ostensibly elected by the people to "do the people's business" appear to have little to do but conduct probes into whether certain baseball players did or did not lie about past drug usage. ...more

February 20, 2008

Pasco County Commissioner Ann Hildebrand stayed at the Double Tree Hotel for $102 a night in January 2007 while visiting legislators in Tallahassee on Pasco County's behalf. ...more

February 17, 2008

Nearly two centuries after a flawed survey placed Georgia's northern line just short of the Tennessee River, some legislators are suddenly thirsting to set the record straight. ...more

February 9, 2008

Regarding "Allstate Defends Rising Rates" (Business, Feb. 5): The recent hearings in Tallahassee to find out why we were lied to by "big insurance" remind me of the thousands of wasted hearings - at much cost to the taxpayers - in Washington, D.C. over the past 40 years: much ado about nothing because nothing is ever accomplished. These hearings are designed to provide cover for feckless legislators and regulators who never seem to ask the "right" questions. ...more

February 6, 2008

TAMPA - Battle lines in the Amendment 1 skirmish were clearly set in the days leading up to the vote Tuesday. ...more

January 30, 2008

On Jan. 29 the voters of Highlands County will be deciding on an amendment to the Florida Constitution which, if passed, will result in some property tax relief. Is it everything we need in tax reform? No! However it does provide much needed relief to Florida residents who are "stranded" in their homesteads, unable to move to either a larger or smaller home because they would lose the protection they have accrued over the years through the Save Our Homes exemption. Amendment 1 will, if approved, make Save Our Homes portable. If the amendment passes, a young family will be able to take their lower tax rate with them when they outgrow their residence and purchase a larger home. A retired couple will be able to "downsize" without running the risk of doubling or tripling (or worse!) their current property tax bills. ...more

January 27, 2008

Governor Crist and the Legislature are not dumb people. They have to know, deep down, that a state can't lock in property tax rates at 1995 levels for 40 percent of its tax base and survive for very long in an economic and real estate downturn. Common sense needs to make a comeback in the economics of our state, and common sense tells us that Amendment One is in no way a serious attempt at true property tax reform for the future of the state of Florida and our own hometown communities. ...more

January 25, 2008

The state's university oversight board today ordered its schools to begin cutting enrollment as a budget deficit threatens the quality of higher education in Florida. ...more

January 24, 2008