Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee deserves applause for taking a tough stand against excessive union demands, despite a union-funded attack campaign and threats of political repercussions. ...more

May 30, 2008

AVON PARK — A property owner that has been at odds with the Avon Park Executive Airport for years over his development plans is pushing forward with a new plan for a 43-acre, 346-unit working-class housing project. Roland Dilley's attorney Warwick "Bud" Furr said the plan for the property, located across State Road 64 from the airport, would not conflict with the city-owned airport's runway protection zones. "We've done everything that they asked us to do," Furr said. "We really think it's inappropriate for the city or the county to object." ...more

May 28, 2008

AVON PARK — Construction for the targeting systems to be used for the Avon Park Air Force Range's live bombing operations has been pushed back somewhat, but the operations are still slated to begin February 2009, a Navy spokesman said. U.S. Fleet Forces Command spokesman Jim Brantley from Norfolk, Va. said that infrastructure should be built sometime during the summer, though he couldn't be more specific. In January, he anticipated that these installations would have been completed either in April or this month. Negotiations on the contracts for this work took longer than originally planned. ...more

May 27, 2008

With a new ballpark finally on the horizon, the Florida Marlins are beginning to loosen their purse strings. ...more

May 11, 2008

Jesse L. Martin is putting down his "Law & Order" detective's shield, and Anthony Anderson is in negotiations to pick it up. ...more

February 25, 2008

The Bucs might not wait until the official start of the free-agency signing period to sign their first free agent. ...more

February 20, 2008

Serbia's newly re-elected president Boris Tadic pledged at his inauguration Friday that he would never stop fighting against independence for Kosovo. ...more

February 16, 2008

Serbia's foreign minister on Thursday urged the U.N. Security Council to oppose Kosovo's expected declaration of independence and called on the secretary-general to order that any proclamation be declared null and void. ...more

February 15, 2008

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will travel to Iraq next month in the first such visit by an Iranian leader, Iraqi officials said Thursday, adding that Iran had postponed a fourth round of talks with the United States about Iraq's security. ...more

February 15, 2008

SEBRING — Highlands County commissioners didn't pull the plug on adding four new top administrators at a cost of over $600,000 per year. But they did turn the process for choosing the new division directors upside down. Or, as Commissioner Don Bates put it, they flipped that process right side up. Bottom line: the commissioners will interview the top three candidates themselves and decide who to hire as directors of public safety and public works, the two highest-profile divisions. ...more

February 7, 2008