The news story regarding the school district financial rating was interesting. I really liked the statement made by the Asst. Superintendent of Business Operations Mike Averyt, "What hurts the most was the legislature when they took our millage away." I have news for you Mr. Averyt, the legislature didn't take your money, that money belongs to the taxpayers. As a taxpayer, I don't feel overly compelled to ever see that money restored until some of the fat is cut out of the Highlands County School District. ...more

December 27, 2009

A Florida town manager fired in July because he married a porn star is now a finalist for a city manager job at a small southeast Alaska town. ...more

November 25, 2009

•In some Sept. 2 editions, a front-page news story, "Mush! Shopping Cart Racers Go All Out in Inaugural 'Iditacart,'" included a photo with a caption identifying James Ackerson as one of the people in the photo. Ackerson is not in the photo as it appears on the page. ...more

September 12, 2009

The news story on March 7 regarding the organized theft of baby formula provides an interesting commentary on the cost of crime. ...more

March 11, 2009

A 13-year-old girl recently made the news after she sent 14,528 text messages in one month to her friends, which averaged out to about 2 text messages for every minute she was awake, according to her shocked father. ...more

January 19, 2009

If Superintendent Wayne Alexander leaves for a job in New England, it won't be in Framingham, Mass. ...more

January 15, 2009

It was a miserable week in the newsroom. Friends and colleagues who a week ago were writing stories or columns and fighting deadlines were packing boxes with the few personal items that give the rows of cubicles some sense that real people work there. ...more

November 16, 2008

PLANT CITY Local angler Robert Beck landed a 73.3-pound wahoo to win top honors in the Fun Fish Division of a recent Key West tournament. ...more

November 6, 2008

8:10 a.m.: Rhonda Burel seemed determined to be part of a news story today, and not in a good way. She stood in the right-turn lane off bustling Bearss Avenue in front of the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library in Tampa holding a McCain/Palin sign she had yanked from the ground outside the polling place. ...more

November 4, 2008

Tampa Bay area baseball fans are now being ridiculed for being too polite. According to a story published in today's Philadelphia Daily News, Rays fans sat on their hands Thursday during a 4-2 victory against the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series. ...more

October 24, 2008