A $1,000 grant from Sam's Club in New Port Richey has given a boost to the Young Workers Program, a Sertoma Speech and Hearing Foundation of Florida program that helps young people with hearing impairments find and maintain quality jobs. ...more

July 5, 2008

County commissioners were right earlier this year to ask how best to wake up the sleepy I-4 corridor. ...more

June 21, 2008

The information reported in your recent articles as well as their tenor leaves one with the impression that local public education is decidedly unremarkable, perhaps below average, and also that the community is rather complacent about it. Both, we are not doing well and we don't care- have long-term dire consequences because the quality of education impacts the community and affects us all. County planners, who are in the visionary business, could likely paint a glowing picture of a Highlands County that had education as a community priority. As the "Education County" we would eventually gain a more diversified economy and an even better life style. As it stands now, we are moving towards a service economy with most jobs in the retail, hospitality and medical fields. Those are typically low-paying jobs requiring minimal education which serve to change our landscape with the "affordable" housing and rental units those workers require. It is the only economy our education supports. ...more

December 9, 2007

Should the superintendent of Highlands County Schools be elected or appointed? If you own or operate a local business (builder, Realtor, restaurant, etc.) If you are a practicing professional, if you depend on the growth and prosperity of our county for your livelihood, or you are a parent with children in our public schools, you should be concerned that some of our local public schools have consistently been graded D schools. Do potential new residents decide not to locate in Highlands County because of the reputation (deserved or not) of some of our schools? Have businesses that could provide quality jobs to our area decided not to locate in Highlands County fearing that they could not attract qualified employees (with school aged children) because of the reputation of some of our public schools? ...more

September 16, 2007