For homeowners in trouble, a short sale can be a lifesaver. Lenders allow a house to be sold for less than is owed on the mortgage and then write off the rest. The homeowner just walks away. ...more

August 21, 2008

A local civic activist will host a prayer vigil Sunday at the Avon Park Community Center to commemorate the second anniversary of a vote on a controversial ordinance that would have denied business licenses from the city to anyone that "aid and abets" illegal immigrants anywhere in the country. ...more

July 17, 2008

For homeowners in trouble, a short sale can be a good alterative to foreclosure. It doesn't help them keep the home, but it can keep the black mark of foreclosure off their credit report. ...more

January 8, 2008

AVON PARK — It has been more than a year since then-mayor Tom Macklin brought up an ordinance to penalize landlords for renting to illegal immigrants. Though it failed in June 2006, it mobilized several businesses and most of the Hispanic community, and for better or worse, it changed many residents' views of their city and the actions of City Hall, even to this day. "They're (the customers) more careful now, because they know they're after them," said Angel Del Valle, who worked at the Broken Spoke Flea Market during the unfolding controversy last year. He now owns the store, and had several Hispanic customers browsing the shelves when interviewed Wednesday afternoon. "They try not to be too obvious." Though Macklin was the mayor of Avon Park for six years, most people only remember him for his final months, when he brought the Illegal Immigration Relief Act to the council chambers. He earned a large group of detractors, but also earned the support of those like James Geer, who wrote in a 2006 letter to the editor that "the federal government is not doing its job." ...more

November 4, 2007