We've given Gov. Charlie Crist grief for pledging during the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary that he would govern along the conservative lines of the man he was seeking to replace, Jeb Bush, and then lurching to the left after he was elected. His enthusiastic backing of the Legislature's decision to have the state, in effect, take over the property insurance industry in Florida was one example of un-Jeb-ish behavior. Another was the governor's backing of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program. The media has been referring to that support for months without a peep of protest from Crist - until Wednesday. ...more

November 7, 2009

Egmont Key State Park once again is a target in the sights of legislative budget-cutters. ...more

March 27, 2009

Egmont Key State Park is once again a target in the sights of legislative budget cutters. ...more

March 26, 2009

President Barack Obama is playing a bit of divide and conquer this week, pitting his Republican critics in Washington against GOP governors and mayors eager for the federal money that his hard-fought stimulus plan will bring. Next on the list of Republican notables to embrace the president is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is to join Obama at a town hall meeting Thursday in Los Angeles. ...more

March 19, 2009

Saving County Tax Dollars I figure if the commissioners really wanted to save money, they could. ...more

March 11, 2009

Change Equals Higher Taxes For More Welfare Programs This will sound a like an unusual request in a letter to the editor, but I hope you readers will indulge me. The recently passed, 1,100 page "stimulus bill" was enacted into law so quickly that virtually no one had the time to read it before having to vote on it. ...more

March 1, 2009

Florida unemployment compensation benefits are increasing by $25 a week due to federal stimulus funding. ...more

February 23, 2009

A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment. ...more

February 18, 2009

Even as his aides left open the possibility that another stimulus bill might be necessary, President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law the $787 billion package that is a cornerstone of his plan to reverse a dramatic economic downturn. ...more

February 18, 2009

In the face of mounting criticism from within his own party, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist continued his push for the economic stimulus bill Friday, appearing in St. Petersburg with Mayor Rick Baker and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio. ...more

February 14, 2009