With unemployment rising, they and hundreds more out-of-work adults in Hillsborough County are swamping adult education classes to prepare for the General Educational Development test or to strengthen their English-speaking skills. ...more

February 27, 2009

Facing state revenue cuts, the Avon Park City Council will meet for a budget workshop Saturday morning to consider ways to reduce spending and increase revenue. ...more

February 5, 2009

Higher taxes and other new sources of revenue loom on Florida's horizon -- but not in time to stave off $1 billion in budget cuts now. That was the message from Senate President Jeff Atwater and other leading lawmakers, who spoke today about tackling ways to fatten the state's dwindling coffers when the Legislature convenes this spring. ...more

January 5, 2009

Bad economic news flooded in from all directions Friday, as state economists predicted tax collections would come up short by $1.4 billion and new figures showed that unemployment had soared to 7 percent. ...more

November 22, 2008

There's a place more magical and elusive than Shangri-la, Narnia and Never-Never Land all rolled into one. You may have heard of this place. You know it as "the next level." ...more

August 31, 2008

Back in the 1990s, former Gov. Lawton Chiles compared Florida to an 18-wheeler running on a Model T engine. He was referring to the state's antiquated tax system developed before World War II when the state was the least-populated in the South. ...more

July 27, 2008

State Can't Afford Deal Regarding "In 'Huge' Everglades Win, State To buy U.S. Sugar" (front page, June 25): ...more

June 28, 2008

Pressure from property owners to lower their taxes is running headlong into economic challenges posed by the state's sputtering economy. ...more

November 16, 2007

The Legislature convenes Wednesday for a third session this year, this time to cut some $1.5 billion from the state's $72 billion budget. It will be painful, but it can be done. ...more

October 1, 2007