I saw that Ronda Bumgardner resigned as your "Straight Answers" columnist. What's going to happen with the column? - Readers. ...more

March 15, 2009

Susan Gardner's victory in Tuesday's election proved that money doesn't always win elections. ...more

November 5, 2008

Sarah Palin showed up with folksiness and grit. Joe Biden brought emotion and substance. ...more

October 5, 2008

We hear it every election season: Candidates for political office seldom give straight answers. Instead, much of what we learn about them comes from political advertisements developed by their opponents and special-interest groups. ...more

September 24, 2008

When Sen. Barack Obama visits the Space Coast today, he likely will be pressed for straight answers about his plan to help pay for early childhood education by delaying NASA's program to return astronauts to the moon and explore Mars. ...more

August 2, 2008

I read with interest the article by James J. Dean regarding the channel between Little Lake Jackson and Lake Jackson. Also, the article about the canal cleanup at Lake Istokpoga. Both of our local newspapers should interview residents of Erin Park, who live on the three canals to Little Lake Jackson, and also take pictures of the three canals, as two of them are literally "seas of grass." We have little water in the middle canal and in the past few weeks, a lot of the fish have died and we've gotten flocks of buzzards on the bank feeding on the dead fish. We haven't had our boats or pontoons out on either lake for almost two years. A lot of the boats and pontoons are sitting high and dry. It would cost each owner around $600 to have a crane come in and remove them. We have contacted local county officials several times, but all we get are words! Something needs to be done. ...more

May 24, 2008

From the start, it didn't make sense to make the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Institute - built on the campus of the University of South Florida - an independent center. ...more

February 7, 2008

We hear it all the time: Candidates for political office seldom give straight answers. Much of what we learn about them comes from political advertisements developed by their opponents and special-interest groups. That's politics. ...more

October 30, 2007

If Hillsborough County public school officials want parents to trust them with their children, they need to be responsive and honest. But in Temple Terrace, where many parents are worried about the safety of the area's high school, straight answers are hard to come by. ...more

September 30, 2007