Florida's legislature should be congratulated for setting the financial groundwork for a new and improved Florida. ...more

June 3, 2009

MIAMI — Inside the rolling room of El Credito Cigar Company, the air is earthy and fragrant, a mix of coffee and nuts tinged with caramel and leather. Amid those sweet smells, though, workers are worried about a new federal tobacco tax that threatens Florida's $2 billion cigar industry. Starting today, the tax increased from 5 cents to about 40 cents on large cigars, a little less on smaller stogies. Cigar makers say the increase will torch jobs and profits — what's left of them in the recession. ...more

April 1, 2009

A Senate committee unanimously approved a proposed tobacco tax hike Thursday - but only after stripping out a $50 million earmark for Tampa's H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. ...more

April 1, 2009

A Senate committee unanimously approved a proposed tobacco tax hike today – but only after stripping out a $50-million earmark for Tampa's H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. ...more

March 31, 2009

Nicotine fiends who make it a habit to roll their own butts and save a few bucks will see their savings go up in smoke Wednesday when a new federal excise tax on tobacco kicks in. ...more

March 26, 2009

The Florida Legislature returned to Tallahassee last week to make the budgetary reductions necessary to meet our state's constitutional requirement for a balanced budget. ...more

January 13, 2009

State legislatures have for years had a habit of increasing "sin taxes" - mostly on liquor and tobacco - to raise revenue. This year will be no different. ...more

February 13, 2008

The modest spending increase that Congress approved for a popular children's health insurance program will maintain coverage for those already enrolled. Many lacking insurance, though, will have to look elsewhere. ...more

December 26, 2007

Start Sharing The Cost Regarding 'Children's Health Insurance Bill Justified President's Veto' (Our Opinion, Oct. 4): ...more

October 13, 2007

Wallace Reyes' tiny cigar shop is hidden in a Columbus Drive strip mall known mostly as the home of La Teresita grocery. ...more

October 6, 2007