Buying chocolate and candy on Valentine's Day is as synonymous with the holiday as igniting fireworks on Independence Day. ...more

February 13, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Those aren't typical grandmothers at the local restaurant, A Creative Chef. Although these five grannies throw baby showers in the restaurant where they work and fawn over a pregnant mother who will soon account for the group's 32nd grandchild, these ladies aren't retired at home, but hustling in a busy eatery. These grandmothers usually know which regular customers take their coffee black, with poached eggs, and often they know the local news before it hits the newspapers. ...more

January 19, 2008

Wall Street's five biggest firms are paying a record $39 billion in bonuses for 2007, a year when three of the companies suffered the worst quarterly losses in their history and shareholders lost more than $80 billion. ...more

January 18, 2008

With Florida's economy slowing, legislators will focus heavily on economic development efforts at this year's legislative session, especially ways to beef up Florida's high-tech industries, Florida business and legislative leaders said Wednesday. ...more

January 9, 2008

For the first time this decade, Florida grew by fewer than 200,000 people in a year, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. ...more

December 27, 2007

Florida's population growth was slower in 2006 than for any year this decade, and for the first time since 2000, the state's population grew by fewer than 200,000 people, according to figures released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. ...more

December 27, 2007

Retirees used to view Florida as the land of sun, golf and the good life. But these days, Florida sometimes gets a different reaction. ...more

December 20, 2007

LAKE PLACID – There are more homes on the market than just the conventional variety. Sun Ovation Homes has opened a manufactured homes sales center in Lake Placid at 1450 U.S. N., which is next to American Legion Post 25. The sales center is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday by appointment. There are seven models on the site. They range from two-bedroom, two bath to four-bedroom, three-bath homes, according to Valerie Kersey, who is the manager of the Lake Placid location. The models in Lake Placid come from Homes of Merit in Bartow and Skyline in Ocala. ...more

December 9, 2007

LAKE PLACID — Local builder Chuck Oakes is poised to capitalize on the steady graying of county residents. On Tuesday, Oakes threw open the doors during a grand opening of a $6.5 million, 50,000 square foot, assisted living facility, located just north of town on U.S. 27. Oakes said he expected to open immediately after gaining state approval within 15 to 30 days for the Southern Lifestyle Assisted Living Facility. Oakes is not alone in an effort to capitalize locally on demographics that point to a large senior population in the county. Statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau show that 35 percent of Highlands County's residents are 65 and older, with a state average of 16.8 percent. George Hougthon, Inc., broke ground this year on Windsor Lakeside Village, a 70,000 square foot retirement community, with 129 independent living suites and 26 townhomes. Windsor Lakeside Village is located on County Road 621, on the shores of Lake Huntley. Sandy Foster, executive director of NU-HOPE, cited a large number of area seniors who should keep the new centers busy. ...more

December 2, 2007

The average resident of India knows much more about America than the typical U.S. citizen knows about India. ...more

November 23, 2007