After Bob Germaine was elected Highlands County Clerk of Courts, he retired in December from his old job, senior director of court services. For the rest of his life, he'll get a check from the Florida Retirement System. ...more

April 2, 2009

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner suggested Tuesday that commissioners look at cutting their own salaries or benefits as a symbolic gesture to show empathy for county employees facing layoffs. ...more

April 1, 2009

You may be being poisoned by your own drinking water, whether that water comes from a municipal source or your own private well. This shocking revelation came to me quite by chance and began when I asked the Highlands County Administrator Michael Wright if old, discontinued left-over prescription drugs could be brought to the Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Waste Collection March 7. ...more

April 1, 2009

Hillsborough County celebrated the dedication of the new Central Hillsborough Water Treatment Facility March 23 - with a toast of water from the plant. ...more

April 1, 2009

"April," T.S. Eliot warned us at the beginning of his epic 1922 poem, "is the cruelest month." ...more

April 1, 2009

Facing the prospect of major budget cuts next year, Pasco County officials took the hard questions directly to the taxpayers Monday night in the first of a series of public meetings aimed at setting priorities for the county's future. ...more

April 1, 2009

Hillsborough County celebrated the dedication of the new Central Hillsborough Water Treatment Facility March 23 - with a toast of water from the plant. ...more

April 1, 2009

Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner suggested today that commissioners look at cutting their own salaries or benefits as a symbolic gesture to show empathy for county employees facing layoffs. ...more

March 31, 2009

Fireworks could erupt this afternoon when the Hillsborough County Commission takes its first hard look at next year's budget shortfall. County Administrator Pat Bean surprised some commissioners Friday when she said the bleak economic outlook could force her to lay off 1,000 employees over the next two years. Commissioner Al Higginbotham questioned whether so many layoffs are necessary, and he accused Bean of using the layoff announcement to pressure Sheriff David Gee into reducing his workforce. ...more

March 31, 2009

More Hillsborough County government workers learned Monday that their jobs are at risk as the sinking economy continues to take a toll on tax revenue. ...more

March 31, 2009