Gun sales have risen dramatically. More than 600,000 Floridians are licensed to carry guns and they still are applying in record numbers. ...more

April 3, 2009

For years there was an annual late-summer rite that occurred all around Florida. The local sheriff, in good economic times or bad, would suggest in a public fashion the bad guys were winning the upper hand and the sheriff's agency needed more money to put extra personnel and equipment on the street to take back the initiative. These days, however, Pinellas Sheriff Jim Coats is cutting spending in response to the drop in revenue the county is experiencing as a result of the collapse of the Florida housing industry and the nationwide economic recession. ...more

February 21, 2009

For years there was an annual late-summer rite that occurred all around Florida. The local sheriff, in good economic times or bad, would suggest in a public fashion the bad guys were winning the upper hand and the sheriff's agency needed more money to put extra personnel and equipment on the street to take back the initiative. In Pasco County over the decades there have been spirited battles between the sheriff of the moment and the County Commission, which under state law can make cuts in Sheriff's Office spending. ...more

February 21, 2009

Inside the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday, no one needed to be told that after three years of cramming, test time had finally come. ...more

September 1, 2008