Last December, city officials bounced around an idea to relieve crowding at city hall while spurring downtown development: Buy the old Fifth Avenue Wachovia bank building and turn it into municipal office space. ...more

December 12, 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

There is a revival happening at Brandon High, and it doesn't involve a choir or a preacher. ...more

November 6, 2007

The stories are told in low campfire voices that are almost whispers and they all share the same spooky theme: occurrences not easily explained surround the buildings and houses in historical downtown. ...more

October 24, 2007

With negotiations on the state budget wrapped up, Gov. Charlie Crist is renewing his proposal to double the homestead exemption and offer some sort of portability of 'Save Our Homes' benefits to allow homeowners to keep significant property tax savings. ...more

October 10, 2007

OK, so who sounds like an old man? Will Lively: 'Please, would somebody learn how to play an instrument? I'm sick and tired of all this mumblin' and grumblin' with these rhymes over old rock tunes. How many times are they just going to copy something and call it their own? Where's the talent? I don't care what anybody says, music took a dive after the mid-1980s.' ...more

October 5, 2007