SEBRING — Hiring a new administrator, the county's chief executive, won't be the only major change in 2008 for Highlands County government. By the end of February, four months before Administrator Carl Cool retires, the county commissioners plan to fill the four new executive positions which they recently created. By unanimous vote on Tuesday, the commissioners agreed to immediately launch the hiring process for the four new "division director" positions. Having four division directors supervise the county's 19 department heads and report directly to the administrator is the centerpiece of the commissioners' No. 1 goal, set back in January, of making county government more efficient. The county will advertise to fill three of the positions — directors of the public safety, public works and community services divisions — immediately. Candidates will be sought locally, statewide and nationally. Rick Helms, the assistant county administrator, has already been picked for the fourth position, assistant county administrator/director of administrative services. For several weeks, commissioners had been considering two options: hiring the division directors as soon as possible, or letting the new county administrator pick the division directors after he or she starts on July 1. ...more

November 7, 2007

Tuesday finally could be the day Pasco County commissioners pick a successor to retiring County Attorney Robert Sumner. ...more

November 4, 2007

TAMPA - After less than 90 minutes of deliberation today, a jury found Khalid Ali Pasha guilty on two counts of first-degree murder for the 2002 stabbing deaths of his wife and stepdaughter. ...more

October 31, 2007

At the risk of being called potty-mouthed, county commissioners recently dumped criticism on companies that virtually abandon portable toilets at unfinished construction sites. ...more

October 31, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - The Pasco County School Board approved a contract Tuesday evening to buy 30 acres in Shady Hills that would become the site for a future high school. ...more

October 17, 2007

The city council agreed Thursday to endorse several high-profile downtown projects by approving about $3 million in contracts. ...more

October 5, 2007

TAMPA - The city council agreed Thursday to endorse several high-profile downtown projects by approving about $3 million in contracts. ...more

October 4, 2007

There weren't enough cheerleaders Wednesday for Championship Park. Hillsborough County commissioners resoundingly rejected plans for the $40 million sports complex that would have been built in northeastern Hillsborough County. ...more

October 4, 2007

CLEARWATER - Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. Former Pinellas County Administrator Fred Marquis, a fixture at the county courthouse for decades, is the county commission's unanimous selection to temporarily replace County Administrator Steve Spratt. Spratt, the county's top appointed official for nearly six years, is resigning at the end of this month amid political fallout over the county's controversial purchase of land from Property Appraiser Jim Smith. ...more

September 25, 2007

With less than a week to go before final adoption of their 2007-08 spending plan, Pasco County officials still are working to balance their budget. ...more

September 21, 2007