About 250 people crowded into the cafeteria at Burns Middle School on Sept. 8 for the second in a series of seven town hall meetings Superintendent MaryEllen Elia called "open mic time." ...more

September 17, 2008

None of us have ever lived through an election at a time when 80 percent of voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction. But now that we're in the thick of it, a few things are clear. From voters, the demand is: Surprise Me Most. For candidates, the lesson is: Weirdness Wins. ...more

September 12, 2008

About 250 people crowded into the cafeteria at Burns Middle School on Monday for the second in a series of seven town hall meetings Superintendent MaryEllen Elia called "open mike time." ...more

September 9, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia apologized again at her first town meeting Tuesday for this year's lack of communication about changing bus stops and for having too few phone lines for questions. ...more

September 2, 2008

Hillsborough schools Superintendent Mary Ellen Elia launches a series of town hall meetings at Hillsborough High School tonight at a time when the district is still wrestling with complaints about new school bus routes. ...more

September 2, 2008

What Will Mr. And Mrs. Candidate Do? Many know about town hall meetings where the questions are polite but no definitive answers are received. So let me ask these persons who profess they can make change, and some who claim they already are, just what they would do with these issues? ...more

August 17, 2008

Republican Matt Matey is taking on 24-year incumbent Ann Hildebrand and community activist Wil Nickerson in the party primary for the District 3 county commission race. The winner faces whoever prevails in the Democratic primary between Terri Conroy and Nicholas Planck. ...more

August 16, 2008

Community teamwork can go a long way, especially in areas like South Brooksville that have been historically neglected. ...more

July 24, 2008

Community teamwork can go a long way, especially in areas like South Brooksville that have been historically neglected. ...more

July 23, 2008

SEBRING — Bill Nelson lives in Tallahassee, but he started Friday morning in Fort Myers. A northeasterly drive in his dark gray Nissan Pathfinder took him to town hall meetings in LaBelle, Moore Haven, then Sebring. He had to be back in Washington at 9 a.m. Saturday to argue the case for seating the Florida delegation at the Democratic National Convention, so Florida's U.S. senator had to arrive at the Orlando airport by 8 p.m. Friday to catch a flight to Washington. But U.S. Airways canceled the red-eye, so his aides made hasty phone calls to people he expected to meet at 3:30 p.m. in Sebring City Hall. Could they be there 30 minutes early? Nelson needed to fly from Sebring in a private plane so he could make the 6:15 flight in Orlando. ...more

May 31, 2008