I’m expressing my appreciation for your running the reprint of an article, “DeSantis needs to send clear message,” on your Viewpoints page Sunday, July 5, 2020.
WASHINGTON — If hard cases make bad law, a corollary may be that bad presidents risk making bad law. A president who ignores settled norms and makes maximalist legal arguments in defending his conduct may provoke courts to overreact — solving the problem at hand but setting bad precedents th…
I am writing this letter to inform the residents of Highlands County that if you need an ambulance in an emergency you may receive a very hefty bill, even though you have very good insurance. In January of this year I needed an ambulance because I was shaking and trembling and weak that my w…
There is no debate about this statistic: Florida is the most popular state for the Affordable Care Act.
Americans want to know how do we compare the risks of this new coronavirus to the risks of the normal annual flu. How likely we are to get the new virus? If we get the virus, how likely are we to die?
We’re getting a lot of advice these days. Some of the tips for the pandemic are good, such as wearing masks. Some of it – like injecting bleach – is actually dangerous. As a behavioral scientist, I know that the advice I’m about to give you is backed up by years of research, but as a semi-fu…
The past four months feel like four years. When are we finally going to get back to at least some sense of normalcy?
Don and I are quite different when it comes to theme parks like Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
I’m getting a whole-house attic fan installed this week – just like the one my father had installed in my childhood home – and I cannot wait to cool my house using his old-time methods.
School vouchers may make sense to rescue a poor child from a failing public school. But private schools that accept vouchers should be just as accountable for the quality of the education they’re providing with taxpayer dollars — your dollars — as public schools. Whether religious or secular…
I would like to send kudos out to Sebring Florist.
My husband and I are both in the vulnerable group so we have self-quarantined since March. To say that it is getting a little difficult would be an understatement, but we realize how important this is.
The numbers just keep rising. Each day more cases of COVID-19 are reported here and around the country. Florida being one of the big three with the most seems to be foundering concerning what to do regarding opening or closing areas, businesses and restaurants, just to name a few.
There is the old adage “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” This is where we are right now in our community with COVID-19 and all the things we want to do in returning to “normal.”
It’s that lovely time of year when everything is green. Gardens are producing nourishing, delicious vegetables. And politicians are blaring at us if we dare turn on broadcast, cable or satellite television.
I used the weed eater followed by the hedger before pruning with the clippers. By the time I finished and began raking the remains, I was woozy. Despite starting early in the morning, hydrating properly and monitoring the heat index, I got overheated doing yard work. I thought I had managed …
Why it matters: As the economy limps along during the pandemic, feeding more and more hungry families needs to be a primary focus.
The coronavirus epidemic is much like wartime: Resources must be used effectively. That may not always have been the case.
Jerome Kaszubowski is a candidate for the constitutional office of Highlands County Clerk of Court. Jerome and I have worked together as deputy clerks since 1986 at the Clerk of Courts and in that time I have found him to be a conservative Christian gentleman who dearly loves his family and …
A few years ago a there was a book written called “Everything You Ever Need to Know About Life You Learned in Kindergarten” … i.e. “you make a mess, you clean it up … you throw a toy at your fellow classmate, you say you are sorry … etc., etc.” You get the picture. But I contend that everyth…
Despite assurances that all is well, overconfidence isn’t helpful as the pandemic rages on.
I'm curious to find out what percentage of residents in Highland County receive the Highlands News-Sun. About 1-1/2 weeks prior to the recycling program starting up again during the week of June 29, I received a flyer in the newspaper showing information about the new guidelines for recyclin…
After the eight-year nightmare that was George II, President Obama took office and from the beginning, the Republic [sic] Party wailed in unison, “How long are you going to blame George Bush for everything?”. Now I will ask the same question. How long are you going to blame President Obama f…
Reason to stop at stop signs: I don’t want to kill myself or someone else. Reason to wear a mask: same as above.
The next two times Highlands County goes to vote, they will definitely bring a lot of change to the county. This upcoming election cycle will see four of the five seats on the Board of County Commission up for grabs. Districts 1, 2, and 3 will see no incumbent running for re-election as they…
Governor DeSantis just signed into law SB 712 – the self-proclaimed “Clean Waterways Act” – an ambitious misnomer for a bill that claims to be the solution to our mounting water quality issues, but falls far short of that mark.
We can’t tell you for certain whose interests are served by President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on immigration, which took effect June 24 and suspends many new work visas through the end of the year. But we can easily tell you whose aren’t — those of American businesses and indus…
There is a second “pandemic” or “virus” that has infected Highlands County that is being ignored by its citizens and by the paper just as much as the COVID-19 was originally ignored. I would hate to see the source of my information disappear but since the first day the sheriff's department's…
WASHINGTON — The French revolutionaries’ instrument for administering the 1793-1794 Reign of Terror was the Committee of Public Safety. Today, China’s totalitarians, displaying either ignorance of this unsavory history, or arrogance in flaunting their emulation of it, call their new instrume…
Monday there was a fatal traffic accident a little north of Lake Placid on U.S. 27. The traffic was diverted down Lake Henry Drive to by-pass the carnage. Fine. It has happened before a few times. However, this time, rather than have the traffic flow in one direction at a time and alternate …
And just like that, brutal officers in South Florida are being fired and charged with crimes for mistreating the public. Imagine that.
Whenever our great country seems in a moment of crisis, I like to reread a short speech by Abraham Lincoln. Each crisis feels like our country is struggling once again with equality, or worried about our freedom, or fretting about our nation’s economic future, or all three put together.
Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts.
At a time when coronavirus cases are again surging, wearing a face mask should be no more controversial than wearing a shirt or shoes into a business.
Recently, a friend sent me flowers for my birthday from Hobby Hill Florist in Sebring. While the flowers looked lovely upon arrival, they did not maintain their freshness over the next two days for some reason.
I would like to tell everyone what a good company Lincare is. They supply the oxygen I need to breathe. I’m 81 years old with COPD. I need oxygen 24/7. They are need good to me. Always pleasant on the phone and in person.
Let me start off the column by saying that in this time of a pandemic, when I leave the house, I usually wear a mask.
A few weeks ago a friend told me of a refreshing scene at the Little Italy restaurant in Avon Park. As he sat eating his lunch, several police officers, including school resource officers, came into the establishment.
