Opinion Archive

For democracy to function, citizens must have the right to know what their elected officials are doing and saying. The right to full and public notice of when elected officials are discussing or making decisions must be ensured.

As a nonpartisan government watchdog and taxpayer-research institute that focuses on promoting government accountability and transparency, Florida TaxWatch supports the use of public notices in local newspapers of record by government entities to notify all of their citizens of meetings and votes.

When we moved to Northwest Florida more than 20 years ago, it looked very different.

There was more “old Florida,” the buildings were shorter and the pier in Okaloosa County was still damaged from Hurricane Opal.

Millions of fans from around the nation are soaking in the excitement of the madness of March.

And you can’t blame them. The NCAA tournament is three weeks of win-or-go home basketball, with joy and heartbreak and everything in between all rolled into one.

As Navarre residents we care deeply about how our tax money is spent. We are highly suspicious of government programs, promises and politicians.

We are quick to investigate any potential misuse and we pride ourselves on accountability.

Every day several times a day, the Apple watch my kids got me last year sends me an annoying reminder.
Breathe, it tells me. Just breathe.

My immediate impulse is to argue with this piece of technology.

Santa Rosa County businesses and officials want tourists to come. They are and in solid numbers if recent bed tax revenues are the indicator.

When the tourists come, they arrive in cars. The cars cause more congestion on our always crowded roads.

Slimy is not a term applied to anything in a positive light. In the pantheon of pejoratives, it is only slightly better than being identified as totally disgusting.

When applied to people it serves as a verbal warning that something bad is likely to occur. It is indicative of deceitful and dishonest qualities that are covered by a slick exterior.

If you want wisdom, you could scale a distant peak to consult with some wizened sage, or you can drive to Indiana and visit my father-in-law.

My wife and I have just returned from celebrating his 104th birthday with him.

Maybe it was the fact that it had been nearly 15 months since that memorable night in Texas ended with the University of West Florida football team winning its first NCAA Division II national title in program history.

Or maybe it was just as simple as the sun was shining and it was a picture-perfect day for college football at Pen Air Field.