Columns by Mary Ann Hutton

Florida Department of Corrections is Florida’s largest state agency and is the third-largest state prison system in the country. There are 128 Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) facilities including 50 major institutions 15 annexes, 7 private facilities...

Considering yesterday’s tornado tragedy and the families that have been affected here in our great county, I wanted to inform everyone of the proposed funding for E911 emergency and law enforcement officials proposed funding. As we all know both are essential to...

Governments have been providing funding for transportation infrastructure and expansion since 1787.  In 1787, Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gave Congress the power "to establish Post Offices and post Roads." Since the original “post Roads” funding there...

Governor DeSantis is highly focused on economic development and job creation in Florida. Since 2019 Florida added more than 2.7 million new businesses. From October 2022 and October 2023, Florida’s private sector job growth added 252,900 jobs. Florida’s private...

It takes the entire community and its leaders to work together to have optimal success for all its citizens. The community should work flawlessly as a fine-tuned pocket watch. Working with every wheel spinning at the precise speed and every wheel harmoniously...

Tallahassee has been buzzing for a couple of months now getting ready for opening day on January 9, 2024. Even though our legislators are hard at work with drafts of general bills, memorials, joint resolutions, and companion bills, the recently highlighted buzz is...

Many times, in a small rural government environment the local authorities have to decide if they want to continue the growth of the local economy or to kill or stifle the positive financial impact of hosted events on the local economy. Often there is no...

Over the past few years, we have seen our homeowner insurance rates rise due to the lack of competition and the high cost of goods and services. Due to these increases, The State of Florida has been enacting laws, programs, and statutes to help Floridians with the...

When federal, state, or local governments need more money they always look for additional revenue sources from us the taxpayers. In 2021 the Florida Legislature passed SB 1126 which transferred $35 million to Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, “to be used in accordance...

Since 2020 we have all been experiencing very little left over, if any after our monthly living and debt service. Some have even dipped into their savings or even taken on debt, to buy food, gas, taxes, necessities and service their debt. Upon the continued rise of...

Do you ever get tired of Washington’s broken promises and failures and having to pay for Wall Street mismanagement? Each time a bank fails, we the American people step in and pay for the failure while Washington and Wall Street are never held accountable for the...

You often hear about “The Golden Rule.” “The Golden Rule” is the principle of treating others as you would want to be treated. We often think of this personally or even think the application of the rule only applies locally. However, I often find myself thinking of...

What do our state legislators do when the Legislative Session is not convened? As we have all seen lately, they are traveling their districts to discover what needs are in the communities they represent. However, some also keep up with federal issues and tirelessly...

Have you ever thought what in the world is the federal government doing? Are they just really opposed to the constitutional freedoms and rights that our forefathers created with the U.S. Constitution? The longevity of these rights and freedoms have been in effect...

One of the most important things in life for me has always been spending time with family. It is something my parents and grandparents instilled in us from a very early age. We ate together and had conversations about our day, school, life, God and whatever was...

Great news, it is only 12 days from the first day of fall. The sad thing is the mercury in the old thermometer is still spiking triple digits and not even a tease to cooler or less humid weather. The pumpkins are out and every kind of pumpkin spice drink and food...

Have you ever wondered why Americans are so divided on issues? The answer is quite simple it is called identity politics. Oxford Languages defines identity politics as “a tendency for people of a particular religion, ethnic group, social background, etc., to form...

How are nations' and states' fiscal responsibility measured? How are these fiscal responsibilities made transparent? The answers to both questions are by their credit rating. The credit rating analyzes the entities’ financial management practices, its expenditure...

The largest component to any city, county or development is infrastructure. Infrastructure is a set of necessary facilities or systems providing commodities and services for the community to enable, sustain or enhance societal living conditions. However, most...

Even though it is still suturing hot and humid, summer vacation is coming to an end for school age children. They will return to the classroom in a couple of weeks and settle into new policies, education requirements and regulations that have been passed and...