State officials on Friday gave South Bay Hospital permission to move out of this retirement community to a site eight miles north along Big Bend Road in Riverview. ...more

December 15, 2007

LAKE PLACID — Local builder Chuck Oakes is poised to capitalize on the steady graying of county residents. On Tuesday, Oakes threw open the doors during a grand opening of a $6.5 million, 50,000 square foot, assisted living facility, located just north of town on U.S. 27. Oakes said he expected to open immediately after gaining state approval within 15 to 30 days for the Southern Lifestyle Assisted Living Facility. Oakes is not alone in an effort to capitalize locally on demographics that point to a large senior population in the county. Statistics provided by the U.S. Census Bureau show that 35 percent of Highlands County's residents are 65 and older, with a state average of 16.8 percent. George Hougthon, Inc., broke ground this year on Windsor Lakeside Village, a 70,000 square foot retirement community, with 129 independent living suites and 26 townhomes. Windsor Lakeside Village is located on County Road 621, on the shores of Lake Huntley. Sandy Foster, executive director of NU-HOPE, cited a large number of area seniors who should keep the new centers busy. ...more

December 2, 2007

Winifred and Walter J. Dean married in 1944 and soon after bought a lot in Brandon on which to build their home and raise a family. The parcel, a block north of Brandon Boulevard at Ridgewood Avenue and Morgan Street, cost $125. ...more

November 24, 2007

Just out of high school and married barely a week, 18-year-old Winifred Dean saw her husband off to war in 1944 and boarded a bus for home. While Walter J. Dean joined his World War II field artillery unit bound for Okinawa, Japan, Winifred Dean prayed for her husband's safety. ...more

November 21, 2007

THE VILLAGES - Retirees zip around in personalized golf carts from polo matches to the basket-weaving club to Wal-Mart. Days of the week are denoted by tee times. Sunset is washed down with a cold beer or margarita at outdoor happy hour. The backdrop is a town square, where a faux-rustic facade and classic oldies pumping from speakers festooned on street lamp posts make visitors wonder if Gene Kelly might emerge for an encore of "Singin' in the Rain." ...more

November 19, 2007

WCI Communities Inc., the Florida-based developer of upscale condominiums and homes, said Wednesday it will cut 21 percent of its work force as part of a restructuring spurred by the difficult housing market. ...more

November 7, 2007

A teen charged in the brutal rapes of two Zephyrhills women was denied bail Monday, despite pleas from his family. ...more

November 6, 2007

Determined residents of this retirement community packed Community Hall on Tuesday to make their case why South Bay Hospital should not be allowed to move six miles north to Big Bend Road in Riverview. ...more

October 31, 2007

SUN CITY CENTER - About 1,000 people turned out today for a public hearing on South Bay Hospital's proposal to close its operation in this retirement community and move about six miles north to a facility it wants to build on Big Bend Road in Riverview. ...more

October 30, 2007

After the storms of 2004 ravaged homes in the Tiki Village mobile home park west of U.S. 19, elderly residents decided to do something to protect their properties. ...more

October 30, 2007