Whether it be farmers desperate to save their crops from winter's cold breath, or sloppy water management by Florida's counties, the future of the state's water supply can be summed up in two words: "Water conservation."

The Citrus County Commission's handling of economic development is a curious case of government not knowing what it wants, but knowing that what it sees it doesn't like.

The county commission did not renew the contract with the Economic Development Council, and commissioners laid out a host of reasons why they didn't want to continue with the EDC as it was then configured.

Law 1: You cannot simultaneously satisfy the anti-tobacco groups and your revenue stream. We made Big Tobacco pay, now it's the smokers' turn. We like the money we got from the Big Tobacco settlement, but it's about gone. Now federal tobacco taxes are raised for children's health, and taxes are poised to be raised again to stabilize the state budget.

We've said our goodbyes to former County Administrator Anthony J. Schembri, the latest in a series of county commission-vs.-county staff casualties.

He joins June Fischer, Tom Dick and Richard Wesch on the pile of recently discarded county employees.

It seems curious that the loss of 11 workers in the Property Appraiser's Office, and now 4 workers in the Citrus County Water Resources Department, has not deterred the county from believing it can find money for a project as costly as long-range mass transportation.

"I got the hongries for your love, and I'm waitin' in your welfare line." (Courtesy: Singer Buck Owens' song lyric) States, counties and cities are singing that ditty, or variant, while awaiting "their" shares of federal "stimulus" money - money which was, lest we forget, originally deposited in good faith by American taxpayers. Between the financial industry bailout (handout No.