THE VILLAGES — While at their neighborhood recreation center, Village of Duval residents Paul and Dawne Lampson gazed across the street last week and expressed an amazement shared by neighbors Jerry and Sue Wilson and Jim and Gayle Opatrny.

Just a year or so ago, an expanse of undeveloped land existed across the street from the Odell Circle pool, bocce court and postal station.

ORLANDO -- Florida ranks seventh on a list of states in fiscal peril.

According to the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, during a one year period, the state's population fell by more than 58,000.

Florida's population hasn't been this small since World War II.

This may not seem like a big deal for a state with 18 million residents, but it's been 63 years since the population even fell at all.

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TALLAHASSEE - Since World War II, Florida has beckoned retirees looking to spend their golden years in the sun. The steady stream has made Florida's population the oldest in the nation.

Now, Florida is headed for an even grayer future in the Baby Boomer retirement era, state economists and demographers predict. The consequences: worker shortages and severe strains on public pensions and government services.

More than one in four residents of Florida in 2030 will be 65 years or older, compared to 17% today, the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research reports. The study, which was commissioned by the state legislature, says the boom in boomers in Florida will mean worker shortages and severe strains on public pensions and government services. It projects that Florida's current retiree population -- 3.3 million residents 65 or older -- will jump to 4.6 million in 2020 and 6.3 million in 2030.

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TALLAHASSEE – Since World War II, Florida has beckoned retirees looking to spend their golden years in the sun. The steady stream has made Florida the oldest state in the nation. Now, Florida is headed for an even grayer future in the Baby Boomer retirement era, state economists and demographers predict. The consequences: worker shortages and severe strains on public pensions and government services.

Released November 2009, this Microsoft Excel document, "Estimates of Population by County and City in Florida," appears as Table 1 of the upcoming annual Florida Estimates of Population due for release in early 2010, and presents the state's official population estimates, census counts, population change since the 2000 census, and inmate population for Florida and its counties, cities, and unincorporated areas for the specified year.

E-mail. Printed copies by special request only - add $5.00 per copy ordered.

Where do you live? For many people this seemingly simple question doesn’t have a simple answer. Some retirees spend winters in Florida or Arizona and summers in New York or Minnesota. Others buy an RV and move from place to place, with no fixed place of residence. College students spend part of the year in their college towns and part in their home towns. Migrant farm workers often move from place to place over the course of a year, spending no more than a few weeks or months at any given location.

It's rare when a news conference includes the whirling moves of a Flamenco dancer and the taste of savory Cuban sandwiches.

That was the scene Tuesday near the steps of the LeRoy Collins Public Library, as Leon County officials kicked of the 2009 Hispanic Heritage Fest: A Celebration of Culture. Later, the celebration continued with an art exhibit, a poetry reading and more dancing at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science. Events are planned through Saturday.

If you picked up the most recent Time magazine, you probably saw a story captioned: ``A Shrinking Sunshine State.''

And, if you're like many Floridians who are sick of stewing in traffic, you got your hopes up.

The University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, which tracks population trends, recently reported that the state lost 58,294 residents between April 2008 and April 2009.

The most vivid sign of Florida's fight against recession came in August with the news that the state's ever-rising population declined in the 12 months ending April 1. Preliminary estimates show a drop of 58,000 in a state where growth has fueled the economic engine for more than 60 years.

The Tallahassee metropolitan statistical area, however, gained population during the same period. Wakulla County's increase of 3.5 percent to 31,791 was the most dramatic.