The city has invested millions to support affordable housing, but for every lucky person who gets in, many more wait.
Author Archives: Donna Renfroe
Posted inActivism
10 Lakeland Nonprofits Receive $2,500 Grants from OMS Group
Grants will help to fund tutoring, healthcare, opera, job training, and independent journalism.
Posted inPeople
Phillips Photographers Building Sells as Owner Refocuses His Career
At 68, Robin Phillips will concentrate on photo restoration. The Florida Avenue building his father constructed in 1962 is being sold to the publisher of The Lakelander magazine.
Posted inFamily
Florida Children’s Museum Opens
The museum, previously called Explorations V, has moved to a much larger space at Bonnet Springs Park.
Posted inA & E, City Hall
RP Funding Center Faces Budget Challenges as New Season Opens
The RP Funding Center opens its 2022-23 entertainment season this month as Lakeland city commissioners decide on an annual budget that would lower operational costs and prompt programming changes that are hoped to attract new audiences.
Posted inEvents, Family
Watch for Hot Air Balloons Over South Lakeland This Weekend
Balloon pilots will take the place of jet pilots to demonstrate their skills this weekend in the skies over Sun ‘n Fun. The three-day Up Up and Away Hot Air Balloon and Music Festival opens Friday and continues through Sunday on the Sun ‘n Fun Expo campus located on the south side of Lakeland Linder […]
Posted inActivism, Housing
Mutz Pledges to Seek Fines on Owners of Unsafe Rental Properties
A pledge by Lakeland’s mayor to hold landlords responsible for clearing up unsafe living conditions drew enthusiastic praise from leaders of the Polk Ecumenical Council for Empowerment (PEACE) and the crowd of up to 1,000 people at a drive-in rally Tuesday evening.
Posted inHistory, Schools
New Historical Marker Honors 1928 Founding of Kathleen School
A historical marker designating Kathleen Middle School as a Polk County Heritage Site was installed this week at the school, which opened in 1928 as Kathleen School. In its early years, the school served students in grades 1 to 12, extending education in the Kathleen community past the eight grade for the first time.
Posted inPeople
LHS Mourns Father and Son Who Both Became Head Drum Majors
A father and son whose love of music led them both to legacies as Lakeland High School drum majors are being memorialized in Lakeland Saturday and in Tallahassee Monday following their deaths in an auto accident last weekend.
Posted inA & E, History
Library Renovations Will Debut Soon, Followed by Opening of History and Culture Center
The Lakeland Public Library’s main branch on Lake Morton is preparing to open its renovated adult section to the public in a few weeks, with the new History and Culture Center and a renovated children’s section following in May.