Explosion Idles One of Lakeland Electric’s Older Generators
No injuries were reported in the incident at McIntosh Unit 2, a power plant usually held in reserve for use when demand peaks.
City Hall
Commission Tweaks Strong Mayor Ballot Wording
City commissioners played editor this morning, tweaking the wording voters will see when they vote Nov. 7 on whether to change the system of city government to strong mayor. The edits include changes sought by both sides of the contentious issue.More
City Commissioners Will Review Strong Mayor Language
City commissioners are about to take another look at the wording voters will see in November when they decide whether Lakeland will switch to a strong mayor form of government.More
Voters Will Decide Strong Mayor Issue in November
Lakeland voters will decide in November whether to change the form of city government. City commissioners voted 5-2 this morning to set November for the vote on a proposal to change from the council-manager form to a strong mayor format.More
Mayor Wiggs: I Am Not Running for Re-election
Howard Wiggs declared this morning he won’t be a candidate for mayor, answering speculation that he would seek the office if voters agree to change the form of city government to a strong mayor system.More
Osprey Nest Moved; Electric Generator Restarts
Lakeland Electric’s Unit 5 was back online on schedule last week after an osprey nest was moved out of danger, the utility’s director said. “It’s nice to see the water vapor meaning our natural gas unit is back up and running. It was running as of last Wednesday, on schedule in spite of an osprey nesting during the outage period 
🙄,” Joel Ivy said in a post visible to his Facebook friends. “Natural gas prices are still very favorable and we will leverage that benefit as we should.” News reports last week said danger to the ospreys could delay the generator’s restart after an unplanned outage.
City Commission Takes Step to Put Strong Mayor on Ballot
In a decision that represents a mile marker in the marathon of deciding if Lakeland will adopt a strong mayor form of government, city commissioners this afternoon voted 7-0 to proceed toward placing the issue on an election ballot.More