Category: News Roundup

TUMBLING: The Lakeland Dreadnaught cheerleaders will leap into the state finals after capturing the Large Non-Tumbling division title. SPRAWLING: The second of three Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency sponsored murals nears completion at the corner of South Florida Ave. and Cresap Street. The artist, Timothy Haas, has numerous murals in the Lakeland area. ARRESTED: Winfred “Carl” […]

SMOKING: Thursday saw the start of the lawsuit brought by the family of Robert McCain Sr. against cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds. McCain smoked over 50 years before dying in 2007 at 67. His family is seeking compensation from the Reynolds company. ROUNDTABLE: The Polk County School Board held its first roundtable discussion this week. The […]

BUS SERVICE: Citrus Connection Executive Director Tom Phillips briefed the agency’s board of directors that the federal government shutdown could affect bus service. Phillips noted that approximately 50 percent of the local bus agency’s funding comes from federal sources and the first of two rounds of cuts would likely come February 14th. CITY HALL: Brian […]

DENIED: Polk County Commissioners voted 4-1 to deny an application to build a 1.4 million-square-foot warehouse complex on Pace Road near Florida Polytechnic University. The commissioners seemed swayed by the argument that the warehouse complex would hinder FPU hopes of a research center adjacent to the university. INTOXICATED: Christobal Lopez, the homeless man fatally shot […]

GARDEN DISTRICT: City Commissioners voted 7-0 to increase Garden District maximum building heights to 60′ (save south of Lime Street) and assign Lakeland Downtown Development Authority building guidelines to new construction taller than 40 feet. READ TRAINING: A free training for adult literacy volunteer tutors will be held January 18th from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 […]

MAILED BALLOTS: Voters have returned about 3,000 of the approximately 18,000 ballots that were mailed to Lakeland voters for the January 15th City Commissioner race. Walk-in early voting begins today at the Polk Supervisor of Election offices in Bartow and Winter Haven. City Clerk Kelly Koos noted that typically half of the populace is voting […]

POLK COUNTY: County commissioners will vote Tuesday on a measure to repeal a 2013 county ordinance that banned panhandling. The move comes after a series of court decisions could lead to a lawsuit against the county. SPECIAL ED: Recently elected to the Polk County School Board, Lisa Miller looks to change procedures for placing special education […]

PRE-DIVERSION: The Lakeland Police Department will implement a State Attorney’s Office program that will give officers the option to cite some first-time misdemeanor offenders and send them to a pre-arrest diversion program instead of jail. Officers will have discretion who to cite, and offenders must acknowledge they committed the crime. Those who complete the course […]

GARDEN DISTRICT: On Monday, the Lakeland City Commission will once again address building height and Historic Preservation Board oversight in the city’s Garden District. DOWNTOWN PARKING: On Monday, the city of Lakeland is installing new parking signs, yet again, in an effort to explain downtown parking laws. The city is using the opportunity to lower […]

FREE FOOD: The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce is organizing a block party for February 24th. The Chamber is looking to have a communal dining event patterned after such events in other cities. Food is donated by the Chamber and area businesses and the purpose is to meet your neighbors. Contact Sarah Breed at at 863-688-8551, […]