POPULATION GROWTH: Polk County added 24,287 new residents between July 1, 2021 to July 1, 2020, bringing total population to 753,520, according to the U.S. Census Bureau; that’s the nation’s seventh-highest number of new residents. Looking at percentage growth, the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area also ranked seventh in the nation with a growth rate close […]
Category: News
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Lakeland Girls Academy Closes; Parents of Teen Who Died Plan to Sue
Lakeland Girls Academy, a residential facility for troubled teens, has closed nearly two years after the death there of 17-year-old Naomi Wood of Vermont. A 2021 DCF report found administrators declined Woods’ requests to see a doctor about chronic stomach pains. Wood’s parents told News Channel 8 they plan to file a wrongful death negligence […]
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Proposal to Reshape Appeals Court Districts Could Affect Efforts to Retain a Lakeland Headquarters
A new proposal to realign Florida’s appellate court districts could sway the decision on whether Lakeland remains the home of the 2nd District Court of Appeal.
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Girl, 11, Wounded in North Lakeland Shootings is Resilient and Recovering, Family Says
The 11-year-old girl who survived with wounds as four others died at the hands of a gun-wielding stranger on Sunday morning in two north Lakeland houses will remain at Tampa General Hospital for several months, family members tell Fox 13 News. She has undergone four surgeries for her 10 wounds, but she is awake, talking, […]
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154 City Employees Tested Positive for COVID Last Month
The recent surge in COVID-19 infections is being felt at Lakeland City Hall. During August, 154 city employees tested positive for the virus. That is almost three times the 53 infected last December, the previous high month. And it represents 28.6% of the total 539 cases reported among city workers since April 2020.
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COVID Patients Increase at Lakeland Regional While Some Other Hospitals See a Possible Peak
Some Central Florida hospitals say they’re seeing signs that the surge in COVID-19 patients is leveling off, but that’s not the case at Lakeland Regional Health. The hospital’s snapshot of patient load at 10:30 a.m. today showed that 443 patients had tested positive for the virus, the highest number reported yet.
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Re-christened Lakeland Symphony Looks to New Season, With Changes
In the wake of the chaos left by the Covid crisis, some nonprofit organizations emerged with new goals, names and plans. Polk County’s only professional orchestra is no exception. After being known for more than 30 years as the Imperial Symphony Orchestra, it will enter the 2021-2022 season as the Lakeland Symphony Orchestra, the name […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Short-Term Rentals, Shark Bite
LAKE MORTON residents met to seek solutions to loud partying and parking problems at Airbnbs and other short-term rentals in the neighborhood. City officials explain that state law gives them little enforcement power. One suggestion: Have short-term rental owners give neighbors their contact information to let them know when things get rowdy. (Subscribers-only story) A […]
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Polk Magistrate Fines BS Ranch $88,000 for Odor Violations
BS Ranch and Farm in east Lakeland has been fined $88,000 by a Polk county code enforcement magistrate who found the business violated the county’s off-site odor regulations, News Channel 8 reported. The company, which turns solid waste into soil, has 10 days to appeal the ruling. Source: News Channel 8
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Overall Crime Dropped in Polk Last Year; Violent Acts Increased
Overall crime in Polk County dropped 12% last year, from 13,787 incidents in 2019 to 12,117 in 2020, but violent crime increased more than 6% from 1,990 to 2,115, according to recent data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Similarly in Lakeland, property crimes were down but violent crimes were up, Chief Ruben Garcia […]
