LkldNow is growing. Kimberly C. Moore, a skilled and experienced reporter with deep Lakeland roots, is joining our staff as a full-time reporter. During the last four years, Kimberly has covered Lakeland city government and then education for The Ledger, and local readers have witnessed the curiosity and passion for her hometown that drives her […]
Category: News
Posted inNews, News Roundup
Read It in the Morning Paper: Judicial Elections, Rehab Hospital
JUDGES: Brenda Ramirez, a Lakeland lawyer, will become a circuit judge in January as she was the only candidate who filed for an open seat on the 10th Judicial Circuit. In addition, 11 incumbent circuit judges have been re-elected since nobody challenged them by the deadline. On the county bench, three judges were re-elected and […]
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Negotiated Agreement Would Replace Oak Street Parking Lot With 200+ Apartments, 424-Space Garage
It’s taken six years and on-and-off negotiations with developers, but the city is close to securing a deal that could see a seven-story apartment complex with more than 200 units on a 1.5-acre city-owned parcel on Oak Street in downtown Lakeland. The project plans also include 2,000 square feet of street-level retail and a six-story, […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Population Growth, School Board
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 […]
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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.
Posted inNews
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 […]