Residents and businesses affected by the tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Nestor on Oct. 18 can now apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Polk County Emergency Management has announced. More
Friday I’m in love with the music choices in Lakeland:
A mishmash of parking situations dot Lakeland’s neighborhoods because land development codes do not specify driveway design for single-family and two-family housing. That could change very soon — at least for new housing. More
Friends of Paul Hughes filled the Polk Theatre this afternoon for a celebration of his life as an actor, singer, teacher, director and mentor. Speakers and performers represented his different “stages of life,” including work with Pied Piper Players/Lakeland Community Theatre, Harrison School for the Arts and All Saints Academy. Hughes died in July at age 63.
LkldNow thanks Joe Havens and the staff at the Polk Theatre for their assistance setting up this livestream and especially for making sure we got a quality audio feed.
A Lakeland Police Department K-9 officer who was charged with DUI while driving a department SUV in the Panhandle last weekend has been fired, and the police chief issued a public apology. More
There’s one concert where you’ll be sure to find me this weekend (other than the Elvis Costello show in St. Pete on Sunday): News Aid on Friday night at LkldLive.
News Aid kicks off NewsMatch, the year’s major fund-raiser for LkldNow, our non-profit operation that provides independent, community-driven news about Lakeland. During NewsMatch, which lasts until Dec. 31, donations to LkldNow will be matched 100% by a coalition of national foundations that want to see nonprofit news prosper.
Performers at News Aid include Fount, Munn Park Saints, Sumner Curtis, Emily Jones, Shane Lawlor, Keep Us Sane, and members of the Imperial Symphony Orchestra. In addition, visual artist Bump Galletta will be on stage creating a large Lakeland-centric drawing that will be auctioned.
Tickets are $20 and support a good cause. Get them here. And here’s the rest of our live music calendar: More
UPDATED 9:11 p.m. — Bill Read was re-elected to the Lakeland City Commission today, but it will take a Dec. 3 runoff to determine the victor in the other commission race on the ballot. Top vote-getters Chad McLeod and Carole Philipson face each other in a runoff because no candidate won a majority in their four-way contest. More
The hotel being built next to the RP Funding Center will be managed by somebody who knows a thing or two about running a hotel near an entertainment/convention center. John Loute has been named general manager of the 126-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott, according to a news release. His extensive hospitality resume includes nearly eight years (1999-2007) as manager of the Hyatt Place, the next-door neighbor to his new hotel. For the last eight years, he was manager of the La Quinta Inn & Suites near Lakeland Square mall.
Chef T’s Garden Grill has recently closed for business after a long run. It’s not entirely out of the question that the popular fine-dining restaurant in a 1920s-era yellow house has a future as Chef T’s again. “But for now I’m hanging up my chef’s jacket,” Terry Doner said. More
A Lakeland police officer was arrested Saturday under suspicion of driving under the influence while he and other LPD officers were in Fort Walton Beach for a police K9 event. More
