UNEMPLOYMENT in Polk County registered at 3.1% in March, slightly higher than the statewide rate but 2.8 percentage points lower than the year-ago rate. REP. SCOTT FRANKLIN co-sponsored a resolution to name a federal courthouse after the first Black justice on the Florida Supreme Court, but joined 184 other Republicans in defeating it. A Georgia […]
Category: News Roundup
Posted inNews Roundup
Read It in the Morning Paper: Bonnet Springs Park, Publix, Apartments
BONNET SPRINGS PARK’s playground will be named for The Ruthvens; the family-run real estate and development business made a $1 million gift to the park’s Carol Jenkins Barnett endowment. | News release PUBLIX Super Markets has a new board member: Mark Irby, 66, of Lakeland, who recently retired as vice president of marketing. The company […]
Posted inNews Roundup, Schools
Read It in the Morning Paper: Challenged Books, Charter School
CHALLENGED BOOKS: Two more books that were challenged as inappropriate for those under 18 should be returned to Polk County middle and high school libraries, two review committees recommended. The nonfiction ”It’s Perfectly Normal” got 14 votes out of 18 for return to middle and high schools, and the novel “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Challenged Books, Body Cams, Thunderbirds
CHALLENGED BOOKS: Two more books that were challenged as inappropriate for those under 18 should be returned to Polk County high school libraries, two review committees recommended. “Beloved” by Toni Morrison got 15 votes out of 17 for return to high schools, and “Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult got 14 votes out of 17. So […]
Posted inNews Roundup, People
Read It in the Morning Paper: Kelli Stargel, Quentin Darrington
KELLI STARGEL, a Lakeland Republican, was honored with an hour-long, bipartisan sendoff as her 14th and final Florida legislative session ended. She served four years in the House and 10 in the Senate, where she capped her career as appropriations chair. With her time in the Legislature ending in November due to term limits, she […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: BS Farm, School Library Books
BS RANCH & FARM, the east Lakeland waste recycling facility that has been subject of odor complaints, was denied a permit to continue operating by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The business can continue operating as it goes through an appeals process. REMOVED BOOKS: The committees advising the Polk County School Board have recommended […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Rick Olivo, COVID-19, Hubbell
RICK OLIVO, who founded the troupe that evolved into Lakeland Community Theatre, taught generations of visual artists and created the model for Lakeland’s Swansation sculptures, died Saturday at age 74. COVID-19 cases in Polk County declined for a seventh straight week to the kinds of levels seen in the weeks before the omicron surge; testing […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Michael Dunn, New Apartments
MICHAEL DUNN: The trial of former City Commissioner Michael Dunn on a charge of second-degree murder is scheduled to start March 14. The judge in the case on Friday disallowed two defense witnesses from testifying and also denied a prosecution request to exclude information about the victim’s criminal history. More motions are set to be […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Road Diet, Environmental Lands
ROAD DIET: Lakeland City commissioners are questioning what alternatives they have when they vote on the future of South Florida Avenue in Dixieland this spring. The public will have a chance to weigh in at a Florida Department of Transportation public forum in April, though no date or place has been set yet. DOT has […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Paramedics, History, Cupcakes
PARAMEDICS: Polk Fire Rescue is dealing with a paramedic shortage by offering signing bonuses of up to $8,000 and tuition for training. (Subscribers-only story) | Employment info HISTORY: The organization working to build an African American Historical Museum in Lakeland would like to speak with descendants of the at least 21 men who were lynched […]