ELDERPOINT SERVICES, a nonprofit agency that provided transportation and nutrition for seniors, has discontinued its services. VISTE and Citrus Connection are working to serve as many former ElderPoint clients as possible. LAKE WIRE RETIREMENT CENTER on Peachtree Street has closed, its owner retiring and selling the property to a developer who plans to build apartments. […]
Category: News Roundup
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Michael Dunn, Dave Waller
MICHAEL DUNN, a former Lakeland city commissioner, will proceed toward trial on a second-degree murder charge. A three-judge appeals panel rejected his lawyers’ claim that Circuit Judge Donald Jacobsen erred when he rejected Dunn’s bid to dismiss the charge on “stand-your-ground” grounds. Next step: Pre-trial conference Aug. 16. DAVE WALLER of Lakeland was recognized by […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: County Tax, Kidney Sought
PROPERTY TAX: Polk County commissioners are being asked to keep the millage rate the same as last year’s, meaning taxes will increase for many residents due to higher property assessments. County administrators say they need the added funds to keep up with road needs and to prepare for voter-mandated minimum-wage increases. Commissioners discuss the tax […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Body Cams, Sheriff Pushback
BODY CAMERAS for police officers are tentatively placed in next year’s city of Lakeland budget. City commissioners voted 4-3 to approve the cameras as long as the $1.4 first-year costs don’t result in higher property taxes. Voting in favor: McCarley, McLeod, Mutz, Walker. Against: Madden, Musick, Read. PCSO PUSHBACK: A Facebook post by the Polk […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: LCS Traffic, Cuban Exiles
LCS TRAFFIC: A Monday community meeting on easing traffic congestion and safety issues near Lakeland Christian School during pickup times surfaced several suggestions from neighbors. They included a traffic signal at Forest Park Street and Harden Boulevard, change the pickup route to Forest Park and Unitah Avenue, stagger start and dismissal times, and increase police […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Covid, LCS Traffic
COVID-19 infection rates in Polk County increased for the third week in a row, according to figures released Friday. With 687 new cases, infections were highest in people ages 20 to 39, age groups with lower vaccination rates. TRAFFIC patterns near Lakeland Christian School will be the subject of a city workshop scheduled for 6 […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: James Ring, Tropical Storm
JAMES RING — an otherwise healthy, 39-year-old business owner, Army reservist, former police sergeant and current president of the Republican Club of Lakeland — describes being “certain I was dying” of COVID-19 during a recent hospital stay. He had become less careful about wearing a mask and hadn’t taken time to get a vaccine, but […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Capitol Arrest, United Way
CAPITOL ARREST: Joshua Christopher Doolin, 23, of Lakeland, was charged Wednesday with crimes related to the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Hired in May as a Polk EMT, he was fired after his arrest. UNITED WAY of Central Florida reported record pledges of $23.8 million for 2020-21, with $12.8 million of that coming […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Garden District, Vaccines
GARDEN DISTRICT: The pending completion of a three-story, 90-unit apartment complex at Lake and Lime signals the first of several multi-family buildings in the Garden District northeast of Lake Morton. City officials said the building boom reflects careful planning paving the way for higher density in expectations that more people want to live closer to […]
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Read It in the Morning Paper: Juneteenth, Restaurant Workers
JUNETEENTH: Lakeland’s Juneteenth observance on Saturday is one of six in Polk County . It includes a 3 p.m. live event at the Coleman-Bush building includes free dinners for youth and COVID-19 vaccines and a 7 p.m. virtual program with speakers. | Learn more | ALSO: Fox 13 News RESTAURANT WORKER SHORTAGES were debated in […]