Editor’s Note: We had our BackChannel debut almost a year ago. With Pigfest 2012 starting tonight, we thought we’d rerun that first edition of BackChannel. Today debuts the first installment of BackChannel....

There’s a key difference between the way I calculate a school or district’s “performance” on the FCAT test and the way the geniuses at DOE do it in their school/district grades and rankings. For me,...

Well looky here. Florida is going to rank its county school districts by test performance. It’s almost as if our good governor and his henchmen read Lakeland Local to get political ideas. Rigor and transparency of...

Most of us are sure to own a plain white T-shirt. Although some may consider this closet staple a very boring piece, we are going to let you in on a little secret. There are several ways to rock your plain white tee! Dress...

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass gave arguably his most famous speech. A group of Rochester, New York white abolitionists had asked him to help them commemorate and celebrate the July 4th. Douglass did something rather...

There was a time, when I was a younger and more foolish man, back when the newspaper industry overran with milk and honey, that I thought Lakeland was likely a whistlestop on my express train to Vanity Fair. When I first...

Haley Oberhofer is Editor-in-Chief of Wings Newspaper at All Saints’ Academy. This article first appeared in Lakeland Local Downtown Edition Magazine Winter 2012 Tomorrow, Polk County is going pink for the Susan G....

Lakeland has its share of historic names and moments. Some are lost to time. The name affixed to our promenade is unknown to many new residents. The explanations for traditions are lost. We need local historians to pass...

Our new local media overlords are not nice — or very competent — people. First, Halifax Media and the New York Times Co. sent all employees at the regional newspapers Halifax bought (The Ledger, Sarasota...

Editor’s Note: We’re proud to present a column by one of Lakeland’s hard-working young professionals. After making a stab at the LA scene, filmmaker Laura Ward decided to return to Lakeland. Between...

So, I see that “a group of teachers and community leaders” wants to make Lakeland High a charter. Where to begin? I can’t remotely sort out LHS’s internal and external community politics. So...

One of the most important stories of 2012 for Lakeland and Polk County is going to be the redistricting battle going on in Tallahassee. In fact, it topped my list of the Top 10 stories for the county on my blog, Polk...

Editor’s Note: We’d like to welcome Jessica Gutowski to Lakeland Local. A transplant from the great white North, Gutowski has a unique view of life in our fair city. I love the Red Door, the atmosphere, the...

Let me first stipulate that I am very happy for the people on the ground at Mulberry High and Lake Wales High and the other high schools that improved their school grades en masse. They did not make the absurd and dishonest...

I have long thought, based on experience as a parent and kid, that school “gifted” programs are largely silly wastes of time. But the lure of that status sticker on the rear window of your Escalade is powerful, I...

Until this year, I had never purchased a desk for myself. They always were dumpy, particle board hand-me-downs. When I met Tom Monaco of The Fourth Wall a couple of years ago and saw the magnificent work that he does, I...