My Sierra Club membership card came in the mail. In some circles, this might be the final straw — the thing that brands me as a hopeless, evil liberal, the thing that inspires the most hatred among freedom-loving...

If you have still not discovered podcasts, you are missing out! Imagine having a talk radio station with the programming you choose available on demand, 24/7, for free. That’s podcasting! I listen to them instead of...

Juries. Apparently some big case just got decided in a way that made a lot of people very unhappy. Yes, that case. Listen to a candidate for the office of state attorney, public defender, or judge, and you’d think...

You’ve no doubt heard the scary stories about how dumb kids today are. The Department of Education’s National Assessment of Education Progress is out, and the results are, evidently, pretty bad. A...

A lot of people that live in Polk County don’t know it, but we have a huge, vibrant, high quality theater culture. Winter Haven has an amazing community theater. Haines City and Lakes Wales both have well-regarded...

OK, so this isn’t your average music video. It isn’t even really your average music. This is called change ringing. It’s what would happen if Leonardo da Vinci, Philip Glass, and Alan Turing all got...

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a student at Lakeland Highlands Middle School against another student and the Polk County School Board concerning a fall down a flight of stairs that occurred in 2009. According to the...

Sunday, Gary White’s article in the Ledger announced that Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is bringing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® to Lakeland next January.   Susan G. Komen for the Cure®’s record...

Unless you still do most of your communication by landline telephone, you’ve probably seen the viral video where the young man sets-up a proposal to his future wife by slipping a video into the previews at the movies....

Editor’s Note: As you might have read about Kemp Brinson in today’s Ledger, and through no fault of their own, found he also pens a column here at Lakeland Local, we thought you might like to read his first...

This is an update to my April 11 column on an anti-whistle-blowing bill that is pending in the Florida Senate. SB 1246 would make it a crime to photograph farms undercover. This could result in the criminal prosecution of...

Engage in a thought experiment for me. Think of something you love to do. Maybe it’s painting or music. Maybe it’s gardening. Maybe you achieve fulfillment from your career or caring for your family. Maybe...

St. Pete Times columnist Howard Troxler wrote a scathing column published Saturday concerning Florida House Bill 1207 (2010), which became law on March 24. HB 1207, sponsored by Lakeland’s own Seth McKeel, establishes...

Here’s a little list, in the style of Harper’s Index: Date the federal budget should have been passed by (end of fiscal year): September 30, 2010 (US Senate) Number of temporary continuing resolutions required...

I’m not a vegetarian, but it’s easier to say that I am to avoid the long version of the explanation. A couple of years ago, I gave up most meat in my diet. It wasn’t some weird spiritual enlightenment. I...

Frontline, PBS’s outstanding documentary series, recently turned its cameras on the NCAA. The question: whether the NCAA inappropriately exploits men’s college basketball players for profit. The NCAA is a...

A judge in Tampa has decided that a case under him will be governed by Biblical principles, not by American civil law. Is this acceptable? The case is a dispute about the operation of an evangelical Christian worship center...

Remember Amendment 9? That was the proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that was to appear on the ballot in 2010, but which was removed by the courts because the ballot summary was misleading. It would have made it...

Ed. Note: Bookmark this page and come back after each day’s games. We’ll simply post the latest results at the top of the page. Final Day 8 Day 7 Day 6 ...

SUBMIT A BRACKET! OK, people, who’s ready to not win $40 in Downtown Dollars? The selection committee has selected, the bracketologists have bracketed, and it is now time for you to submit your entry to the first...

Recently, Lakeland Local announced that we will offer free advertising! Today, we are pushing the limits of creative thinking even further. Announcing the totally free 2011 Lakeland Local Bracket Brawl, where one lucky...

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it would no longer defend the Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. This 1996 law, often referred to as “DOMA,” does two things. Section 2 of...

We’re going to have a little courtroom drama ladies and gentlemen. Up first, the plaintiff, represented by his attorney, Haywood U. Payme. THE PLAINTIFF: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present to you Exhibit A:...

Under what authority did Governor Scott reject the federal funding for high speed rail? The project was being advanced by the Florida Rail Enterprise, a government agency expressly given the authority to obtain grants for...

Show of hands – who stayed up to watch the Grammy’s? Me neither, but I hear Esperanza Spalding scored  a major upset of Bieb in the new artist category – I can’t imagine a more talented person...