I suspect that many people, like I do, tend to think first of Haiti in terms of its longterm suffering. And somehow the earthquake fits the Jobian narrative we come to expect from that benighted nation. But, it’s easy to lose focus on all the living that goes on among the tales of woe. A [...]
Julie Townsend and Rhonda Storms were both in the news today. Both are concerned about taxpayer dollars. One identified a huge tax waste and the other went after "little old librarians." One spoke on CSX, and the other is a state Senator. Read on for the details.
Lakeland Local and PGTV have teamed up for election results and live chat at Lakeland Local TV. We'll be discussing national and local election results until 9 pm.
I haven’t read anything in Cary McMullen’s Scriptorium: A Religion Panorama about this, but ABC News Nightline reported that Todd Bentley is taking a break, but the Florida Outpouring has not ground to a halt. UPDATE: After this story aired on “Nightline,” Fresh Fire Ministries released a statement announcing that preacher Todd Bentley would be taking [...]
Not that many people ever really wanted this, but it is good to hear there is little chance: Trails May Not Get Rails Polk Community College has joined the ranks of the 4-year universities. They’re looking for your help. Read the Ledger’s article PCC Seeks Comments On 4-Year Degree Plan and give the college some help. Businesses [...]
Red light cameras and CSX are two articles you might have missed this morning. Get the links at Lakeland Local
A couple of recent articles focus on some Lakeland voters. Find the links at Lakeland Local.
In today’s Ledger is a good article about a club I often drive past. I once wondered if the Tuesday Music Club had something to do with that old Sheryl Crow album. I’m glad to see it didn’t. Cary McMullen has a pretty good article about the club, its history and the recent face lift. You [...]
Barry Friedman announced it before it took his long weekend, Josh Hallett mentioned it this morning, and the Ledger has a story on it, but I thought I’d also throw in my two-cents. Make sure you check out the Ledger’s site on Tuesday. I don’t know exactly what time Barry plans to throw the switch, but [...]
On the Ledger they had this headline at 6:30: CSX Project Could Have Major Implications for Lakeland You think? After all this time, it has to be a major story. The Ledger has been saving up. We’ll get 20 column inches of groundbreaking prose. Nope, it’s five paragraphs of recap. Still, I have to ask a question [...]
A year ago, lackluster little Lakeland, the Tigers’ spring home for 71 years — longer than Jim Leyland has been alive — was nothing more than a whistle stop on the sun-burned national baseball writers’ annual tour of Florida’s small-town training camps. — Jim Hawkins, The Daily Tribune “Lakeland is an old town with a main [...]
In Florida start your trip in Lakeland: Get there early this year to watch Detroit take PFP—pitchers’ fielding practice. After the Tigers put on a Bad News Bears clinic in the World Series, manager Jim Leyland personally will oversee these drills. The Tabbies first came to this central Florida city in 1934 and, except during [...]
Some readers might remember last August when an 18 year-old Sarasota man impersonated a police officer to harass a Lakeland resident. Yesterday, Bradenton police arrested an 18 year-old Lakeland resident for impersonating a police officer. The article mentions the youth has previously impersonated officers in the Lakeland area. Sheriff’s spokesman Dave Bristow praised Huyghebaert for his quick [...]
Likewise, the Bears see the Floridia connection as both a help and a hindrance Sunday. “I probably have more of a headache because I am getting more calls from friends and family,” said (tight end Desmond ) Clark, who is from Lakeland, Fla. — Clark said everyone has some distraction related to the Super Bowl. “My man Gabe (tight [...]
An update to yesterday’s news watch post. Today, the Ledger published a more complete version of the AP report. It includes a quote from the Lakeland Police Department: “It’s a wonderful program for mid-sized police agencies like ours,” said Jack Gillen, spokesman for the Lakeland Police Department. Gillen’s agency recently spent $1,500 to buy an armored [...]
The Lakeland Police Department recently spent 15-hundred dollars to buy an armored personnel carrier. It’s something the small department couldn’t have afforded without the program. — AP Report
The Chicago Sun Times on ex-Gator QBs watching another ex-Gator QB, Rex Grossman, in the Super Bowl: (Ex Gator QB Wayne) Peace runs a State Farm Insurance office in Lakeland, Fla., these days. He chases four kids on weekends and doesn’t get to Gainesville as often as he would like. He never has met Grossman but [...]
Bio: Billy Townsend was a longtime government, political and general assignment reporter in Polk County and the wider I-4 corridor. He wrote extensively about Polk's unique regional identity and the issues shaping it, including USF Polytechnic, the Heartland Parkway and the CSX rail deal. Billy recently left professional reporting to take a corporate writing job, but he keeps close tabs on news of all stripes (especially political news) and the changes in modern journalism. Billy's wife is Julie Townsend, executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Partnership.They live with their three children in the Lake Morton area. His work at Lakeland Local is his first as an amateur hyperlocal writer.