Lakeland Police Department Officers are on the lookout for unbuckled drivers and passengers. Through March 15th LPD officers are on the lookout for unbuckled drivers and passengers throughout the city. During this time period, drivers and passengers will be ticketed if they are not buckled up. Here's the Florida law requiring seatbelts and the cost of the ticket is: $30 for unbuckled adults and $60 for improperly restrained children. "Safety belt use in Florida climbed to 81.7% last year, almost reaching the national average of 82%. The minority of Floridians who do not wear a seat belt continue to make up the majority of traffic fatalities in the state, according to the Florida Department of Transportation website. The 1 in 5 Floridians who did not buckle up accounted for 3 in 5 traffic fatalities." -- Lakeland Police Department
David Robinson, president of DSM Technology, is working to raise funds for the latest United Way campaign. Well, maybe not working. Last night Robinson slept on his roof to raise awareness and funds. Noon to 2 pm today, Robinson is in spending time in a dunk tank today to raise more funds. The event is in the DSM parking lot at 6810 New Tampa Hwy, Lakeland 33815. $5 for 3 shots. BBQ lunch provided.
Two months ago, Sikes Elementary Principal Corey Swindler was arrested. An interim principal was named and last night the Polk County appointed his replacement. Laura Starner will be Assistant Principal for the remainder of the 2009-2010 school year and take over as the Sikes Principal on July 1, 2010. Starner has worked for Polk County Schools since 1984. During her tenure she taught numerous grade levels and was named Assistant Principal at Wagner Elementary in 2004.
We get quite many press releases. Many are about local events, or company news, but every now and then you get one that catches your attention for one reason or another. Today the Polk Theatre will be closed; Not to prepare the stage for a new production or break down an old set. “We will spend eight hours removing drywood termites from the stage area,” said Ted Horton, the Truly Nolen Branch Manager in Lakeland. Did anyone else immediately get an image of men with mouse ears on their hands and knees picking up termites with tweezers? No? OK, then. On to the next release...
The 52nd Annual Kiwanis Pancake Festival is a major fundraiser for the three Kiwanis Clubs in Lakeland: Lakeland, Citrus Center & North Lakeland. If you're new to Lakeland, this is a popular community get-together. They've attracted up to 8,000 people for a day of eating hotcakes and small talk. You can save some cash by buying advance tickets today. Grab a Kiwanis member, but be gentle, for adult tickets at $4 and children's tickets at $2. They go up $1 each tomorrow. Vendors & exhibitors will also be on site, including the Lakeland SWAT team and a huge plant sale.
Did you know that some Lakeland police officers help out with crowd control at Gasparilla? If you’re at the event tomorrow, stop and say hello if you bump into an of Lakeland’s finest. Well, maybe you shouldn’t bump into them. photo credit: Nathan Mark Phillips for Lakeland Local
The Lakeland City Commission will have a full lineup as soon as the election is certified. If you follow LakelandLocal on Twitter you saw this tweet a moment after the info was released from the Polk Election Supervisor: With all 25 precincts, early and absentee votes in, Edie Yates takes the SE District D commission seat [...]
Don’t get too excited, but there is time to see a fantasy camp tomorrow. A baseball fantasy camp game. Wait. What other kind of “fantasy camp” did you expect? At 10 am Saturday morning, the Detroit Tigers fantasy camp attendees will culminate a week of training by taking on the Tiger greats. Participants scheduled [...]
On January 21st from Noon – 1pm, the Rath Senior ConNEXTions Center at the Lakeland USF Polytechnic Campus will host a Lunch and Learn seminar on Aging in Place. Vicky Lodge, a local designer, presents the seminar on remodeling your home to help you stay there as you age. You’re encouraged to bring your [...]
Lakelander Frankie Majowich debuted his new feature column on MetroI4News.com this morning. Majowich is a local home brewer who travels the country attending beer festivals learning how to perfect his craft. Appropriately titled “On Beer,” the column will focus on the art of beer brewing, and serve as a guide to beers you might have [...]
We’ve put together a “silent” guide to the Lakeland Local home page. Take a look…
Yeah, I know it’s not about the arts, but it is kinda art related: I just went to the Lakeland Vision Open House over at the Sorosis Building on Lake Morton, and the process was quick, easy and absolutely painless. There are goals and strategies in a number of categories, one of which is (TA DAH!) [...]
Polk Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards came to my Kiwanis Club Friday and gave a good talk about the constitutional and charter amendments on the ballot this year. (For my part, I urge everyone to vote against all of them except the measures making it harder to amend the constitution or charter by referendum. But then I'm a small-r republican in that sense.) Afterward, she and I chatted about voter registration issues. I've been hearing quite a bit about the controversial rule, which took effect Sept. 8, requiring that new registrations match precisely social security numbers or addresses on driver licenses.
Lake Mirror Amphitheatre at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Gates open at 3. Full story here.
A well-placed source tells me Joe Biden is likely to come to Lakeland Tuesday afternoon for what sounds like a rally, possibly somewhere within the Lake Mirror complex....
Watching BlogOrlando on Ustream while watching it live.
The Citrus Connection took a big step to help the Lakeland Vision process this morning. On the evening of September 22, the company will extend the bus schedules of three bus routes to help those attending the Idea Gathering meetings held at Kathleen High School. For the 6pm to 8 pm meeting Citrus Connection will change [...]
Bio: The short line? Father, husband, writer. My online presence is primarily through as the editor, writer, and occasional photographer for the news sites, Lakeland Local, a sampling of the news, concerns, and events for Lakeland, Florida, and Metro i4 News, which covers the Interstate 4 corridor in Central Florida. Both sites feature the work of myself and other contributors. As a hobby, I manage a forum and some web sites that feature a pulp fiction series written by Lester Dent -- Doc Savage Organized, Doc Savage Info, and Flearun.