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WEST PALM BEACH | Florida voters are deciding whether to protect abortion rights and legalize marijuana, potential landmark victories for Democrats in a state that has rapidly shifted toward Republicans in recent years. The abortion measure would prevent lawmakers from passing any law that penalizes, prohibits, delays or restricts abortion until fetal viability, which doctors […]

WEST PALM BEACH | Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is hoping being reelected to a second term will put him in a position to earn a Senate leadership role, while former Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell seeks an upset victory that could help her party maintain its razor-thin control of the chamber. Scott hopes to […]

Even before Polk County’s 172 precincts open for Election Day voting at 7 a.m. Tuesday, more than 51% of eligible voters had already cast ballots. Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards predicts a turnout of 72% by the time polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Nearly 150,000 people voted at Polk’s 10 early walk-in voting locations, […]

7-minute read A charter school that aims to send low-income students to college exceeded its enrollment expectations when it opened in August and expects to quadruple its student body in the next two years, Lakeland city commissioners were told Monday. IDEA Public School Lakeland is working with the city of Lakeland on plans for road […]

TALLAHASSEE | Florida’s election will test whether the state maintains its new reputation as a Republican stronghold, or whether Democrats make some gains by tapping into the support for abortion and marijuana ballot questions and the new energy Vice President Kamala Harris brings to the race. Gone are the days when Florida was looked at […]

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is running for re-election for a sixth term against a Frostproof contractor, rental property owner and convicted felon. Theodore Murray, a non-party affiliate, filed in May to take on Judd. At the time, he told a reporter he was motivated to run because law enforcement had both wrongly arrested him […]

The effort to pick up Lakeland’s hurricane debris faster gets a boost Saturday when three more trucks and crews are expected to arrive, city commissioners learned Friday during an impromptu update session on storm recovery. There were also updates on Lake Bonny, where homes remain flooded three weeks after Hurricane Milton: A fourth pump that […]

4-minute read About 100 Lakeland Electric customers still remain without power three weeks after Hurricane Milton; damage to their home or electric service connections means power cannot be restored safely until repairs are made, Lakeland Electric spokeswoman Cathryn Lacey said. The repairs can often cost property owners $3,000 to $6,000, an amount that is hard […]

It took about two weeks, but water testing shows that Lakeland’s lakes have recovered from the 5,187,000 gallons of wastewater — some partially treated but most raw — that spilled when Hurricane Milton’s heavy rains overwhelmed the city’s sewer system. The harmful bacteria has broken down and all affected lakes are back to acceptable water […]

5-minute read The roar of aircraft flying low passes over Lakeland on Tuesday evening made a lot of residents wonder what was going on. After they discovered that the Beechcraft turbo-prop planes were spraying for mosquitoes, some welcomed the news while others expressed safety concerns. The spraying was scheduled to resume around Polk County on […]