City News

LAKELAND, FL (November 6, 2019) | The Lakeland Municipal Election has ended with one City Commission seat decided and another slated for a runoff election that will take place December 3^rd.  Incumbent for the Lakeland City Commission Northeast District B seat, Bill “Tiger” Read won with 70% of the vote.  He will remain in office for another four-year term. The Lakeland City Commissioner At-Large #2 seat resulted in a runoff between Chad McLeod and Carole Philipson.  This seat had four individuals running and the top two vote-getters will now face off to determine a winner for this At-Large seat with the December 3^rd runoff election. Chad McLeod had 40.72% and Carole Philipson had 31.48% of the vote.

LAKELAND, FL (November 1, 2019) | City of Lakeland residents recycled more than 16 million pounds of recyclables last year while throwing away approximately 55.7 million pounds of garbage. To turn the disposal tables, the City of Lakeland’s Solid Waste and Recycling Division is kicking off a new campaign aimed to increase participation, improve the quality of what is recycled and educate customers on what goes into their blue cart.

LAKELAND, FL (October 30, 2019) - The Lakeland City Commission concluded a workshop on impact fees on Tuesday, October 29^th. After much discussion, the City Commission collaboratively approved and established impact fees for new construction projects.  Impact fees are charges assessed to new homes and businesses that affect municipal services/infrastructure such as police, fire, parks and transportation. 

LAKELAND, FL (October 30, 2019) | On Friday, October 11, 2019, the Lakeland Police Department requested a warrant for the arrest of John H. Bretz, a former Lakeland Electric employee, for Scheming to Defraud and Criminal Use of Personal Identification. Members from the City of Lakeland and the Lakeland Police Department will be able to address the media at 3 p.m. in front of the Lakeland Police Department (219 N. Massachusetts Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801).

Pictured is a composite sketch of the suspect wanted in connection with the shooting that killed a 19-year-old man on Monday afternoon. The suspect sought is described as a black male, 18 - 25 years of age, with a medium build. He was wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt. At this time, detectives are asking anyone with information related to this case to call Detective Tam ...

LAKELAND, FL (October 22, 2019) - On Monday, October 21, 2019, at approximately 3:55 p.m., officers were dispatched to Cambridge Cove Apartments, located at 1700 Cambridge Cove Pass, in reference to a shooting. Once on scene, they found a 19-year-old male in the parking lot that had been shot, with critical injuries. Lakeland Fire Department and Polk Fire Rescue arrived on the ...

LAKELAND, FL (October 21, 2019) - On October 21, 2019, Lakeland Officers responded to Memorial Boulevard near the intersection of Interlachen Parkway at approximately 3:16 a.m. in response to a traffic crash involving a single vehicle and a pedestrian. Just prior to the crash, a pedestrian, later identified as 53-year-old Earl Kendall, was walking westbound on East Memorial Bou ...

LAKELAND, FL (October 21, 2019) | The City of Lakeland Parks Division will be on Lake Morton at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 22nd for the 39th Annual Swan Roundup. Parks & Recreation employees will be carefully gathering the swans to get them ready for their annual veterinary check-up. The swans will be confined in large holding pens on the south side of the lake for their annual wellness examinations with My Pet’s Animal Hospital that will start the morning of October 23rd at 8:00 a.m. The Annual Swan Round-Up allows the City’s Parks and Recreation Department to closely monitor the health and vitality of Lakeland’s swan population.

LAKELAND, FL (October 18, 2019) | With possible inclement weather on the horizon, the location of the 2019 MIDFLORIDA Auto Show & Lake Mirror Concours has shifted slightly. In order to protect the vehicles from the elements, Saturday's event will now take place in the Iowa Avenue Garage (Iowa Avenue and Orange Street), the Orange Street Garage (309 E Orange Street) and on a portion of Iowa Avenue between Orange Street and Lemon Street.

LAKELAND, FL (October 11, 2019) | A new 10-foot wide multi-use path along the west shore of West Lake Parker Drive will feature a walking history lesson. The City of Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is working in partnership with the Polk County School Board to support student artwork featured in permanent installations around the City. A one mile stretch of multi-use path will feature a themed history of the City of Lakeland arranged in decades as interpreted through the talents of students who attend area Polk County Schools. Construction on the multi-use path is scheduled to start on November 4^th and is estimated to be completed April 2020. The northbound lane on Lake Parker Drive will be closed for the duration of the construction project.  During construction, northbound traffic will use the center lane that is currently designated for turning.