City News

LAKELAND, FL (November 15, 2019) | The Lakeland Christmas Parade is a time-honored tradition, enjoyed by the community for generations.  The parade takes place on Thursday, December 5^th.  The parade starts with a firework display over Lake Mirror at 7 p.m.  As the first firework is launched, the parade officially begins.  Leaving the RP Funding Center, the parade travels down Lemon Street toward downtown.  The parade then turns at Main Street to Cedar Street and winds around Lake Mirror, going up Orange Street and ending at the RP Funding Center.   

LAKELAND, FL (November 15, 2019) - The City of Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) sealed the long anticipated deal and closed on the project with Framework Group, LLC (Tampa, FL). Estimated at over $50 million dollars, the 305 unit apartment and townhome community will span 13.5 acres near the downtown Lakeland Police Station. Mirrorton with its urban neighborhood design and planning emphasize the street-level pedestrian experience. The building architecture combines traditional brick and stucco materials with a contemporary massing and aesthetic. 

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.