Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 1319
UPDATED The horrifying murder of a second grade teacher has shocked residents of Frostproof and the surrounding area. Elvia Espinoza, who taught second grade at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School in Frostproof, was stabbed to death by her own son after he returned home from college for a family gathering. Espinoza, 46, was attacked after opening the door to her home in the Sun Ray neighborhood her son, 21-year-old Emmanuel Espinoza, who had just arrived after driving from...
The dangerous two-lane stretch of SR 60 east between Indian Lake and Yeehaw Junction claimed three lives Saturday in a high-speed head-on crash. A child strapped into a car-seat was the only survivor of the impact, escaping with only minor injuries, according to officials. The crash took place about 9:30 p.m. just east of the intersection of CR 630. Investigators reported that Hannah Weiser, 22, of Winter Haven, was heading westbound and attempted to pass a slower vehicle....
During an eight-day-long undercover human trafficking operation, which began on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, the Polk County Sheriff's Office Vice Unit arrested 228 suspects involved in illegal acts related to soliciting prostitutes, offering to commit prostitution, or aiding and abetting prostitutes. Detectives from the Auburndale PD, Davenport PD, Haines City PD, Lakeland PD, Lake Hamilton PD, Lake Wales PD, St. Cloud PD, and Winter Haven Fire Rescue assisted with the...
The startling result of the District 2 City Commission election as tabulated by the Supervisor of Elections is expected to result in a careful examination of a handful of rejected and provisional ballots that could tip the election, according to sources reached Tuesday night by Lake Wales News. The unofficial results left incumbent Daniel Williams leading challenger Brandon Alvarado by one vote, 939 to 938. A second challenger, Crystal Higbee, ran a distant third, gathering...
Lake Wales' Interim Growth Management Director Autumn Cochella has announced her decision to step down from her role effective April 12. Her announcement may have come at an inopportune moment as the city commission is currently contemplating the adoption of new ordinances governing Planned Development Projects and Traditional Neighborhood Design. Cochella was appointed to the interim position in January 2023 after the resignation of former director Mark Bennett. A...
City Commissioner Daniel Williams has won a new three-year term after escaping a strong challenge by political newcomer Brandon Alvarado by a four vote margin, leaving Williams reelected with 42.3 percent of the votes cast. A third candidate, Crystal Higbee, took 347 votes. Following a machine recount and a manual recount of "outstacked" ballots, the final margin of William's win was 943 to 939. Alvarado conceded defeat immediately after the conclusion of the recount, and...
A one-vote margin in a Lake Wales election between incumbent Commissioner Daniel Williams and challenger Brandon Alvarado has cast a bright light upon the processes required in the situation by city ordinance and Florida statutes that Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson called "unbelievably complicated." The three-way race for a new three-year term on the District 2 seat of the city commission ended Tuesday with Williams and Alvarado as the top two vote-getters collecting 939 and 938...
Four voters who had provided incomplete information when voting on election day were able to "cure" their ballots through contact with the Supervisor of Elections ahead of Thursday's canvassing board meeting. Their effort has moved the needle in the District 2 city commission election between incumbent commissioner Daniel Williams and challenger Brandon Alvarado, but not enough to avoid a machine recount, which will take place today (Friday, April 5). The canvassing board,...
Carol Gillespie has defeated incumbent City Commissioner Danny Krueger in the race for Seat 4. In an unofficial tally of all votes, Gillespie collected 1,325 votes to Kruegers' 983, or a winning total of 57.41 percent., In the second race for Seat 2, Daniel Williams collected an unofficial total of 939 votes, to Alvarado's 938 votes. The results are certain to trigger an automatic recount. A third candidate in the race, Crystal Higbee, won 347 votes, of 15.6%. There is no...
A grant application for the "Complete Streets redesign of remaining portions of 1st Street, Central Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue" has been given a high probability of success by a grant consultant working for the City of Lake Wales. The application seeks 100 percent funding for the redesign and reconstruction of most of First Street North, Lincoln Avenue, and single blocks of Central Avenue and A Street. The total project costs included in the application are $22,930,000, which...
A last-minute wave of text messages paid for by a "dark money" political action committee in Venice have targeted at least one challenger in a city commission race on the eve of the April 2 election. Carol Gillespie, who is challenging incumbent City Commissioner Danny Krueger, has been the target of what a campaign spokesperson called "an ugly and false smear campaign" by an out-of-town political action committee. The text messages from "Keep Florida Winning" highlight...
An old photograph of Crystal Lake, reportedly taken by a pioneer resident, has revealed a long-overlooked secret. Visible in the background is what appears to be a large animal, it's head and neck protruding from the water, partially obscured by palm trees in the foreground. "The image appears to be unaltered, and further evidence that there actually was a large beast living in local waters," said Dr. Jonathan B. Normativo, saying that the image reinforces one story of the ori...
UPDATE: Only days after this story was published, the decision was reversed, resulting in a second story which can be read here. Issues of nepotism, favoritism, and a lack of transparency are apparently behind the future replacement of Lake Wales Police Chief Chris Velasquez, who was informed Monday of a three-day suspension and eventual replacement by City Manager James Slaton. The action follows a complaint filed by the Poor and Minority Justice Association early this year a...
Lake Wales voters have been receiving postcards from an out-of-town Political Action Committee that appear to falsely imply that Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has endorsed a candidate in the city commission District 4 race. Judd said that's not the case. The mailers feature a photo of Judd standing next to a grinning Danny Krueger, suggesting that Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is endorsing City Commissioner Danny Krueger's bid for re-election in Tuesday's vote. "I'm not...
The surprise reinstatement of suspended Lake Wales Police Chief Chris Velasquez by City Manager James Slaton at the start of Tuesday's city commission meeting brought a fiery response from City Commissioner Daniel Williams, who held his thoughts through the entire meeting but launched into his angry comments hours later during a commissioner comment period. Slaton had announced the suspension of Velasquez only days earlier after a complaint filed by a local civil rights advoca...
With only days remaining before the election, an "old-fashioned picnic-style candidates forum" this Saturday will give Lake Wales voters a final opportunity to meet and ask questions of candidates for the two city commission seats which will be filled in the Tuesday vote. The event, to be held at the city's "B Street Center," will feature "food and drink alongside a lively candidate debate," according to event co-organizer and moderator B L Francis. All five candidates running...
A Sebring man who decided to make an "unauthorized withdrawal" from the Bank of America in Lake Wales is in jail and charged with armed robbery. Dennis T. Davis, 42, reportedly walked into the Bank of America at 11 a.m. Tuesday and approached a teller indicating he had a firearm in his jacket pocket, which he pointed at the teller. After demanding and receiving cash, Davis fled on foot westbound from the bank at 1100 SR 60 East in Lake Wales with an undisclosed amount of...
The end of the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program means that lots of Polk County families have lost a lifeline that has allowed them to remain housed through the difficult times of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the huge demand for housing locally and across Florida has driven home prices sharply higher, leaving many of those struggling families facing bleak choices. Since it's July 2021 launch, Polk County's Emergency Rental Assistance Program helped more than 5,000...
A 14-person attempt at formation skydiving in Lake Wales Monday afternoon left two skydivers with life-threatening injuries. Witnesses said that at least one parachute appeared to become tangled and failed to fully open. Two women in the group made hard landings, sustaining injuries that required them to be airlifted to a trauma center. According to witnesses, one skydiver came down at the intersection of North Scenic Highway and Wiltshire Avenue. Witnesses immediately began...
A population boom is expected in Lake Wales in coming months and years as design work or construction is advancing for at least 40 projects within the city limits, in addition to others outside the city. A LakeWalesNews.net calculation shows a total of more than 15,660 new residential units have already met some level of approval by the city commission, with many having already received final plat approval for construction, even as other projects are nearing completion. If the...
Despite a significant ruling in favor of the city, the future of the Walesbilt Hotel still hangs in the balance of an active lawsuit, Deputy Mayor Robin Gibson told the city commission during the boards' regular meeting Tuesday night. The ten-story boom-era hotel, constructed in 1926, is the dominant feature of the city's downtown and has been a topic of discussion by the commission for more than a decade. It has remained vacant since 1996. In a 33-minute presentation at...
Three challengers seeking two seat on the Lake Wales City Commission held the stage at a Monday evening candidates forum after both incumbents failed to show up for the 90-minute event. The election is four weeks away, slated for Tuesday, April 2. Carol Gillespie, seeking seat 4 on the five-person commission, along with Brandon Alvarado and Crystal Higbee, both seeking seat 2, shared their ideas and responded to questions from the audience at the forum sponsored by the...
Mail ballots are now available for registered voters who reside in the City of Lake Wales, as well as voters in Davenport, Dundee, and Haines City who would like to vote by mail in the April 2 Municipal Elections. Lake Wales voters will have an opportunity to choose two commissioners from five candidates seeking seats on the city commission. "No stamp is necessary to return the ballot as the return postage is pre-paid," said Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards. Voters can...
A Lake Wales woman is in custody after a horrific accident on Saturday morning resulted in the death of a passenger in her vehicle. After what police described as "a very active and ongoing traffic homicide investigation," the Lake Wales Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for Jeanette Gonzalez of Lake Wales for DUI Manslaughter. The crash took place on U.S. Highway 27, in front of Weikert Ford, where officers found 38-year-old Eliecer Padilla of Lake Wales deceased...
Business owners lined up at the beginning of the Lake Wales City Commission meeting Tuesday evening to explain to commissioners the various ways they are working to enhance the Lake Wales economy and the Northwest Neighborhood. They joined Florida Development Corp, Inc. COO Derrick Blue and CEO Frank Cornier after a special presentation period was added to the commission agenda. FDC operates the BizLINC business incubator under a $1.2 million contract with the City of Lake...
