The Bartow community is taking baby steps toward normalcy by holding not one, but two events this month.

The Bartow Chapter DAR was organized 90 years ago on September 17, 1930, and continues as a service organization.

LAKE WALES – For the first time in almost a decade, Lake Wales is proposing a small increase in its development impact fees.

Bartow residents will be finding their annual tax rates and other city-levied fees about the same on their 2020 tax bills, according to the city's annual $133.8 million budget recently adopted by the city commission.

POLK COUNTY – Mosaic staff reported a sulfuric acid spill to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Sunday night.

After only six years in existence, Florida Polytechnic University made its first appearance in the national rankings of the prestigious U.S News and World Report as a top-75 engineering college without a doctorate degree.

The Polk County Tax Collector’s office reminds businesses that the deadline to renew your county local business tax receipt is Wednesday, September 30, 2020.

WINTER HAVEN – On Sept. 14, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill to rename the post office in Florence Villa the “Althea Margaret Daily Mills Post Office Building.”

POLK COUNTY – During a Polk Regional Water Cooperative meeting Sept. 16, the concept of raising water bill rates across the Central Florida Water Initiative region was discussed for two reasons.

HAINES CITY – The 38th Annual Pig Roast & Political Rally, hosted by the Northeast Polk Chamber of Commerce, will be held Friday, Sept. 25, at 6 p.m. at Balmoral Resort.

DAVENPORT – Central Florida’s Visitor Information Center (CFVIC) will host a Health Expo on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 8 a.m. until noon.

Last week, a Bartow man was ushered out of the Polk Board of County Commissioners’ annual budget public hearing after raising questions about the county's proposed $20 fire service assessment increase.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida continues to see a steady decline in first-time unemployment claims, even as several large hospitality and entertainment companies have extended and imposed large-scale layoffs because of the coronavirus pandemic.

WINTER HAVEN – On Sept. 15, the Winter Haven City Commission voted to extend an emergency ordinance requiring the wearing of masks in certain indoor locations within city limits for another 30 days.

POLK COUNTY – Polk County residents and the rest of the world have been facing uncharted waters dealing with COVID-19. With all the new norms, familiarity is welcome — and it can be found, to some extent, within the public libraries in Bartow and Lake Wales.

DAVENPORT – Impaired while on a drug called acid, a 19-year-old from Orlando who had been staying with friends at a Four Corners area hotel wandered to a nearby apartment complex and wound up fatally shot in the early hours of Sept. 6.

WINTER HAVEN – On Sept. 9, after 10 years in the planning stage, city staff revealed an ambitious long-term plan to try and restore thousands of acres of wetlands, build a bike/pedestrian trail surrounding the city, improve water quality in the Chain of Lakes and help ensure there is enough …

LAKE WALES – Extra land has been purchased, the designs are all complete and now it's time for contractors to start work on a $57 million upgrade to the bridge that crosses U.S.27 at State Road 60.

POLK COUNTY – On Sept. 8, two popular local events were canceled as a result of pandemic-related concerns.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation recently announced plans to help make a difference during the upcoming academic year with the award of nearly $120,000 in literacy grants in Florida. With these funds, educators at 59 schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations across the Florida com…

Students at Lakeland Highlands Middle will have extra support this year, thanks to the school's new business partner, Home Solution Lenders, Inc.

HAINES CITY – Haines City Clerk Linda Bourgeois submitted a letter of voluntary resignation Sept. 2.

WINTER HAVEN – In October, every day will also be a “yay” of celebration in Winter Haven’s honor.

HAINES CITY – During a city commission meeting Sept. 3, City Manager Deric Feacher reminded city commissioners that they have repeatedly asked his staff to apply for more grants to supplement income generated by local taxes.

BARTOW — Bartow City Commissioners had planned to talk about several issues at an unusual session on Wednesday, Sept. 2, that included a workshop to discuss installing a citywide fiber-optic network and the formal approval of the 2020/2021 tax rate and budget.

POLK COUNTY – During a work session on Sept. 3, Polk School Board member Lynn Wilson explained why he changed his mind about whether to ask Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd to delay her retirement.

POLK COUNTY – Supervisor of Elections Lori Edwards recently said that, thankfully, there were no major complications associated with the pandemic in the recent primary election.

Starting on Tuesday, Sept. 15, Polk County seniors and disabled residents will be able to tap into some leftover COVID-19 federal funds to ease the financial burden the pandemic may have dumped on their shoulders.

WINTER HAVEN — The Heart of Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association recently awarded three Polk County projects for excellence, recognizing one project in the planning stage and two projects built out in 2019.

HAINES CITY – A proposed partnership between the City of Haines City and the Feltrim Group to redevelop three parcels of city-owned property downtown took another step toward reality Sept. 3.

Citrus Connection, Polk County’s public transit agency, has announced a significant expansion in the northeast region of the county — one that includes connectivity to areas outside of the county.

The City of Davenport recently posted to its Facebook page regarding a public survey on the name of a northeast Polk relief high school being constructed by Polk County Public Schools.

HAINES CITY – Members of the Haines City Commission took a moment of silence Sept. 3 to reflect on the passing of former mayor Philip James Hinkle, who died Aug. 22 at age 58.

On Saturday, August 15, several Volunteers helped handout 400 backpacks to students in the Lakeland community.

WINTER HAVEN – Theatre Winter Haven has created a fresh way to provide exceptional experiences for its audiences.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week he will allow visitors into nursing homes and assisted living facilities, nearly six months after the state blocked visitation during the first wave of coronavirus infections.

Lake Wales City Commissioners are looking to reduce or eliminate a small increase in the city’s fire fee when the first reading and public hearing on a proposed 2020-21 budget is held on Sept. 9.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis said he hopes to give Floridians the “ability to have some enjoyment in their life” by soon lifting on-site drinking restrictions imposed on bars and craft breweries since late June.

POLK COUNTY – As of August 31, 29 positive cases of COVID-19 had been reported at nearly as many Polk County Public Schools campuses.

LAKE WALES — Donna Dunson, the principal of Lake Wales Senior High School, announced this past weekend that her school would continue online instruction for the next two weeks.

It may not be called a “bark park” but there may still have been lots of barks heard last week when the Bartow Dog Park, located in the city's Mary Holland Park, unofficially opened its gates to furry visitors and their owners.

POLK COUNTY – During a Polk County School Board work session Aug. 25, Kay Fields proposed asking Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd to delay her retirement.

WINTER HAVEN – Around a year ago, Mayor Brad Dantzler challenged his fellow city commissioners to support him in creating a new homeless initiative.

WINTER HAVEN – On Aug. 25, 1946, the couple promised one another that — for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health — it was ‘til death do they part.

Florida plans to take part in a program that President Donald Trump announced this month to boost unemployment benefits for people who have lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis said last week.

WINTER HAVEN – City commissioners authorized staff to apply for a $47 million state grant on Aug. 24 in order to purchase four tracts of land — all four of which are wetlands.

One suspect has been arrested and another is still at-large, according to Polk County Sheriff’s Office officials, following an armed robbery and carjacking in Winter Haven last week.

Officials from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office say Mayson Armando Ortiz-Vazquez, of Orlando, went on a rampage through a Lakeland neighborhood the morning of Aug. 28 that ended in his death.

HAINES CITY – Generally speaking, a city charter is somewhat like the U.S. Constitution – a document that guides staff and elected officials.