A Lakeland resident was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center in serious condition Friday evening after crashing through a drainage culvert and flipping on the left side of his Ford SUV, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol. ...more

July 14, 2008

A lone gunman covered in black garments took an undisclosed amount of money in a convenience story robbery Saturday evening, similar to Tuesday's Taylor BP station robbery. ...more

July 14, 2008

VENUS — Along an isolated road near the Highlands-Glades county line, a single-engine plane with Iraqi Air Force insignia was grounded Wednesday afternoon. Doug Oliver, a spokesman for Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kan., confirmed that the plane, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, is a basic training aircraft intended for sale to the Iraqi Air Force. There were no injuries or damages reported in the emergency landing. ...more

February 21, 2008

AVON PARK — It has been more than a year since then-mayor Tom Macklin brought up an ordinance to penalize landlords for renting to illegal immigrants. Though it failed in June 2006, it mobilized several businesses and most of the Hispanic community, and for better or worse, it changed many residents' views of their city and the actions of City Hall, even to this day. "They're (the customers) more careful now, because they know they're after them," said Angel Del Valle, who worked at the Broken Spoke Flea Market during the unfolding controversy last year. He now owns the store, and had several Hispanic customers browsing the shelves when interviewed Wednesday afternoon. "They try not to be too obvious." Though Macklin was the mayor of Avon Park for six years, most people only remember him for his final months, when he brought the Illegal Immigration Relief Act to the council chambers. He earned a large group of detractors, but also earned the support of those like James Geer, who wrote in a 2006 letter to the editor that "the federal government is not doing its job." ...more

November 4, 2007