I am an angry, loyal Publix shopper and have shopped there for over 40 years. I learned about the closing of the Avon Park store in the newspaper, and a Publix spokesperson confirmed this. Part of her rationale for closing the store is that "it doesn't make sense to have two stores only four and a half miles apart." Sebring now has two stores about five miles apart, Lake Wales has two stores about five miles apart and Winter Haven has two stores about five miles apart. Avon Park shoppers who are accustomed to running by their neighborhood Publix to pick up a gallon of milk or a box of fried chicken, on their way home from work, will now have to buy their goods at Winn-Dixie or Wal-Mart, neither of whom carries products of the same quality as Publix's goods; or they can drive all the way to Sebring. ...more

April 18, 2009

International Paper Co. has announced it is shutting down its Auburndale box plant on June 2. ...more

April 7, 2009

Rain from an approaching front today dampened wildfires that raged in Saturday's dry, windy conditions and allowed firefighters to contain most of them. ...more

March 29, 2009

Bowling manufacturer Kegel, whose original headquarters was in Highlands County for more than 20 years, has launched a new product that is making its debut at a Sebring pet store. ...more

March 29, 2009

One home was destroyed and three others damaged in a large brush fire north of Lake Wales, where 200 homes have been evacuated. ...more

March 29, 2009

A jury pool of at least 50 was whittled down to eight women and four men who will make a sentence recommendation in the case of Joshua Lee Altersberger. ...more

March 26, 2009

As painful as it may be for state workers to contemplate, lawmakers are right to consider salary cuts this year. ...more

March 26, 2009

For three weeks, they've listened. Now comes the hard part. Lawmakers spent the first weeks of their spring session listening as state agencies rolled out the stark options for shrinking the $65 billion state budget. ...more

March 24, 2009

A Tampa man faces felony armed burglary charges after a home invasion in Lake Wales this morning. ...more

March 18, 2009

SOFTALL: Sebring 7, DeSoto 1 SEBRING - Sebring got back on the winning track by beating DeSoto by a score of 7-2 in a Class 4A-District 10 softball game on Monday night. ...more

March 18, 2009