Week of March 26, 2025
Week of March 26, 2025
Lake Wales Mayor Jack Hilligoss won an easy reelection victory Tuesday, turning back a challenge from former city commissioner Curtis Gibson in a race that saw record amounts spent, primarily by outside groups. Hilligoss received 1390 votes, or 60.96 percent of the vote, while Gibson took 890 votes, or 39.04 percent. Hilligoss will be sworn in to serve a new three-year term as chair of the five-person commission. Voters also approved a charter amendment that will require...
What has undoubtedly been the ugliest Lake Wales municipal election campaign in memory is coming to a conclusion on April 1, when voters will have a last chance to help select a mayor who will serve a new three-year term. Incumbent Mayor Jack Hilligoss is being challenged by former city commissioner Curtis Gibson. The campaign has been marked by a series of attacks using both direct mail and text messages funded by a "dark-money" political action committee based in Tampa. The...
A ruling by Circuit Judge Jennifer Swensen this month has brought the City of Lake Wales and the city's Community Redevelopment Agency significantly closer to reclaiming the title to the landmark Walesbilt Hotel, bringing redevelopment of the building within reach. The legal battle over control of the historic structure began when the city filed the suit in February 2022. The most-recent ruling dismissed a counter-suit and appeal for summary judgement filed by defendant...
Two new restaurants are among the immediate results of the investment in a renewed downtown historic district by the Community Redevelopment Agency and the City of Lake Wales. The city recently celebrated the opening of the re-imagined Park Avenue which, along with stretches of First Street, Scenic Highway, and the Market Plaza, have been turned into lush gardens lining brick streets intended to create an attractive setting for dining and retail. The Thirsty Dragon, an...
A ceremonial ground-breaking for a multi-million dollar water desalination facility east of Lake Wales has marked the next step in a multi-jurisdictional effort to assure adequate water supplies for the future of Polk County. The rapid development taking place across the region has created a looming water crisis, with at least one town, Dundee, forced to declare a building moratorium due to a lack of potable water supply. Led by the Southwest Florida Water Management District...
The city of Lake Wales is moving forward with the expansion of the city's fire department after city commission approval of design work for a third station planned for Hunt Brothers Road. A five acre site at the southeast corner of South Ninth Street (Nest Egg Road) was purchased at a cost of $300,000 in November after a search in that area turned up no other site that was both appropriate and available. Fire Department Chief Joe Jenkins told the commission at that time that...
A celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for Friday evening in downtown Lake Wales will mark the successful completion of the biggest element to date in the city's pursuit of the Lake Wales Connected plan. The transformative redevelopment of Park Avenue and the Market Plaza will be celebrated by residents, business owners, and city officials alike, all of whom are eager to show off the beauty of the new streetscape. The event will be held in the expanded new Market...
Getting rid of old tires is too often a problem, leading to waste dumping on area road shoulders. They provide an ideal breeding place for mosquitoes as rainwater collects in them but will not drain. They also create a fire hazard and are very difficult to extinguish. Now, Keep Polk County Beautiful, Inc., in partnership with Polk County government and Waste Management., is offering a free solution opportunity by hosting a free Tire Collection and Recycling event. The...
Polk County Campgrounds have added a new online reservation system to make it simpler to arrange your next outing at one of the many county parks. Campgrounds operated by Polk County Parks and Recreation will start accepting online reservations and payments on March 28. This system, already used for pavilion rentals, aims to streamline the process and provide a more efficient booking experience for Polk County campground visitors. Campgrounds can now be reserved online up to...
Novocaine is an action comedy film starring Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Betty Gabriel, Jacob Batalon, and Matt Walsh. Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olson, Novocaine stars Quaid as Nate, a man with a rare condition that prevents him from feeling pain. Because of this, he's cautious, reserved, and a bit of a loner. He works at a bank, where he develops a romance with his co-worker, Sherry (Amber Midthunder). But when Sherry is kidnapped by bank robbers, Nate...
Anora recently took home five Oscars, and deservedly so. Written, edited, and directed by Sean Baker, this gripping film follows a sex worker who finds herself entangled in a whirlwind romance with the son of a Russian oligarch. What starts as a wild, impulsive marriage soon spirals into chaos. The film is both hilarious and deeply frustrating in equal measure-a testament to Baker's sharp storytelling. Mikey Madison delivers a standout performance as Anora, or Ani, a sex...
The Lake Wales Arts Center is offering two impressive performances to the public this Saturday, March 8, and they are both completely free. The Classern String Quartet promises a spectacular evening of music as they return to the Lake Wales Arts Council for this unforgettable double feature concert. The Classern Quartet will kick off the evening with a 4 p.m. performance that brings together the best of the two worlds they share - classical favorites with modern twists. The...
AdventHealth Lake Wales has announced the addition of cardiologist, Saiyed Mohib, MD to its roster of expert physicians. Dr. Mohib is a board-certified cardiologist who is now accepting new patients in Lake Wales at the AdventHealth Medical Group General Surgery Office, located at 423 Linden Lane. With over 20 years of experience in cardiology, Dr. Mohib is an expert in assessing and preventing heart attacks and other heart-related diseases. He offers nutritional counseling...
America's love affair with automobiles comes with consequences, including unwanted highways. The population boom on the Lake Wales Ridge, powered by scores of large residential developments, has proven that worse traffic is always just around the corner. Now a proposal from Florida's Turnpike to build an expressway down the Lake Wales Ridge, connecting the Orlando area with Lake Wales, is generating more controversy. That state agency has grown from a single toll road from...
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