Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
Sorted by date Results 651 - 668 of 668
A "City in a Garden" with landscaped streets, a redeveloped Grove Manor featuring a mix of housing types, and a new "town square" were among the ideas presented to Lake Wales citizens Friday evening to cap a week of intensive study by the planning firm of Dover Kohl. Most of the 100 in attendance were excited by the possibilities. The week-long effort, sponsored by Lake Wales Mainstreet and funded by local businesses, included gathering ideas and suggestions from the public,...
"The road to progress is always under construction," Lily Tomlin reminded us many years ago, and that is no less true around Lake Wales. Keeping up with the rapid growth of the Lake Wales area will require major changes in how we travel. Several major road construction projects are planned. With them, of course, will come many disruptions. How will they affect you? Let us count the ways. The biggest changes will be along our major highways, US 27 and SR 60. Those projects...
The twice-a-month Lake Wales Downtown Farmers' Market has been on a tremendous growth curve for the last year, and a recent Saturday morning found nearly 50 vendors offering a great variety of products to throngs of customers. Fresh food ranging from baked goods, fried cheese, "cotton candy cupcakes," guava pastries, and doughnuts to empanadas, Thai spring rolls, and hot dogs were popular. Those were accompanied by teas and coffees, including the iced variety as well as...
A visit to Lake Wales by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Jack E. Davis brought rich reward to a group of citizens who attended his talk at Lake Wales Library Thursday. Davis spent time answering their personal questions following his presentation. Among other accolades, Davis was awarded a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for his latest work, entitled "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea." "I didn't set out to write an academic book. I like to write books that people want to read,"...
Do YOU have an interest in the future of Lake Wales? In how our city grows, and the services and lifestyle we will enjoy? Then this is your moment to speak up. (See the outcome of a week of planning by clicking here) More than 100 of your fellow citizens have already shared their ideas and energies by participating in a Monday evening "charrette" at the Austin Community Center, organized by Lake Wales MainStreet and the planning firm of Dover Kohl and Partners. MainStreet...
An "Open Design Studio" is drawing visitation and input from citizens interested in helping plan a bright future for Lake Wales. Part of the "Connecting Lake Wales" effort sponsored by the Lake Wales MainStreet program, the studio workshop is filled with planners, architects, and designers actively working on concepts that will be shared with the public in a special presentation on Friday evening, April 5. The Studio will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on...
A colorful, air-borne sight will fill the skies in one part of town soon, as Lake Wales enjoys its first-ever Spring Kite Festival. The high-flying event is planned for noon on Saturday, March 30, and everyone is invited to participate. "We couldn't let another March slip past without doing this!" said Jessica Bray, a member of the sponsoring Lakeshore League. The informal neighborhood group is noted for organizing themed events at different times of the year, including such a...
Fans of Italian travel, or those who just dream about it, are invited to share lunch and enjoy an hour of fellowship Saturday, April 6 at l'Incontro Italian Restaurant in Lake Wales. "All About Italy" is the name of a "Meetup" group that draws Italophiles from as far away as Orlando, Sebring, and Clermont. The delightful art, architecture, history, and natural beauty of Italy have long made it one of the world's most desirable travel destinations. A stronger dollar has made th...
More than 100 civic and business leaders gathered for breakfast at the Vanguard School to hear the annual "State of the City" report delivered by Lake Wales Mayor Eugene Fultz on Wednesday morning, and most were impressed by what they heard. Ranging from a summation of new businesses arriving, including a Lake Wales Medical Center Wound Care facility, plus Aldi's, Wawa, and Love's, to imaginative plans for re-invigorating the downtown area and Crystal Lake Park, the address wa...
A report from the public about missing and fallen traffic signs on a county road brought a prompt response from Polk County's traffic engineering department. After damage caused by Hurricane Irma in 2017 went unrepaired for a year and a half, leaving critical warning signs lying on road shoulders or in trees, LakeWalesNews.net reached out to Polk's chief traffic engineer Jay Jarvis. Jarvis oversees a vast road network that includes over 86,000 signs. It was apparently that...
An experienced cast and a script full of twists and turns lead to an entertaining evening of live theatre in "The Assassin's New Friend." The psychological thriller runs through March 31 at Lake Wales Little Theatre. Bok Academy educator Jeff Herman plays Kendrick, the "crazed man" plotting to kill attorney Douglas Brendan, played by engineer John Durbin. Both are veterans of multiple shows, as is apparent in their performances. Herman's portrayal of the "psycho" Kendrick...
When Lake Ashton resident Al Goldstein became the only candidate to qualify for April's District 4 City Commission election, he won automatically, leaving plenty of Lake Wales residents wondering: "Who is Al Goldstein?" In a rambling two-hour conversation, Goldstein revealed much about himself and his strong opinions about several pending issues but left plenty hidden as well. Critical of some proposals before the Commission, Goldstein offered his respect for the positions...
Fans of live theatre will enjoy some spine-tingling chills during March as Lake Wales Little Theatre presents "The Assassin's New Friend." The psychological thriller features a very reluctant "friend" who finds himself dragged into a murder plot by a crazed killer. Faced with a "Hobson's choice," the true-crime writer is pulled deeper as the plot twists and turns. Featuring Jeff Herman as the scheming Kendrick, and Robert Connors as often-horrified writer Brian Hollander, the...
Just in time for the Fat Tuesday celebrations happening across Europe and the Americas, a new Carnival club has been conceived for Lake Wales. The "Krewe Renaissance" will be a step back in time to the roots of Lake Wales' 35-year traditions of Mardi Gras. They announced plans to sponsor a black-tie-optional masquerade ball, complete with a dance band, food, and drink, to highlight the 2020 celebrations. "We are conspiring to ramp up the fun for next year!" said a krewe member...
Travelers passing through the Lake Wales area will have an additional reason to pause upon the completion in June of the Love's Travel Stop and Country Store now under construction on U.S. 27 at Hunt Brothers Road. Filling almost 11 acres of former oak forest on the northeast quadrant of the intersection, Love's is designed to offer convenient service for truckers and travelers. It will feature a "trio" of fast food offerings including Subway, Godfather's Pizza, and Chester's...
You'll be on the edge of your seat during the production of "The Assassin's New Friend" through March 31 at the Lake Wales Little Theatre. Written by John Kaasik, the play is directed by Lake Wales Charter Schools Human Resources Director Dr. Julio Acevedo. March 15 is opening night and the play runs three weekends with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. "This is a really good play because it has comedy, suspense, action and drama so...
Downtown Lake Wales' Mélange Gallery will host a visit from poet, screenwriter, and filmmaker Will Berry on Thursday March 21. A resident of Maine, Berry has won numerous awards at film festivals in North America and Europe and is developing his own unique way of utilizing the media in very surprising ways. A graduate of Brown University's noted film school, Berry will screen some of his projects during the evening, and answer questions about his ground-breaking style. He...
Housing has been in high demand in the Lake Wales area, and planned single-family developments have been building out rapidly, but demand is equally strong for apartment homes. Some of that demand will soon be met as Equinox of Florida LLC moves forward with their plans to build 335 new units on the north side of town. The new complex will consist of 13 buildings on two separate parcels totaling almost 50 acres. They are located about 500 feet north of Chalet Suzanne Road, dir...
