Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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An assortment of proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution are on the November 5 ballot, leading to numerous questions as voters try to weigh the impact of the proposals. Florida law requires any amendment to receive at least 60 percent of the vote in order to be approved, a requirement added by the legislature aimed at limiting the number of changes to the state's governing documents.m At the same time, legislators continues to propose amendments of their own design,...
Florida's award-winning state parks are a unique and irreplaceable resource for our state and its tourism economy, a delight for visitors and residents alike. They offer our burgeoning population affordable places to "get away" from urban crowding without an airline ticket. State park usage has grown in recent years, even as the state's population has swelled past 22 million. They have also proven invaluable in efforts to protect and conserve natural resources and...
A proposal to spend $565,000 to re-purchase the 1.44 acre Lake Alta property the Community Redevelopment Agency previously sold for less than $9,000 will be considered at Tuesday's meeting of the board. The City of Lake Wales, seeking to dispose of unused lands, had transferred the remnant parcel, part of a larger city-owned site containing tiny Lake Alta park, to the CRA in 2015. The CRA sold it through an offering that brought only one bid from Harout "Henry" Kebabjian and...
Lake Wales City Manager James Slaton finds his relaxation, he recently told Lake Wales News, by fishing, typically on salt water far from the ring of a telephone. It's an understandable outlet. Slaton has demonstrated that he can play just as well on dry land, whatever the game. The job of city manager is undoubtedly one of the more interesting and challenging careers in the modern workforce. Charged with running a government as an appointed, rather than elected, official,...
Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill that will let homebuilders across Florida throw up new housing subdivisions faster and cheaper. The new law, records show, was largely written by Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest residential developers. Dubbed by lobbyists as the "Lennar permitting language," the legislation (Senate Bill 812) will compel cities and counties across Florida to issue building permits for most of the homes in a proposed subdivision before the...
Last fall, the state agency that investigates potentially corrupt Florida politicians urged lawmakers in Tallahassee to strengthen the state's ethics laws. The Florida Commission on Ethics wanted to tighten conflict-of-interest rules. It proposed legal protections for whistleblowers who reveal wrongdoing. It suggested garnishing the salaries of guilty public officials who refuse to pay their fines. Florida lawmakers ignored all three of those ideas. They decided to weaken the...
Lake Wales is bound to grow, and in the minds of many, it needs to grow. Increasing demand for city services can easily outstrip revenue. City commissioners have a tough job dealing with the pressures brought by development proposals, along with the vocal opposition some of those proposals have generated. The commission's decision Tuesday to deny a high-density development on a small parcel near Lake Alta pleased many residents of that neighborhood but drew complaints from...
Lake Wales is bound to grow, and in the minds of many, it needs to grow. Increasing demand for city services can easily outstrip revenue. City commissioners have a tough job dealing with the pressures brought by development proposals, along with the vocal opposition some of those proposals have generated. The commission’s decision Tuesday to deny a high-density development on a small parcel near Lake Alta pleased many residents of that neighborhood but drew complaints from some commissioners that their efforts to implement t...
Lake Wales voters will have significant choices to make in two races for the Lake Wales City Commission on April 2, choosing from among candidates who offer sharp differences in their approaches to governing and attitudes toward the challenges confronting the city. All city voters are eligible to cast ballots in the non-partisan district 2 and 4 races. The district 4 race presents voters with the starkest choice in many years as incumbent Danny Krueger faces a challenge from...
An April 2 day of decision is upon Lake Wales voters, who have significant choices among candidates who offer sharp differences in their approaches to governing and attitudes toward the challenges confronting the city. All city voters are eligible to cast ballots in the non-partisan district 2 and 4 races. In the District 2 race, Daniel Williams is facing two challengers in Brandon Alvarado and Crystal Higbee. On a city commission that has been criticized as failing to...
March 12, 2024 is Equal Pay Day; however, this is no celebration. Despite the Equal Pay Act being introduced more than 60 years ago, gender and racial pay gaps persist. Women bring enormous value to the U.S. economy but due to systemic sexism and decades of discrimination, women are still paid, on average, just 84 cents for every dollar paid to a man. This gap only worsens when we include women working part-time or seasonally-widening to 78 cents. A woman must work an a...
Government is complicated. Elected officials, even those responsible for leading a city such as Lake Wales with its billion-dollar budget, face a multitude of questions and issues. It is certainly not within the capacity of any one individual to have total awareness of every matter that must be decided. The role of the press as a watchdog over government is a long-established principle, one that has for nearly 250 years of American history served to keep politicians on the str...
People often look to their perceived "leaders" for guidance on conduct. In an atmosphere of charged and heated politics on a national level, it is no wonder that people are too often quick to accuse or insinuate wrongdoing even in their hometowns. Lake Wales is not immune from such behavior. Such problems can be exacerbated when evidence arises, as it sometimes will, that political decisions have resulted in unexpected outcomes. When that happens, the solution is neither ignoring the problems nor making wild accusations of...
Next week, the Florida Legislature is holding a special session to address a number of topics ahead of the regularly scheduled 2024 session that begins in January. We are concerned with provisions in SB 2-C/ HB 1-C "Disaster Relief" that would prevent local governments from amending comprehensive plans or land development regulations, precluding local leaders from enacting policy changes to make their communities more resilient and safer from storm damage in the future. SB...
Editor's Note: This guest Commentary is the third of a series of guest editorials that will address the effort known as Lake Wales Envisioned. Public health will be a big winner if the Lake Wales City Commission adopts the Lake Wales Envisioned plan. It is a comprehensive, community-led vision for the next 10, 25, and 50 years that Olmsted would be proud of. As a health promotion professional with over 30 years of global experience focusing on the intersection of our built env...
Editor's Note: This guest Commentary is the second of a series of guest editorials that will address the effort known as Lake Wales Envisioned. Since our founding in 1986, 1000 Friends of Florida has advocated citizen-driven planning to protect our state's environment and quality of life amid its rapid growth. That explains why we enthusiastically endorsed the Lake Wales Envisioned process from its launch last winter. And it's why we're now calling on city leaders to approve...
Editor's Note: This guest Commentary, offered by two distinguished scholars of the works of the father and son who shared the honored name of Frederick Law Olmsted, is the first of a series of guest editorials that will address the effort known as Lake Wales Envisioned. A century ago, Lake Wales was in the news: The most famous landscape architect in America, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., was transforming one of Florida's highest points into Bok Tower Gardens, today a National...
Change is coming to Lake Wales. Are you worried? If so, your concerns are shared by thousands of your friends and neighbors. Ours is a growing community. This special place has been "discovered" by ever-larger numbers of people who would like to share in the unique qualities the city offers. As the agricultural basis of our economy is changing, so is the land use. Unproductive citrus groves decimated by disease are being offered for sale. Savvy developers are snapping up...
A bloody toll of fatalities and serious injuries during the month of May has left multiple area families mourning their losses. The rash of deadly crashes is a clear call for increased law enforcement presence on area streets and highways. So far in this month, at least five people have been killed in four fatal accidents in the Lake Wales area. Three of those occurred in two crashes at the single intersection of US 27 and Washington Avenue. Earlier this month two Haines City...
Honoring those who have served to defend is a longstanding tradition in nations around the world, no less so in the United States. The freedoms we enjoy, so easily eroded from within, were also defended from foreign enemies by those who have donned the uniforms of our five branches of service. March 31 marks the end of what is considered by many the saddest of America's military efforts. Tens of thousands died in the futile conflict, both military and civilian. Opposition to...
"Growth" is a word that means opportunity for some and strikes fear in the hearts of others. It has been the driver of both the economic health and the environmental destruction that has reshaped Florida for more than a century. Rising prosperity has too often been accompanied by traffic congestion, water shortages, urban sprawl, and overcrowding, crushing the quality of life in some parts of the state. While growth has been largely focused on other places, it's now arrived...
Stifling Dissent is Not a Solution The essential freedoms that we often take for granted as Americans set us apart from much of the world, where speaking out against a government action or official can bring harsh responses. More than ever, speaking out is needed in Lake Wales. There is no better forum for sharing concerns and ideas about the course of our community than the meetings of the City Commission. Now, under a proposed resolution, Lake Wales citizens may be...
The crush of development pressure that has been applied to Lake Wales by the owners of large tracts surrounding the city has raised alarm in many quarters. Ownership of land conveys many rights. Landowners are aware that resources are limited, and that commitments for water and sewer capacity are best reserved well in advance of their need. The deluge of annexations and platting doesn't mean all those new homes will be built anytime soon, but that's small comfort to area...
As the campaigns that will shape the election of a mayor and city commissioner come to a close, some have asked whether our editorial board will endorse any of the five candidates. We believe a response is in order. The three candidates for mayor, Curtis Gibson, Jack Hilligoss, and Tammy James, agree on much, but offer clear distinctions in their leadership styles and priorities. The two candidates for city commission seat 4, Danny Krueger and James Loydd, differ not only in...
Lake Wales has been blessed by the creation of the Lake Wales Charter Schools system nearly two decades ago. Now representing seven schools educating students in grades 1 through 12, the system has received nationwide attention for its innovative methods. Competition between schools for the attention of parents and students has been a positive. The mere existence of the quasi-independent district was likely motivation for improvements at Polk County School System's McLaughlin...
