Representatives of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas  and WCA of Florida have filed a notice with Polk County that they plan to protest the bid award for the curbside garbage contract. The County Commission decided earlier this month to pursue contracts with Waste Management, Waste Pro and Trash Taxi  to begin service Oct. 1, 2017. From materials I’ve received, I get the impression the nub of the dispute is coming from the two companies that offered lower prices than the… Read More »

Now that there has been a ruling on the lawsuit over how much latitude Polk school officials have in setting tax referendum dates, let me weigh in on what this means and doesn’t mean. ICYMI, the ruling was that the only latitude the  School Board has is to decide which general election ballot the voting will occur. Forget about holding a special election. The ruling , however,   does not t mean there’s any enmity between the County Commission and… Read More »

Early voting began Saturday  and people are beginning to return mail ballots. According to the latest figures from the Polk Supervisor of Elections office, 6.4 percent of Polk’s 392,586 registered voters have already voted in the Aug. 30 primary. Wednesday is the deadline for seeking mail ballots. Early voting will continue through Saturday at the usual locations. So far 74,244 –18.9 percent of registered voters–voters have been issued mail ballots These numbers might improve as the week progresses, but there… Read More »

Six years after it was proposed and residents began protests and a year after the legal dispute over its zoning was settled, construction is under way on a new RaceTrac convenience store near the intersection of Christina Boulevard and State Road 37. Normally the construction of yet another convenience store in Polk County isn’t big news, but this one has so much history it puts it in a different category. The store’s application for a corner site was initially rejected… Read More »

Keep Polk Kids Healthy, the political action committee formed to campaign in favor of the renewal of the  indigent health care sales tax, appears to have taken a break from fund-raising and may be focusing on its election campaign after the Aug. 30 primary. There have been no reports of contributions or expenditures during the last two weeks. So far the PAC has raised $103,339, most of it coming from the companies that own major local hospitals, and spent only… Read More »

The headline in today’s Ledger displayed the results of growth funding policy in Polk County. Citrus Ridge  school off U.S. 27  North in the fast-growing Four Corners area was overcrowded on its first day of classes. This probably didn’t  surprise school officials. At a summit between members of the Polk County Sch0ol Board and the County Commission last October,  school officials told commissioners about the growth pressures from the thousands of new homes that were coming, predicting it would overwhelm… Read More »

The latest figures on Polk voter registration show the continuing trend in No Party Affiliation registrations.. They now make up nearly a quarter of all registered voters in Polk and have grown by a larger percentage (8.9 percent) in the past year than either major political party. (Yes,  I know the smaller the basis, the smaller number that’s required to result in  a larger percentage increase). Democrats, who make up 37 percent of the registered voters have the most anemic… Read More »

Things are heating up in the District 3 County Commission race between Bill Braswell and J.C. Martin, who will face each other on the Aug. 30 ballot. Martin complained at a candidate forum Thursday night that Braswell posted a fake sample ballot on his Facebook page with Martin’s name omitted and the oval next to Braswell’s name filled in. Braswell said he did post it–it has since been taken down–just to poke at his opponent, whose supporters continue to send… Read More »

The study initiated by the Winter Haven Economic Development Council to look at the future of  the Cypress Gardens Boulevard corridor, particularly the area around Legoland, is becoming more focused. Thursday the Polk Transportation Planning Organization asked the Florida Department of Transportation to provide technical assistance on one aspect of the study, which involves improving access for pedestrians and bicyclists. This is an issue because Legoland is planning a resort development on the other side of the six-lane highway from… Read More »

State elections officials issued a statement today affirming the security of the voting system in response to press reports questioning its integrity. A copy of the statement is available at this link..