Lakeland FL

Chief Hirrihigua’s Daughter Saves Spanish Captive Juan Ortiz. The Tocobaga built a life on Tampa Bay’s shores for 600 years. They ate well from the water’s gifts – oysters, fish, and clams – plus deer and wild plants from the land. But in 1528, Spanish...

A Polk County man accused of stealing a trailer is back behind bars after investigators say he incriminated himself while appearing as a guest on a podcast.

The business is still operating. The four Alan’s Air Conditioning Service office staff have been displaced for three months. All techs and install crews are still out working every day. “We are really trying to do our best to provide the same service and customer service that we did six months ago,” Tiffany Lewis,...

The new center aligns with Florida’s push for career and technical education and high-demand jobs. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Polk County opened the Brian Lamar Brady Workforce Readiness Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 4:30 p.m. The $3 million project, located in Mulberry and funded by the state through the Florida...

LAKELAND, Fla. — One of Lakeland’s oldest golf courses will soon be home to new development. City commissioners recently approved 973 housing units to be built on the former Wedgewood Golf Course. That’s an increase from the 954 homes included in the developer’s previous plan — a proposal that faced pushback from the...

Polk County Animal Control, Florida — High Euthanasia Rates Demand Urgent. Polk County Animal Control plays a critical role in our community, finding homes for adoptable animals and helping families reunite with their missing pets. However, statistics show that Animal Control reform is needed to improve the outcomes...

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — The Polk County Sheriff's Office said an optician's arrest was "crystal clear" after a photo showed him point a gun at a family during a road rage incident. A 64-year-old optician, Stephen John Phillips, from Mulberry was arrested Sunday after allegedly pointing a gun...

A family of four is facing hardship after a fire destroyed their home and killed their four pets just days before Christmas, the Haines City Fire Department said.

Oppy has launched a Florida strawberry program under the DOLE brand, marking its first project since integrating with Dole Diversified North America in October. Production is underway, with promotable volumes expected from late January through early February. The program features premium conventional strawberry...

After driving home from work in Bartow, Kimberly steps into her room at an extended-stay hotel in Brandon. On a nightstand sits a tabletop Christmas tree she hopes captures some of the holiday spirit for her three daughters, ages 22, 19 and 5. Working, parenting, holding it together. In October,...