Barnes & Noble returns to Lakeland after 16 years with new store
Barnes & Noble is opening a new store in Lakeland next week, the second local shop to open in the region in a month and a week following the 50th its opened this year. The bookseller’s new 13,000-square-foot Lakeland location is in a former Party City space in the Merchants Walk shopping center at 3615 S Florida Ave.
Lake Miriam Publix Reopens After 16-Month Rebuild
Publix at Lake Miriam Square reopened Thursday, Nov. 13, after a 16-month facelift. There are 884 Publix stores in Florida, but Hannah Herring, media relations manager for Publix Super Markets, said this one is significant in the grocer’s history. The Lake Miriam location originally opened as a Food World in 1977 —...
Police Find Grandmother’s Dead Husband Buried in Her Herb Garden
Every crime scene raises unsettling questions. In a preview for a new episode of Oxygen’s Killer Grannies, airing Sunday, Nov. 16, at 8/7c p.m., police faced a disturbing puzzle in 2012 in Lake Alfred, Florida. For starters, why did 67-year-old Barbara Scott bury her 77-year-old husband Benny Scott in...
Valrico Resident Arrested for Theft and Resisting Deputy at Mulberry Walmart
On November 11, 2024, a Polk County Sheriff's deputy responded to a reported theft at the Mulberry Walmart. Store security observed 58-year-old Homero Saenz of Valrico concealing merchandise and attempting to leave without paying. When approached by security and law enforcement, Saenz did not comply and resisted...
Two Adults Arrested, Drugs Seized, and Three Children Released to Family After Lake Wales...
Some recent proactive police work on the part of the Lake Wales Police Department resulted in the arrest of two individuals on a myriad of charges and warrants. On November 2, 2025 at around 11am, a Lake Wales police officer was patrolling the Lake Wales Housing Authority on Sessoms Ave. W when they “observed a blue...
HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital receives national recognition for exceptional care
November 12, 2025 – HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital is announcing its recognition for exceptional clinical outcomes in several categories by Healthgrades, the No. 1 site Americans use when searching for a doctor or hospital. HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital is a Healthgrades Five-Star Recipient for treatment of heart...
New Vibrio vulnificus, ‘flesh-eating bacteria’ case reported in Florida. Here’s where
The Florida Department of Health has reported another case of Vibrio vulnificus, the horrific infection also called "flesh-eating" bacteria , in a T hursday, Nov. 13 morning update . The new case was in Polk County, the update said, bringing the yearly listed statewide total to 31. Five people have reportedly died...
Florida teens accused of riding bikes through neighborhood, pulling on car door handles
RIVERVIEW, Fla. (CBS12) — Three teens were arrested after they were accused of riding on bicycles and checking vehicle door handles in Hillsborough County. On November 8, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says, at about 10:50 p.m., its aviation unit responded to reports of prowlers in the area of Big Bend Road...
Lakeland pastor recounts ‘miracle’ of surviving 2011 church shooting in new book
LAKELAND — Two days after being injured in a car crash, Pastor William Boss Jr. sat in a medical office one morning in February 2024, awaiting the results of X-rays. A radiologist beckoned him and asked, “Mr. Boss, what is the metal object in the back of your head?” The question came as a surprise to Boss. More than...
Judge orders no bond for driver in Tampa crash that killed 4 outside bar...
Florida Crash Vigil Tampa Bay Times A Florida judge on Thursday ordered the detention of a man who was charged with driving into a crowd outside a bar last weekend, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen others in a historic district of Tampa , Florida, that is known for its nightlife and tourists. Silas...
