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The Federal Government releases June’s National Unemployment rate today, but the state released our region’s unemployment rate for May this week, and Highlands County made up a little ground last month. May’s unemployment rate for Highlands County came in at 4.2% – down from 4.5% in April. The overall region including Highlands, DeSoto, Hardee and Continue reading

Florida has more boats than any other state and lots of Floridians will be spending as much time as possible on the water over the holiday weekend. Major Bill Holcomb with the FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) says make sure you have a life jacket for everyone on the boat. And just like Continue reading

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a 34-year-old Polk Correctional Institute Officer late Sunday night, June 30th. Douglas Morse, of Polk County, was witnessed driving around Winter Haven, repeatedly honking his horn. He was pulled over for a routine traffic stop and after the deputy wrote him a citation for the violation, Morse became upset Continue reading

A man is in custody in connection to the deadly shooting of his estranged girlfriend in Polk County over the weekend. Haines City police say a 29-year-old woman was found shot multiple times near La Fiesta Mexicana Restaurant Sunday morning. The suspect, Rolando Zarate, was later spotted in Winter Haven. Authorities say Zarate confessed to Continue reading

An evidentiary hearing has been requested in the Professional Practices case against Chris Doty, who is a former Highlands School District Administrator. The hearing request stems from a January 22nd letter sent to Doty by the Education Practices Commission stating they had found probable cause to justify sanctions against his Florida Education Certificate in regards Continue reading

Four people from Central Florida are facing charges for their alleged roles in health care fraud schemes. The US Justice Department announced yesterday that almost 200 people were arrested nationwide. They include Orlando’s 54-year-old, Erin Kim, who allegedly fabricated patient files and prescribed over a million Adderall pills to those who should not have gotten Continue reading

A jury has delivered a majority vote recommending death for Zephen Xaver, who admitted to killing five women in a Sebring SunTrust bank in 2019. After 3 hours of deliberation, the vote for the death penalty was 9-3. That number is enough to recommend death under a new Florida law that only requires eight jurors Continue reading

Two people have been charged in connection with the death of a 3-month-old girl in Avon Park. The child’s mother, Sabrina Denise Watson, has been charged with negligent manslaughter of a child, two counts of child neglect, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug equipment. Gwendolyn L. Wyche, a legal guardian, has been charged with Continue reading

Day nine of the Zephen Xaver penalty trial saw a host of experts brought in by the defense team in order to present plausible mitigating circumstances to the jury. The defense is working to help Xaver avoid the death penalty and get life without the possibility of parole. Licensed Psychologists Dr. James Garabino and Dr. Continue reading

Day 8 of Zephen Xaver’s sentencing trial began with debate over juror misconduct allegations. The state attorney’s office said it was notified about texts sent between a juror and a friend about them being on the jury. A motion from the defense for mistrial was dismissed after Judge Angela Cowden determined the behavior did not Continue reading