News Update for 4/5/24

If sugar and carbonated water are your thing, this is your weekend. The Sixth annual Soda Fest gets underway in downtown Sebring. Known as "Florida’s Fizziest Festival," there will be live music, food trucks, soda drinking contests for adults and children, and plenty of different kinds of soft drinks for sampling. Earlier this week, Karsyn Continue reading

News update for 4/4/24

Over the past quarter century, the Alan Jay Automotive Network has given cars to students as part of their "Wheels for A’s" program. To date, they have given 99 high performing students vehicles as part of the promotion. Owner Alan J. Wildstein has announced that this year, vehicle number 100 will go to a teacher. Continue reading

News for 4/3/24

Officials of Highlands County Emergency Management are warning residents to brace themselves. The county is under a wind advisory until 5:00 this evening as a cold front moves through the area. Both wind and thunderstorms have been predicted for later this afternoon. There will be two new faces on the Lake Placid Town Council. Voters Continue reading

News Update for 4/.3/24

Officials of Highlands County Emergency Management are warning residents to brace themselves. The county is under a wind advisory until 5:00 this evening as a cold front moves through the area. Both wind and thunderstorms have been predicted for later this afternoon. There will be two new faces on the Lake Placid Town Council. Voters Continue reading

News Update for 4/2/24

It may seem like there’s a lot of new housing here, but a new survey by Construction Coverage shows Highlands County is lagging behind the national average. The survey says that in the past decade, Highlands’ housing inventory has grown by 6.1 percent, while the population has grown by 7.6 percent. The national growth in Continue reading

News for 4/1/24

There was a shooting overnight in the Highway Park community, south of Lake Placid. Highlands County Sheriff’s officials say they still are unraveling exactly what happened. It apparently occured about 2:30 this morning on E.A. Smith Avenue. Reportedly two people suffered what were described as non-life threatening injuries. Authorities say the investigation is continuing. Those Continue reading

News Update for 3/29/24

NEWS 3/29/24 BF HCSO BODY CAM After a successful month long pilot program, Highlands County Sheriff’s officials say they now have started body cam use for deputies and corrections officers across the department. Beginning in February, a number of patrol and detention deputies as well as a number of school resource officers. tested the Axon Continue reading

News Update for 3/28/24

Avon Park city council members have said "thanks but no thanks" to a Duke Energy proposal to install a couple of chargers for electric vehicles in The City of Charm. Both Avon Park City Manager Mark Schrader and city attorney Gerald Buhr referred to the offer as a "one-sided agreement," noting it already had been Continue reading

News Update for 3/27/24

It’s going to be a while longer for developer Emilio Garabladi. He’s pushing Avon Park city council members to put in a "parkette" where the Wilde Building once stood. Council agreed to let the current request for proposal – which calls for the construction of a new building at the Main Street site – to Continue reading

News Update for 3/26/24

It was announced last night at the Avon Park city council meeting that a conflict of interest complaint has been filed against Mayor Garrett Anderson with the Florida Ethics Commission. Anderson said he had been notified that Steven Madre, of "Fitness 4 You" had filed the action, in connection with a complex purchase of the Continue reading