Metro I-4 News

Hurricane season is coming

Sentinel EDITORIAL:  Faulty hurricane forecasts are no reason to let guard down - Given that hurricane forecasters are about as dependable as a windbreaker in a snowstorm, the best advice we can offer is to not pay any attention to what these “experts” say. # Hurricanes happen. But beyond stocking up on the standard-issue supplies, please remember that all it takes is one hurricane to wreak havoc on a community.

Ledger Columnist Bill Bair: Hurricane Complacency at Your Own Risk

Tribune News:  Hurricane Supplies Won’t Get Tax Break - Those stocking up on items such as plywood, tarps and flashlights won’t get a sales tax break.

Ledger News:  Putnam to Speak at Hurricane Expo  - U.S.Rep. Adam Putnam and Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink are among the dignitaries scheduled to speak at the annual Polk County Hurricane Expo. The Expo will be held on June 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Orange Dome in Winter Haven.

Sending sex offenders away

Sentinel EDITORIAL:  Deltona’s law on sex offenders is having unintended consequences - Make no mistake about this: Sex offenders don’t deserve any undue breaks. Protecting children and families remains the ultimate priority for communities. # But enforcement needs to be practical and effective. Deltona’s isn’t. By essentially zoning sex offenders out of the city, officials are doing more harm than good.

Business woes

Sentinel News:  Winter Park merchants worry shoppers won’t stop if they can’t find easy parking - Regulars on Park Avenue know the parking secrets. # Municipal Lot A behind the train station is a good bet. Spots are often to be had on Knowles Avenue. The fourth and fifth levels of the Park Place garage on Canton Avenue are free and usually empty. # The trouble is newcomers don’t know all the places to look.

Sentinel News:  Oviedo Marketplace struggles to keep its stores open in downturn - ‘I’ve just never known a mall so quiet,’ says a shop owner. Retailers and the city cite frustrations with management.

Ledger News:  Out of Business, Tim Davis’s Plight Reflects General Woes - As president of the Polk County Builders Association, Tim Davis is one of the most recognizable faces in local construction, a self-made remodeling contractor who grew his small Lakeland firm into a $4 million enterprise. # Yet in the course of a year Davis has lost everything to the Florida housing collapse: his contracts, his funding and his staff.

But government and non-profit sectors are building

Sentinel News:  Airport projects on the horizon - Florida’s busiest passenger facility is set to undergo nearly $1B in improvements.  Orlando International Airport has launched a five-year, nearly $1 billion construction program designed to wring more passenger space out of the main terminal, equip the airfield for the next generation of giant jetliners, and overhaul everything from baggage carousels to electrical lighting.

Ledger News:  Talbot House Opens Newest Facility - A few years ago, Franklin Hammonds stood at the entrance to Talbot House Ministries’ homeless shelter. By all accounts he was broken in mind, body and spirit.

Ledger News:  Lake Eva Park Improvements Are Ahead of Schedule - Mountains of dirt are being moved and heavy machinery is sculpting the new layout of Lake Eva Park. The park, which is undergoing $28 million in renovations, bears little resemblance to the old site.

Tribune Editorial:  Housing For Homeless Benefits City - [A] groundbreaking took place a few weeks ago on a project that should improve the challenged Sulphur Springs neighborhood and the lives of the less fortunate. # Metropolitan Ministries calls the East Waters Avenue complex of 12 townhouses “The Sanctuary” because it will give women and children who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, time and space to get back on their feet.

Polk County Commission loses a warrior

Ledger Editorial: Marlene Duffy Young - Mark our words: The memory of former Polk County Commissioner Marlene Duffy Young will be more alive in 2058 than that of many of her contemporaries on the commission or those who served after her. It will be so for this basic reason: She voted for the good of the county. She didn’t back away from that position, even if it might hurt politically to stick with it.

Getting around

Tribune Editorial:  Don’t Shoot TBARTA Down Again - The Legislature put $2 million in the state budget this year to provide a small staff, offices and operating money for the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. # Gov. Charlie Crist, who vetoed start-up funds for the brand new transportation agency last year, is rumored to have his veto pen ready to strike the allocation again this year. He shouldn’t.

Tribune News: Streets Abuzz Over Electric Cart - Jaimie Hendry was standing on a downtown corner, waiting to cross the street, when she caught a glimpse of the vehicle that would change the course of her trip. # Tim Ireland pulled up, driving an electric motor cart that seats six. Hendry and her grandmother, Alice Royals, took advantage of the free service provided by Fast-Trac Legal Services, hitching a ride from city hall to the federal courthouse.

Tribune News:  HART Considers Taxis For Paratransit Service - People with disabilities might soon be catching taxis instead of specially equipped vans and buses.

Tribune News:  The Daily Commute Gets More Expensive - Remember when gas was $3 a gallon? Ah, the good old days. Gas prices are notoriously difficult to forecast, but analysts say the fateful, expensive day of $4 gas could be days away for parts of Florida and could hit the Tampa Bay area not much later.