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In the midst of “deadlines and commitments,” I neglected to mention Lakeland Local topped 500 posts.

Surprisingly, the majority weren’t maps.

I’ve been working behind the scenes on some revisions and additions, but I’m just going to tease you today. Look for more news tomorrow.

Meanwhile, some CSX news of interest:

The “Move Over” law in Florida states you must leave an empty lane between you and emergency vehicles or, if you can’t, slow down at least 20 MPH below the speed limit.

To help remind you of the law, the Lakeland Police Department will be out in force from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm today to help educate drivers in the following areas:

• The Polk County Parkway.

• Harden Blvd between Beacon Road and Lakeside Village Shopping Center.

• South Road 98 (Bartow Highway) between Edgewood Drive and South Crystal Lake Drive.

According to LPD, “Violators of this law will be stopped and given literature and anything from a verbal warning to a uniform traffic citation.”

Writer Larry Thornberry was a reporter for the Ledger when he met William F. Buckley in 1976. Evidently the meeting made some impact…

The interview took place in the living room of the upscale home of the Ledger’s publisher, who, with his wife, was big in such limousine liberal circles as existed in Polk County, Florida, in those days. Contrary to the stereotype of the day — conservative meanie vs. caring n’ compassionate liberal nice guys — Buckley the conservative was the very soul of graciousness, treating a reporter he had just met with all respect and civility, while the publisher treated me like hired help. Which I was, but that’s no excuse. The wife and the uniformed maid ignored my existence. — Buckley in the Provinces

I’m willing to bet there are a couple of more sides to that story. I have no idea who was the publisher for the Ledger in 1976. Thornberry obviously doesn’t name him. I plan to stop the library and read that article though. I wonder if Thornberry was able to keep his politics out of the story? Whether he did or not, it is a good reminder that not all reporters are liberal, not all media publishers are conservative, and it doesn’t hurt to remind the public of our biases.

Tuesday House Representative Seth McKeel introduced HB 1143. Simply entitled University of South Florida Lakeland, HB1143 states:

An act relating to the University of South Florida Lakeland; creating s. 1004.345, F.S.; establishing and designating the University of South Florida Lakeland campus; providing legislative intent; requiring the Board of Trustees to appoint a Campus Board; providing membership, powers, and duties of the Campus Board; providing that the university is administered by a Campus Executive Officer; requiring the President of the University of South Florida to consult with the Campus Board before hiring or terminating the Campus Executive Officer; providing duties and powers of the Campus Executive Officer; providing that students enrolled at a branch campus of the university have the same rights as other students; requiring the University of South Florida to provide for a system of student registration that meets certain conditions; providing an effective date.

That pretty much sums up the bill. You can read a PDF of the full bill here.

The Detroit Tigers officially open spring training today with a game against the New York Mets. The weather won’t e as warm as yesterday, but hopefully we’ll have no rain.

The Mets are bringing their A team to the game today. Unfortunately, I mean their Single-A team. MLB requires spring training teams take at least five players from the major league roster to every away game. That’s exactly what the Mets are doing today: Ryan Church,Ramon Castro, Pedro Feliciano, Jorge Sosa and Mike Pelfrey are the MLB players scheduled to appear in Lakeland.

When you go to the park be prepared for a couple of changes: parking went up to $7 and don’t try to turn left onto Lakeland Hills Blvd. from Al Kaline. That’s a right turn only now. You can solve both problems by getting to the game early and parking at the church at the corner of Grenada and Lakeland Hills. Parking there was just a $3 donation last year.

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For those who read Lakeland Local on email or through a feed…remember there all all kinds of spring training maps and links on our home page special Spring Training column.

Yes, it’s true. Starbucks will close today from 5 pm to 8:30 pm. Evidently it’s time for a little retraining.

In an effort to help those who need coffee to navigate I-4 at rush hour, Dunkin’ Donuts will offer 99-cent small lattes, cappuccinos and espresso drinks today from 1 pm until 9:30.

I’m not including a map of all Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donut shops. The afternoon drive is too wired as it is.

This information has been presented as public service announcement. With caffeine.

Far be it for me to criticize a Ledger article, but what were they thinking with the piece headlined Proposed Rail Facility Is ‘In the Middle of Nowhere? You might have missed it since it ran in the East Polk news section of the paper. Let’s take a look, shall we?

We have the latest in Lakeland crime maps over at our sister site, Lakeland Crime. As usual, thanks to the Lakeland Police Department for the information.

You can always get the latest crime maps delivered by email or in your feedreader.

You hear the numbers on the news. Banks and mortgage companies counting revenues lost. Economists writing about recession, upticks, and downturns.

Suzanne is moving to Lakeland. She knows the story firsthand:

We’ve all heard about the astronomical numbers of foreclosures currently clogging our courts. All over the US, people are in dire straights and losing their homes. Folks, count us in those numbers. Today, I’m going to tell you our story to put a face on what is happening everywhere. - Suzanne Sez

Flu and deadlines have kept me from pointing out some recent articles in the always fun “main steam media.”

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You must read Fasano has concerns about CSX proposal

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, told the Buzz this morning he has “concerns” over the proposed $490-million deal that would have the state buying rail lines from CSX, and over proposed legislation that would exempt CSX from any liability as they operate.

Don’t miss the comments:

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Yesterday Billy Townsend, re-introduced Polk County to the fine readers of the Tampa Tribune:

You know Polk’s rap.

It’s the county of oranges, phosphate mountains and trailer parks. It’s where they spread hepatitis through meth use, once elected a white supremacist sheriff, and often find themselves in perp walks on Orlando or Tampa Bay TV.

If that lead doesn’t convince you to read his story, you’re a lifelong Lakeland resident and consider that old news. Townsend takes a good look into the perception though. (Read his blog for a point that didn’t make it into the article.)

Three years ago, when I was looking to move here, I made a few inquiries about Lakeland. I didn’t hear about the sheriff, but meth was mentioned. However, I was moving from the Northern meth capital and it didn’t seem to be a big change. I heard much more about how boring I’d find life in Lakeland.

Well, if Lakeland is boring, I don’t want to be excited. I like life here. I’m just afraid we’re in a rush to join Tampa or Orlando.

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“There’s an old police saying,” Judd said. “No people, no problems; a few people, a few problems; a lot of people, a lot of problems.”

Who knew Sheriff Grady Judd was so hip? That had to be a reference to The Notorious B.I.G’s most famous quote, “The more money you make, the more problems you get.”

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Remember when Wired noticed Polk County? Well, they’ve kept an eye on Florida. Their blogger, Brandon Keim, was pleased with this week’s Florida Board of Education vote:

The 4-3 vote was obtained by including a last-minute amendment to the standards. Suggested last Friday by religious conservatives and dubbed the “academic freedom proposal,” the amendment required that the curriculum’s references to “evolution” be replaced by the “scientific theory of evolution.”

The amendment’s supporters called the language change a victory — and it is, though not in the way they imagine.

Not only will Florida’s students learn about evolution; they’ll also learn that the scientific definition of a theory is different from the everyday definition, referring not to wild-eyed speculation but to a vast body of observation and testing that confirms a hypothesis so strongly that it might as well be considered fact.

A big thank-you, then, to religious critics of evolution education. The language change will better help Florida’s children understand not only evolution, but science itself.

How many times have you heard or watched a Polk County Sheriff cruiser zoom down the road lights ablaze? Now, how many times have you wondered what was their destination? Or who were they chasing?

You could buy a scanner to listen to their calls or you could surf over to Scan Polk County, That site present live and recorded radio communication from the Polk County Sheriffs Office and Fire/Rescue calls. It’s a labor of love from an unknown Polk County resident who hooks up a scanner to the Net and a Georgia resident who hosts the hardware for Scan Polk County and 11 sister sites.

There is a handy chat room to discuss current events and police business. A link to the Polk County Dispatch and Status Codes so you understand the lingo. They even maintain links to interesting articles about police business and crimes.

I know I couldn’t leave the scanner on as background music, but it will be useful the next time we have a major crime event. I wonder if someone has plans to add Lakeland Police Department?

An important part of a story is often where it happened. With that in mind, I’ve created another map. When appropriate, an article will include a link to a map point to help you understand where the story was set. This should enable residents to quickly find news in their neighborhood. By the end of the year, with most Lakeland Local articles included on the map, there will be yet another way to find a link to a story you remember happened near you, but you’ve forgot the date.
Here’s the current map with most 2008 articles already linked. In the future look for the Lakeland News Map 2008 link at the bottom of an article.
CommunityWalk Map - LakelandLocal.com Articles

The following is a Lakeland Police Department Media Release. Blame the highlighting on me….

The Lakeland Police Department arrested Steward Butler, DOB: 6/28/91, B/M, for Burglary to a Conveyance and Grand Theft after a foot chase in the downtown area of Lakeland today. At approximately 1451 hours, the victim left her unlocked vehicle parked at in the 500 block of Michigan Avenue.

As the victim returned to the vehicle, three suspects that were standing nearby fled at the sight of the victim. Citizens in the area chased after the fleeing suspects as police were called. The suspects discarded the property taken from the vehicle – a computer and a cell phone — that were recovered.

Butler was later apprehended by K-9 Officer Jose Bosque in the area of the 700 block of Magnolia Street. This investigation is ongoing and additional arrests may be made. No further information will be released today on this incident. — LPD Online News

This is a good time to remind everyone that the Lakeland Police Department has two very good sites: Inside LPD; for Lakeland Police Department information and LPD Online News, for all the media releases concerning select crimes and news.

You can also find crime maps at Lakeland Crime. I’m to blame for that one though.

Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon closed seven of its eight Florida restaurants yesterday. The Lakeland location at 3723 US-98 North was shuttered along with locations in Bradenton, Fort Myers, Ocala, Pensacola, Port Orange, and St. Petersburg.

Lone Star closed 27 restaurants yesterday, leaving the company with 152 locations. According to a report in this morning’s Bradenton Herald Tribune the stores were closed for poor performance related:

“The main reason for the closings is performance-related,” Van Warner said. “Despite the best efforts of the teams, none had been performing that well for a long time.” — Herald Tribune

A call this morning to the Lakeland store was answered but staff reported they couldn’t comment.

I have a call in to the company spokesperson to find out how they’ll handle gift card redemption.

Over at Lakeland Crime we have the latest weekly crime map and something special for all Lakeland business owners: January 2008 Lakeland Business Burglaries & Robberies.